I am thinking about buying a condo .      My question is   ---   can I bring money into the country   and then go start shopping for a unit I like or do I have to pick a condo and make a contract and then bring money in to the country specifically for that purchase.

6 minutes ago, sangtip2 said:

I am thinking about buying a condo .      My question is   ---   can I bring money into the country   and then go start shopping for a unit I like or do I have to pick a condo and make a contract and then bring money in to the country specifically for that purchase.

 

It doesn’t really matter, does it ?????..... 

 

It takes a couple of days to transfer money. It will take longer than that to get the contracts and final transaction in place. 

 

All you really need is sufficient funds to place a deposit down if you see somewhere you really like. 

You can bring the money in before. For Transfer reason state for Condo purchase. Then you can ask your bank for the needed documents that the money came from outside Thailand.

Check good which condo you buy. If you have the chance then try to rent it before buy. If not at least check the location in different times of the day so you know how it looks there. Especially when you not familar with the area.

If you have enough money, it´s nothing to think about. Just buy! It´s the buyers world now.

 

I am also looking to invest in a couple of flats in Pattaya and Phuket.

12 minutes ago, Dagfinnur Traustason said:

If you have enough money, it´s nothing to think about. Just buy! It´s the buyers world now.

 

I am also looking to invest in a couple of flats in Pattaya and Phuket.

If you think it's a buyers market just wait until next year.

4 minutes ago, ukrules said:

If you think it's a buyers market just wait until next year.

I know, it might be better. Almost sure, I know. Just need to have something going, to make use of the money.

4 minutes ago, Dagfinnur Traustason said:

I know, it might be better. Almost sure, I know. Just need to have something going, to make use of the money.

My BTC have gone up 337% in six months. Condos?

6 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

My BTC have gone up 337% in six months. Condos?

 

Are you going to sell those now then post on here for the next six months about your profit or will you wait for the crash and then tell everyone you could have made 337% if you had sold them at the right time ???? 

 

 

 

3 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Are you going to sell those now then post on here for the next six months about your profit or will you wait for the crash and then tell everyone you could have made 337% if you had sold them at the right time ???? 

 

 

 

Selling tomorrow.

Will you be posting about the tenants who left your condos in a sh..ty state when leaving.   LOL

39 minutes ago, HampiK said:

You can bring the money in before. For Transfer reason state for Condo purchase. Then you can ask your bank for the needed documents that the money came from outside Thailand.

Check good which condo you buy. If you have the chance then try to rent it before buy. If not at least check the location in different times of the day so you know how it looks there. Especially when you not familar with the area.

If it's anywhere near an airport think also about flight paths.  It might not be noisy now but could be in 6 months (Or 6 years depending on when we get vaccines).  When I was looking around in Chiang Mai a few months ago I saw many homes on the market just south of the airport so it looks like sellers are trying to take advantage of this opportunity.

I would shop first and when you find a unit you like, then bring the correct amount of money over... it only takes a day or two for the transfer... it will take longer than that by a lot to get the contract and everything together after agreement... good luck and hope you get a bargain... good tome to negotiate like crazy

Madness....rent.

Thailand decided I was coming too many times, then it was the TM30-nuisance and sudden fines, after years of not being required or mentioned. Finally a virus, locked out for months.   Buying a condo was a great decision for me at the time Now it is redundant insurance requirements and huge costs just to enter? Well I could sell for 2x+ what I paid but,  could I find a buyer? Might take years. 

8 minutes ago, Captain Monday said:

Thailand decided I was coming too many times, then it was the TM30-nuisance and sudden fines, after years of not being required or mentioned. Finally a virus, locked out for months.   Buying a condo was a great decision for me at the time Now it is redundant insurance requirements and huge costs just to enter? Well I could sell for 2x+ what I paid but,  could I find a buyer? Might take years. 

Could you find a buyer? Er ... isn't the OP one? Potentially.

Just now, champers said:

Could you find a buyer? Er ... isn't the OP one? Potentially.

With thousands of vacant units with a few looking? Could get lucky I think I will hold on for now. If I had more confidence in the future (here especially)  I would be the type interested in selling to upgrade to a more luxurious unit at this time 

1 hour ago, KannikaP said:

My BTC have gone up 337% in six months. Condos?

Yeah, I know. I sold at about 46k per coin. I will invest in condos now, and buy more when it falls again. We all know it´s coming one or more big dip before it reaches 100k.

 

Still have a lot of coins left, though. ????

1 hour ago, ukrules said:

If you think it's a buyers market just wait until next year.

What is coming next year? 

I know three different fellows who have condos to sell.  Not a nibble, not a chance, and they see no change for quite some time.  To a man they have all said that buying instead of renting was a big mistake.

One may want to consider that such global viral pandemics, lockdowns and hassles may just be at their start ?

5 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

What is coming next year? 

for some really strange reason, we dont have a system

ready to counter such an event, even though we know it happens,

and is going to happen again

Be sure to transfer the money into the country in foreign currency. You can't transfer it in Thai baht. It has to have a notation on the transfer specifying it is for purchase of condo and you must also state your name in this notification. Preferably you should be specifying the exact condo name and room number..

