Dont you think this is a bad time to invest in Thailand

[2fishin2]

Are you stupid.If there was anything available to invest in.It would not be available.I have seen idiots for many years,loose all there money,Because they think that they are cleverer than the person before. Listened to there bragging,about what they are going to do .And how others made mistakes.6 months later,someone else in same place talking the same.People established for many years.Will tell you.They only get along to stay in thailand.But its not a big earner,just tick over.And it gives them something to do.Do your research,Thailand is a timebomb.

What an ignorant post! I reckon you're the stupid one, you can't even spell lose! I bought a house here 2 years ago and its value has increased nicely, although I will probably never realize the profit as I intend to stay. As someone else on here mentioned, the important thing is not to put all of your eggs in one basket and imo not to invest in areas that you're not familiar with (both financial and geographical) and never to listen to the likes of Thomas Hannah!

This is interesting. I haven't seen prices of RE go up in the last 2 years, which does not mean they haven't. However, you can't legally own a house in TH. So whatever you did (company, gf, wife, friend) is of questionable investment value.

There are people who have made a lot of money in Thailand. But, from what I can see, the playing field is not level and you're facing an uphill battle with your investments here. For every guy who actually made some money in Thailand, there are tens if not hundreds who lost of of their life savings here.

Someone said it nicely. In order to make little money in Thailand, you need to bring a LOT of money in.

You could say the same of countries like USA. Have you seen how many have lost their life savings by investing in the USA? It's the same the world over - some make money while most don't. The problem with the majority is that they have no idea of how to invest and won't take the time to learn.

Why are you throwing the USA into this argument? Where in this post or the original post did this topic come up? Wanna argue the point ok but, keep the other country bashing out!

[wowfactor10]

Better to invest your money in a country where locals and visitors get same treatment

I don't see how that would be a better investment. You need to judge risk and reward not worry about treatment of locals and visitors.

I would take all in consideration..

Why invest in a country where they let USA citizens to own businesses 100% and Europeans can not ?Why we can get screwed then?

Why invest in leasehold land or houses while in the end a Thai person ends up your investment? whats the point?

Yes u can consider freehold condos..but better do u homework first..i do not see big turnovers in resale and or with rental.

.I say Let them first change their laws make em equal for all thais and farangs and if not then do not invest one single baht here till they get the message..

You can make joint investments. It's all risk and reward. If I trust a Thai person I'm willing to invest with them if the investment is good. Is this risky? It might be. Is the risk worth the potential reward? Yes, if you know what you're doing and research it properly. Of course there is risk, but that's the whole point of investment. It's not all about owning things as an individual. Most people buy shares (in USA), but they don't have any real ownership or say in the running of the companies.

I don't understand why you need to have 100% ownership to invest. 99.9%+ of people invest in things where they have under 1% ownership.

I'm only interested in investing for a good return. I have no interest in sending anyone a message. Some things are unfair in all countries. So you wouldn't be able to invest anywhere.

Hey good luck to u !

with your all your joint investments and finding a THAI PERSONS THAT U CAN TRUST...

You soon will be a rich man in Thailand..

[ldnguy]

This is interesting. I haven't seen prices of RE go up in the last 2 years, which does not mean they haven't. However, you can't legally own a house in TH. So whatever you did (company, gf, wife, friend) is of questionable investment value.

There are people who have made a lot of money in Thailand. But, from what I can see, the playing field is not level and you're facing an uphill battle with your investments here. For every guy who actually made some money in Thailand, there are tens if not hundreds who lost of of their life savings here.

Someone said it nicely. In order to make little money in Thailand, you need to bring a LOT of money in.

You could say the same of countries like USA. Have you seen how many have lost their life savings by investing in the USA? It's the same the world over - some make money while most don't. The problem with the majority is that they have no idea of how to invest and won't take the time to learn.

Why are you throwing the USA into this argument? Where in this post or the original post did this topic come up? Wanna argue the point ok but, keep the other country bashing out!

Not bashing USA at all. Jut pointing out that even countries that most farang think aren't corrupt (like USA), you can still lose all your money. No-one mentioned USA specifically, but the implication of many posts seems to be that farang countries are more honest in some way. USA, to take but one example, has had some of the biggest corruption of all. People have lost more money in USA through corruption that in Thailand. In fact, 1000s of times more money.

[ldnguy]

I don't see how that would be a better investment. You need to judge risk and reward not worry about treatment of locals and visitors.

I would take all in consideration..

Why invest in a country where they let USA citizens to own businesses 100% and Europeans can not ?Why we can get screwed then?

Why invest in leasehold land or houses while in the end a Thai person ends up your investment? whats the point?

Yes u can consider freehold condos..but better do u homework first..i do not see big turnovers in resale and or with rental.

.I say Let them first change their laws make em equal for all thais and farangs and if not then do not invest one single baht here till they get the message..

You can make joint investments. It's all risk and reward. If I trust a Thai person I'm willing to invest with them if the investment is good. Is this risky? It might be. Is the risk worth the potential reward? Yes, if you know what you're doing and research it properly. Of course there is risk, but that's the whole point of investment. It's not all about owning things as an individual. Most people buy shares (in USA), but they don't have any real ownership or say in the running of the companies.

