Starting the building journey

[Woof999]

Had some aerial video of our new (to us) land done today and thought I'd turn it into a YouTube video.

 

Not sure if I will video the whole process or the planning, prep and build, although happy to if people find it interesting enough. This is my first ever YT video, so do feel free to laugh 😉

 

 

 

[Tropicalevo]

Good luck with the project.

[newnative]

      Spouse and I built our first house last year in Pattaya.   This week we just started our second house.   Good luck with your project!

[OneMoreFarang]

"Our" plot?

How much of it do you legally own? 

 

Good luck! You need it. 

[Hummin]

3 hours ago, Woof999 said:

Had some aerial video of our new (to us) land done today and thought I'd turn it into a YouTube video.

 

Not sure if I will video the whole process or the planning, prep and build, although happy to if people find it interesting enough. This is my first ever YT video, so do feel free to laugh 😉

 

 

 

4 years ago went through the same, remember to breathe 😀

 

Fun to look back, good luck

[mania]

Nice video

Wow 14 rai / 6 acres is a large piece of land!

You must have plans for something big ...Looks like you folks cleared it all or was it already cleared for a crop?

Good Luck should be a great adventure!

[Woof999]

8 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

Good luck with the project.

 

Thanks

 

8 hours ago, newnative said:

Good luck with your project!

 

Thanks

 

6 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

How much of it do you legally own? 

 

Zero. Eyes wide open.

 

6 hours ago, Hummin said:

4 years ago went through the same, remember to breathe 😀

 

Fun to look back, good luck

 

Indeed. I might be asking you for advice then by the sounds of it. I'm expecting lots of ups and downs. The journey is the fun bit, even with all the stress / issues etc. The end product, hopefully, is an added bonus.

 

6 hours ago, mania said:

You must have plans for something big ...Looks like you folks cleared it all or was it already cleared for a crop?

Good Luck should be a great adventure!

 

Always dreamed of having more land than was absolutely necessary. Early plans are for a ~2 acre lake and a par 3 golf hole in addition to the main house, a large workshop for me and a separate games room. Will see how that actually pans out with funds available. It might just end up with a small hut in the middle of a large field.

 

The land was mostly used for sweet potatoes and the last crop was harvested this week. There is still a lot of debris to clear and we want to further clear the land back to the boundaries, which are mostly just inside the tree line. We've been quoted 36k baht for the boundary work. This is literally just removing the trees / scrub so that we can build a decent wall at the front and a barbed wire type fence around the rest, initially. At first I thought this sounded a little expensive, but with a perimeter of about 700 metres and quite a few large trees to remove, perhaps it's not.

 

Many thanks.

 

[stupidfarang]

27 minutes ago, Woof999 said:

 

Thanks

 

 

Thanks

 

 

Zero. Eyes wide open.

 

 

Indeed. I might be asking you for advice then by the sounds of it. I'm expecting lots of ups and downs. The journey is the fun bit, even with all the stress / issues etc. The end product, hopefully, is an added bonus.

 

 

Always dreamed of having more land than was absolutely necessary. Early plans are for a ~2 acre lake and a par 3 golf hole in addition to the main house, a large workshop for me and a separate games room. Will see how that actually pans out with funds available. It might just end up with a small hut in the middle of a large field.

 

The land was mostly used for sweet potatoes and the last crop was harvested this week. There is still a lot of debris to clear and we want to further clear the land back to the boundaries, which are mostly just inside the tree line. We've been quoted 36k baht for the boundary work. This is literally just removing the trees / scrub so that we can build a decent wall at the front and a barbed wire type fence around the rest, initially. At first I thought this sounded a little expensive, but with a perimeter of about 700 metres and quite a few large trees to remove, perhaps it's not.

 

Many thanks.

 

Good price for 700 meters, if using a tractor the cost is 800 baht an hour in the south, so the cost soon adds up. 

[G Rex]

Congratulations!  Exciting (and sometimes frustrating) times to come!

We have done a similar thing, been in house for nearly a year now. Loving it - but always plenty to do!  

We ended up planting potatoes back in some of  our land (we have 50 rai) - otherwise was just too hard to keep it under control. In the dry season we can cope, but in growth times, I clear an area, turn around - and it is all back again!  (we owned the land for a few years before we built so we could plan things properly - 'do it properly - do it once')

 

Good luck with the project. Enjoy - and stay calm!

[Woof999]

7 minutes ago, stupidfarang said:

Good price for 700 meters, if using a tractor the cost is 800 baht an hour in the south, so the cost soon adds up. 

