Retirement Time

[tracman]

Hello all, I have not been on this forum for a very long time. I live in the States with my Thai wife of 5+years. I am retired and she still works,and supports me-so much for stereotypes. We own property a little east of CR and want to build a modest., yet comfortable house. We have not been to Thailand in 5 years and don't know what has changed. It used to be farongs got screwed every time you turned around, not sure if this changed or not. I will also need a builder and a place to live while the house is being built. My wife used to work for the Gov and knows a few people, might help-not sure. Without dragging this out i need all the advise I can get.

Mark

[ripstanley]

What type of house are you thinking of concrete or timber. What is your price range?

[tracman]

Probably concrete, 3Mbt range

[Will27]

Probably concrete, 3Mbt range

Hi there

There's a lot of current informtion on this and the real estate forum.

Just take your time and have a look. If you have any specific questions

after that, I'm sure people will be happy to help.

Regards

Will

[ripstanley]

This thread is in the Chiang Ria forum http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/535006-house-builder/

[tracman]

Thanks for the information, i will do my research.

[harrry]

Maybe you should have a rethink about retiring here if you are already conveinced that farangs get screwed every time. Unless you really want to be here you will not be happy. If you do welcome.

[villagefarang]

It is not just the Thais one has to lookout for. Those pesky old “farongs” will get you every time. In general the best advice I can give you is to do whatever your wife tells you to do.

[sceadugenga]

Speaking of pesky old farangs where is Limbo these days?

Come back Limbo, all is forgiven!!!

[krobert6]

What type of house are you thinking of concrete or timber. What is your price range?

3Mbht is not modest in my book 0 what size were you thinking of and what do YOU mean by modest?

[villagefarang]

If he is looking at a modest build price of 10 to 15 thousand per square meter then he could be looking at anything between 200 and 300 square meters of living space. Of course that is just for a start, as there are sure to be more projects and more expenses as time passes. A home is truly never finished, unless you run out of money.

[tracman]

I'm looking about 200sq meters. One story, 3 bed, 2 bath, farong kitchen and outside Thai kitchen, comfortable outside patio, and screened in area. Must have A/C.

[krobert6]

I'm looking about 200sq meters. One story, 3 bed, 2 bath, farong kitchen and outside Thai kitchen, comfortable outside patio, and screened in area. Must have A/C.

Then I suppose it is down to the design and quality of fixtures and fittings. As VF said the house is just the start - there is the garden and fencing which could account for another 20 + %.

Arou you designing your own or looking for builders with plans?

[tracman]

I would like to modify an existing plan to my needs. i designed a house before and was not pleased with it-I had no one to blame but myself, I am not a designer.

[krobert6]

I would like to modify an existing plan to my needs. i designed a house before and was not pleased with it-I had no one to blame but myself, I am not a designer.

I designed a simple plan of my own and it was done to suit the land and views over the rice fields and to the mountains.

I did not like any of the Thai designs I saw as the Thai way seems to be to make the house look impressive from the road and does not focus on liveability imho.

See my simple bungalow 10x20 metres herehttp://www.thaivisa....-house-builder/

[tracman]

Nice place, i don't need big face to impress anyone either, i want comfortable and logical. I don't so well with the heat, I am not sure if high ceilings on lower ceilings is good. i chose concrete becouse it is cheap. teak is way out of my league. I do need a farong kitchen and a Thai kitchen. I love to cook and so does my wife, but we cook different things.

[tracman]

i see a mentioning of glass windows, I did not know there were other kinds on windows?

[villagefarang]

i see a mentioning of glass windows, I did not know there were other kinds on windows?

Actually most rural Thais live in houses with glassless windows. They have wooden shutters, with or without screens on the inside and no glass. Now you know.

[villagefarang]

Here is my take on moving to Thailand.

I suppose I should have more sympathy for those mired in angst as they contemplate a move to Thailand. The thing is, aside from not burning bridges back home, having a sound financial plan and learning the language there isn’t that much one can do remotely. Much better off waiting until one has boots on the ground and exploring options firsthand.

Posting years in advance, sometimes annoyingly vague pleas for help corralling your ducks and getting them to stand in a straight line, is next to useless.

Questions along the lines of how high is high or how much money will I spend, clearly can’t be answered. If one has limited funds, then budget accordingly. Others can’t tell you how much money you have or what you can’t live without.

If you don’t speak Thai and really understand how things work here, you are likely to lose your place as pack leader in your family, and find yourself at the mercy of your wife and her family. If you are in a new and as yet untested relationship, most things will be beyond your comprehension or control.

In your home country it fell to you to help your wife navigate daily life made more difficult by language, customs and government bureaucracy. Chances are roles will be reversed in Thailand. If your language ability is that of a 2 year old then you will be treated accordingly.

Farangs overestimating the vocabulary of their wives and underestimating the pressure of being placed in the middle between husband and family or trades people, can lead to frustration and desperate posts on TV.

