Land Price

[swanks]

Gentleman posters ( and possibly , Ladies ! )

I wonder if i might , for the first time on any forum , ask for a bit of advice ?

I have lived here for a fair few years but would welcome a bit of advice at the moment !

I have a 7 month old son here in Thailand who I adore , and an opportunity has arisen to buy some land in Nongkhai ( ChaiyaPoom ) on his behalf . I see this as something I might leave for his future .

He has Thai citizenship ( from his mother ) and has full UK citizenship from me . There is no doubt on this matter and he really can own land !

I , at the moment , have a bit of spare cash, and want to do the right thing for the future of my lad .

I wonder if any of you in that aria could give me a ball park figure , as to the price a willing buyer , on a fair day , from a willing seller , could expect to pay for land that could be used to build a house and for agriculture and farming ?

I thank you , in advance , for any advice you might give to a fellow Ex-pat .

Stu

[TerryLH]

Too many variables and not enough info for an accurate estimate.

How much land?

Where is it?

Will you need to fill to build?

Electricity and water available?

What kind of crops?

Does the seller actually have the land papers?

Is it on a road?

Is it close to a town?

etc, etc...

With a little more info I'm sure someone will be along to give you a ballpark figure.

Another thing you might want to consider is whether your intention is as an investment for your son, or do you expect to live and farm there.

Terry

[Cuban]

You might consider putting the money in a location where it can not be "got at" by people close to your son, but whom may not have his best interests at heart.

A lot can happen in the 25 (?) years before your son considers the wise benifit of having some land in his name, the temptation of a new car or fast sports bike might appear a greater when he is 18 years old.

You will not like doing so, but you should consider the situation where your son is not able to manage his assets, either a living will to cover the situation where someone has to manage his monies on his behalf, and a straight will.

It would be wise to consider investment in the stock market, probably not the SET. If you are investing for the future is there something you have in mind, maybe private education to university? Include one of two years studying overseas?

This could be funded with long term bonds or other investment products. You have the benifit of time and different markets to invest in, this is something the average Thai will not even be aware of let alone consider.

If I were in your situation with say USD20,000 to play with today, you could do worse than putting the cash in a bank earning 5%, while you consider a longer term solution, that could pay 2,800 Baht a month.

Up country: Buying land is only really wise if you are going to DO something with it, be that grow rice, rent it out for rice (etc.) or build on it. It sitting there does not do much. If you have a busy to have land over a long term consider something like a rubber plantation, over onthe Farming Board there are many posts on this subject, 20 years would allow a forest to grow.

Around Pattaya: Buying land does give a good prompt return, but you need a few million Baht per Rai for outlying areas to get a foothold. Something useful for commerical use in Jomtiem now will cost about 15 Million Baht a Rai.

Don't forget whatever you use to carry the money for 20 years will have a cost of carry, gold needs secure storage/insurance, a rubber plantation needs security & water etc, housing will have wear and tear & tenants to deal with, against those hassles 1.5% management fees on a widely spread stock portfolio seems cheap.

Also consider the benifits of simple compound interest over 20 years, time is on your side.

HTH

[swanks]

Thanks for those wise words !

I will know a bit more in a few weeks when I go up there so I will keep you posted as to developments.

Kind regards

Stu

[macb]

Gentleman posters ( and possibly , Ladies ! )

I wonder if i might , for the first time on any forum , ask for a bit of advice ?

I have lived here for a fair few years but would welcome a bit of advice at the moment !

I have a 7 month old son here in Thailand who I adore , and an opportunity has arisen to buy some land in Nongkhai ( ChaiyaPoom ) on his behalf . I see this as something I might leave for his future .

He has Thai citizenship ( from his mother ) and has full UK citizenship from me . There is no doubt on this matter and he really can own land !

I , at the moment , have a bit of spare cash, and want to do the right thing for the future of my lad .

I wonder if any of you in that aria could give me a ball park figure , as to the price a willing buyer , on a fair day , from a willing seller , could expect to pay for land that could be used to build a house and for agriculture and farming ?

I thank you , in advance , for any advice you might give to a fellow Ex-pat .

Stu

At that age I would consider setting up a fund in your childs name through a lawyer in the UK which give the offspring access to it at a responsible age not less than 21 yrs old. I to have a young daughter and at the moment this is the route I will take : If I buy land then it will be in the wifes name but will also be land for building the daughter a house in years to come, this way she gets the best of both worlds. But money needs to be secured for her so only she/he has access at a set age and no-one else

Edited April 20, 2007 by macb

[mrbojangles]

Hi Swanks,

I bought 3.5 Rai last year, just outside Chaiyaphum. It cost just under 300,000 baht.

However, mine had all the necessaties and didn't need anywork doing to it. Easy access, water, elec, lovely setting etc. etc.

Take note about the variables that TerryLH has posted. They make a huge difference in the price.

BTW, look at this thread about some of us farang with connections to Chaiyaphum http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...p;#entry1217918

[kenk3z]

Perhaps you should consider another investment - unless you are expecting your son to grow up to be a rice farmer in Thailand. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but he may have higher ambitions!

The problem with the land purchase is land management. Do you know what squatters are? They have rights in Thailand. Is there anything of value on the land, such as a house? They have thieves in Thailand.

You may find your family better off with a trust fund investment of some type - maybe in a stock index mutual fund.

Where do you expect your son to live as an adult? That has some bearing on what you would want to do too.

kenk3z