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GlutinousMaximus
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Sounds very expensive. Mine is costing me approx 180000 Baht,
What's the output of your system?
I am still in the designing stage for my array. It will be at least 4kWp system. Current price a little over £5000 in the UK. Currently looking at different makes of Panels. Plan to do most of the installation myself. My planned budget is 180000 baht. Unless I go for solar tiles which are more expensive i believe that budget is reasonable
That is good - 4KW is quite a nice chunky system.You could probably drive the whole house off that during peak output if you have power-efficient appliances and are judicious with your use of air-con etc. If nothing else, it should really help to mitigate your spend on mains power.The other good thing about solar in Thailand is that due to lax/non-existent planning controls, you can put them anywhere - e.g. in a metalwork array in your garden (I suppose that makes them easier to steal though). I'd like to be able to install a basic system, then add the odd 250W panel here and there as budget allows.Will your system be grid-tied and you'll get a feed-in tariff etc. ? -
Sounds very expensive. Mine is costing me approx 180000 Baht,
What's the output of your system?
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Tell us more about 'Natural AC' - I'm intrigued.
It is one of two methods used by the Romans to keep their villas cool in hot climates.
One method was to run water through the cavity walls of their villas. This is OK if you have plenty of water, the Roman aqueduct system to supply it and never have droughts
The second method was Natural AC. The principal is very simple. Hot air rises so you need a chimney in the apex of the roof preferably painted black. Hot air will rise and go out the chimney.Cooler air is then drawn into the house from an underground cavity. The cavity needs to be at least 2 m underground where the temperature is fairly constant. The air in the cavity is chilled down by the ground temperature and will be 3 or 4 degrees lower than the ambient temperature outside. The cavity needs to be large so you don't run out of cooled air. This cooled air is drawn into the house and will lower the house temperature making AC usage less if not redundant. No energy required to make it work. My architect tried to tell me i would need a fan to draw out the hot air in the house. He really didn't understand about convection currents and how they work. A fan is totally unnecessary.
If you want to know more just Google Natural Air Conditioning.
Yes- very interesting, I thought it was something along those lines. Traditional Thai teak houses make use of this effect as well I believe - i.e. constant movement of air up and out through the roof.If you plan your house right with these kinds of (simple) technologies built in, I bet you can save a ton on energy bills. Even if it reduces your bills by 50% or so, it's still a big help.I was reading a blog post by this Japanese guy in the Philippines a while back - his post mentions stuffing the basement with rocks which can be cooled down by drawing cool air in (to the basement) at night and extract the cool air from them into the house during the day. That coupled with a well-insulated roof plus some passive extractors in the roof : http://www.kotaronishiki.com/He also talks about positioning the house on its plot to minimise the solar radiation falling on the walls - simple but good idea -
Hi Op
I am a Civil Engineer and in the the process of building exactly the same as you. A few things that i have included in my design are:
1. Natural AC which cools the house 24/7 without any energy costs what so ever. With the size of you plot you could very easily do the same.
2. I have positioned my house so that i have a large south facing roof on which i shall place Solar PV Panels.
3. Because of the large amount of water i have concentrated on planting shrubs and plants that actually repel mozzies. I don't expect to get rid of them all but I hope to greatly reduce their numbers
If you would like further details of my design please PM me. Also I would be interested to hear about any ideas you may have.
Tell us more about 'Natural AC' - I'm intrigued.
not only as a boy but also later as a physicist and mechanical engineer i was always interested whether it is possible to build a perpetuum mobile
11 years ago, when i built the fifth home in a tropical country i was trying hard to match low energy consumption with the demand "i am not spending my last years as a retiree sweating!"
unfortunately i failed miserably as far as energy consumption is concerned but live a comfortable life in an indoor environment of ~26.5ºC which is coupled with 55% of my total annual electric energy cost of ~200,000 Baht, id est ~110,000 Baht for airconditioning.
