Why Do Farang All Decide To Build A Home

[farang000999]

the story always seems to go 'built a home" are there really that few desirable existing abodes from the farang perspective?

[mjnaus]

Who wouldn't want to be able to design their own home? And in Thailand this is much cheaper then most western countries.

[Atmos]

you could add 'or rent one'

we lease a new house, owners get 4.2% return on their investment and are happy with this; maintenance and risk-free for me, getting a better % return on investment and rental at 'home'; we're in our third 'permanent location'; like it here, but in another year or two maybe move again.

Have no interest at all in trying to be seen as the rich farang in some isolated village, as so many seem to do.

And then there's the obvious . . .why build/pay for something you don't own?

[IMA_FARANG]

For me it was not to build MY home ... which is irrelevent to me ... but to provide a place for my Thai family to live in.

And I didn't build a home ... I bought an existing home and renovated it to my standards. Still that home is intended more for my wife and family than for me personally.

Calling myself a Buddhist, I understand the thought that "all things by nature are impermant".

And now just reaching 65 years of age, I know that "impermanemce" quite possibly applies to me in the near future.(very probably in less than 20 years).

My generation was aught that a "sucessful" person would naturally build and own a house to retire in and live happily in one's old age. That was our goal.

I don't share that philosophy...but that's another matter.

[richard_smith237]

Why do 'farang' always ask... why do all farang do this, do that... etc... ?

It's quite likely that the proportion of Westerners who own their home in Thailand is no more or less proportionate to the Thai's who build their own home in Thailand.

Perhaps a more valid question for the Op, one which goes back a few months to another thread: Why do farang speak pidgin english?

In the interests of this specific topic: I suggest that a significantly larger number of Westerners purchase a house or condo than have their own house built.

Those Westerners who do have their own house built either do it more cheaply than buying a house, the quality of cheaper houses in the location they are interested in is substandard, many houses in Moo-Bans are too close to each other, some guys already own the land on which they wish to build... Just a small few of the reasons.

Edited September 11, 2011 by richard_smith237

[farang000999]

farang own land?

[billd766]

Why did we build our own house?

Let me see, could it have been that where we live out in a small village in the country there were no houses that my wife or I liked or wanted to buy?

No.

Could it have been because my wife already had some land just waiting to be built on?

That helped.

Could it have been that building our own house we could get what we wanted put in the places we wanted?

That helped too.

Could it have been that I wanted to leave my wife in a better position in the future?

That helped too.

Could it have been that our son (who wasn't thought of when we built the house will have some where to live in or sell when both my wife and I are dead and gone.

That was a bonus. (And so is he)

Could it have been because I didn't listen to all the doomsayers on Thai Visa that once it is built and in her name you will be kicked out, divorced and left nothing.

That happened to me in the UK and I lost much more than I would here plus I ignore doomsayers on principle.

We have known each other 18 years and been married for 11 of them and I figure that if she was wanting too look for a quick pile of money she seems to be taken the long way around to get there.

Ah, I remember now.

It was because we could and because we wanted to.

[transam]

Why did we build our own house?

Let me see, could it have been that where we live out in a small village in the country there were no houses that my wife or I liked or wanted to buy?

No.

Could it have been because my wife already had some land just waiting to be built on?

That helped.

Could it have been that building our own house we could get what we wanted put in the places we wanted?

That helped too.

Could it have been that I wanted to leave my wife in a better position in the future?

That helped too.

Could it have been that our son (who wasn't thought of when we built the house will have some where to live in or sell when both my wife and I are dead and gone.

That was a bonus. (And so is he)

Could it have been because I didn't listen to all the doomsayers on Thai Visa that once it is built and in her name you will be kicked out, divorced and left nothing.

That happened to me in the UK and I lost much more than I would here plus I ignore doomsayers on principle.

We have known each other 18 years and been married for 11 of them and I figure that if she was wanting too look for a quick pile of money she seems to be taken the long way around to get there.

Ah, I remember now.

It was because we could and because we wanted to.

Ditto,

[katabeachbum]

building your own house gives you the possibility to get what you want at an acceptable price, and the possibility to own it in your own name.

Both complicated when buying existing house

[chiang mai]

It's cheaper, the build quality would have to be better and the design is personalized and more optimal - I would suggest the OP's question ought to be reworded along the lines of, why buy when you can build!

[ludditeman]

Building a house in Thailand costs 1/3 to 1/2 the price of buying the same house (inc land).

Two bedroom build is about 300kbht + land

Edited September 11, 2011 by ludditeman

[Darrel]

Who wouldn't want to be able to design their own home? And in Thailand this is much cheaper then most western countries.

There's an old saying:

build your first house for your enemy, your second house for your friend and your third house for yourself.

It's certainly cheaper to get it wrong here, and there is no shortage of places to prove that.

[mrbojangles]

As you may have seen from my thread,we are currently in the process of building a house. Why? It's mainly for my wife and daughter to stay when the schools are closed in Saudi and they go to the village for a couple of months. It's cheap as chips and I want them to have a bit of comfort and it will do me for the 5 or 6 days per year I go up there. It will never be mine and I don't want it to be.

[katabeachbum]

Building a house in Thailand costs 1/3 to 1/2 the price of buying the same house (inc land).

Two bedroom build is about 300kbht + land

proper foundation and structure, tiled floors, tiled bathroomwalls, cheap windows and doors, concrete roof tiles, gypsum ceiling, its hard to build for less than 10k baht/sqm, so 300k baht gets you 30sqm one bedroom ensuite bath

[trogers]

Building a house in Thailand costs 1/3 to 1/2 the price of buying the same house (inc land).

