Selling home in US to buy Thai property

[Rajhulmaheesh]

can I be the first to say "Don't do it"

rent out your Hawaii place and use that money to pay for Thai place......

you have no rights in Thailand , why would you want to put your money there ?

A thai girl is involved. Need i say more?

[uptheos]

keep YOUR house as you will only finance HER house overhere ... rent your house in the US and use that money to RENT here

Keep your house there and YOU have a house with equity.

Buy one here and SHE/HE has a house with equity.

You simply have a place to live often for life, but kiss goodbye to your money,

If you are OK with that and it's your dream then go ahead.

Mind you I think someone who gives up Hawaii for Thailand isn't thinking straight, or is using the wrong head.

Edited January 21, 2015 by uptheos

[mrfaroukh]

Well you mean you are selling your own property in USA and buying your wife a property in Thailand?? Good luck

[lvr181]

OP, consider vary carefully what you may be planning! The laws of ownership and succession in Thailand are not what "farang" is used to!

[khunPer]

Don’t know about the US end, but in the Thai-end any transfer over 20,000 USD shall be reported to the government. It’s normally advisable to make transfer(s) over (equivalent to) 20k USD when investing in Thailand and ask the bank for a stamped and signed copy of the money declaration – takes about a week to come back from government to the bank branch – and keep that, as in case you (ever) need to transfer money out of Thailand, that document(s) make you eligible to transfer same amount out. The bank account shall be in your name.

Wish you good luck with your project...

[slipperylobster]

Why does Thai property have limited liquidity? My half Thai daughter has land in her name and I view this as her college education fund...

When the time I right I hope to sell the land 12-14 years from now and use the money to finance her USA college education...

CB

You cannot buy or sell here (except a condo). Your wife or daughter can. As long as you know that....

It will be their decision that counts..and their signature. They also can pawn it out, or second mortgage it without your approval.

Your marriage may be solid now....but will it be later?

I would prefer to have a say in it.

Edited January 21, 2015 by slipperylobster

[Loles]

The newer lucky Mrs Falang is here. Just do it!

[dao16]

This would be a horrible idea. Keep the place in Hawaii, rent it out and you can use all that cash here. I really wouldn't enjoy seeing a post on here in a few years (or months) detailing the woes since buying your "dream home" in Thailand.

Unless, as some posters have mentioned, the sum of money you plan on spending for the house here is a very small percentage of your net worth. In that case, good on you and enjoy it.

[CapeThai]

I would NEVER sell my property in my home country and use the money to buy property I don't have any rights on, unless it's within foreign quota like a condo which is in my name

[ChiangmaiRob]

Terrible idea. Why do so many people come to Thailand and make BRUTAL investment decisions. Think with you head and not the one in your pants.

"A fool and his money are easily departed".

Your take on it is pretty ignorant and narrow minded.

I bought a condo some years ago with the view that I'm here for the long haul and it beats paying rent for something I will never own. I also didn't really see it as an investment and am prepared to walk away if with the land office or immigration changing rules.

So far everything is good and what I saved in rent over the years has already paid 70% of the cost of the condo.

I have also recently bought a house and am well aware of the pitfalls, but I have the land in my long term girlfriends name, as she is also the mother of my two kids.

I don't look at everything through rose tinted glasses and although our relationship is solid, I'm well aware that things can go sour, and if it does, what am I going to do? I'll simply move out and leave her and the kids with a decent roof over their heads, because that's what the house was bought for.

Yes it was also bought as an investment, but not for me, for my kids. So even if we break up, although my gf will get the house initially, my kids will also benefit from it as well.

I would never plough all my capital into property in Thiland, as many do, that really would be foolish. I have investments elsewhere so if things did go pear shaped with my relationship, I would simply walk away and carry on with my life, while still in a financially secure position and still supporting my kids.

I hope the OP is in a similar situation and not pumping all his money into property here. My philosophy here in Thailand is, if you can't afford to lose it, don't buy it!

[Pib]

Don’t know about the US end, but in the Thai-end any transfer over 20,000 USD shall be reported to the government. It’s normally advisable to make transfer(s) over (equivalent to) 20k USD when investing in Thailand and ask the bank for a stamped and signed copy of the money declaration – takes about a week to come back from government to the bank branch – and keep that, as in case you (ever) need to transfer money out of Thailand, that document(s) make you eligible to transfer same amount out. The bank account shall be in your name.

