Does It Make Sense To Buy A House Here

[Neeranam]

OP, buying a house, is not an investment.

It is a great pleasure, to own your own property, than rent and live in somebody else's house.

This is your castle, this is your own space, this is the place you will get more and more attached as time goes by.

Your calculations about maintenance are wrong.

I build my house 5 years ago and the only things I've spend money for is for new bum guns, and a new electric pump for 4,000Baht.

Don't listen to others, follow your heart and brain and do the right thing by buying a house.

PS. If you are married, think also for your wife, that when you go she will have somewhere to live and remember of you.

If I had bought the land offered to me 10 years ago in Khon Kaen for 100,000 baht per rai and sold it today for 3 million a rai, my wife would be a rich woman.

[David48]

I was in the same quandry as the op about 8 years ago when I was moving to Thailand. I went for the purchase route and bought a 4 bdrm det. house in a suburban moo ban for about the equivalent of GBP28,000. Similar properties now sell for around GBP100,000 and we live in a house to our taste within a good secure community. I have also purchased farming land and built a farmhouse about 40km away and it is also a good investment. The best investments for quality of life and return on investment that I have made.

I am now negotiating to buy a commercial building with some apartments for Bt8mil. IMHOP purchasing is the way to go but renting is certainly a cheap route. I wouldn't buy to rent in Thailand.

'You' bought?

'Your' Thai Partner bought.

'Your Thai Company' in which you must own a minority ownership bought?

'Your' ... insert new idea here ...

[Neeranam]

It makes sense financially to buy of course. The fact that every month the money I pay to the bank is not going into a Thai/Chinese bank account makes it worthwhile.

In 1 year my house value has risen 20%. Land is rising so fast here. BTW don't buy in Bangkok as it is sinking.

If I want to leave the city I'm in I can rent but the property will always be in my family. When I'm dead, my kids will have somewhere to live.

[up-country_sinclair]

In 1 year my house value has risen 20%. Land is rising so fast here.

People always say this during (and particularly towards the end of) speculative bubbles; whether it be real estate, stocks or tulips.

Edited July 14, 2014 by up-country_sinclair

[thailiketoo]

In 1 year my house value has risen 20%. Land is rising so fast here.

People always say this during (and particularly towards the end of) speculative bubbles; whether it be real estate, stocks or tulips.

People always say this when everything is normal and they look at the prices in the daily newspapers. The only exception is the people posting from cold water flats in Farang land missing Thailand. I believe there has never been a long term exception to inflation in the last 4000 years or so.

[chris2004]

The question is irrelevant because you can't "buy" it. That aside it is always better to buy than rent if you are there a long time.

[i claudius]

It makes sense financially to buy of course. The fact that every month the money I pay to the bank is not going into a Thai/Chinese bank account makes it worthwhile.

In 1 year my house value has risen 20%. Land is rising so fast here. BTW don't buy in Bangkok as it is sinking.

If I want to leave the city I'm in I can rent but the property will always be in my family. When I'm dead, my kids will have somewhere to live.

But will they want to live where your house is now? i know my son will not live here in Pattaya as he will no doubt work for a company based in BKK ,my wife will build a house in her hometown on her land , houses on our estate have been for sale for between 4 and 10 years ,one that was on the market for 6 years sold last year for less than it cost ,our landlady is lovely ,we have been here 8 years and she pays for anything i need doing (i know we are lucky) i can do anything i want here ,her attitude is up to you. she did ask once if i wanted to buy it ,its a large 3 bed detached house ,nice neighbours but on thinking about it ,it would take 17 years and thats without interest to buy it at the rent i pay ,also as my wife said ,when i die ,she would be stuck with it for years trying to sell it ,so rent or buy? everyone is different up to you.

[thailiketoo]

The question is irrelevant because you can't "buy" it. That aside it is always better to buy than rent if you are there a long time.

Two Old Guys come to Thailand and get married.

OG#1. Rents a house for his wife for 20 years and them dies. Wife gets 0.

OG#2. Buys house with bank loan and pays off loan in 20 years and then dies. Wife gets home.

Rent and loan payment can be the same amount. Wife needs husband to live long enough to pay off house.

[Naam]

In 1 year my house value has risen 20%. Land is rising so fast here.

People always say this during (and particularly towards the end of) speculative bubbles; whether it be real estate, stocks or tulips.

People always say this when everything is normal and they look at the prices in the daily newspapers. The only exception is the people posting from cold water flats in Farang land missing Thailand. I believe there has never been a long term exception to inflation in the last 4000 years or so.

inflation started when Adam and Eve were chased out of paradise

[Naam]

opinions of buyers and renters = "never the twain shall meet!"