 

Having said all this consider your purchase carefully. It seems to be a strong instinct to want to buy and own something here, but the only difference between renting and buying is that you can put your own pictures on the wall without the owner complaining. If it is an expensive buy, do the sums over a 10 year span for rental cost. you may consider that it is worth splashing out every month with the rent, and keeping the rest of the money in your pocket. Buying is easy, selling is not so easy.

If you buy you have no control over your noisy neighbors. If you rent you can move!

Hello

I think reasonably priced condos sell.. We have a neighbor who has invested here in a lot of condos and sometimes put some for sale who manages to sell without having to wait for a long time

One important issue, check the condo and verify it won t be welcoming hords of chinese when they appear again around here and also prefer buying an "old" condo as it allows to see who is living in it, quality of neighbors etc..

That is what we did and are very happy not to have noise and neighbors nuisances

Have a good day

12 hours ago, observer90210 said:

One may want to consider that such global viral pandemics, lockdowns and hassles may just be at their start ?

 

Well, recent history shows they come every 5 years or so now. AIDS, SARS, MERS, Swine flu, Ebola etc. We go lucky that they were able to contain SARS and especially MERS for example with it's high mortality rate. We also seemed to have dodged a bullet that Covid-19 is not particularly deadly, only for a few. They keep saying viruses are going to get more frequent because of destruction of animal habitats and our proximity much more to certain species (e.g. bats) that carry many viruses.

 

So it's not looking too promising..... 

     Take your time.  Don't rush into anything.  Think about how you spend a typical week and your weekly activities might help you determine the area you want to be in.  Will you be relying on public transportation?  If so, factor that in.  Think about what amenities you would like the condo project to have.  Look at room arrangement, size, use of space, balcony size, views, condition of the condo, storage, and often overlooked things like how laundry is handled.  Be picky.

     Some of the very large, newer condo projects of around 1000 units were being over-run with illegal daily renters pre-covid.  At some point they will likely be back.  I would look for an older, smaller project in a good location.  These projects are less likely to have owners who have bought 10, 20, or 30 units and are operating them as illegal hotels within the condo project.  You can also see how the project is being maintained.  You can transfer your money without having a specific project or unit picked out.  Just make sure you specify on the transfer that it is for a condo purchase.  Good luck and happy hunting. 

I bought a condo in August 2020. Best financial decision I've made in Thailand. I bought the money over before buying as it was earning 0.5% in Bangkok Bank and 0.1% in a Uk account. I bought on a soi i was already renting on, so knew thw area well. I'm planning on living in Thailand long term so financialy it makes sense rather then renting, and having recently had a baby, I can pass it onto her, which I can't do when I rent somewhere.

17 hours ago, 1FinickyOne said:

I would shop first and when you find a unit you like, then bring the correct amount of money over... it only takes a day or two for the transfer... it will take longer than that by a lot to get the contract and everything together after agreement... good luck and hope you get a bargain... good tome to negotiate like crazy

Also look into your muddy crystal ball and form a view on how you think the relative foreign exchange rates may move in the likely period between now and an estimated date of the property purchase contract settlement.

Depending on your expectation of the foreign exchange rate and transaction costs as between your source of currency and the THB, you can minimise your risks by bringing in some or all of the funds into THB ahead of the time of the purchase settlement. This may be as one or several transactions.

If you are not pro-active on choosing the timings of the currency conversions, you may be stuck with a bad rate on the day because by then you must have your clear funds in THB by a fast approaching known date for settlement.

I am not one  to incur unnecessary stress in my life, especially when it is quite avoidable - up to you and enjoy the ride!.    

18 hours ago, KannikaP said:

Selling tomorrow.

Will you be posting about the tenants who left your condos in a sh..ty state when leaving.   LOL

Did you buy your BTC for someone else to use before you sell them ??? Who says a condo buyer is renting it out maybe it's just an investment or is BTC the only investment and is there nothing else ?? 

17 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

With thousands of vacant units with a few looking? Could get lucky I think I will hold on for now. If I had more confidence in the future (here especially)  I would be the type interested in selling to upgrade to a more luxurious unit at this time 

Very confusing , 1 moment you say it would take years and the other your saying you might be a seller and then buyer yourself ??????

3 hours ago, domdom said:

Hello

I think reasonably priced condos sell.. We have a neighbor who has invested here in a lot of condos and sometimes put some for sale who manages to sell without having to wait for a long time

One important issue, check the condo and verify it won t be welcoming hords of chinese when they appear again around here and also prefer buying an "old" condo as it allows to see who is living in it, quality of neighbors etc..

That is what we did and are very happy not to have noise and neighbors nuisances

Have a good day

Some might think that the hords of chinese returning will be the buyers , some buildings being newly built are already sold to chinese before even being finished . It's everybodies choice of what to invest in ofcourse . 

19 hours ago, sangtip2 said:

I am thinking about buying a condo .      My question is   ---   can I bring money into the country   and then go start shopping for a unit I like or do I have to pick a condo and make a contract and then bring money in to the country specifically for that purchase.

Unless you have PR in Thailand or are of Thai nationality, you would need to make a bank transfer, and get a form from the bank for that transfer, since land department will request it before you can do a transfer of the property. Whether you do it before or after does not really matter. My take would be later, once you know the price of the property, though while looking you'll know your budget.