Phew - quite a hefty bill compared to my 3K or so a month. But as you say, it's certainly nice to be comfortable (if you've got the cash). The heat grinds you down after a while, always the sweating and the bodily discomfort and the mental irritation that goes with it it plus it never lets up - 24/7 for weeks/months at a time. Call me crazy, but I sometimes yearn for the cold, drizzly UK just for a bit of respite.
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Cheers guys
sure any info is welcome. I am in the Windpower business but sure not suitable for my area. I was thinking about Solar Power a lot, also because of airco and pond pump for the creek.
With this size pond my wife likes a bit of a river size creek going through the entire garden.
I am quite lucky with mossies. As we monitored the area past 3 years at all seasons we slept in hammocks (beside in one Thunderstorm we came with the car) and didn't get any bites from mossies. Not in the rainseason nor dry season. The small fishes do their job.
I only woke up one morning with a massive Huntsman on my belly, but it made an escape jump before I could defend myself.
Shading the terrace is still in my mind. To be honest, NO idea at all. I want daylight in my Livingroom but also cover my wife's pool table on the terrace. Security glass as terrace roof might be a solution, but I have seen often that the frames are pure dirt collectors.
And how about underneath of a glass roof?
I know about Eucalyptus keeps mossies away and some lemon smelling flowers, but haven't been into it by now. Sure is my wife hates Eucalyptus. They have beside an air cooling effect.
Huntsman spider on your belly - yikes!
Those things are an arachnophobe's worst nightmare...very fast & seemingly intelligent with good eyesight.
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Hi Op
I am a Civil Engineer and in the the process of building exactly the same as you. A few things that i have included in my design are:
1. Natural AC which cools the house 24/7 without any energy costs what so ever. With the size of you plot you could very easily do the same.
2. I have positioned my house so that i have a large south facing roof on which i shall place Solar PV Panels.
3. Because of the large amount of water i have concentrated on planting shrubs and plants that actually repel mozzies. I don't expect to get rid of them all but I hope to greatly reduce their numbers
If you would like further details of my design please PM me. Also I would be interested to hear about any ideas you may have.
Tell us more about 'Natural AC' - I'm intrigued.
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Just completed our design house down south............... 2 beds/2 baths 120 sq.mtres 7.5mm QCon blocks Cpac Monier roof tiles (insulated) 1.3 million.
Good luck with your project and be patient
85.JPGNice tidy build at a very reasonable price. I'd challenge anyone to get that built in Europe for 32K Euro!
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Hi OPYes I gathered the 4/5 was a German thing somewhat lost in translation. It's a bit like "a nod's as good as a wink to a blind bat" in English - what does that mean?I know what you mean about the dogs - mine are the same (killed a few cats/rats in their time). They seem to have more feral genes over here than the sedate European pooches we're used to.WRT to your concerns over specific things like plumbing, electrics, there's lots of historical threads on TVF about that. You could also start a new topic closer to the time asking for pointers specifically about electrics or whatever. Again it pays to know about these things - you might have to direct/control your contractors to do things a certain way which you've pre-researched. They will be looking to do it 'their way' (i.e. the quick/cheap way). As an example of plumbing horrors, all the plumbing pipes here they tend to sink permanently into the floors/walls - one day I noticed my water meter was spinning all the time, and it turned out there was a cracked pipe or joint under one of our bathroom floors. Fortunately, after a bit of head scratching from the builders, they came up with some kind of pipe re-routing solution which fixed it, but if they'd had to dig up the tiling/concrete in the bathroom, it would have been costly and messy. I don't know what the alternatives are to 'Thai-style plumbing' but I guess they will exist.On the electric front, there's obviously safety to consider, plus a lot of Thai 'electricians' will just staple the wires to the walls inside the house (rather than chasing them into the walls properly) and it looks ugly. If you've pre-planned for that, you can get the renderers/plasterers to leave space for trunking conduits and such-like. I'm no tradesman, but one trade I'm not bad at is decorating. I was horrified to see the decorators using rollers on the walls above my nice tiled floors with no dust sheets put down so obviously you get a lot of fine spray from the rollers all over your floor. Real basic stuff, but they will cut corners like you won't believe.Overall, it helps to be aware of what you want before the contractors arrive on site, because due to the communication problems, lack of proper training and standards in the trades etc., it's too late to do anything about it once they start working.
