Building a house for the family

[Sealhead]

Hi everyone. I'm new here.

Quick question,

I am just about to retire in Issan with my wife and a couple of small kids.

We already have a home that we built a few years ago with my wife supervising and me watching from afar. A lot of emailed photos and quite a few problems with some of the builders we used.The end product turned out really well but it was a frustrating struggle and cost more than it should have to get it all done. I'm sure if you've built you know the story.

What I would like to do in a couple of months is build another home to western standards and sell it. I have built a number of homes in my own country as a general contractor and did very well from it.

If I do this how involved am I allowed to be? Would I be allowed to be hands on and work with the teams or can I just watch? Can I give direction directly, through my wife indirectly or will I only be able to stand in the background and secretly comment on what I want done?

The property will be in my wife's name but I will be the atm of course.

I don't want to break any laws but I really enjoy this kind of work and like getting my hands dirty.

Thanks in advance for your comments.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

There is zero market for western homes in Issan villages.

You can build it, but it will never sell.

No Thai will buy it,

They trade and sell land amongst themselves and always build their own homes.

No foreigner will buy it,

His darling (and her family) will want the opportunity to skim from his own build.

Edited September 6, 2014 by AnotherOneAmerican

[happylarry]

In answer to your question....you are not allowed to do any job that a Thai can do, which involves everything.

Thats why almost all working farangs in Thailand are English teachers.

HL

[Costas2008]

OP, you have to find a building contractor to built your house, as you will not be able to gather a building crue yourself.

Now, you can give instructions to the contractor but not to the builders as they are either going to ignore you, or start being smart, farang knows nothing.

When you finish it, it will be difficult to sell it as AOA said on the previous post.

You can rent it probably but the income will be very low.

Please try to understand that the housing market is a little different from the West.

Good luck to you and welcome to Thailand.

Edited September 6, 2014 by Costas2008

[kannot]

In answer to your question....you are not allowed to do any job that a Thai can do, which involves everything.

Thats why almost all working farangs in Thailand are English teachers.

HL

Yet the reality is I daily had my Policeman come round to see whilst I was laying my own block my own roof tiles my own tiling, every day he cam and gave me the thumbs up for a good job sometimes bringing me some fried bananas before downing an oishi outta my fridge................. rules versus reality.

I though some local bloke (immigration type) recently said we could do this//???

[Diablo Bob]

Great idea......

See http://www.alanthebuilder.com/ , so Yes it can be done.

As was pointed out so far about the Thai attitude is correct. A Thai/Falang couple might purchase a small house at a local Moo Baan, but when it comes to an expensive house, well they will want to choose the land, they will want to choose the design and they will want to choose the materials.

First and foremost is the location will be near the wife's village.

From Allan's web page "However due to the growth and demand of our company services, we are unable to carry out the smaller jobs anymore ( Unless they are within the Surin / Isaan Areas of Thailand )", so there is room for competition.

Good Luck.

[transam]

In answer to your question....you are not allowed to do any job that a Thai can do, which involves everything.

Thats why almost all working farangs in Thailand are English teachers.

HL

Yet the reality is I daily had my Policeman come round to see whilst I was laying my own block my own roof tiles my own tiling, every day he cam and gave me the thumbs up for a good job sometimes bringing me some fried bananas before downing an oishi outta my fridge................. rules versus reality.

I though some local bloke (immigration type) recently said we could do this//???

Probably an official who doesn't know the rules OR you are eyed up as a future "drinking" buddy......

[MeMock]

His darling (and her family) will want the opportunity to skim from his own build.

Sounds like you didn't chose your darling very well.

[DILLIGAD]

Hi everyone. I'm new here.

Quick question,

I am just about to retire in Issan with my wife and a couple of small kids.

We already have a home that we built a few years ago with my wife supervising and me watching from afar. A lot of emailed photos and quite a few problems with some of the builders we used.The end product turned out really well but it was a frustrating struggle and cost more than it should have to get it all done. I'm sure if you've built you know the story.

What I would like to do in a couple of months is build another home to western standards and sell it. I have built a number of homes in my own country as a general contractor and did very well from it.

If I do this how involved am I allowed to be? Would I be allowed to be hands on and work with the teams or can I just watch? Can I give direction directly, through my wife indirectly or will I only be able to stand in the background and secretly comment on what I want done?

.

Ever played Chinese whispers? The Thai version is even funnier. Edited September 6, 2014 by DILLIGAD

[AnotherOneAmerican]

His darling (and her family) will want the opportunity to skim from his own build.

Sounds like you didn't chose your darling very well.

I'm not daft enough to try and build or buy a house in rural Issan.

