Surely it's guaranteed profit in buying and selling off plan

[Iamnotanumber246]

Surely it's guaranteed profit in buying and selling off plan. Companies need your money to start, so they must work.

The risk is obviously project not finished at all / on time. But that is a risk I would take with DD.

But surely in 98% of cases the project will be finished and the profit will come after 1 / 2 / 3 years?

why not buy off plan and wait? seems like slow but easy money = better than safe interest rates which are getting boring and even though peeps will say they will go up , probably won't for years yet.

[worgeordie]

Thats what people thought in 1997, some speculators had 20/30 condos,held with deposits

then the market crashed, looks like another bubble has formed,so if you

are a gambler and wish to take a risk,ok,

regards worgeordie

[marcusd]

In Thailand things don't go,up. They just build more

Marcusd. Via tapatalk

[onlycw]

I've seen to may scary things to risk doing that.

• 75% completed office building, costing millions of Dollars. Boarded up and abandones. 300 meters from a huge new government center at a good location. Write off 75% instead of completing the project, even if it sells only at half cost, all would come out ahead.
• HOA fees cannot be collected over years.
• Crazy "planning" or the lack thereof - SET listed developer, unbelievable shortcomings. Employing patients at a mental asylum might work out better, JMHO. At my own condo complex in Don Mueang, such a manager decided on a spa complex. 7 years later, ugly concrete pillars spoil the condos. Just like with the pillars near the old airport...

"Plan" - not sure some managers know what that even means!

[PattayaPhom]

The best profits have gone the past few years. Many now will not see a return or capital appreciation. Still a few established developers building reasonable sized units that if bought at introduction may be worth a punt.

[Cosmo88]

Obviously there is no such thing as "guaranteed profit".

However, buying off-plan (in Thailand or elsewhere) CAN be a good investment for the reasons the OP mentions, IF:

1) The property developer is reputable and has a good actual track record

AND

2) The location is the very best in every aspect of the word

AND

3) Due to 1) and 2), the property will attract and retain a property management company that is reputable and has good actual track record.

[happynthailand]

just take a look around at all the condo's, office build's and homes that nobody is useing or living in

that should give you an idea of the "guaranteed profit"

good luck on that

[trogers]

Ahh...the greater fool theory. Who will be holding the bomb when the music stops？

I wonder why those public listed developers not sell their projects only on completion and keep the guaranteed profits...

[falkan]

i bought a couple of plan condos and made around 30% on each by flipping them before construction was finished..

[sotsira]

Obviously there is no such thing as "guaranteed profit".

However, buying off-plan (in Thailand or elsewhere) CAN be a good investment for the reasons the OP mentions, IF:

1) The property developer is reputable and has a good actual track record

AND

2) The location is the very best in every aspect of the word

AND

3) Due to 1) and 2), the property will attract and retain a property management company that is reputable and has good actual track record.

What about the most important point:

The price of the off plan unit?

From what i've been seeing these days, they are way too highly priced, and way too small,

to make any profit, and that's if you will find a mug to buy it from you.

[54321]

I have bought 3 for between 1.3 and 1.5 million and made between 400-600 thousand baht on each. I signed up for two more and pulled out before paying the balance. One developer refunded 95% of my deposit/instalments, and with one I lost my 130,000 baht deposit/instalments.

Some you win, some you lose, nothing is certain in this game.

Some say its a gamble, others disagree. I believe that just depositing money into a bank account is a bigger gamble! your interest is guaranteed, but it will never amount to much.

In the same way shares are a gamble, I have had shares fall from 180pence to 18 pence, I have also bought shares at 47p and sold at 270p

Go into it eyes wide open, hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst

[davejones23]

In Thailand things don't go,up. They just build more

Marcusd. Via tapatalk

Wrong again. A woman in our street in Bangkok just bought a house for 13 million baht. The seller bought it 10 years ago for 5 million. The buyer has lived in the area all her life (over 60 years) and knows the property market in this area very well. Prices have risen more or less constantly for the last 30-40 years since she's been following them.

[sfokevin]

In the land of Buddha the only guarantee is that things will not go as you plan...

[Asiantravel]

In Thailand things don't go,up. They just build more

Marcusd. Via tapatalk

Wrong again. A woman in our street in Bangkok just bought a house for 13 million baht. The seller bought it 10 years ago for 5 million. The buyer has lived in the area all her life (over 60 years) and knows the property market in this area very well. Prices have risen more or less constantly for the last 30-40 years since she's been following them.

Yes, but 10 years ago were the good times and they will never come back. Look around you and you will see everywhere that real salaries have been falling and are still falling and taxes are increasing. The average person is being squeezed like never before. Except for the few privileged, it is impossible for property values to keep rising indefinitely under these circumstances.

[Senechal]

i bought a couple of plan condos and made around 30% on each by flipping them before construction was finished..

What does that have to do with anything? Good for you. I bought Yahoo in 1997 and made a mint, does that mean you should buy it today?

Real estate moves in cycles. Those cycles are closely linked to credit cycles. We have very obviously reached the end of this credit cycle with household debt now at saturation levels, NPL's rising and cost of living rising far faster than salaries. Disposable income is falling, credit requirements are rising and foreign money is retreating. I'll be the first to say, that timing markets is a fool's errand, and that even the smartest people make bad investment decisions. But from where I'm standing, the Thai real estate market does not look remotely attractive.

Could prices rise from here? Yes. Yes they could indeed. But at some point the music will stop playing and someone will be holding the hot potato. And I believe that time is soon. Although there may still be some who can squeeze out a profit before that day comes.

Edited April 1, 2014 by Senechal

[lovetotravel]

In Thailand things don't go,up. They just build more

Marcusd. Via tapatalk

Wrong again. A woman in our street in Bangkok just bought a house for 13 million baht. The seller bought it 10 years ago for 5 million. The buyer has lived in the area all her life (over 60 years) and knows the property market in this area very well. Prices have risen more or less constantly for the last 30-40 years since she's been following them.

I know a guy who just bought a house for 20 million baht. 5 or 6 years ago it sold for over 30.

As mentioned above, nothing is guaranteed. Lots of factors come into play here.

[Senechal]

I know a guy who just bought a house for 20 million baht. 5 or 6 years ago it sold for over 30.

And? What's your point? That was 5 or 6 years ago. Is it a good buy at 30? Would you have bought it at 30?