Price Of Land

[londonguy]

Ok so my girl friend & myself have decided we buy some land. Although her and her parents live in the South the family originates from near Khon Khen, the last time I was over there (January 04) we took a trip to the village and met nearly all the relatives including grandma and 15 Aunts & Uncles and about 30 cousins.

We eventually found a good piece of land on the edge of the village (old rice fields) and the owner wants 2,000 Baht a square meter! well I reckon we need at least 125 Square meters so its a bit of cash.

Is this the normal price or the farang price? Yes the lands in a good spot and has electric supply etc but is this a reasonable price.

[pnustedt]

250K baht for a "good" building plot with all services in Kohn Kaen is not a bargain but probably not a rip off either. If it's what you want you haven't too much to lose. Is it above the flood plain?

You do know that you won't have any ownership rights over the land?

[tutsiwarrior]

just like buying a t-shirt on sukhumvit you would be a fool if you thought that you would get anything less than the falang price for the land, ie., 3-4 times what your wife's family would pay.

Your lady is a gf and not married and not attached to you for some years? As was mentioned above you will not have title to the land. Please look closely at your options.

[johnnyk]

You do know that you won't have any ownership rights over the land?

No plomplem...trust her and put it in her name.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

You do know that you won't have any ownership rights over the land? <_<

No plomplem...trust her and put it in her name.

I hope that it all works for you

[the gentleman]

You can buy land up there for about 20,000 baht a rai, you can in most rural areas or less, so think with your head on your shoulders, not the other one - good luck to you!

[mouse]

Where I live I can buy land at 60,000 Baht a Rai, which translates to 1,600 Square meters. That comes out to substantially less. I live in a village with electric, paved road and all. I suggest that you teach your girlfriend form early on that the money she saves you benefits her and you later. If that does not work come and live on the west side of Thailand, if nothing else it is certainly cheaper.

[Digger]

Ok so my girl friend & myself have decided we buy some land. Although her and her parents live in the South the family originates from near Khon Khen, the last time I was over there (January 04) we took a trip to the village and met nearly all the relatives including grandma and 15 Aunts & Uncles and about 30 cousins.

We eventually found a good piece of land on the edge of the village (old rice fields) and the owner wants 2,000 Baht a square meter! well I reckon we need at least 125 Square meters so its a bit of cash.

Is this the normal price or the farang price? Yes the lands in a good spot and has electric supply etc but is this a reasonable price.

Do you realise how small 125 Sq M is? Its basically a box 10m long X 12 meters wide or 30 feet X 36 feet. Perhaps you mean 1250 Sq M.

Either way its a rip off at that price as it equates to 3,200,000 a Rai. As others have said, 50,000 rai seems to be more common.

Tp put into perspective, you need to pay for electric and meter to come into the land (not just running past it) as well as invariably lift the ground level (certainly if its been rice fields in the past). These things are not really cheap. This is all before you build a house.

Hope this helps

[boNita aPPlebuM]

I agree with Digger

The land is quite small for such a big price

Does it have resonable infrasturcture? Watch out now ... there are lots of places in the rural areas that has no electricity or water (not mentioning phonelines).

I hope it goes well for you. At least have the piece of land under your name. Meeting 30 cousins does not guarantee stability in your relationship but it's always your choice to take the risk.

[londonguy]

Well thanks for the replies folks its certainly set me thinking....... am I doing the right thing? I dont know it certainly seems expensive, can you really buy land for 20,000 baht a Rai?

I have been offered cheaper land (but not 20,000 a Rai) the plot is in a very good position and dopes have electric and water. The roads are also paved, in fact there are three other Farang males & thier Thai wives living in the village. So it must have something going for it.

I shall think & think, once again everyone thanks for the adviC e

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Well thanks for the replies folks its certainly set me thinking....... am I doing the right thing? I dont know it certainly seems expensive, can you really buy land for 20,000 baht a Rai?

I have been offered cheaper land (but not 20,000 a Rai) the plot is in a very good position and dopes have electric and water. The roads are also paved, in fact there are three other Farang males & thier Thai wives living in the village. So it must have something going for it.

I shall think & think, once again everyone thanks for the adviC e

The cheaper land sounds much better

[meemiathai]

The roads are also paved, in fact there are three other Farang males & thier Thai wives living in the village. So it must have something going for it.

Have you asked any of them their opinion?

[phuket Mike]

Well in my opinion this land price is way over the top.

I live about half a kilometer from one of Phuket's most beautiful beaches in a village that is over run with expensive farang houses and you can still get land for less than you have been quoted.

