Unemployed - is Thailand an option?

[murraynz]

if the property market is bouyant in the area where your house is..your best option is to sell-cash-up.

find some other way to get a 'safe' return from your net equity.

go to thailand for 6 mths to experience life there, more long term....you may get bored, knowing that you have to be careful what you spend...most areas in thailand are more expensive now.

if it was me--- i would be more 'actively' looking for work--anything must be better than nothing-surely.

then move to thailand, once you can claim a pension.

with your investment income--you could have a good life--forever==== without worrying about your money running out...

[Blue Mango]

1 hour ago, sunnyboy2018 said:

An agency will source tenants  deal with maintenance and any other problems for 12%.

Good point, but the fact is I would have zero income if I kept the house.  My mortgage payments are higher than the monthly rental I would get. 

 

Right now I'm living on the remainder of my redundancy money, and once that's gone I have some savings which could sustain me for a bit longer. Selling the house and getting the equity gives me a few more options. Hence looking at an earlier than planned move to Thailand. 

[Letseng]

18 hours ago, sunnyboy2018 said:

Rent your UK house out to generate an income.  Spain is not realistic until Brexit has been resolved nor is selling your house now a good idea. Do not burn your bridges.  Hang on to your UK property. 

Good advice. 

[murraynz]

2 hours ago, sunnyboy2018 said:

6 hours ago, onekoolguy said:

If you are a new landlord I really would not recommend this. Once you leave you are not going to want to get the phone calls and you will probably have times when you have to get on a plane and return to deal with rental matters.

Just sell it while it is in good condition and invest the money. Enjoy your early retirement!

this is more practical advise.. i doubt if those that say'rent it out'

have ever been landlords--its not much fun....somebody else said--a property manager will cost 12%.

after paying that plus other expenses, plus mortgage... i doubt if there is much profit in it....

 

[Blue Mango]

1 hour ago, murraynz said:

if the property market is bouyant in the area where your house is..your best option is to sell-cash-up.

find some other way to get a 'safe' return from your net equity.

go to thailand for 6 mths to experience life there, more long term....you may get bored, knowing that you have to be careful what you spend...most areas in thailand are more expensive now.

if it was me--- i would be more 'actively' looking for work--anything must be better than nothing-surely.

then move to thailand, once you can claim a pension.

with your investment income--you could have a good life--forever==== without worrying about your money running out...

Wise words - thanks.

I am actively looking for work, and as time moves on (and the funds dwindle away) I'm becoming less and less choosy. Anything that will pay the bills really! 

[Sheryl]

Some sound advice on thsi thread.

 

I assume you know that to get annual extension of stay for retirement you need to either:

 

- deposit 800,00 baht in the bank, has to be there 3 months in advance (2 months the first eyar) and only half of this can ever be spent with fairly complicated rules around when yo ucan do so,  so best to just park it in a fixed deposit account and leave it. You can get it back if/when oyu leave Thailand but otherwise think of it as an 800K "fee" to rtetire here, separate from your living costs.

 

OR

 

- Transfer in at least 65K baht every month fro maborad in a way that will show in your bank statement as coming from abroad (which transfers using Transferwse etc sometimes do not). Each month, without fail.

 

You should also know that it is essential to have medical insurance, you will not have access to free care here and it costs much more than most Brits seem to expect.  You could make it a travel policy initially until you are sure you will be staying, but if you do settle here get a good expat policy and sooner rather than later. If you leave it too long, you may no longer be eligible due to pre-existing conditions. And it is nto possible to wait until you need it ti take out a policy, same reason.  At age 50 a good expat policy will run you about 60,000 baht a year give or take - that is for hospitalization only, on top of that you'll have to pay out of pocket for any outpatient care, medications etc but those are usually not too expensive.

 

If you go for a travel policy take careful note of exclusions related to motorcycle accidents.

 

Everyone's life style is different and cost of living varies by location within  the country, but most people can live here comfortably, and afford health insurance premiums,  on 65-70K baht a month. More if in Bangkok and wanting to live in a nice place in the center of town.

[Handsome Gardener]

19 hours ago, sunnyboy2018 said:

Rent your UK house out to generate an income.  Spain is not realistic until Brexit has been resolved nor is selling your house now a good idea. Do not burn your bridges.  Hang on to your UK property. 

and face a huge CGT tax bill (as well as the rent getting taxed) - not the best advice

 

UK house prices are treading water at best - sell it, hand it over to a decent well researched wealth manager and collect the circa 15% returns.

