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

[MJP]

In the West people use water heaters. In Thailand people use shower heaters that cost a lot less money. In the West people use central air conditioning. In Thailand people use much cheaper room air conditioning. It is not the same; it's much cheaper in Thailand.

The UK doesn't use central air, very rare (Europe is mainly the same), many houses have shower heaters (same as Thailand).

Most heating is done with radiators and a central boiler, some older houses use electric storage heating, nobody has air-con.

Log burners are very popular now and are used a lot, even during the summer.

[overherebc]

Of course on paper a house in THL is cheaper.

But a house in UK would set you in a country where you have proper roads, decent public transports, social security, real education, social welfare, real police services, real medical services, access to culture, entertainment, etc and all of this has a price.

Think you need another topic, your waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay off topic with most of your post with stuff all of us farangs already know.

I know but having a good wind-up is something we all need now and then.

Anyway on topic. Forget the city comparisons, expensive all over the world.

Houses in the country-side are a lot cheaper than UK and if you really want to you can supervise it yourself and get a good/acceptable build quality.

[Kitsune]

Of course on paper a house in THL is cheaper.

But a house in UK would set you in a country where you have proper roads, decent public transports, social security, real education, social welfare, real police services, real medical services, access to culture, entertainment, etc and all of this has a price.

Think you need another topic, your waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay off topic with most of your post with stuff all of us farangs already know.

You mean I am stating the obvious that you guys chose not to face.

I find your comment quite rich actually when I read people here comparing prices in London and BKK's CBD.

I mean come on !

[hotandhumid]

Yes, they are.

[hotandhumid]

There really are some revolting, bitter people on these forums...what a depressing read this thread is for so many reasons.

Vile people.

[Cambodger]

They might be cheaper but you cant consider them a investment. I mean you cant even own it unless its a condo and the ones I've seen look like they have a 30 year max shelf life, if you're lucky...

Some of these houses in northern England are going dirt cheap as low as £28,000 in some areas and give a good return on investment when let out, absolute min £400 pm. They dont need much much maintenance, plus labour for building trades are at rock bottom in those areas now, plumbers and electricians are fighting for work and slashing prices.

Not a glamorous investment i know, you wont be able to show it off and impress all the oh so hi-so girls with it, but its as cheap and safe as you will find right now.

Get a few of those on your books and you can rent a nice place in Thailand and when the party is over, it always ends, you can just pack up and get on a plane to wherever.

[MJP]

They might be cheaper but you cant consider them a investment. I mean you cant even own it unless its a condo and the ones I've seen look like they have a 30 year max shelf life, if you're lucky...

Some of these houses in northern England are going dirt cheap as low as £28,000 in some areas and give a good return on investment when let out, absolute min £400 pm. They dont need much much maintenance, plus labour for building trades are at rock bottom in those areas now, plumbers and electricians are fighting for work and slashing prices.

Not a glamorous investment i know, you wont be able to show it off and impress all the oh so hi-so girls with it, but its as cheap and safe as you will find right now.

Get a few of those on your books and you can rent a nice place in Thailand and when the party is over, it always ends, you can just pack up and get on a plane to wherever.

I recommend people in the Thailand or UK (???) house buying decision predicament take RogueTrader's advice. It is very sound.

I'll add that another, albeit short lived, house price boom is possible in the UK right now. Help to Buy scheme and Mark Carney (incoming Governor of the BoE) likely to start QE again.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22794816

http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2013-06-06/hedge-funds-up-record-short-on-carney-arrival?mod=blogheadlines-home

Edited June 6, 2013 by MJP

[Cambodger]

They might be cheaper but you cant consider them a investment. I mean you cant even own it unless its a condo and the ones I've seen look like they have a 30 year max shelf life, if you're lucky...

Some of these houses in northern England are going dirt cheap as low as £28,000 in some areas and give a good return on investment when let out, absolute min £400 pm. They dont need much much maintenance, plus labour for building trades are at rock bottom in those areas now, plumbers and electricians are fighting for work and slashing prices.

