Are Houses In Thailand 'really' That Much Cheaper Than In The Uk?

[norrona]

there has been countless posts on here about owning a property in Thailand, you can buy on a moo ban that looks great when its first finished then turns into a hovel within 2 years or you can buy and build a stand alone property of your dreams only to have a motorbike repair shop or pig farm good chance both set up within a distance guaranteed to make the most placid a raving looney!

comparing cheap townhouses in Thailand to Victorian built houses in the UK is a bit like comparing Bolex made in China to Rolex made in swiss...

as for the comment about keep your houses in cold blighty.....ha ha that old chestnut eh

[Rumblecat]

I bought a two bedroom apartment here four or five years ago. Nice area- Sathorn- near the BTS, swimming pool and gym in the condo building. At the time I checked and a similar apartment in the UK (specifically Edinburgh or Glasgow) would have probably cost me twice as much. (Although back then the pound was stronger). So yeah, it really was that much cheaper and even now I'd imagine it still is.

[norrona]

what about all the ongoing costs of owning a house in uk,such as land and council taxes,how much to get a plumber or a sparkie to do work,or a painter to do a job...certainly no comparison to here in thailand

ok the topic was about properties and the cost not about the cost of living and maintaining but here goes....

In the UK I pay council tax and for that I live my life without the smell and sight of garbage stacked in public places, they even come and get it from the bin where I put it these days...if you are living on a moo ban in Thailand then I sincerely hope all of your maintenance fee isn't being embezzled by the committee as most of them seem to do so, as in my other post everything is sweet in the brand new homes for the first few years then it all goes to ruin and isn't maintained!

land taxes....you got them in Thailand as well, it's just whether or not you chooses to de-value the property to pay less, quite a mute point really...

as for tradesmen come off it you are having a giggle with that one, very few and far between and again there are countless threads on here about 'thai tradesmen' and their antics....I am sure some on here can share but the one I remember is a worker bricking up a window and door way so they were effectively trapped in a room and had bricked themselves in there....or the 'thai sparkie' whose idea to join live wires and make them safe is a bit of black tape which is then cemented into your walls....or even the ones who start jobs then when they realise they have mis quoted for it do a moonlight never to be seen again!

Thanks for the chuckle

[joeaverage]

google BKK or Thai real estate.

you will find many agents with hundreds of listings of varied sizes and prices, they are far cheaper.

no comparison whatsoever.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-38706742.html?premiumA=true

A link sowing a house in Derby for £51,000 can any one show me a link for house built as well with a garden as big for as cheap?

utterly depressing

[thaicbr]

what about all the ongoing costs of owning a house in uk,such as land and council taxes,how much to get a plumber or a sparkie to do work,or a painter to do a job...certainly no comparison to here in thailand

ok the topic was about properties and the cost not about the cost of living and maintaining but here goes....

In the UK I pay council tax and for that I live my life without the smell and sight of garbage stacked in public places, they even come and get it from the bin where I put it these days...if you are living on a moo ban in Thailand then I sincerely hope all of your maintenance fee isn't being embezzled by the committee as most of them seem to do so, as in my other post everything is sweet in the brand new homes for the first few years then it all goes to ruin and isn't maintained!

land taxes....you got them in Thailand as well, it's just whether or not you chooses to de-value the property to pay less, quite a mute point really...

as for tradesmen come off it you are having a giggle with that one, very few and far between and again there are countless threads on here about 'thai tradesmen' and their antics....I am sure some on here can share but the one I remember is a worker bricking up a window and door way so they were effectively trapped in a room and had bricked themselves in there....or the 'thai sparkie' whose idea to join live wires and make them safe is a bit of black tape which is then cemented into your walls....or even the ones who start jobs then when they realise they have mis quoted for it do a moonlight never to be seen again!

Thanks for the chuckle

Yes. you have land taxes and transfer fees but only payable on the sale or purchase of the property AND a sliding percentage scale over 5 years then minimal. A friend just sold a 1.4 million baht property having owned it for 4 years 36k B in fees. (780 pounds)

Edited June 4, 2013 by thaicbr

[AnotherOneAmerican]

google BKK or Thai real estate.

you will find many agents with hundreds of listings of varied sizes and prices, they are far cheaper.

no comparison whatsoever.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-38706742.html?premiumA=true

A link sowing a house in Derby for £51,000 can any one show me a link for house built as well with a garden as big for as cheap?

utterly depressing

A little research shows that house to be a repossession on a run-down council estate, no interior pictures as it has most likely been wrecked by the evicted previous owner. Area surrounded by unemployed and druggies next to a major road.