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Hi OP
Glad to hear the feedback is helping - it's one of the best things about Thai Visa, i.e. the voice of experience from 'the crowd'. I'm no expert, but having built one house here, I have a much better idea what I do and don't want to do next time (if there is a next time).From your avatar, it looks like you might have a dog? That's something else to bear in mind (a place for the canines). If I build again, I'd include a small room, accessed from the outside only (so you don't get ticks crawling into your house) with a netted swing door on a spring (which the dogs can operate) and put in a cool tile floor and a cheap ceiling fan - somewhere they can live outside 24/7 and be comfortable out of the sun and not be eaten alive by the mozzies at night time (but also help to keep an eye on your property).The other thing I'd recommend is that if you use contractors for certain jobs - ask to see some of their previous work. For example, we chose granito-style tiles for upstairs and I don't think they were laid right with the correct base screed etc. as they have lots of hollow spots and some of them are loose. I had to replace a whole room at one stage because the floor buckled up completely due to expansion/contraction. There's a lot of 'jack of all trades, master of none' type building dudes in Thailand, so definitely worth choosing with care, or asking around and getting recommendations etc. You also can't chase/sue builders here for shoddy work like you might be able to back in Farangland, so it pays to be picky from the first place. -
Hi OPBuilding your own place is great some ways - starting with a clean slate and all that...but in others, you soon learn the meaning of 'set in stone' especially when it comes to layout/design. Definitely worth giving it a lot of consideration so you don't end up thinking 'I wish I'd done this instead of that..'.It's smart of you to visit the site in all conditions - gives you a good insight into potential problems.As a previous poster has said, look at some design books etc. There's lots of catalogues available in Thailand with house plans/designs etc. I believe there are also free house plans from the Thai government available for download (just google 'free Thai house plans') - I'm not saying any of them are suitable for you necessarily, but it's free info and you might pick up some pointers or design ideas.Your plan doesn't show a utility area - useful for sticking all the machines, mops, brooms and so on out of sight. Also, might be worth thinking about including an external kitchen or lean-to for Thai cooking (as well as your main internal kitchen) - especially when you relatives are cooking up plaa-raa and lots of chillies etc. Where it's a bit more rough and ready and they can move about easily with hot oil and the smells ventilate naturallyYou might also want somewhere to park your car out of the sun (but you could build a cheapish carport out in your garden I guess)If I built in Thailand again I'd be looking at:
- Making use of passive cooling as much as possible - e.g. with thermal mass such as very solid foundation concrete slab, double-skinned walls with an air gap etc. There's lots of info from people building in tropical climates (e.g. Australia, Florida) - worth googling for info on building cool tropical houses
- Lots of external shading built into the house (plus external tree planting for extra shade and transpiration cooling etc.).If you keep the sun off the walls via deep eaves, external verandas etc., I think it helps with reducing the heat load. These things also help to keep the driving rain out at the height of the monsoon season which can be a pain with leaking windows/doors etc.
- Think about construction where wind is funnelled through certain areas by the mass of the buildings around it (e.g. an external seating area which gets a 'wind concentrator' effect). I have an accidentally created one in my current house where the wind is pinched between the house wall and an external wall and it's quite powerful
- I know solar panels have their pros and cons cost-wise, but I like the idea of at least a 2-3KW system. If on a hot day, I could drive one 10-15K BTU aircon in a small room completely off the solar, that would be nifty
- Build in such a way that it's easy to add stuff later - more rooms, more external areas etc
- Build external areas where you can enjoy the air/breezes of an evening but the bugs are designed out - your plan shows what I assume is an external veranda, however the problem with sitting outside is always the mozzies (at least where I am). Netting has it's uses to keep them out, however the birds tend to peck at that, so not really sure what the answer is.
