Initial things to consider when building a house in Thailand - ideas?

[whaleboneman]

Put in an ensuite bath. You don't want to share a bath with all your new Thai friends that will be visiting.

[DJ54]

We’re in the NE near Kumphawapi out in the countryside..... 

Not many farangs that I’ve seen 3-4 in the village... 

 

Bought the land and a local contractor was suggested to us.

i know a lot of folks are going to find hard to believe house was finished a week earlier and on budget.

 

His crew stared @ 08:00 .. 1 hour lunch and finished at 17:00 

No drinking alcohol during the work day and they had beers 

before heading home. I was very impressed and they did a 

good job. 

 

Single story 2 bedroom 1 master bath and 1 bath for general use. Good size western style kitchen. He spoke a little English 

but could write and read when I had questions. We would’ve 

made 3 bedrooms easily if I knew everybody and their dog would staying here..

 

Best of luck maybe you can find local guys with good reputation in your area... 

[Mister Fixit]

8 hours ago, whaleboneman said:

Because you can make rooms any size you want.

Quite, which is why I wondered why another poster seemed to stipulate a 4 metre grid

[Mister Fixit]

7 hours ago, whaleboneman said:

Put in an ensuite bath. You don't want to share a bath with all your new Thai friends that will be visiting.

Good idea.  I love a hot, hot bath.

 

I doubt anyone else in the family would use the bath anyway, and I doubt they have ever used one in their lives either, only the wife when were on family visits back to the UK.

[Mister Fixit]

20 hours ago, 1FinickyOne said:

you can figure 10,000 per sq m. and up from there. 

 

you might also want to consider a bedroom on ground floor for yourself, at 72, knees can get shaky, if not now, in the future.. 

 

When we built in the village a long time ago, we went around w/a few different builders and looked at houses they had completed... we saw a house that we both loved and told the builder to put that house on our property.. and he did and I was 98% pleased which is pretty good. 

 

We have been together near 20 years and never had a lease/usurfruct agreement - same age range now as you.. but, since you are contributing 'rent' equivalent, not sure what you are risking. Of course as in any business deal, never put more on the table than you can afford to lose. 

 

Good luck and my best advice is to go around w/a local builder or two... if it is similar to a house they built before, they will know the price... 

 

Good post.  I think I mentioned a few posts up that the plan now was that we would have the ground floor and the daughter would have a bedroom and bathroom, plus maybe a small storeroom on the upper floor.

 

So the ground floor would be a living room, bedroom, a study/office/escape room for me, plus a bathroom and kitchen, with a covered area outside for laundry etc.  Oh, and some sort of car port for my bikes and general tat.

 

Like you, I think we've been together for 14 years and she's never pulled any stunts, been to the UK 6 times and my family all love her and her family are pretty straight.  I think it's highly unlikely that we split up at our ages, not least because if we do, she and her daughter will have to make the repayments themselves and they can't.

 

I mentioned upthread that I pay 10,000 a month rent for a nice medium sized 2 bed, 2 bath semi in a quite hi-so mooban and that's the limit of my payments, less if I can manage it because I think the daughter should make a contribution as well.  

 

My wife says they know all the local builders so having a look at what they've done can't hurt.

 

I looked at a website a few days ago which gave a range of prices per sq metre, and if we calculate on 12,000 baht per sq m and borrow about 2.5 million. we should get something quite tidy.

Edited April 25, 2021 by Mister Fixit

[Mister Fixit]

17 hours ago, kingofthemountain said:

i agree with you

 

however in the OP case it's not a problem at all

the house will be in his Thai sister in law name

 

the OP is suposed to only pay a rent to her, and she will

use this money to pay the monthly due to the bank for the loan

the OP will never be the owner of the house (He doesn't want it and

anyway he can not afford it) then he will never had to sell the house

if he decides to return to his home country.

Well, not quite correct, on a couple of counts.

 

At the moment, the sister in law owns the land, but we don't know yet if she will either 1) donate the land to my wife (who is her next older sister) and her daughter and do all the necessary legals to transfer ownership so the house would be in my wife and her daughter's names, or

2) keep the title but do some sort of document allowing my wife, me and her daughter to build a house on the land, with some sort of uninterrupted usage for our lifetimes.

 

Also, (and not criticising here) you and other posters are talking about me 'paying rent' to the sis in law.  That's not correct - as far as I can tell, the plan is for the step-daughter, who has a reasonably well paid job will apply for a loan to build the house and I will pay 10,000 a month (or less if possible) towards the repayments, being the amount I am paying in rent for my current place.  I won't pay any more than I am paying already otherwise what's the point?  I may as well stay here where I have lived for 13 years, like it a lot and it's extremely convenient.