Wish you good luck with your project...

It's $50K now...$20K if carrying in money. But I have heard some Thai banks will use the Bt20K level. See below Bank of Thailand extracts/quotes.

http://www.bot.or.th/English/ForeignExchangeRegulations/FXRegulation/Pages/ExchangeControlLaw.aspx

Any person bringing into or taking out of Thailand foreign currency bank notes in an aggregate amount exceeding USD 20,000 or its equivalent must declare to a customs officer.

VI. REPORTING

Any person purchasing, selling, depositing, or withdrawing foreign currencies with an authorized bank in an amount of USD 50,000 or above shall be required to report such foreign exchange transactions to the authorized bank in the form as prescribed by the Competent Officer.

About a half dozen years ago, the Thai wife and I sold our house in Hawaii...made a very nice profit...and in buying our home/dirt here in Bangkok transferred over several hundred thousand in a couple of transactions from a Hawaii bank. One transfer was for $215K. Only put "For purchase of Home" as reason for sending the funds...rec'd at Bangkok Bank no questions asked. Went in later to get the Foreign Exchange Transfer letter issued so if we ever decide to sell our Bangkok home and move back we will have documentation to get the money transferred out. Easy...no fuss.

[Amavel]

My home sale in USA will be exempt from capital gains taxes and only half the profit will be sent here to buy the property adjacent to the current property I own.

If I transfer the money into my Thai wife's account, is she liable for Thai taxes? The account in Thailand is in her maiden name as Thai citizen but will be transferred from our joint US account with her married name, any problem there? And is it necessary to register our 13 year marriage in Thailand?

[TheFishman1]

Don't Do It

[Pib]

If she earns more than Bt20K interest per year on the account the Thai bank will apply a withholding tax of around 10 to 15% on the "interest" earned, repeat, just the interest earned. So, say she earns Bt25K interest on the big money in her account, then the Thai bank would apply 10 to15% withholding tax on that Bt25K of interest earned. She can then apply for a refund of that tax each year by filing the approach paperwork at her local tax revenue. Just like in the U.S.....if you have a $1M balance in a bank account the only thing that is taxed is the interest earned off that balance.

In transferring large funds from an account of a different name (i.e., her current married name to her maiden name), the receiving Thai bank "may" reject it if they think some type of money laundering is going on. Maybe best to pre-coordinate with the receiving Thai bank. But large transfers between accounts of different names occur everyday.

If you are going to be staying in Thailand on a marriage extension of stay I expect you are going to have to have your current marriage license translated into Thai and blessed by some Thai govt agency. I think a lot of people do register their foreign marriage when moving to Thailand with their Thai wife. Now if the wife's Thai ID card is still in her maiden name which I'm assuming it is since she would have had to use that to open the Thai bank account, then you are probably going to need to have her ID card updated to reflect her current married name which requires a marriage certificate to avoid various issues that can pop up like trying to get a marriage extension of stay. But maybe you plan just to do a retirement extension of stay based purely on yourself vs being married to a Thai.

[Rajhulmaheesh]

Terrible idea. Why do so many people come to Thailand and make BRUTAL investment decisions. Think with you head and not the one in your pants.

"A fool and his money are easily departed".

Your take on it is pretty ignorant and narrow minded.

I bought a condo some years ago with the view that I'm here for the long haul and it beats paying rent for something I will never own. I also didn't really see it as an investment and am prepared to walk away if with the land office or immigration changing rules.

So far everything is good and what I saved in rent over the years has already paid 70% of the cost of the condo.

I have also recently bought a house and am well aware of the pitfalls, but I have the land in my long term girlfriends name, as she is also the mother of my two kids.

I don't look at everything through rose tinted glasses and although our relationship is solid, I'm well aware that things can go sour, and if it does, what am I going to do? I'll simply move out and leave her and the kids with a decent roof over their heads, because that's what the house was bought for.

Yes it was also bought as an investment, but not for me, for my kids. So even if we break up, although my gf will get the house initially, my kids will also benefit from it as well.

