Build And Sell House In Pattaya/hua Hin

[Ivan_Terrible]

Hi,

I've been married to a Thai girl for a while, living in Singapore and various places in Europe. But now there is a potential that I will move to Bangkok for work and we have been looking into building a house or two in pattaya (or hua hin) for immediate sale as a sideline business.

We are not looking at this to get rich quick. We also believe that nobody is an expert the first time they try something new, and thus we'd like to do a small project first. As such, we would be satisfied if we could invest about 1.5-2.0m baht and make a profit of perhaps 200-500,000.

What is the market at the moment? Is it still possible to make some money on this, or are there too many houses being built now? What about Hua Hin, is there more potential there at the moment? Are the prices now being pushed so low that one needs to do a bigger project to keep costs down through economies of scale?

All info would be very much appreciated.

Ivan

[monty]

In Pattaya there are zillions of houses being built

However in my opinion there will always be a market for the right products.

I'm not sure if there is much profit to be maid in this business if you have to work with a general constructor, a swimmingpool constructor, etc. The mark-up they charge is at least 300%

If you can work with your own labour you have a good chance, otherwise

[Digger]

Difficult to buy such a small piece of land to fit your price range in Pattaya or immediate areas around it. Therefore you would have to buy small piece of land on someone else's project and then arrange your own builder etc. Sounds like a lot of problems and by the sound of things somewhat naive as you need to supervise construction every day (a lot can go wrong in a week, even if you have decent plans). I'd say your too late - too many other builders both farang and Thai pretty much have the market covered and unless you can come in with some kind of 'WOW' product that has not been done before, your chances of getting burnt are pretty big. One Farang builder I know on his first project did not make a penny out of the 20 or so houses he built - subsequent projects he has done better but he was caught out by the 'extra's' and general time delays in getting things done.

Not an easy thing to do.

[Upcountry]

Speaking from personal experience, definitely start small. You'll learn a lot.

I've learned that you can take nothing for granted. You must tell the contractor/workers exactly everything you want (including some "duh's" as make sure the bathtub or floor drains correctly. You have to help them overcome their desire to do it the way they've always done it if you want something new or different.

If you want grounded electricity, you must educate everyone involved about the materials and requirements. Many builders may try to avoid doing that correctly despite any laws that may be in effect. Where I live, no one knew what a round grounded plug was other than the city's head electrical engineer.

You or someone you can trust must micro manage the process. It's full of headaches, and things still will not turn out right. Mai ben rai.

I had trouble with contractors in the US as well, but I wasn't prepared for the surprises I ran into here. TIT.

Just a word to the wise.

[thedude]

I suspect your budget is too small especially for land in Pattaya or Hua Hin, let alone the construction cost. How will your house be different from the other thousands of homes on offer at said locations? That kind of budget will likely build you small and low-spec homes in a way off locale. Low cost homes are a margin game, and since you have neither scale nor expertise or knowhow nor an established cheap and trustworthy supply of construction materials, i'd advise you to save yourself the effort.

The only commercial angle for a foreigner in the real estate game lies in more up-scale boutique homes which are ultimately marketed to other well-heeled foreigners who are willing to pay a premium for the concept and design, and by the time your product achieves this quality, it'll be millions over budget. Also, the absorption rate is agonisingly slow despite the market hype, which means that you need lots of holding power and reserve capital for the extended marketing period. And this segment is already very crowded and competitive.

As a development professional, i'd advise you to please stay away because the chances are more than likely that you will not be successful. If you just want to make a few hundred K with that capital, you are far better off punting on the SET these few months, equities should continue see a reasonable rebound during this time.

[NedKelly]

Why not do it yourself with mud bricks.......You could train some relatives onhow to make the bricks with several forms set up. They could do it in their spare time until they had enough and you could pay them for it. Then you need to get an expereinced builder who can work on his own with you and your labour team. The roof could be built seperately and put on when the walls were built up. You start with a trench 1 metre deep and build this up ideally with a rock wall, to 1 metre above ground and then on top of that mud bricks for another metre or so. Your bricks and wall will be thick providing good insulation which the average Thai home does not. I think you could build a place like this for about 200 - 300,000 baht. Its not such a dream.

[Upcountry]

But all family members would need work permits.

[sajal]

pls visit http://www.thaivisa.com/gallery/My-holiday...almost-complete

very cheap, took 3 months to build up, second one will be starting work soon, i guess second one can be completed in like 2 to 3 months.

If this interests you then pls PM me....