[Naam]

I am looking at a house for 6,000,000THB that would cost me 35,000THB per month if I wanted to rent it. Therefore that is 15 years of rent. If I bought it then on average it would probably be another 150,000 per year in maintenance and corporate body fees.

you qualify for the award certificate "possesses a wealth of no idea concerning property maintenance"

[Tony Aparichio]

People who say rent are often ones who cannot afford to buy, but wish they could.

Or people that understand that house ownership in Thailand is only totally legal for Thai people. & enforcement of this legality could commence at any time.

The creative workarounds to enable "Folung Ownership" can be deemed no longer acceptable by the powers that beat any time & those using them will be S.O.L.

Your trusted "Friend, wife, whatever may be honest and trustworthy however if they have one twisted relative,(with a debt to an "Influential Person")

friend or "aquantence" there loyalties can change in the blink of an eye. Or the girlfriends husband will show up & kick you out of "Your House" (Have a nice day)

You will hear this one again and again...

. Do not invest more in Thailand than you can afford to walk away from.

That said The 30 year lease is totally legal and a viable means of controlling property.

The second consecutive 30 year lease may or may not prove in the courts to be legal.

A condominium is definately legal for a folung to own outright.

Rents are currently reasonable & more economical than buying

(no matter what yer girlfrients family says)

And if the next door neibour sets up a puppy mill next door??

move on Easy

Bad Tony

[onlycw]

No. Especially since there are better deals (with lower rent) out there. Just shop around, take your time. You will be amazed!

A few years ago, I saw a pool villa in Chaeng Wattana advertised 40,000 Baht or about 15 million Baht to buy.

Then there are 80% finished buildings that are not completed, like the one in my condo, Champs Elysees Condominium, Tiwanon Road (next to the CALTEX gas station). Even if they woere to sell it at half preice, completing the project would make financial sense.

Check it out, there will likely be property taxes in future. And you can rent nice places for amazingly little money. Shop around!

[Naam]

The creative workarounds to enable "Folung Ownership" can be deemed no longer acceptable by the powers that beat any time & those using them will be S.O.L.

"Folung" added to Thaivisa collection "Farang spelling" as #22

farang

falang

farlang

farung

farong

faring

ferong

ferang

ferung

furung

furlong

furlung

forong

folong

forlong

pharung

felang

franansgs

farnags

ferlang

forang

Folung

[bowerboy]

i claudius,.. what I have seen so far is exactly as you have put it...hence my question

[bowerboy]

Yes one very bizarre thing about renting in Bangkok are the "super anomylies" that exist here..

You can look at condos for 100,000THB per month in a Soi and then one building will be 40,000THB per month for virtually the same thing as the other buildings....takes time to find them but when you do they are awesome..

Before our current place we lived in a 300sqm place in Soi 23 (next door to the building where my friend paid 85,000 for a 200sqm place...right next to SKU University) that was my favorite place I ever lived in over 10 years of being in Thailand. It was (and is) a bizarre anomaly.

[enuff said]

.

People who say rent are often ones who cannot afford to buy, but wish they could.

People who say buy are often ones who are living in a dreamworld, but think it's reality.

Read any one of the ten thousand nightmare stories posted on here by guys who have bought and paid and paid and lost it all. All of the figuring of interest for this and costs for that based on western expectations is rubbish.

You're not in Kansas any more Toto.

Ok, you bought and you're happy, but don't come on here and call the rest of us wanna bees.

'nuff said

~

Edited July 14, 2014 by 'nuff said

[up-country_sinclair]

I currently rent, but there is a chance I will buy in the future if I find the "perfect" house.

A few things that I plan to keep in mind:

1. Property taxes might be introduced in the near to midterm future. Not only will this be an added expense, but it will also cause others to sell, driving down sales prices.

2. No one knows who or what my neighbor will be next year. It could be a lovely family that are wonderful neighbors. It could also be a pig farm or a motorcycle repair shop.

3. The money not spent on a house and property doesn't have to be dead money. I would put it to use making around 4% a year in a slow and steady investment vehicle. The 5,000,000 spent on a house/property, could be 16,000 month to offset my rent.

As I said above, I will buy if I come across the perfect place, but for this country and its laws, renting long term is a realistic option for me.

[cmcom]

Simple. If single rent. If married rent or buy, if married with thai kids. Buy and keep as family home

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[NoshowJones]

@OP. Tough call and only one you can answer. Early on I rented. It was convenient and I could pack up and move to another location at will. I highly encourage any newcomer to do this for the first few years they are in TL. It pays huge dividends later as you have been able to see the lay of the land, good and bad.

After awhile having a place to do with as you wish and a place where the missus is happy is very nice as long as you did not sink your last dollar in it. Like anywhere in the world there is risk in owning.

