Buying Vs Being A Lifelong Renter

[Spoonman]

I have paid just over 1m in rent over the past 6 years, for me to buy anything decent I would be looking at a minimum of 4m (current house Landlord wants 4.3m). cannot see the value of buying a joint if it takes 24yr's to "break even" so to speak. yes I would have the asset still but at what expense over those 24 yrs to maintain, then I would have to find someone to buy it to recover my outlay.

I think I'll stick to renting.

[jamescollister]

Different strokes, different blokes. Have a house, jungle village on the Lao land border, Thai wife, 2 kids born in Australia, Thai citizens. No renting out here, if things didn't work out, I'm screwed, no difference if we were living in Australia. They would get the lot.

If I was just girlfriend, living the good life I would rent, but being a dad, you want your kids to have the benefits and opportunities. 3 passports, house, land and a future.

Thailand is no different than the west, wife G/F, you make the commitment and you win or lose, go with your heart and remember, one day you will be dead. After that nothing matters. Jim

[davejones]

The concept of home ownership in Thailand seems to be entirely contrary to my experience in the States. Here are the 3 big issues I see, and why home ownership might not make sense. I would appreciate any additions to the pro's or cons on this list.

1) Buying an owner-occupied home in Thailand is not really a great investment. In developed countries, you might reasonably expect your home value to increase over the years. In Thailand, this is not a realistic expectation. Home value will very likely be flat or go down, so economically buying vs renting may not make sense.

Lots of people in the US haven't seen much of a return on their 'investment'.

I think what some renters misunderstand though is how rental and property prices can change over 20-30 years. We've all heard stories about people who bought two years ago and now can't sell anywhere near the same price. But have you talked to people who bought 20-30 years ago. Some land is up 100-fold in that time. I'm not saying that will happen in the next 20-30 years, but I think prices are bound to rise as Thailand continues to develop. Don't forget that it's growing at 5-6% a year.

Not so good over 20-30 years if you get divorced and the judge gives someone else the house.

True in most countries. But I just couldn't go through life thinking like that. If I thought like that I'd have rented all my life and be very poor now, because my main property in the UK has made me a small fortune. Without that I wouldn't be here now.

Bottom line is that people are different, so it's up to them what they choose. No point choosing something that makes you unhappy. You rent, and I'll buy (eventually), and we'll both be happy.

As mentioned previously, for me it's not about the money. I'm more interested in teh perfect home in the perfect location. I've never seen a condo here that's perfect for me. If I bought I could make the condo perfect. But that's just me. A perfect home is more important than the money. So if I buy for 5 m and sell for 4 m in 10 years time, I'll still be happy. A home isn't an investment to me.

Edited February 6, 2013 by davejones

[iluvbeaches]

That is very true about the SET the last year but emerging market stocks are extremely volatile so you can't expect or rely on growth numbers like that every year. When things go bad you might have a negative sign to the left. I also have an investment fund with 20-25% invested in different stocks, bonds and products emerging markets but it is more of a spice than my major holdings.

But in any case my point was just that diversification of your assets is key and not putting all your liquid assets into real estate, in any country, is smart. I look for a 4-8 year time frame with real estate. During that time if I get a forex windfall, steady cash flow in baht which I need and an actual asset that I can use from time to time that's what I want.

I personally know nothing of the Pattaya, Phuket, Samui, etc. markets but from my experience with vacation locations in emerging countries the interest and security levela fluctuate more than capitals where there is organic growth. In the end I would look to sell to a Thai not a foreigner as that's the domestic market. If a foreigner buys, great. In the meantime the area is in demand as people inquire about rents for the building on prakard, mine is rented now that I'm not there, and except for a few resales at 10% under the building is sold out 99% Thai and resales via developer are 18-20% higher than my off plan monthly payment price.

I'm happy with that. But I won't have to flash sell when/if times get tough as I have lots of other income streams. I do think Bangkok has a long way to grow in the next 10 years.

[Gary A]

Something that many on here don't seem to realize is that many projects have strict rules, as with the no pets rule at your complex. So there's no chance of a karaoke bar opening, dogs barking all night, etc.

