Pattaya Real Estate

[sharecropper]

Prompted by some of the comments on another thread, I thought it might be useful to collect stories under a fresh topic heading,

So how much have you lost in terms of giving deposits for unbuilt/abandonded developments, had to knock off to sell something, failed to take up a developer when the time came to take a transfer of your units at completion, having paid stage payments, etc etc.

It can be in any development, but so we don't get hammered, let's try to keep it just below the "topic closed" level of invective!

With a friend, we lost 700,000 Baht in Royal Hill when I took an option on 13 units, 3 years ago, then spent 6 months trying to sell them on.

I couldn't sell even one of them, and realised the "relatively expensive" market had turned, regardless of what everyone else was saying, and in the end I was happy to take that loss and notexercise the buy option, and I have not bought anything since.

[PattayaParent]

"had to knock off to sell something"

I discounted the sale of my old condo by 100,000 Baht but still sold it for more than I paid and made 40% on the exchange rate.

Excluding calculating the opportunity cost of renting vs. buying.

[Thaifan2]

I have an old studio bought for 400,000B 6 years ago .I should now get 850,000 B if sold it .As i spent around 300,000 doing it up ,there would be no profit but also i have been living there rent free .

I also bought a one bedroom unit in Park Lane ,Jomtien for 1.2 M baht ,and am due to collect the keys this week .This development is sold out ,and if i wanted to sell i am sure i would at least get my money back .

[sharecropper]

I have an old studio bought for 400,000B 6 years ago .I should now get 850,000 B if sold it .As i spent around 300,000 doing it up ,there would be no profit but also i have been living there rent free .

I also bought a one bedroom unit in Park Lane ,Jomtien for 1.2 M baht ,and am due to collect the keys this week .This development is sold out ,and if i wanted to sell i am sure i would at least get my money back .

Good to hear that development has successfully completed, given the former question marks over it last year.

Anyone on here exposed to (or actually living in) La Royale?

[Sunny Valentine]

Bought into a Condo development early 2004, and sold it just before completion, with only about the half purchase price paid up by me. Profit close to a million.

Sorry to the threadstarter, but can't complain.

Edited February 3, 2010 by Sunny Valentine

[sharecropper]

Bought into a Condo development early 2004, and sold it just before completion, with only about the half purchase price paid up by me. Profit close to a million.

Sorry to the threadstarter, but can't complain.

I had done very well up until that point, which was when I decided to step back. I won't be going back in for a while either!

[PattayaParent]

I have an old studio bought for 400,000B 6 years ago .I should now get 850,000 B if sold it .As i spent around 300,000 doing it up ,there would be no profit but also i have been living there rent free .

I also bought a one bedroom unit in Park Lane ,Jomtien for 1.2 M baht ,and am due to collect the keys this week .This development is sold out ,and if i wanted to sell i am sure i would at least get my money back .

Good to hear that development has successfully completed, given the former question marks over it last year.

Anyone on here exposed to (or actually living in) La Royale?

Are you confusing Park Lane with The Park?

[sharecropper]

I have an old studio bought for 400,000B 6 years ago .I should now get 850,000 B if sold it .As i spent around 300,000 doing it up ,there would be no profit but also i have been living there rent free .

I also bought a one bedroom unit in Park Lane ,Jomtien for 1.2 M baht ,and am due to collect the keys this week .This development is sold out ,and if i wanted to sell i am sure i would at least get my money back .

Good to hear that development has successfully completed, given the former question marks over it last year.

Anyone on here exposed to (or actually living in) La Royale?

Are you confusing Park Lane with The Park?

Yes I am! Thanks.

What is the latest on The Park?

[gharknes]

I don't see too many owning up to bad investments so this thread will basically be useless, my guess would be a lot of people bought various properties here and realised some time later that they where dupped by sales people with greatly elevatd prices, I would also say the single biggest error people make is comparing prices here with their respective home country and believeing the sales pitch (this would cost blah blah in the UK) Developers are making so much money from people here it is just crazy, don't forget the cost to build here is only a fraction of what it is back home, that is clearly not refelected in the asking prices for the finished product, stupid falangs are just paying up the asking price thinking - well they're all that price so it must be right, what dictates the price for anything is what people are willing to pay based on what they know, if buyers new the construction costs here compared to back home it would be a real shocker but while there are fools willing to pay 5 10 20 million baht for a condo/flat or a house here the prices will remain.

We are in Thailand...............everything in Thailand should be 1/4 or at worst 1/3 the price of your home country including realestate...........fools and their money......................and they never even own it lol

[Thaifan2]

>>What is the latest on The Park?

The Park has been stalled for at least a year now .Its strange as two blocks look finished from outside but the 3 rd is just a shell .

[Pdaz]

Haven't heard anything about La Royale for a while.. I have a friend who nearly booked there then changed his mind.. He's now so glad he got out when he did. I ride by there often but it still looks like a work in progress to me.