- I'd like to be able to sleep semi-outside in any future house (but protected via the house design from bugs/intruders), it's way cooler in the evenings and has gentle breezes, so no need for expensive aircon all the time
- Include some really small bedrooms and extra living spaces such as small office, cinema room etc.. The smaller the air volume, the less air-con power you need to cool it over time. I sleep in a 8-9 sq metre bedroom, and it's really cheap to cool at night time. I know we want to spread out and enjoy the space, but I bet you cooling your 40 square metre main living area isn't going to be cheap (electric wise).
Best of luck with your project, and keep us posted!
- Making use of passive cooling as much as possible - e.g. with thermal mass such as very solid foundation concrete slab, double-skinned walls with an air gap etc. There's lots of info from people building in tropical climates (e.g. Australia, Florida) - worth googling for info on building cool tropical houses
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Whenever mine plays games,
I grab her and shag her, that usually puts an end to the silliness.
If that doesn't work, I go out to a bar or gogo, get drunk then grab one of the girls and shag her.
Makes me feel better every time!
I just hope you don't keep ducks!
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I believe it's a standard relationship playbook technique (and not just a Thai phenomenon).I've certainly experienced it and it used to drive me crazy. Now that I've weaned myself off the need to seek female approval at all times, it's very liberating.Other posters have mentioned PMS - it's possible, but you can prove or disprove that based on accurate observation of her cycles.Google so-called female 'shit tests' and do some reading - it may give you some pointers.I'm of the opinion that a lot of Thai females are conditioned to expect the kind of crap they get from Thai males (you mentioned she had previous relationship baggage) and possibly try and elicit it (either consciously or unconsciously). I can't explain it more than that - it's just a hunch. As a touchy-feely-equality-minded Euro male, it's difficult to get onto that wavelength.Sounds also like you're feeling some pressure about the 'need' to marry - I'd think very carefully about that one, there's no rush, no rush at all! You're already experiencing communication difficulties in your cross-cultural relationship. Believe me, it ain't going to get any easier just because you're married (and I speak from experience). You will also then have 3 parties in your relationship - you, her & the government. If you think you're getting the 'marry her or else' treatment - try the 'or else' route.
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systematically at a legislative level (which is the only way it's going to improve) since the status quo causes so much pain and suffering all over Thailand.
Edited by GlutinousMaximus,
Legislation clearly does nothing to stop deaths on the roads look at the UK for instance any more rules and can't do this and that they have a two year rule for new drivers 6 points and you have to re sit test in car. Seat belts compulsory no mobile phone use at all whilst driving and no Bluetooth use for Lgv and PCV drivers and yet there are road accidents and deaths on the road every single day no figures but lots and that's in a so called big 6 country. I personally over the years must have nicked thousands of people who had no licence or no insurance or no mot I won't mention the low life drink and drug drivers. But it did not does not stop accidents.
Agreed - it doesn't stop RTAs/fatalities, but it helps to reduce them considerably surely - the stats bear this out don't they?
According to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate
UK is at 3.5 fatalities per 100K, Thailand is at 38.1
You mentioned nicking people - were/are you a rozzer? I used to think traffic policing in the UK was a bit heavy-handed, but now seeing what happens when you have no such enforcement, I'm actually all for it as it saves lives and forces people to toe the line while they're in charge of vehicles.
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No haha I'm not getting paid for it. I didn't know they were popular topics as it was my first 2 posts on this forum. I wish I got payed for it though!
Only joking of course OP - you've definitely picked a couple of cracking topics to dip your toes in the pool with.Note to self: write email to TVF Admins with my new business idea about how to drive traffic to site. -
The solution is simple, if you feel threatened driving on the roads in Thailand then don't drive. Be inconvenient probably but I am sure you knew that when you first came to Thailand.