So yes I should have more sympathy but clearly I don’t. Too often I have found that unless you tell people what they want to hear they simply get annoyed and argumentative. Realistically all I can say to new guys is good luck and I hope you are one of the lucky ones.

With so many doing it, is it really that difficult to move to Thailand?

[Garry]

To the Op, are you including land purchase by your wife as part of the 3m baht figure?

[krobert6]

To the Op, are you including land purchase by your wife as part of the 3m baht figure?

he said they owned property so I assume not

[tracman]

Yes we have property, I am looking for a reliable builder. And perhaps a designer/architect.

[tracman]

Thanks to Villagefarang, always thought windows had glass in them. I guess it does sound better than a wall with a square hole in it.

[sceadugenga]

Here is my take on moving to Thailand.

I suppose I should have more sympathy for those mired in angst as they contemplate a move to Thailand. The thing is, aside from not burning bridges back home, having a sound financial plan and learning the language there isn’t that much one can do remotely. Much better off waiting until one has boots on the ground and exploring options firsthand.

Posting years in advance, sometimes annoyingly vague pleas for help corralling your ducks and getting them to stand in a straight line, is next to useless.

Questions along the lines of how high is high or how much money will I spend, clearly can’t be answered. If one has limited funds, then budget accordingly. Others can’t tell you how much money you have or what you can’t live without.

If you don’t speak Thai and really understand how things work here, you are likely to lose your place as pack leader in your family, and find yourself at the mercy of your wife and her family. If you are in a new and as yet untested relationship, most things will be beyond your comprehension or control.

In your home country it fell to you to help your wife navigate daily life made more difficult by language, customs and government bureaucracy. Chances are roles will be reversed in Thailand. If your language ability is that of a 2 year old then you will be treated accordingly.

Farangs overestimating the vocabulary of their wives and underestimating the pressure of being placed in the middle between husband and family or trades people, can lead to frustration and desperate posts on TV.

So yes I should have more sympathy but clearly I don’t. Too often I have found that unless you tell people what they want to hear they simply get annoyed and argumentative. Realistically all I can say to new guys is good luck and I hope you are one of the lucky ones.

With so many doing it, is it really that difficult to move to Thailand?

I find that quite sympathetic even by your standards VF, it points out that even with some language skills, adjustments to attitude have to be made.

How many times to we see people here who were chair-warmers by profession in their own country attempt to take over a building job in Thailand?

Of course it leads to frustration, tears and blame allotment.

I found that a mixture of flexibility and tolerance got the job done, and if that staircase is a little steep I'll move into the downstairs bedroom when I'm too old to climb it.

[Joel Barlow]

Would you like a suggestion of a good contractor?

Suchai of Sawatdi Chiangrai (sp?) Hillside Design built the house where I've lived with my family 2.5 years now. He did great.

[sceadugenga]

You've certainly got room for plenty of family Joel.

[tracman]

Thanks Joel I will check them out.

[villagefarang]

Here is my take on moving to Thailand.

I suppose I should have more sympathy for those mired in angst as they contemplate a move to Thailand. The thing is, aside from not burning bridges back home, having a sound financial plan and learning the language there isn’t that much one can do remotely. Much better off waiting until one has boots on the ground and exploring options firsthand.

Posting years in advance, sometimes annoyingly vague pleas for help corralling your ducks and getting them to stand in a straight line, is next to useless.

Questions along the lines of how high is high or how much money will I spend, clearly can’t be answered. If one has limited funds, then budget accordingly. Others can’t tell you how much money you have or what you can’t live without.

If you don’t speak Thai and really understand how things work here, you are likely to lose your place as pack leader in your family, and find yourself at the mercy of your wife and her family. If you are in a new and as yet untested relationship, most things will be beyond your comprehension or control.

In your home country it fell to you to help your wife navigate daily life made more difficult by language, customs and government bureaucracy. Chances are roles will be reversed in Thailand. If your language ability is that of a 2 year old then you will be treated accordingly.

Farangs overestimating the vocabulary of their wives and underestimating the pressure of being placed in the middle between husband and family or trades people, can lead to frustration and desperate posts on TV.

So yes I should have more sympathy but clearly I don’t. Too often I have found that unless you tell people what they want to hear they simply get annoyed and argumentative. Realistically all I can say to new guys is good luck and I hope you are one of the lucky ones.

With so many doing it, is it really that difficult to move to Thailand?

I find that quite sympathetic even by your standards VF, it points out that even with some language skills, adjustments to attitude have to be made.

How many times to we see people here who were chair-warmers by profession in their own country attempt to take over a building job in Thailand?

Of course it leads to frustration, tears and blame allotment.

I found that a mixture of flexibility and tolerance got the job done, and if that staircase is a little steep I'll move into the downstairs bedroom when I'm too old to climb it.

I really should have responded to this earlier. Nice response scea.