[PattayaParent]

gharknes, it's maybe not a case of 'people owning up to bad investments' maybe more a case of people buying places as a home, not as 'flippers' to make a quick buck on resale of an off plan unit.

It's maybe these flipper that have got burnt the most but they're probably either not the majority of the buying market or not the majority of TV posters.

[sharecropper]

Haven't heard anything about La Royale for a while.. I have a friend who nearly booked there then changed his mind.. He's now so glad he got out when he did. I ride by there often but it still looks like a work in progress to me.

It looks like a very small number of units have been transferred. I heard it was like living in a building site, and there are resales for much lower than the developer's price, but it would be a very brave man to buy in there right now I think.

I hope it successfully completes though.

[sorensen]

Haven't heard anything about La Royale for a while.. I have a friend who nearly booked there then changed his mind.. He's now so glad he got out when he did. I ride by there often but it still looks like a work in progress to me.

It looks like a very small number of units have been transferred. I heard it was like living in a building site, and there are resales for much lower than the developer's price, but it would be a very brave man to buy in there right now I think.

I hope it successfully completes though.

More info here: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.p...ighlight=royale

[JMS]

I have an old studio bought for 400,000B 6 years ago .I should now get 850,000 B if sold it .As i spent around 300,000 doing it up ,there would be no profit but also i have been living there rent free .

I also bought a one bedroom unit in Park Lane ,Jomtien for 1.2 M baht ,and am due to collect the keys this week .This development is sold out ,and if i wanted to sell i am sure i would at least get my money back .

Good to hear that development has successfully completed, given the former question marks over it last year.

Anyone on here exposed to (or actually living in) La Royale?

And what about Regatta as that never got built

[basjke]

Haven't heard anything about La Royale for a while.. I have a friend who nearly booked there then changed his mind.. He's now so glad he got out when he did. I ride by there often but it still looks like a work in progress to me.

It looks like a very small number of units have been transferred. I heard it was like living in a building site, and there are resales for much lower than the developer's price, but it would be a very brave man to buy in there right now I think.

I hope it successfully completes though.

More info here: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.p...ighlight=royale

What do you mean with more info?Last post on there 2 years ago.

[sharecropper]

And the most topical info on it on Google is a Thai Visa article from Feb 2009 about an unpaid construction workers' protest.

[CGW]

Haven't heard anything about La Royale for a while.. I have a friend who nearly booked there then changed his mind.. He's now so glad he got out when he did. I ride by there often but it still looks like a work in progress to me.

It looks like a very small number of units have been transferred. I heard it was like living in a building site, and there are resales for much lower than the developer's price, but it would be a very brave man to buy in there right now I think.

I hope it successfully completes though.

I was in there a couple of days ago with a friend who's unit was finally handed over 2 years late. The building looks atrocious when you drive in, but from the seaward side is quite nice, the apartments are very nice, though expensive. He thinks the place will be finished off eventually as the owner is there a lot and is trying hard to get it finished, supposedly he (the owner) has had a lot of bad luck with his builders going bankrupt etc.

Agree you would need to be brave to buy in there now, still appears to be years away from everything being completed, one day though it will be probably be sought after?

[gymboy33]

ive paid out about 300 odd thousand baht ,,on a place at the diamond...owe about 1.2 mil when completed..

Its behind schedule,,,they only gonna build 4 of the planned 6 buildings at present..

and add to my currency gbp going down by about 30%,,

its proved a pretty bad investment

as it stands,,I want out,, I wont be paying the remainder coz it will be like throwing good money after bad..

the only thing i can say about it is my building has maxed out its falang quote..

so there you go,,i will be probaly losing some money if not all!!

[William Osborne]

interesting subject, i bought a couple of studios down in Jomtiem about 5 years ago. Got them just before things started getting crazy so got them relativaly cheap by todays prices but would still probably be hard pressed to offload if I wanted cash quickly.

Most of the rental is short-term so the units may be empty for regular periods, along with service charge and company tax, all in all, whole thing was not really worth the hassle .

[craigt3365]

I bought a house for 4.8M Baht that originally sold for about 6.5 or so 3 years ago. His loss, my gain.

[dickie58]

Some comments on this thread clearly suggest that buying some condos in Ptty of plan is very dangerous/iffy.

But people still appear to be doing it.

We all no there are a number of condos in Ptty that have been marketed heavily, & people have paid deposits on, that have not even started, & don't look likely to start anytime soon?

Personally i would never buy anything off plan.

[Pattaya46]

don't forget the cost to build here is only a fraction of what it is back home, that is clearly not refelected in the asking prices for the finished product

Certainly the cost of labor is less, but cost of materials is similar and is the big part of the price

We are in Thailand.... everything in Thailand should be 1/4 or at worst 1/3 the price of your home country including realestate

1/4 of the price ? for everything ? are you dreaming now ?

and don't forget that new condos use now furniture from Europe or USA (plumbing, faucets, showers, electricity, ...)

and that these imported products are more expensive here than in you country ...

