How To Invest About 300,000 Aussie Dollars - There Or Here?

[Naam]

I still haven't had time to digest what people are saying in more recent posts, but i'm very thankful that i started this thread and to people like yourself for coming along and helping. When i say that about money i think the thing is that i've never had spare money to invest. So i've never really researched it.

there's one important factor you have not mentioned Femi Fan. from where do you derive income to pay for living expenses?

[simple1]

Or 90% in Thai condos (maybe two for rent and one to live in) and 10% gold.

I mentioned in the OP that i'm british. (in reply to simple1)

I can't buy in australia unless the rules changed recently. I was only able to get my property in the first place because i bought the land and built on it to the tune of at least half the value of the land.

I don't want to invest in buildings, i'm through with that. I want a simple life!

OK, so you didn't obtain Oz citizenship. I have dual UK/Oz citizenship. So you travel to Oz on visitor/temporary visas?

[meatboy]

Money and economics have always been a very weak point for me.

with AUD 500k cash and a home in Thailand you haven't done too badly

I got very lucky when the land became available at a ridiculous price, almost thai cost it was. That luck had always eluded me before!

I still haven't had time to digest what people are saying in more recent posts, but i'm very thankful that i started this thread and to people like yourself for coming along and helping. When i say that about money i think the thing is that i've never had spare money to invest. So i've never really researched it.

What i do know is that i won't be going anywhere near shares and things like that. I'm not really into making heaps of money, just trying to protect the money that i get, assuming i can sell the house. It's a dodgy world now, and trying to make sense of any impending currency collapses has me doing that research now. My idea for buying a bit of gold for example is simply to have an alternative to money, not to make money from the gold at a future date. It's just a different coloured egg really isn't it!!

i wonder all these sugestions by posters actually read your first post,its a long time before he comes into his nest egg,it took a year for us to sell our property in the uk at about 30% less than what we expected,but as you we bought cheap.so having worked hard all my life i am not about to take any risks which includes bying to rent in thailand.we can live the rest of our lives comfortably without any hassle so be happy with what you can get 3% interest tax free is not to be sniffed at if you have other income.

[Naam]

i wonder all these sugestions by posters actually read your first post,its a long time before he comes into his nest egg,it took a year for us to sell our property in the uk at about 30% less than what we expected,but as you we bought cheap.so having worked hard all my life i am not about to take any risks which includes bying to rent in thailand.we can live the rest of our lives comfortably without any hassle so be happy with what you can get 3% interest tax free is not to be sniffed at if you have other income.

in an average market it takes a year to sell a home when the price expectations are way too high. yours were too high, the "30% less" you got is hard evidence.

[simple1]

i wonder all these sugestions by posters actually read your first post,its a long time before he comes into his nest egg,it took a year for us to sell our property in the uk at about 30% less than what we expected,but as you we bought cheap.so having worked hard all my life i am not about to take any risks which includes bying to rent in thailand.we can live the rest of our lives comfortably without any hassle so be happy with what you can get 3% interest tax free is not to be sniffed at if you have other income.

in an average market it takes a year to sell a home when the price expectations are way too high. yours were too high, the "30% less" you got is hard evidence.

In some residential areas of Australia house prices have had quite a reduction in value. I lived in SE Queensland & to sell had to take a 15% drop in sell price in late 2011 against the valuation mid 2010.

[waza]

i wonder all these sugestions by posters actually read your first post,its a long time before he comes into his nest egg,it took a year for us to sell our property in the uk at about 30% less than what we expected,but as you we bought cheap.so having worked hard all my life i am not about to take any risks which includes bying to rent in thailand.we can live the rest of our lives comfortably without any hassle so be happy with what you can get 3% interest tax free is not to be sniffed at if you have other income.

in an average market it takes a year to sell a home when the price expectations are way too high. yours were too high, the "30% less" you got is hard evidence.

In some residential areas of Australia house prices have had quite a reduction in value. I lived in SE Queensland & to sell had to take a 15% drop in sell price in late 2011 against the valuation mid 2010.

