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Used Isaan house "check list" recommendations


toenail

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I have worked in Thailand 14 years and now have decided to retire in quiet Isaan. (Tired of the city life and ready to have a simple quiet life.)  I have located a remodeled two story house in a village where I have friends living at and I am thinking of purchasing it. (Note: I know a foreigner cannot own land in Thailand, but I would be have this house in a company name since I have heard horror stories about putting it in one's Thai girlfriend/ wife's name.) The simple rectangular two story house is the typical one room structure on top that is wood and a couple rooms (including bathroom) on the ground floor. The place was recently remodeled by a farang so everything is basically new including the wood and windows.  The place looks attractive since it has been taken care of, has a great garden in the back (my hobby), a new water storage tank and pump... But I know there is more than appearance to the house. What "technical" research should I look into?  Example: electricity - how do I know if I have enough to add another AC in the future?; how can I tell if the electric outlets in the kitchen will handle an electric stove top, microwave, and electric coffee pot at the same time? Do the circuit breakers help giving this information?  The water pressure seems to be ok and the flow of the water from the toilet and shower is fine. (septic tank in the back). What about roofing? (It is the metal type- not the clay tiles.) I understand there are not taxes to be paid on the house. What "hidden" costs would there be?  Is the electricity and water bill cheaper than it is in cities such as Chonburi?  In the West, the seller is held accountable if there is something wrong with the house but in Thailand I get nervous about the "functioning" part of the house since there is no protection to the buyer.  So if there are any suggestions what I should look out for in buying a house in Isaan, your comments would be appreciated. (As you can tell, I have never built a house. 555)

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Why buy?  Why not rent?  Buying in a company name is considered questionable for starters.  Further, if things don't work out you (who knows what village life will be like, and whether this village will be the right place for you?) can leave a rented property much more easily than you can a place you own.  Selling an older house in Thailand is not easy at all - it could remain on the market for years without a single offer.  I really think this is a situation where renting would be better.

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I suppose the 1st thing you would want to know is, what title the land is, important for reselling because a lot of land in villages is not Chanote if I have spelt it correcty, (clear title).

 

Like someone else said, resale can take years.

 

Rent is so cheap in villages, I know a bloke who pays around 5,000 baht for a two level house within a short walking distance to the main town, now depending on how much your paying for the house, you should do your calculations, and don't expect any growth in value.

 

Village blackouts and water supply being a weekly occurrence, so make sure you get your generators and have at least one 1,000 litre rain water tank and pump to store your water for when the water is shut down, whenever.

 

The other alternative is to buy a block of land and build, if you have a good builder and a smart wife/GF who can bargain, shouldn't cost you more than 3 mil all up including the land Vs how much you are going to spend on a 2nd hand hot box (upstairs).

 

The other alternative would be to buy a condominium in a city not too far from your mates, i.e. around an hours drive, central to everything, in your name, no need for a company name and yearly outlay, and drive to visit your mates twice a week.

 

Its a tuff one, good luck with it either way.

 

Edited by 4MyEgo
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2 hours ago, mstevens said:

  Buying in a company name is considered questionable for starters. 

Please share, why is it "questionable" I have had zero problems buying and selling a fair few houses over the past twenty years using company names. What is your experience?

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28 minutes ago, xylophone said:

Unquestionably it is illegal to buy a house via a company.

 

See above.

"Unquestionably" not so sure about that! to the best of my knowledge this so called law has NEVER been enforced, too many lawyers making too much money! The article refers to proposals for a new law, does it not? "tough new laws being drafted by the government" were they drafted and are now in place?

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If it's in livable condition, I always like the suggestion of renting first if you can, to get a feel for the house and people, and village rhythm - typically set the  thump thump thump sound of Issan Mor Lam music. LOL.   A rent to own option for 1 year trial, then buy, or walk away, would be ideal.

 

Good that you've got friends living in/around there, so you shouldn't feel isolated, and I'm sure they've revealed the ups and downs of living in that area.  If not, be sure to ask.

 

The material condition of the house is a big topic and I'm sure there are plenty here experienced with the old, wooden Thai style houses.    Best of luck with whatever you decide to do. 

 

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1 hour ago, CGW said:

"Unquestionably" not so sure about that! to the best of my knowledge this so called law has NEVER been enforced, too many lawyers making too much money! The article refers to proposals for a new law, does it not? "tough new laws being drafted by the government" were they drafted and are now in place?