[sharecropper]

I was talking to someone today who isn't a TV member, who said he was 10,000,000 Baht lighter as a result of the suspension of The Waterfront project, as he had been persuaded to part with money for a number of sure fire investment units.

I just looked on the Internet and saw no latest information on this, except a Thai Visa thread which also contained the following comments in May 2008:

J*SUS CHR*ST, this thread amazes me. Lots of bloggers who don't know anything, just want to puke their bad opinion. Please do that in the beer bar where it is appropriate. In this forum I think you should hold on to facts, spiced up with some personal opinion.

Don't ANYONE understand this project will become a landmark, a Pattaya icon and one of the best investments ever in this area.

It will help Pattaya become an even more high end community together with all the other brand names allready built and soon to become. Be happy this fantastic building is built in our city.

If you need some true and real information about this project, I have it but I will not discuss this matter with a born pessimist and possibly anarcist.

Just learned that Pattaya have been voted #1 Sin City in the world. Project like this will get Pattaya rated much lower in the future and I, for one, desire that progress.

Edited February 4, 2010 by sharecropper

[PattayaParent]

^was he a sales agent for the Waterfront?

[sharecropper]

^was he a sales agent for the Waterfront?

No, but he was recommended to go into it by one.

[dickie58]

don't forget the cost to build here is only a fraction of what it is back home, that is clearly not refelected in the asking prices for the finished product

Certainly the cost of labor is less, but cost of materials is similar and is the big part of the price

We are in Thailand.... everything in Thailand should be 1/4 or at worst 1/3 the price of your home country including realestate

1/4 of the price ? for everything ? are you dreaming now ?

and don't forget that new condos use now furniture from Europe or USA (plumbing, faucets, showers, electricity, ...)

and that these imported products are more expensive here than in you country ...

Pattaya46,

Very well said.

I don't know many places where you can get a 3 bedroomed detached house/bungalow on a 500sqm plot of land, with a pool in the UK for 7 milion baht (150,000 pounds), & be 20 minutes from the beach.

There are plenty like that avaible in Ptty for 7 milion or less

Edited February 4, 2010 by dickie58

[sorensen]

I was talking to someone today who isn't a TV member, who said he was 10,000,000 Baht lighter as a result of the suspension of The Waterfront project, as he had been persuaded to part with money for a number of sure fire investment units.

I just looked on the Internet and saw no latest information on this, except a Thai Visa thread which also contained the following comments in May 2008:

J*SUS CHR*ST, this thread amazes me. Lots of bloggers who don't know anything, just want to puke their bad opinion. Please do that in the beer bar where it is appropriate. In this forum I think you should hold on to facts, spiced up with some personal opinion.

Don't ANYONE understand this project will become a landmark, a Pattaya icon and one of the best investments ever in this area.

It will help Pattaya become an even more high end community together with all the other brand names allready built and soon to become. Be happy this fantastic building is built in our city.

If you need some true and real information about this project, I have it but I will not discuss this matter with a born pessimist and possibly anarcist.

Just learned that Pattaya have been voted #1 Sin City in the world. Project like this will get Pattaya rated much lower in the future and I, for one, desire that progress.

Amazing how things can change so much in less than 2 years. It is just showing how little we can predict about the future.

Thanks for posting this.

[dickie58]

This is where i come from in the UK, look at the recently sold house prices on this site:

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/house-prices/surrey/richmond/

& someone is saying Ptty is expensive, dream on!!!

[gharknes]

don't forget the cost to build here is only a fraction of what it is back home, that is clearly not refelected in the asking prices for the finished product

Certainly the cost of labor is less, but cost of materials is similar and is the big part of the price

We are in Thailand.... everything in Thailand should be 1/4 or at worst 1/3 the price of your home country including realestate

1/4 of the price ? for everything ? are you dreaming now ?

and don't forget that new condos use now furniture from Europe or USA (plumbing, faucets, showers, electricity, ...)

and that these imported products are more expensive here than in you country ...

Pattaya46,

Very well said.

I don't know many places where you can get a 3 bedroomed detached house/bungalow on a 500sqm plot of land, with a pool in the UK for 7 milion baht (150,000 pounds), & be 20 minutes from the beach.

There are plenty like that avaible in Ptty for 7 milion or less

there are pockets/areas in the UK where properties are extreme depending on location, there are also areas where 150-200k pounds would not be unusual for a detached house/bungalow, sorry but I hold fast with my statement, your example of 7million baht should be more like 4-5 million, you are doing exactly what I said in my original post............comparing with back home prices on the wrong end of the scale but please feel free to hand your well earned nest egg over to something you will never own and was built for a fraction of what you paid for it lol

Edited February 4, 2010 by gharknes