Not a glamorous investment i know, you wont be able to show it off and impress all the oh so hi-so girls with it, but its as cheap and safe as you will find right now.

Get a few of those on your books and you can rent a nice place in Thailand and when the party is over, it always ends, you can just pack up and get on a plane to wherever.

I recommend people in the Thailand or UK (???) house buying decision predicament take RogueTrader's advice. It is very sound.

Thanks MJP- I've noticed using Zoopla that some of these houses usually repo's by the bank are being offered for close to 50% in some cases of what the owner paid around 2006 just before the peak. With inflation that makes these properties very cheap and if your living in thailand its forcast that the gbp is going to strengthen against the baht, it could be a winner for those choosing to live in Thailand.

[MJP]

They might be cheaper but you cant consider them a investment. I mean you cant even own it unless its a condo and the ones I've seen look like they have a 30 year max shelf life, if you're lucky...

Some of these houses in northern England are going dirt cheap as low as £28,000 in some areas and give a good return on investment when let out, absolute min £400 pm. They dont need much much maintenance, plus labour for building trades are at rock bottom in those areas now, plumbers and electricians are fighting for work and slashing prices.

Not a glamorous investment i know, you wont be able to show it off and impress all the oh so hi-so girls with it, but its as cheap and safe as you will find right now.

Get a few of those on your books and you can rent a nice place in Thailand and when the party is over, it always ends, you can just pack up and get on a plane to wherever.

I recommend people in the Thailand or UK (???) house buying decision predicament take RogueTrader's advice. It is very sound.

Thanks MJP- I've noticed using Zoopla that some of these houses usually repo's by the bank are being offered for close to 50% in some cases of what the owner paid around 2006 just before the peak. With inflation that makes these properties very cheap and if your living in thailand its forcast that the gbp is going to strengthen against the baht, it could be a winner for those choosing to live in Thailand.

I think we're in for a short term technical boom in the UK due to more BoE and Govt fixing. But at some point interest rates have to rise or real market rates will detach completely from the base rate (already happening for most borrowers) and prices fall back into line with incomes (which are falling here). Sadly, many of my friends bought during the boom and even now the mortgage repayments take most of their income, it's just not sustainable.

As a foreigner, trying to own houses and land in Thailand is not a winning formula.

[pattayadingo]

In reality, how can anyone compare house prices in the U.K with those here in Thailand.. In the U.K it is yours once you have paid for it.

[Cambodger]

They might be cheaper but you cant consider them a investment. I mean you cant even own it unless its a condo and the ones I've seen look like they have a 30 year max shelf life, if you're lucky...

Some of these houses in northern England are going dirt cheap as low as £28,000 in some areas and give a good return on investment when let out, absolute min £400 pm. They dont need much much maintenance, plus labour for building trades are at rock bottom in those areas now, plumbers and electricians are fighting for work and slashing prices.

Not a glamorous investment i know, you wont be able to show it off and impress all the oh so hi-so girls with it, but its as cheap and safe as you will find right now.

Get a few of those on your books and you can rent a nice place in Thailand and when the party is over, it always ends, you can just pack up and get on a plane to wherever.

I recommend people in the Thailand or UK (???) house buying decision predicament take RogueTrader's advice. It is very sound.

Thanks MJP- I've noticed using Zoopla that some of these houses usually repo's by the bank are being offered for close to 50% in some cases of what the owner paid around 2006 just before the peak. With inflation that makes these properties very cheap and if your living in thailand its forcast that the gbp is going to strengthen against the baht, it could be a winner for those choosing to live in Thailand.

I think we're in for a short term technical boom in the UK due to more BoE and Govt fixing. But at some point interest rates have to rise or real market rates will detach completely from the base rate (already happening for most borrowers) and prices fall back into line with incomes (which are falling here). Sadly, many of my friends bought during the boom and even now the mortgage repayments take most of their income, it's just not sustainable.