And those rules apply outside the building, do they? I dont think so. I can see hundreds if not thousands of other houses, condos, shops, hotels etc etc from my window, and there's nothing I could possibly do to stop them from doing something I dont like, like opening a karaoke bar. Even my lovely view could be partially blocked if some new building went up. I prefer not to buy anything that is potentially subject to that happening as for me my view is very important. So I just rent and retain my get-out-quick card.

Have a read of this: http://www.thaivisa....st-in-thailand/

It's much easier to come on here and complain about noise and other things, than put in the legwork and find a great condo.

? I have a great condo. I found it at a very good price because I put in a lot of legwork. But I dont own it, nor do I want to at the price for which it is on sale.

My condo complex is gated and fully built with many houses as well as the condo buildings. If you buy here, like it or not, the entire complex is controlled by the condo committee. Maybe good, maybe bad but nothing happens without their OK. My condo is in my name and if my Thai wife and I were to split up, the condo is still mine. Anything bought before you were married, remains yours.

[Bpuumike]

Just like when you pay for anything, and consume it, you have in fact lost those funds. They are gone in the end and you are left with nothing.

MAybe we just disagree, but the thing I would bet on (some may say not wise) is that you will at least be breaking even on buying vs selling price unless you do something terribly wrong. That leaves a buyer after say a 5 year period paying no rent, and a renter paying say 10k a month amounting to well north of half a million baht. That is a lot of leos, and a lot of 200 baht ladyboys But if you feel like moving every 6 months sure, rent it up I guess.

200 baht ladyboys?

Intrigued, Tunbbrige Wells

[Khun Jean]

I have used another strategy for many years (not only in Thailand) and that is to buy (only what can be owned 100% freehold!), rent it out and from that money rent something i like or in the beginning what i can afford.

Not buy to live, but buy to earn.

In my young days i even used mortgages for that, but that got me in a few difficult situations, not to be recommended! Thailand allows me to buy with cash and if not enough cash i wait and save more.

(I was and am not rich, i started with 150.000 baht, now we are property rich but still not with cash, that will take at least another 10 years or maybe never because i not like to have too much cash, it only depreciates and gets (worth)less with inflation.).

The money i get from the rent first was supplemented but since a few years i have a surplus.

I know myself and that is that after living many years on one location i get restless and want to move.

Meanwhile the units i bought are slowly rising in price and slowly earn more money, making it possible to upgrade my own rental. Having a rental allows me to move when i want. That is a lot of freedom compared to buy to live.

I have strict requirements for what i rent. No short 1 year rental contract stuff, direct electricity and water bills, permission to repair, upgrade and pretty much do whatever i want with the place with the guarantee that when i leave it will be in a comparable state as when i moved in or better. A larger deposit is in that case no problem.

As i get older though the restless feeling is slowly going away and a more permanent place to stay is on the horizon.

My wife has some land and we will build on it eventually. In the meantime we rent.

When my times comes to leave this earth, the kids will own a lot of property and if i teach them and make them understand to never sell, hopefully they will never be poor.

Edited February 6, 2013 by Khun Jean

[Satcommlee]

I agree with most of the OP points.

I rent and I am so glad I did not buy the house I am staying in for 5 Million.. exactly as predicted by the OP, there has since opened a Loud Karaoke bar keeping the estate awake till 4am.

Also, not everyone is paying their monthly site maintenance, so the management company are looking at pulling out, that would mean the security guards go, the site gets into a state of disrepair, the swimming pool is not clean and the values of property will depreciate rapidly.

This nominee shareholding, buying under a company name loophole could be closed and maybe people will find themselves in trouble, and having to restructure where a THAI actually does own 51% of your home with voting rights.

A lot depends on a persons age, I am late 30's, whilst married to a Thai with a child, I really don't know where life will take me, I could end up working somewhere else other than Thailand, and there are houses in my estate that have been unoccupied and for sale for many years now.

And most of all, RENTING IS SO CHEAP!

Edited February 6, 2013 by Satcommlee

[Rocking Robert]

A

[BlackPuddingBertha]

B

[NeverSure]

There are guys on here who married gals who owned a home. I don't know if they were paid for, but the farang didn't much put his butt on the line.

