KhunHeineken

Perhaps you can explain how foreign condo owners actually own the land their condo block sits on?

Not sure where you got that from, but I'm straight, and in the famous words of Jerry Seinfeld, if one was gay, "not that there's anything wrong with that." Simply pointing out that many hotels in Pattaya, if they charged their customers a joiner fee to bring back bar girls, many customers would stay at a hotel that didn't charge, me include.

Moves it to an Aussie bank account and then to a Thai bank account means Thai tax liability. Moves it to an Aussie bank account, interest earned is taxed at 10% if he supplies his overseas address, and 47% if he does not. (link previously provided) No DTA relief. No of it is a service pension. It's all income generated in Australia and he is a non resident for tax purposes. BTW, I'm self funded also.

Any advice for the OP as to how he can "minimize" not "avoid" non resident tax in Australia, and resident tax in Thailand, after all, that is the nature of his OP? He's outside Australia for more than 183 days, and inside Thailand for more than 180 days, and, his income stream is not covered by the Australian / Thailand DTA.

Say one is of retirement age this year, meaning, they are 65 years of age. (older retirement scheme) Say they started work at 16 years of age. (normal for that era) That means they have been working for around 49 years. That means they started work in 1976, some 16 years before compulsory super was even introduced, and back then it was something like only 6% and with low salaries. Basically, not long enough working under compulsory super, without higher percentages and higher salaries, to see them through to end of life, not to mention, humans are living longer also.

Errrr. Ok. Now, what about all those transfers to yourself into a foreign bank account? Oh, that's right, make a false declaration to your bank/s, which is a criminal offense, and then let the ATO have you on toast, because they have your immigration records. https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/investments-and-assets/foreign-resident-investments/foreign-tax-resident-reporting If you have an existing account If you have an existing account, your financial institution may contact you to confirm your country or countries of tax residence. This is to establish whether you have any accounts that need to be reported under the FATCA or the CRS laws. They may also contact you if their records indicate that you could be a foreign tax resident. This might be because you have provided an address or other information for a country outside Australia.

Give me a break. You regularly start these property threads to talk up the property market, despite data to the contrary. I have posted that you have a conflict of interest because by your own admission you flip properties here. You have skin in the game. You portray "buying" has a good investment, but the only benefit you have put forward over renting is "hanging some Chinese wall art." Guess what, tenants can hang some pictures as well. There's no moaning or groaning. I just don't see buying a property in Thailand in your late 60's as an "investment" and I have posted my reasons, math examples, and some links showing data. https://www.globalpropertyguide.com/asia/thailand/price-history "The condominium segment experienced a notable deceleration, with price growth slowing from 7.20% year-on-year in Q3 2024 to 2.46% (1.45% inflation-adjusted) in Q4 2024." Notable deceleration. You are now flipping houses. "Housing demand in Thailand remains subdued, though early signs of gradual improvement compared to the beginning of the last year are evident. According to the Real Estate Information Center (REIC), the total number of registered residential property transfers across the country during the first three quarters of 2024 reached 250,580 units, marking a 7.4% year-on-year decline." A 7.4% year on year decline. I particularly found this interesting. "In recent years, however, the percentage of homeowners appears to have been decreasing. A September 2024 article from the Prachachat Business Newspaper highlighted the so-called Generation Rent trend becoming more widespread in Thailand. According to the local experts cited, today's young professionals increasingly don't want to own a home because of pressure from the burden of living costs, coupled with housing prices that are beyond the purchasing power of this group of customers, especially in cities and locations with convenient transportation, such as train lines passing through." Younger Thai's are not even buying property. You are focusing on the "sentimental" reasons for owning, which is fine, but that doesn't make it a good investment.

I can easily buy a decent condo here tomorrow. I just do not see any financial benefit for me to do so, and I certainly don't see it in any way, shape, or form as an "investment" and I have posted my reasons, and backed it up with some math, and property market figures on some links. Maybe, but I'm not one of them. Why make the topic personal?

Condo's don't float in mid air, do they? Think about it.

Yes, plenty of distressed sales here, as well as an oversupply. I disagree with newnative that it's a healthy property market.

No, it's not meaningless, it's market forces. Supply and demand. An oversupply pushes prices down. A high demand pushes prices up. There is an oversupply here. I answered your Wongamat example in another post. It's interesting that you are American. Would you care to comment on the USA property market during 2008 and the following years? Of course, no "bubble" here in tourist areas of Thailand, right?

Either do I. I have no skin in the game. Correct. Sure, but with so many properties for rent here, it's a renters market. Make an offer, if it's refused, many others may accept the offer. Sure, I just disagree that it's a good "investment" here.

Do you think this is the idea of a easy retirement in Thailand for a new expat retiree? Do you really think they want to involve themselves with construction companies, soon after retiring?

