A Dispatch From the Front Lines.

A little over a year ago, July 4th, my Thai spouse and I sold a 4-bedroom/5-bath pool villa near Lake Mabprachan that we had built. The plan was to build another larger pool villa with one more bedroom, one more bathroom, and 3-car covered parking.

Knowing the new house would take about a year to plan and build, we bought, in Thai name, a smaller new 3-bedroom/3 full bath one-story house to live in for the year. Yes, we could have rented for the year but we are not renters and we never want to give around 500,000 baht in rent for a nice pool villa to a landlord when we can give it to ourselves instead.

The new house we bought was just being finished and we had the builder add a saltwater pool that we designed, a laundry room big enough for a washer/dryer and pool machinery, and we had the window in the dining area changed to a bigger sliding door for more light and to add easy access to the new, tiled back patio where the new pool was. The builder threw these things in for no additional charge as he was hungry for a sale. This new house was in Pong, close to Rt. 36 and the Motorway, and less than 10 minutes from Regent's School.

The builder offered to furnish the house for an additional 200,000 baht. We didn't care for the model furniture and we like to do our own designs so we declined and we bought all the furniture, art work, electronics, lamps, rugs, appliances, etc. for around the same amount of money.

Fastforward to this July. Our new house we have been building is finished and we have just moved in. Time to sell the 3-bedroom. On July 6 I sent out an email that went to 56 different email addresses--mostly agencies and also individual agents within the agencies and agents working on their own. The email contained good photos, a detailed description of the property, price, commission, address, and contact information. About 10 came back as undelivered--par for the course.

During that first week, and into the next, four of the biggest agencies sent staff to do their own photos and videos of the property. One also used a drone. A number of the agencies got the property listed by the first 10 days or so.

About a week later, we got a call from one of the larger agencies to show the property to a Thai husband and wife. They viewed the property, liked it, and we negotiated a price we were happy with. We signed a contract the next day, with a non-refundable deposit, and yesterday, after we got back from a trip to China, we went to closing at the Land Office--which was very busy, as always.

I'll be the first to say that it is rare--at least for us--to sell to the very first buyer to show up--I think that has only happened one or maybe two other times--although we did have a first buyer make an offer on a condo years ago when we were younger and dumber that we foolishly turned down. (We can't sell to the first buyer for heaven's sake! Only to sell for the same price to another buyer much later. Live and learn.)

So, in this current real estate house market with some jittery buyers and anxious sellers due to the Company crackdown, what helped contribute to our quick house sale?

1. A good product for sale. Our almost new house looked good, inside and out, was nicely decorated, and came fully furnished with everything, including art and accessories. It also had great curb appeal and was in a small enclave of equally attractive homes in a quiet area. The back tiled patio was completely private--nice when you have a pool and maybe want to skinny dip. The builder did a good job and used high quality materials. Although not a large house, it had a somewhat higher-end look, inside and out.

2. A good price for the good product. We were hoping for a fairly quick sale as we wanted to move on and we priced it well to make a profit, but not a huge one. We were happy with a modest profit and the year's rent savings. We checked the price with several agents and they were in agreement that the house should attract buyers at our price. Although we were hoping for a fairly quick sale, we were prepared for a long process of perhaps 6 months to a year. Patience is often a requirement with real estate.

3. A good location for the good product. The house's area is desirable and fast-growing; being not far from popular Lake Mabprachan and so close to Regent's School were big pluses, as well as the Motorway and Rt. 36 nearby.

4. A good market of buyers for the good product's good price. Our house was priced just under 6MB. There are a number of buyers looking for nice, newer, single-family one-story homes around that price range with at least 3 bedrooms. We had the added benefit of a third full bath and a swimming pool--some around this price have just 2 baths and no pool. With the Company crackdown, we were hoping for either a Thai buyer or a foreign buyer putting the property in a Thai spouse's name. With the latter, 6MB would be less money at risk than house properties priced much higher.

5. A good exposure for the good product. With no MLS (Multiple Listing Service), it's up to the seller to bring his or her product to the attention of as many agents and agencies as possible. Good exposure is key--the real estate market needs to know that your product is now available. We did a good job of that and I was still working with agents and agencies to list the house when it found a buyer.

6. A bit of good luck for the sale of the good product. Sometimes you can do about everything right and it can still be a struggle to get a property sold at a profit. We were lucky that our house came on the market when this particular buyer was looking for a property of this particular size and price to buy and rent out but had not yet found the right house. We were either lucky that the buyer happened to see our listing with the agency or lucky that the agency chose our listing to show to the buyer. We were lucky that the buyer liked our property enough to buy it, and lucky that we were able to reach an agreement on price.

It bears remembering that we are living in Thailand and there's a country full of Thai property buyers. Not every property needs to be sold to a foreigner. It also bears remembering that most Thais don't have western-style pension plans, 401ks, etc. Many need other investment avenues, including real estate.

My Thai spouse's relatives--working in banking--have good jobs but are required to retire at age 60--and several have. At retirement, they receive a lump sum payment that is supposed to last them the rest of their lives. It might not, with people living longer. To help fund their retirement, they have all bought property, during their years working, to rent out. In retirement, that monthly rental income will help the lump sum payment last longer. They are not alone in doing this.

I don't agree with the belief that Thais will not buy second-hand properties. There may be some who won't buy if the property will be their own home but I've not encountered any that would not buy a used property if they see it as a good investment property. We have sold both second-hand condos and houses to Thai investment buyers. For those selling a property, this is one type of Thai buyer you could be looking for, in addition to foreigners who are comfortable with putting a property in their Thai spouse's name.

For any of you selling a property, now or sometime in the future, I hope some of what I have written might be useful. Although you can't do anything about your property's location, you can make sure that your property itself is in tip-top shape and shows the very best that it can. That includes removing all clutter and keeping the property neat and tidy and ready to show to buyers with little notice. Your property should also be priced realistically--and it doesn't hurt to get feedback on this from some experienced agents. Most importantly, it is up to you to market, market, market--the more exposure your property has, the better chance you have for a sale. Good luck to you.

11 hours ago, newnative said:

It bears remembering that we are living in Thailand and there's a country full of Thai property buyers. Not every property needs to be sold to a foreigner. It also bears remembering that most Thais don't have western-style pension plans, 401ks, etc. Many need other investment avenues, including real estate.

My Thai spouse's relatives--working in banking--have good jobs but are required to retire at age 60--and several have. At retirement, they receive a lump sum payment that is supposed to last them the rest of their lives. It might not, with people living longer. To help fund their retirement, they have all bought property, during their years working, to rent out. In retirement, that monthly rental income will help the lump sum payment last longer. They are not alone in doing this.

I don't agree with the belief that Thais will not buy second-hand properties. There may be some who won't buy if the property will be their own home but I've not encountered any that would not buy a used property if they see it as a good investment property. We have sold both second-hand condos and houses to Thai investment buyers. For those selling a property, this is one type of Thai buyer you could be looking for, in addition to foreigners who are comfortable with putting a property in their Thai spouse's name.

Well done, and agree completely with your last few paragraphs. Really counters the ignorance that many expats go on about, Thais and RE market.

Obviously not being in the RE market, or possibly bought unwisely, they really have no clue how active it really is. Land offices are packed for a reason.

The investment savvy of Thais along with self employment work ethics is quite impressive. Far greater than the Yanks I've observed in USA.

Wife is a savvy investor. I like it, to prevent having neighbors, buying land, but she's securing her financial future, after I crap out. Beats that 1+% the banks offer.

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by KhunLA