I would never have married a poor or uneducated woman in the US, so why would I in LOS? My ex, who is 11 years younger than I, makes well into 6 figures with her masters degree in the health care field.

I don't plan to get married, but if I did she'd have a degree and a good career and a house and a car. Now, maybe I step in and help make the payments or even make the payments but that's used up as rent for me. I really have little to lose.

I can think of a whole lot of reasons for not buying in LOS, the least of which is that I don't want a condo.

Never mind that I'm in the camp that believes LOS is in a real estate bubble. Maybe I'm just paranoid because of what I saw in the US recently. The only thing that saved me was that I had bought my home and acreage many years before the rapid increases, and I had no debt. So when the crash came I lost only on paper. My home is still worth more than I paid for it some 20 years ago.

I do regret not seeing the bubble and selling my home a year or two before the crash. I could have really lined my pockets. The paper value dropped about $US300,000 from the ridiculously high peak. That's enough to stop me from outright buying anything in LOS right now at record high prices.

So you high rollers have right at it. I honestly, truly hope you win. I do.

[davejones]

There are guys on here who married gals who owned a home. I don't know if they were paid for, but the farang didn't much put his butt on the line.

I would never have married a poor or uneducated woman in the US, so why would I in LOS? My ex, who is 11 years younger than I, makes well into 6 figures with her masters degree in the health care field.

I don't plan to get married, but if I did she'd have a degree and a good career and a house and a car. Now, maybe I step in and help make the payments or even make the payments but that's used up as rent for me. I really have little to lose.

I can think of a whole lot of reasons for not buying in LOS, the least of which is that I don't want a condo.

Never mind that I'm in the camp that believes LOS is in a real estate bubble. Maybe I'm just paranoid because of what I saw in the US recently. The only thing that saved me was that I had bought my home and acreage many years before the rapid increases, and I had no debt. So when the crash came I lost only on paper. My home is still worth more than I paid for it some 20 years ago.

I do regret not seeing the bubble and selling my home a year or two before the crash. I could have really lined my pockets. The paper value dropped about $US300,000 from the ridiculously high peak. That's enough to stop me from outright buying anything in LOS right now at record high prices.

So you high rollers have right at it. I honestly, truly hope you win. I do.

It's the fact that property here seems to be in huge bubble that puts me off as well. I see some places for sale in Thailand that are more expensive than in the UK. Things like that just don't make sense, and they usually tend to correct themselves. It happened in 1999, so could easily happen again.

[jamescollister]

I agree with most of the OP points.

I rent and I am so glad I did not buy the house I am staying in for 5 Million.. exactly as predicted by the OP, there has since opened a Loud Karaoke bar keeping the estate awake till 4am.

Also, not everyone is paying their monthly site maintenance, so the management company are looking at pulling out, that would mean the security guards go, the site gets into a state of disrepair, the swimming pool is not clean and the values of property will depreciate rapidly.

This nominee shareholding, buying under a company name loophole could be closed and maybe people will find themselves in trouble, and having to restructure where a THAI actually does own 51% of your home with voting rights.

A lot depends on a persons age, I am late 30's, whilst married to a Thai with a child, I really don't know where life will take me, I could end up working somewhere else other than Thailand, and there are houses in my estate that have been unoccupied and for sale for many years now.

And most of all, RENTING IS SO CHEAP!

Nominee company house owning scheme [ loop hole ] was closed in 2009. Anyone caught now will be deported and land confiscated. Jim

[USNret]

Ok, I'm the OP and I've been silently watching this very interesting conversation. I appreciate all the posts, coming from a variety of viewpoints. It helped to solidify my thinking, and the last several posts captured it very well...

1) A lot of it is age or lifestyle dependent. I started out thinking this was strictly an economic decision, but if you are the rambling type & have not settled down (like me) then clearly renting is the right decision. When you get to the point in your life where you no longer have the urge to move, then buying could be the right thing to do. Having kids (and desiring to leave an inheritance) also factors into it.

