At the end of April, Beijing issued its toughest measures yet to curb housing speculation and home prices. Among these new regulations, from now on, each household will only be entitled to buy one new home. But in the face of these fresh rules, realtors and buyers are coming up with their own ways to bypass the rule.

After the new measures were put in place, daily sales of second hand homes in Beijing dropped from over 1000 to only 200. To attract more customers, agents took their sales materials to the streets, promising new ways to beat the rules.

Trick 1: Fake divorce

Each household is entitled to only one new home. But if you and your partner file a divorce, then you two represent two households. You're now allowed to purchase two homes. Of course, the divorce is fake. Once the new homes are bought, the couple remarry.

Trick 2: Concealing marriage status

In Beijing, the marriage registration system is not connected to the Internet or with banking or housing systems. Many married couples do not change the status of their household registration form otherwise known as the Hukou. This enables them to apply for bank loans as singles.

Trick 3: Using fake residential registration

Some agents recommend using forged Hukou registration books. This practice is illegal.

Trick 4: Receiving two loans at the same time from different banks

For those who would like to buy two homes but are reluctant to break the law, there are other choices. After deciding on which two homes they want to buy, they simply apply for loans to different banks on the same day.

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