 

Hanging onto a UK property if you want to live in Thailand makes zero sense.

Edited August 2, 2019 by Handsome Gardener

[GinBoy2]

1 hour ago, Handsome Gardener said:

and face a huge CGT tax bill (as well as the rent getting taxed) - not the best advice

 

UK house prices are treading water at best - sell it, hand it over to a decent well researched wealth manager and collect the circa 15% returns.

 

Hanging onto a UK property if you want to live in Thailand makes zero sense.

Well he's in a difficult position, since he still owes money on his mortgage, and as he states couldn't get enough rental income to even cover that, let alone provide income that he could use to live in Thailand.

 

Rock and a Hard Place comes to mind!

 

'If' he sells up, I'd suggest keeping the net profit in the UK, and transfer what he needs monthly, until he's sure Thailand is for him.

 

A vacation in Thailand, no matter for how many times, is a far cry from living in Thailand, so you need to make sure it's a fit, at least for now

[Nemises]

I’m in a similar situation as you. I chose to sell the house, car and everything else and move to WARM sunny Thailand living on savings until the pension kicks in. Bought a car here and travel around taking advantage of the ridiculously cheap rent, food, beer and companionships. Couldn’t be happier. Going back to the cold homeland to visit family and friends is always depressing and I can’t wait to get back to Thailand every time. 

Your lifestyle and places to live in Thailand will obviously depend on your savings until pension age. Away from the tourist hangouts less than 40,000 baht per month is doable whilst still having fun. Livin’ the dream here as a single man, renting and traveling around. You live once. 

[Dcheech]

Can you immigrate to Australia? Better job market, if more primitive living conditions IE vegemite vs Marmite.

[scubascuba3]

So unfortunate but typical what I am hearing from Brits.
Many seem to have no future and no life.
Sad indeed, hope you can turn it around.

You need to get out more, that's not what i hear from other Brits

[metisdead]

Some offensive troll posts have been removed. 

[murraynz]

11 hours ago, Blue Mango said:

Wise words - thanks.

I am actively looking for work, and as time moves on (and the funds dwindle away) I'm becoming less and less choosy. Anything that will pay the bills really! 

you have a reasonable nest egg as equity in your house--definitely dont take it to thailand.. find a good way to invest most of it in the uk...for on-going income

with a few more years of work in the uk, im sure you could afford a good life in thailand once your pension 'kicks in'.

maybe make two visits a year, staying in different areas, to see where you like, but as somebody else said--

a short holiday in thailand, is very different to actually living here...

nobody has explained what/when your pension entitlements are....

many people knock pattaya, without good reason...living at jomtien or surrounding areas is nice.. not in middle of noisy bars, crazy tourists etc..renting a condo on baht bus route, negates the need to buy a motorbike...there is lots to do in pattaya, without the need to go to sexy bars etc.

i like sexy bars, but i accept some dont like-thats fine...

pattaya is also very close to bkk or hua hin...

some expats like the quieter rural areas, thats ok, but at 50yrs old --boredom can be be bad for your mental state...

dont give up on your dreams--- i wish i had moved to live in thailand sooner than i did at 66yrs, i bought my condo 2 yrs prior to that{2-3 visits per year}--- but realisticly --i couldnt have afforded a good lifestyle here, any earlier... now--life is fantastic--its HEAVEN here.

i have substantial passive income from nz--still have family in nz--have left my tools and belongings in a container there--its pointless shipping your belongings to thailand..

for variety, every 2-3months, i do small trips to neighbouring countries..all very cheap and only 1-3hrs away.. eg. BKK-HCMC only 3,200thb return ...

once you come to thailand permanently- its best just to leave 800,000 deposited in thai bank account, to cover visa needs..leave it there--untouched...

buying a condo is ok, once you are very sure where you want to live--if its VERY long term.

but dont ever consider it to be an investment...a good area, in good building, should retain its value, though.

my next best advise--- dont get married or give huge money to thai ladies... there are far too many lovely ladies here... no need to be tied to just one and all her family problems..