As a foreigner, trying to own houses and land in Thailand is not a winning formula.

True they will rise but i dont think to any crazy levels. It seems the BoE and the Fed, ECB can keep fixing the system, they've been doing it for a hell of a long time now.

TPTB seem to be cleverer than many people gave them credit for at the start of this crisis and evidently they'll do anything to stop it failing even if that means breaking foreign economies in the process.

They're too invested in it, they own most of it, its where they live, holiday and educated their children.

We never had the total collapse many people have been predicting for the last 6 years, i dont think we ever will.

Most (not all) of the people i know in the UK have got through this recession almost unscathed so far, some are better off now than before due to the low interest rates they've had for the last 5 years...

It will be interesting to see what type of medicine Asian economies get when their economies hit a real rough patch again.

[MJP]

RogueTrader,

I agree.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/10056926/George-Osborne-is-reinflating-house-prices-and-we-couldnt-be-happier.html

A friend in Thailand, a UK expat who's been there 25 years reckons the boom they're having right now is the worst bubble he's ever seen. A million baht a rai in Buriram. 10 years ago I was paying 150,000 Baht for an 8 rai plot a little north of there.

Tom Cruise I ain't, Mission Impossible coming up this month. Trying to get my ex-wife to sell building land on the eastern seaboard and buy a two bed cottage in Bideford! I have always wanted to live near Appledore and Westward Ho! The likelihood of this being a success is virtually nil to . . . nil.

Can Thais own land and houses in the UK?

[Naam]

In reality, how can anyone compare house prices in the U.K with those here in Thailand.. In the U.K it is yours once you have paid for it.

it's not yours anymore once they carry you to the graveyard.

[MJP]

In reality, how can anyone compare house prices in the U.K with those here in Thailand.. In the U.K it is yours once you have paid for it.

it's not yours anymore once they carry you to the graveyard.

Great system. The banks get to charge interest on the same thing over and over again.

[muythai2013]

sometimes I get halfway through a thread and forget what it's about.

[chiangmaikelly]

In reality, how can anyone compare house prices in the U.K with those here in Thailand.. In the U.K it is yours once you have paid for it.

It's really very simple. Take a million baht and 20,950 pounds; you buy a home in the UK and your wife buys one in Thailand. In twenty years you both sell them. You compare the profit percent you both have earned? Does that help? What kind of house can you get in the UK for 20,950 pounds today?

[AnotherOneAmerican]

In reality, how can anyone compare house prices in the U.K with those here in Thailand.. In the U.K it is yours once you have paid for it.

It's really very simple. Take a million baht and 20,950 pounds; you buy a home in the UK and your wife buys one in Thailand. In twenty years you both sell them. You compare the profit percent you both have earned? Does that help? What kind of house can you get in the UK for 20,950 pounds today?

Which house do you both live in?

Doesn't enjoyment of living in it play any part in the value?

[ignis]

In reality, how can anyone compare house prices in the U.K with those here in Thailand.. In the U.K it is yours once you have paid for it.

It's really very simple. Take a million baht and 20,950 pounds; you buy a home in the UK and your wife buys one in Thailand. In twenty years you both sell them. You compare the profit percent you both have earned? Does that help? What kind of house can you get in the UK for 20,950 pounds today?

Notice lock up single garages sell around this price in UK, much more in places like London..

Scotland ? http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/27551358?search_identifier=6bc2ea416ecd0a1a2776ff092bb6afd9

[chiangmaikelly]

In reality, how can anyone compare house prices in the U.K with those here in Thailand.. In the U.K it is yours once you have paid for it.

It's really very simple. Take a million baht and 20,950 pounds; you buy a home in the UK and your wife buys one in Thailand. In twenty years you both sell them. You compare the profit percent you both have earned? Does that help? What kind of house can you get in the UK for 20,950 pounds today?

Which house do you both live in?

Doesn't enjoyment of living in it play any part in the value?