Yes the bubble is deflating but they still have a way to go.

[meatboy]

we are waiting for that light at the end of the tunnel,after taking a hit on the sale price,then came the

estate agents fee's

solicitors fee's

council tax

house ins.

the value of the £

the interest rates offshore

thai bank interest rates

the light seems to be getting smaller.

[chainarong]

Both have a future , it's just deciding what sort of future, there is rough weather ahead, you need to see someone about the laws of investment in both countries , Thailand's can become a bit tricky for foreigners and Oz ,well the tax laws are so horrific even the Indians that run the ATO haven't a clue, I'd be careful of Thailand you probably wont have much recourse if things go arse up, not that you would in Oz either Id invest in Tea.Time for a cuppa

the OP has the choice to invest in Thai Baht or OZ Dollars or a combination of both currencies outside Thailand and outside OZ without paying any taxes on his income.

where's the problem?

, whats the problem, what country will let you pay no tax on a profit, tell me o wise one.

[Naam]

Both have a future , it's just deciding what sort of future, there is rough weather ahead, you need to see someone about the laws of investment in both countries , Thailand's can become a bit tricky for foreigners and Oz ,well the tax laws are so horrific even the Indians that run the ATO haven't a clue, I'd be careful of Thailand you probably wont have much recourse if things go arse up, not that you would in Oz either Id invest in Tea.Time for a cuppa

the OP has the choice to invest in Thai Baht or OZ Dollars or a combination of both currencies outside Thailand and outside OZ without paying any taxes on his income.

where's the problem?

, whats the problem, what country will let you pay no tax on a profit, tell me o wise one.

too many to list, at least hundred countries, most probably many more if you are not a resident.

[Naam]

i'm aware of the general consensus that stupid questions do not exist, it's stupid answers that exist. but sometimes i can only shake my head in sorrow sometimes i spill coffee on my keyboard and sometimes...........

[Khun Jean]

With realestate selling for cheaper then you bought can be painfull.

If you owned it for say 10 years and sell for 30% lower it is actually a lot more that you loose than the 30%

With an average 4% inflation in 10 years you already lost about 30% in value.

Every 100.000 would represent only a value of 70.000 after 10 year. The price would have to increase almost 45% to keep the same value.

Meaning 100.000 after 10 years should sell for 145.000 to keep up with inflation.

If you sold for 70.000 you actually only have around 45% of your value left. 55% is gone......

[femi fan]

I still haven't had time to digest what people are saying in more recent posts, but i'm very thankful that i started this thread and to people like yourself for coming along and helping. When i say that about money i think the thing is that i've never had spare money to invest. So i've never really researched it.

there's one important factor you have not mentioned Femi Fan. from where do you derive income to pay for living expenses?

Here in chiang mai? I've been a teacher for 21 years in thailand now. While i used to get very good money in bkk, since moving to chiang mai that just is not the case! But chiang mai has many alternative benefits. Well, still it does, it seems to be developing rather fast these days.

But i want a change in my life. I want to do other things, and since i'll never go live in oz, and am totally happy in thailand, i now prefer to get some cash rather than hold onto the bricks. Take the pressure off me to earn loads in whatever else i get to do. Ironically the timing is that it's a low market over there, but that's life.

[femi fan]

Or 90% in Thai condos (maybe two for rent and one to live in) and 10% gold.

I mentioned in the OP that i'm british. (in reply to simple1)

I can't buy in australia unless the rules changed recently. I was only able to get my property in the first place because i bought the land and built on it to the tune of at least half the value of the land.

I don't want to invest in buildings, i'm through with that. I want a simple life!

OK, so you didn't obtain Oz citizenship. I have dual UK/Oz citizenship. So you travel to Oz on visitor/temporary visas?

I just get those electronic ones, yeah, tourist ones i think.

My sister married an aussie. I did get all the papers together many years ago, but i left england for good reasons, and although australia has much more appeal to live in than england, thailand is my place of choice!

[femi fan]

Money and economics have always been a very weak point for me.

with AUD 500k cash and a home in Thailand you haven't done too badly

I got very lucky when the land became available at a ridiculous price, almost thai cost it was. That luck had always eluded me before!