Viewing houses in better areas gives prices in the UKP 140,000+

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-27016293.html?showcase=true&premiumA=true

Edited June 4, 2013 by AnotherOneAmerican

[thaicbr]

google BKK or Thai real estate.

you will find many agents with hundreds of listings of varied sizes and prices, they are far cheaper.

no comparison whatsoever.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-38706742.html?premiumA=true

A link sowing a house in Derby for £51,000 can any one show me a link for house built as well with a garden as big for as cheap?

utterly depressing

A little research shows that house to be a repossession on a run-down council estate, no interior pictures as it has most likely been wrecked by the evicted previous owner. Area surrounded by unemployed and druggies next to a major road.

Viewing houses in better areas gives prices in the UKP 140,000+

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-27016293.html?showcase=true&premiumA=true

Ummm ok then that is comparable to SOME of the THAI moobans i have seen . But the prices were down in the sub 600k baht mark (13k Uk pounds)

[HeijoshinCool]

If you want to live like a local, they used to be cheaper. But even in the dumpy area I live, that is changing, in great part due to property skyrocketing recently.

But if you want to live like a westerner, they are more expensive that in the States, with obvious exceptions where property values are high.

I can build on a canal lot, in Port Charlotte, Florida, for less than I can build here in Nakhon Si Thammarhat, and get a much nicer house, neighborhood, and excellent infrastructure.

I agree with you, OP.

Pretty much EVERYTHING is cheaper in the US.. We are talking UK. where pretty much everything is expensive

Well, I was only one letter off.

[norrona]

google BKK or Thai real estate.

you will find many agents with hundreds of listings of varied sizes and prices, they are far cheaper.

no comparison whatsoever.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-38706742.html?premiumA=true

A link sowing a house in Derby for £51,000 can any one show me a link for house built as well with a garden as big for as cheap?

utterly depressing

A little research shows that house to be a repossession on a run-down council estate, no interior pictures as it has most likely been wrecked by the evicted previous owner. Area surrounded by unemployed and druggies next to a major road.

Viewing houses in better areas gives prices in the UKP 140,000+

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-27016293.html?showcase=true&premiumA=true

So pretty much the same standard of area as many Thai moo bans then, druggies, rotting garbage, main roads with huge pot holes in them blah blah blah....you say Bolex I say Rolex

[jbaldwin]

When I came to live in Pattaya, I sold a property for GBP216,000 in England and bought in Thailand for THB2.56m. I transferred the cash for the property purchase at an exchange rate of 67, which makes the cost GBP38,200.......but that was 10 years ago. Now I guess my condo is worth THB4.0m at the current exchange rate of 46 would now cost about GBP87,000.

That's sounds about right.

What's the house I the uk worth now, with the market the way it has been, bet its not gone up much and that's £87,000 for a condo.

I sold in 2002. It changed hands again in 2006 for 285,000 but I would assume that this was with some work done.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

So pretty much the same standard of area as many Thai moo bans then, druggies, rotting garbage, main roads with huge pot holes in them blah blah blah....you say Bolex I say Rolex

If that's what you want, I can find you a house in Detroit for $10,000.

You just need your own armed gang to live in the house with you (and black skin).

Really, we need to compare like with like. Homes you would happily live in yourself.

(Not homes where you have to call everyone else 'homes')

Edited June 4, 2013 by AnotherOneAmerican

[Tchooptip]

google BKK or Thai real estate.

you will find many agents with hundreds of listings of varied sizes and prices, they are far cheaper.

no comparison whatsoever.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-38706742.html?premiumA=true

A link sowing a house in Derby for £51,000 can any one show me a link for house built as well with a garden as big for as cheap?

A link sowing a house in Derby for £51,000 can any one show me a link for a house so depressing

[sunlong]

The fact that you can't really own the land in a way you can feel secure about without a lot of added expense - and still not totally secure in my opinion and the build quality issue is a big one.