 

As to permanently returning to the UK, that is highly unlikely unless there are mass deportations.  And as I can't ever own land in Thailand, I am well aware that it will never be mine.

[Mister Fixit]

21 hours ago, kingofthemountain said:

however iirc you explained that you were epected to do the payments on the loan

(As a monthly rent) so imo that means you are the one making this project possible

without your finance, is the sister (And his family) going to build the house?

If the answer is not, then you should be listened with your inputs and you should

make the final decision, at least for the validation of the house plan.

 

 

As I posted downthread, I am not quite sure how you have reached the conclusion that I will be paying monthly rent on this prospective house.  I pay rent currently where I live now, but when my wife first mooted this idea, she said that her daughter would apply for the loan due to her salaried job, and when we moved, could I use what I pay for rent now to pay towards the loan repayments.

 

I said that I could pay a maximum of 10,000 a month but preferably less. I suppose I would make a monthly transfer to the daughter and I imagine the bank would make monthly deductions from her balance and she'd have to make up any shortfall.

[Mister Fixit]

15 hours ago, Foghorn said:

My advice would be keep it simple and think about the possibility of adding rooms easily when the time is right , use the heat resistant blocks that are glued together because at the end of the day it doesn’t cost more but is more pleasant . Buy materials alone ,not let builder decide

Yes, good idea.  The daughter is almost 30 and unlikely to marry (she's HUGE and lazy, has had boyfriends but none special) but if she did, we may need to tack a bedroom on the side.

 

I have no idea about building materials in Thailand - do you have a link to those blocks?

[Mister Fixit]

19 hours ago, chilly07 said:

Don't. Plenty of good already built houses at low prices and you can see/survey what you are getting. You also get additional land if you don't build on a family plot plus you can get a Usufruct to protect your investment. Don't forget rent attracts land tax.

Yes, but the whole idea is to build on already owned land close to the main family home.  Thai families always like to live close together.

 

Nor would I be paying rent.  I would be indirectly paying the monthly loan repayments via the daughter's bank account.

[kingofthemountain]

2 hours ago, Mister Fixit said:

At the moment, the sister in law owns the land, but we don't know yet if she will either 1) donate the land to my wife (who is her next older sister) and her daughter and do all the necessary legals to transfer ownership so the house would be in my wife and her daughter's names....

 

Also, (and not criticising here) you and other posters are talking about me 'paying rent' to the sis in law.  That's not correct - as far as I can tell, the plan is for the step-daughter, who has a reasonably well paid job will apply for a loan to build the house and I will pay 10,000 a month (or less if possible) towards the repayments, being the amount I am paying in rent for my current place.  I won't pay any more than I am paying already otherwise what's the point?  I may as well stay here where I have lived for 13 years, like it a lot and it's extremely convenient.

For your first point why on earth the sister in law would agree to do that?

It will be very unusual in Thailand, from my experience i nerver heard of a Thai giving away for free his land, even to a family member.

(The only exception being the old people sharing their lands between the child before their death, to be sure all is done correctly)

 

As for it is a rent you will be paying or not, well if you prefer see it like a regular donation why not, but since the loan is not in your name, nor the house, and you are going to give to another person a fixed amount of money every month and in counter part be allowed

to use the house, personaly i call it a rent, even if you don't have a lease agrement.

 

You expect to pay less than 10 000, and that should be logic as you actualy live in a relatively ''hi so'' mooban in Bkk area and you are moving in a very rural area, but with Thai logic you should be prepared to pay the same amount.

 

Or maybe try to be very clear on this point with the family BEFORE to start the move it's very important for them to know how much you are ready to put in it,

Ideally put it writed on a paper in Thai and english and signed by all the parties aka you, your wife, the sister in law and the step daughter, this way everybody will be more secure

Edited April 26, 2021 by kingofthemountain

[whaleboneman]

3 hours ago, Mister Fixit said:

Quite, which is why I wondered why another poster seemed to stipulate a 4 metre grid

 

3 hours ago, Mister Fixit said:

Good idea.  I love a hot, hot bath.

 

I doubt anyone else in the family would use the bath anyway, and I doubt they have ever used one in their lives either, only the wife when were on family visits back to the UK.

Sorry, when I said bath I meant bathroom. Rarely saw bathtubs in Thailand.

[whaleboneman]

I finished off a house for the girlfriend. She already had posts and roof up. The soffiting was not vented and there was no ridge vent. We used cheapest issan bricks and when the house was finished it was extremely hot. I wish they had used soffiting with the holes all through it. The temperature in the attic space was usually 10 to 15 degrees hotter than the rooms. All I could do was add vents at the gable ends. And then I started replaceing soffit boards one by one. Dropped temperatures in attic way down but not as much as continuous roof vent would.

