Buying A Condo

[eric1000]

Ok you and your gal find a nice place to live but there is the nagging doubt that she might at some time in the future get some idea to sellup and vanish while you are away.

So you place 5 million baht in a bank account in her name , but hold on to the passbook.

You tell the bank manager that no withdrawals are to made . You then arrange a mortgage in her name and the monthly payments are made from this account every month to pay the mortgage.

If you stay together then she gets the condo at some time in the future when you pass away or move on . Say you have a 10 year mortagage.

You have the condo in joint names as well.

any flaws in this scenario ?

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Eric. Why not pay cash, and have the condo in your own name ? That'd be the uncomplcated way.

[OldAsiaHand]

Quite right. Since the restrictions on foreigners owning condos are, as a practical matter, nonexistent, there's no need for the kind of elaborate structure that is sometimes used by foreigners when land ownership is involved.

[eric1000]

Quite right. Since the restrictions on foreigners owning condos are, as a practical matter, nonexistent, there's no need for the kind of elaborate structure that is sometimes used by foreigners when land ownership is involved.

well thats fine but what happens if you are sold a crock of sh1t in property terms,

despite having taken all precautions you get lumbered with a condo that has been built on land they dont own or some other nightmare scenario you can pull the plug on the mortgage payments .

Sounds like good insurance to me , once you have payed the total amount its too late .

your money is lost for good ..

any comment ?

[mbkudu]

It will be hard for you to get a mortgage in the first place. Just do it already! You've been discussing condos on this forum for longer than I can remember.Grow some chest hair, let your balls drop and put the money down.

[trajan]

I just bought a condo in my own name in a very good building in a central location (near the giant Lumpini park) and am very happy with it. All cash deals also give you much more negotiating power. I wish I would have done this 5 years ago at the bottom of the market (instead of wasting money on rent all those years!!).

Just be aware of the amount of yearly condo maintenance fees (and one time sinking fund amount) you must pay before you finalize the deal. Cheaper is not necessarily better, because the better maintained buildings are the way to go (for resale purposes). Make sure you get a parking space, access to pool, gym etc. and dont forget that you also must pay monthly electricity, water, phone and cable TV charges. You should also think about getting a housemaid on at least a part time basis.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

I just bought a condo in my own name in a very good building in a central location (near the giant Lumpini park) and am very happy with it. All cash deals also give you much more negotiating power. I wish I would have done this 5 years ago at the bottom of the market (instead of wasting money on rent all those years!!).

Just be aware of the amount of yearly condo maintenance fees (and one time sinking fund amount) you must pay before you finalize the deal. Cheaper is not necessarily better, because the better maintained buildings are the way to go (for resale purposes). Make sure you get a parking space, access to pool, gym etc. and dont forget that you also must pay monthly electricity, water, phone and cable TV charges. You should also think about getting a housemaid on at least a part time basis.

Good for you Trajan. It is working for you and I am happy that all goes well. Location is great too.

[OldAsiaHand]

well thats fine but what happens if you are sold a crock of sh1t in property terms,

despite having taken all precautions you get lumbered with a condo that has been built on land they dont own or some other nightmare scenario you can pull the plug on the mortgage payments .

Sounds like good insurance to me , once you have payed the total amount its too late .

your money is lost for good ..

any comment ?

I'm really not sure I'm following you here.

If you are able to get a mortgage loan in the first place (which, without a personal connection with a lender, is next to impossible for a foreigner in Thailand), then I guess you could ultimately walk it whether the unit is titled in your name, that of a company, or that of another individual. That is you can if you are willing to (a) put up with the consequences, or ( leave the country.

Whether the property is in your name, someone else's, or a company title surely won't matter if you do get a mortage loan. If the lender relies on you to support the mortage financially, he will quite rightly insist that you guarantee it. You're going to be on the paper here regardless, and the consequences of siffing the lender will also be yours regardless.

[mbkudu]

Eric, I'm not trying to be a dick or anything. If you have the money and the desire to buy a condo then you should do it soon. Like what was said above, it's

better to buy a well maintained condo in a central area at a higher price for better

resale value. I went for a small sq. area unit (40 sq. m) in a good location, Suk. 18. It was 1.6 million when I bought it less than a year ago. Some of you are probably saying I was ripped off. Well a same sized unit in the building just sold for 2.3

million. That's a jump in value of 700,000 Baht in less than one years time. Not too

bad I would think. I think the values will just continue to escalate. Even if naysayers claim another crash will come, real estate always rebounds later on.

[cavu]

eric1000, I actually sell condo's for a very reputable firm off of Suhkumvit. Trust me, you can buy a sound condo, structually and invest wise. as long as there are more than 40 units and its not adjacent to a public building, NO PROBLEM AT ALL.

You can even get a 40 to 50% mortgage if you have had a work permit and paid taxes in Thailand for at least a year and a half to two years (and of course have adequate income)

You can look in bangkok Post at the guy in glasses and sweater vest(jumper in UK) and call me.

Cheers

[OldAsiaHand]

On the whole, the resale market for residential real estate in Bangkok is very poorly developed. While what you say about prices may be true in the sense that developers will continue to raise prices in good economic conditions until they hit a ceiling of buyer resistance, individuals will have a very tough time getting the same result.

There is no multiple listing system such as is common in the US and the UK, and no practice of agents representing sellers, so an individual seller has a difficult time reaching a wide market if he choses to cash in. You cannot imagine the number of foreigners who leave the country and effectively abandon empty apartments after they are unable to find a buyer at any reasonable price. Look at the number of leasing ads in the Post. Many of those apartments are being offered for lease as a last resort because the owners can't find buyers.