Right -

The other half and I are currently not in Thailand.

But over the next couple of years we will be spending more and more time there.

To save the aggravation/expense of booking hotels for extended visits we have decided to buy a place.

However, Is it possible to buy a Condo in the 4-5m baht range which isn't an absolute dump or a shoebox?

I'm not talking prime Suk here...

Just somewhere on/near a BTS/MRT line, preferably in the North or Eastern suburbs. One or two bedrooms but preferably 80m+ in a building say 10 years old or less?

Anyone any ideas or suggestions or the name of a building? Or am I dreaming?

Many thanks

RAZZ

Maybe this one.

http://www.ideocondo.com/ideomobi/EN/sukhumvit/news.aspx

Nice.

But have you seen the sizes?

2 bedroom 50-60m. That's a small hotel room.

RAZZ

5M baht for 80 sq m. We're talking 60K baht/sq m. Would be tough these days to get one along the BTS lines within 10 stations proximity to Siam Square, even for an old building. I would try to look in Bangna area if you set a hard limit there.

Yep. It's seems to be either an old craper or a new shoe box.

RAZZ

Yep. It's seems to be either an old craper or a new shoe box.

RAZZ

Decent Condos are around 100kB/Meter

I bought my condo about 12 years ago for less than 40K/m2. 2 minutes to the BTS or MRT.

But that was then and this is now. Today I have no idea what the prices are, but I did see a condo advertized in my building at about 140K+/m2.

Don't buy in Thai if you are thinking of selling and you never want to sell.

I sold my condo way under value to get it gone.

I'd never buy in Thai again. Literally 1000's of places to choose from.

Not an investment.

It will be a home or at the very least a "base".

RAZZ

I bought my condo about 12 years ago for less than 40K/m2. 2 minutes to the BTS or MRT. But that was then and this is now. Today I have no idea what the prices are, but I did see a condo advertized in my building at about 140K+/m2.

That will come as a bit of a shock to those that insist that property prices in Thailand never rise. I'm sure they'll turn up soon to explain why you're wrong. LOL.

Don't buy in Thai if you are thinking of selling and you never want to sell.

I sold my condo way under value to get it gone.

I'd never buy in Thai again. Literally 1000's of places to choose from.

Sounds more like you paid too much and sold at the market rate. Why sell under value otherwise?

To get rid of it, I didn't want to be sitting in the same position 2 years down the line competing with the other 1000's of similar places.

It's easy to buy a place in Thai but IMO not that easy to sell.

To get rid of it, I didn't want to be sitting in the same position 2 years down the line competing with the other 1000's of similar places.

It's easy to buy a place in Thai but IMO not that easy to sell.

Or at least in Bangkok. Too many people think buying in Bangkok is a good investment and can rent it out. All the Thai's I know that did that are scrambling to sell them. There are literally hundreds of places available to rent. The bubble is bursting.

To get rid of it, I didn't want to be sitting in the same position 2 years down the line competing with the other 1000's of similar places.

It's easy to buy a place in Thai but IMO not that easy to sell.

Or at least in Bangkok. Too many people think buying in Bangkok is a good investment and can rent it out. All the Thai's I know that did that are scrambling to sell them. There are literally hundreds of places available to rent. The bubble is bursting.

Maybe for condos.

The prices do seem very high for the "average" Thai.

RAZZ

To get rid of it, I didn't want to be sitting in the same position 2 years down the line competing with the other 1000's of similar places.

It's easy to buy a place in Thai but IMO not that easy to sell.

Or at least in Bangkok. Too many people think buying in Bangkok is a good investment and can rent it out. All the Thai's I know that did that are scrambling to sell them. There are literally hundreds of places available to rent. The bubble is bursting.

Maybe for condos.

The prices do seem very high for the "average" Thai.

RAZZ

Could be a problem with not buying what Thais can afford or where Thais want to live. If your banking on foreigners it's strictly a speculative upmarket and not very reliable.

Bangkok is still the capital and where most upwardly mobile want to live. Capital markets are always a better bet than vacation areas. Sukhumvit is not an example of a place. Better to look for growth areas that are attractive to a domestic market, near expansions or where bts or mrt is being built or just built. Best way to tell that is whether there are majority other Thais who bought to live in the building rather than rent out.

But I think there is truth to the statement that it is much easier to buy than sell. Certainly the best is not to invest what you can't afford to hold on to for some time, keep a 5-10 year outlook. Use it as a base, hedge your rental expenses, whatever. But don't count on flipping it, local players are far more likely to get it right.

Looking at buying something to use for the next few years.

Long term plans are to buy land and build a house somewhere in Bkk.

RAZZ

Looking at buying something to use for the next few years.

Long term plans are to buy land and build a house somewhere in Bkk.

RAZZ

Long term plans are to buy land and build a house somewhere in Bkk.

First problem is what do you define as Bkk?

Its getting increasingly more difficult and expensive to find land in Bkk, one of the reasons in some cases its cheaper to buy on an older moo baan then demolish the house and build your own.

The other alternative is a new build, look at their location, land prices are pushing these new builds further out.

Personally if it were me, I would look at buying land and just sit on it until you need to build, from what I have seen its easier to sell a piece of land than it is to sell a condo.

The prices some people are asking for vacant land in Bkk will make your eyes water, Pattanakarn way, 100k baht per t/w, lets assume for a decent sized plot you need 100tw, thats 10 million before you even construct a house, the house normal 2 storey 200sm built to western standards, theres another 4 or 5 million.

Looking at buying something to use for the next few years.

What to live in full time, why not just buy the land and build the house now?

Or do you mean a crash pad for use when you are on holiday that you intend to sell at a later date?

Looking at buying something to use for the next few years.

Long term plans are to buy land and build a house somewhere in Bkk.

RAZZ

Long term plans are to buy land and build a house somewhere in Bkk.

First problem is what do you define as Bkk?

Its getting increasingly more difficult and expensive to find land in Bkk, one of the reasons in some cases its cheaper to buy on an older moo baan then demolish the house and build your own.

The other alternative is a new build, look at their location, land prices are pushing these new builds further out.

Personally if it were me, I would look at buying land and just sit on it until you need to build, from what I have seen its easier to sell a piece of land than it is to sell a condo.

The prices some people are asking for vacant land in Bkk will make your eyes water, Pattanakarn way, 100k baht per t/w, lets assume for a decent sized plot you need 100tw, thats 10 million before you even construct a house, the house normal 2 storey 200sm built to western standards, theres another 4 or 5 million.

Looking at buying something to use for the next few years.

What to live in full time, why not just buy the land and build the house now?

Or do you mean a crash pad for use when you are on holiday that you intend to sell at a later date?

To answer your questions...

The condo option is for the next 3 or 4 years...we'll probably be spending a fair amount of time there so with the cost of hotels would make sense. Would probably let the sister-in-law(s) live in it why we're not there and pay a nominal rent.

Land - not being one of Thai Visas multi-millionaires it's gonna take a few years to sort the land and house option out.

Thinking of buying on the outskirts of Bangkok.

By the time we get to go back full-time in about 5 years no doubt they won't be the outskirts anymore...somewhere like Bang Na or perhaps Minburi where (hopefully) the new Orange line will run...

We might just buy the land now and maybe a 1.5m shoebox in a good location. If the sister-in-laws wanna stay there they can share a bed!

RAZZ

Well, this is about the best I can find...

http://pf.co.th/condominium/thesky/ratchada/index.aspx

And yeah, I know the traffic's terrible...

RAZZ

Check out Sukhumvit park condo in soi 10.

Great location, prices 3-7