Bargain On Property

[timonase]

Hello,

i am looking into buying a house, directly from the owner. Is it common to bargain, as it seems that he doesnt want to go down at all from the list price. For your understanding it is a six townhouse complex and four of them are already sold. The owner claims that all other people ( thais) paid the same list price. Also my wife says thai people usually pay the price given. Does anyone have experience in this topic. Please advice.

best regards and thanks for the help.

timo

[chownah]

Sometimes you can bargain and sometimes you can't...it depends on...well the obvious...whether the seller has a firm price or not. I know this seems like an overly simplified answer but really this is the answer.

[timonase]

hmmmm,

well, i guess that might be the answer, any idea how to find out the market value of the property( i do know that market prices dont mean much if the seller wants more), to get an idea if a house whether a house is overpriced or not.

thanks for the answer anyways.

timo

[bangkapiboy]

You must bargain on real estate in Thailand. It is essential. Always ask for a discount. And who pays the transfer fees is always up for negotiation.

[twix38]

Don't know your situation other than the obvious.

You cannot own land or this Townhouse in your own name.

All the others are sold to Thais, but you need a discount or to be very comfortable that your spouse is with you and honest for the rest of your life as she will own this asset completely.

I only buy Condos in foreign name and the current political situation here etc is not the best time to be making big investments except if you are completely okay with writing this money off and not owning (personally or jointly) anything. Only she will own it and you are paying top dollar without any discount.

Personally I would not even return the sellers phone calls and tell my wife to tell him to go away. The property market is far from good now, so why act as if it's a sellers market. It is not, as it is most definately now a buyers market.

I don't think it's for you. The seller may come back once you say not interested. If he does not then you are even more certainly a winner.

btw, your wife may believe that thais pay the asking price, but absolutley nobody (foreign or Thai) is doing that these days.

Edited April 1, 2007 by twix38

[timonase]

Hello,

thanks for the answers. Please understand i am completely aware of the legal situation.... usufruct contract, to at least have a bit of security would be made in case of purchase. I know you dont know my situation and it is not so simple to explain. We already live in the house, we want to buy, for rent!!! It is the only house i would want to buy here in bangkok.... all these things make a discount a little harder. The owner is not calling me, i contact the owner to talk about a possible interest in buying the house.

Well, is it really a buyers market at the moment. Even on this forum everybody seems to have a different opinon on this, nevermind lawyers and agents. I believe the political situation is no different on houses as it is on condos. If the goverment one day decides they do not want foreigners anymore, they also do not want condo owners anymore.

by the way, all the fees will be covered by him, i guess thats what he thought is his discount.

thanks again for the

[Heng]

I'm on the side that it IS a buyers market and it will become even more so over the near and long term. My capital is set aside for the impending foreclosures and "hot for money" sellers over the next 1-5 years. Of course whatever the state of the economy, there are always foreclosures going on anyway... so IMO there's always something to be had if you're not into waiting.

That said, plenty of people are liquid and not hurting as well, so you might be in for a long wait if you had particular properties in mind that the owner doesn't ever intend to sell at the "market" price. I have to admit that our family has a 'not selling core properties' policy but we sometimes put up for sale notices to guage the market price for inheritance purposes.

[MiG16]

you can definitely and should bargain. on new property the discount u get will be smaller perhaps, but other costs like transfer fee etc are part of the items that u should bring to the discussion

if still in final stage of construction some may also bargain for additional items (furbishings and such) this is on the assumption that it will cost developer less to put these things in than try to get cash discount out of them..for instance to include better quality tiling in your bathroom, to include that extra whatever wherever ....

good luck

[ProThaiExpat]

As a retired real estate broker from a western country who has been through hott and cold real estate markets many times, I best advice is to ignore those who speak of residential real estate as an investment.

The family home is the ultimate in consumer gratification, offering shelter, warmth, relaxation, food, ad nauseum.

Finding a home that will make you and your loved one happy is difficult enough. To loose it because you didn't want to pay the asking price is absurd.

Yes, value can be determined by a "comparison" approach. Find as many homes that duplicate what the target property has and you will know how the price compares to what is on the market.

Location is key to value. Sq. meter cost comparison is key assuming amenities are equal.

When I first searched for housing here to buy, I came away with the impression that most properties owned by Thais are way overpriced, are rarely discounted and very poorly maintained. There is little motivation to lower the asking price since carrying costs are minimum, there are no meaningful property taxes in Thailand to spur sales. It is surprising since Thais have a bias against buying used property.

Since most very nice homes in Thailand, other than in Bkk, can be bought for 75K dollars or less, its up to you if you would feel better saving a couple of thousand dollars through negotiation. Often, sellers will give you other items of value to enhance your living experience that add value to your home and make life easier for you if they don't feel you have arm wrestled them on price.

Japan's concept of fair trade and fixed pricing does affect sales in Thailand and often "premiums" are far more understandable to Thais than "bargains". Ask for add ons, seller paid transfer fees and the like to increase value when resistance to lowering price is encountered.

I hope you find a home that meets your needs in a location that is desirable, regardless of the cost, as discounts, when amortized over many years, make little difference to your lifestyle while inconvenient layout or poor construction remains a bother as long as you are in your home.

My neighbor across the street just moved to a mansion and his house here is 102sq. meters and maxed out in quality finish and landscaping. He has repainted it to sell better, a rarity in Thailand. There are at least 10 other houses in the neighborhood, built by the same developer, all for sale and nothing has sold. They are all deteriorating on a weekly basis.

[timonase]

Hello again,

thanks for all the answers. I believe i will just go ahead with it, as i also believe that if we love the house, a couple of thousand bucks more or less shouldnt matter. I just didnt want to get ripped of! as for location. The house id relatively close to the new skytrain coming from the airport( about a mile to the future station), whenever that will be finished.

The house is not meant to be a future investment, but you know.... maybe one day it will.

regards

Timo