Buying A Condo In Bangkok

[colinthailand20005]

^{I am interested in buying a condo in Bangkok for my Thai wife who is currently renting. I have seen many condo advertisements on the roadside that I think are offering to buy a condo with only small deposits some as low as 5,000 going up to 50,000baht, I asked my wife to explain it to me and she doesn't believe it.}

^{Has anybody had any experience with buying a condo with such a low deposit?}

^{My wife is currently not working so it would have to be a builder funded loan if they exist?}

^{Any replies would be much appreciated.}

[Thighlander]

That saves you a spot...then 50K at contract signing...before it is built. I looked at some in KK, and they seemed to believe that I could get financing with 50% down at 7.25 APR.

There is one listed right now on TV for 400K, near the BTS. It would only rent for about 2500. Always nice to have a paid for place...you could put it in your name, too. Good luck.

[Nisa]

Stop by some of the places or have your wife and grab a paper that will usually have the amounts needed for booking, at contract / deposit and how much your payments will be with amount down.

[givenall]

Rent is cheaper and you will have a lot of problem when and if you want to sell the condo

[w11guy]

Rent is cheaper and you will have a lot of problem when and if you want to sell the condo

For a Thai citizen who plans to spend the rest of their life here, then buying is cheaper if the person is young. For example, if a 20 year old bought a condo with a 25 year mortgage and live to be 70, then the choice is pay mortgage for 25 years or pay rent for 50 years. Mortgage payments should be pretty level for whole term, while rent is likely to rise considerably.

You are like many other people who have no concept of how to compare rent to mortgage. You seem to be comparing what rent is today vs what mortgage is today, without taking future rent rises into account. If you buy you will also have a property at the end of 25 years and then can live rent free after that.

So explain why you think renting is cheaper? You are totally wrong, unless you're talking about someone that just wants a property of a year or two before moving on.

[ikotlin]

You do realize that value of a condo can shift dramatically but your debt to the bank stays the same, right?

And I am not only talking about market value, there are loads of environmental factors too which can pop up after a couple of years, causing the property value to shift.

[arkom]

Never bought a condo but have looked at quite a few. The 5,000 is usually for something a deposit, 50,000 is probably for contract signing. Depending on developer they require a downpayment for say for example 50,000 -100,000 thb.

For some Thai's they do not have that much money lying around so a lot of developers have a program where they can pay in monthly installments until the condo is finished, they normally calculate it to where installments are about 5,000 a month.

As Nisa suggested just stop and ask and get a brochure, it will have a more detailed breakdown.

Edited July 20, 2012 by arkom

[The Dancer]

Rent is cheaper and you will have a lot of problem when and if you want to sell the condo

For a Thai citizen who plans to spend the rest of their life here, then buying is cheaper if the person is young. For example, if a 20 year old bought a condo with a 25 year mortgage and live to be 70, then the choice is pay mortgage for 25 years or pay rent for 50 years. Mortgage payments should be pretty level for whole term, while rent is likely to rise considerably.

You are like many other people who have no concept of how to compare rent to mortgage. You seem to be comparing what rent is today vs what mortgage is today, without taking future rent rises into account. If you buy you will also have a property at the end of 25 years and then can live rent free after that.

So explain why you think renting is cheaper? You are totally wrong, unless you're talking about someone that just wants a property of a year or two before moving on.

Well, I have been at the same rented place for 12 years now and actually was able to knock the rent down 20% after three years from what I started off paying. Two factors:

(1) Landlords love long-term renters so they are generally happy to cut you a deal if they think you're a keeper. And it's not that you'll have to be bound to a long-term contract. My contract officially expired years ago. I'm still here on the lower rate.

(2) The glut in condos seems to be pressuring rent downwards. I guess because many new condo owners end up renting out.

Investmentwise it's an interesting question. I figure I'm paying about 4% of the value of my place in annual rent which, to my mind, is cheap and a safer option than investing the principal in what seems a rather speculative condo market.

My own conclusion is that for a Thai or a farang with a Thai half who know what s/he's doing it might make sense to buy, but for the rest of us renting's a better bet.

Edited July 20, 2012 by The Dancer

[dundee007]

my suggestion is always buy the one that is already built. first stay on rent on the condo and you shall know the pros and cons of that place. always better to have prior rent out experience on the one you wish to buy.....that may save you a lot in the long run. all the best

[meand]

That low number is probably under ideal circumstances (which you probably don't have) and just to get you in the door talking to them. The truth is, the finance game is at it's easiest here when buying new condos, so it is a good place to get financed if you want that. More realistically though, you will probably have to put quite a bit down and (as much as half), and one of you'd have to have a job and proof of monthly income etc. You just have to talk with them and see what they say.

[duiter]

Never bought a condo but have looked at quite a few. The 5,000 is usually for something a deposit, 50,000 is probably for contract signing. Depending on developer they require a downpayment for say for example 50,000 -100,000 thb.

For some Thai's they do not have that much money lying around so a lot of developers have a program where they can pay in monthly installments until the condo is finished, they normally calculate it to where installments are about 5,000 a month.

As Nisa suggested just stop and ask and get a brochure, it will have a more detailed breakdown.

so,for Thai if there is NO much money lying around, how do they pay the rest when the condo building is finished/completed ?

[duiter]

Rent is cheaper and you will have a lot of problem when and if you want to sell the condo

For a Thai citizen who plans to spend the rest of their life here, then buying is cheaper if the person is young. For example, if a 20 year old bought a condo with a 25 year mortgage and live to be 70, then the choice is pay mortgage for 25 years or pay rent for 50 years. Mortgage payments should be pretty level for whole term, while rent is likely to rise considerably.

You are like many other people who have no concept of how to compare rent to mortgage. You seem to be comparing what rent is today vs what mortgage is today, without taking future rent rises into account. If you buy you will also have a property at the end of 25 years and then can live rent free after that.

So explain why you think renting is cheaper? You are totally wrong, unless you're talking about someone that just wants a property of a year or two before moving on.

Well, I have been at the same rented place for 12 years now and actually was able to knock the rent down 20% after three years from what I started off paying. Two factors:

(1) Landlords love long-term renters so they are generally happy to cut you a deal if they think you're a keeper. And it's not that you'll have to be bound to a long-term contract. My contract officially expired years ago. I'm still here on the lower rate.

(2) The glut in condos seems to be pressuring rent downwards. I guess because many new condo owners end up renting out.

Investmentwise it's an interesting question. I figure I'm paying about 4% of the value of my place in annual rent which, to my mind, is cheap and a safer option than investing the principal in what seems a rather speculative condo market.

My own conclusion is that for a Thai or a farang with a Thai half who know what s/he's doing it might make sense to buy, but for the rest of us renting's a better bet.

what is the annual increase rate of condo price in central Bangkok ?