Thailand loses its cheap living reputation

[Mark1066]

4 hours ago, BritManToo said:

So it's still down to buying a Thai woman a house.

I wish someone would buy me a house?

Buying a ‘Thai woman’ a house? My wife put more money into the property than I did so no, it was nothing like that at all. I’m glad I don’t have your outlook on life - seems unnecessarily negative and more than a little sad.

[Mark1066]

4 hours ago, Lacessit said:

So, you are telling this forum you buy a property here and it will hold or increase its value? Dream on. Houses here built to Thai standards are mostly wrecks at the 15 year mark - leaking pipes, fubar electrics, rising damp. Try selling a property here for what you paid for it. Wait several years before you give up.

Renters here have  it all over landlords. We are free to move anywhere we want, whereas they have to pray they can attract another tenant to their ever-depreciating and unmarketable "asset".

 

Most of the value is in the land not the house, you do realise that don’t you (assuming it’s in a decent location)? Why on earth would I want to rent? I like the freedom to be able to do whatever I want with my property and when I improve or maintain it, I know I’m not wasting money on someone else’s property.

 

This house is about 15 years old by the way. No leaking pipes, had the whole place rewired when we bought it (because I wanted sockets with a ground) and no rising damp. I’m not sure what kind of properties you’ve been looking at but they sound quite dire.

Edited March 1, 2019 by Mark1066

[Lacessit]

9 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

I have a months water supply and a filtration system.  I have a months supply cooking gas. Chest freezer for bulk purchasing.  Part time maintenance man and gardener and maid.   If I need a light bulb changed I call someone.  Big advantage of Thailand is cheap labor.  I'm old and don't want to fall off a ladder or electrocute myself.  I like sitting in leather furniture and having a comfortable and clean bed.  Why is living in Thailand cheap?  CHEAP LABOR.  I figured prices were as cheap as they were going to get about 10 years ago so I brought over my money and locked in housing prices by finding a wife who could get a bank loan.  

I was assuming you were doing the maintenance yourself. I agree with everything you say. I rent myself because of the lack of liquidity and uncertainty surrounding property here. I started out renting a condo in CM for 10,000 baht/month plus two months' security deposit ten years ago. I now rent the same condo for 8500 baht/month with no security deposit. Oversupply in CM, simple. Stay well.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

12 hours ago, Lacessit said:

So, you are telling this forum you buy a property here and it will hold or increase its value? Dream on. Houses here built to Thai standards are mostly wrecks at the 15 year mark - leaking pipes, fubar electrics, rising damp. Try selling a property here for what you paid for it. Wait several years before you give up.

Renters here have  it all over landlords. We are free to move anywhere we want, whereas they have to pray they can attract another tenant to their ever-depreciating and unmarketable "asset".

 

Short answer: yes I think you can buy a property here and it will increase its value.  Not a Farang Mansion in the rice fields, obviously, or most condominiums. 

 

But imagine for a moment that you bought something around Nimman or the Old City a decade or so ago, and what that goes for today.

 

If you can still find and afford something in or just outside the old city then get it, no matter the condition of whatever structure is on it; you're not paying for the house; that's negligible and you'd do well to either completely demolish it or strip down to the basic structure and redo plumbing, electricity, bathrooms, etc.

[bkk6060]

11 hours ago, swissie said:

Prices have gone up like everywhere else.

The only segment of the economy where prices have gone up dramatically is the "Ladies-service-segment".
While the general price level may have increased 100% over 20 years, the "ladies-service-segment" has tripled (or quintupled in certain tourist hot spots in Pattaya). Approaching European price levels quickly.

A false statement probably have never been there.

I live in Pat's 1000b is the common rate that is about 1/5 or less then most western countries.

 

[bkk6060]

2 hours ago, Lacessit said:

I was assuming you were doing the maintenance yourself. I agree with everything you say. I rent myself because of the lack of liquidity and uncertainty surrounding property here. I started out renting a condo in CM for 10,000 baht/month plus two months' security deposit ten years ago. I now rent the same condo for 8500 baht/month with no security deposit. Oversupply in CM, simple. Stay well.

Very true.

 

Also, 10,000 to 12,000 is the going rate for a house or separate guest house within 30 minutes of the city.  A guy I know showed me his place brand new house in Mae Rim 10,000 b.