Don't know. I know what kind of house I could get for a million baht in Thailand, two bedroom one bath new house on small lot in nice area, What kind of house culd you get for 20,950 pounds in the UK?

(edit while I was typing) Thanks for that post above so I guess it's a two bedroom new house in Thailand or a garage in London.

Edited June 7, 2013 by chiangmaikelly

[Gweiloman]

In reality, how can anyone compare house prices in the U.K with those here in Thailand.. In the U.K it is yours once you have paid for it.

It's really very simple. Take a million baht and 20,950 pounds; you buy a home in the UK and your wife buys one in Thailand. In twenty years you both sell them. You compare the profit percent you both have earned? Does that help? What kind of house can you get in the UK for 20,950 pounds today?

Which house do you both live in?

Doesn't enjoyment of living in it play any part in the value?

Believe me when I tell you that you will have more enjoyment living in a shack in the middle of Nakhon Nowhere than living in a house that cost 20,000 pounds anywhere in the UK

[mca]

I can't find where I read it several months ago but I read that some houses in the north of the UK are being sold for a pound as long as you sign complex agreements that you will pay to renovate them. It was a part of a city where there used to be mining or manufacturing jobs - whole rows of houses vacant.

Now, the council proposes to sell off a cluster of houses for just £1 to

residents - on the condition they will be brought up to a decent standard.

Private landlords will also be able to bid for the tender to refurbish some

of the vacant homes and then buy the freeholds for £1.

Liverpool, England

A quid for a house? In Liverpool that's what's known as a property prices boom

[overherebc]

There certainly is a 'boom' going on down my way.

The guys who makes the land for sale signs are coining it in at the moment

[Lancelot]

They might be cheaper but you cant consider them a investment. I mean you cant even own it unless its a condo and the ones I've seen look like they have a 30 year max shelf life, if you're lucky...

Some of these houses in northern England are going dirt cheap as low as £28,000 in some areas and give a good return on investment when let out, absolute min £400 pm. They dont need much much maintenance, plus labour for building trades are at rock bottom in those areas now, plumbers and electricians are fighting for work and slashing prices.

Not a glamorous investment i know, you wont be able to show it off and impress all the oh so hi-so girls with it, but its as cheap and safe as you will find right now.

Get a few of those on your books and you can rent a nice place in Thailand and when the party is over, it always ends, you can just pack up and get on a plane to wherever.

+1 Make your money in a rich country and spend it in a poor one

Real estate is a relative bargain in the USA too. I own it in my name and can receive relatively unbiased recourse in a court of law. Aside from that, "investing" in real estate in Thailand is perfect

[MrWorldwide]

My guess is here that none of us own anything more than the topsoil and any buildings on the land - the fracking nightmare has made that very apparent here in Oz. Personally, I think it sucks that you cant tell a mining company to get the hell off your property.

[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.

The Thais down your street are knob heads!

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE Q6

Well, yes, of course they are.

[rayongchelsea]

Houses depreciate in price in Thailand, the land on which it is built will appreciate. The wife owns the land the hubby can own the house..who gets the best deal!!

Regardless of price differential anyone who has sold a property in the uk to re-invest in a house here and has no other assets, that is a suicidal financial decision whatever the motive for buying.Making such a decision implies you can't afford a house here in the first place and shouldn't have bought.

Buying here seems to be a very emotional decision yet at home it is a more practical one.No one in their rational moments would hand over all their cash to buy an asset with no real protection. Sh.t happens in life, here or in the uk..

I have met many farangs who have bought not knowing the law, even the documents involved,documents only in Thai never got them translated, don't know rules of Inheritance, no will in place for the wife or girlfriend on purchase..

A bit off topic but the prices need to be way lower than the uk just to reflect the risks involved and the undeniable ignorance of most farang buyers.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Houses depreciate in price in Thailand, the land on which it is built will appreciate. The wife owns the land the hubby can own the house..who gets the best deal!!