However those issues aside -accepting low quality and higher risk - the fact remains they are cheaper and ongoing expenses lower.

Whether that's what YOU want to do or not is of course - up to YOU!

Personally the rent vs purchase ratios here are so skewed toward rent, given the first two issues I'd never consider buying any real estate here at all.

[HeijoshinCool]

So pretty much the same standard of area as many Thai moo bans then, druggies, rotting garbage, main roads with huge pot holes in them blah blah blah....you say Bolex I say Rolex

If that's what you want, I can find you a house in Detroit for $10,000.

You just need your own armed gang to live in the house with you (and black skin).

Really, we need to compare like with like. Homes you would happily live in yourself.

(Not homes where you have to call everyone else 'homes')

$10,000?

Why would you pay twice the appraised value?

Things are so bad there, some neighborhoods in the Motor City are now unprotected by emergency services.

Hey, hold on, wasn't this about the UK?

[pattayadingo]

3 bed terraced house in U.K. at seaside built with semi-engineering bricks, £100K + (Much better build quality overall), but newer houses where I come from you can hear the neighbours farting because they use stud walls.

3 bed town house Pattaya, 1,000,000 Baht needs 500,000 Baht renovation (will fall down long before my U.K. house).

No comparison in build quality between the two. My house has been standing since 1902 and still as solid as the day it was built. 1" floorboards, 9" skirting boards. dado rails, picture rails, ceiling coving 9" deep to wall and ceiling.... need I say more?

whats that about 45 grand yes

nearer £33,000 for the Pattaya house (1,500,000 @ 45 Baht) and it will not see many years before more work needs doing again and I'd not expect the house to be here for too many years or be liveable without major works done regularly.

[HeijoshinCool]

If you are buying here, rather than building, that's also going to cost more, because renovations are always necessary. Thais down the street just built a 5 million baht 5/4. Looks nice from the outside.

Lacks any kind of kitchen, and all four bathrooms have squat toilets with bucket flush. You'd have to replumb even the pipes, because for some reason they size them differently.

[stiggy]

Based on where you wish to live, out in Nakon nowhere cheap as chips, somewhere with infrastructure or where tourists hang out more expensive than UK,, for what you get.Especially when you factor in build quality is often crap, then there is the no protection factor, ie what stops a karaoke opening up next door (as happened to me)

Of course many will shout I can get a cheap house blah blah, but same can be said in UK was just offered a 3 bed detached in the country for 120 k GBP with half an acre.

Then there is the overall factor of you cant actually own it, so technically it's an expensive dodgy lease.

However all said and done I have had 3 houses in thailand still own one (read above) and sold other two on for profit.

[gavin310]

You can't simply find a few examples of houses in small cities in the UK that are cheaper than houses in Bangkok and say that validates your claim. If you want to compare small city UK to small city Thailand, there's absolutely no comparison.

[MESmith]

In Sheffield you wont get a decent semi in a decent area (school catchments) for much less than 200,000 pounds. Even then you have to hope your neighbours aren't noisy. British semis tend to have the living areas sharing adjoining walls, rather than the stairs & bathrooms.

[stiggy]

House prices in Thailand vary considerably.

[thaicbr]

If you are buying here, rather than building, that's also going to cost more, because renovations are always necessary. Thais down the street just built a 5 million baht 5/4. Looks nice from the outside.

 

Lacks any kind of kitchen, and all four bathrooms have squat toilets with bucket flush. You'd have to replumb even the pipes, because for some reason they size them differently. 

The Thais down your street are knob heads!

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE Q6

[Jasun]

House prices in Mumbai, HK, Shanghai, Tokyo, Singapore and many other asian cities are twice the price per sqm as in the UK. Thailand is closer to half the price. Get in while you can.

[sunlong]

Just make sure it's not an area subject to flooding. . .

[Naam]

google BKK or Thai real estate.

you will find many agents with hundreds of listings of varied sizes and prices, they are far cheaper.

no comparison whatsoever.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-38706742.html?premiumA=true

A link sowing a house in Derby for £51,000 can any one show me a link for house built as well with a garden as big for as cheap?

who wants to live in Derby?