This may help from a top legal company here which states the law as it is...…….

 

It helps to become familiar the Foreign Business Act 1999. This sets out the rights of foreign companies in Thailand, as well as what is not permitted.

 

Most, although not all, foreign businesses looking to set up in Thailand require a Thai majority shareholding. Many foreigners prefer to form a Thai majority company, to allow the company to operate a business in a category that is otherwise restricted to foreigners. The registration of a Thai majority company generally requires less registered capital and less paperwork than the registration of a foreign company. A Thai majority company can also buy land.

 

Others however prefer the simpler but highly illegal practice of nominee shareholders. A nominee shareholder is a shareholder in name only; in reality nominee shareholders lacks any real financial stake or interest in the company.  There are companies in Thailand who will offer to supply Thai nominee shareholders. This is extremely high risk as not only will you have no knowledge of who the shareholder of your company is now will they owe you any loyalty, they are likely to be professional shareholders who will probably be listed as shareholders in multiple companies which will soon wave a red flag to the authorities.

 

1). Unquestionably it is illegal to buy a house via a company.

 

 The Thailand Alien Business act is quite specific, and there is a blanket offence of circumventing land ownership laws that means anything the appears to allow foreigners to own houses is actually illegal.

 

2). Be careful here because it is illegal for a company to be formed with the sole purpose of owning a property. If the company is a trading/working entity employing Thai workers, paying taxes etc then a house can be purchased, but then again the company has to also have a majority Thai ownership and these majority Thai shareholders must be able to show how much they have invested in this company and from whence the funds came.

 

This is to prevent the “Thai nominee company” illegal workaround and nominee companies are illegal...

 

http://www.thailand-lawyer.com/land_purchase.html

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/expat-money/9413075/Expats-warned-of-illegal-home-crackdown-in-Thailand.html

 

http://www.thailandlawonline.com/66-real-estate-legal-issues/14-can-a-thai-company-be-my-nominee-for-land-acquisition

 

http://www.thailandlawonline.com/article-older-archive/foreign-business-nominee-company-shareholder

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35 minutes ago, xylophone said:

1). Unquestionably it is illegal to buy a house via a company.

So, it appears I, along with half the law offices in Thailand that service these companies and the tax authorities that collect the taxes annually are criminals! Until someone is prosecuted I'm not going to worry about it, if I had taken notice of this "law" over the past 20 years I would have paid out a fortune in rent, half the law offices in Thailand where there are expatiates rely on the income from these companies, never say never! but they will never fully enforce this"law", yes, the last time it was news was about five years ago, believe Thailand had a government then! since then they have far too much on their plates to start pissing off the international community as well.

For a "law" that so many like to quote I have yet to hear off a single conviction, should there ever be a conviction every law office in the land would be complaining to the "government" 

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Well, there have been prosecutions and a few crackdowns where I am, not only that, a friend has quite probably lost his house because it was sold out from under him by his crooked lawyer, however when he tried to fight the case in court there was a problem.........he had bought the house through the Thai nominee company route, so the judge ruled that it was an illegal purchase in the first place so he didn't have a leg to stand on.

 

Anyway it doesn't matter how much one argues on this thread or with one another, the law is the law, and if you should wish to break it, then as they say here, up to you :smile:.

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Having refurbished our 25 year old house, here are my thoughts.

 

If it's concrete base and brick/block, they over-engineer in general so that should last years.

 

Will it flood in the rainy sason ?

 

Electrics : We had unprotected cables in the roof space, rodents got in and chewed them. We did a total rewire with eathed sockets and correctly sized cables.

 

Water : Where does it come from ? Is the supply reliable ? If you are on a meter, turn off all outlets and check it stops moving, we had an underground leak which was a nightmare to isolate.

 

Waste Water : Not much to add, make sure you know what system you have.

 

Garden : Big trees are nice to look at, but not such a good idea if they are too close to the house, watch for root damage and be aware of how they could fall in a storm.

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1 hour ago, CGW said:

So, it appears I, along with half the law offices in Thailand that service these companies and the tax authorities that collect the taxes annually are criminals! Until someone is prosecuted I'm not going to worry about it, if I had taken notice of this "law" over the past 20 years I would have paid out a fortune in rent, half the law offices in Thailand where there are expatiates rely on the income from these companies, never say never! but they will never fully enforce this"law", yes, the last time it was news was about five years ago, believe Thailand had a government then! since then they have far too much on their plates to start pissing off the international community as well.

