What's your top advice for buying a house in Thailand?

[PatOngo]

1 hour ago, Toscano said:

And that will be the last you see of it , buy house in her name and she'll kick you out .

Just for yourself you are best advised to buy a condo , that you can wholly own and sell when you want to leave . 

Married a Thai girl 30 years ago, bought 2 houses, still married and still have the houses !  

[RichardColeman]

I'd never buy a house in Thailand, purely due to my experience with Thai noisy neighbours, poisoning our cats, smoking, som tam banging at 2-3 am. 

 

Better to rent and have the ability to get out when you want. 

 

 

 

 

[Guderian]

I've owned a bungalow with a large garden in South Pattaya for a decade. My advice is to find a well-run village with an established HOA. Many villages (like many condos) fail to get a HOA (or whatever the equivalent is for a condo) off the ground and the developer remains in charge, usually doing a poor job of maintaining and managing things and all too often "borrowing" a large chunk of the maintenance fees. This is the way that you can avoid the problem of the fabled "neighbours from hell" moving in next door, it's part of the HOA's job to maintain order and stop residents from bothering other people unduly. For the kind of Thai who can afford to spend 5 to 10 million Baht on a house, having the manager or a committee member show up to discuss complaints from other residents is a big loss of face and they will do their best to avoid it. Without the HOA, you really are on your own. Finding a village like this, though, is not so easy, it's not as if they have a large sign outside advertising the fact. Best to ask residents, estate agents, local builders and others providing services what they think and for recommendations, then try and meet up with the manager or a committee member to ask them any outstanding questions and get a feel for the place.

[Mike Teavee]

7 hours ago, banglay said:

If you intend to stay long time in Thailand Buy .....I bought 12 yrs ago in a company Name ....and the house paid for itself in 10yrs (if I'd have rented a similar property )  renting long term is a waste of money .. just find the right property in the right location for you .....don't be put off by all the doom and groom renter out there ...Good luck with your intended purchase

If you bought a house for only 120 x the monthly rental then you got it at a very cheap price or the rent is too high, typically it's more like 200 - 300 x the monthly rental so would take 17-25 years to pay off. 

 

There's also the lost opportunity costs of the money used to buy the property... E.g. If you had 3Million THB invested giving a 5% return you're getting 150,000 THB pa you could probably rent a 3Million THB place for 15K pm so that's 180,000 pa, once you've added in all the other expenses of owning a property (Property Tax, Community Fees, Insurance etc...) it makes more financial sense to rent (Assuming you can get the 5% return). 

 

Having said that I'm still interested in buying a place, especially if the rumours about being able to get PR that way are true.

[4MyEgo]

17 hours ago, TPDH said:

I'm going to buy a house or a townhouse in Bangkok and would love to get some advice about pretty much anything related to that.

Only invest as much as your prepared to lose, that said, my rule is no more than 10% of your worth, and if that doesn't work for you, then rent and the reason behind my madness is because if things ever went to sh-t, you have an exit plan where the remaining 90% of your worth is outside of Thailand.

 

That pretty much covers it, sitting pretty in a big house with neighbours far away enough not to bother me with any noise issues from music or dogs.

[Destiny1990]

How about a condo in ur own name or is that to complicated?

[UTH001]

Don't! I did, regret it to the end of my days...

[Tracyb]

Consider buying new...from a reputable builder.  I bought in a development built by Land and Houses and it came with a one year guarantee on everything...and a five year guarantee on structure.  Our onsite “after sales representative” handles all the details related to mechanical and appearance issues in the house.  The builder also paid to have the entire exterior of the house repainted at the end of our first year as a normal course of events for all owners.  We’ve been in the house now for three years and everything is still going great.

[3NUMBAS]

always treat the money as gone for good as their plenty guys who left a house with his ex wife .rental is better..be prepared to walk away from any investments..

[teacherclaire]

What's your top advice for buying a house in Thailand?

 

Don't do it. 

[teacherclaire]

17 minutes ago, Tracyb said:

Consider buying new...from a reputable builder.  I bought in a development built by Land and Houses and it came with a one year guarantee on everything...and a five year guarantee on structure.  Our onsite “after sales representative” handles all the details related to mechanical and appearance issues in the house.  The builder also paid to have the entire exterior of the house repainted at the end of our first year as a normal course of events for all owners.  We’ve been in the house now for three years and everything is still going great.

All is fine for 365 days, the problems start on the 366th day. And the five year guarantee for the structure, well, I've seen them welding, I'm better quiet now. 

[rumak]

8 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Right property, right location, good construction, good neighbors. Right price.

That sounds to me like a slot machine at a casino.

 

Let us not forget... there are exceptions in most endeavors.   As an example, a very high percentage of small businesses ( in Aus,  US , etc )  fail within a few years.   Would you recommend that NOBODY attempt such an endeavor?     There are many factors involved ...... just as there are here in Thailand with buying a property.    There are many situations where falangs fail.   Then again there are many here on TV  that are quite happy with what they have done.   

