Buying a condo in Thailand

[chiang mai]

There's nothing foolish about those things whatsoever. All bank accounts are insured and property (condo's), as long as they are bought wisely, are easy to dispose of at equal value of better - I speak from over ten years experience here of owning/selling condo's and operating a range of bank accounts..

Advice from a man who told everyone to sell all their UK holdings and bring the money over here at 44bht/GBP (cos it wouldn't get better).

8 months later and 54bht/GBP ........ those who took CMs advice lost 25% of everything they owned.

And when the USA,instead of reducing their quantative easing program,ends it completely,forecast to be at the end of this year,we'll see the baht go right down the swanee.So have patience and wait,and pay a lot less for your condo.

There there, of course it will.

[thailiketoo]

There's nothing foolish about those things whatsoever. All bank accounts are insured and property (condo's), as long as they are bought wisely, are easy to dispose of at equal value of better - I speak from over ten years experience here of owning/selling condo's and operating a range of bank accounts..

Advice from a man who told everyone to sell all their UK holdings and bring the money over here at 44bht/GBP (cos it wouldn't get better).

8 months later and 54bht/GBP ........ those who took CMs advice lost 25% of everything they owned.

And when the USA,instead of reducing their quantative easing program,ends it completely,forecast to be at the end of this year,we'll see the baht go right down the swanee.So have patience and wait,and pay a lot less for your condo.

There there, of course it will.

Where was the baht before the quantitative easing started?

[chiang mai]

Advice from a man who told everyone to sell all their UK holdings and bring the money over here at 44bht/GBP (cos it wouldn't get better).

8 months later and 54bht/GBP ........ those who took CMs advice lost 25% of everything they owned.

And when the USA,instead of reducing their quantative easing program,ends it completely,forecast to be at the end of this year,we'll see the baht go right down the swanee.So have patience and wait,and pay a lot less for your condo.

There there, of course it will.

Where was the baht before the quantitative easing started?

Off the top of my head, circa 40 against USD and 70 against GBP, but that was then and this is now! At the time GBP was reckoned to be substantially overvalued, as I recall GBP was at 106% of trade weighted value. The other factor to consider is that back then, the global economic picture looked in no way what it does today, including the US outlook - cue NS to give us a god bless the American speech.

[wym]

Best of luck ,you are going to need it.

Concur 100%.

Buying property in Thailand, even keeping money in a bank in Thailand, is foolish. I rent, and I keep my money elsewhere.

There's nothing foolish about those things whatsoever. All bank accounts are insured and property (condo's), as long as they are bought wisely, are easy to dispose of at equal value of better - I speak from over ten years experience here of owning/selling condo's and operating a range of bank accounts..

What <deleted>.

Tautology here in the "wisely" - of course if you find it easy to sell at an equal or better price, then you bought wisely.

Problem is it's not easy for average new-to-Thailand TV posters to buy wisely is it?

99% of the farangs I've met that have been trying to sell their condo "investment" have had a very very hard time, takes literally years and rarely do they come close to their purchase price.

My rule of thumb is that unless a Thai property's price-rent ratio is under 12 years, it only makes sense to rent.

And that doesn't even take into account the very valuable benefit of being able to move to where you like as circumstance change.

Never buy property in Thailand. Never buy property in Thailand.

Sometimes you need to repeat yourself.

Wat was that?

Yours Truly,

William Heinecke

Minor International

PS

Gee don't tell my board of directors. Last time I looked I owned $425 million of Thai property. You say that is not a good idea eh?

There's always an exception that proves the rule.

Being raised in Thailand and having solid family connections with the ruling elite does give one a solid advantage over the average newbie TV poster don't you think?

Being an experienced professional businessman is very different from looking for a place to live.

[wym]

PS Everyone please be aware that there are many farang involved in the scammy real-estate business here, so take any pro-investment advice with a tonne of salt.

[thailiketoo]

And when the USA,instead of reducing their quantative easing program,ends it completely,forecast to be at the end of this year,we'll see the baht go right down the swanee.So have patience and wait,and pay a lot less for your condo.

There there, of course it will.

Where was the baht before the quantitative easing started?

Off the top of my head, circa 40 against USD and 70 against GBP, but that was then and this is now! At the time GBP was reckoned to be substantially overvalued, as I recall GBP was at 106% of trade weighted value. The other factor to consider is that back then, the global economic picture looked in no way what it does today, including the US outlook - cue NS to give us a god bless the American speech.

31 USD 64 GBP

[thailiketoo]

PS Everyone please be aware that there are many farang involved in the scammy real-estate business here, so take any pro-investment advice with a tonne of salt.

However most of the people giving advice on money matters are either taxi cab drivers or gardeners.

[fish fingers]

Best of luck ,you are going to need it.

Concur 100%.

Buying property in Thailand, even keeping money in a bank in Thailand, is foolish. I rent, and I keep my money elsewhere.

Where do u keep the money? Best to leave it with your GF in Pattaya, so when u return u have cash ready!!!!