2) I also think LOS is in a serious R.E. bubble which will one day burst. No telling when. If you own during the bubble, it's no big deal as long as you're content to hang on to your home. The "losers" are those who need to sell after the crash. The big winners might well be those who buy afterwards, picking up properties at a deep discount. I hope to be among that crowd. I can afford to wait. I also hope the $/THB rate is more favorable then, leading to even better deals.

The bottom line is: It's a different answer for each of us, and not always driven by finances.

Have a Thai wife with Chinese ancestry, I was getting some pressure from the in-laws to buy a home & provide for my wife's future. I think I've convinced the whole clan that there are other ways to take care of her. I'm getting good returns from my non-R.E. investments and she is co-owner on all these accounts. Beyond that, we will buy one day when the time is right.

[Groongthep]

2) I also think LOS is in a serious R.E. bubble which will one day burst. No telling when. If you own during the bubble, it's no big deal as long as you're content to hang on to your home. The "losers" are those who need to sell after the crash. The big winners might well be those who buy afterwards, picking up properties at a deep discount. I hope to be among that crowd. I can afford to wait. I also hope the $/THB rate is more favorable then, leading to even better deals.

Many of us have been here long enough to remember the 1997 crash. At that time Thailand had almost no Real Estate law and few banks were able to repossess much property from non-performing loans. The "owners" simply refused to give them back. Furthermore, many of these deadbeats couldn't accept the concept of selling at a loss so they kept the prices at unreasonable levels and many properties simply deteriorated into ramshackle shells.

Today, the laws are better thanks to the IMF requiring Thailand to implement better banking and repossession laws, but I have been here long enough to suspect that if the bubble bursts there won't be many bargains out there, but there will be a lot of overpriced unsellable properties that will simply lie vacant and fall apart because no one will want one at prices they will be asking.

TIT supply and demand isn't completely applicable here.

Edited February 7, 2013 by Groongthep

[jamescollister]

2) I also think LOS is in a serious R.E. bubble which will one day burst. No telling when. If you own during the bubble, it's no big deal as long as you're content to hang on to your home. The "losers" are those who need to sell after the crash. The big winners might well be those who buy afterwards, picking up properties at a deep discount. I hope to be among that crowd. I can afford to wait. I also hope the $/THB rate is more favorable then, leading to even better deals.

Many of us have been here long enough to remember the 1997 crash. At that time Thailand had almost no Real Estate law and few banks were able to repossess much property from non-performing loans. The "owners" simply refused to give them back. Furthermore, many of these deadbeats couldn't accept the concept of selling at a loss so they kept the prices at unreasonable levels and many properties simply deteriorated into ramshackle shells.

Today, the laws are better thanks to the IMF requiring Thailand to implement better banking and repossession laws, but I have been here long enough to suspect that if the bubble bursts there won't be many bargains out there, but there will be a lot of overpriced unsellable properties that will simply lie vacant and fall apart because no one will want one at prices they will be asking.

TIT supply and demand isn't completely applicable here.

Thais have some strange ideas about pricing, bank repossessed houses often asking more than it would cost to build new.

Bought a motorbike last year, brand new. Shop had a repossessed one and wanted more for the used one than the new one.

Reason, they had to pay to repose the bike and they had to recoup the costs. Jim

[Groongthep]

2) I also think LOS is in a serious R.E. bubble which will one day burst. No telling when. If you own during the bubble, it's no big deal as long as you're content to hang on to your home. The "losers" are those who need to sell after the crash. The big winners might well be those who buy afterwards, picking up properties at a deep discount. I hope to be among that crowd. I can afford to wait. I also hope the $/THB rate is more favorable then, leading to even better deals.

Many of us have been here long enough to remember the 1997 crash. At that time Thailand had almost no Real Estate law and few banks were able to repossess much property from non-performing loans. The "owners" simply refused to give them back. Furthermore, many of these deadbeats couldn't accept the concept of selling at a loss so they kept the prices at unreasonable levels and many properties simply deteriorated into ramshackle shells.

Today, the laws are better thanks to the IMF requiring Thailand to implement better banking and repossession laws, but I have been here long enough to suspect that if the bubble bursts there won't be many bargains out there, but there will be a lot of overpriced unsellable properties that will simply lie vacant and fall apart because no one will want one at prices they will be asking.