And then I left. haha

[Mister Fixit]

1 minute ago, kingofthemountain said:

For your first point why on earth the sister in law would agree do that?

It will be very unusual in Thailand, from my experience i nerver heard of a Thai giving away for free his land, even to a family member.

(The only exception being the old people sharing their lands between the child before their death, to be sure all is done correctly)

 

As for it is a rent you will be paying or not, well if you prefer see it like a regular donation why not, but since the loan is not in your name, nor the house, and you are going to give to another person a fixed amount of money every month and in counter part be allowed

to use the house, personaly i call it a rent, even if you don't have a lease agrement.

 

You expect to pay less than 10 000, and that should be logic as you actualy live in a relatively ''hi so'' mooban in Bkk area and you are moving in a very rural area, but with Thai logic you should be prepared to pay the same amount.

 

Or maybe try to be very clear on this point with the family BEFORE to start the move it's very important for them to know how much you are ready to put in it,

Ideally put it writed on a paper in Thai and english and signed by all the parties aka you, your wife, the sister in law and the step daughter, this way everybody will be more secure

 

Well, according to my wife, the younger sister is prepared to give her the land, and apparently the youngest sister is also making noises about the same thing.  This is a very close-knit family and the one with the land is a very strong Buddhist and has a very well paid job, and I think sees it as her family duty to help other members who are less well off.

 

But my wife's younger brother has also been buying up local land and has had it already transferred to his two older children.  I think that's not uncommon.

 

My wife says she's had a chat with the sister and thinks she won't get the full 400 sq metres, but more like 200.  That's still plenty to build a decent house and have a garden.

 

As to whether we call the monthly loan repayments rent or not, it's irrelevant really.  I see it as the method by which my wife and her daughter will be able to own property and my wife will have somewhere to live after I pop my clogs.  I'm 72 and in good health apart from my knees, so we'll live on the ground floor, but as my mother lived to 101 and I most definitely have inherited her genes, I am hoping for another 20 years - fingers crossed!  ????

 

But of course, we never know if one fine day a huge truck will come barrelling out of a side soi and smash you and your motorcy to bits ...  

[Mister Fixit]

29 minutes ago, whaleboneman said:

 

Sorry, when I said bath I meant bathroom. Rarely saw bathtubs in Thailand.

 

Ah.  But never mind, I may well think about that idea of a bathtub.  I like a good soak at times,  and the wife got to like them in the UK and other places we've travelled to.

 

Any idea of possible cost of a proper sized bath?  If my knees worsen (and they will - I should really be having an op by now), then a hot, hot bath works wonders for the joints.

 

EDIT - the wife says no bathtub.  We'll see about that ...  

 

Edited April 26, 2021 by Mister Fixit

[whaleboneman]

3 minutes ago, Mister Fixit said:

 

Ah.  But never mind, I may well think about that idea of a bathtub.  I like a good soak at times. and the wife got to like them in the UK and other places we've travelled to.

 

Any idea of possible cost of a proper sized bath?  If my knees worsen (and they will - I should really be having an op by now), then a hot, hot bath works wonders for the joints.

 

Like I said, don't remember seeing one. But if you do get one, make sure it's big enough for two.

[kingofthemountain]

8 minutes ago, whaleboneman said:

Like I said, don't remember seeing one. But if you do get one, make sure it's big enough for two.

A lot of models available in Homepro (and probably all the others big shops)

here the luxuous one 

https://www.homepro.co.th/p/1023649?lang=th&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzYuU__ya8AIVEnkqCh0jkADDEAQYByABEgKnpPD_BwE

 

The only dficulty will be for the constructor, the bathtubs are usual in a lot of condos in the touristics and urbans area, but very rare in a rural area, so it will be probably the first time for him to install this sort of thing, not a big deal imo, now with internet they know how

to find the information and how to do something.

Edited April 26, 2021 by kingofthemountain

[kingofthemountain]

9 minutes ago, whaleboneman said:

Like I said, don't remember seeing one. But if you do get one, make sure it's big enough for two.

naughty boy ahaha

[Mister Fixit]

12 hours ago, whaleboneman said:

Put in an ensuite bath. You don't want to share a bath with all your new Thai friends that will be visiting.

Now that you've cleared you meant bathROOM, I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

I'd want an ensuite downstairs and if the daughter has an upstairs bedroom, she can have a Thai style shower room next door.