I would never(and did not) consider buying a house in TL an investment and try and toss out your western "I Need a huge place to show off" mentality, you don't. Simple is better for a host of reasons

Condo's are terrible. Its like renting with rules. I'd pass on that.

Bottom line, Take your time. You should be in no rush. Don't get caught up in all the drama from miserable foreigners who landed, met a girl and sunk everything they had in 3 months and now are trapped out in some rice paddy area. Never spend more than you feel comfortable losing in the event it all goes bad.

Good Luck

Renting with rules?? If you don't like any rules, or think them unfair, then just don't obey them, simples.

[thailiketoo]

I currently rent, but there is a chance I will buy in the future if I find the "perfect" house.

A few things that I plan to keep in mind:

1. Property taxes might be introduced in the near to midterm future. Not only will this be an added expense, but it will also cause others to sell, driving down sales prices.

2. No one knows who or what my neighbor will be next year. It could be a lovely family that are wonderful neighbors. It could also be a pig farm or a motorcycle repair shop.

3. The money not spent on a house and property doesn't have to be dead money. I would put it to use making around 4% a year in a slow and steady investment vehicle. The 5,000,000 spent on a house/property, could be 16,000 month to offset my rent.

As I said above, I will buy if I come across the perfect place, but for this country and its laws, renting long term is a realistic option for me.

Property taxes? The earth might be invaded by aliens. Why would you say property taxes in Thailand? You don't know that the rich folk run Thailand? Why would rich folk want property taxes? You all know what happens when the rich folk don't get what they want in Thailand?

[up-country_sinclair]

I currently rent, but there is a chance I will buy in the future if I find the "perfect" house.

A few things that I plan to keep in mind:

1. Property taxes might be introduced in the near to midterm future. Not only will this be an added expense, but it will also cause others to sell, driving down sales prices.

2. No one knows who or what my neighbor will be next year. It could be a lovely family that are wonderful neighbors. It could also be a pig farm or a motorcycle repair shop.

3. The money not spent on a house and property doesn't have to be dead money. I would put it to use making around 4% a year in a slow and steady investment vehicle. The 5,000,000 spent on a house/property, could be 16,000 month to offset my rent.

As I said above, I will buy if I come across the perfect place, but for this country and its laws, renting long term is a realistic option for me.

Property taxes? The earth might be invaded by aliens. Why would you say property taxes in Thailand? You don't know that the rich folk run Thailand? Why would rich folk want property taxes? You all know what happens when the rich folk don't get what they want in Thailand?

The periodical that cannot be mentioned by name ran an article about a month ago which stated that the junta was considering a property tax.

[WhamBam]

Your personal circumstances can change too. Mine did. I am glad I rented. Add to the fact a house is never yours.

A condo seems a better idea to buy but they too have problems especially if you get bad neighbours renting next door or above you.

I prefer not to buy but that is my personal preference.

Possibly if I was in a stable relationship I'd buy / build a house in the village at a fraction of the cost the OP mentioned and use that as a base to travel from.

". . . at a fraction of the cost the OP mentioned . . . "

This is true. A house in LOS needn't cost well over £100,000!!! For anyone wanting a house there, circumstances need to meet these tests:

1. Have Thai children (kids can own it) or be in a long term very stable relationship;

2. Only do this when the exchange rate is favorable, there's no rush;

3. When the exchange rate is favorable it usually means Thailand has crashed, so land/build costs should be cheaper at the time;

4. The financier (that's you) fully comprehends Thai land law with respect to foreigners;

5. The financier can keep control of big ideas. There's no need to build a palace, really there isn't, it needs to be sized according to your needs rather than wants;

6. Consider building rather than buying off the peg. Understand quite how temporary many of these structures referred to as houses actually are. It's best to go with a decent piling contractor for foundations, in fact learn building before you start (coolthaihousedotcom is a good start), understand material and labour costs and build costs per square metre;

7. Location, location, location. The financier understands that living close to family can be a double edged sword and the proximity to family needs to be proportional to family relationships, i.e., the worse the relations the further away you should be;

8. Consider utilities. Does the area have a reliable quality water supply, drainage, electricity, internet?;

9. Does the area flood, is it close to landfill or other source of hell/pollution, where's the groundwater and is it usable?

10. Also remember that houses aren't worth much compared to land. It's better to have big land and small house. You can then have one of those ride on lawn mowers;

11. Neighbours. Check;

12. Can the financier afford to lose it all?

So much of the infrastructure we take for granted in the West due to minor things like planning and civilization in general you have to build yourself in Thailand. This can be aggravation.

A very good reply, MJP.

All good, salient points. And ones people should take note of.

I did notice in a later post on this you say you speak with the voice of experience. That is obvious

Too often people do not listen to those with experience before coming to an informed decision and that is a shame IMHO.