I still haven't had time to digest what people are saying in more recent posts, but i'm very thankful that i started this thread and to people like yourself for coming along and helping. When i say that about money i think the thing is that i've never had spare money to invest. So i've never really researched it.

What i do know is that i won't be going anywhere near shares and things like that. I'm not really into making heaps of money, just trying to protect the money that i get, assuming i can sell the house. It's a dodgy world now, and trying to make sense of any impending currency collapses has me doing that research now. My idea for buying a bit of gold for example is simply to have an alternative to money, not to make money from the gold at a future date. It's just a different coloured egg really isn't it!!

i wonder all these sugestions by posters actually read your first post,its a long time before he comes into his nest egg,it took a year for us to sell our property in the uk at about 30% less than what we expected,but as you we bought cheap.so having worked hard all my life i am not about to take any risks which includes bying to rent in thailand.we can live the rest of our lives comfortably without any hassle so be happy with what you can get 3% interest tax free is not to be sniffed at if you have other income.

This is it exactly! I'm not really into investing it, but would like to get some kind of spending money from such a sum to take the pressure off earning in chiang mai where salary levels are a fraction of those in bangkok. I want to carry on working, but it's pointless living in chiang mai if you don't have enough time to enjoy it!

[femi fan]

we are waiting for that light at the end of the tunnel,after taking a hit on the sale price,then came the

estate agents fee's

solicitors fee's

council tax

house ins.

the value of the £

the interest rates offshore

thai bank interest rates

the light seems to be getting smaller.

That's the bloody uk for you! In oz i pay for the agent's commission and a 500 buck lawyer fee something or other. Just checked with the agent.

[femi fan]

With realestate selling for cheaper then you bought can be painfull.

If you owned it for say 10 years and sell for 30% lower it is actually a lot more that you loose than the 30%

With an average 4% inflation in 10 years you already lost about 30% in value.

Every 100.000 would represent only a value of 70.000 after 10 year. The price would have to increase almost 45% to keep the same value.

Meaning 100.000 after 10 years should sell for 145.000 to keep up with inflation.

If you sold for 70.000 you actually only have around 45% of your value left. 55% is gone......

I don't live in it. I don't have to buy a new house. It's bricks or money. I want the money now. Assuming a buyer can be found. I have the thai gene of wanting an easy life in me, and i can't eat bricks, and owning bricks doesn't negate the need for me to work and earn money! If i can get anywhere like 20,000 baht a month off interest that goes a long way towards my monthly bills and cost of living. And obviously i don't take out of the lump sum.

But if the world goes boom with its currencies my cash may suddenly disappear or become a worth a whole load less than now. But there you go, i'm done with the bricks!

[Naam]

Here in chiang mai? I've been a teacher for 21 years in thailand now. While i used to get very good money in bkk, since moving to chiang mai that just is not the case! But chiang mai has many alternative benefits. Well, still it does, it seems to be developing rather fast these days.

But i want a change in my life. I want to do other things, and since i'll never go live in oz, and am totally happy in thailand, i now prefer to get some cash rather than hold onto the bricks. Take the pressure off me to earn loads in whatever else i get to do. Ironically the timing is that it's a low market over there, but that's life.

[femi fan]

Here in chiang mai? I've been a teacher for 21 years in thailand now. While i used to get very good money in bkk, since moving to chiang mai that just is not the case! But chiang mai has many alternative benefits. Well, still it does, it seems to be developing rather fast these days.

But i want a change in my life. I want to do other things, and since i'll never go live in oz, and am totally happy in thailand, i now prefer to get some cash rather than hold onto the bricks. Take the pressure off me to earn loads in whatever else i get to do. Ironically the timing is that it's a low market over there, but that's life.

Thanks mate. And shit, this thread made me go surging past my number 1000 post and i wanted to hang onto it and look at it for a while! Just noticed my error.

[Khun Jean]

With realestate selling for cheaper then you bought can be painfull.

