You sold everything!

[Tedly]

6 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Me too!

The divorce judge took care of everything I owned in the west.

Same here, was renting before I came here, so that's probably what I'd do if I had to go back. 

[1happykamper]

Very strange post. Not everyone had a house to sell. Not everyone cares about what they had at all. 

 

Obviously life can change on a dime and many reasons can force one to reconsider Thailand or wherever they may be. 

 

There is no rule that I would have to return to my birth country. Non at all. We have (lots) of choices. 

[OneMoreFarang]

21 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

thousands of cd's and dvd's

I took them with me - I left the VHS tapes at "home". And how often did I play any of the CDs? Basically never, thanks to NAPSTER etc. 

[fredwiggy]

11 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

UK law doesn't consider inheritance or time of purchase.

ALL assets are vulnerable from your birth until 19 years after divorce.

She can go back to court at any time (until the kids are 19) and ask for more.

It's actually the same as in the US. All non matrimonial property, meaning bought before marriage, belongs to the buyer. Anything after the marriage is community property, and is divided. A court might give the wife the house because they feel, wrongly, that she is the nurturer and should stay there with the kids. The man can fight this if he can prove he is a better choice to raise the kids, where he would retain the house, but it usually goes to the woman, in the US also. No one can get anything of yours if it was yours before the marriage. If your lawyer doesn't give a shiit, he will ask you to settle because he is lazy and just wants to get paid and go on with his next case. There are certain circumstances where the house might be split. One being if the wife lived there before they married, which would mean she helped with bills. Another would be if her financial needs would not be met unless you sold the house. Then it would be split equally usually. I think you got screwed or your lawyer was a dick.........................https://anshamwhite.com/family-law-solicitors/is-a-house-owned-before-marriage-classified-as-marital-property-during-a-divorce/

[Adumbration]

Another nonsense post from a fake account.  Most of the contributors to the thread are also fake accounts.

[Freddy42OZ]

8 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

Go on admit it !

Who now has  NO residence ,no house back in farangland where they came from 

 

Some of you sold up to come to Thailand, Philippines or wherever your based in Asia didn't you !

 

So whether you retired from Australia,UK ,USA or bloody Belgium you have nothing to go back to if <deleted>e hits the fan !

 

You sold it ,so if you get very sick ,if something happens like visa issues or legal matters or whatever you have nothing to go back to , your in the <deleted>e !

 

So unless your say over 75 you took a  big risk in selling your house in farangland

 

How many of you regret it ,admit it ,yes some if you wished you kept your house 

I've never owned a property.   Lived my whole life in Asia and aside from when I lived in houses my parents owned, I've always rented.  

 

[scubascuba3]

3 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

And if you don't have full Insurance in Asia wherever you are ,and the dreaded big C happens and you need to go back like most  ( one well known You Tuber left it too late to go back )

 

But if you do decide to go back don't think you can rely on others like kids or family they will get sick of you !

 

 

 

Sounds like you are just trying to justify your miserable life in Oz

[Stevemercer]

My ex-wife got the house back in Australia. When I retired I had to make the decision to start afresh in Australia or Thailand (with my new Thai wife). I had enough money to buy a house in one country or another, but not both.

 

We chose Thailand and built a house. After 10 years here I sometimes wonder what would have happened if we had bought a house in Australia. I've no doubt it would have been a great investement and probably doubled in value over that time. On the other hand, our house/land in Thailand is probably worth similar to when we purchased it 10 years ago.

 

Like most farang I did not fully appreciate why the cost of land/houses is so cheap over here. One of the reasons is that there is only a limited market for second hand properties out here in rural Thailand and it is easy to over-capitalise. Houses do not appreciate (it's like buying a new car with the value dropping off quickly) although the land will go up if the location is favourable. Similarly, Thailand is an aging country and the population has levelled off and will decline. There is no chance of massive migration to pump growth (unlike Australia which welcomes 500,000 new migrants each year).

 

I don't regret our choices because it was a life-style thing.

 

 

[fredwiggy]

11 minutes ago, Adumbration said:

Another nonsense post from a fake account.  Most of the contributors to the thread are also fake accounts.

Who is replying if the accounts are fake? Bots? If they are, they are educated bots, sarcastic bots, narcissistic bots and empath bots.

[scubascuba3]

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

What saved my butt was pensions, and the government even gave me 40% tax relief on buying them.

That's good except if it gets too big you end up paying up to 40% tax when taking income

[hotchilli]

9 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

Go on admit it !

Who now has  NO residence ,no house back in farangland where they came from

Me.

[transam]

2 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Me.

And me..................

[xylophone]

1 hour ago, giddyup said:

Sold my house and contents, also car and moved here at 68 thirteen years ago. Absolutely no regrets.

I did the same as you and moved here at the age of 58/59, and the only thing I had some difficulty selling was my wine collection, so I had to drink a couple of cases of it, not that I minded because it was very highly rated wine!