Two bedroom build is about 300kbht + land

proper foundation and structure, tiled floors, tiled bathroomwalls, cheap windows and doors, concrete roof tiles, gypsum ceiling, its hard to build for less than 10k baht/sqm, so 300k baht gets you 30sqm one bedroom ensuite bath

There are many out there who thinks a shed enclosed by walls is equivalent to a house...

[kokesaat]

Why build?

Because I want my rooms to be the size and shape that I want them to be, not what someone else wants them to be.

Because I want my house to face the proper direction to minimize the impact of the sun.

Because I want my doors to open inward, as doors should, rather than outward as Thais normally build.

Because I want to design a kitchen for my wife who is short. Kitchen counters are about 2" lower than most homes, perfect for the little lady.

Because we wanted a 10' porch around half the house. Where have you ever seen a 10' porch on any ready built home?

Because I hate hallways, I designed our home to have none.

Because Thais don't generally believe in walk-in closets, we designed a home with a large walk-in closet.....our builder thought we were loony to waste the space.

Because I wanted our water tanks under the house, away from the sun, so that I can take cool naked showers outdoors in the heat of the summer. All the ready built homes we've seen have water tanks, usually in the full sun. Hot showers on a hot day suck.

Because we wanted a white rolled steel roof, and we've never seen a ready built home with a white roof, much less a white rolled steel roof.

Those are just a few of the reasons we decided to build rather than buy. Total cost, 2.5 rai land in the countryside, 20000sf of living space (including the wraparound porch), furnishings, 3 ac, less than 2.5 million baht. House is 12 years old and solid as a rock.

[wandrinstar]

Because im Daft,and Happy.

[Mooner]

Because the wife told them to!

[Gonsalviz]

The place I wanted a home did not have a house on it. Location, location,location.

[toffo9]

Building a 3 bed bungalow for 1.5 million baht... buying the same bungalow 2.5 million baht.. Ill let you work out the difference

[thrilled]

my better half bought the land 20 years ago,so I said ok i'll have A house built on it.

[Darrel]

Building a 3 bed bungalow for 1.5 million baht... buying the same bungalow 2.5 million baht..

Hmm. Not sure about bungalows as I dont want one and would never buy or build one, but there are plenty of Pattaya condos on sale for far less than the original purchase price. In fact I know of several new units on sale for less than the original developer price, let alone the current developer price.

I suspect the same is true of houses.

[wandrinstar]

A Condo is worth nothing if the neighbours are noisy , So is a House by a Wat. A Position away from her family and nosey buggers is worth 3 Mill Extra.. Then getting Furniture that is fit for Over 6 Footers is a big problem..Most Thai seats are useless i might as well sit on the floor.

[ozsamurai]

freedom of design

[Atmos]

Then getting Furniture that is fit for Over 6 Footers is a big problem.

at 187cm tall, I appreciate a modern house with full-size doorways too, commonly they're about eye/nose level in older/local homes.

[stgrhe]

I too decided to build the house after failing to find something that suited our needs and within our budget. I looked at over 120 finished houses and developments to gain experience and I soon discovered that This style house designs were not for us. That said, despite having an engineering background and daily supervision it was from time to time an uphill battle, but with a tremendously good end result.

[PattayaPhom]

Building a 3 bed bungalow for 1.5 million baht... buying the same bungalow 2.5 million baht..

Hmm. Not sure about bungalows as I dont want one and would never buy or build one, but there are plenty of Pattaya condos on sale for far less than the original purchase price. In fact I know of several new units on sale for less than the original developer price, let alone the current developer price.

I suspect the same is true of houses.

Those condos at less than developer price were purchased originally at less than developer price so the seller is still making a profit

[katabeachbum]

A Condo is worth nothing if the neighbours are noisy , So is a House by a Wat. A Position away from her family and nosey buggers is worth 3 Mill Extra.. Then getting Furniture that is fit for Over 6 Footers is a big problem..Most Thai seats are useless i might as well sit on the floor.

any home should be at least 300km away from her family, and as for 6 footers Ikea is opening in BKK soon

[dave111223]

Reason that I'm choosing to build a house instead of buying an existing house.

1) Design. You get a house exactly the way you want it. The layout suits your family and design suits your own tastes.

2) Price. To find a pre-built house to the standard, same size, and same land size as the house i'm building would cost about 30-40% more than cost of building.

3) Building standards. The house building methods and standards seem to have improved dramatically from 10 or 15 years, if you look at houses built more than 10 years ago you're likely to find things like wiring on the outside of the walls, visible concrete frame columns, basic cheapo silver aluminum windows etc...

4) Location. Plots of lands are available pretty much anywhere. You're dream house is probably not.

5) Moo bans. Many pre-built houses here are located in moobans which for several reasons I don't like:

- Land plots are often very small (ie 60 or 70 sqwah is considered a "big" mooban plot)

- Often the land is highly overpriced (thus making the house overpriced)

- Your properly value is extremely dependent upon the overall neighborhood

6) Architectural costs are very low for designing a custom house.

In conclusion the chance of you finding a pre-build house in the exactly location you want, the exact floor plan/size that you want, the exact design style that you want, in the neighborhood the you want, at the price that you want, with the land size that you want is a million to one shot.

[farang000999]

why is it so much cheaper to build than to buy?