We also bought a 2 rai plot last year in my wifes village for 200,000 baht. Its right in the middle of the village with road access both at the front and rear. The village is just outside Buriram in the North East. I also got another plot on the edge of the village for 8000 baht. None of this was rice fields so it is ready to build on.

Is the land owned by a relative of your gf? In my experience, often relatives see it as acceptable to inflate prices for the farang. A friend of mine bought a truck from his girlfriend cousin, without seeing it, he paid 450,000 baht for what he was told was a 2 year old Toyota. When he got it he found it was 5 years old and had been heavily clocked. The gf was too afraid to cause a family problem to say anything.

Anyway sorry to be a bit negative but I don't think you should be paying that sort of price for land up there and I would certainly make some discrete enquiries to find out the actual value of land in the area.

Good Luck

[mrmnp]

With clear danger of stating the obvious, my past life as a real estate broker, among other things, compels me to remind that there are three basic principles of land value (1) Location (2) Location (3) Location.

If the land in question is where you want to live in Thailand, often a difficult decision, as after the last post, I want to move to Phuket.

My Thai just bought a 3 rai piece of land in a good location, not farm, with utilites at the street in Issan for 40K Baht or 13.3K per rai. My house sits 8 miles north of Chiang Mai in a modest project with many farang and the lot cost me 800,000 Baht for a quarter of a rai or 8000Baht a square meter. The adjoing new phase is costing the new owners 9500Baht a square metere and most of the lots are sold. Bkk members will tell you prices there are far above what I payed.

Caveat: My Thai's purchase was done through relatives who live locally and alerted him to the need to sell situation and he did drag out the negotions to get the best price. I am sure I could have gotten my land a little cheaper if I had negotiated but I wanted a particular lot and a custom home built thereon. I was also new to Thailand when I made the deal and was stock market rich at the time, that of course has all changed.

Experienced real estate brokers will tell you to rent in the community in which you decide to live until you get a firm grasp of land values and any negatives regarding the various plots available before purchasing.

[Guest The Judge]

250K baht for a "good" building plot with all services in Kohn Kaen is not a bargain but probably not a rip off either. If it's what you want you haven't too much to lose. Is it above the flood plain?

You do know that you won't have any ownership rights over the land?

It's a farang price. 8,000 baht per talang wah. Get real. Even the hi-so compunds wouldn't do that.

Go elsewhere, because next time it will be worse since they got away with that one. What a load of ****. I found a place in CM with lakeside frontage 40 metres that's only 5,000 per talang wah, and it's in an unreal setting. Just beautiful. Went and had a look last week. Block areas are bigger, but 8K per talang wah is silly.

Are you sure it was per metre? If it was 2K per talang wah closer to the mark, 500 baht per square metre.

[phuket Mike]

First of all I would totally agree with mrmnp about renting in the area you plan to live before buying because you will certainly learn a lot about prices and about how the local system works.

Socondly I think mrmnp may have his Math mixed up, as far as I was aware 1 Rai = 1600sqm so one quarter of a Rai at 800,000 baht would equal 2000baht per square meter. 8000 per square meter may even make Mr. Toxin choke.

As far as information and prices go some local Real Estate broker maybe helpful but you cannot beat local people. We learn more from the local hairdresser and shopkeeper than anyone else, and you can't get that information unless you are living in the area.

[mrmnp]

phuket mike: My math may be a jumble, so here goes with actual figures without doing math

8000k a square wah, bought land for about 712,000 baht and it is 90 sq. wah, upon which I built a 2000 sq.ft. one level custom home. I am condo oriented, due to poor condo laws, most condo buildings are junk, so I essentially built a free-standing condo, 2 meter from house to surrounding wall except on the farm side of the project where I have unobstructed view of green belt (farm) trees and mountain in background. Motor courtyard included in land size and enclosed garage is part of the house size quoted.

This is just a modest project, many more expensive in Chiang Mai and alot more in BKK, which was my point of post, Location, Location, Location controls value in land.

[parryhandy]

sounds like your girlfriend and family are going for the quick kill.Take the advice of others here and rent in the village for at least 2 years (not in house with her family).They will not be able to control themselves for 2 years and you will find out that because you are farang you will be constantly bleed dry.Land ownership here is very complex and you need to look into all the details first.Theres at least 10 different types of land many of which cannot be sold , only past on too family members.If its rice land it wont be worth much at all.Sounds like the family may have debts they need to pay off quick.

