Land: Rent Or Buy ?

[swissie]

Wife and I have been looking to buy some land for quite a while (1 to 2 Rai in a rural environement). Since we live in Europe, we have to do it by way of internet. A week ago we thaught, we found something. Got the pictures from the seller via internet. We liked it and I was looking to book a flight to BKK. (= 2 Rai near Ratchabury with water & elecrtic, asking price 165'000 Bht.)

Guess what: It was not even on the market for a full week and it is already sold ! Wow !

At this point we are not sure, if we should keep on chasing after ever increasing Real-Estate Prices (some asking prices reaching the point of lunacy !)

As we are still looking to buy some land, we are now also considering (instead of buying) to start looking for a 30 year land-lease situation. As we gather and depending on location of course, lease prices for 1 Rai are somewhere between 750 to 1500 Bht per year (reasonable).

I am 59 years old and my wife is 50. We are both aware of the fact, that we won't live forever and I myself have no children. My wife has 2 daughters but they have both a university degree and are "well off". ( So they would not really need to inherit anything from us.)

As hard as it is to look for real-estate when one is not in Thailand and has to do everything by way of internet, I woulden't even know where to start looking for 30 year leases in the internet ? ! ( I used to have quite a network of Farang-Buddies in Thailand, but they have all died or left Thailand for their home-country or are now living in Cambodia.)

Our preferred places to settle would still be: The triangle of Bangkok-Ratschabury-Kanchanabury or Chiang Mai/Chiang Rai. I like the Isaan better but not so my wife! Her verdict: "A bunch of lazy, ignorant thieves, that steal your chickens from the front yard while you go take a piss in the backyard". HeHe ! Please take notice: This is my wifes comment, not mine !

But in closing and in a nutshell: After having read the above and taking into consideration our age, family situation etc. if you were in our shoes: Buy or look for a 30 year lease ?

Thanks & cheers.

[guzzi850m2]

I think from reading your post that your wife is Thai, yes? So why lease, if you build a nice house on leased land, you will give it away after 30 years and if you want to move after say 5 years, you lost the the money paid for the house a well, especially when building out on the country side with no new leasers? If you own (wife) you can sell it and move on with money in your pocket.

If I was was you I would NOT buy from the internet but get a tourist visa and fly down and look around for your self. There are so many things to take into consideration before you sign any papers, is the land with proper title deed (some here knows much more about it than me) and many more things.

Location is very important too, Chang Mai area is very beautiful and you are not too far away from good hospitals/dentists and can have some western food as well.

Well those are my thoughts.

Good luck

I have to edit this again, sorry.

Why don't you rent a house first in a semi rural area, they can be had cheap up there. Then you can buy a car and look around and then make up your mind.

I completely fail to understand your approach to this, sorry.

Edited May 5, 2011 by guzzi850m2

[swissie]

I think from reading your post that your wife is Thai, yes? So why lease, if you build a nice house on leased land, you will give it away after 30 years and if you want to move after say 5 years, you lost the the money paid for the house a well, especially when building out on the country side with no new leasers? If you own (wife) you can sell it and move on with money in your pocket.

If I was was you I would NOT buy from the internet but get a tourist visa and fly down and look around for your self. There are so many things to take into consideration before you sign any papers, is the land with proper title deed (some here knows much more about it than me) and many more things.

Location is very important too, Chang Mai area is very beautiful and you are not too far away from good hospitals/dentists and can have some western food as well.

Well those are my thoughts.

Good luck

I have to edit this again, sorry.

Why don't you rent a house first in a semi rural area, they can be had cheap up there. Then you can buy a car and look around and then make up your mind.

I completely fail to understand your approach to this, sorry.

Heaven no ! Would never BUY land via internet. I use the internet as a pre-selection tool. When the time is ripe, we will go look at a few select sites and do a serious title-check.

Cheers.

[guzzi850m2]

I see, that sounds much more sensible.

I still think you will have a better change to find your dream place if you are in Thailand and quickly can go and look if something interesting shows up, and you can also drive around to look for the perfect surroundings suiting you best.

Good luck.

Edited May 6, 2011 by guzzi850m2

[donx]

I see, that sounds much more sensible.

I still think you will have a better change to find your dream place if you are in Thailand and quickly can go and look if something interesting shows up, and you can also drive around to look for the perfect surroundings suiting you best.

Good luck.

I agree. When we were looking to buy, I had my eyes set on land I saw here on ThaiVisa. My wife had her family investigate and they recommended a place that was larger and was less expensive. It wasn't even up for sale. It had been for sale and our family knew it. We asked if they would sell it and they said yes.

These are the types of property that you will never be able to find looking on the internet.

[kdc1899]

" "A bunch of lazy, ignorant thieves, that steal your chickens from the front yard while you go take a piss in the backyard". "

Your wife is awsome!

does she have a daughter?

[swissie]

" "A bunch of lazy, ignorant thieves, that steal your chickens from the front yard while you go take a piss in the backyard". "

Your wife is awsome!

does she have a daughter?

Actually, she has 2 of them. The older one is sort of engaged to be married. The younger one is a lazy, spoiled brat, that I woulden't marry if she was the last woman on earth !!

Cheers.

[klikster]

Have a look at ddproperty.com .. wife can help with the search function .. Google translate can "help" with translations.