So, can deceased estate sales be "out of line sales?" Keep in mind, the Thai missus will most likely returns to Issan, ASAP, and / or the kids back in farangland couldn't care less about Dad's condo in Pattaya? Now, what about a catastrophic injury / illness. Think motorbike accident or stroke. Most would have to return home for free long ongoing medical treatment and / or care. That money is tied up in a Thai property when they may need it for a care home in their home country. Just one more thing to consider before buying here. As soon as I moved in to my rental the existing TV got moved to the bedroom and a bought a great entertainment unit. Huge screen, great soundbar. Android box and Windows PC attached. All on a UPS to smooth out electricity supply. The mattress got donated and I bought my own. I bought a few sets of new sheets and pillows. The lounge was near new, but I bought a cover for it The dining table fine. All white goods reasonably new and clean. I use my own internet router to ensure some privacy and security. I have some family photos scattered around. I could tell the place had been professionally cleaned. Everything can go on a ute to the next rental, should the landlord want the property back. You don't need to purchase a property to make it a home. I have a managed fund, cash at bank, and investment properties, all in Australia, all in my name. The managed fund is well diversified. The cash at bank government guaranteed. The properties insured, and covered by local government town planning laws which ensure a pig farm isn't built next door. As I have said, I have worked the math for a comparable sale of a condo in my block, and the purchase money, earning interest in my home country, the interest covers the rent and then some, and I have no property costs in Thailand, like fees, taxes, maintenance cost etc, and freedom of movement. I have posted a link from The Bank of Thailand showing only a small increase in the purchase price of condo's in Thailand in recent time. It was well under the 5% I get in bank interest. So, take into account turning the purchase money into bricks and mortar, thus non liquid, thus, losing that money's potential to make more money, then fees, taxes and maintenance costs on the property, then possible property ownership / visa law changes here (risk) then the oversupply of condo's on the market as they keep building more and more, then, the loss of freedom of movement as you are tied to that condo / block and anything can happen within the block, or next door, and not only is it financially beneficial to rent here, but it actually makes no sense to buy here.

You're still not getting it. You want to portray a big segment of the buyers market are looking for a "2 bedroom 2 bath seaview condos in foreign quota with a price less than 8MB are for sale in Wongamat." when they simply are not. Your property for sale, whilst you would like members to believe will attract a lot of interest, is in competition with hundreds, yes hundreds, of other properties here. The next thing you will be saying you have the only "seaview" condo for sale on the market.

Money is invested in my home country, Australia, which is currently paying around 5% per annum. I managed fund returns even more. I never suggested the money was in a Thai bank. I don't even "donate" the 800k to a Thai bank for the extension here. The return on the 800k in Australia more than covers the cost of the agent, and no need to queue or worry about how many photocopies I have. I'm most likely on a gold course at extension time, and not in an immigration office. Of course, your extension only costs 1,900 baht, right? You don't factor in the losses in interest on the donation of 800k to a Thai bank But this is for another thread.

Try advertising it for rent at 30k a month and see how many inquiries you get.

Located, assisted, reposted etc. Same Same. All good.

All well and good, but totally irrelevant for the OP.

This is from the OP: "I am classified in Australia as a self-funded retiree. My pension payments are drawn from a private pension platform and are automatically deposited into an external bank account. " The OP is looking towards the Australia / Thailand DTA to provide some tax exemption. The DTA only covers service pensions. See Articles 18 and 19 of the DTA. Thus, the OP is liable for tax.

Well done Mia and Jack. You scammed 10 drinks of of them. I'm sure you got many "thumbs ups" and "likes" on your socials playing the victim, which is what it's all about, right?

So, your own link, reposted by a Mod, states Pattaya is a "condo city" but in no way is there an oversupply of condo's. The government and developers have gauged the market forces just right, with supply meeting demand, and property values remaining buoyant. Yeah, right. It's a free for all here. They just keep building and building, more and more, and, according to you, this has absolutely zero effect on property prices.

So, the developer sold "shells." Couldn't they finish the project and make more money? Sounds like a distressed sale to me.

As I am. On that website, are there 830 properties for sale in Pattaya? It's a yes or no answer. On the "Baht Sold" website there are 1,312 properties for sale / rent. (not sure if allowed to post that link here) Sure, some may be advertised elsewhere, but not all, so the amount of properties on the market here gets bigger and bigger.

Withholding tax. If you inform your bank in Australia you are now a non resident for tax purposes, should you supply your overseas address, you pay 10% tax on interest, but the ATO exchanges your information with Thailand, and if you don't supply an overseas address, it's 47% tax. Of course, no tax free threshold, either. Yes, everyone's situation is different. Most Aussies working in Australia today are contributing to super as it's compulsory to do so. Super started in 1992, and salaries were very low back then. Most expat retirees, despite living in Thailand, would most likely not have enough super to see them through to end of life. This is mainly because super was not around for their whole working life in Australia, and salaries were very low back then. I would suggest this is the main reason many sell up in Australia, mainly property, to fund their retirement here, possibly with a part pension also. I think you will find the 45 days becomes very relevant to many here in the future, with many of them not maintaining accommodation back in Australia, which is one of the four factor tests for the 45 days. See below. "Australian accommodation: This examines whether the individual has a permanent home available in Australia, considering factors like ownership, rental agreements, and the nature of their living arrangements." There's no fear mongering. It's all in black and white. It's the law. It's the proposed changes to tax residency that will allow the law to be implemented more efficiently, a lot more efficiently, so much so, many non residents for tax purposes will be scooped up in the net, where they previously escaped non resident tax.