Renting is so inexpensive seems so foolish to lock up millions of b to buy some box condo.

 

[BritManToo]

17 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Also, 10,000 to 12,000 is the going rate for a house or separate guest house within 30 minutes of the city.  A guy I know showed me his place brand new house in Mae Rim 10,000 b.

Going rate is 4k-6k for a two bed house out towards Don Keow, Mae Rim.

10k-12k is special foreigner price.

Edited March 2, 2019 by BritManToo

[BigT73]

On 2/28/2019 at 8:57 PM, hyku1147 said:

In CM, I have a 40 SQM hotel room that includes good WiFi for 100 baht PM, hot water shower, free water, free cable TV, and a big TV. It costs 4000 Pm.

I have a 6000 baht per year membership at a good gym.

Boneless chicken breasts can easily found for 65 baht a kilo.

Good fruits and vegetables are cheap and abundant. [If only the same could be said for our massage girls????]

Thats very cheap!   I always wonder why thai immi want 65k income per month from retiress when everyone knows how frugal they are!  Like what would you do with the other 50k per month?

[spidermike007]

There is no doubt inflation has been rampant here the past few years. A lot is due to economical mismanagement by the hapless junta. Prices are climbing. But it is still reasonable here. It has been a long time since it was cheap here though. In comparison to the US, most everything is more reasonable, especially anything labor related. A visit from a electrician and two hours work. 600 baht. In the US? $190. A visit from a plumber and an hours work. 400 baht. In the US, $150. Reupholstering my motorbike seat here, $13. In the US, $275. A ticket to the movies here, using MGen senior discount, 90 baht, In the US, $12, Etc, etc. 

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, BigT73 said:

Thats very cheap!   I always wonder why thai immi want 65k income per month from retiress when everyone knows how frugal they are!  Like what would you do with the other 50k per month?

I guess I spend some of the surplus on beer and women, the rest I waste. If I was younger, It would all go on beer and women.

[rumak]

7 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

There is no doubt inflation has been rampant here the past few years. A lot is due to economical mismanagement by the hapless junta. Prices are climbing. But it is still reasonable here. It has been a long time since it was cheap here though. In comparison to the US, most everything is more reasonable, especially anything labor related. A visit from a electrician and two hours work. 600 baht. In the US? $190. A visit from a plumber and an hours work. 400 baht. In the US, $150. Reupholstering my motorbike seat here, $13. In the US, $275. A ticket to the movies here, using MGen senior discount, 90 baht, In the US, $12, Etc, etc. 

the examples you give I would say indicate something different than "more reasonable".  I would say "a hell of a lot cheaper !! )   If you're gonna make comments about why prices are climbing... at least get adjectives comparing prices correct .  I am sure you would expect as much from the "hapless junta" that you are blaming.

Edited March 2, 2019 by rumak

[sammieuk1]

On ‎2‎/‎27‎/‎2019 at 11:38 AM, kannot said:

depends  what your personal situation is, owning your own condo saves 15-20k  on rent  per  month for "most"  people............also buying  condos for rental 13  years ago @72  baht to the  pound  certainly  helped Mrs Kannot out

Unfortunately now Mrs Kannot do it now????

[rumak]

8 hours ago, WinnieTheKhwai said:

 

Short answer: yes I think you can buy a property here and it will increase its value.  Not a Farang Mansion in the rice fields, obviously, or most condominiums. 

 

But imagine for a moment that you bought something around Nimman or the Old City a decade or so ago, and what that goes for today.

 

If you can still find and afford something in or just outside the old city then get it, no matter the condition of whatever structure is on it; you're not paying for the house; that's negligible and you'd do well to either completely demolish it or strip down to the basic structure and redo plumbing, electricity, bathrooms, etc.

pretty hard to find something (not saying impossible) that has not gone up dramatically over ten years.

We did buy something not far from city center ten years ago and it has gone up a lot.  Actually, any land within 15 km of CM  center has gone up a lot.  Not so sure about condos ( though some may say theirs has increased in value).   I would think land has done much better .  In Thailand more than the west,most often the value is mainly in the land, not the house. 

In other parts of Thailand..... I would think it is also a case of where you bought as to whether it has increased in value or done a tumble.

