Expats have it good in Thailand.

[Sparktrader]

22 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

In average anybody living outside their home country will do better than within. Because in average all the stupid, poor, uneducated, etc. people won't go to live in another country. They stay home - they have no other choice.

So, as difficult as it is to believe this sometimes, the foreigners living here are in average above average of people in those countries... 

Have you been to Phuket, Pattaya or Udon I wouldnt call them above average.

[Fat is a type of crazy]

Delete

Edited October 12, 2022 by Fat is a type of crazy

[4MyEgo]

10 hours ago, KIngsofisaan said:

Mortgage trap?

 

 It is called appreciation.

 

I could sell our house in the US for $700,000 now. Was bought for $200,000. 2400 square feet, 4 bedroom, 3 bath, 3 car garage on 1 acre.

 

All paid for.

 

US $700,000 at 38 baht to the dollar = 26,600,000 baht

 

Now if you spent 65,000 baht a month in Thailand, that money would last you ~34 years

 

How is that for a mortgage trap?

 

At 65,000 baht a month, that mortage trap would last you 34 years living in Thailand 

 

 We could get 95,000 - 114,000 baht a month to rent it but we dont

You missed my point.

 

Real estate is a great investment vehicle and yes it appreciates, e.g. long term investment and that is where I made my money to be able to move here and live.

 

Now it all boils down to which country you live in and the taxation laws.

 

When I refer to the mortgage trap, in Sydney for example, say within a 15km radius south of Sydney you would be lucky to buy a 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house on 500 square metres of land with a 12 metre frontage for under 1.5 mil that didn't require any immediate works, although a kitchen/bathroom renovation would benefit.

 

It would take most people a whole life to pay that mortgage off, so that means work, work and more work, add to that the rising interest rates, cost of living, no wage increases for over a decade and you are in a mortgage trap, i.e. unless you wake up and look for a better quality of life.

 

If you think you can rent your house in Oz and move overseas, sure why not, ah....nah, not that easy, i.e. unless you want to pay 32c in every $ on the rent you make as tax, on top of the usual council/water rates/Insurance/agents fees/tenant insurance etc etc, and you cannot ride of any of it as expenses against the rent you made so as to get a lower your tax bill, and then the big carrot, once out of the country for 6 months your residency changes to a non resident, some will argue, not interested to debate this, that said, you will be up for capital gains tax from the day you purchased it, @ 42c in the $, W-T-F, yes, aha, and don't think you can leave it empty, because they will determine a market rent on it for you to tax on, and then apply the capital gains tax when you sell up.

 

You might say, well I won't tell them anything, well guess again, Solicitors/Conveyancers are under obligation to check if there client lives overseas, or has lived overseas and then advise the taxation department and hold certain funds from the settlement when they sell up, otherwise they could end up footing the bill.

 

I would think the USA is different with their tax laws, that said, glad to hear your property has appreciated, but if you leave it empty, that is not a good investment in my opinion.

 

Selling up was the best thing I did, and as a non resident I invest my money and earn a tax free return, i.e. I let my money from the sale of my asset work for me while I enjoy life, no mortgage trap here, no work, no stress, no rising interest rates to effect me, bigger house, bigger land, lower cost of living, big smile on my dial ????

 

Each to their own, you might say but if you had heaps of $'s wouldn't you live back in your country, sure, why not, 6 months here, 6 months there, the best of both worlds, but selling up and moving here was the best decision I ever made, that is the reality, apart from marrying my wife and having kids, you see, I have as mentioned a bigger house, bigger land and money at my disposal earning money for me, no tax to pay to anyone, as opposed to having to work to pay off a place to have a roof over my head, that is what I refer to as the mortgage trap, because once you paid it off, you die.

Edited October 12, 2022 by 4MyEgo

[BritManToo]

10 hours ago, KIngsofisaan said:

Mortgage trap?

 

 It is called appreciation.

 

I could sell our house in the US for $700,000 now. Was bought for $200,000. 2400 square feet, 4 bedroom, 3 bath, 3 car garage on 1 acre.

 

All paid for.

 

US $700,000 at 38 baht to the dollar = 26,600,000 baht

 

Now if you spent 65,000 baht a month in Thailand, that money would last you ~34 years

 

How is that for a mortgage trap?

 

At 65,000 baht a month, that mortage trap would last you 34 years living in Thailand 

 

 We could get 95,000 - 114,000 baht a month to rent it but we dont

I thought the same thing, house worth 20MBht.