If you owned it for say 10 years and sell for 30% lower it is actually a lot more that you loose than the 30%

With an average 4% inflation in 10 years you already lost about 30% in value.

Every 100.000 would represent only a value of 70.000 after 10 year. The price would have to increase almost 45% to keep the same value.

Meaning 100.000 after 10 years should sell for 145.000 to keep up with inflation.

If you sold for 70.000 you actually only have around 45% of your value left. 55% is gone......

I don't live in it. I don't have to buy a new house. It's bricks or money. I want the money now. Assuming a buyer can be found. I have the thai gene of wanting an easy life in me, and i can't eat bricks, and owning bricks doesn't negate the need for me to work and earn money! If i can get anywhere like 20,000 baht a month off interest that goes a long way towards my monthly bills and cost of living. And obviously i don't take out of the lump sum.

But if the world goes boom with its currencies my cash may suddenly disappear or become a worth a whole load less than now. But there you go, i'm done with the bricks!

And that when 'bricks' are actually the most stable investment you can ever make.

Cash will devalue and get used up very quickly if it is not invested. Unfortunately that is the current situation.

Having 'stuff' is one way of protecting your wealth, but not many things have a return on investment.

If you are not savvy with financial investments the changes that you loose it all is pretty big. Again bricks can go up and down in value but they never go to zero. And when it is rented out, the rent follows inflation so that at least you can keep up with it.

In the current financial world there are not many choices for a secure investment.

Edited November 15, 2012 by Khun Jean

[Mark1971]

With realestate selling for cheaper then you bought can be painfull.

If you owned it for say 10 years and sell for 30% lower it is actually a lot more that you loose than the 30%

With an average 4% inflation in 10 years you already lost about 30% in value.

Every 100.000 would represent only a value of 70.000 after 10 year. The price would have to increase almost 45% to keep the same value.

Meaning 100.000 after 10 years should sell for 145.000 to keep up with inflation.

If you sold for 70.000 you actually only have around 45% of your value left. 55% is gone......

I don't live in it. I don't have to buy a new house. It's bricks or money. I want the money now. Assuming a buyer can be found. I have the thai gene of wanting an easy life in me, and i can't eat bricks, and owning bricks doesn't negate the need for me to work and earn money! If i can get anywhere like 20,000 baht a month off interest that goes a long way towards my monthly bills and cost of living. And obviously i don't take out of the lump sum.

But if the world goes boom with its currencies my cash may suddenly disappear or become a worth a whole load less than now. But there you go, i'm done with the bricks!

And that when 'bricks' are actually the most stable investment you can ever make.

Cash will devalue and get used up very quickly if it is not invested. Unfortunately that is the current situation.

Having 'stuff' is one way of protecting your wealth, but not many things have a return on investment.

If you are not savvy with financial investments the changes that you loose it all is pretty big. Again bricks can go up and down in value but they never go to zero. And when it is rented out, the rent follows inflation so that at least you can keep up with it.

In the current financial world there are not many choices for a secure investment.

OP is making a smart move selling his property in OZ in my opinion.

Real estate can be a good long term investment, however there are two rules I adopt when buying investment properties.

1. I always buy within 10 miles of my own home. (Preferably within 3 miles).

2. Purchase price should not exceed 200x the monthly rental income, ideally it should be around 150x.

Aus$ has been very very strong lately, it could quickly correct by 20 or 30%.

Now might be a good time to move your capital into a mix of currencies, or THB the currency of the country you live in.

[Asiantravel]

With realestate selling for cheaper then you bought can be painfull.

If you owned it for say 10 years and sell for 30% lower it is actually a lot more that you loose than the 30%

With an average 4% inflation in 10 years you already lost about 30% in value.

Every 100.000 would represent only a value of 70.000 after 10 year. The price would have to increase almost 45% to keep the same value.

Meaning 100.000 after 10 years should sell for 145.000 to keep up with inflation.

If you sold for 70.000 you actually only have around 45% of your value left. 55% is gone......