Most people need to be able to get around in order to live their lives - it's taken pretty much as a given of modern life to drive a car. You need one for taking the kids to school, going shopping, plus for emergencies/unforeseen circumstances etc.Having said that, I certainly try and limit my 'road time' as much as possible.Relying on other sources of transport just isn't viable for a lot of folks - maybe in BKK where there's plenty of options 24/7, but upcountry, not so easy.I just wonder why nothing is done about it systematically at a legislative level (which is the only way it's going to improve) since the status quo causes so much pain and suffering all over Thailand. -
Up to number one next week pop pickers, not arf.»p.s I see Thailand is No 4 for total deaths per 100,000 people due to car accidents according to wikipedia.«
Data must be out of up-date, as Thailand has been No, 2 for some years:
Death rate per 100,000 population from road crashes:
1. Namibia 45
2. Thailand 44
3. Iran 38
However this year they suddenly improved a lot and jumped down to No. 3:
1. Libya 48.4
2. Irag 40.5
3. Thailand 38.1
(Source: National News Bureau of Thailand 9th September 2015, statistics by WHO.)
Isn't it the case that Thai RTA fatality stats are only counted where there is a death at the scene? Wonder how many people croak either after they've been carted off to hospital or en-route in the super-duper 'protectung' picks-up that scoop up the injured - must be a fair few?What gets me about driving in LOS is that you have to drive with a very large 'situational awareness' bubble around you - much bigger than in the West. I Imagine it's closer to how jet fighter pilots need to operate.Yes you have to look out for people cutting in to your lane etc., but to survive long term, you need to be thinking about 2-3 seconds from now, what is the car/motorcycle/pedestrian in front or behind me going to do?E.g. will they swerve to avoid a pothole, gun through a red light on their side, make an emergency stop at the somtam stall just ahead? etc. There will be no pre-planning on their part, so you always have to be ready. -
It's a public forum. The OP has just as much rights as you and I to post.
Nobody forces you to read and reply.
I was going to say - get off your high horse, it's just a bit of fun to lighten an otherwise dark topic. But your responses made me laugh, so I'll let you off.(I'm with the OP on this BTW - every day on the roads in Thailand feels like an instalment of 'Final Destination').For the record - here are some of my responses as an FYI-AntsYou need to communicate with their 'hive mind' and let them know they cannot win- Pants, how to get a decent size?Robinson stock 'Rosso' brand in size XXXL - they are Y-fronts unfortunately, but are acceptable in the size dept (and I'm not bragging believe me)- Pens?Tesco Lotus have an 'Artline' brand draughtsman's pen, works a treat and keeps on working- Disintegrating Shoes?- Sorry, don't know. If you can solve the mystery, a Nobel prize may await -
Hi OPYou mentioned in one of your posts about 'Being 21 and starting to make money online'It's time to come clean - are you being paid to start 'click-bait' topics with lots of page views/responses? So far you're pressing all the right 'hot buttons' for our grumpy TVF denizens...with i) how to live super-cheap in LOS and ii) driving in ThailandHere are some other suggestions for 'hot topics'- What is the spray thingie for next to the toilet?- Why do pens in Thailand always stop working after you've bought them?- Help - my shoes have disintegrated!- Why are the ants eating my underpants?- Speaking of pants, where can I buy some in LOS that don't give me torsion of the testes?- Why do they put used skiddy toilet paper in the bin next to the toilet?- Why is there always a woman in the toilet mopping round my feet when I'm trying take a wizz?- Why can't I walk on the pavements in BKK?- My girlfriend is a hi-so because....- Should I buy or rent a property in Thailand- etc.
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Such sound advice from posters recommending RENT.
OP you mentioned you have 20% of value. Unless your talking about a very expensive house then that deposit is very small. You are not buying a house. You are buying less than 20%
Been together 10 years and saved how much?
