How to protect your old house from redevelopment

[simonlaing]

Hi All,

Can anyone give advice how to protect your property from redevelopment, or at least get market price for the property?

I was talking with my Fiancee about some redevelopment issues and unscrupulous developers and local government officials who take over property.The was a recent article oin the International Herald about it.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/03/news/house.php

As it turns out her family owns an old apartment in a part of the Downtown Nanjingthat they are renting out. The limit on redeveloping it still has 1 to 3 years on it but developers have already started making inquiries.

Her family already went through a standoff situationin 2004 with some developers together with 3 uncles who also owned 1 (the traditional old houses . At the time they lost possible money on the estimation of the square footage. (They had an outdoor kitchen without a roof that wasn't counted. Although the house's ceiling was highenough for 2 stories they had not built a second story which would have doubled their square footage. (THough they also benefited from a recetn law saying homeowners who have the title deed of the house and are elderly can not be forcibly evicted and developers must get the home owners to agree to the terms, (my fiancee was living with her elderly parents at the time). They also held out longer than most of their neighbors and go 40% more than the early movers, but less than the 80% greater than the original quote of a couple people who moved later. .

Anyway there is another apartment that is currently being rented out and we're wondering how to protect it's redevelopement. It is in a small block of flats that is 4 stories high I think.

Anybody have advice on how to prepare for the developer's imminent domain? DO people have success stories or experiences with this. Do you think my US citizenship would help in this matter?

Thanks,

Simon

P.S. (there was also glass factory of my fiancee's family that was taken in the Cultural revolution, there's probably no way to get that back is there?)