Regardless of price differential anyone who has sold a property in the uk to re-invest in a house here and has no other assets, that is a suicidal financial decision whatever the motive for buying.Making such a decision implies you can't afford a house here in the first place and shouldn't have bought.

Buying here seems to be a very emotional decision yet at home it is a more practical one.No one in their rational moments would hand over all their cash to buy an asset with no real protection. Sh.t happens in life, here or in the uk..

I have met many farangs who have bought not knowing the law, even the documents involved,documents only in Thai never got them translated, don't know rules of Inheritance, no will in place for the wife or girlfriend on purchase..

A bit off topic but the prices need to be way lower than the uk just to reflect the risks involved and the undeniable ignorance of most farang buyers.

Plenty of guys in the west buy a house for their wife to live, not easy to get em out once they are in.

Big home loan needed in the west, hard to support if you lose your job.

I would rather risk a 60k house in Thailand (with a 50k home loan), than a 300k house in the west (with a 250k home loan).

$$ or UKP, take your pick

[MJP]

Houses depreciate in price in Thailand, the land on which it is built will appreciate. The wife owns the land the hubby can own the house..who gets the best deal!!

Regardless of price differential anyone who has sold a property in the uk to re-invest in a house here and has no other assets, that is a suicidal financial decision whatever the motive for buying.Making such a decision implies you can't afford a house here in the first place and shouldn't have bought.

Buying here seems to be a very emotional decision yet at home it is a more practical one.No one in their rational moments would hand over all their cash to buy an asset with no real protection. Sh.t happens in life, here or in the uk..

I have met many farangs who have bought not knowing the law, even the documents involved,documents only in Thai never got them translated, don't know rules of Inheritance, no will in place for the wife or girlfriend on purchase..

A bit off topic but the prices need to be way lower than the uk just to reflect the risks involved and the undeniable ignorance of most farang buyers.

Plenty of guys in the west buy a house for their wife to live, not easy to get em out once they are in.

Big home loan needed in the west, hard to support if you lose your job.

I would rather risk a 60k house in Thailand (with a 50k home loan), than a 300k house in the west (with a 250k home loan).

$$ or UKP, take your pick

This too is a fair point. I think if you're an older gentleman particularly found of the locality and unlikely to live beyond a thirty year lease then buying will make little difference.

There's all sorts of circumstances where it may be suitable to buy, but for the majority it's inadvisable.

[thaicbr]

Houses depreciate in price in Thailand, the land on which it is built will appreciate. The wife owns the land the hubby can own the house..who gets the best deal!!

Regardless of price differential anyone who has sold a property in the uk to re-invest in a house here and has no other assets, that is a suicidal financial decision whatever the motive for buying.Making such a decision implies you can't afford a house here in the first place and shouldn't have bought.

Buying here seems to be a very emotional decision yet at home it is a more practical one.No one in their rational moments would hand over all their cash to buy an asset with no real protection. Sh.t happens in life, here or in the uk..

I have met many farangs who have bought not knowing the law, even the documents involved,documents only in Thai never got them translated, don't know rules of Inheritance, no will in place for the wife or girlfriend on purchase..

A bit off topic but the prices need to be way lower than the uk just to reflect the risks involved and the undeniable ignorance of most farang buyers.

 

Plenty of guys in the west buy a house for their wife to live, not easy to get em out once they are in.

Big home loan needed in the west, hard to support if you lose your job.

 

I would rather risk a 60k house in Thailand (with a 50k home loan), than a 300k house in the west (with a 250k home loan).

$$ or UKP, take your pick 

 

This too is a fair point. I think if you're an older gentleman particularly found of the locality and unlikely to live beyond a thirty year lease then buying will make little difference.

 

There's all sorts of circumstances where it may be suitable to buy, but for the majority it's inadvisable.

Just have a wife that works then she pays for her house. You pay household bills... sorted

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE Q6

[itchybum]

There really are some revolting, bitter people on these forums...what a depressing read this thread is for so many reasons.

Vile people.

But you read it all...whats that say