 

Thanks for this. They know that the complete stump needs removing and I believe their price includes the rental of an excavator, so yeah the costs can escalate quite quickly I guess. They seem like decent people and I'll look after them if they do a good job.

[Woof999]

14 minutes ago, G Rex said:

Congratulations!  Exciting (and sometimes frustrating) times to come!

We have done a similar thing, been in house for nearly a year now. Loving it - but always plenty to do!  

We ended up planting potatoes back in some of  our land (we have 50 rai) - otherwise was just too hard to keep it under control. In the dry season we can cope, but in growth times, I clear an area, turn around - and it is all back again!  (we owned the land for a few years before we built so we could plan things properly - 'do it properly - do it once')

 

Good luck with the project. Enjoy - and stay calm!

 

Wow... 50 rai! Hopefully with a third of the land turned into a lake (which will happen sooner rather than later depending on existing clay content) it will be manageable. A ride on lawnmower was always a bucket list item, so ideally that and a houseproud wife will keep things under control.

 

Stay calm - great advice although it's not one of my strong points. I'm hoping this project will both frustrate and mellow me, if that's possible.

[G Rex]

4 hours ago, Woof999 said:

 

Wow... 50 rai! Hopefully with a third of the land turned into a lake (which will happen sooner rather than later depending on existing clay content) it will be manageable. A ride on lawnmower was always a bucket list item, so ideally that and a houseproud wife will keep things under control.

 

Stay calm - great advice although it's not one of my strong points. I'm hoping this project will both frustrate and mellow me, if that's possible.

 

 👍

Ride on mowers are dear as poison in LOS ( and I have only seen geared and not hydrostatic transmissions too), and generally not up to the task - especially if you have a few rocks! ( where I am , I have a bit of dirt hiding between the rocks!).

I ended up with a small kubota tractor (B2140) with a 1 metre slasher deck. Does not do a manicured fairway (!) - but keeps the jungle at bay!  A good second hand tractor (with dozer blade & slasher) will set you back a similar amount to a ride-on - about 150k , but give you greater opportunity to use it. Just  my opinion!

Cheers

 

[brianthainess]

Good vid but 14.5 rai jeez, lets hope the crop covers your labour costs, and all the other expenses involved. Wage hikes coming soon.

Good luck you'll need it. Insanity indeed. 

 

[Woof999]

1 hour ago, brianthainess said:

Good vid but 14.5 rai jeez, lets hope the crop covers your labour costs, and all the other expenses involved. Wage hikes coming soon.

Good luck you'll need it. Insanity indeed. 

 

 

There wont be any crops nor labour costs. We bought the land purely for our house and wider living area. I can see us planting some pineapple and banana trees, plus maybe having a small vegetable growing area that will last about 2 months (at the outside) before the wife gets bored of it. Apart from that... it's a living / play area.

 

I'm hoping that at least a third of the land will become a lake - jetskiing, rowing, swimming or whatever. The buildings and main day to day recreation area will take up... ok maybe only 1 rai... so maybe I'll have to have 2 or 3 par 3 golf holes rather than just 1...

 

Go kart track could take up a fair bit of space too.

[brianthainess]

46 minutes ago, Woof999 said:

 

There wont be any crops nor labour costs. We bought the land purely for our house and wider living area. I can see us planting some pineapple and banana trees, plus maybe having a small vegetable growing area that will last about 2 months (at the outside) before the wife gets bored of it. Apart from that... it's a living / play area.

 

I'm hoping that at least a third of the land will become a lake - jetskiing, rowing, swimming or whatever. The buildings and main day to day recreation area will take up... ok maybe only 1 rai... so maybe I'll have to have 2 or 3 par 3 golf holes rather than just 1...

 

Go kart track could take up a fair bit of space too.

That is an awful lot of labour intense maintenance house an all. so you intend to make a lot of noise with your jet skis and go-karts.  Even your faraway neighbors/and future will get really peed off. not offence intended, but you need to pull in your reins. I'd stick to bananas pineapples. 

[G Rex]

1 hour ago, brianthainess said:

That is an awful lot of labour intense maintenance house an all. so you intend to make a lot of noise with your jet skis and go-karts.  Even your faraway neighbors/and future will get really peed off. not offence intended, but you need to pull in your reins. I'd stick to bananas pineapples. 

 

I disagree here.

Plan big , cut back where finances or experience dictate - but do what You want.

My Thai family shake their head at some of my excesses - but hey  - I don't waste any money on cards or lotteries. It is swings and roundabouts!  They poo-pooed some of the advanced trees I bought - but now - a year down the track, they water them and like them even more than I do!

[sungod]

On 3/11/2024 at 1:12 AM, OneMoreFarang said:

"Our" plot?

