Thailand's condo market sinks as Chinese investment ebbs

[Mr Meeseeks]

25 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

Here we go.  One more post then that's it, as this has been done to death elsewhere.   It is not circumventing the law, it's complying with it.  The house was purchased by a company that was established by myself , my wife and my daughter.  My wife and daughter used their own money to invest in the company and proof had to be provided of this fact on its establishment. They are not nominee shareholders, which would be illegal.  Yes it trades, yes it submits accounts and pays tax each year. It has an Annual Shareholders Meeting, which is recorded.  The Company was audited in its first year by the Business Development Department and found to be fully compliant.  

Why not just have your wife own it? Do you not trust her?

[Mr Meeseeks]

32 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

Here we go.  One more post then that's it, as this has been done to death elsewhere.   It is not circumventing the law, it's complying with it.  The house was purchased by a company that was established by myself , my wife and my daughter.  My wife and daughter used their own money to invest in the company and proof had to be provided of this fact on its establishment. They are not nominee shareholders, which would be illegal.  Yes it trades, yes it submits accounts and pays tax each year. It has an Annual Shareholders Meeting, which is recorded.  The Company was audited in its first year by the Business Development Department and found to be fully compliant.  

Using a majority Thai company only to circumvent Thai law restricting foreign land ownership is illegal mate. 

 

So if it doesn't actually trade, i.e. have a turnover and pay taxes, then it is illegal as per Thai law. Filing the books and keeping a company legal in that respect is not trading. 

 

The fact that you are apparently soliciting 'advice' suggested to me that it doesn't trade at all and you are encouraging others to perform illegal acts to circumvent Thai land ownership laws. 

 

Apologies if I am wrong here.

Edited June 11, 2020 by Mr Meeseeks

[Keyser Soze666]

48 minutes ago, wordchild said:

There are different ways of calculating this, but the most straightforward  would be take the Property value (eg what could you sell it for or what did you buy it for ) then what is the rental income (minus expenses and adjusted for vacancy periods).  simply then work out the net rental income as a percentage of the property value. 

EG, condo value= 5million baht, net rent received after all expenses= 15000 per month. 15000x12=180000; so, assuming the condo is occupied for the full 12 months then your ROI would be 180000 as a percentage of 5 million , so ROI=3.6%  

 The calculation becomes more complex when you can finance purchases with bank debt, but, as far as Thailand is concerned most foreigners are unable to do this anyway.

Ok thanks, pretty obvious I suppose now you explain it lol. But as I suspected it's all a bit farcical and inconsistent. No way can you arrive at an exact %, or probably not even a close one. Something may need repairing, tenant can't make rent, condo may stay empty for a while, value of condo may go up or down..yea farcical, but I suppose it sounds good to Penelope or Cuthbert telling their chums at the gym about their ROI!

[Keyser Soze666]

11 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Why not just have your wife own it? Do you not trust her?

Exactly. Farcical way to 'own' a property.

[Kenchamp]

16 minutes ago, Keyser Soze666 said:

Exactly. Farcical way to 'own' a property.

And he's on here saying people who buy condos in Thailand need their heads examining. 

 

Hands up anyone who would feel comfortable buying his house off him the way he has it set up? 

[Pilotman]

34 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Using a majority Thai company only to circumvent Thai law restricting foreign land ownership is illegal mate. 

 

So if it doesn't actually trade, i.e. have a turnover and pay taxes, then it is illegal as per Thai law. Filing the books and keeping a company legal in that respect is not trading. 

 

The fact that you are apparently soliciting 'advice' suggested to me that it doesn't trade at all and you are encouraging others to perform illegal acts to circumvent Thai land ownership laws. 

 

Apologies if I am wrong here.

can't be bothered to answer this.  It's nonsense  and this subject has been done to death many times before.  believe what you like. 

[Pilotman]

37 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Why not just have your wife own it? Do you not trust her?

none of your business

[Kenchamp]

38 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Why not just have your wife own it? Do you not trust her?

Absolutely. I am also married with a child and if i decide to buy a house in Thailand then it would be bought in the names of my wife and child. 

[Keyser Soze666]

1 minute ago, Kenchamp said:

Absolutely. I am also married with a child and if i decide to buy a house in Thailand then it would be bought in the names of my wife and child. 

That's really who the house is for anyway isn't it.

[ThomasThBKK]

42 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Using a majority Thai company only to circumvent Thai law restricting foreign land ownership is illegal mate. 

 

So if it doesn't actually trade, i.e. have a turnover and pay taxes, then it is illegal as per Thai law. Filing the books and keeping a company legal in that respect is not trading. 

 

The fact that you are apparently soliciting 'advice' suggested to me that it doesn't trade at all and you are encouraging others to perform illegal acts to circumvent Thai land ownership laws. 