No feedback from the OP yet on all these pearls of wisdom...is this one of those topics where you just wind it up, and watch it run (and run) ?I notice there's a similar thread about buy vs rent in this sub-forum - it's currently at 5 pages.Pearls of wisdom? You must be being sarcastic.
With all the to-ing and fro-ing, the-way-I-did-it-is-better-than-the-way-you-did-it and the various bits of nonsense being promulgated, it's hardly surprising he hasn't been back so far.
The OP has posted again thanking all for the input - see above.
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Very good advice here.Mortgage rates in Thailand aren't particularly cheap (compared to the UK for example) so let's say you borrowed 2 million baht at 6% interest (and it will probably be more than that), then just servicing the interest could cost around 120K a year (obviously that goes down over time) - you could get a really nice rental pad for that.
But not necessarily good advice from you.
Your idea fails to consider how long the property will be occupied. In less than 17 years (not long for a "married" couple) of just paying interest it would have been cheaper to buy.
Thanks for your snippy posts - very helpful.What you say is maybe true back in farangland where people can have their name on the property deeds and it's backed by the rule of law. I've happily bought properties with interest-only mortgages there because I can easily calculate that i) mortgage interest payments are cheaper than rent and ii) likely house price growth is likely to payback more than the interest I've paid, so it's a no-brainer.I still contend that in Thailand, with its high cost of borrowing, uncertainties over long-term residency, potential legal difficulties with true property ownership as a farang (condos aside), then it should be approached with caution, especially if it's mortgage-backed. If you have a Thai partner for example and personal reasons to be comfortable with the whole deal, then good luck to you.Take a look here for example: http://www.forbeslebrock.com/mortgage-calculatorEnter a loan amount of 2mill over 20 years at 6.5% - it's not until year 9 that the interest payment dips under 100K per annum. In the example above, the total interest amounts to 1,578,751.05 (according to the calculator) - that's a hefty chunk of cash.Once you've paid your loan off, whoopee - now you can put your house on the market with a view to trading up and enjoy the mature, well-developed real estate sector that Thailand enjoys right? Wrong - all I can say is good luck getting a decent ROI. Some people do, some don't. (BTW - you may need to get a shaman in to certify there are no ghosts in your second hand property before you can find a buyer).Any calculations are subject to variables obviously - for the people on this thread who claim their property would cost upwards of 100K pcm to rent (I'd expect a palace for that in Thailand), then maybe it makes sense. I'm personally not in that market and would settle happily for a tidy little 5k pcm house upcountry somewhere. -
Hi Everyone
A huge thanks for the info. Well we have been married (civil partnership) for nearly 10 years so very settled and lived here and worked for 13, in that time we have ploughed 3 million into rent and have nothing to show for it. I went to Bangkok bank and they basically told me, yes he can own the land and my name can also go onto the loan, but for the building. I have rented most of my life and although it gives less worries, the property is never yours, and even if you sell it near the same value you get some back.
Also I like updating the houses we live in, but this just adds value to the owner. My idea would be to get a loan and pay it off as quick as humanly possible. Inside 10 years. if we leave Thailand in the future we would rent it out to cover some costs.
But I do hear what people are saying, and I know the horror divorce stories etc, but this specific house has my name written on it..
Can anyone who has bought a house let me know what they did after the mortgage interview. The bank mentioned it takes about 2-3 weeks including the house appraisal. They weren't interested in us having a lawyer, just sign the mortgage and that's it. There doesn't seem to be any need for land survey or structural surveys. Is this normal??
Thanks again everyone.