[pigeonjake]

3 bed terraced house in U.K. at seaside built with semi-engineering bricks, £100K + (Much better build quality overall), but newer houses where I come from you can hear the neighbours farting because they use stud walls.

3 bed town house Pattaya, 1,000,000 Baht needs 500,000 Baht renovation (will fall down long before my U.K. house).

No comparison in build quality between the two. My house has been standing since 1902 and still as solid as the day it was built. 1" floorboards, 9" skirting boards. dado rails, picture rails, ceiling coving 9" deep to wall and ceiling.... need I say more?

we just finnished our house, very good build, double block apart from internel walls, i did most of the plumbing myself good quality fittings,,

ok its in a village but that is were i live and chose to live,

and the finnish price is a fraction under 1 mil bht, 3 bed, 2 bath,living room and kitchen, with a 6x6mtr coverd sitting outside area,

thanks jake,

[AnotherOneAmerican]

we just finnished our house, very good build, double block apart from internel walls, i did most of the plumbing myself good quality fittings,,

ok its in a village but that is were i live and chose to live,

and the finnish price is a fraction under 1 mil bht, 3 bed, 2 bath,living room and kitchen, with a 6x6mtr coverd sitting outside area,

thanks jake,

Not 'our house' but her house.

Not where you choose to live, but where she chooses to live.

Not having a go Jake, but you might want to take off the rose tinted spectacles sometimes.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's great you have built your lady a nice home, but it isn't yours.

Edited June 5, 2013 by AnotherOneAmerican

[muythai2013]

3 bed terraced house in U.K. at seaside built with semi-engineering bricks, £100K + (Much better build quality overall), but newer houses where I come from you can hear the neighbours farting because they use stud walls.

3 bed town house Pattaya, 1,000,000 Baht needs 500,000 Baht renovation (will fall down long before my U.K. house).

No comparison in build quality between the two. My house has been standing since 1902 and still as solid as the day it was built. 1" floorboards, 9" skirting boards. dado rails, picture rails, ceiling coving 9" deep to wall and ceiling.... need I say more?

we just finnished our house, very good build, double block apart from internel walls, i did most of the plumbing myself good quality fittings,,

ok its in a village but that is were i live and chose to live,

and the finnish price is a fraction under 1 mil bht, 3 bed, 2 bath,living room and kitchen, with a 6x6mtr coverd sitting outside area,

thanks jake,

that's fantastic, I have seen houses out in the sticks for that price and they were great.

[muythai2013]

we just finnished our house, very good build, double block apart from internel walls, i did most of the plumbing myself good quality fittings,,

ok its in a village but that is were i live and chose to live,

and the finnish price is a fraction under 1 mil bht, 3 bed, 2 bath,living room and kitchen, with a 6x6mtr coverd sitting outside area,

thanks jake,

Not 'our house' but her house.

Not where you choose to live, but where she chooses to live.

Not having a go Jake, but you might want to take off the rose tinted spectacles sometimes.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's great you have built your lady a nice home, but it isn't yours.

she may have the house in her name but you cannot say he does not want to live there, everyone who has known jake for a while knows he loves the countryside.

A chip on your shoulder can be worse then rose coloured glasses, why don't you ask him how long he has been with his missus, long time.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

she may have the house in her name but you cannot say he does not want to live there, everyone who has known jake for a while knows he loves the countryside.

You may well be right.

I am happy that you 50% agree with me.

Edited June 5, 2013 by AnotherOneAmerican

[ignis]

The main difference is out of town/City...

The house i bought in the UK............ same builder as house within the City limits....... End Terrace were selling for around 60,000 GBP, where I bought 22 miles outside City limits in a Village I sold my end terrace on the 3rd day of the house being listed with the Estate Agent for 120,000 GBP..

here it is the other way around the further you go from a City the cheaper the house......... here 50 km outside City, had a good size detached house built in 2003 moved in 2004, total cost, Land in Partners name but in the total price, just under 1.9 million...

Back then 1 GBP = 73 something baht.... so just under 9 million UK to something far bigger and detached for under 2 million........ same sort of size detached house in the UK Village sold for 290,000 - 350,000 GBP

UK friend a few Villages away rents a new build detached house, 4,600 baht per month......... Not sure but do not think you could rent anything like it in UK for that money per week