[Mister Fixit]

3 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

A lot of models available in Homepro (and probably all the others big shops)

here the luxuous one 

https://www.homepro.co.th/p/1023649?lang=th&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzYuU__ya8AIVEnkqCh0jkADDEAQYByABEgKnpPD_BwE

 

The only dficulty will be for the constructor, the bathtubs are usual in a lot of condos

in the touristics and urbans area, but very rare in a rural area, so it will be probably the first

time for him to install this sort of thing, not a big deal imo, now with internet they know how

to find the information and how to do something.

 

I can install a bath easily.  

[Mister Fixit]

4 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

A lot of models available in Homepro (and probably all the others big shops)

here the luxuous one 

https://www.homepro.co.th/p/1023649?lang=th&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzYuU__ya8AIVEnkqCh0jkADDEAQYByABEgKnpPD_BwE

 

 

Wow, that's pretty upmarket at 45,000 baht!  No need for anything like that.  

 

Plenty baths here https://www.homepro.co.th/c/BAT05

 

The first one at 6,590 looks OK.  

[Mister Fixit]

I saw this plan on Pinterest earlier.  Pretty well what I'd want the ground floor to be like.  No sizes mentioned, but they can be calculated later.

 

Big kitchen inside which can be for eating too, back room for laundry, rear bedroom can be my hidey-hole, decent size bed 1 and living room.

 

No pic of the upstairs though but it's a start.

Edited April 26, 2021 by Mister Fixit

[Smithson]

No matter how tempting, don't build a western style house, take the climate into consideration. Have lots of shade, ventilation and no sun hitting walls or windows. There's so many large houses here where the families spend most of their time outside under a tree of in a sala, because it's cooler.

 

Also consider an outside kitchen, even if it's a second one. Some places have a double carport with a small bathroom and kitchen. This is very practical and can get a lot of use.

[AlfHuy]

On 4/24/2021 at 3:02 PM, kingofthemountain said:

No problem

and i apologize also to not have read with enough attention your first post indeed quite all the informations were already here.

 

imo a 120 sqm should be enough for 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms

if i was you i will go for a single storey, you are over 72, probably in good shape but if in the future having to go up and down stairs can becoming an insurmountable deal

when it comes to build a house, you need to think to your situation in the 10-20 next years

edit: i just read your post about your knees problems and the idea

of a room upstairs for the daughter, so it make sense.

 

Be sure the house is build at a level far above the level of the last flood in the area, use all the backfill necessary for it with a security margin, the climate is changing years after years and few areas which were safe since ages are now sometimes under water.

 

Don't go for a ''thai design'' for the plan, usualy from my experience the Thais have a lot of ''free space'' unused in theirs houses, they want the house the biggest possible from the outside and a station hall as a salon to receive and impress the visitors, all for the face thing

then they live in a tiny kitchen and a bedroom where you can hardly go around the bed.

 

Do yourself a plan that meets your goals, later you will have to it validated by an architect anyway.

 

Also do ont put the house directly on the ground, the advantage of the pillars (Even the short one) is less insects and others animals in the house, plus a better thermal  insulation with the air free to run under the floor and again you limit the risk of flood

 

The amount of 1M5 for a 120 sqm is imo in the high range of the prices

but you should have all included in this price (Furnitures, overcosts and bad surprises)

the ''normal'' price is around 10 000\sqm

 

Here the photo of the house i build for 800 000 bhts

6 years ago, 80 sqm,2 rooms 1 bathroom) but

it was few years ago and with a lot of bargains

Is it hanging to the right on purpose?  

[AlfHuy]

5 hours ago, Mister Fixit said:

 

Good post.  I think I mentioned a few posts up that the plan now was that we would have the ground floor and the daughter would have a bedroom and bathroom, plus maybe a small storeroom on the upper floor.

 

So the ground floor would be a living room, bedroom, a study/office/escape room for me, plus a bathroom and kitchen, with a covered area outside for laundry etc.  Oh, and some sort of car port for my bikes and general tat.

 

Like you, I think we've been together for 14 years and she's never pulled any stunts, been to the UK 6 times and my family all love her and her family are pretty straight.  I think it's highly unlikely that we split up at our ages, not least because if we do, she and her daughter will have to make the repayments themselves and they can't.

 

I mentioned upthread that I pay 10,000 a month rent for a nice medium sized 2 bed, 2 bath semi in a quite hi-so mooban and that's the limit of my payments, less if I can manage it because I think the daughter should make a contribution as well.  

 

My wife says they know all the local builders so having a look at what they've done can't hurt.

 

I looked at a website a few days ago which gave a range of prices per sq metre, and if we calculate on 12,000 baht per sq m and borrow about 2.5 million. we should get something quite tidy.