Then my wife divorced me and was given the house even though I was the one that bought it.

So a great idea if you are a single guy living alone, otherwise risky as I found out.

[Billy Bloggs]

13 hours ago, KIngsofisaan said:

There are places in the US where houses have appreciated US $300,000+ in the past couple years.

 

That appreciation would pay for ~15 years in Thailand at 65,000 baht a month

 

How much has your Thai house appreciated?

 

I dont have a house here my wife does and even if went negative I couldnt give a fat rats and anyway that has nada to do with the conversation, thats why I usually dont get involved.

[KhunLA]

13 hours ago, KIngsofisaan said:

There are places in the US where houses have appreciated US $300,000+ in the past couple years.

 

That appreciation would pay for ~15 years in Thailand at 65,000 baht a month

 

How much has your Thai house appreciated?

 

Depends how much the house cost to begin with.  A $3+mill house appreciating 10% barely keeps up with inflation.  A $300k house doubling value, now 600k would be nice.  Of course finding someone to buy may be a challenge.

 

If RE savvy, can make good RE investments here.

IF MARRIED, and a risk in itself for many

1st house cost 800k, sold 1.4m baht (owned 7 yrs)

2nd house/land, 2.5m sold 5+m baht (10 yrs)

 

Present house, sits on land we bought for 76k, land now worth 250k (5 yrs).

House itself, 1.1m + 445k/solar, and I wouldn't sell for less than 3m.

1 yr old, so 50% increase, IMHO.

 

Finding someone to buy would be a challenge, as 2nd house took 3-4yrs to sell all assets, house on 2 rai, and 4 separate rai.  Most appreciation due to land price appreciations.  All our builds have been <10k m², land price separate of. 

[ivor bigun]

14 hours ago, KIngsofisaan said:

There are places in the US where houses have appreciated US $300,000+ in the past couple years.

 

That appreciation would pay for ~15 years in Thailand at 65,000 baht a month

 

How much has your Thai house appreciated?

 

not a lot ,but boy have we been happy here.

[Adumbration]

9 hours ago, KIngsofisaan said:

I bet in this economy in Thailand it hasn't gone up at all.

 

Keep dreaming.

 

Thai properties depreciate, not appreciate

 

And no Thai wants to buy a second hand house.

Oh good Lord...you thought I was serious.  Perhaps you are a robot with no programming for humor.

And the last two lines of your post are absolute piffle.

Properties in this area are going up in value quickly and every single house in this village that has ever come up for sale is now being pounced on.  

Yep...you must be a robot...or a 16 year old that has never been to Thailand and is posting from your parent's basement.  Calm down and yell up the stairs for Mum to bring you down some milk and cookies.

Edited October 13, 2022 by Adumbration

[EVENKEEL]

On 10/11/2022 at 8:30 AM, persimmon said:

Agreed - accommodation must be one of the best bargains . Thinking of a short holiday in the UK  ?- that will be £ 70 -150 per night B+B . Compare that with travelling around Thailand staying in the roadside " resorts " , 350 - 700 bt per night .

I've been in the US for past 15 days living in hotels. The cheapest one I've had is $100/nt, average is $200. - $300. nt.

[CharlieH]

Reported post removed.

[Sparktrader]

14 hours ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

 

Would you classify yourself as a Thai basher -basher -basher ?

You bash farangs

[Sparktrader]

1 hour ago, EVENKEEL said:

I've been in the US for past 15 days living in hotels. The cheapest one I've had is $100/nt, average is $200. - $300. nt.

Oz same. Thailand still has 300 baht rooms. 500 baht normally good.

[jimn]

On 10/11/2022 at 10:33 PM, swissie said:

I still own "pseudo-property" in the Thai sticks. Inspite of inflation, I could still live on 20K Bht/month. Laptop and girlfriend included. Plus an occasional big cigar. My fragile health keeps me anchored in Europe. Unfortunately.

Now I get the point of your post. A wishing I was there, longing for a past thats not possible anymore. I dont know how long since you have been here but 20k baht a month, come on now that would last a maximum of 2 weeks, many people pay that in rent.

[Mac Mickmanus]

4 minutes ago, jimn said:

Now I get the point of your post. A wishing I was there, longing for a past thats not possible anymore. I dont know how long since you have been here but 20k baht a month, come on now that would last a maximum of 2 weeks, many people pay that in rent.