Bought my house in CM, from a developer, who published his prices in Thai only. Paid the same as everyone else.

Edited September 6, 2014 by AnotherOneAmerican

[khwaibah]

His darling (and her family) will want the opportunity to skim from his own build.

Sounds like you didn't chose your darling very well.

I'm not daft enough to try and build or buy a house in rural Issan.

Bought my house in CM, from a developer, who published his prices in Thai only. Paid the same as everyone else.

Just daft enough to buy it in a faring ghetto.

[Norlund]

For some strange reasons many foreigners think that Thailand is like back home. I promise you it's NOT. Thinking about making some money in Thailand is usually a dead end. You need a work permit and that is very hard to come by. Doing some work without one I will NOT recommend. Especially this days. And if someone is thinking that there is no inforcement of the law in Thailand they are making a very big mistake. What the officials are NOT DOING today they probably will do tomorrow.

[Norlund]

His darling (and her family) will want the opportunity to skim from his own build.

Sounds like you didn't chose your darling very well.

I'm not daft enough to try and build or buy a house in rural Issan.

Bought my house in CM, from a developer, who published his prices in Thai only. Paid the same as everyone else.

Just daft enough to buy it in a faring ghetto.

I'm not daft enough to buy land in Thailand. Someone calls this a scam. And I'm one of them.

[cdmtdm]

OP , yes you can do all that you want and more , as one poster commented, an opportunity exists for another "Alan " type business ... however that comes with a lot of headaches including , staff and work permits ...

your idea to build and sell a property for the western market, imo would work , if located well and in the vicinity of one of the major regional cities ..Udon < Ubon< Surin< Korat < Khon Kaen ....

As for TV ,do not under any circumstances ,ask for advice on anything that may make money here ...you will be cremated !!

goodluck ...

[Norlund]

OP , yes you can do all that you want and more , as one poster commented, an opportunity exists for another "Alan " type business ... however that comes with a lot of headaches including , staff and work permits ...

your idea to build and sell a property for the western market, imo would work , if located well and in the vicinity of one of the major regional cities ..Udon < Ubon< Surin< Korat < Khon Kaen ....

As for TV ,do not under any circumstances ,ask for advice on anything that may make money here ...you will be cremated !!

goodluck ...

There are many good reasons for NOT starting a business in Thailand. And one of them is Thai law. To do business in Thailand for us foreigners is NOT the same as doing business in our own home countries.

Another good reason is the language. You have to speak Thai.

How many times haven't I seen farlang businesses out of business. I'm asking my self if the foreigners really know what they are doing. It doesn't seem to me that they do.

If someone seriously wants to do some business in Thailand he MUST have a serious Thai business partner. NOT his Thai wife.

[mok199]

the thai way or the hiway...

[bob strutt]

have just completed building an aussie queensland house 100 ks from udon thani, in the bush, perfect for the hot thai climate, concrete and steel, no timber, i was involved in every stage of construction, as a 67 year old builder , carpenter, electrician, plasterer, bricklayer, and much more, it was ,for me my finest and most difficult project that i have ever attempted, most workers had never seen the materials and tools that i used, eg nail guns, super blocks, steel roof trusses, insulation and quality aluminium windows and minimal concrete posts and quality finishes, , it is finished now and many thai people want to build the same but just do not know how, it can be done, just have patience and do not get stessed out, thais learn quickly, you just have to show them what YOU want and have good planing with willing happy workers, building costs are definately on the rise in thailand, now is the time to build, once was enough for me,just got my new hip fitted after the house party, it was not easy

[kannot]

In answer to your question....you are not allowed to do any job that a Thai can do, which involves everything.

Thats why almost all working farangs in Thailand are English teachers.

HL

Yet the reality is I daily had my Policeman come round to see whilst I was laying my own block my own roof tiles my own tiling, every day he cam and gave me the thumbs up for a good job sometimes bringing me some fried bananas before downing an oishi outta my fridge................. rules versus reality.

I though some local bloke (immigration type) recently said we could do this//???

Probably an official who doesn't know the rules OR you are eyed up as a future "drinking" buddy......

You might be surprised to know that some Thai coppers really want to be honest, they have been very good with us in the 4 years we have owned the land, seen off a &lt;deleted&gt; of a Thai neighbour who thought he could steal land by calling him and telling him he was the person round there responsible for the roads, got a woman whose cow hit our car to pay up in full despite her sayin it wasnt her cow etc etc His family often come and feed our fish, we get free food at his restaurant on occasions and I help him a bit with some English, he has a Thai police "english book" with phrases such as " please tell me what the problem is" "what did he/she look like" etc etc

He used to be border Police and SHOCK horror he doesnt drink at all, his son had leukemia but is fine now, his salary is about 20k a month hes been in the force for about 18 years hes 45. Hes a good man. Ill be bringing his son an Orange T shirt with London on when I return form the UK as Orange is his favourite colour, cost £8.00.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

His darling (and her family) will want the opportunity to skim from his own build.