I don't live in it. I don't have to buy a new house. It's bricks or money. I want the money now. Assuming a buyer can be found. I have the thai gene of wanting an easy life in me, and i can't eat bricks, and owning bricks doesn't negate the need for me to work and earn money! If i can get anywhere like 20,000 baht a month off interest that goes a long way towards my monthly bills and cost of living. And obviously i don't take out of the lump sum.

But if the world goes boom with its currencies my cash may suddenly disappear or become a worth a whole load less than now. But there you go, i'm done with the bricks!

And that when 'bricks' are actually the most stable investment you can ever make.

Cash will devalue and get used up very quickly if it is not invested. Unfortunately that is the current situation.

Having 'stuff' is one way of protecting your wealth, but not many things have a return on investment.

If you are not savvy with financial investments the changes that you loose it all is pretty big. Again bricks can go up and down in value but they never go to zero. And when it is rented out, the rent follows inflation so that at least you can keep up with it.

In the current financial world there are not many choices for a secure investment.

http://www.aei-ideas.org/2012/10/markets-in-everything-1-houses-in-detroit/

[Khun Jean]

Detroit went to zero because it was a 'boom' town same as the old 'gold ghost towns'. Las Vegas next?

I agree with selling the 'bricks' in Australia( i have some real estate in my own country and it is difficult to manage).

However instead of having it in cash is not better than having 'bricks' here in Thailand, preferably in a big city like bangkok.

Will Bangkok end like Detroit? Maybe after an earthquake, meteorite or a superflood. Even then i think it will be build up again.

The odds of that happening though are in my opinion incredible small.

[kangeroo]

personally i have invested in blue chip organizations here in Aus and have done ok ,i invested in all the four banks and utilities,i have also BHP,Telstra, Woolworth's, Rio Tinto and about fifteen more which takes the total of around twenty places i have invested in so spread my money across the board if one goes and probably will go belly up it is no real concern , also add a bit of property in the mix and fixed interest and i think anyone should sleep at night .

Naturally the amount one invest is the most important thing for a reasonable return every year .

[ExCommando]

If you are going to have $300,000 to invest, then you are best off paying $1,000 - $2,000 to a financial advisor.

I can only assume you will be looking for a supplementary income from the investment - which means you want a decent yield / return.

You should be aiming for around 7 - 8% in this market (if you invested in Oz), and I would probably suggest some form of managed fund (low risk) - which would be split between cash / the big 4 banks / bonds.

Real estate is awful here in Aus, you'll be lucky to get 3% yield after all your costs (mortgage / stamp duty / land tax / rates / management fees / maintenance), but if done properly you will get decent capital appreciation. You'll be sacrificing cash flow for growth tho.

Or, you can be super safe and stick it in the bank - problem is, you will get some cash flow, but inflation will start to eat away at the capital.

Have you thought of playing super safe and sticking it in a self managed super fund (or just a normal super fund)? Compounding the interest will do wonders over the next 10+ years?

Let me know and I can put you in touch with my financial planner here in Aus, worth his weight in gold.

[ExCommando]

Further to my last - I've just read through everyone elses posts, so sorry that i covered some things that have already been mentioned.

What I would like to highlight is the folly in investing in residential real estate.

I currently own 9 investment properties - and now have to sell off the majority, as the yield is so poor. Property is a good tool for tax purposes, and also for very long term capital growth.

But if you want cash flow, then property is generally not a good idea - the holding costs are too prohibitive.

[yoshiwara]

Here in chiang mai? I've been a teacher for 21 years in thailand now. While i used to get very good money in bkk, since moving to chiang mai that just is not the case! But chiang mai has many alternative benefits. Well, still it does, it seems to be developing rather fast these days.

But i want a change in my life. I want to do other things, and since i'll never go live in oz, and am totally happy in thailand, i now prefer to get some cash rather than hold onto the bricks. Take the pressure off me to earn loads in whatever else i get to do. Ironically the timing is that it's a low market over there, but that's life.

Thanks mate. And shit, this thread made me go surging past my number 1000 post and i wanted to hang onto it and look at it for a while! Just noticed my error.

