Easy To Sell A Condo In Samui?

[shirleycheung2]

Hello all,

I am new here and hope to get some good advice from the Samui veterans! I am being talked to a "condo hotel" concept in Samui and the deal seems to be great and from a very reputable developer. However, I wonder how easy it is to sell back my condo to the market ? Is the resale market here active?

Obviously, I am talking about low-end condo at the 3-4m baht , one bedroom near the airport...

There are so many new condos coming up in the market, why would anyone buy an old condo? I wonder....any good advice here? Should I buy or not?

Thanks,

Shirley

[John 1]

Even before you think about buying make sure you can buy in your name.

[itishothere]

Plenty of good threads throughout TV about the pros and cons of buying property here (Thailand) - suggest you read some of them. Concerns I would have would be:

Where is the money coming from, and when might you want to sell? And then where does the money go afterwards (exchange rate risk if moving out of Thailand.)

The chances of selling whilst under contruction and until all the units are sold are slim. And remember 51% of them must be owned by Thais, so you effectively have 2 markets, and probably 2 pricing levels.

As for Samui specifically, I see many condos either under construction or completed but not yet 100% sold. You will be up against a good deal of competition. Personally I know of people who have been unable to sell for over 2 years now, in the THB 2 - 3m price range. Your condo sounds like it is not at the bottom end of the market. Houses/villas seem to stay on the market for a long time too.

I wouldn't buy. The rental market is very active here so it suits me.

However the long term - say 10 years - view of the market here may well be different. But is that your time horizon?

Going to be interesting to hear what other people say about this subject.

[oldsailor35]

Hi Shirley, there are so many new and 2nd hand condos on the market on Samui, that i would'nt fancy your chances of reselling for a few years unless you practably give it away. I am sure that the 'sales spiel' will promise you a good chance to sell at a good profit, but do not believe it. I have a friend from England who bought 2 years ago, only spent 2 weeks in the condo (not far from the airport) and has had it on the market for last 18 months.

As they say.......Up to you !

[ooanndehnarak]

Shirley,

First you should find out if it actually is or can and will be a condominium and not merely an apartment. There are very few areas on Samui now where condominiums can be licensed. Only a condominium sells actual freehold ownership of the units. Apartment will be available for rent only. I would strongly recommend that you do NOT waste your reading through the sometimes and sometimes not legal commentaries on TV, loads of incorrect details e.g. "the chances of selling whilst under contruction and until all the units are sold are slim. And remember 51% of them must be owned by Thais.." this is legally incorrect. A small point but the small points matter and when you have several incorrect points you have a mess. You should contact a legal advisor who actually knows what they are talking about i.e. preferrable a foreign lawyer here (the Thai lawyers are generally quite poor to put it kindly) but note several of them are also horrible, you need to meet them and press them to prove to you that they know what they are talking about with regard to the actual relevant law...in fact make them show you it. If they can't move on to the next one until you are comfortable. Initial consulations are usually not charged. I know that may involve some real work on your part, but often there are not "easy" answers for real questions involving your real interests. Best of luck!

[itishothere]

I would strongly recommend that you do NOT waste your reading through the sometimes and sometimes not legal commentaries on TV, loads of incorrect details e.g. "the chances of selling whilst under contruction and until all the units are sold are slim. And remember 51% of them must be owned by Thais.." this is legally incorrect.

Can you help me understand this? I thought, that the selling point of a condo - or juristic - was that foreigners could actually own them, so long as the foreign owners did not exceed 49% of the floor area. They take a share of the freehold of the land, much in the same way they would if they bought the land themselves through a Thai Corporate body of which they can only own 49%. The other 51% must be Thai owned.

And are you say it is illegal to sell-on an off-plan development whilst it is under construction? This has been going on for years in booming property markets around the world, I assumed you could do the same here? Is that not the case?

I would certainly agree with you about taking legal advice on anything connected with property purchases here!