Sounds like you didn't chose your darling very well.

I'm not daft enough to try and build or buy a house in rural Issan.

Bought my house in CM, from a developer, who published his prices in Thai only. Paid the same as everyone else.

Just daft enough to buy it in a faring ghetto.

I'm not white and neither are any of the other residents on my moobaan..

Edited September 6, 2014 by AnotherOneAmerican

[belg]

you cannot do any job a thai can do ... what about a certified electrician ... most work here are not grounded at all .... guess they have no idea what it is for ...

[AnotherOneAmerican]

have just completed building an aussie queensland house 100 ks from udon thani, in the bush, perfect for the hot thai climate, concrete and steel, no timber, i was involved in every stage of construction, as a 67 year old builder , carpenter, electrician, plasterer, bricklayer, and much more, it was ,for me my finest and most difficult project that i have ever attempted, most workers had never seen the materials and tools that i used, eg nail guns, super blocks, steel roof trusses, insulation and quality aluminium windows and minimal concrete posts and quality finishes, , it is finished now and many thai people want to build the same but just do not know how, it can be done, just have patience and do not get stessed out, thais learn quickly, you just have to show them what YOU want and have good planing with willing happy workers, building costs are definately on the rise in thailand, now is the time to build, once was enough for me,just got my new hip fitted after the house party, it was not easy

But nobody will buy it.

Which is the whole point of this thread.

[1FinickyOne]

You will surely build what oyu beleive to be a lovely house, but the odds that someone else might think exactly the same way and want it in the same location that you have chosen are way beyond slim. While land values continually rise, building actually deteriorate… and you are coming in to what appears to be a tough market. Who is your customer? that is the first thing you might be asking yourself.

[ozsamurai]

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have just completed building an aussie queensland house 100 ks from udon thani, in the bush, perfect for the hot thai climate, concrete and steel, no timber, i was involved in every stage of construction, as a 67 year old builder , carpenter, electrician, plasterer, bricklayer, and much more, it was ,for me my finest and most difficult project that i have ever attempted, most workers had never seen the materials and tools that i used, eg nail guns, super blocks, steel roof trusses, insulation and quality aluminium windows and minimal concrete posts and quality finishes, , it is finished now and many thai people want to build the same but just do not know how, it can be done, just have patience and do not get stessed out, thais learn quickly, you just have to show them what YOU want and have good planing with willing happy workers, building costs are definately on the rise in thailand, now is the time to build, once was enough for me,just got my new hip fitted after the house party, it was not easy

Would love to see pics of it though, a Queenslander in Thailand.... I wish.

Oz

[Diablo Bob]

have just completed building an aussie queensland house 100 ks from udon thani, in the bush, perfect for the hot thai climate, concrete and steel, no timber, i was involved in every stage of construction, as a 67 year old builder , carpenter, electrician, plasterer, bricklayer, and much more, it was ,for me my finest and most difficult project that i have ever attempted, most workers had never seen the materials and tools that i used, eg nail guns, super blocks, steel roof trusses, insulation and quality aluminium windows and minimal concrete posts and quality finishes, , it is finished now and many thai people want to build the same but just do not know how, it can be done, just have patience and do not get stessed out, thais learn quickly, you just have to show them what YOU want and have good planing with willing happy workers, building costs are definately on the rise in thailand, now is the time to build, once was enough for me,just got my new hip fitted after the house party, it was not easy

But nobody will buy it.

Which is the whole point of this thread.

And why is that?

[cdmtdm]

wow ... the cremation is long this time ...

to answer the major negatives

1/ yes it is legal for a Farang to be part of Thai business

2/ learning the language will help not only in business but also in relationships , cultural issues and purchasing . I expect that most of the negatives are coming from non thai speakers .

3/ yes you can find a buyer if you build it in one of the areas already mentioned.

4/ work permits can be obtained legally . however to be a director of a company does not mean you need a WP...

5/ you can build quality , i just did the same as bob strutt even more remote i think , with good results and incl a concrete pool , would i do it again ..hell yeah!!

again goodluck

[DILLIGAD]

have just completed building an aussie queensland house 100 ks from udon thani, in the bush, perfect for the hot thai climate, concrete and steel, no timber, i was involved in every stage of construction, as a 67 year old builder , carpenter, electrician, plasterer, bricklayer, and much more, it was ,for me my finest and most difficult project that i have ever attempted, most workers had never seen the materials and tools that i used, eg nail guns, super blocks, steel roof trusses, insulation and quality aluminium windows and minimal concrete posts and quality finishes, , it is finished now and many thai people want to build the same but just do not know how, it can be done, just have patience and do not get stessed out, thais learn quickly, you just have to show them what YOU want and have good planing with willing happy workers, building costs are definately on the rise in thailand, now is the time to build, once was enough for me,just got my new hip fitted after the house party, it was not easy

But nobody will buy it.