[EricTh]

9 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

There is no doubt inflation has been rampant here the past few years. A lot is due to economical mismanagement by the hapless junta. Prices are climbing. But it is still reasonable here. It has been a long time since it was cheap here though. In comparison to the US, most everything is more reasonable, especially anything labor related. A visit from a electrician and two hours work. 600 baht. In the US? $190. A visit from a plumber and an hours work. 400 baht. In the US, $150. Reupholstering my motorbike seat here, $13. In the US, $275. A ticket to the movies here, using MGen senior discount, 90 baht, In the US, $12, Etc, etc. 

 

You can't compare prices here with America because you are paid American dollars there. An average salary there is 3000 USD (correct me if I am wrong)

 

Do you think an average salary of 15000 baht per person in Thailand will find 600 baht cheap?

 

[chingmai331]

If farangs could buy property here, the price of land would shoot up dramatically.  

Folks who advocate buying land, like Winnie the Kwai does, must either be Thai or have a Thai wife.

Perhaps also a bogus 'company' buys the land and farang lives on that. 

 

All the above too much nonsense for me.  I rent a place, save my cash and piece of mind.

[bkk6060]

18 minutes ago, chingmai331 said:

If farangs could buy property here, the price of land would shoot up dramatically.  

Folks who advocate buying land, like Winnie the Kwai does, must either be Thai or have a Thai wife.

Perhaps also a bogus 'company' buys the land and farang lives on that. 

 

All the above too much nonsense for me.  I rent a place, save my cash and piece of mind.

Sure, very smart to rent.

You are right if farang could buy land, a house or even leverage their investment with a loan maybe with a large down payment, property prices would take off like crazy here.  Probably double quickly.

Too bad it will never happen.

[marcusarelus]

13 hours ago, EricTh said:

 

You can't compare prices here with America because you are paid American dollars there. An average salary there is 3000 USD (correct me if I am wrong)

 

Do you think an average salary of 15000 baht per person in Thailand will find 600 baht cheap?

 

Why can't you compare prices?  I get paid in USD and change it into baht to have my work done here and to live here. 

[marcusarelus]

30 minutes ago, chingmai331 said:

If farangs could buy property here, the price of land would shoot up dramatically.  

Folks who advocate buying land, like Winnie the Kwai does, must either be Thai or have a Thai wife.

Perhaps also a bogus 'company' buys the land and farang lives on that. 

 

All the above too much nonsense for me.  I rent a place, save my cash and piece of mind.

The Chinese are buying tons of property here and so are Real Estate Trusts both must be legal as they are working quite well. 

[BritManToo]

15 hours ago, rumak said:

pretty hard to find something (not saying impossible) that has not gone up dramatically over ten years.

Sugar (22bht/kg) and petrol (26bht/ltr), cheaper than 10 years ago (baht pricing)

Room rent at Emporium Residence (Santitham rd) same price, 5k/month +utils.

[boonrawdcnx]

I've got a daughter so that doesn't really apply to me (i.e. I'd rather leave her the house than throw the money away on rent, so it makes good financial sense to me). And even if I didn't, you're assuming the house would be impossible to sell in the event we all wanted to leave in 5 years' time

 

He does not understand but wants to lecture us on financial management.

He also does very likely not understand that some of us found a reliable, honest partner here in this country with whom you can actually plan a future with.

 

After renting for several years - we bought our first house in 1999 in the suburbs of Chiang Mai and lived there rent free for 10 years.

 

Since the city of CM had moved ever closer and we like it relaxed and quite we sold - for a profit - ( meaning we had saved rent for 10 years and got our money back and a profit on top of it! )

 

Built ourselves a beautiful 600 m2 mansion in the outskirts and lived there happily for 7 years rent free - sold it at a huge profit since the house was unique and the new owners loved it so much they paid top dollar!

 

We then acquired 3 adjacent beautiful plots of land and developed it - built our new house on part of it and sold the rest at a 400 % profit.

 

So since 1999 we have not only lived rent free but have lived in places we where excited to design, plan and built - places we loved to live in - and not in a rented shoebox.

 

We now live in a brand new house again built to our design and standards - rent free - very likely till death will us part.

 

All this from the financial sound decision to buy and not rent our first house 20 years ago.

 

So much for financial management others try to lecture us on.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[BritManToo]

Just now, boonrawdcnx said:

He also does very likely not understand that some of us found a reliable, honest partner here in this country with whom you can actually plan a future with.