Fifteen years ago i bought and developed a property in CM .  Has more than paid for itself,  and after living out in the boonies for many years I have  returned to this property and enjoy having it.

There are smart people.  There are lucky people.  And there are those where things do not work out.

Know the "rules",   think and know the possible pitfalls,  assess ones individual situation ( age, risk, etc) .............. and decide yes or no.   

[sammieuk1]

Don't pay to much is the only advice you need there are some crazy over the top asking prices right now that will never sell haggle or walk away ????

[Lacessit]

8 minutes ago, rumak said:

 

Let us not forget... there are exceptions in most endeavors.   As an example, a very high percentage of small businesses ( in Aus,  US , etc )  fail within a few years.   Would you recommend that NOBODY attempt such an endeavor?     There are many factors involved ...... just as there are here in Thailand with buying a property.    There are many situations where falangs fail.   Then again there are many here on TV  that are quite happy with what they have done.   

Fifteen years ago i bought and developed a property in CM .  Has more than paid for itself,  and after living out in the boonies for many years I have  returned to this property and enjoy having it.

There are smart people.  There are lucky people.  And there are those where things do not work out.

Know the "rules",   think and know the possible pitfalls,  assess ones individual situation ( age, risk, etc) .............. and decide yes or no.   

It would be interesting to get statistics on how many fall into each category, so intending buyers could make an informed judgment on their chances.

You bought fifteen years ago. So did my former landlord. 1 million baht per apartment, he's had them on the market now for three years at 1.6 million, no takers. No tenants in two of them for three years either.

[rumak]

Just now, Lacessit said:

It would be interesting to get statistics on how many fall into each category, so intending buyers could make an informed judgment on their chances.

You bought fifteen years ago. So did my former landlord. 1 million baht per apartment, he's had them on the market now for three years at 1.6 million, no takers. No tenants in two of them for three years either.

well, statistics is not the only way to decide things.     some people just go for it.

steve jobs,  richard branson, ben and jerry's ,  mark cuban,  ..... a few risk takers that are/were not afraid of failure.   One learns from mistakes,  from failures,  from correcting and trying again.

obviously i am a risk taker,  as i left all behind  at an early age to come live in a foreign country.

For ME,  that was the route i was determined to take.   I was not going to look at statistics that told me working for thirty years,  saving in an IRA,  getting my large pension when i was 60 or so ...was the safest and most taken road .   

In choosing my path i have experienced many many things in Thailand that serve me well.  I had experiences in my younger years that the blue pill generation come here seeking ,  you know, those "hansum men".   I learnt the language because i had no GPS,   explored places where nobody spoke english,  and lived a life around thais,  not expats.  All that was against the norm. 

I did not earn as much money as many guys here.  But boy,  i did and saw a lot that many never do.

As many have said in the past,   there is one statistic that cannot be measured  :   how much heart someone has   ????

[billd766]

5 hours ago, Toscano said:

And that will be the last you see of it , buy house in her name and she'll kick you out .

Just for yourself you are best advised to buy a condo , that you can wholly own and sell when you want to leave . 

Well my wife is pretty slow at kicking me out, as we have been married for 20 years and living in her house for the last 16 of them.

 

All of my friends are in the same position of being married and living in their wives homes.

 

Just another barstool old wives tale. I don't know anybody who has been kicked out of their marital home by their wife? Do you?

 

BTW have you tried selling a condo in the last few years for more than you paid for it?

[colinneil]

Just now, billd766 said:

 

All of my friends are in the same position of being married and living in their wives homes.

 

Just another barstool old wives tale. I don't know anybody who has been kicked out of their marital home by their wife? Do you?

 

 

Yes mate.... Me.

[billd766]

1 minute ago, colinneil said:

Yes mate.... Me.

Sorry to hear that.

 

Are you in a better position now?

[TimBKK]

2 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

There's also the lost opportunity costs of the money used to buy the property... 

A good point that is rarely mentioned by the ‘buy only’ crowd, IMO.  At the least it should play a not insignificant role on the financial side of the buy or rent decision.

[treetops]

Don't make your decision purely on financial grounds as anyone can do the arithmetic based around a few assumptions.  Instead make the decision on what you will enjoy or not enjoy in the years to come.

[The Theory]

The OP next post will be a complain regarding various problems in the neiborhood, but hey you own it !!!!! ????

[Elkski]

Besides the advice to rent not buy.   It makes really good sense to rent now.   No way are prices  going up.   It may take a few yesrs for thai people to realize the golden years are gone for good. 

[rumak]

49 minutes ago, The Theory said:

The OP next post will be a complain regarding various problems in the neiborhood, but hey you own it !!!!! ????

 

haha    yes,  one of a few pitfalls when owning .   I think a big mistake is when guys invest 10 million baht or more in house and property that they can not easily sell ,  even at a small loss.

 

it is possible to have a nice place for a lot less than that,  and easier to sell if needed.  Just like owning a Vios instead of a BMW .    