I would never plough all my capital into property in Thiland, as many do, that really would be foolish. I have investments elsewhere so if things did go pear shaped with my relationship, I would simply walk away and carry on with my life, while still in a financially secure position and still supporting my kids.

I hope the OP is in a similar situation and not pumping all his money into property here. My philosophy here in Thailand is, if you can't afford to lose it, don't buy it!

Hilarious. A guy who puts a house in gf's name calls others ignorant.

My philosophy is -=if there were no girl involved would you buy it.

[mango66]

Not to mention this is the worst possible time to buy property. I think a stock market favorite is appropriate here... "never try to catch a falling knife". Wait a few years until the market bottoms out.

People have been saying that for over 10 years now......and the prices just keep going up every year.

There may be a correction coming (especially in the condo market) but overall the prices seem to continuously go up.

Thailand has a way of performing the opposite of what we consider to be common sense.

b

the prices are going up , thats correct for new units,

Everyone here in thai likes new suai properties , not used old ones,

as some other mentioned, you will get a haircut,

which more depends on things - developer - maintainance which you can not influence;

Thai usually buy with a bank loan - new units,

u will propably than have to sell in a rush !

Quality in thai is not like in EU, property value therefore goes down !!

rental income !!

dont beleave any agent,

you get the first 2 years 10% which you ! pay already with the purchase !

afterwords on your own rental - except bangkok -

you better put your money in the bank or buy warren buffets portfolio;

[rotary]

Why does Thai property have limited liquidity? My half Thai daughter has land in her name and I view this as her college education fund...

When the time I right I hope to sell the land 12-14 years from now and use the money to finance her USA college education...

CB

Good luck on that, and it might work out for you, but over the almost 30 years I have been in Thailand I know more people who lost or made nothing on property than people who made anything. I have a condo I bought in 1997. Original "asking" price was almost 2 million from the seller. Due to the 1997 financial crisis I bought at 960,000 baht if you take into account that fact I changed dollars at more than 50 baht to the dollar it was a ok buy. In the years later I saw condos selling in that building as low as 500,000 baht. The resident handy man that deals in condos in that area tells me it would sell for 1.5 million baht now. So lets see I have held the property for almost 20 years. I have paid condo fee's of around 360,000 baht plus kept the electric power turned on,etc. Now I would just about be even if I sold in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, it was a good deal as I had a base but we have seldom stayed there. Maybe I have spent 1000 days there since 1997. The issue is did it make money? Nope not at all. If we are talking investment the money would have been better off in the bank at 2% interest over these years. As far as raw land it depends where it is at. On Silom Road you are in good shape maybe. In Nakorn Nowwhere maybe not so good. Also in most cases not that easy to sell raw land but pretty easy to buy. Houses in most areas are not much if any better. There are more losers than gainers. More folks selling than buying for sure. I wish you they best of luck on paying for college with that "investment" but it might be wise to have a plan "B". I still believe the best thing is buy the property you need and like, hope for the best but expect the worst but you should never consider a peice of property a solid sure thing investment.

[steelepulse]

Not sure where all the posters are getting the " house in Hawaii" from as the OP never stated that, but a poster after that mentioned Hawaii. If the OP wants to bring half of his profits over, well, it's up to him isn't it?

[bobthomas]

Not to mention this is the worst possible time to buy property. I think a stock market favorite is appropriate here... "never try to catch a falling knife". Wait a few years until the market bottoms out.

People have been saying that for over 10 years now......and the prices just keep going up every year.

There may be a correction coming (especially in the condo market) but overall the prices seem to continuously go up.

Thailand has a way of performing the opposite of what we consider to be common sense.

b

the prices are going up , thats correct for new units,

Everyone here in thai likes new suai properties , not used old ones,

as some other mentioned, you will get a haircut,

which more depends on things - developer - maintainance which you can not influence;

Thai usually buy with a bank loan - new units,

u will propably than have to sell in a rush !

Quality in thai is not like in EU, property value therefore goes down !!

rental income !!

dont beleave any agent,

you get the first 2 years 10% which you ! pay already with the purchase !

afterwords on your own rental - except bangkok -

you better put your money in the bank or buy warren buffets portfolio;

Yes, the infamous "Buy New" debacle. People, (Thais and Farang alike) seem to be over the top to buy new.