BTW how old is the smart fellow who wants to buy a condo in the Slums with a tourist visa?

hi,i'm 50yo and i never said i was buying in Pattaya.i am thinking of maybe Chang Mai.i am not rolling in the money like some of you might be.i put an estimation of 1 mil baht as a guide as this is what i can afford to pay in cash.i appreciate all positive and negative coments,cheers

Chang Mai- u might find a studio in Riverside for near that amount. its an older condo development. right on the river and always a few for sale, with small balconies. i looked at a 2 bed there last yr.

If you sell a condo within 5 yrs you will have to pay a higher rate of tax. Also remember as a second home that there might be capital gains tax to pay in the UK (not small money!)if you sell. If the owner is still classed as a resident, even if they live in thailand most of the time. Check this out. Its common practice for the seller to want to make a fake lower selling price at the land office (lower than the agreed price) in order to save tax, but if you agree to this u may have to pay the capital gains difference when u sell! 18 or 28% of the gain/profit, depending how much, in your case the lesser. Keep proof of expenses/refurbishments, you can use this to lower the tax bill later.

so lots to think about.

Just remember when you send the money from the UK bank, to stipulate on the transfer notes thats its to be sent in Sterling and to arrive at the thai bank in sterling. Also it needs to say that the purpose of the transfer is to buy property in Thailand. You can also negotiate with the thai bank for a better rate, i.e. closer to the real rate on a given day.

[chiang mai]

Where was the baht before the quantitative easing started?

And when the USA,instead of reducing their quantative easing program,ends it completely,forecast to be at the end of this year,we'll see the baht go right down the swanee.So have patience and wait,and pay a lot less for your condo.

There there, of course it will.

Off the top of my head, circa 40 against USD and 70 against GBP, but that was then and this is now! At the time GBP was reckoned to be substantially overvalued, as I recall GBP was at 106% of trade weighted value. The other factor to consider is that back then, the global economic picture looked in no way what it does today, including the US outlook - cue NS to give us a god bless the American speech.

31 USD 64 GBP

Now I've looked it up, we were both wrong: The Fed's QE program started in late 2008, in November that year USD/THB was at 35 and GBP/THB was at 52.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_easing

[Thighlander]

Here's a brand new condo building north of bkk with units around a million. www.welllifecondo.com

[thailiketoo]

Where was the baht before the quantitative easing started?

And when the USA,instead of reducing their quantative easing program,ends it completely,forecast to be at the end of this year,we'll see the baht go right down the swanee.So have patience and wait,and pay a lot less for your condo.

There there, of course it will.

Off the top of my head, circa 40 against USD and 70 against GBP, but that was then and this is now! At the time GBP was reckoned to be substantially overvalued, as I recall GBP was at 106% of trade weighted value. The other factor to consider is that back then, the global economic picture looked in no way what it does today, including the US outlook - cue NS to give us a god bless the American speech.

31 USD 64 GBP

Now I've looked it up, we were both wrong: The Fed's QE program started in late 2008, in November that year USD/THB was at 35 and GBP/THB was at 52.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_easing

I'm sure you are correct I was using 2007.

[chiang mai]

Where was the baht before the quantitative easing started?

And when the USA,instead of reducing their quantative easing program,ends it completely,forecast to be at the end of this year,we'll see the baht go right down the swanee.So have patience and wait,and pay a lot less for your condo.

There there, of course it will.

Off the top of my head, circa 40 against USD and 70 against GBP, but that was then and this is now! At the time GBP was reckoned to be substantially overvalued, as I recall GBP was at 106% of trade weighted value. The other factor to consider is that back then, the global economic picture looked in no way what it does today, including the US outlook - cue NS to give us a god bless the American speech.

31 USD 64 GBP

Now I've looked it up, we were both wrong: The Fed's QE program started in late 2008, in November that year USD/THB was at 35 and GBP/THB was at 52.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_easing

I'm sure you are correct I was using 2007.

EDIT:

"Quantitative Easing 1 (QE1, December 2008 to March 2010)

"On November 25, 2008, the Federal Reserve announced that it would purchase up to $600 billion in agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and agency debt. On December 1, Chairman Bernanke provided further details in a speech. On December 16, the program was formally launched by the FOMC. On March 18, 2009, the FOMC announced that the program would be expanded by an additional $750 billion in purchases of agency MBS and agency debt and $300 billion in purchases of Treasury securities".

from here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Federal_Open_Market_Committee_actions

So GBP/THB is at actually at or very near a level now that it was before QE started (52 then vs 54 now), factor in the current political unrest and that should give some guidance as to where it THB is headed - tapering itself, going from historical rates, does NOT seem to be saying that THB is headed for a cliff.

Edited January 8, 2014 by chiang mai

[PattayaPhom]

You get what you pay for, the same as anything. There are many that will struggle to sell/rent their shoeboxes in the future, due to size and location, however condos in a good location that are well kept and priced sensibly sell almost immediatly, I could name three condominiums that actually have a waiting list of buyers for cash purchase.

OP, if you can rent a 1MIl Baht condo for 5K a month, just rent, I think you are old and wise enough to understand the basics of property ownership.

[fifthcolumn]

80 Sq for 1MB....good if you can get it?

I was thinking same thing, IM IN!

That condo location has golf going for it sure, but I would not consider it to even be in BKK proper.

Edited January 14, 2014 by fifthcolumn