[shirleycheung2]

Hello all,

Thank you for all your reply. There are actually two issues here:

1. Ease of sell: Some of you say people takes 18 months or 2 years to sell...and that means there isn't an active secondary market here. The condo I am considering is near completion and I plan to sell in 5 years...if the secondary condo market is not that active, WHY would anybody buy into it???

2. Right to sell. The one I am buying is actually a leasehold structure in that got 120 years of lease and got some shares from a HK company that actually owns the Thai company. This gives the right to the owner to renew the lease forever..well, this is WHAT they say. Any experience in selling leasehold properties?

Thanks sooooo much for all your advice.

Shirley

[beamer]

Shirley

Take it from someone who has good idea where you are from , stick to speculating on property in Hong Kong .

Ther is no re sale market in Samui . There is no demand like in HK.

[Boater]

Shirley

Take it from someone who has good idea where you are from , stick to speculating on property in Hong Kong .

Ther is no re sale market in Samui . There is no demand like in HK.

Ther is no re sale market in Samui .

sell at the right price, and there is a huge re sale market in samui !

i have known alot of people make some very good profits in the last year on buying and selling Condo's ... just need to get at the right price, make sure the developer is safe, and delivers, and bobs your uncle !

[MJo]

If your not in Samui yourself forget it. 120 years lease also sounds not right. In Thailand you can only register max 30 year lease on land. To circumvent this via some company structures sounds dodgy.

3 to 4 mil for one bedroom lease hold also sounds a bit high for low end place. You could get freehold in downtown Bangkok for that.

Sure people who are in the biz and have all the contacts in Samui make money. Mostly buying from investors like yourself at greatly reduced prices and selling to the next one stepping of the plane.

As someone said you'd be better of to stay in your home market.

[Boater]

If your not in Samui yourself forget it. 120 years lease also sounds not right. In Thailand you can only register max 30 year lease on land. To circumvent this via some company structures sounds dodgy.

3 to 4 mil for one bedroom lease hold also sounds a bit high for low end place. You could get freehold in downtown Bangkok for that.

Sure people who are in the biz and have all the contacts in Samui make money. Mostly buying from investors like yourself at greatly reduced prices and selling to the next one stepping of the plane.

As someone said you'd be better of to stay in your home market.

the structure she talks about is actually very safe, it is the same structure Tesco ECT use to buy property, and in theory is safer then Freehold, as you are a share holder in a company that both owns the land and the apartment, but this is a complete other topic to discuss

there is an old saying, never put all your eggs in one basket, and why shouldnt the OP invest a small sum into samui? , what could you buy in HK for 2 million tHB , a parking space? , there is no real room to lose, unless the development never completes?, which it sounds like it is nearly complete?

you will find on this forum, the people who have lost money are the first to post all the bad, but the people who ave made money ect dont tend to tell the world !

never put in what you cant afford to lose, but many people have spent more on a Thai Bird and have nothing to show..

and also , yes you can buy in BKK for the same price or cheaper, but would you want to holiday in it?

[MJo]

Good sales pitch but i guess you need one to make a living in the property biz.

I assume the OP is looking to invest in view of making a profit and make more on capital gain in 5 years. I'm still not convinced that 3 to 4 mill one bedroom at Samui airport is the best choice. Capital gain possible but probably not much in next 5 years. I'd start with the parking space in HK first and after it's paid for i would look somewhere else. If home base is covered then UK, Ireland, US comes to mind. Much more potential than in Samui airport IMO.

Again if your based in Samui and in the property business and know what you are doing then do it. But not based on sales pitch from property agent no way.

If your buying to live in or have few mil spare to buy just to use as holiday home then why not. That's what i did so haven't lost anything and never will as it was not an investment in the first place. Actually it was a move to ensure my kids have a roof over their heads regardless of what happens to me or to my marriage.

For the market not being dead in Samui, why not share your facts. Like actual buildings with details like unit size, type, purchase and sales prices. Time to sell etc. I'm sure many here would be interested to see some proof the market has finally turned.