How much of it do you legally own? 

 

Good luck! You need it. 

Another boring repetitive post, just no originality on this forum anymore.

[OneMoreFarang]

9 hours ago, sungod said:

Another boring repetitive post, just no originality on this forum anymore.

And then there are all those topics like: All my money is gone because she threw me out of my house. What can I do?

I am sure some of those guys would have been happy if they would have realized earlier that their house and their land isn't exactly theirs.

 

Good luck to all the others in all those happy ever after relationships. 

 

[sirineou]

On 3/11/2024 at 1:12 AM, OneMoreFarang said:

"Our" plot?

How much of it do you legally own? 

 

Good luck! You need it. 

Half of it. since Thailand is a Community property  country, and any property .  

[sirineou]

Looks great

I am jealous.

When do you plan to start building? 

Make sure you start a thread before  you do so you can learn from our mistakes

It dont look like you have electric nearby.  Are you planning to go solar? 

Also with the river neer by I would consider building elevated. 

Looking forward to following your building story. 

[Woof999]

2 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

And then there are all those topics like: All my money is gone because she threw me out of my house. What can I do?

I am sure some of those guys would have been happy if they would have realized earlier that their house and their land isn't exactly theirs.

 

As I stated earlier, I'm into this eyes wide open. I fell in love with a country that looks after its own but that doesn't mean I have zero rights. I'm about as legally safe here as I can possibly be, but there are still risks. Those risks are not unique to Thailand, and whether the property is or is not legally mine makes not one ounce of difference to how I will feel.

 

A very good friend of mine was recently turfed out of a house he had just completed building in the UK. He is set to lose more than £500k. In reality he ended up with no more rights there than I have here (property wise at least). If everything went tits-up and I lost everything, then the total amount of money involved would be the equivalent of a 3 bed semi in Shepton Mallet. It's not something I'd regret. I'm not saying that it's peanuts, but once the risks are analysed and understood there is nothing to be gained by constantly focussing on them.

 

Most people that I meet in life who dwell on the negatives (are glass half empty types) typically never really amount to much. All they see are the hurdles. Most really successful people that I meet have taken risks, have enjoyed the process as much as the outcome even when things go wrong and, if they do, they pick themselves up and go again. Much respect for those.

 

I fully understand that there are risks involved. For me, they pale into insignificance compared to the rewards. For that reason, I will no longer comment on the matter. I appreciate the heads up from people, but there I will draw a line. If there is ever a need for a fire sale in the future, I'll let people here know and they can happily mumble "I told you so" while I get on with the next chapter in my life.

[sirineou]

1 minute ago, Woof999 said:

As I stated earlier, I'm into this eyes wide open. I fell in love with a country that looks after its own but that doesn't mean I have zero rights. I'm about as legally safe here as I can possibly be, but there are still risks. Those risks are not unique to Thailand, and whether the property is or is not legally mine makes not one ounce of difference to how I will feel.

Absolutely right. 

Nothing like being in your own home. 

it's ok to maybe rent for a little while utili you decide Thailand is for you. 

But renting is living in someone else's home, you would not do all the things nessacery to make it your own and the way you like it.

Life is too short not to take a few risks. Don't think twice about it, Building my own home here in Thailand was /and is one of the best things I did here in Thailand. 

[Woof999]

1 hour ago, sirineou said:

I am jealous.

 

No need to be. If it's something you'd like to do too, go for it.

 

1 hour ago, sirineou said:

When do you plan to start building? 

 

We're still looking for architects / builders, but I would hope we can get one structure up (workshop / office) this year and the rest 1 or 2 years later, money dependant. Land clearing is ongoing and will be finished in a couple of days. Then I want the land graded and compacted to give me some better visual cues on how to use the land. Compacting will be done not because it's necessary for the build, but because... well, maybe some dune buggy races in the short term? Front wall will be going up probably April / May, with barbed wire fence around the rest of the land to start with, probably around the same time. If all goes well, I hope to break ground on the first structure by June / July.

 

1 hour ago, sirineou said:

Make sure you start a thread before  you do so you can learn from our mistakes

 

I'll post here and I'm tempted to document everything on the YouTube channel. There will be plenty of ups and downs and it's probably worth me fully documenting everything.

 

1 hour ago, sirineou said:

It dont look like you have electric nearby.  Are you planning to go solar? 

 

There is 3 phase power pretty much right outside. I'm not sure if the cable gauge is big enough for the power I'll need, but if not, the run to the main 3 phase poles at the T-junction is less than 300m. Yes we do plan on going solar. Whether that will be sooner rather than later we'll have to see, but the house and wiring will be designed to support at least hybrid electricity.