You can live on 20 K a month in the village , if you get free accommodation and sex , then its just food and beer that you need to buy and 700 Baht per day can buy a lot of beer and food in villages  

[Hummin]

7 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

You can live on 20 K a month in the village , if you get free accommodation and sex , then its just food and beer that you need to buy and 700 Baht per day can buy a lot of beer and food in villages  

Just imagine if you (wife) own a small farm, do not drink, smoke or eat cheese. Live almost for free ????

[The Fugitive]

5 minutes ago, jimn said:

Now I get the point of your post. A wishing I was there, longing for a past thats not possible anymore. I dont know how long since you have been here but 20k baht a month, come on now that would last a maximum of 2 weeks, many people pay that in rent.

Returning to Thailand after spending 3 months in U.K. I got talking to a guy on the plane who had been banned for 5 years for overstay. He said he wanted nothing more in the whole World than to be back in Thailand. He mentioned he had found an apartment in Pattaya for 5,000 baht per month, same price as previously. When we got to immigration at Suvarnabhumi I let him go ahead of me. The officer stared at her screen for some time before counting on her fingers. She then called another officer who led the poor guy away. You just have to feel sorry for some people. 

[roo860]

5 minutes ago, The Fugitive said:

Returning to Thailand after spending 3 months in U.K. I got talking to a guy on the plane who had been banned for 5 years for overstay. He said he wanted nothing more in the whole World than to be back in Thailand. He mentioned he had found an apartment in Pattaya for 5,000 baht per month, same price as previously. When we got to immigration at Suvarnabhumi I let him go ahead of me. The officer stared at her screen for some time before counting on her fingers. She then called another officer who led the poor guy away. You just have to feel sorry for some people. 

So was he released or arrested?

[Mac Mickmanus]

4 minutes ago, roo860 said:

So was he released or arrested?

You will have to tune in next week to find out what happened next 

[smutcakes]

8 hours ago, Sparktrader said:

Have you been to Phuket, Pattaya or Udon I wouldnt call them above average.

Neither would I, but at least they have been successful enough to try living over here-- some dont even get that far... Not sure how far below average they would be.... any ideas?

[The Fugitive]

25 minutes ago, roo860 said:

So was he released or arrested?

We were going to share a taxi because it was 9pm and the Pattaya buses stop at 8pm. I waited outside the area where I could see him seated with several others. He saw me and waved me on. Hence I never found out if they let him in or not. Suspect he must have got his arithmetic wrong? 

[The Fugitive]

27 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

You will have to tune in next week to find out what happened next 

If he was denied entry I doubt he'd give up! 

[Mac Mickmanus]

50 minutes ago, The Fugitive said:

Returning to Thailand after spending 3 months in U.K. I got talking to a guy on the plane who had been banned for 5 years for overstay. 

Would he had been allowed in the flight if he was blacklisted in Thailand ?

   I thought that Thai immigration had measures in place to stop blacklisted people from being allowed in flights .

  Like they receive a list of all passengers before departure and all the passengers are screened for clearance ?

[The Fugitive]

6 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Would he had been allowed in the flight if he was blacklisted in Thailand ?

   I thought that Thai immigration had measures in place to stop blacklisted people from being allowed in flights .

  Like they receive a list of all passengers before departure and all the passengers are screened for clearance ?

The fact the girl was counting upon her fingers made me think that he was 'on the cusp' and his ban was due to expire in a matter of a day or two?

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, Hummin said:

Just imagine if you (wife) own a small farm, do not drink, smoke or eat cheese. Live almost for free ????

My misses had a tobacco farm and her auntie had the still for rice whiskey.

So only the cheese would have been a problem ....... I guess a buffalo or two could have provided the cheese.

 

Here's the tobacco being shredded .........

 

And Auntie's still .............

Edited October 13, 2022 by BritManToo

[jimn]

4 hours ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

You can live on 20 K a month in the village , if you get free accommodation and sex , then its just food and beer that you need to buy and 700 Baht per day can buy a lot of beer and food in villages  

No one in their right mind lives in a Thai village. I go there twice a year to visit the wifes family, I am bored still, I drive 25 k to the nearest resort for a 1 night overnight stay and come back home. No way on earth could I live there even for free sex and accomodation. 