[NedKelly]

yes 3,200,000 per rai in Khon Kaen would seem excesively expensive unless it's right in the middle of town in a prime spot zoned for hotels or whatever. Anything else should not make it anywhere near the price u quoted. Put it to your g/f ...live there first.....her reaction will tell you what you need to know.

[paddy]

Londonguy, that sounds like a total rip - off to me. How close is this land to Khon Kaen? I've been given a price of 380,000THB for circa 1 Ngan(400 sq mtrs) or 950THB per sq mtr. This site is not far from Khon Kaen on the main Udon Road, I mean actual frontage onto the main road and not down some small lane way and has full services.

You should really take it very slowly and get as much info from the farangs already living there. At the same time it may not neccessarily be the GF that's ripping you off, remember the family comes before everything else in Thailand and they're more than likely pulling the strings!

Good Luck,

[londonguy]

Ok so dont you just love these girls. My reply was No its too bloody expensive, she agreed but did not want to loose face with the rest of the family by agreeing with me. However Suprise, Suprise as soon as it was obvious that I was not going to put my hand in my pocket they remembered they had some land that belongs to Papa where we can build a house at no cost. What a nice family are they all like this?????? (sarcastic)

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Ok so dont you just love these girls. My reply was No its too bloody expensive, she agreed but did not want to loose face with the rest of the family by agreeing with me. However Suprise, Suprise as soon as it was obvious that I was not going to put my hand in my pocket they remembered they had some land that belongs to Papa where we can build a house at no cost. What a nice family are they all like this?????? (sarcastic) <_<

Before you build, see that the land goes into the lady's name, or Papa will have a nice new house

[pnustedt]

Before you build, see that the land goes into the lady's name, or Papa will have a nice new house

Also check to see that there are no outstanding loans on the land.

My wife tells me that there are two situations in Khu Kan (just south of Sisaket) where girls have found Farang boyfriends who build a house. Mum borrows money to give the girl the land. B/f parts company and loan doesn't get paid. The lender acquires a nice new house.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Before you build, see that the land goes into the lady's name, or Papa will have a nice new house

Also check to see that there are no outstanding loans on the land.

My wife tells me that there are two situations in Khu Kan (just south of Sisaket) where girls have found Farang boyfriends who build a house. Mum borrows money to give the girl the land. B/f parts company and loan doesn't get paid. The lender acquires a nice new house.

A lawyer acting for you ( not the family ) should be instructed to act in the matter. A letter from the lawyer setting out exactly what he is doing should always be retained on file by you. Then your butt is covered.

[londonguy]

A lawyer acting for you ( not the family ) should be instructed to act in the matter. A letter from the lawyer setting out exactly what he is doing should always be retained on file by you. Then your butt is covered.

Ok so how do I find out if the Lawyer is related?

The final decision has just about been made Mama & Papa are going to build a small house for about 15,000 Baht, (which I will finance) and if it goes pear shaped I can afford to loose that money, but being positive it wont! We will have accomodation including I have been told a farang toilet.

I have taken on suggestions made in this thread and we will most probably stay with In-laws (on and off) for a couple of years before deciding where to buy land and what to build.

Hopefully we will marry in August and get stuff sorted, thanks everyone for the advice very much appreciated, keep it coming.

[wolf5370]

I bought 27 Rai of land in Central LOS (Lampang) for 1.1 Million Baht. Another 2 Rai for 20,000 Baht. I had my mother-in-law do the hagling and they knew nothing about the falang buying. When I asked about similar land myself - to someone I knew - about 10 Rai, they wanted 10 Million Baht. OK this did include a beautiful traditional Thai house (teak), but definitely a farang price tag. I did not buy.

PS: All 29 Rai are old paddy field that, thanks to some road building, are now well above the the flood plain. It back on to a small river and has a private lake (man made) in the corner for fish farming.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

A lawyer acting for you ( not the family ) should be instructed to act in the matter. A letter from the lawyer setting out exactly what he is doing should always be retained on file by you. Then your butt is covered.

Ok so how do I find out if the Lawyer is related?

The final decision has just about been made Mama & Papa are going to build a small house for about 15,000 Baht, (which I will finance) and if it goes pear shaped I can afford to loose that money, but being positive it wont! We will have accomodation including I have been told a farang toilet.

I have taken on suggestions made in this thread and we will most probably stay with In-laws (on and off) for a couple of years before deciding where to buy land and what to build.

Hopefully we will marry in August and get stuff sorted, thanks everyone for the advice very much appreciated, keep it coming.

Now that is something YOU have to find out. Have you thought about having a beer with a fellow farang and discussing the matter, and getting a bit of local knowledge from a farang perspective.