skipdivils

Any other comments on this topic would still be greatly appreciated.  It is now Feb. 22 and any updates on the 'land in Samui' situation would help.  Does it look like prices will continue to rise in '05?

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They certainly won't fall this year.

Be very careful though with investing; better sleep a few more weeks (or months) about investing, before you decide.

I'll send you a PM.

LaoPo

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Haven't got the PM yet, but you definately have caught my attention...Lemme know what's us...Thanks

Hey there,

Anyone here know how much beachfront land in Samui was 5 years ago? 10 years ago? 15 years ago?

What about 'seaview' land? Very curioys to know how much it has risen over the years for real. Looks like it is about 10 - 15 million baht per rai for beachfront land now, and about 2 - 3 million per rai for seaview. Is this right?

Also, what about a place like Phuket? How much more expensive is it there than Samui?

Thanks Tornado, for the words of encouragement. And thanks everyone else. Well it looks my decision is made, and I am gonna go balls deep investing my future in Samui. Hopefully I don't end up being just another 'horror story' of a dumb Farang. But the way I see it, life's too short to not take risks. ######, it'll keep me interested for a while, and I really do think that I am gonna do all right on this deal, and with any luck, it will bring me closer to my dream of living in Thailand.

Any other comments on this topic would still be greatly appreciated. It is now Feb. 22 and any updates on the 'land in Samui' situation would help. Does it look like prices will continue to rise in '05?

True about the exchange thing, if I wanted to take the money out of Thailand. What if I wanted to spend it in Thailand, then it would not be an issue. The 60% profit would still be 60%.

The day I want to 'take the money and run' so to speak my marging would depend heavily on what has happened with the currency. but hey, the whole goal here is to get myself living in Thailand as quickly as possible.

Thanks for all the comments so far. This is a huge help getting all these opinions together in one place.

Keep 'em coming. Anyone here actually made any money in the Samui property market recently? Is anyone else going to invest, and if so, what is your strategy?

Good advice.

I already have one rental property in my hometown of Toronto, Canada. I was going to go that route all the way. My plan was to have four rental properties here in Canada, then do exactly what you said. That is, use the profit to retire in Thailand and live off the monthly rental income from back home.

But my thoughts have recently changed. It seems that the international markets, while more risky, provide far more potential for return. And they are growing much quicker. The bottom line is, I don't really wanna wait for 20 years for my properties to be paid off to retire in Thailand. I would rather do it in 10 years, or 5. I would definately still keep the rental property I have now in Toronto, but instead of purchasing my next one here, I would do it somewhere where the market is more vibrant.

Don't you think that this makes sense? I am interested to know your opinion on this, as you seem to know what you are doing.

Still looking for more comments from anyone too. Thanks.

Thanks for the help so far.

So what kind of bubble was there in 1997, what happened then?

Sounds like the best way to go is to buy some land, do something with it (i.e. build and sell homes/villas, or clean it, divide it and sell it). Is this a pretty safe way to make money?

How long would it take, in your opinions to turn around the money. I was thinking that within two years of buying the land, I could have a villa built and sold and make a nice profit. What do you think?

Also, if I were to spend, for example, 3 million baht on a rai of land, and then 4 million baht more to builed two villas on that rai, how much do you think I could sell those villas for? Just an example.

Thanks again for the help, I hope the replies keep coming. cheers.

Okay, first of all, I would like to say that i am not being insensitive to what has recently happened in the area. I think it is a fair question. I was already considering making a move to Thailand to invest in real estate (looked at Koh Chang and Samui as options).

But now I have to ask, are there some really good deals in the Krabi province due to the disaster? Have property prices dropped suddenly as there are currently no tourists going this way, which may leave some business owners desperate to sell?

I believe that within one year, two year maximum, it will be business as usual in Krabi, and if people are panic selling, then it may be a good opportunity. Anyone know what is happening with property/business prices these days? Koh Lanta, Railey, Ton Sai are of interest to me.

Thanks for any help.

I am interested in buying land in Samui as an investment. I have many questions after my last visit there. Out of the following options:

1. Buy in a gated villa community with an established company and get the '12%' annual return.

2. Buy an individual plot of land (0.5 - 1 rai) that has road access, water and electricity already and build a villa and then sell it for profit.

3. Buy a bigger plot of land, put the road and electric/water service in, clear it, divide it up and sell it for profit. (or build a few villas on it).

4. Just buy a bigger piece of land (6 rai?), wait a year or two, divide it up into smaller plots and sell.

Out of these, which is the best way to start as someone who wants to invest in Samui and make some cash. My goal is not to get rich quick, but rather start a company (with my Thai partners) that will make money off of one deal, and then move on to the next and so on and hopefully over the course of time (5 years???) I will be able to live there full time and enjoy a pretty reasonable life, making decent money.

Or is it just better to go and invest somewhere smaller and less developed, for future potential?

Any thoughts here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.