Gents,

My wife has a piece of land that she has had for sometime in her town, there is a university relatively close by. We are thinking about putting up a 2 level apt building with 10 rooms on each level or something to that effect.

Does anyone have any experience doing this and what we the costs involved in the build?

We think that each room would rent for between 2500 - 3000 THB a month, just a basic room with bathroom.

Any experiences ( good or bad ) are very welcome.

Thanks.

I have thought about doing that a long time, but i never had the funds for it.

I did do some thinking about it and for me the ideal building would consist of at least 3 floors.

The ground floor being "commercial", think small shops, like laundry, minimart etc.

the other 2 or more floors would have the apartments with rooms on both sides of a central hallway. This saves on square meters that would be necessary for the common area and access to the rooms. Adding an elevator will get you a larger costumer base, but if targeted only on students i would only reserve a space for an elevator, it might be needed in the future.

Adding floors will make the average price of an appartment go down. Land and foundations are often the most costly part. You should calculate your number of floors 'sweet spot' using the rent of appartments and commercial shops and total building costs.

If you can reach a return in around 10 years or better you are good to go.

I have thought about doing that a long time, but i never had the funds for it.

I did do some thinking about it and for me the ideal building would consist of at least 3 floors.

The ground floor being "commercial", think small shops, like laundry, minimart etc.

the other 2 or more floors would have the apartments with rooms on both sides of a central hallway. This saves on square meters that would be necessary for the common area and access to the rooms. Adding an elevator will get you a larger costumer base, but if targeted only on students i would only reserve a space for an elevator, it might be needed in the future.

Adding floors will make the average price of an appartment go down. Land and foundations are often the most costly part. You should calculate your number of floors 'sweet spot' using the rent of appartments and commercial shops and total building costs.

If you can reach a return in around 10 years or better you are good to go.

I have thought about doing that a long time, but i never had the funds for it.

I did do some thinking about it and for me the ideal building would consist of at least 3 floors.

The ground floor being "commercial", think small shops, like laundry, minimart etc.

the other 2 or more floors would have the apartments with rooms on both sides of a central hallway. This saves on square meters that would be necessary for the common area and access to the rooms. Adding an elevator will get you a larger costumer base, but if targeted only on students i would only reserve a space for an elevator, it might be needed in the future.

Adding floors will make the average price of an appartment go down. Land and foundations are often the most costly part. You should calculate your number of floors 'sweet spot' using the rent of appartments and commercial shops and total building costs.

If you can reach a return in around 10 years or better you are good to go.

Thanks very much for your input, did you ever have a "ball park" figure of what such a building would cost?

Thanks.

Around 5-6 million should cover the concrete structure (3 floor) without fittings but with all the plumbing installed.

With fittings i mean internal doors, toilets, sinks, taps, etc as these can vary wildly in prices depending on quality and design used.

Anything over 12 rooms you will not be issued with a building permit from the Tesabhan until you get the appropriate business licence which costs 400k plus depending on the amount of rooms you build. One way round this is to split the chanote in two and build 5x2 rooms on each chanote. Keep it cheap and cheerful, although I would advise having the electrics in place for air con and hot showers, even if you dont fit the units now. Rooms should be 3.5m x 9m.

I have rooms already and am just waiting for land to be seasoned to start building another 12. The Tessabhan should be able to provide you with plans(at a cost) and then get quotes from builders. My first project returned initial investment under 4 years and the next will be 4-5 years.Make sure the location is right or you may struggle to get tenants. Good luck, its an easy way to make money.

Anything over 12 rooms you will not be issued with a building permit from the Tesabhan until you get the appropriate business licence which costs 400k plus depending on the amount of rooms you build. One way round this is to split the chanote in two and build 5x2 rooms on each chanote. Keep it cheap and cheerful, although I would advise having the electrics in place for air con and hot showers, even if you dont fit the units now. Rooms should be 3.5m x 9m.

I have rooms already and am just waiting for land to be seasoned to start building another 12. The Tessabhan should be able to provide you with plans(at a cost) and then get quotes from builders. My first project returned initial investment under 4 years and the next will be 4-5 years.Make sure the location is right or you may struggle to get tenants. Good luck, its an easy way to make money.

Thanks for the info, what sort of land size are we talking about for example 10 rooms on 2 levels, approx 1/2 rai?

Advice much appreciated.