 

for many guys , especially at first, or when first married.......... renting is best.    PM me   LOL

[rickudon]

If you are single, and intend staying that way, buying has some serious issues - including what happens to the house after you die/leave. Selling when out of the country is difficult - and even if you are Thai and live here it is difficult! Next door neighbours to us built a house about 6 years ago -a massive house and not very attractive. They found the mortgage payments too demanding and tried to sell a year later - 8 million baht. After 2 years down to 5 million baht. Hasn't sold yet ........

 

If you have a Thai family to inherit it then buying a house is a tangible asset that is worth something - if not you are just buying a lease which may have little or no resale value.

 

As to what to buy - entirely depends on your needs/desires. And do not forget maintenance and running costs.

 

 

 

 

[khunPer]

23 hours ago, TPDH said:

Do you recommend buying a new house or a used house? How can you assure the quality of the house? What are some pitfalls to look out for? Do you recommend buying the house in a gated community or not? Etc.

Your first mentioning about living long term, makes sense if compared to renting a place; i.e. how many years to rent a similar place in the same area to pay for the sum to buy the property, plus interest/interest loss, plus eventually maintenance that would be on the renter's expense. Often in Thailand that would be about 15 year – plus/minus – in my own case just little over 10 years. So everything under 10 years as "long term" should be considered up against resale value, where a house/building in Thiland typically loose value by age – my banker Thai friend says that you should calculate 10 percent value reduction per year; i.e. after one year = 90 percent, after 2 years = 81 percent, after 3 year = 73 percent etc.; in real life perhaps starting value decrease after about 3 years – whilst the land under the building goes up in value, depending on market structures. If you build an expensive house on a cheap land, you for sure loose money, if not staying there "long term".

 

Do you recommend buying a new house or a used house?

Thais prefers to buy a new house, so would I – depending of previous owner – as Thais don't seem to care in same levels of maintenance as Westerners; often the Thai-way-of-thinking is to build something new instead. This is also worth to have in mind when considering the "investment" in a house; you "invest" is the land under the house, whilst the house is like an old car, however not old enough to be of vintage value.

 

How can you assure the quality of the house?

You cannot, even not in a hew house, if you have not been there during construction. preferably every day. Lots of houses are "make up"! What's interesting is what's behind the make-up, i.e. all that you cannot see, especially if you have not been the master yourself and chosen the materials, and either had a project manager, or yourself to inspect everything.

 

A few examples:

What's under the outdoor paint, i.e. quality of paint, number of paints, primer, and quality of primer painting. If not done well, the outdoor paint might last a few years, sometimes even little over one year only on weather exposed side of the house; if well done it might least 10+ years (mine has).

Water system, including sewers, and drains, and tanks; you cannot see hidden pipes' work or quality, you might end up to banging concrete up to repair it, and you might not even know where to bang.

Cracks in bearing posts and beams, which have been nicely plastered, and coated, and painted.

Foundation plates/feet under the posts, after a number of years the house might begin to cracks, or even sink.

 

What are some pitfalls to look out for?

Apart from above, the roof is an essential place to look. Do you have cheap roof plates of proper tiles? Do you have cement on the roof, i.e. tiles fixed with cement that can crack; or do you have proper self-locking tiles with double water protection? Are there heat insulation under the roof tiles? How is the ventilation on the attic?

Electric system and wiring, is it proper installed; with a proper earth; and prober security of all groups connected to water, i.e. water heaters and pumps?
Look from cracks, even tiny small ones, if it's a new-build house; cracks might say something about bearing structure.

 

Do you recommend buying the house in a gated community or not?

I would prefer a stand-alone house, but I presume it's a question personal preferences. My argument is that I'm my own master, whilst in a community I have to pay regular fees that might be beoynd my control in both size, and what I get in return from the fees.

 

Wish you good luck with your plans...????

[khunPer]

14 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Right property, right location, good construction, good neighbors. Right price.

That sounds to me like a slot machine at a casino.

I don't play in casinos, but seems like I anyway won jackpot...????????

[solafr]

hello, lucky, I am new and also interested by the same topic. Thank you for all your ideas.

[PatOngo]

14 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

My wife owns 3 lots, 8,5 / 0.5 / 1,5 rai.

2 of them with a house, other Durian farm.

Renting a house in BKK as the land is too expensive.

I was more interested in how much land YOU owned, not your wife!

[FritsSikkink]

2 hours ago, PatOngo said:

I was more interested in how much land YOU owned, not your wife!

Is the same for me, it is all for my children, I don't need it. Have more than enough to have a top life.

[MadMuhammad]

21 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Thailand now is very different from 10 years ago. Accepted wisdom from many years ago does not apply.

 

I find it hard to believe anyone would be buying during a pandemic and an immigration biased, IMO, against long stay farangs.

 

At least wait till the epidemic is over, however many years away that may be.

I bought a new home just last month. Got a great deal and I’m very happy. I have had and will continued to have zero visa issues, as will all of my close friends. Pandemic or not the world continues to turn