For a "law" that so many like to quote I have yet to hear off a single conviction, should there ever be a conviction every law office in the land would be complaining to the "government" 

Not wishing to totally p!ss on your parade but there's been quite a few statutes that were already on the books and casually ignored for decades that this current government has recently chosen to enforce. When the law looks defcient, they draft a more robust one, like the one mentioned earlier. It's one of the things that has endeared the junta to a certain farang demographic but in general, it has made things better for the locals and this trickles down to the huge minority of farangs who have pitched their tents here.

 

If you have been here long enough to flip properties while happily joining various lawyers in giving a stiff middle finger to the law and the revenue department, then I'm truly happy for you. Good luck and keep dodging the bullet and hope that the first single conviction isn't yours.

 

I observe that you frequently use the term "law" in place of law so I guess you already "know" all of the above.

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1 hour ago, CGW said:

So, it appears I, along with half the law offices in Thailand that service these companies and the tax authorities that collect the taxes annually are criminals! Until someone is prosecuted I'm not going to worry about it, if I had taken notice of this "law" over the past 20 years I would have paid out a fortune in rent, half the law offices in Thailand where there are expatiates rely on the income from these companies, never say never! but they will never fully enforce this"law", yes, the last time it was news was about five years ago, believe Thailand had a government then! since then they have far too much on their plates to start pissing off the international community as well.

For a "law" that so many like to quote I have yet to hear off a single conviction, should there ever be a conviction every law office in the land would be complaining to the "government" 

Not wishing to totally p!ss on your parade but there's been quite a few statutes that were already on the books and casually ignored for decades that this current government has recently chosen to enforce. When the law looks defcient, they draft a more robust one, like the one mentioned earlier. It's one of the things that has endeared the junta to a certain farang demographic but in general, it has made things better for the locals and this trickles down to the huge minority of farangs who have pitched their tents here.

 

If you have been here long enough to flip properties while happily joining various lawyers in giving a stiff middle finger to the law and the revenue department, then I'm truly happy for you. Good luck and keep dodging the bullet and hope that the first single conviction isn't yours.

 

I observe that you frequently use the term "law" in place of law so I guess you already "know" all of the above.

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Anyway, that's going off topic.

 

I think the usual points for a check list has been mentioned regarding utilities. The age of the building will give us some sort of idea of the type of electrical installation it has. That's pretty important, even having the right size meter on the power pole outside to handle any future upgrades like air conditioning.

 

Regarding water, the mains pressure and storage system has been covered but check on what the waste water handling is like. A septic tank is a must and not too difficult an add-on if required. I would go ahead and replace every piece of flexible half-inch hose and tap coupling. Install half-inch stop valves on each water outlet too so that any leaks can be isolated without running outside to turn off at the meter. Check the flushing toilets for leaks and replace as needed; the Fluidmaster brand (green and red box) is highly recommended. Chances are if there are old taps with washers, a few may be dripping so replace them as well. You may also want to invest in primary (on the inlet side) and secondary (on the pressure pump outlet side) water filters.

 

Roof insulation is a good idea if there are just ceramic tiles on a steel frame. Comes in rolls and lays on top on the inner, flat roof above the rooms. Investigate getting one of those whirling extractor gizmos that draws hot air out by natural convection but may need some venting in the eaves if not already present.

 

Guttering if it hasn't got any or inspect the existing guttering before it starts raining hard. Clean them out and run a hose up there to look for splits and leaks.

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One othet I have not seen mentioned yet..termites. I have a friend who's large entertainment area is completely buggered. So the place is unsaleable. Teak wood may be ok, but a very big trap for the unwary. You could have the entire top floor rooted.

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Ask the vendor if he will rent you the house for six months with the option to buy it at the end of the term.
Try before you buy !

Very good idea but I’d suggest a years contract first and rent received should be reduced from sale price, when the time comes.
That’s what I did.


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Every parcel of land in Thailand (not Temple, military or Government land) has an annual land tax. It is nominal, and it depends on zoning. It is a pittance to pay, and it is the right thing to do to contribute to civic projects in your location. The land owner need not be the person who pays it. They gladly accept an expat's money and issue the receipt when you pay the land tax for your spouse. 

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