TIT supply and demand isn't completely applicable here.

Thais have some strange ideas about pricing, bank repossessed houses often asking more than it would cost to build new.

Bought a motorbike last year, brand new. Shop had a repossessed one and wanted more for the used one than the new one.

Reason, they had to pay to repose the bike and they had to recoup the costs. Jim

One of my (least) favorite examples is how hotel room rates go up when occupancy goes down. The 'logic' being the few people willing to pay the higher prices will make up for the fewer rooms rented at regular rates. Go figure.

[davejones]

2) I also think LOS is in a serious R.E. bubble which will one day burst. No telling when. If you own during the bubble, it's no big deal as long as you're content to hang on to your home. The "losers" are those who need to sell after the crash. The big winners might well be those who buy afterwards, picking up properties at a deep discount. I hope to be among that crowd. I can afford to wait. I also hope the $/THB rate is more favorable then, leading to even better deals.

Many of us have been here long enough to remember the 1997 crash. At that time Thailand had almost no Real Estate law and few banks were able to repossess much property from non-performing loans. The "owners" simply refused to give them back. Furthermore, many of these deadbeats couldn't accept the concept of selling at a loss so they kept the prices at unreasonable levels and many properties simply deteriorated into ramshackle shells.

Today, the laws are better thanks to the IMF requiring Thailand to implement better banking and repossession laws, but I have been here long enough to suspect that if the bubble bursts there won't be many bargains out there, but there will be a lot of overpriced unsellable properties that will simply lie vacant and fall apart because no one will want one at prices they will be asking.

TIT supply and demand isn't completely applicable here.

Thais have some strange ideas about pricing, bank repossessed houses often asking more than it would cost to build new.

Bought a motorbike last year, brand new. Shop had a repossessed one and wanted more for the used one than the new one.

Reason, they had to pay to repose the bike and they had to recoup the costs. Jim

One of my (least) favorite examples is how hotel room rates go up when occupancy goes down. The 'logic' being the few people willing to pay the higher prices will make up for the fewer rooms rented at regular rates. Go figure.

I keep reading this on TV, but I don't think it's true. I have seen hotel prices drop when demand is low, but have never seen it rise when demand is low. If what you say is true, then prices would be higher in the lower season, but that's not the case at all. Maybe there are one or two privately run hotels that sometimes up the prices, but I think this is a myth. Just go to some websites and check high and low season prices.

[TommoPhysicist]

I keep reading this on TV, but I don't think it's true. I have seen hotel prices drop when demand is low, but have never seen it rise when demand is low. If what you say is true, then prices would be higher in the lower season, but that's not the case at all. Maybe there are one or two privately run hotels that sometimes up the prices, but I think this is a myth. Just go to some websites and check high and low season prices.

Website prices are usually much higher than front desk prices.

If you use the websites you are already paying much more than anyone else.

[Blackandwhite]

Honestly here this is down to your personal position. If your in a position to afford to by a house then you will once you decide to settle. If your the type of person that is able to evaluate risk against the economy at the time and a fair cost price in relation to true value of the property in question then of course you buy as either a property to live in and future investment. However if you want to live in a 6 bed house and can only afford a 2 bed house then you you will rent ;-) or if you simply do not have the capital then rental is good. Thailand over all if buying or renting offers good standards of living against cost.

[TommoPhysicist]

Ok, I'm the OP and I've been silently watching this very interesting conversation. I appreciate all the posts, coming from a variety of viewpoints. It helped to solidify my thinking, and the last several posts captured it very well...

Putting aside the problem of buying a house you can't actually own for a moment.

Another serious problem we all will encounter is the price gouging that the sellers (and everyone else in the chain) will attempt when they realise a foreigner is involved with the potential purchase.

Unless you buy from a developer, who is selling to Thais and you can read and understand the Thai sales brochures, you just can't avoid the gouging.

Price for foreigners from private sales add 30-50% (or more).

Oh and your 'loved one' will often happily conspire in the gouge if she is given the right 'kickback'.

You can't avoid 'gouging' by buying form another foreigner either, they will be convinced their property is worth double it's actual value, because they have already been 'gouged', by land seller, house builder, etc.

