1 hour ago, kiwikeith said:

Make a good casino 

 

Wow....just imagine......

On 10/7/2025 at 4:03 PM, scubascuba3 said:

i heard about a farang who bought a whole floor...

 

buying a whole floor is common for Thai families into this market:

1.  Buy the whole floor and have internal walls constructed to create a giant 'home' (this was done many times in the ocean marina buildings on the other side of Pattaya). 

2. Buy the whole floor, enough total square meter space for 2, 3, or 4 separate condos. Perhaps pay SSS million for the whole floor at XXXBaht per square meter, then later divide the floor into several units and sell at VVVBaht per square meter, in reality total income much greater than the total paid to buy the whole floor. Big profit.

4 hours ago, KhunHeineken said:

 

Yes, and I have property also, but it's just not in Thailand as it's a waste of money. 

 

U small small money tho 🤣

14 hours ago, SbuxPlease said:

I'm sure most of us have been to Pattaya, and if you've been there you've 100% seen this building and wondered what the heck happened there! 

 

I got curious recently and dug deep - the story behind this building is wild and systematic. There were some shady behind the scenes government approvals that led to this project getting green lit. Some locals complained that it blocked a special statue's view of the sea once it started to go up (the monarch owns a large plot of land not far from this location). Then the governor was replaced and the new guy started finding modifications that didn't conform to plan, which led to everybody suing each other. There were attempts to fix it that were blocked or stalled. The original builder bailed out. The finance partners bailed out. Many of the owners sued. Everything ground to a halt.

 

Thailand doesn't have streamlined bankruptcy law, so project failures have no fast remedies. Thailand doesn't require 3rd party insurers to guarantee complete-or-demolish by any certain deadlines. And as it turns out, building permits can be revoked mid-project because the climate shifts. 

Buyer bewareeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

 

Good research.....Not many people try and dig into the inner workings of a complex story like this...

 

Every thing you say is correct......Unfortunately there is more to this story behind the scenes that my never see the light of day......And my feeling is its some very nasty stuff....

 

Scores and Loads of people have lost their ass over this project.....And for what?......Not for any good reason I can see....

11 hours ago, ross163103 said:

A monument to corruption in Pattaya

Yes ironic. Perhap those currently involved or looking to buy off plan in town should be taken on a lesson learning tour of the derelict eyesore... If it was not against the work permit law an English speaker could lead a tour and point to the dirty corner with a stained blanket that was to be his home several years after the initial 1 mil investment! Long live economic disasters. 

4 hours ago, KhunHeineken said:

 

 

Firstly, you have changed from promoting the virtues of property ownership here, to the financial discipline of the individual.  That's quite a back flip.

 

Secondly, do you accept the math?  Yes, or no? 

 

It was 3,375,000 in the example, which was the median of the upper and lower sale prices you posted, and they don't have to save it, they have already saved it.

 

I think what you are getting at is will they have the discipline to not spend it, and if they don't, it basically funds pretty much rent free living here.  Thus, the "rent is dead money" or "saved rent" argument falls down. 

 

How many don't? 

 

TIP:  Rent and pay as you go in Thailand, including your women. 

 

Those days are over, and as previously discussed, leaving a property to a Thai spouse is like leaving an anchor now.  I'm sure the Thai spouse would prefer cash, rather than a property they can't liquidate. 

 

That's also a smart move.  Rent out a property in your home country, the proceeds of which will more than cover the rent in Thailand, and some, with that property actually realizing a capital gain over the longer term.  

 

Based on what, storing furniture? 

 

Where's the financial "sense?" 

 

Sure, but when people like yourself promote owning as an "investment" I laugh. 

 

You even posted 10 years later the top asking price in VT5 has not changed. 

 

You still don't get it. 

 

Not buying in Thailand IS the investment. 

 

Yes, and I have property also, but it's just not in Thailand as it's a waste of money. 

       It really just comes down to this.  Most people don't want to live on the sidewalk.  Most people want a roof over their heads.  That can be done by either buying or renting that roof.  I choose to buy, as many do.  Others choose to rent, as many do.  There is no right or wrong answer as to which way you do it and there are many and varied reasons as to why someone chooses one or the other--it all comes down to the individual.