Edited October 13, 2022 by jimn

[The Fugitive]

14 hours ago, jimn said:

No one in their right mind lives in a Thai village. I go there twice a year to visit the wifes family, I am bored still, I drive 25 k to the nearest resort for a 1 night overnight stay and come back home. No way on earth could I live there even for free sex and accomodation. 

All depends upon what you are used to and your expectations. When I was working in U.K. I went to work and worried about what I would find when I got home i.e. theft, burglaries and vandalism. I gave up my car because of the stress of finding access to my house blocked and having to seek out and argue/plead with neighbours and their visitors to please allow me to get to my house. Then there were the roaming gangs of teenagers out until the early hours plus drunks and other strange people causing trouble, looking for fights etc. Now, I can sit inside or outside without worries, nobody bothers me. True, I have had a moto stolen and things disappear occasionally from outside but I put it down to very poor people and it doesn't bother me much.     

[jimn]

33 minutes ago, The Fugitive said:

All depends upon what you are used to and your expectations. When I was working in U.K. I went to work and worried about what I would find when I got home i.e. theft, burglaries and vandalism. I gave up my car because of the stress of finding access to my house blocked and having to seek out and argue/plead with neighbours and their visitors to please allow me to get to my house. Then there were the roaming gangs of teenagers out until the early hours plus drunks and other strange people causing trouble, looking for fights etc. Now, I can sit inside or outside without worries, nobody bothers me. True, I have had a moto stolen and things disappear occasionally from outside but I put it down to very poor people and it doesn't bother me much.     

Thats awwful, you must have lived in a right gheto in the UK. I lock up my house in the UK for 7 months and leave my car in the garage. I have done this for nearly 10 years. Touch wood no problems so far.

[KhunLA]

17 hours ago, jimn said:

No one in their right mind lives in a Thai village. I go there twice a year to visit the wifes family, I am bored still, I drive 25 k to the nearest resort for a 1 night overnight stay and come back home. No way on earth could I live there even for free sex and accomodation. 

I lived in Thai villages, actually outside of them, most of my time here in Thailand.  Love the quiet solitude, fresh air, and the varied wildlife, aside from venomous snakes.

 

First couple houses, about 20ish minutes from metro.  Present house, about 5 minutes from 'town'.  Still rural and no neighbors for 100s of meter, and just the way I like it.

 

I self entertain easily.

 

I think what you're describing is visiting, living with your partners family ... no thanks.

[rickudon]

21 hours ago, jimn said:

No one in their right mind lives in a Thai village. I go there twice a year to visit the wifes family, I am bored still, I drive 25 k to the nearest resort for a 1 night overnight stay and come back home. No way on earth could I live there even for free sex and accomodation. 

Sad if you cannot appreciate the village life. Obviously way out in the bush can cause problems, but otherwise it is great. I live 5 km from a small city, so can shop there anytime, have great internet, fresh air, beautiful sunsets, land, my own fishing ponds, veg garden. 

 

Living in a city is horrible. Pollution, little or no garden, traffic. In the UK my son is looking for a new place to live in London (has been away for a year) - rents have gone through the roof, due to the return of students after Covid; he went to one viewing and was 1 of 25 viewers that day! He now thinks he will have to pay up to 1,000 GBP a month just for a room in a shared house or flat. Still will have utility bills, commuting costs and food to pay for. Buy a place? Only when he gets some inheritance money.

 

Cities only any good for the young, if you have any money left for entertainment.

[jimn]

17 hours ago, rickudon said:

Sad if you cannot appreciate the village life. Obviously way out in the bush can cause problems, but otherwise it is great. I live 5 km from a small city, so can shop there anytime, have great internet, fresh air, beautiful sunsets, land, my own fishing ponds, veg garden. 

 

Living in a city is horrible. Pollution, little or no garden, traffic. In the UK my son is looking for a new place to live in London (has been away for a year) - rents have gone through the roof, due to the return of students after Covid; he went to one viewing and was 1 of 25 viewers that day! He now thinks he will have to pay up to 1,000 GBP a month just for a room in a shared house or flat. Still will have utility bills, commuting costs and food to pay for. Buy a place? Only when he gets some inheritance money.

 

Cities only any good for the young, if you have any money left for entertainment.

You misunderstand me. I am not advocating living in a city, that too is a no no. I have a house 7 km from the town in a secure modern village complex. I am refering to a living in a Thai village in the middle of nowhere. Now thats a nightmare.