Like you, I have no regrets, as I have settled here and enjoy living alone and conversing almost daily with my Thai daughter, and have made some Thai friends here, so I'm happy to stay for the rest of my life.........however, should I want/have to move back to New Zealand, then I can, and having invested wisely, I can buy an apartment in central Auckland, which is on Maori leasehold land, for about $100,000 for a 10 year lease, and that will see me off this mortal coil, leaving me enough money to spend, a health service to take care of me, and a suitable lump sum for my daughter.

Sorted, as the saying goes.
 

[BE88]

Yes, I sold it ten years ago at a good price and now I can buy it again whenever I want without problems. But I'll wait a little longer because prices will collapse. So it was a good deal and now it will be a good deal again.

[Sigmund]

On the other hand if you owned a house back in farang-land-home-country and leave it unoccupied, it that a better alternative ?

 

Who will maintain the place ?

 

A a house (or appartement) that is not occupied sometimes requires more maintenance empty,  then when occupied.

 

Mould or plumbing issues, limescale in the hot water boiler not used or the unused pipes, and plumbing ?..

 

.And the main issue is the risk of the place being squatted, usually by gypsy gangs who break in houses, change the locks and can only be expelled only after lenghty court battles, that can more or less last depending on which european country.  But usually the lodgings are left in a war zone condition and unsanitary state.

 

Not to mention the car. A car left unattended for months developps many flaws and issues that are not only related to the battrey.

 

In conclusion, if one wants to go on long stay abroad, it's not a good idea to leave an unattended home back in the home country.

[Hummin]

8 minutes ago, Sigmund said:

On the other hand if you owned a house back in farang-land-home-country and leave it unoccupied, it that a better alternative ?

 

Who will maintain the place ?

 

A a house (or appartement) that is not occupied sometimes requires more maintenance empty,  then when occupied.

 

Mould or plumbing issues, limescale in the hot water boiler not used or the unused pipes, and plumbing ?..

 

.And the main issue is the risk of the place being squatted, usually by gypsy gangs who break in houses, change the locks and can only be expelled only after lenghty court battles, that can more or less last depending on which european country.  But usually the lodgings are left in a war zone condition and unsanitary state.

 

Not to mention the car. A car left unattended for months developps many flaws and issues that are not only related to the battrey.

 

In conclusion, if one wants to go on long stay abroad, it's not a good idea to leave an unattended home back in the home country.

If you have a house and would like to return or keep a plan b, you sell your house, and reinvest in an apartment. 

 

I haven't been back to my apartment since 2013, and basically run by itself. When I'm back in Norway, I only go for work, family and friends, the apartment I manage to solve online only. I had the same tenant now for 7 years. 

[BE88]

1 minute ago, Hummin said:

If you have a house and would like to return or keep a plan b, you sell your house, and reinvest in an apartment. 

 

I haven't been back to my apartment since 2013, and basically run by itself. When I'm back in Norway, I only go for work, family and friends, the apartment I manage to solve online only. I had the same tenant now for 7 years. 

Norway has different laws for property, I suppose the Sigmund spoke for countries like France or other southern European countries.

 

[donmuang37]

Sold my house 21 years ago and used the profit to buy a new house in northern Bangkok.  Nice gated community; nice neighbors.     No intention of moving back to USA.  Too woke, too much crime and too expensive. Now 86. Very happy with my choice.  ????????????

[newnative]

9 hours ago, save the frogs said:

you have a rental to go back to if you dont own.

 

    Yeah, what's the big deal.  Not a problem.  Yes, I sold my USA condo--too much of a hassle trying to manage it from here.  If I ever have to return to the USA, I'll buy another property, possibly renting while I look for something suitable.   

[Hummin]

4 minutes ago, BE88 said:

Norway has different laws for property, I suppose the Sigmund spoke for countries like France or other southern European countries.

 

You need to be a tax payer to have property in Norway, however you can own leisure property.

 

I'm still a taxpayer with an adress in Norway regardless how many days or years I spend abroad. 

[Hummin]

1 minute ago, newnative said:

    Yeah, what's the big deal.  Not a problem.  Yes, I sold my USA condo--too much of a hassle trying to manage it from here.  If I ever have to return to the USA, I'll buy another property, possibly renting while I look for something suitable.   

AS a plan b, I can buy an apartment in Bangkok as an safety asset, but I'm unsure how it would be to sell and bring cash out the day I might need it.

 

I do not trust Thailand, to invest to much here, and I'm unsure of my future here after 70.

[AustinRacing]

What a bitter person. 

[SingAPorn]

8 minutes ago, Hummin said:

AS a plan b, I can buy an apartment in Bangkok as an safety asset, but I'm unsure how it would be to sell and bring cash out the day I might need it.

 

I do not trust Thailand, to invest to much here, and I'm unsure of my future here after 70.

And you are doing the right thing.

 

In Thailand,  the real estate fellows will always be sugar and spice and always available and present to sell.

