Saving money for condo

[chrisatchch]

Hi there , it’s great to have this forum for Thai lovers.   I m from New Zealand, I m hoping to buy condo in Thailand,hopefully in 2 years time asi need to save up for it.  I prefer to save in Thailand bank preferably Bangkok bank, I want send money from New Zealand every month to my Thai savings bank,via Telegraph transfer method.  It’s not good for me to save up money until full amount in New Zealand because I am afraid I may spend on something else.  So by transferring money to Thai bank every month for 2 years makes multiple transfer ,possibly 20 plus , is this a problem? I m worried how can thai bank issue 20 plus EFT forms!    What are the options?  I will keep record of every telegraph transaction as a proof that money indeed come from overseas,    It’s kind of frustrating with these rules ,after money is money, these governments never make people lives easy, rather make more hard,something don’t make sense.  I highly appreciate your answers, I m new to this forum.  Thank you.

[KittenKong]

Your bank will issue one form for each transfer and the Land Office will accept them. This is not a problem.

 

If it concerns you then you could open a currency account here in which the money would not be converted to THB until a later date of your choosing. See your Thai bank for details.

[ezzra]

First you need to open a Thai bank account and while you do that consult the bank manger regarding your plans and and needs and see what they say, if not happy with the answers try another bank, sending money with the view of purchasing a condo is somewhat unusual, mostly people send the lump sum to buy the condo after the bank issue them with the TO TO 3 to certify that the funds came from overseas, in your can it might be diffident as you are tricking the funds in but there is no problems in sending in as much and as many times as you like...

[Peterw42]

Seems overly complicated and expensive to do 20+ transfers, 20+ lots of fees, 20+ exchange rate variations etc, 20+FETs. Standard swift transfer rates x 20, would be $400-500 NZ.

 

[chrisatchch]

36 minutes ago, ezzra said:

First you need to open a Thai bank account and while you do that consult the bank manger regarding your plans and and needs and see what they say, if not happy with the answers try another bank, sending money with the view of purchasing a condo is somewhat unusual, mostly people send the lump sum to buy the condo after the bank issue them with the TO TO 3 to certify that the funds came from overseas, in your can it might be diffident as you are tricking the funds in but there is no problems in sending in as much and as many times as you like...

Yes I agree with you, but unfortunately by doing only this way I would be able to save up, me being 32 years old ,not have lump sum haha ,and if I keep saving in NZ, I may spend on something else,   By sending to Thailand I get more motivated to save faster ,work harder and achieve the dream. It would be good if bank in Thailand issue a bank Certificate to confirm that funds are from overseas as they can clearly see, but I don’t have experience in this matters.  I thank you for all you guys feedback, I do value them and take into practice where necessary. 

[madmen]

How much you want to spend and what area? Better Make sure you have realistic expectations

[chrisatchch]

1 minute ago, madmen said:

How much you want to spend and what area? Better Make sure you have realistic expectations

Yes I did research on that, I just looking at 14 major currencies that Thailand allow to hold foreign currency account, NZ Dollar is amongst them, so do you guys think it’s better option in my case as     It can’t disprove that money is from overseas, 

[chrisatchch]

9 minutes ago, madmen said:

How much you want to spend and what area? Better Make sure you have realistic expectations

It will be just one bedroom,up north ,around 2 million bhat is good enough 

[madmen]

Even if you buy a low end condo in not the best area your looking at 2 million baht so around 87000 nz
About $ 3600 a month for 24 months

Now that's some serious saving

[inThailand]

Having bought condos here, my guess is doing it over 2 yrs may very well not be accepted by the Land Office. If that occurs you would have to transfer it out and then back again. An expensive exercise. Save in NZ and hopefully get a better exchange rate down the line. 

[david555]

20 minutes ago, inThailand said:

Having bought condos here, my guess is doing it over 2 yrs may very well not be accepted by the Land Office. If that occurs you would have to transfer it out and then back again. An expensive exercise. Save in NZ and hopefully get a better exchange rate down the line. 

It is the bank who deliver the needed doc F.E.T. form or tor tor sam (old name ) , no problem , only keep in mind that Example K bank keep until 7 years only record ,that is what the Foreign currency lady KK branch second floor Pattaya Klang told me as she calculated mine …, remember also that per transaction search must be paid by piece , if lump sum is 1 time pay .No problem if in many deposits ,BUT keep in mind the put the reason for transfer as "for condo buying Thailand" (example) as needed to identifies the purpose 

[murraynz]

On 12/4/2018 at 5:43 PM, chrisatchch said:

Yes I agree with you, but unfortunately by doing only this way I would be able to save up, me being 32 years old ,not have lump sum haha ,and if I keep saving in NZ, I may spend on something else,   By sending to Thailand I get more motivated to save faster ,work harder and achieve the dream. It would be good if bank in Thailand issue a bank Certificate to confirm that funds are from overseas as they can clearly see, but I don’t have experience in this matters.  I thank you for all you guys feedback, I do value them and take into practice where necessary. 

i understand your point....but your money is FAR  better in NZ  bank---double the interest rate, for a start...

just transfer larger sums to thailand, when the exchange rate is over 22thb- nz$

[coppywriter]

If you are only 32 years old, how are you expecting to stay in Thailand long term? I.E. what visa?