Delusional, unless you're partner is a guy, AWALT.

[Hank Gunn]

I didn’t know that Thailand only consisted of Bangkok and Chiang Mai?

[bojo]

Rent versus buy.... They both have pros and cons but, what tips the scales in my opinion is being able to get up and leave at anytime. You just never know when something you hadn't even considered affects you in a negative way.

[boonrawdcnx]

pretty hard to find something (not saying impossible) that has not gone up dramatically over ten years.
We did buy something not far from city center ten years ago and it has gone up a lot.  Actually, any land within 15 km of CM  center has gone up a lot.  Not so sure about condos ( though some may say theirs has increased in value).   I would think land has done much better .  In Thailand more than the west,most often the value is mainly in the land, not the house. 
In other parts of Thailand..... I would think it is also a case of where you bought as to whether it has increased in value or done a tumble.

You are right about the land - but houses can be sold profitable if they have the “wow“ factor for a potential buyer and are well maintained. Three friends in Doi Saket just sold houses for 12 and 14 and 50 million respectively two to Chinese buyers and one Farang/ Thai couple.

The north of Thailand is very unique when it comes to land values in desirable locations outside the city.
Farmers here are usually not rich neither poor because they are lucky and make a decent living from 3 rice harvests a year - as compared to only one harvest a year in the north east - and other income besides the rice.

The ones who sell land are usually the ones who give up farming because they are getting too old and very often the children have moved away.
But here it comes - they are not desperate to sell so the value of land is decided of how much the latest plot that was sold achieved.

When a friend moved first to this area in 2006 he purchased land at 350,000 a Rai - not a rice field filled in.
When we bought 3 years later we paid already 560.000 prices went up to a million quickly and then moved to 1.5 million.

Now we acquired rice field land from our farmer neighbor at 1.2 million with access and rice field land without access for 600.000 in 2016 - the same adjacent land they still own (we tried to buy another 3 Rai in 2018) - is now going for 2.5 million - more than double!

Reason being that some rich Farang purchased land at 2.7 million around the corner - and that‘s it the farmers adjust the price to roughly the last price paid - take it or leave it - they do not need to sell. They have work, a roof over their head, food to eat they don’t need to sell unless you pay what they want.

A Chinese developer has just acquired 40 Rai near the Chinese cemetery and is developing it. He now encounters problems with the villagers protesting, stopping the work because the only access to the land is a really tiny road next to a school with huge 10 wheeler trucks driving in and out since month destroying the road and posing a potential danger to the kids.

Now a clever farmer put up a sign “9 Rai for sale” Opposite the Chinese’s land which would give him access from the main road - I called the phone number - price is 5 million a Rai !

[rumak]

3 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Sugar (22bht/kg) and petrol (26bht/ltr), cheaper than 10 years ago (baht pricing)

Room rent at Emporium Residence (Santitham rd) same price, 5k/month +utils.

out of context.   i was referring to land prices around CM .   

 

I do not have a ten year graph..... but I live more cheaply and better than 10 years ago.  However, I can not buy land in or near CM for anywhere close to what it was then, as i stated.   Price of organic tomatos and lettuce...... ??

Edited March 3, 2019 by rumak

[BritManToo]

52 minutes ago, rumak said:

However, I can not buy land in or near CM for anywhere close to what it was then

As a foreigner you could never buy land in or near CM.

[bkk6060]

16 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

As a foreigner you could never buy land in or near CM.

Sure you can.

It is just in your Thai girls name, but you certainly bought it.

[rumak]

49 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

As a foreigner you could never buy land in or near CM.

from what you have told us about your life....buying land in your country didn't work out too well for you.   some foreigners have not been cheated when they put up the money for land here.  nothing is for sure in life,  but good choices and some good luck are factors in anything. I do not care to squabble with posters trying to be combative....  even though i know this forum is a haven for those who have not done so well.     

Edited March 3, 2019 by rumak

[dcnx]

On 3/1/2019 at 1:54 PM, Mavideol said:

wonder why you still here if Bali was so much  cheap

Not everyone has to pinch pennies when it comes to choosing a place to live.

 

And yes, Bali is much cheaper. I spend a few weeks there per year.

[BritManToo]

4 hours ago, rumak said:

even though i know this forum is a haven for those who have not done so well.   

Have you ever thought 'not doing so well' is the norm?