PS

Before you all claim your wife wouldn't do that, I would like to point out that is not what I have seen happen.

Oh, and my wife would certainly do that to me, if I gave her the chance. It's in their nature.

Edited February 7, 2013 by TommoPhysicist

[davejones]

I keep reading this on TV, but I don't think it's true. I have seen hotel prices drop when demand is low, but have never seen it rise when demand is low. If what you say is true, then prices would be higher in the lower season, but that's not the case at all. Maybe there are one or two privately run hotels that sometimes up the prices, but I think this is a myth. Just go to some websites and check high and low season prices.

Website prices are usually much higher than front desk prices.

If you use the websites you are already paying much more than anyone else.

That's not always true either. Quite a few times I've phoned the hotel to check prices and even turned up and asked. I've never found a cheaper walk-in price. I told one hotel that I could book on Agoda for less than they wanted if I went direct, and the woman told me that I should book with Agoda. I'm sure it can be true sometimes, but I've never found it to be true.

[davejones]

Ok, I'm the OP and I've been silently watching this very interesting conversation. I appreciate all the posts, coming from a variety of viewpoints. It helped to solidify my thinking, and the last several posts captured it very well...

Putting aside the problem of buying a house you can't actually own for a moment.

Another serious problem we all will encounter is the price gouging that the sellers (and everyone else in the chain) will attempt when they realise a foreigner is involved with the potential purchase.

Unless you buy from a developer, who is selling to Thais and you can read and understand the Thai sales brochures, you just can't avoid the gouging.

Price for foreigners from private sales add 30-50% (or more).

Oh and your 'loved one' will often happily conspire in the gouge if she is given the right 'kickback'.

You can't avoid 'gouging' by buying form another foreigner either, they will be convinced their property is worth double it's actual value, because they have already been 'gouged', by land seller, house builder, etc.

PS

Before you all claim your wife wouldn't do that, I would like to point out that is not what I have seen happen.

Oh, and my wife would certainly do that to me, if I gave her the chance. It's in their nature.

It's impossible for someone to charge you extra if you're a foreigner if you refuse to pay the price. So there's no need for it to happen to anyone.

[TommoPhysicist]

That's not always true either. Quite a few times I've phoned the hotel to check prices and even turned up and asked. I've never found a cheaper walk-in price. I told one hotel that I could book on Agoda for less than they wanted if I went direct, and the woman told me that I should book with Agoda. I'm sure it can be true sometimes, but I've never found it to be true.

Yeah, but you are booking as a foreigner, and I am booking as a Thai.

It's impossible for someone to charge you extra if you're a foreigner if you refuse to pay the price. So there's no need for it to happen to anyone.

In which case, you will never be buying your loved one or children a home in Thailand.

Edited February 7, 2013 by TommoPhysicist

[davejones]

2) I also think LOS is in a serious R.E. bubble which will one day burst. No telling when. If you own during the bubble, it's no big deal as long as you're content to hang on to your home. The "losers" are those who need to sell after the crash. The big winners might well be those who buy afterwards, picking up properties at a deep discount. I hope to be among that crowd. I can afford to wait. I also hope the $/THB rate is more favorable then, leading to even better deals.

Be careful, because that can be a dangerous game to play. Even if you are certain there is a bubble, you have no idea when it will pop, and the post-pop price could be more than the price now. I remember around 2000-2004 (can't remember exact year), there were lots of people saying how the UK, and especially London, was in a huge property price bubble. Some people even claimed that they sold their houses in order to buy a similar property back for half price after the crash. And they had a huge amount of data to "prove" that a crash was due. But property prices didn't crash - they just continued upwards. I can't remember exact figures, but they were along the lines of someone who had a £400k property that they were convinced they could buy back for £200K after the crash. So they sold the property and waited for the crash. But what happened was that the £400k property that they sold went up to £800K, and then crashed to £700K. So they lost out big time.And they paid rent in all those years that they were waiting for the crash.

An additional complication for many buying here is currency movements. Maybe the crash will come, but you'll still end up paying more because the currency moved against you.