[murraynz]

46 minutes ago, coppywriter said:

If you are only 32 years old, how are you expecting to stay in Thailand long term? I.E. what visa?

the op has a lot more to learn about thailand, first-before thoughts about buying a condo.

any money he saves is far better in the auckland,wellington christchurch property market, than anywhere in thailand..cap gains very rare in thailand...interest rates in nz are on historcal lows..rental shortages most areas.

it will be very hard for him to earn a decent income in thailand..

best to work and invest in nz until he can afford to support a good lifestyle in thailand, without working..

if he likes thailand--just have regular holidays here-by then he will have learnt what area he likes and know something about condo buying, bank accounts, visas etc..

[madmen]

the op has a lot more to learn about thailand, first-before thoughts about buying a condo.
any money he saves is far better in the auckland,wellington christchurch property market, than anywhere in thailand..cap gains very rare in thailand...interest rates in nz are on historcal lows..rental shortages most areas.
it will be very hard for him to earn a decent income in thailand..
best to work and invest in nz until he can afford to support a good lifestyle in thailand, without working..
if he likes thailand--just have regular holidays here-by then he will have learnt what area he likes and know something about condo buying, bank accounts, visas etc..

Serious? A condo? 2 million baht buys him a new Honda sedan in NZ..

There is good money to be made buying a condo but it's all about location

I bought 13 years ago lower Sukhumvit a few hundred meters from Nana bts 74 sqm sub 5 million and currently rented on Airbnb at 45 k a month and not that long to go before it pays for itself in rent alone.

Everybody screamed don't buy. Well then those screamers got whacked by GFC and their OS houses and rentals got smashed

However having said that 2 million baht condos in rural type settings won't move much and should be looked at as a home not an investment

[SheungWan]

If the OP does not trust himself not to dip into savings, then he might save into fixed term deposits in NZ.

[chrisatchch]

22 hours ago, murraynz said:

the op has a lot more to learn about thailand, first-before thoughts about buying a condo.

any money he saves is far better in the auckland,wellington christchurch property market, than anywhere in thailand..cap gains very rare in thailand...interest rates in nz are on historcal lows..rental shortages most areas.

it will be very hard for him to earn a decent income in thailand..

best to work and invest in nz until he can afford to support a good lifestyle in thailand, without working..

if he likes thailand--just have regular holidays here-by then he will have learnt what area he likes and know something about condo buying, bank accounts, visas etc..

Hi ,thanks to you all for messages, I don’t plan to live there forever yet, I know I need to be 50 years to get retirement visa, I have been there 4 times, I like udon thani,  I think it would be nice to have my own condo instead throw money for hotels and rent,  in the worst case I could buy studio apartment. I have tendency of rotating money that’s why I wanted to save in Thailand.    Let’s say if I have to move all the money out of Thailand and move back in again ,how much would it cost? As long as it’s not thousands haha 

[mogandave]

Why not buy a 3,600 fixed account in NZ every month?

24 month, 23 month, 22 month..,

Protect against currency fluctuations and draw a little interest...

[ritchyp]

Hi Chris,

 

Last year I discovered a currency transfer company/facility called TransferWise. 

When my friend my friend told me the rate he got, I told him he must have been exaggerating. The rate was better than all the cash exchange kiosks - even the really good ones. 

I used to use Moneycorps, they are slow (Took a whole week the first time,)  the rate is poor (Better than the banks though)

 

Transferwise give you the live midmarket rate and thier admin fees are really low and of course, no commission either. 

And the Cherry on the top!! If you setup a currency transfer on your phone app or computer, it takes seconds to set it in motion and the Thai currency will be in your Thai account the next afternoon ( Unless there is a bank holiday either in the source country or here in Thailand or any other country as they support every foreign currency there is. 

The Cut off time for next day payments is 18.00 GMT. A couple of months ago, I lost track of time and set up the transfer at 01.00 here and the funds were in my Thai bank at 14.00 the same day. That's impressive!

 

Finally, if you choose to pay by Internet bank transfer or telephone banking and opt to pay later. The rate you got is guaranteed for 24 hours. 

 

It's such an awesome service, it has made my life so much simpler and I have a bit more money in my pocket every month!

 

If anybody wants to use the service and uses this invite link https://transferwise.com/

 

You get your first transfer free of any admin fees ( my next transfer is free also ????