 

Apologies if I am wrong here.

 

Oh no <deleted> sherlock, not paying your taxes is breaking the law, that's why he doesn't do that. 

But no a company doesn't need to "trade", what absolute rubbish and having debt on your book isn't illegal either, no where in the world it is.

 

Fascinating what <deleted> thai expats belief...

 

[Pilotman]

48 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Using a majority Thai company only to circumvent Thai law restricting foreign land ownership is illegal mate. 

 

So if it doesn't actually trade, i.e. have a turnover and pay taxes, then it is illegal as per Thai law. Filing the books and keeping a company legal in that respect is not trading. 

 

The fact that you are apparently soliciting 'advice' suggested to me that it doesn't trade at all and you are encouraging others to perform illegal acts to circumvent Thai land ownership laws. 

 

Apologies if I am wrong here.

do you actually read posts?  The company  does trade and it submits accounts and it does pays taxes. I will put in in big type for your next time. I didn't ask anyone for advice, they asked me.

Edited June 11, 2020 by Pilotman

[utalkin2me]

Renting is the only option for me.

[whiteman]

having a house in the parners or wifes name is fine as long as you have a legal 30 year lease on the land and house I am 73 got 24year left on the lease I think I would have passed on by then.

 

 

[Peterhua]

1 hour ago, Pilotman said:

none of your business

Clearly a raw nerve hit there

[bigginhill]

16 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Would be interesting to know how many foreigners are trapped outside Thailand and can't come back to their 'great investments' due to the closed borders.

And if a renter is trapped outside Thailand? The rent has to be paid on their place anyway. 

You always have to have a roof over your head, with ownership eventually it's paid for, instead who rents will always have to pay the rent. 

Pro and cons, a renter can walk away. Or for others security is priceless.

An owner more often than not, over a period of time, can make a profit if they sell (or through increase in value or the difference in the exchange rate).

Each to their own.

I personally want to know that in my old age I have a roof over my head.

[Jim1000]

Oh dear , all sounds very complicated , I would go out and have a beer if the bars were open !

[ChipButty]

18 hours ago, Why Me said:

Even with condos I think the development has to be at least majority Thai.

49% Foriegn freehold and your good to go

[ChipButty]

Property Sales Plummet in Northern Thailand as Home Buyers Dry Up

Developers in Northern Thailand a bracing for a huge slump in the residential property market as home buyers become fewer and fewer. Furthermore banks are imposing stricter rules on home buyers and denying mortgages.


Prat Wongwan, president of the Chiang Mai Real Estate Association, said the economic slowdown and lower confidence among home buyers will lead to a continued drop in the property market.


“More than half of Chiang Mai’s GDP is from the tourism industry, which is stumbling,” Mr Prat said. “Many job seekers today are those who used to work in the hotel business.”


He said housing sales and transfers in northern Thailand slowed last year because of the US-China trade war. Many Chinese buyers were unable to get units transferred as moving funds from China to Thailand became more difficult.

https://www.chiangraitimes.com/economy-business/property-sales-plummet-in-northern-thailand-as-home-buyers-dry-up/

[Pilotman]

4 hours ago, whiteman said:

having a house in the parners or wifes name is fine as long as you have a legal 30 year lease on the land and house I am 73 got 24year left on the lease I think I would have passed on by then.

 

 

don't be so defeatist, plan to be taking out a further lease in  2044.  Good luck, I'm right behind you 

[soi3eddie]

On 6/10/2020 at 11:24 AM, Why Me said:

I've always wondered about the economics of buying a condo here. E.g., I rent my place near Victory Monument, 5 min. from the BTS, 14th fl., 60+ sqm. for 20k/mth.

 

The price in the vicinity to buy is min 150k/sqm. So, I am paying 240k/yr for a property worth at least 9mil. Which is about 2.7% annual. The US stock market returns on the average 7%/yr. inflation adjusted.

 

So unless a condo appreciates spectacularly renting seems to make more sense.

I bought my 2 bed/2 bath/80sqm condo new in Phaholyothin Soi 3 for 6mb 10 years ago. Could probably sell today for similar (and a 25% appreciation based on exchange rate repatriating funds to UK). 

I'm really glad I bought as it's a secure base here now even though I'm only here about 3 months per year. This year will be 9 months due to Covid. In the future I'm hoping for 9 months every year. 

 

Under the current situation rents and new condo prices have plummeted. I would only buy now at bargain basement price. Noble Homes were recently offering units at massive discounts of up to 50% but they seem to have stopped the adverts as I can't find them now. Question for anyone thinking of buying: How would you feel if you bought at 10 million Baht and next day same unit was on "sale" for 5 million Baht? Same as the Chevrolet car buyers but probably much worse! I'm sure there are deals to be had for cash buyers who haggle hard. Don't expect a return on investment though.