 

1 hour ago, sirineou said:

Also with the river neer by I would consider building elevated. 

 

The lowest part of the land is 30m above the river level, with the river >600m away. The land rises by another 4m towards the rear. There is no history with flooding there and, if it did happen, a lot of people will be in a much worse position than us. Not something to ignore though and I'll take advice from the builders.

 

1 hour ago, sirineou said:

Looking forward to following your building story. 

 

Thanks. Looking forward to making it.

[Woof999]

4 minutes ago, sirineou said:

it's ok to maybe rent for a little while utili you decide Thailand is for you. 

 

Yep, been here around ~9 years and have travelled up to this province from the Pattaya area many times. Not to say that the culture difference isn't still a shock though, but I kind of like the quiet life. Pattaya, even outside where I lived, was becoming painful. Traffic especially.

 

4 minutes ago, sirineou said:

Building my own home here in Thailand was /and is one of the best things I did here in Thailand. 

 

Kudos to you sir. Hope you continue to enjoy it for as long as you desire.

[OneMoreFarang]

9 minutes ago, Woof999 said:

 

As I stated earlier, I'm into this eyes wide open. I fell in love with a country that looks after its own but that doesn't mean I have zero rights. I'm about as legally safe here as I can possibly be, but there are still risks. Those risks are not unique to Thailand, and whether the property is or is not legally mine makes not one ounce of difference to how I will feel.

 

A very good friend of mine was recently turfed out of a house he had just completed building in the UK. He is set to lose more than £500k. In reality he ended up with no more rights there than I have here (property wise at least). If everything went tits-up and I lost everything, then the total amount of money involved would be the equivalent of a 3 bed semi in Shepton Mallet. It's not something I'd regret. I'm not saying that it's peanuts, but once the risks are analysed and understood there is nothing to be gained by constantly focussing on them.

 

Most people that I meet in life who dwell on the negatives (are glass half empty types) typically never really amount to much. All they see are the hurdles. Most really successful people that I meet have taken risks, have enjoyed the process as much as the outcome even when things go wrong and, if they do, they pick themselves up and go again. Much respect for those.

 

I fully understand that there are risks involved. For me, they pale into insignificance compared to the rewards. For that reason, I will no longer comment on the matter. I appreciate the heads up from people, but there I will draw a line. If there is ever a need for a fire sale in the future, I'll let people here know and they can happily mumble "I told you so" while I get on with the next chapter in my life.

Good that you know what you are doing.

And good that you have enough money.

 

But I am sure you are also aware of the many farangs who "invest" everything, all in the name of their Thai darling, and then they discover one day that they own nothing. 

 

I made my comment above just as a general comment about land and building in Thailand. I obviously don't know you and your situation. It seems you thought about possible not so perfect outcomes, and you accept that. Great. Enjoy! 

[Woof999]

1 minute ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Good that you know what you are doing.

And good that you have enough money.

 

But I am sure you are also aware of the many farangs who "invest" everything, all in the name of their Thai darling, and then they discover one day that they own nothing. 

 

I made my comment above just as a general comment about land and building in Thailand. I obviously don't know you and your situation. It seems you thought about possible not so perfect outcomes, and you accept that. Great. Enjoy! 

 

Fair points well made.... and who said I have enough money 😉 

 

This will still be a stretch for me $$$, but I know I'll regret it if I didn't do it while the opportunity existed.

[Lacessit]

OP, stop thinking small. Have a par 4 instead of a par 3, the lake can be part of the golf hole.

[ChaiyaTH]

13 hours ago, brianthainess said:

That is an awful lot of labour intense maintenance house an all. so you intend to make a lot of noise with your jet skis and go-karts.  Even your faraway neighbors/and future will get really peed off. not offence intended, but you need to pull in your reins. I'd stick to bananas pineapples. 

Both of these can be purchased in electric version nowadays too, no sound at all. Maybe the screaming will be the noise after breaking a leg crashing.

Edited March 16 by ChaiyaTH

[Woof999]

4 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

OP, stop thinking small. Have a par 4 instead of a par 3, the lake can be part of the golf hole.

 

Lol. You seem to be reading my mind)

[Woof999]

2 minutes ago, ChaiyaTH said:

Both of these can be purchased in electric version nowadays too, no sound at all. Maybe the screaming will be the noise after breaking a leg crashing.

 

Yep. Used to be semi pro with the jetskiing (earnings pro, ability semi pro) and taught it for many years. That was back in the 2 stroke days (miss the smell). The 4 strokes are already quieter.

 

Definitely not looking to be a bad neighbour, but the karaoke complaints will probably outnumber those for water sports.