 

If that link doesn't work due to forum rules. Just copy and paste into your browser. It will change your life ... It could save you Tens of Thousands of Baht on a large transfer, possibly six figures even.

 

Enjoy!

 

ritchy

[mogandave]

I’ve used TransferWise, and it’s okay.

Life changing? I think not..

[KittenKong]

Be aware that using services like Transferwise may not allow you to get an FET form, without which you may have trouble buying a condo in your own name (except by paying extra to legalise the funds, which would defeat the purpose of the cheap initial transfers anyway).

 

It does seem to depend a great deal on which bank you use here though. Definitely something that needs to be checked carefully in each case.

[Lacessit]

Get a mortgage in NZ, and pay it off. You will be forced to save, and the property will increase in value with inflation. You may be able to sell it off early if there is a spike in property values. Then transfer to a Thai bank as a lump sum, and there's no argument about where the money comes from.

 

[madmen]

Get a mortgage in NZ, and pay it off. You will be forced to save, and the property will increase in value with inflation. You may be able to sell it off early if there is a spike in property values. Then transfer to a Thai bank as a lump sum, and there's no argument about where the money comes from.
 

No way. Bad timing. Australia is experiencing a bubble burst as property prices tumble and buying at the top of the market is foolish.
NZ usually follows ozzie trends.
I think the OP is waaay ahead if himself. In his 30's and barley in the planning stages. Saying your gonna tuck away 1600 dollars a month and actually doing it are.. Well let's just say difficult

[mogandave]

Buy a home and sell it in two years?

How long to find it?

How long to sell it?

Pretty big crap-shoot

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, madmen said:

No way. Bad timing. Australia is experiencing a bubble burst as property prices tumble and buying at the top of the market is foolish.
NZ usually follows ozzie trends.
I think the OP is waaay ahead if himself. In his 30's and barley in the planning stages. Saying your gonna tuck away 1600 dollars a month and actually doing it are.. Well let's just say difficult
 

I beg to differ. Long term, property will always increase in value because they don't make any more of it. Sure, prices are tumbling now. But where do you think they'll be in ten year's time?

It's not timing the market, it's staying in the market over time.

[mogandave]

I beg to differ. Long term, property will always increase in value because they don't make any more of it. Sure, prices are tumbling now. But where do you think they'll be in ten year's time?
It's not timing the market, it's staying in the market over time.

Two years is long term?

[madmen]

I beg to differ. Long term, property will always increase in value because they don't make any more of it. Sure, prices are tumbling now. But where do you think they'll be in ten year's time?
It's not timing the market, it's staying in the market over time.

facts are the GFC sub crime crushed the real estate in many countries but the USA still hasn't recovered

Stock markets are also crashing lately so it's not looking good

Buy what's the point in buying real estate at the top of the market and then riding it down and waiting for years for it to pickup

Just wait for a big pullback where your loan buys you 30% bigger house

Punters are falling over themselves to sell in Oz as buyers sit on their hands

[Lacessit]

Just now, mogandave said:

 

Two years is long term?

Not really. However, here's my life experiences with property.

First house. Purchased for $14,000. Sold for $40,000.

Crap land on a Queensland island in Moreton Bay. Bought for $400. Developer offered me $2500 15 years later. Eventually sold for $4000.

Built a house on Arthur's Seat, Victoria. Land and house $54,000. Ex-wife sold it for $140,000

Holiday house at Cape Patterson, Victoria. Paid $4000. Sold it for $12,000 when the area became fashionable.

Unit in Hastings, Victoria. Working class suburb. Paid $80,000, sold for $180,000 5 years later.

Townhouse in Ferntree Gully. $160,000. 1 year later, $190,000.

House in Safety Beach, Victoria. $275,000. sold six years later for $535,000.

Was I lucky? I don't think so. I was unlucky in my choice of relationships.

 

[Lacessit]

10 minutes ago, madmen said:

facts are the GFC sub crime crushed the real estate in many countries but the USA still hasn't recovered

Stock markets are also crashing lately so it's not looking good

Buy what's the point in buying real estate at the top of the market and then riding it down and waiting for years for it to pickup

Just wait for a big pullback where your loan buys you 30% bigger house

Punters are falling over themselves to sell in Oz as buyers sit on their hands
 

Fair enough. However, refer to my post to Mogan Dave.

[mogandave]

facts are the GFC sub crime crushed the real estate in many countries but the USA still hasn't recovered

Stock markets are also crashing lately so it's not looking good

Buy what's the point in buying real estate at the top of the market and then riding it down and waiting for years for it to pickup

Just wait for a big pullback where your loan buys you 30% bigger house

Punters are falling over themselves to sell in Oz as buyers sit on their hands

The US real estate market has pretty much recovered and is up in most of the country.

The market is about even for the year, or down a couple points. Still way up from two years ago...