The wife is looking at buying a townhouse. The owner was asking for 2.3 million and dropped it instantly to 2.1 when my wife called. So, from your house buying experience what do you think the real selling price will be? I was thinking of offering 1.8 million.

 

Also, there are a few units available in the same street. Is buying an end unit a good or bad idea?

 

Thanks

2 minutes ago, stubuzz said:

So, from your house buying experience what do you think the real selling price will be? I was thinking of offering 1.8 million.

If the seller finds out a white foreigner is involved I'm thinking 3m and he won't budge.

4 minutes ago, stubuzz said:

Also, there are a few units available in the same street. Is buying an end unit a good or bad idea?

Call me, I know another 2000 new built never occupied shop houses for sale, some were built 5 years ago though, and that is only in a radius 25 km from where I live so there might be more elsewhere.

It depends if you are a cash buyer or not, either way based on my numerous dealings over the years, I would start at 1.5 and then negotiate up to 1.8, if you offer 1.8 straight out they will want to negotiate upwards. In my experience the negotiation part is important, one could say almost a culture in itself, they need to feel they got you to offer more than you intended if that makes sense. You may feel bad offering a price that is so much lower than the asking price, but remember they will have it priced substantially more than what they actually want.

14 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

If the seller finds out a white foreigner is involved I'm thinking 3m and he won't budge.

I am out of the country so the wife will have to negotiate.

1.  If you’re not embarrassed by your offer it’s not low enough.

 

2.  When I have been looking for condos, I will find the same unit listed by multiple (5 or more sometimes) agents.  You can see that most agents are greedy <deleted> pigs when comparing their listed prices to the lowest listed price by another agent.  Some agents price their listing at up to 25% more than the lowest listed price for the same condo.

 

3.  If dealing with the owner directly, refer back to 1.

I was looking at a few condos this week, and I was pricing at about 50-60% of asking.  I had enough information in each case to be confident that it was a reasonable risk balance for me.  Ended up not putting any offers in, but in many places you have an awful lot of bargaining power right now.

 

(You have to be willing to walk away though when you bid that low.)

Can I address your other question:

 

I live in (rent) a mid-row town house in a row of 6 modern and smart town houses, right on the edge of town. Living in a mid-row is a nightmare, we had great neighbours on both sides who purchased the properties and we had a great few years with our new friends, one side moved to work elsewhere, out and ever since has never been able to sell the property - My wife calls them second hand homes.

 

Since then, they have rented the property, we have had drug dealers, money lenders and the house is currently used as a safe house for tobacco smugglers. It seems the houses are out of the way and unoverlooked and coupled with the higher rent for the nicer house it jut attracts low life.

 

I would stick to the end of terrace and find a neighbour with a proper job and a good family. 

 

 

7 minutes ago, recom273 said:

I would stick to the end of terrace and find a neighbour with a proper job and a good family. 

Absolutely...I insisted the GF buy the end unit at the end of a cul de sac with a wall separating us from the neighboring Moobaan. There was no way I was going to help finance a middle unit...walking just up and down our Soi shows various junk collections piled up in driveways, built add ons that make a Western Style townhouse look as closely as possible to a dirt floor shack in Issan. and this is a new gated Moobaan. We got very lucky too, the one neighbor we share a wall with is an older lady and husband who never  leave the house and a daughter who is a nurse and leaves early and comes home late. Quiet as church mice...the neighbor in the back is a Chinese guy and his Thai wife who also have a condo in BKK and are splitting their time..so nice and quiet. Cost a bit more than a middle unit...and there is some garden maintenance...but well worth the extra trouble for peace of mind.

Prices will drop at least 20-30% across the board when the virus affects the whole Thai economy which it definitely will. The authorities will as usual put their spin on it but Thailands economy relies enormously on tourism which has completely collapsed!

Just now, leggo said:

Prices will drop at least 20-30% across the board when the virus affects the whole Thai economy which it definitely will. The authorities will as usual put their spin on it but Thailands economy relies enormously on tourism which has completely collapsed!

Thais want to believe in higher prices, so believe the Ridiculous asking price of neighbours is the price. They also believe prices only go up. 
it’s only when they want to sell they realise the earth shattering truth, but saving face won’t allow them to discount much. They really have little knowledge of simple economics. 
Global recession soon will flush out huge bargains. Worldwide

I'd be real careful buying anything in Thailand.  Trying to sell later on can be very difficult as there are many more units/condos/houses for sale than there are buyers.  The problem with townhouses and common walls is the possibility of having undesirable neighbors.  Personally I like a house much better.  

Partner and I just bought a house in a new development. He's handling it all since I can't deal with salespeople, but fron memory the initial asking price was about 18 or 20 million. We're getting it for about 11 million.

 

Agents are full of <deleted>. Haggle them down. As others have said, it's a buyers market right now.

2 hours ago, leggo said:

Prices will drop at least 20-30% across the board when the virus affects the whole Thai economy which it definitely will. The authorities will as usual put their spin on it but Thailands economy relies enormously on tourism which has completely collapsed!

How are things in LEGOland ?? 

On 3/11/2020 at 7:08 PM, Airalee said:

1.  If you’re not embarrassed by your offer it’s not low enough.

 

I like this, and agree.

On 3/11/2020 at 11:40 AM, Susco said:

Call me, I know another 2000 new built never occupied shop houses for sale, some were built 5 years ago though, and that is only in a radius 25 km from where I live so there might be more elsewhere.

Yeah, what is this shophouse building thing about?  There's brand new empty ones everywhere. Did they get some form of grant or other government incentive to build them?

On 3/11/2020 at 6:51 PM, stubuzz said:

I am out of the country so the wife will have to negotiate.

Bad idea unless she is used to negotiating falang style.

On 3/11/2020 at 7:36 AM, BritManToo said:

If the seller finds out a white foreigner is involved I'm thinking 3m and he won't budge.

My experience exactly. I now look at places by myself, and if I'm interested i send my wife and her brother. As soon as they see a Farang, all bargaining is off the table. 

8 hours ago, leggo said:

Prices will drop at least 20-30% across the board when the virus affects the whole Thai economy which it definitely will. The authorities will as usual put their spin on it but Thailands economy relies enormously on tourism which has completely collapsed!

Do tourists generally buy townhouses or other properties?

 

Mostly they buy tat in the markets or possibly a suit from a guy in the street

they couldn't shake off.

When buying a house, always remain aware of the THB fx with your home currency. The seller will price, in THB; however, if the rate is moving (especially, due to the coronavirus), in your favor, you will have much more flexibility, given your home currency-based budget, to negotiate a better THB price. As for local agents, if you're a seller, remember that they're not earning their commissions (most want 5-8%, yet, do nothing more than show the property rather than provide any detailed paperwork). With a soft market, make them lower their fees because they want the commission and should sacrifice a portion of their OTT commissions, along with the seller. 

This virus thing could be it. The condo market may finally come unglued when all those condos bought *for their guaranteed 8% return* are empty of long term renters and ABnB riff raff. This is coming to a head. I would wait at least a year more.