     If one chooses to buy, the property can increase in value, decrease in value, or maintain its value after plateauing.   Ditto for rents--up, down, stay the same.   All three of these values can shift in time, here and elsewhere. 

     The last condo I bought in the US, in 2009, was purchased as a foreclosure for $170,000.   The previous owner had paid over $300,000 for it a couple years earlier.  Today, it's value is around $272,000.  Had the previous owner kept it, it would still be worth less today than what he paid for it 16 or 17 years ago.  So, he has, on paper, lost money on the purchase.   Property can decrease in value--even in the US. 

    Had the owner kept it, though, he would be more than half way through paying off a 30-year mortgage.  And, at the end of the mortgage, he would have an asset currently valued at $272,000, rather than a drawer full of cancelled rent checks.   And, a roof over his head, not subject to possible rent increases.

     I follow this last US condo that I owned, using Zillow, out of curiosity and it has hovered around $272,000 to $275,000 for maybe three years or so, up a bit and down a bit.  It appears this property is currently maintaining its value.  The same seems to be the case with the View Talay 5 condo I mentioned.  With both the US condo and the VT5 condos, I was able to buy low and later sell at a higher price, making a profit.   With the US condo I had to wait several years for the value to rise enough to make a profit.  

      With both cases, one does have an asset, even if that asset currently is not incrasing in value.  One can debate endlessly whether it is better to buy or rent--here or anywhere else.  It really all depends on the individual.   In your case, renting works better for you.  In my case, I prefer to own.  Again, no right or wrong answer.   As I have said many times, I like owning my space to do what I want with and would buy even knowing I might lose some money or just break even.  The pleasures of owning make it worth it--for me.  Obviously, not for you and renting is what you choose.  Whatever floats . . .  

     Most of your post is a rehash of points I have already responded to in the past.  You give your cold, hard financial reasons for renting, I give my financial and also visceral reasons for owning.  The visceral reasons for owning my space far outweigh the financial ones--for me.  For me, it all comes down to you only, perhaps, go around once in life, you can't take it with you when you die, so I will spend my money in ways that please me.  Again, that's me.  

    I will say that I think leaving property to a Thai spouse isn't an 'anchor' at all.  If you die before them, they will have a paid-for roof over their head--no small thing.   Their monthly expenses will not include a big rent check to maintain their current living space.   Instead, they only need to pay the property's utilities, any fees, and inexpensive yearly taxes. 

    Rather than paying out, say, 40,000 to 60,000 baht a month in rent for a nice, decent-size condo or house, they'll have a bill of maybe 6,000 baht or so for water, electric, any fees, and the yearly property tax bill divided monthly.  They have the flexibility to continue to live in the space, rent the space for income, or sell it at some point.  I'm happy to have anybody out there 'anchor' me with a property.   

 

On 10/7/2025 at 4:03 PM, scubascuba3 said:

i heard about a farang who bought a whole floor...

What a dumb foreigner. At least it was not in Pratumnak...

1 hour ago, Mark1969 said:

 

What a dumb foreigner. At least it was not in Pratumnak...

If it had been built it would probably have been and still be the No1 condo in Pattaya

On 10/7/2025 at 10:08 PM, Will B Good said:

 

 

OMG........Do you see the guy paid £500,000 for a villa?

 

"The guy" who had it built didn't pay the contractors....so under Thai law ownership reverted to the contractors.

 

"The guy" was a Brit from Shropshire.....could have all been in cahoots with the contractors of course!!!!

That's a very interesting arrangement.  

1 minute ago, drgoon said:

That's a very interesting arrangement.  

 

 

That very last bit only just occurred to me as I was typing.......nice little number!!!!!