Hi jamiejoelGlad to hear you might be able to go ahead & as you say, aiming to get your loan paid off quickly is very sensible.There's been a good spread of opinion on this thread both for and against mortgages/house purchases and that's good as it provides food for thought for others that might read it in future - I certainly wish I'd read more of this kind of feedback before diving into building my own house, but you live and learn I guess.I'm no expert, but things to do with property seem to be a lot vaguer over here than in say the UK. I suppose surveyors and the like exist, but good luck with getting a professional opinion where you can sue if they turn out to be wrong or there are serious defects with the house. Try doing a forum search on TVF - there are other threads asking similar questions.Best of luck with your plans. -
I always advise people to never buy property in Thailand for way too many reasons to list. Do a little research here, you'll find one disaster story after another.
There is so much to rent why create a headache for yourself? It's always a bad investment. Even if it makes you money, there is too much risk. I live here in Phuket and everyone I know has sold or wants to sell and can't.
Is it the nesting urge?
If that's what you always advise, you do them no good service:
2005 I bought a condo for 6.5 mill., four years later I sold it for the same amount, the buyer actually came and knocked on my door and asked me if I wanted to sell. So for four years I lived rent free, but the best part is that the funds I used to buy the condo came into the country at 75 baht per Pound and when I sold I did so at 51 baht per Pound. So I saved 1.2 mill. in rent during that period plus I made 50,000 Pounds when I sold. Don't tell me it's always a bad investment!
And actually, I know owners at condo. units here that have several upmarket units that they rent out for 30/40k a month, units that they bought when I did, the value of those units today are worth over 9 million baht each.
You were lucky chiang mai - not only in having a ready buyer for your property, but also because of the exchange rate shift. I'm also hoping to take advantage of that when selling up - my baht were bought at 72 to the pound, and although I'll take a hit when I come to sell my Thai property, the exchange rate difference softens the blow considerably. so I'm hoping it will be cost neutral, at least in GBP terms (but fingers crossed - I don't have a signed sale contract yet...)I wouldn't give the impression that it's a no-brainer however (i.e. making a profit on Thai property) - you can't assume in x years time i) that your property value will go up, ii) you will easily find a willing buyer and iii) exchange rate values are likely to work in your favourI don't understand the condo market myself, but I know there are farangs who are stuck with ones they no longer want. -
So THB 9k a month in rent for a studio or shoe box size condo, I'll pass in favour of having a life and some space.
My landlord would be most offended. 46 sqm studio, fully furnished, good location, river view, swimming pool. I do have a life. I choose to spend my money on different things to you. Perhaps you just need the space for your ego.
It's not about ego it's about the practicalities of life. My condo rent in Muang (Floral) was 22k a month for 150 sq metre, 2 bed/2 bath, centrally located. A year ago I bought a great house, seven years old, 180 sq metres on one rai with the most beautiful gardens you could wish for, the cost was 3 mill. When I die my wife gets the house, that gives us both peace of mind, if I continued to rent she would just get cash. More importantly, the house and garden gives us both huge satisfaction and provides for a series of projects that keep me fit and busy - the cost of our electricity consumption has fallen from an average 1,900 a month to just over 1,000 and our water from 600 a month to 200, similar savings have presented themselves as a result of not living in Muang. I have never been more fit and healthy and we have never been as happy.
Sounds great chiang mai - and at 3 million, not the end of the world if it all goes t*ts-up. I bet you (or your wife) could claw at least some of that back if you need to sell at some stage (assuming it's an OK property).Did you take out a mortgage on that though? If it wasn't self-financed, then the actual cost over time (with a mortgage) is considerably higher than 3 million and therefore the percentage of value you need to be prepared to write off also goes up. -
Such sound advice from posters recommending RENT.
OP you mentioned you have 20% of value. Unless your talking about a very expensive house then that deposit is very small. You are not buying a house. You are buying less than 20%
Been together 10 years and saved how much?
No feedback from the OP yet on all these pearls of wisdom...is this one of those topics where you just wind it up, and watch it run (and run) ?I notice there's a similar thread about buy vs rent in this sub-forum - it's currently at 5 pages.
My Project - House and Garden
in Real Estate, Housing, House and Land Ownership
Posted