Chinese Capital Snaps Up Silicon Valley Firms — and Homes

It's never too late to learn Mandarin -- and make some money.

A flood of capital from China is inundating Silicon Valley, where homes in the $2 million plus range are being snapped up by buyers from Shanghai, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Beijing -- and where Chinese tech behemoth Tencent has just sunk $200 million into messaging app Snapchat, according to reports.

Cash-rich firms in China are looking abroad for investment opportunities after finding domestic growth "slowing" of late, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

A second $100 billion Chinese firm, Alibaba, sunk $206 million into ShopRunner, an online shopping app to rival Amazon -- and that was after Tencent put $150 million into Fab.com, according to TIME.

There's money to be made in these companies -- and there's money to be made by real estate agents, one of whom has bought a Mercedes bus to ferry his Chinese clients about Silicon Valley, according to CNBC.

Home prices in Santa Clara County have increased 27 percent in the last two years, CNBC reported. Valley real estate agent Ken DeLeon says he's done $300 million in sales -- this year alone.

Chinese buyers will snap up a modest home, demolish it and begin significant changes, such as deeper basements, according to reports. Others prefer brand-new homes already furnished, with top-end accoutrements such as marble moldings and media rooms, according to CNBC.