 

Once they have sold,got your life's savings,  it's "go to hell".

 

They will take ages to respond to any request you can have,  say in a "Snag list" after purchase of property.

 

Not to mention the many technical problems and defects in house projects (plumbing, electricity, voltage problems on power surges that plainly destroy your electronic equipment or can worse, create short circuits and fire). Very often these defective housing developpments are run by farangs, who far to often are no better then the local incompetent thai builders/electricians/plumbers. But in the end of the day why bother ?

 

There will always be naive foreigners who will buy and think their house and  developpment is different from the rest.

[wwest5829]

10 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

Go on admit it !

Who now has  NO residence ,no house back in farangland where they came from 

 

Some of you sold up to come to Thailand, Philippines or wherever your based in Asia didn't you !

 

So whether you retired from Australia,UK ,USA or bloody Belgium you have nothing to go back to if <deleted>e hits the fan !

 

You sold it ,so if you get very sick ,if something happens like visa issues or legal matters or whatever you have nothing to go back to , your in the <deleted>e !

 

So unless your say over 75 you took a  big risk in selling your house in farangland

 

How many of you regret it ,admit it ,yes some if you wished you kept your house 

Sorry to disappoint you (actually not). Yes, I studied five potential countries in which to retire. Thailand got the nod but not before my visiting and traveling during four separate monthlong stays in 2009 and 2010. Sent in the retirement paperwork to retire as of July 1, 2011 (academic year contract, aged 64 1/2 years). Sold my 18.4 acres, motorhome, 3 cars and went to cash. And the house? Took some memorabilia after allowing Sons to walk through and take what they wanted (neither had a place of their own at the time). So, left the basement shop, furniture but arranged four crates to be shipped to Chiang Mai (two crates were books ... one I kept, one was 298 books in English of American History I donated to the CMU Library. So, I have no real property in USA. My residence has been Chiang Mai, Thailand. But, but ... what happens if all goes belly up? As they say, I will cross that bridge when I come to it ... stress over potential disasters is a killer. After all, as you point out, I can move anywhere ... as my Aussie acquaintances would say ... "no worries, mate".

[Nick Carter icp]

43 minutes ago, Sigmund said:

 

.And the main issue is the risk of the place being squatted, usually by gypsy gangs who break in houses, change the locks and can only be expelled only after lenghty court battles, that can more or less last depending on which european country.  But usually the lodgings are left in a war zone condition and unsanitary state.

 

 

You can get squatters out quite easily these days .

Takes just a few days 

[david555]

10 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

Go on admit it !

Who now has  NO residence ,no house back in farangland where they came from 

 

Some of you sold up to come to Thailand, Philippines or wherever your based in Asia didn't you !

 

So whether you retired from Australia,UK ,USA or bloody Belgium you have nothing to go back to if <deleted>e hits the fan !

 

You sold it ,so if you get very sick ,if something happens like visa issues or legal matters or whatever you have nothing to go back to , your in the <deleted>e !

 

So unless your say over 75 you took a  big risk in selling your house in farangland

 

How many of you regret it ,admit it ,yes some if you wished you kept your house 

i did it and i got back to by you called "bloody Belgium " with no problems .....as long you keep the momey available from any sale and not trow it over the counter in Thailand while ringing the bell !!

 

BTW at the age you mentioned you must realize that depending your family situation you go give a big contribution to your home country  inheritance tax office by keeping it on your dying day as not sold ....THINK  !!   Cash is so easy to hide ....and find to the destined love ones  tax free 

 

And for the moment it is so easy with money available to return Thailand if wished ..... just the 800 K transferred in to Th.KK  and documents and i am again in (lost ) Paradise ????

 

This way does not count for the day by day barparty addicts ????

[wwest5829]

5 hours ago, Celsius said:

 

Really. Just a credit score and no income? 

 

I would love to speak to that bank.

I'm thinking the credit score, background check, plus the investment funds would secure a rental.

[Nick Carter icp]

3 minutes ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

how so?.....as i was one protecting my buddys condo from HOA...took them months in court

What is HOA ?

In the UK it takes days to get a Court order telling them to leave and they have 48 hours to leave , after that they can get jailed for non compliance 

[SingAPorn]

What's the point in buying a house in  Thailand on leasehold as you never own the land ?

 

If it's to put in the name of a Thai, it's just leaving the door open to potentially get cheated on your savings.

 

A condo can seem attractive but again, with all the real estate crooks in Thailand and mainly the bad worksmanship that does not appear when new,  it can end up in a nightmare.

 

Renting can seem attractive, but the prices are soaring, mainly in many beach towns. And if it's to rent in some polluted, noisy area of Bangkok, no thanks.

[Reginald Prewster]

Well, I sold 2002 evertything and even closed my tax books in my old home country... 

 

After arrival in LoS I changed the "lions part" into solid gold..

 

2003 I started in my job and climbed the ranks pretty fast, bought our farm (farang safe) 

....and more gold

 

nuff said...