[Rooo]

To the OP,

You have a two fold question here re condos.One that I can help you with is ownership details.

Can be found in this discussion here:

http://www.thaivisa....um-in-thailand/

[joe84330]

Hello all, Thank you for all your reply. There are actually two issues here: 1. Ease of sell: Some of you say people takes 18 months or 2 years to sell...and that means there isn't an active secondary market here. The condo I am considering is near completion and I plan to sell in 5 years...if the secondary condo market is not that active, WHY would anybody buy into it??? 2. Right to sell. The one I am buying is actually a leasehold structure in that got 120 years of lease and got some shares from a HK company that actually owns the Thai company. This gives the right to the owner to renew the lease forever..well, this is WHAT they say. Any experience in selling leasehold properties? Thanks sooooo much for all your advice. Shirley

you don't need to add any further information. this alone should be enough to tell you or any other observant individual that there is nothing to see here. avoid at all costs.

[shirleycheung2]

Maybe some of you are right... Have anybody heard of a developer called Kalara? Won 3 awards last year. They have a new condo project in Bang Rak and has a pooled rental program in place. So... sounds attractive as an arm chair investment... However, from what I hear in this forum, seems the reality of re reselling is dim and if so, there is no value in this. In HK, you can make 50 percent profit in 3 years... May not be the case in Samui....

[steelerian]

Kalara are a very reputable company.

[DrChopper]

Kalara are very established and have completed several developments here.

However having looked at this development in my opinion it is over priced per square metre and the projected rentals are far too high for what is in reality a poor location.

Comparable purchase prices are lower elsewhere and tourists can stay in beach front properties in more popular locations for less, not a good investment in my book. I wasn't looking with a 5 year timescale in mind but I would think the poor location would not help resale.

All only my opinion.

Edited February 13, 2012 by DrChopper

[BigC]

Kalara are very established and have completed several developments here.

However having looked at this development in my opinion it is over priced per square metre and the projected rentals are far too high for what is in reality a poor location.

Comparable purchase prices are lower elsewhere and tourists can stay in beach front properties in more popular locations for less, not a good investment in my book. I wasn't looking with a 5 year timescale in mind but I would think the poor location would not help resale.

All only my opinion.

Plenty of good threads throughout TV about the pros and cons of buying property here (Thailand) - suggest you read some of them. Concerns I would have would be:

Where is the money coming from, and when might you want to sell? And then where does the money go afterwards (exchange rate risk if moving out of Thailand.)

The chances of selling whilst under contruction and until all the units are sold are slim. And remember 51% of them must be owned by Thais, so you effectively have 2 markets, and probably 2 pricing levels.

As for Samui specifically, I see many condos either under construction or completed but not yet 100% sold. You will be up against a good deal of competition. Personally I know of people who have been unable to sell for over 2 years now, in the THB 2 - 3m price range. Your condo sounds like it is not at the bottom end of the market. Houses/villas seem to stay on the market for a long time too.

I wouldn't buy. The rental market is very active here so it suits me.

However the long term - say 10 years - view of the market here may well be different. But is that your time horizon?

Going to be interesting to hear what other people say about this subject.

you can own a condo 100 per cent in a forgners name.

Too be honest you have more chance of rental and selling in Bnagkok. You get more for you money and you have a bigger range of people to market to. Such as working Thails and forangs.

Any property close to sky trains which are expanding all the time.

i looked at a condo in samui a few weeks ago they want about 3 million for something the size of a cupbaord. the re-sell value would be hard with a condo that size.

in abngkok that same condo probably cost under a mill.

you could rent it for a few year then put it up on the market. then even if you worst case synamrio sell it for what you bought it for then you still have had an income on the rent.

don't for get maintance fees. they can go u and up and they are very imprtant as if you do not pay or if a neihbour does not pay then the place can turn to a shit ans devaule it.

on the other hand buy land and condos in smaui in the long term can pay off because samui is an island and they do not make any more land.

unlike Bangkok, Pattaya where they can just build further and further out