[MJP]

Your personal circumstances can change too. Mine did. I am glad I rented. Add to the fact a house is never yours.

A condo seems a better idea to buy but they too have problems especially if you get bad neighbours renting next door or above you.

I prefer not to buy but that is my personal preference.

Possibly if I was in a stable relationship I'd buy / build a house in the village at a fraction of the cost the OP mentioned and use that as a base to travel from.

". . . at a fraction of the cost the OP mentioned . . . "

This is true. A house in LOS needn't cost well over £100,000!!! For anyone wanting a house there, circumstances need to meet these tests:

1. Have Thai children (kids can own it) or be in a long term very stable relationship;

2. Only do this when the exchange rate is favorable, there's no rush;

3. When the exchange rate is favorable it usually means Thailand has crashed, so land/build costs should be cheaper at the time;

4. The financier (that's you) fully comprehends Thai land law with respect to foreigners;

5. The financier can keep control of big ideas. There's no need to build a palace, really there isn't, it needs to be sized according to your needs rather than wants;

6. Consider building rather than buying off the peg. Understand quite how temporary many of these structures referred to as houses actually are. It's best to go with a decent piling contractor for foundations, in fact learn building before you start (coolthaihousedotcom is a good start), understand material and labour costs and build costs per square metre;

7. Location, location, location. The financier understands that living close to family can be a double edged sword and the proximity to family needs to be proportional to family relationships, i.e., the worse the relations the further away you should be;

8. Consider utilities. Does the area have a reliable quality water supply, drainage, electricity, internet?;

9. Does the area flood, is it close to landfill or other source of hell/pollution, where's the groundwater and is it usable?

10. Also remember that houses aren't worth much compared to land. It's better to have big land and small house. You can then have one of those ride on lawn mowers;

11. Neighbours. Check;

12. Can the financier afford to lose it all?

So much of the infrastructure we take for granted in the West due to minor things like planning and civilization in general you have to build yourself in Thailand. This can be aggravation.

A very good reply, MJP.

All good, salient points. And ones people should take note of.

I did notice in a later post on this you say you speak with the voice of experience. That is obvious

Too often people do not listen to those with experience before coming to an informed decision and that is a shame IMHO.

More by luck than judgement all mine came out on the positive side (eventually) with the exception of the "reliable quality water supply" which remains a problem to this day.

A combination of rainwater harvesting, borehole and mains supply can often run dry!!!

[trainman34014]

OP; you talked of the condition of a house in Bangkok in 60 years time. Well; if the forecasts are correct there won't be anything left in Bangkok in less than 60 years because the whole dump will have sunk by then.

If you want to buy then go ahead, it's your money and your life I did and i've never regretted it but there is no way i would ever pay 6 million baht for a property or land here. I bought my plot and had a 3 bedroom Bungalow built for 1.9 million outside Chiang Mai 7 years ago. Still plenty of cheap land up here and it's a much nicer area to live.

[MJP]

OP; you talked of the condition of a house in Bangkok in 60 years time. Well; if the forecasts are correct there won't be anything left in Bangkok in less than 60 years because the whole dump will have sunk by then.

If you want to buy then go ahead, it's your money and your life I did and i've never regretted it but there is no way i would ever pay 6 million baht for a property or land here. I bought my plot and had a 3 bedroom Bungalow built for 1.9 million outside Chiang Mai 7 years ago. Still plenty of cheap land up here and it's a much nicer area to live.

A sensible place to live at a reasonable price.

[bowerboy]

Yes Chang Mai does seem very reasonable and I do like that part of Thailand....

Definitely not an option though work and travel wise..

[taony]

My condo was built around four years ago. Within the next five, it will be a dump. In ten? I don't want to see it then. The other day i heard a Thai couple complaining about how everything was cheaply built and breaking. Takes a lot for them to notice, its not in the Psyche to.

Rent.

-*I typed this myself*-

[MJP]

Yes Chang Mai does seem very reasonable and I do like that part of Thailand....

Definitely not an option though work and travel wise..

The golden rule is . . . only buy it if you can afford to lose it and only buy it if you already have a secure home paid for in your home country.

Pretty much sums it up.

[laolover88]

It makes very little sense unless you are Thai!

6,000,000 is a silly figure

True BKK will be under water and everything moved to Khon Kaen or CM..but at 64 you might not live to see it

Do you have children who are Thai. If so buy it in their name/s...that should speed up any marital disagreements

Most sensible posts I have read are all"Caveat Emptor"

We did the same as the guy in CM. 2 million house, perfectly liveable. Expect it to fall down or be undermined by wildlife in 20 years. Kids will still have the land. Never supposed it could be sold. Now we live off the rent elsewhere!