Housing Prices

[Wellington]

Because I find I can balance out that I will remain a second class citizen with less rights and protections with money.. With that money I can attain a nice standard of living in a climate I like.

But I dont for one second think I will ever be anything other than a second class citizen.

What a sad ******* speciman of a life form you prove yourself up to be

Nice to see Thaivisa's rules of flaming and insults are applied equally as usual.

^

Sometimes the truth isn't PC. I agree with LivinLOS.

And my truthful and debatable comments about rip-off agents commissions was deleted!!

I gave up being PC a long long time ago..

[Sir Burr]

Firstly, the laws of supply and demand don't work in Phuket. Land and houses owned by Thais will never drop in price. If there is a slump, they just hold on to it longer, so, the best one can hope for is a price "plateau".

Secondly, if you want to buy 50 rai of land, no problem. If you want to buy a quarter of a rai, no problem. But, those desirable pieces that are 1 to 2 rai are getting rarer and rarer.

[traveldog]

Firstly, the laws of supply and demand don't work in Phuket. Land and houses owned by Thais will never drop in price. If there is a slump, they just hold on to it longer, so, the best one can hope for is a price "plateau".

Secondly, if you want to buy 50 rai of land, no problem. If you want to buy a quarter of a rai, no problem. But, those desirable pieces that are 1 to 2 rai are getting rarer and rarer.

I agree with the first paragraph. One of my student's father buys and sells a bit...if the land doesn't sell in the year on January 1rst he raises the prices...and he says most of his friends do the same...interesting no? They feel they should be compensated for it not selling and the expense of keeping it rather than thinking hey maybe if I lowered the price it would sell???

I found quite a number of 1 to 2 rai plots....but either extremely expensive or just not where I wanted...if you have enough money there are some beautiful properties available...but that is the problem at least for me....or if your not too choosy about location location location......

[DanBlack]

Good stuff TD

My original post did actually concern buying vacant property, building a house and trying to sell for a profit, which I am still hoping to do. In the mean time I have found a very nice small house in a moo baan. It is about 10 years old and everything looks OK. We are dealing directly with the Thai owners and would like to put in an offer. I was wondering what the next step would be. Should I get the title checked out by a professional? Do I need a lawyer? AHH!! Should I get a house survey? Or just transfer the paperwork and hand over a pile of cash?

[zorro1]

Its not a casino.

No it isnt.. The odds are much harder to accurately calculate !!

Never, ever, forget the big three rules.

Thailand is for Thais.

Dont bring into Thailand more than you can afford to lose.

Dont be worth more dead than alive.

Thailand is for Thais. Go home

Dont bring into Thailand more than you can afford to lose. An extremely boring generalisation. There are winners and there has to be losers its what makes the world go around otherwise we would all be fat dumb happy and rich. There are 1000s of millionaires here. look "up "next time your in Bkk who do you think are in those office high rises

Dont be worth more dead than alive. This point is valid its best not take out a million dollar life insurance policy and then build a 5 storey mansion in Isan in your wifes name and then become the village butterfly

[/color]

Edited December 12, 2007 by zorro1

[LivinginKata]

Good stuff TD

My original post did actually concern buying vacant property, building a house and trying to sell for a profit, which I am still hoping to do. In the mean time I have found a very nice small house in a moo baan. It is about 10 years old and everything looks OK. We are dealing directly with the Thai owners and would like to put in an offer. I was wondering what the next step would be. Should I get the title checked out by a professional? Do I need a lawyer? AHH!! Should I get a house survey? Or just transfer the paperwork and hand over a pile of cash?

I recommend you call into your local land registry office, talk to someone about the validity of the title, is there any sort of loan or lease on the land, etc. Get one of the land office surveyor to make an on site inspecpection (3,000 baht) to check out that the paper is really the land on offer, check the boundaries, etc.

House survey ... make up your own mind, or maybe take a builder friend round and get his opinion.

We never use a lawyer. Use the land office to check title etc. Then go round to land office with the seller, sign over land (takes about an hour) then hand over big cheque or pile of cash. Really very simple and uncomplicated.

Oh... and don't forget to negotiate who pays the land sales tax (and how little you declare the sale price to the land office).

Edited December 12, 2007 by LivinginKata

[LivinLOS]

For a small Thai house in a moobaan is pretty much the safe end of the market, your land title is probably OK, your borders will be defined by established walls, all of the important boxes are ticked hence your due diligence becomes much much easier. Its the naked seaview land plots converted from farm to development land where so much of it are bent titles.

[traveldog]

Livinginkata sums it up nicely and agree forget the lawyer. Have you seen the Chanote? Our seller couldn't produce the original...finally admitted he had a loan on the property and lender had the chanote as collateral..and he came to the land office with us for the sale. As Living said it is very straightforward at the land office..well except for the lying about the sell price. I am still confused about the transfer tax rate....I think it depends on the age of the house...but we paid somethin like 3% and our house is 3 years old-you can ask at the land office for that info as it is part of the bargaining you and the seller can haggle over. We got a pretty good discount on the house so we paid the entire transfer fee...but again that is negotiable.....and the big pile of cash...well that to me is just plain crazy...but if the seller insists you must do it...a bank draft should be sufficient for the sale price and cash for the transfer tax?