I don't see what all the fuss is about. New is quick to become old- especially given the poor quality of construction and also the temperature and humidity in Thailand.

Thais (as you say) are not afraid of a bank loan and do often just walk away after the initial thrill has dissipated. However, it has been my experience that banks just hold on to those properties sometimes for over a decade before they are finally brought to auction. Then (they are again) brought to market allowing the (middle men) to get their cut, and the Friends/relatives of the bank officer have a try, long before they ever reach the actual property auction, which will most likely be populated by rich dummies (Thai and Farang), and they don't mind paying maybe twice what the property actually costs.

The problem is speculation. One person makes money by flipping a place and the all the rich dummies figure they can invest very little time and a larger amount of money and make a profit!

But in the end. Countries in this part of the world have a way of absorbing their loses.

As you may have guessed ....everything is different here.

It's not that easy to base pathologies on "what would happen in the West"

It's not the west.

b

[bobthomas]

Why does Thai property have limited liquidity? My half Thai daughter has land in her name and I view this as her college education fund...

When the time I right I hope to sell the land 12-14 years from now and use the money to finance her USA college education...

CB

Good luck on that, and it might work out for you, but over the almost 30 years I have been in Thailand I know more people who lost or made nothing on property than people who made anything. I have a condo I bought in 1997. Original "asking" price was almost 2 million from the seller. Due to the 1997 financial crisis I bought at 960,000 baht if you take into account that fact I changed dollars at more than 50 baht to the dollar it was a ok buy. In the years later I saw condos selling in that building as low as 500,000 baht. The resident handy man that deals in condos in that area tells me it would sell for 1.5 million baht now. So lets see I have held the property for almost 20 years. I have paid condo fee's of around 360,000 baht plus kept the electric power turned on,etc. Now I would just about be even if I sold in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, it was a good deal as I had a base but we have seldom stayed there. Maybe I have spent 1000 days there since 1997. The issue is did it make money? Nope not at all. If we are talking investment the money would have been better off in the bank at 2% interest over these years. As far as raw land it depends where it is at. On Silom Road you are in good shape maybe. In Nakorn Nowwhere maybe not so good. Also in most cases not that easy to sell raw land but pretty easy to buy. Houses in most areas are not much if any better. There are more losers than gainers. More folks selling than buying for sure. I wish you they best of luck on paying for college with that "investment" but it might be wise to have a plan "B". I still believe the best thing is buy the property you need and like, hope for the best but expect the worst but you should never consider a peice of property a solid sure thing investment.

When someone says they bought a condo at half the retail cost and had an exchange rate of 50 Baht to the US dollar, and they still admit to not actually making any profit after 20 frigging years?!! this is something that everyone should learn from!

I think the rule here is, If you have a long term utility for the place- you should buy it!

If you are going to live there for an adequately long period, (ten years) then it might be worth to to buy.

He also goes on to state- most of the people he has met have either lost money, or broken even.

I think these are the statistics- simply because people go into it without enough research.

Uncle Bob (protector of the misguided and the innocent)

[rotary]

Good post Bob, It has all worked well really as I have had use of the property but I never planned to make anything anyway. It has been a great base.

My point is thinking you are buying property as an "investment" many times in any country and most of the time in Thailand does not really work out if you consider the cost of ownership plus initial investment vs even just putting the money in the bank at a low interest rate. The rags to riches story of I bought for 1 million, kept it 18 months and sold for 2 million are pretty rare. The stories of I bought land in Nakron Nowwhere at 50,000 a rai, kept it for 14 years and sold for 150,000 a rai are also pretty rare.

All is possible of course but just not the norm. If you like it, need it, buy it but do not plan on winning the lottery when or if you can sell it.

[ChiangmaiRob]

Terrible idea. Why do so many people come to Thailand and make BRUTAL investment decisions. Think with you head and not the one in your pants.

"A fool and his money are easily departed".

Your take on it is pretty ignorant and narrow minded.

I bought a condo some years ago with the view that I'm here for the long haul and it beats paying rent for something I will never own. I also didn't really see it as an investment and am prepared to walk away if with the land office or immigration changing rules.