Just another gigantic eye sore that's going on everywhere in Pattaya, Jomtien even Pratamnak, 

On 10/8/2025 at 8:09 AM, wombat said:

A demolition party should be held it would increase tourism exponentially

A Fred Dibnah, would have it down in seconds 

2 minutes ago, Jiggo said:

A Fred Dibnah, would have it down in seconds 

What a character

On 10/8/2025 at 12:27 PM, newnative said:

Short-term, if often makes more sense to rent.  Or, if you want to be able to move from one place to another quickly.   But, if you are going to be here for longer periods, especially 10 years or more, there can be some advantages to owning, especially if you like being able to do whatever you want with your space and like have all your own furniture, art, good bed and mattress, high-grade appliances, large tvs, etc.  

 

You're not factoring in the not-insignificant risk in Thailand of getting scammed and waking up to find that you really own nothing.

 

Like the people who invested in this project.  Or the myriads of horror stories about guys getting scammed by their wives, and wives getting scammed by family members and partners getting scammed by partners.

 

On 10/7/2025 at 1:03 PM, scubascuba3 said:

i heard about a farang who bought a whole floor...

 

Yeah, it was bob.

On 10/8/2025 at 5:45 PM, Yellowtail said:

This assumes that the B3M was not invested in something else. 

 

B3M at 6% earns you the B15K a month, and 4% would earn you B10K a month. 

 

Invested in the S & P over the last ten years, the B3M would be worth over B11M today.

 

To be clear, I own my own home and would not have it any other way, 

     Yes.  IF I had taken that 3MB I netted on the VT5 condo and invested it 10 years ago in the S&P, it seems I would have done nicely.  Likewise, IF I had taken that 3MB and invested it in gold 10 years ago I guess I would have done ok there, too.   The eternal 'IF'.  IF this, IF that.

    Instead, I took that 3MB and invested it in another condo.  And, then in another condo after that one, mostly getting nicer and bigger after the first ones.  I guess around 16 of them in Pattaya before we moved on to Pattaya houses.   We ended up doing ok with our property investments here so it all worked out.   Plus, we had a lot of fun along the way doing it, and have saved about 5.4MB in money not spent on rent since we got here in 2010, some of which we actually have put in the S&P.  

 

3 hours ago, impulse said:

 

You're not factoring in the not-insignificant risk in Thailand of getting scammed and waking up to find that you really own nothing.

 

Like the people who invested in this project.  Or the myriads of horror stories about guys getting scammed by their wives, and wives getting scammed by family members and partners getting scammed by partners.

 

     Yes, there is always some risk, as there is with a lot of things.  It can be minimized somewhat with property.  I have no advice on avoiding risk with romantic or family entanglements--you're on your own there.  You can avoid a lot of property risk by renting--although it seems there's a chance you might lose your security deposit, from posts I've read on the Forum.  So, a bit of a risk but small, I think.

      To minimize risk as a foreigner when buying, purchase something already built, buy only a condo, and only in foreign quota, after checking out the project as much as you can.   The condo will be in your name, nobody else's.  To avoid risk, don't buy off-plan.  If you must buy off-plan, buy from a strong, well-known developer with a good track record of finished projects, such as Lumpini, Sansiri, SC Asset, Supalai, Raimon Land, etc.  

7 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

If it had been built it would probably have been and still be the No1 condo in Pattaya

     Perhaps not #1 but certainly up there.   Spouse and I were impressed when we toured the showroom and condo model.  And, we liked the location at that time.  You can actually still go to the Think of Living website and view the video still posted there of the ToL visit to the project's showroom and condo model--years ago now and a blast from the past. 

    Spouse and I were younger and definitely dumber with Thai real estate at the time Waterfront was selling.  And, luckily, also poorer then--too poor to afford even the cheapest Waterfront unit without using up too much of our assets.  So, we passed on buying.  Had we been better off then, we might have been one of the unfortunates who signed up and lost money.  

Just leave it there! But it isn't going to happen due to the loss of face of Thai official but they all should be use to it!

This monument of corruption should be a reminder how deep it goes from the land, to permit and inspection. In all the fighting all those having a hand in the process for this project to get that far should have all their assets frozen but it goes so deep the deflection is about tearing it down instead connecting dots as to how and why!

It would be a great hotel and casino 

🤣🤑