10 years is getting up there for a Thai built house so if you don't feel comfy inspecting it yourself I would definitely get someone who knows what to look for. I always ask the owners if they had any little problem areas that need some attention-some people are basically honest and will tell you and I like to get a feel for the owners by the way they answer body language etc.....the basics: roofing/wall leaks, plumbing-did you check all the faucets,drains, toilets etc? If it has been recently painted harder to detect leaks in cieling unless you go in the attic. Termites are everywhere there is wood unless it's teak...and in a moo ban probably not-ha ha...move the furniture around to expose some nasty surprises hidden behind. Electrics..all the switches and sockets and lights working? ....well you get the idea..there are lots of little things I have learned from making some mistakes...like did you go to the property at different times of the day and night?...this can be quite revealing about the ambiance or lack there of to down right frightening regarding neighbors, animals and other irritants..

Good luck with the land and house build in the future...I am thinking the same and always on the hunt for the right plot at the right price-ha ha isn't everyone!

[smartecosse]

Thailand is for Thais. Go home

If you genuinely believe that you are fully accepted in the community / country as a farang then you need to have your head examined.

You are, and always will be a, a farang.

[LivinginKata]

If you genuinely believe that you are fully accepted in the community / country as a farang then you need to have your head examined.

You are, and always will be a, a farang.

Could not agree more with above. We westerners will always be Farangs here in Thailand, and we should wear our badge with pride (and keep a low profile). Even those half/half kids & adults are treated differently in Thai society. Only our money is accepted/welcome. And that's Ok by me.

And remember, we foreigners are guests in this host country. Why should we expect any favours ? It's only because we are 'rich' in comparison to the average Thai financial standards that many of us enjoy a priveledged life style.

Edited December 12, 2007 by LivinginKata

[LivinLOS]

And remember, we foreigners are guests in this host country.

And isnt that exactly my 'Thailand is for Thais' point ??

Perhaps some of us would like to be more than guests in our new home ?? Have some realistic hope of assimilation, have some prospect of full and equal rights, a realistic avenue to citizenship (I know it is technically possible, but..) etc etc.

I have lived here longer than I have lived in any one place in my entire life, yet I have no more of any above than any other simple tourist who got of the plane yesterday.

[LivinginKata]

LOS, you seem to be missing my point....

There is a big difference between considering us Farangs as 'second class citizens', as you do. And being 'tolerated guests', as I do. No way do I consider myself a second class citizen. If anything, I consider myself a first world citizen, although I would never shove that in the face of any the 2nd world host countries I have lived in.

'Full and equal rights' ..... that is not a realistic target in many countries of the world. Although I easily qualify for Thai residency (I know,a lengthy process) and ultimately citizenship, why would I want to be a Thai citizen ? I have seriously considered it, but I can't really see that much benifit for me, other than being able to own land in Thailand, and no more annual pilgrimage to immigration for the annual extensions. But I already own my own land/house (ok... by company proxy), and I am now well known at Phuket Immigration and have good crack with the officers on each visit. I am proud of my UK citizenship and want to remain a Scottish Brit.

I find that forum member bashing of Thailand is tedious, so I lash out at those members living long term in Thailand who are critical of Thailand and the Thai system. Better you all just b***** off.

[LivinLOS]

So by your own admission.. You cant own land, you cant vote, you continually have to go cap in hand to extend your visa (lets hope your wife has a long and healthy life.. Mine died), and although its hard to prove I firmly feel that in most legal options and arrangements you most certainly will come off worse than a Thai of equal financial standing / ability. To me thats one of the many instances of second class citizen that I mentioned.

My life has been on the road a lot of it, was born in one country and parents left it while I was a toddler, next country left when I was a child, then UK for some teenage years then left there on my own in late teens. Since then the next decade I lived in the States, Holland and Belgium and extended periods in N africa.. So telling me to 'go home' is a bit confusing.. Where do I book the ticket to again ??

I like living here, I like the first world amenities and luxury goods provided within a 3rd world country cost and tropical climate. I can solve the problems that Thailand throws at me with money (and as much as some posters demean it, I do think putting a couple of mil into Thailand annually deserves some small security). I have no need to work here and thats good as I would never consider the low monetary return you get on effort here. But it would be nice now I am getting into my 30's to feel some stability in my adopted home. Currently I cant even get a legit visa let alone start the process of PR and citizenship. I am and will remain a second class citizen without that stability and continue to keep my eyes open for the next possible move if Thailand does become more xenophobic in its policies.

[LivinginKata]

LOS.... Ok, I give up. We will agree to disagree. Goodbye.

[stuandchris]

These conversations really confuse me, why can't people here understand that we are guests in Thailand and we don't have a divine right to live in any country we chose because we are rich farangs.

Everyone goes on about about how easy it is for foreigners to move to the first world but you try getting your Thai girlfirend a long stay visa and you will find that Thailand is not really that strict in comparisn.

This will probably get a vitriolic response but regular guys who have Thai wives such as Living and Dan will never go wrong investing in land. Those that have a Thai wife/girlfirend as a business arrangement shouldn't even think about it.

[LivinginKata]

Those that have a Thai wife/girlfirend as a business arrangement shouldn't even think about it.

Excellent advice ...

[tommyj4]

Thought this thread was about house prices............uhmmmmm