[rickudon]

AS his current house has a huge mortgage, i would suggest selling it and buying something much cheaper and basic (possibly a long way from London) and then rent THAT out and invest the rest. 

 

As to pensions, I assume you have already looked at  how much your pension pot would generate if you retire at 55. Many people are way to optimistic, annuities are now pretty dreadful. My ex-wife thought that if i could retire at 58, she could too. Her private pension (separate to her work pension) which she paid into for 20 years got her just 600 GBP a year. After blowing her 2 lump sums, she was back at work nearly full time 2 years later.

 

Bearing in mind Brexit and exchange rates, you will need about 2000 GBP a month income to qualify for retirement, maybe a bit more..(index linked, preferably)... you can always go the 800,000 baht in the bank route, or use an agent, but as many have found to their cost, immigration rules can change !

 

You need a 30+ year plan, so do not rush it. And take care that some thai girl doesn't erode your savings faster than you thought, they are very good at that.....

[Jaxxper]

I think the first thing to do is complete some scenarios. ie sell/ don’t sell, estimate your outgoings in Thailand with your pensions kicking in at varying times, and of course the lifestyle you want etc etc. Probably not a single answer and you’ll probably come up with a hybrid option. Would resist selling back home until you know you like it hear.

I know guys that have a lot less than you could liquidate and they live ok. Best of luck with the plan.

[MangoPineappleBanana]

On 8/2/2019 at 12:50 PM, elgenon said:

Curious as to how you see house prices going after Brexit.

And maybe bangkok condo prices as well. Housing market doesn't look great here either if you know anything about spotting a crash.

[emptypockets]

3 hours ago, MangoPineappleBanana said:

And maybe bangkok condo prices as well. Housing market doesn't look great here either if you know anything about spotting a crash.

Please explain more to us non crash experts. Genuine question. What are the triggers you are seeing?

[MangoPineappleBanana]

Please explain more to us non crash experts. Genuine question. What are the triggers you are seeing?

Can’t speak on a kingdom I am not long familiar with the history of, but basic economics and history of other housing bubbles would agree. I’d say mainly look at trends of mortgage interest rates, the obvious rise in prices, an abundance of unfilled buildings. Large scale demographic change is interesting in bangkok as well, in late 21st it was all expats looking for single bedroom rooms and that has been the trend since, but now demographic is shifting and all these massive projects are still building pigeon holes. I’d take the advice of others in this thread - rent rent rent.

[Blue Mango]

On 8/3/2019 at 11:47 AM, rickudon said:

AS his current house has a huge mortgage, i would suggest selling it and buying something much cheaper and basic (possibly a long way from London) and then rent THAT out and invest the rest. 

 

As to pensions, I assume you have already looked at  how much your pension pot would generate if you retire at 55. Many people are way to optimistic, annuities are now pretty dreadful. My ex-wife thought that if i could retire at 58, she could too. Her private pension (separate to her work pension) which she paid into for 20 years got her just 600 GBP a year. After blowing her 2 lump sums, she was back at work nearly full time 2 years later.

 

Bearing in mind Brexit and exchange rates, you will need about 2000 GBP a month income to qualify for retirement, maybe a bit more..(index linked, preferably)... you can always go the 800,000 baht in the bank route, or use an agent, but as many have found to their cost, immigration rules can change !

 

You need a 30+ year plan, so do not rush it. And take care that some thai girl doesn't erode your savings faster than you thought, they are very good at that.....

I have a meeting tomorrow with my financial adviser. I have 4 different pension pots from companies I've worked for over the past 30 years, all varying in type and size. I gave the details to my IFA a few weeks back and he's going to map out my options and show me where I'll be at age 55 and onwards. For example, at 55 I can get X per month, or take a lump sum and get Y per month. He's also going to include the state pension, which for me kicks in at age 67. 

After the meeting tomorrow it'll hopefully be clear whether or not I'll be comfortable enough when I reach 55, and therefore whether I only have to budget for another 5 years. Of course It would be better if I find a job / business idea in the meantime anyway.  As you say I need to be looking at the next 30+ years, so the more I have the better. 

 

And re the Thai girls, I've always known where to draw the line when it comes to 'helping' them. But you're right - they're very good at eroding the savings if you're not careful! 

[Pravda]

275,000 pounds will be 275k baht in a few years. 

 

Food for thought.