So far everything is good and what I saved in rent over the years has already paid 70% of the cost of the condo.

I have also recently bought a house and am well aware of the pitfalls, but I have the land in my long term girlfriends name, as she is also the mother of my two kids.

I don't look at everything through rose tinted glasses and although our relationship is solid, I'm well aware that things can go sour, and if it does, what am I going to do? I'll simply move out and leave her and the kids with a decent roof over their heads, because that's what the house was bought for.

Yes it was also bought as an investment, but not for me, for my kids. So even if we break up, although my gf will get the house initially, my kids will also benefit from it as well.

I would never plough all my capital into property in Thiland, as many do, that really would be foolish. I have investments elsewhere so if things did go pear shaped with my relationship, I would simply walk away and carry on with my life, while still in a financially secure position and still supporting my kids.

I hope the OP is in a similar situation and not pumping all his money into property here. My philosophy here in Thailand is, if you can't afford to lose it, don't buy it!

Hilarious. A guy who puts a house in gf's name calls others ignorant.

My philosophy is -=if there were no girl involved would you buy it.

Hilarious ... a guy who can't even read what's written but instead posts what's based on his own ASSumptions!

[losworld]

Not to mention this is the worst possible time to buy property. I think a stock market favorite is appropriate here... "never try to catch a falling knife". Wait a few years until the market bottoms out.

People have been saying that for over 10 years now......and the prices just keep going up every year.

There may be a correction coming (especially in the condo market) but overall the prices seem to continuously go up.

Thailand has a way of performing the opposite of what we consider to be common sense.

b

The correction is here. Are you a real estate agent lol.

[12DrinkMore]

I have never seen so many "don't do it" posts in one thread.

Must be some substance to the tone, maybe a few have been burned?

But come on, there is nothing like that nice warm lovey feel as you become "Cap'n Save a ho" and give her the proper life that she has always deserved.

Until you get kicked out.

[SheungWan]

One would have thought that the implied rental from a Hawaii property would cover the anticipated rental of a Thai property so the new family is properly provided for plus there is a bolthole to retreat to if necessary. Even if the OP needed access to some of the capital tied up in the current residence, it might make more sense to downsize to an easily lettable condo in Hawaii which again would cover the Thailand rental and then use the surplus capital for investment purposes.

[Hamburgler]

I have never seen so many "don't do it" posts in one thread.

Must be some substance to the tone, maybe a few have been burned?

But come on, there is nothing like that nice warm lovey feel as you become "Cap'n Save a ho" and give her the proper life that she has always deserved.

Until you get kicked out.

+1 for the E40 reference

[dean008]

Sorry, like many others I cannot help with your question, Many comment on the pros but mainly cons of owning property here. Many have made money, many have lost money. I for one have profited by approx 2 million over the last 3 years (spent 4.5 million, value now, 6.5million). My Brother in law had a 1 million baht house about 5 years ago, now he has two houses worth about 2.5 million each and land worth about 5 million. He achieved this by buying and selling, taking educated guesses/gambles and it paid off. For some it pays off, for others it doesn't.

Best of luck

[Evilbaz]

Nothing has a real "value" until you receive cash at that "price."

[ableguy]

Or open an Account with a USA bank with offices in Thailand ,

or I think Bangkok bank has an office in New York city......

But think about renting it out , you have a fallback position if the S hits the fan !

Being an absent landlord is an absolute nightmare, all the money I made went on repairs, airfares on andon , I sold my house at a minimum profit but was happy to get rid of it .

[SpokaneAl]

Or open an Account with a USA bank with offices in Thailand ,

or I think Bangkok bank has an office in New York city......

But think about renting it out , you have a fallback position if the S hits the fan !

Being an absent landlord is an absolute nightmare, all the money I made went on repairs, airfares on andon , I sold my house at a minimum profit but was happy to get rid of it .

Plus, while not a big deal for some, it does make taxes much more complicated via calculating depreciation, tracking expenses etc, and can potentially turn those non taxed profits into taxable gains as the property moves, over time, from a personal residence to a rental property.

I was also once, many years ago, an absentee landlord. I swore I would never do that again.

Edited January 24, 2015 by SpokaneAl