But this all depends on your exact circumstances. If you have the money and are planning to stay long-term in one property, I wouldn't put off buying just in case there is a property crash. It's never easy to predict when one will happen. Even people who claim to predict them are out by years. But most likely they always predict one, and one will always come along, so they'll always be right. Predicting one and profiting from your prediction are two entirely different things.

[TommoPhysicist]

But this all depends on your exact circumstances. If you have the money and are planning to stay long-term in one property, I wouldn't put off buying just in case there is a property crash. It's never easy to predict when one will happen. Even people who claim to predict them are out by years. But most likely they always predict one, and one will always come along, so they'll always be right. Predicting one and profiting from your prediction are two entirely different things.

As you can never own the house/property/land (take your pick) in Thailand, you will never make a profit from it.

(Although your wife or children might)

Edited February 7, 2013 by TommoPhysicist

[davejones]

That's not always true either. Quite a few times I've phoned the hotel to check prices and even turned up and asked. I've never found a cheaper walk-in price. I told one hotel that I could book on Agoda for less than they wanted if I went direct, and the woman told me that I should book with Agoda. I'm sure it can be true sometimes, but I've never found it to be true.

Yeah, but you are booking as a foreigner, and I am booking as a Thai.

It's impossible for someone to charge you extra if you're a foreigner if you refuse to pay the price. So there's no need for it to happen to anyone.

In which case, you will never be buying your loved one or children a home in Thailand.

LOL. My gf has land, so we can build on that if we want. Or buy in her name at Thai prices. Or settle in another country. We haven't decided where we will end up yet. But I think we'd always like some sort of base here.

Edited February 7, 2013 by davejones

[TommoPhysicist]

LOL. My gf has land, so we can build on that if we want. Or buy in her name at Thai prices. Or settle in another country. We haven't decided where we will end up yet. But I think we'd always like some sort of base here.

Of course the problem is, unless she buys paying cash they will find out a foreigner is involved.

Especially if you get married. Foreigner husband must co-sign home loan, foreigner husband must be present at the land office for the transfer. Suddenly any prior agreement she made with the seller is out the window.

And of course not forgetting, gf mustn't be involved with gouging you.

Not to mention

Everyone's wife/gfs family land is in some mosquito and snake infested rat hole hell called 'Nakon Nowhere', surrounded by scrounging relatives where no person speaks any comprehensible (or learn-able) language and no civilized person could ever endure living (no Internet) for more than about three days.

Edited February 7, 2013 by TommoPhysicist

[Gary A]

I wouldn't consider buying any property that I can't own one hundred percent. That leaves just a condo. I have absolutely no concern about a bubble because I have no intention of selling my condo. I bought what I liked and I still like it. It's in a nice, clean and well taken care of complex and is pleasant convenient living. I don't care if it is worth one million or ten million. I didn't spend more than I could afford to spend when I bought it, don't pay rent and I can do anything I want to the interior. I don't want to be a real estate agent or a land lord. I live in my wife's house upcountry most of the time but the condo is here when I want or need a change of scenery.

The best thing about buying what you can afford is that you don't have to be a slave to a piece of property. I was deeply in debt much of my working life and especially when I was raising a family. Those days are long past.

[rgs2001uk]

LOL. My gf has land, so we can build on that if we want. Or buy in her name at Thai prices. Or settle in another country. We haven't decided where we will end up yet. But I think we'd always like some sort of base here.

Of course the problem is, unless she buys paying cash they will find out a foreigner is involved.

Especially if you get married. Foreigner husband must co-sign home loan, foreigner husband must be present at the land office for the transfer. Suddenly any prior agreement she made with the seller is out the window.

And of course not forgetting, gf mustn't be involved with gouging you.

Not to mention

Everyone's wife/gfs family land is in some mosquito and snake infested rat hole hell called 'Nakon Nowhere', surrounded by scrounging relatives where no person speaks any comprehensible (or learn-able) language and no civilized person could ever endure living (no Internet) for more than about three days.

You forgot to mention, why do so many farangs end up paying for land the family already own.

I live here in Bkk, every Thai I know already owns land elsewhere, and many others have access to land, I fail to understand why so many are duped.