Sorry for questioning.

You want your daughter to get a mortgage for a house, where she won't live.

She can't make a repayment of 10k a month.

How would she get a mortgage? I'm sure, the banks would like to know if she can afford to repay. She most probably is paying a rent somewhere else and has other expenses. If she can't show, that a (let's say 10k) monthly repayment can be afforded, how would she get the money?

On top, what happens, if she want's her "own" house to live in but can't get a loan because she got already one.

For how long would the mortgage be? You are in your 70's and basically the guarantor.

 

Wish you all the best and that's things go the way, you and family wish.

[BritManToo]

11 minutes ago, AlfHuy said:

Sorry for questioning.

You want your daughter to get a mortgage for a house, where she won't live.

She can't make a repayment of 10k a month.

How would she get a mortgage? I'm sure, the banks would like to know if she can afford to repay. She most probably is paying a rent somewhere else and has other expenses. If she can't show, that a (let's say 10k) monthly repayment can be afforded, how would she get the money?

On top, what happens, if she want's her "own" house to live in but can't get a loan because she got already one.

For how long would the mortgage be? You are in your 70's and basically the guarantor.

 

Wish you all the best and that's things go the way, you and family wish.

Mortgage is calculated on applicants income, outgoings are not considered.

My misses got a 1.5MBht mortgage using forged 25k/month wage slips, they don't check that hard. (if you agree to buy their 20 year cash up front life insurance policy)

Edited April 26, 2021 by BritManToo

[BritManToo]

4 hours ago, Mister Fixit said:

I said that I could pay a maximum of 10,000 a month but preferably less. I suppose I would make a monthly transfer to the daughter and I imagine the bank would make monthly deductions from her balance and she'd have to make up any shortfall.

Normally banks give a repayment (credit card) and you can pay cash every month at any of their branches. They don't care who makes the payment, as long as you have the card or previous payment slip.

Edited April 26, 2021 by BritManToo

[ThaiFelix]

On 4/24/2021 at 3:00 PM, Mister Fixit said:

Who said I don't speak Thai?  I probably speak it better that at least 80% of other farangs.

 

Really, can the TV Dreary Dans and Moaning Martins do a bunk to another thread?

 

Your lack of ability does not necessarily spread to other people.  There's a bigger world out there than just you!  ????

Nobody said you dont speak Thai did they?   I said "if" ??  Try reading my post first.

 

And  "if" you dont speak Thai and have to go through your wife everytime they ignore your plans or they cut a piece out of your toilet door because they have hung it swinging the wrong way etc (yes Ive seen it) you may very well get close to divorce.  You obviously need to read more building posts.

 

And the way you have reacted to my post also suggests that indeed you wont make it through without some calming medication lol!

[ThaiFelix]

2 hours ago, whaleboneman said:

I finished off a house for the girlfriend. She already had posts and roof up. The soffiting was not vented and there was no ridge vent. We used cheapest issan bricks and when the house was finished it was extremely hot. I wish they had used soffiting with the holes all through it. The temperature in the attic space was usually 10 to 15 degrees hotter than the rooms. All I could do was add vents at the gable ends. And then I started replaceing soffit boards one by one. Dropped temperatures in attic way down but not as much as continuous roof vent would.

And then I left. haha

We have managed the heat quite well by building with Qcon, slotted soffits, and a louvred boston hip each end allowing good flow through.  The Bluescope Clean in white is also a good investment especially with the 30 year guarantee.  Then to finish it off we built a 4 meter wide verandah completely around the house creating large cool shaded areas.

[kingofthemountain]

2 hours ago, AlfHuy said:

Is it hanging to the right on purpose?  

Yes it makes it more easy for the water to go out

when it rains into the house !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

aha on a serious note no, the house is perfectly straight

for some reason it's just the photo giving this impression

my bad i have never been good with photos

Edited April 26, 2021 by kingofthemountain

[BritManToo]

55 minutes ago, ThaiFelix said:

And  "if" you dont speak Thai and have to go through your wife everytime they ignore your plans or they cut a piece out of your toilet door because they have hung it swinging the wrong way etc (yes Ive seen it) you may very well get close to divorce.  You obviously need to read more building posts.

Can't say I've had this problem with my builder.

He gave me some sketches of what he thought I wanted, and I changed them to what I wanted.

Our only differences were he wanted the concrete posts to be 10x10cm, which I thought was a bit small and changed to 20x10cm, and he wanted 180,000bht and I changed to 150,000bht. We haggled about the installments as well, but settled on 80k when he broke ground, and the final 70k when he finished.

 

No Thai language skills were required.

Although we've not settled on the tiles yet.