I am sympathetic. What is forgotten is that property is not a buy and forget. There is an overhead and if you are done with Oz then OK.

The other thing of course is that after a certain age there is nothing wrong in eating into the capital unless one's objective is to leave it to others to sell it/pay tax on it.

I have bricks myself. A point will come when I might not want the responsibility of holding property and want to sell. That's fine.

What I will not do is sell the property in search of alternative investments. That I cannot see the benefit of.

[ClareQuilty]

Just leave it in the bank in Australia. You didn't mention how old you were, if you were still working, or if you would retire soon, or already have, but whether you are still busy working or getting older and trying to relax and enjoy life, you don't want to burden yourself with worrying about some complicated, stressful investment.

After all, you only live once, and who cares how much you leave behind. Just keep this money as a nest egg, a security blanket.

[g00dgirl]

Great thread, I have been in the same situation as the OP, however I do have an Australian TFN, so I get the full interest on my AUD, also have the majority of AUD outside of Australia now.

Due to lack of residency visa, I can't see myself living in Australia and needing to spend AUD in the future, I hold them for the interest rate only.

I am also completely undecided how much AUD to convert to THB now if any. I am down to my last 1.5 Mio THB here in the country and I manage to spend this rather quickly just by living, renting, shopping and maybe buying a car cause I sold my Evo earlier this year.

The interest from my AUD is also my only source of income, as well as helping to hedge against inflation, although I feel that inflation is much higher than the interst on my AUD, so I am quite stressed out about not having anything that performs better.

I am also relatively young with 35, so I have many years to cover for myself and a serious need to invest in something safer than paper currency for the sake of my little sons future or if something happens to me.

After being self employed (online) for many years I also can't see myself working anymore. Call it burn out or I am just lazy now.

I have had a lot to write off during my last 6 years in Thailand, I have not had any prior experience with anything brick and mortar and I also don't like the lack of flexibility with bricks (meaning any kind of property for personal use or business). I wasted a couple Million of THB due to this and being only minority owner of a Thai company.

The land ownership problem has been giving me so many headaches, I wasted huge sums on rent.

What VIBE posted about his investments sounds great to me, I would like to know his strategy for land ownership?

I am completely at a loss about what to do. I will probably always have some involvement with Thailand as my son has a Thai passport, I have a long term visa, I speak the language, etc ..

I would like to own land but can't, and I have seen the prices of land in my area double over the past 6 years, not much is available anymore, the area is getting too built up and busy, traffic gets worse, noise from bars.

I could only buy land in my sons name, but it would be very long term (15-20) years until I could sell any of it. This makes is very hard to decide on a location.

I am trying to scout other areas to live in where land is still cheaper, but whereever I go, I just don't like any other area as much as here (Naiharn, Phuket) although it is getting worse now.

I have been thinking about condos recently, but only because I can own it in my name. Apart from that I hate it, I wouldn't want to live in one (mainly because the layout is never spacious enough for my taste), and I would much prefer land. I could rent out a condo but would also constantly be anxious about fees, repairs, bad tenants, bad building management, ruined views by new developments next door and so on ..

So in summary, I have no idea where to go, what to do, what investment, what business, I am in a hotel now, paying by the week, trying to work it out.

Most might say I am lucky, having all the choices and money but ... anyway ...

[Khun Jean]

Bricks are mostly for long term. I have condos that are fully paid and generate a monthly income. Some have an roi of 30% when calculated against the price paid 10 years ago, and that yield goes up every year and enables me to live from it and expand into more bricks. They would yield about 6-7% against current prices.

It is not for everyone, it is a cumulative process. Having a little is difficult but over the years it gets easier, not a bad thing when you get older and want to have less 'work'.

Banks and financial advisors. They care about there "commission".

[cheechoo]

OP if you are a smart business man and willing to take a risk in today's crazy world, I need an investor with brains. Already up and running asset rich [sort off ] but capital poor, you can Google me, name and Thailand.

Best be very careful here, many come with money most leave poor. Jim

this sounds like a way to become POOR................hahaha!