Which is the whole point of this thread.

And why is that?

It is a generalisation, but a high percentage of clients want to choose the location themselves or where the lady"s village is.

OP, have you seen many other houses sold in the desired location???

[Diablo Bob]

have just completed building an aussie queensland house 100 ks from udon thani, in the bush, perfect for the hot thai climate, concrete and steel, no timber, i was involved in every stage of construction, as a 67 year old builder , carpenter, electrician, plasterer, bricklayer, and much more, it was ,for me my finest and most difficult project that i have ever attempted, most workers had never seen the materials and tools that i used, eg nail guns, super blocks, steel roof trusses, insulation and quality aluminium windows and minimal concrete posts and quality finishes, , it is finished now and many thai people want to build the same but just do not know how, it can be done, just have patience and do not get stessed out, thais learn quickly, you just have to show them what YOU want and have good planing with willing happy workers, building costs are definately on the rise in thailand, now is the time to build, once was enough for me,just got my new hip fitted after the house party, it was not easy

But nobody will buy it.

Which is the whole point of this thread.

And why is that?

It is a generalisation, but a high percentage of clients want to choose the location themselves or where the lady"s village is.

OP, have you seen many other houses sold in the desired location???

I know, I pointed that out in my response above.......

I was wondering if AnotherOne American was saying nobody would buy it becuse of the price or cost. Becuse while the cost difference is marginal for a Western standard home vs. a Thai standard moo Baan home the price difference is a different story....... Dual pricing structure again!

[Wasa]

You would need to distance yourself completely from the building activity, if you want to do any actual physical work or supervision you would need to get a work permit (which is not easy), however it may be very difficult or impossible in this case because construction and supervision of construction is a prohibited activity for a foreigner.

Thai Government definition of work.....

Definition of work....."engaging in work by exerting energy or using knowledge whether or not in consideration of wages or other benefits"

The 39 occupations and professions prohibited to foreigners........

No 3. Bricklaying, carpentry, or other forms of construction

No 30. Designing and preparing drawings of buildings and architectural structures including consultation, cost estimation and construction supervision of the designs.

But reading the replies to your post it seems others have built houses here quite openly and with no problems, it must depend on whether or not the authorities in your jurisdiction actually care or not.

[Anon999]

There is zero market for western homes in Issan villages.

You can build it, but it will never sell.

No Thai will buy it,

They trade and sell land amongst themselves and always build their own homes.

No foreigner will buy it,

His darling (and her family) will want the opportunity to skim from his own build.

Can't see anywhere it says in a village, but agree it would be difficult to sell even in a large city as the price will be too high. They do not always sell land among themselves and certainly don't usually build their own homes. Lastly what a load of dross, have you ever been to Isaan?

[rgs2001uk]

There is zero market for western homes in Issan villages.

You can build it, but it will never sell.

No Thai will buy it,

They trade and sell land amongst themselves and always build their own homes.

No foreigner will buy it,

His darling (and her family) will want the opportunity to skim from his own build.

Can't see anywhere it says in a village, but agree it would be difficult to sell even in a large city as the price will be too high. They do not always sell land among themselves and certainly don't usually build their own homes. Lastly what a load of dross, have you ever been to Isaan?

Yes I have been to Issan and seen the overpriced dross on sale in the back of beyond in some bumfeck village in the middle of nowhere, usually referred to as farang mansions.

The girl and her family cant wait to offload it it and cash in.

Problem is, most Thais go back to their village, not some village up the road, and they sure as heck aint paying over the odds for some mansion built on gov't land with no planning permission.

Been there done that, just FYI, Prasat Surin springs to mind, a farang mansion worth 8 million reduced to 5 million, it was all kee kwai, the house was built on gov't land, had no planning permission and cost to my eyes no more than 2 million to build, gotta love face in Thailand.

Another the mrs and I looked at was well worth the money, 4 million baht house for sale, 2 million, well worth the money, build to farang standards etc etc etc, problem was, it was in the middle of nowhere, some buffalo town/village of about 40 houses.

The next most expensive house in the village was worth aboth 50,000 baht.

Yes we have been there, no , we aint going back, they stand as testament to a farangs arrogance and stupidity.

Edited September 6, 2014 by rgs2001uk