I Am Planning To Move To Nong Prue Area, Is It Safe?

[Darrel]

even estate agents need to live somewhere and buying for me makes sense...not all of us just crawl under a rock somewhere..

[Darrel]

Well...a property should be viewed as a home, not an investment or money maker..yes nice if the value goes up but then it is relative if you need to buy something else anyway...also probably the people ypu know didnt do their research, more than likely paid far too much for somewhere out in the boonies where all you can do is count the buffalos...Buy and build yourselfe in a good location and you will never go wrong.

The people I was talking about are in the Pattaya area. A couple of house owners and a couple of company-name condo owners. Farang-name condos are less of a problem, though I know several such units that cant be sold for the price (in THB) that was paid for them 5 years ago.

Whilst there is an argument for not treating a home as an investment, there is a corresponding argument for not automatically treating renting as money down the drain. In the end you have to take the total cost of ownership from the day of purchase to the day of sale, and compare that with the total cost of renting (including interest earned on capital invested elsewhere) over the same time.

I work on the assumption that with luck I may live another 20 years or so. Assuming constant prices, in that time my rental payments will not exceed the cost of buying the place I live in. Take interest into account and I wont have paid 25% of the cost of purchase in rent over that time.

OK, the value of property could increase greatly over that time. But there is also the possibility that someone builds a pig-farm next to my house, or a by-pass through my village, or a View Talay 7 in front of my balcony, and in those circumstances (and God knows they can happen here) as a renter I have the option of upping sticks and moving on for no cost at all and at a moment's notice. Owners dont have this luxury.

There is also the issue of what happens when I die? I have no Thai family and dont want one. If I die owning a condo or house in Pattaya, my executor (probably based in the UK) will have the trouble and expense of selling my property here and the odds are that he will do this in a hurry via the first estate agent that crawls out from under his rock, and at a very low price. If I only have paper investments he can liquidate these at very little cost and very easily at a good price, and even if I've also prepaid some rent or a deposit here the most that will be lost on that will be a few 10s of thousands of Baht.

And then there is the question of whether I will actually want to live in Pattaya for the next 20 years. As the number of Russians increases I'm finding this less and less likely.

[hotandhumid]

This has to be a joke, right?

[JSixpack]

Take interest into account and I wont have paid 25% of the cost of purchase in rent over that time.

You forgot to consider inflation, which is greater than the interest. Over that 20 years, the value of your money is eroding by 4% a year or more.

There is also the issue of what happens when I die? I have no Thai family and dont want one. If I die owning a condo or house in Pattaya, my executor (probably based in the UK) will have the trouble and expense of selling my property here and the odds are that he will do this in a hurry via the first estate agent that crawls out from under his rock, and at a very low price. If I only have paper investments he can liquidate these at very little cost and very easily at a good price, and even if I've also prepaid some rent or a deposit here the most that will be lost on that will be a few 10s of thousands of Baht.

And how do you plan to communicate to your executor (probably based in the UK) your new account number and SWIFT code (assuming with you that SWIFT codes work on the Other Side)? Ouija board?

And then there is the question of whether I will actually want to live in Pattaya for the next 20 years. As the number of Russians increases I'm finding this less and less likely.

Every dog has his day and later you could sell to the Russians if necessary. Pattaya's gonna be good for another 50 years. In the meantime, you'd have your own place, fixed to your own liking, a woman in every room. It could be rented out. You could keep it as a vacation home, etc. There's still a strong case to be made for buying--wisely, for yourself and not purely as an investment.

Edited April 30, 2012 by JSixpack

[Rimmer]

We do seem to be getting off topic here into the realms of property ownership which has been done to death elsewhere on the forum. The topic is:

I Am Planning To Move To Nong Prue Area, Is It Safe?

[tropo]

I Am Planning To Move To Nong Prue Area, Is It Safe?

All things considered, if safety is the main concern, there are safer countries to live in than Thailand. ... and in Thailand there are far safer areas to live in than Pattaya (Nongprue).

... however, bad sh*t can happen anywhere. Good example - Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania (of all places).

This reminds me of an incident in NZ 2 years ago. A car crashed through the fence of my 80 year old mother and stepfather's house in an idyllic quiet suburb of Auckland and then one of the drugged up passengers proceeded to break down the front door to get at them.

... and then you could get a stress related disease from worrying too much about your safety...

[radiola]

wow, finaly some good comments

i did calculation, if i live in this house 10 years, i would save on rent and in 10 years i will save exactly as the hosue is worth right now.

Also I need a home somewhere, to relax, cool down etc....

plus electric is 3,4, now i pay 6 bht, you save that way too.

I would say at least 9000 bht per month or 10000 if I build a fitness in my home....

Also I could own a bike, save 3000 bht per month......

That is total 13000 saved bht per month, in year 150000. So in 10 years i can upgrade and buy a new home for like 3 million.............

just few thoughts

I hate renting, because I am just throwing the money out of the window. this way you can stay in the house, when you get a renter for 6 months, i can travel aroudn the world and use the rent money to pay rent somewhere else.

I think that is the best investment that oyu can do. my dam_n bank gives me max 3% plus you pay tax, so I am loosing money each day....

But thank you for the replies, excluding the few stupid ones in the beggining

Edited April 30, 2012 by radiola

[radiola]

I Am Planning To Move To Nong Prue Area, Is It Safe?

All things considered, if safety is the main concern, there are safer countries to live in than Thailand. ... and in Thailand there are far safer areas to live in than Pattaya (Nongprue).

... however, bad sh*t can happen anywhere. Good example - Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania (of all places).

This reminds me of an incident in NZ 2 years ago. A car crashed through the fence of my 80 year old mother and stepfather's house in an idyllic quiet suburb of Auckland and then one of the drugged up passengers proceeded to break down the front door to get at them.

... and then you could get a stress related disease from worrying too much about your safety...

yes i know, my country is safe as it can be, never heard somebody got shot, murdered in my city.....

no burglaries....

but it is cold and very boring, you dont have beach, all you can do is stay your freaking house all day and watch tv.

and there are not so many fruits, plus food is much more expensive, not a lot but.....

[Spoonman]

Also I could own a bike, save 3000 bht per month......

Why do you need to own a house to own a bike ?

[tropo]

yes i know, my country is safe as it can be, never heard somebody got shot, murdered in my city.....

no burglaries....

I'm sure the people of Port Arthur could have said the same when they woke up on April 28, 1996.

What about the massacre on a quiet little island in Norway last year.

There is never any guarantees no matter where you live.

[radiola]

Also I could own a bike, save 3000 bht per month......

Why do you need to own a house to own a bike ?

to keep the bike, when I am gone..... where else can you keep bigger bike when you decide to travel to japan for example

[Rimmer]

One post discussing the merits of buying property removed, This after my caution that the topic title was being ignored and straying off topic.