I don't understand why you need to have 100% ownership to invest. 99.9%+ of people invest in things where they have under 1% ownership.

I'm only interested in investing for a good return. I have no interest in sending anyone a message. Some things are unfair in all countries. So you wouldn't be able to invest anywhere.

Hey good luck to u !

with your all your joint investments and finding a THAI PERSONS THAT U CAN TRUST...

You soon will be a rich man in Thailand..

I think you have completely misunderstood what I said. Business is business all over the world and anyone can cheat you. Do business with people you trust and you'll get cheated less. Investments that I've lost money with over the years have always been with people I don't know personally. I've never lost money investing with people that I do not personally. Nothing to do with nationality. With trust you can work better as a team. Those investments tend to pay off much better than some individual investing on his own because he's too frightened to trust anyone.

Plenty of Thai people I trust. If you can't find any, then maybe you're the problem. Wo exactly do y hang out with that you can't trust a single Thai person? That says more about you than about Thais.

[Kf6vci]

Investing? That's kind of broad.

Buying a condo? No way! (Check out how many owners are years' behind on their HOA fees). Then there is the often comparatively low rent with the freedom that brings. (Yes, there are nice places outside Pattaya).

You could go short on the stock market - but are you the kind of guy for this?

[2fishin2]

This is interesting. I haven't seen prices of RE go up in the last 2 years, which does not mean they haven't. However, you can't legally own a house in TH. So whatever you did (company, gf, wife, friend) is of questionable investment value.

There are people who have made a lot of money in Thailand. But, from what I can see, the playing field is not level and you're facing an uphill battle with your investments here. For every guy who actually made some money in Thailand, there are tens if not hundreds who lost of of their life savings here.

Someone said it nicely. In order to make little money in Thailand, you need to bring a LOT of money in.

You could say the same of countries like USA. Have you seen how many have lost their life savings by investing in the USA? It's the same the world over - some make money while most don't. The problem with the majority is that they have no idea of how to invest and won't take the time to learn.

Why are you throwing the USA into this argument? Where in this post or the original post did this topic come up? Wanna argue the point ok but, keep the other country bashing out!

Not bashing USA at all. Jut pointing out that even countries that most farang think aren't corrupt (like USA), you can still lose all your money. No-one mentioned USA specifically, but the implication of many posts seems to be that farang countries are more honest in some way. USA, to take but one example, has had some of the biggest corruption of all. People have lost more money in USA through corruption that in Thailand. In fact, 1000s of times more money.

You are clearly bashing the US. Even in this post you couldn't respond without bashing....again. Please provide proof of your allegations.

[chiang mai]

Some interesting news from Bloomberg on this topic, very bullish:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-08/thailand-stock-market-rally-has-jpmorgan-siding-with-local-bulls

[GAS]

Some interesting news from Bloomberg on this topic, very bullish:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-08/thailand-stock-market-rally-has-jpmorgan-siding-with-local-bulls

If JP Morgue says you should be long in the SET thats means its probably a good time to go short...any calls Goldman makes you can also pretty much do the opposite...pretty normal for them to be making the opposite trade they advise their clients too.

2fishin2, if you do not understand that Wall st is the center for financial corruption in the world then you need to open your eyes and stop with the "America bashing " blah blah blah.

Whatever idea you had of America no longer exists, I understand there are a lot of rah rah true believers left but that ship has sailed.

[ldnguy]

You are clearly bashing the US. Even in this post you couldn't respond without bashing....again. Please provide proof of your allegations.

Madoff and Enron come to mind. And then there's all the fraud that preceded the 2008 crash. Need I go on? Or did you miss these. As stated earlier, all countries have problems with fraud and corruption. I'm using USA as an example because it has one of the world's largest economies and is considered by many (naive) people to be a safe place to invest.

If you think Thailand's not a safe place to invest then tell us where is and why you think so.

[2fishin2]

Which money is and has been stronger for years now....US or Euro?

[chiang mai]

Which money is and has been stronger for years now....US or Euro?

Stronger against what currency?

[fletchsmile]

Which money is and has been stronger for years now....US or Euro?

Simplifying and generalising:

Since the Euro started to Global Finance Crisis (or around mid-2008) you'd have been better off in Euro. Since GFC you'd have been better off with USD. Overall you'd have been better in EUR.

To be honest, living in Thailand I'd prefer THB and SGD to both USD and EUR, and don't have a great appetite for either EUR or USD. First decade of this millenium was a lost one for US and US investments, as it was for many western investments. While things have picked up a bit since then - relatively - it's often more a case of being least ugly at the moment.

My call has been to maintain assets in THB where I live, GBP where I came from (in case need to go back), then in SGD for offshore. Both of SGD and THB have appreciated vs USD and EUR over the last 15 years or so of the millenium. More importantly for me, I don't really want the currency risk on USD or EUR, though I hold small %'s for diversification.

Cheers

Fletch

Edited February 14, 2015 by fletchsmile

[AnotherOneAmerican]

My top 3 investments:

1. Wife and kids - can't put a price on those

2. Thai equity funds - particularly LTFs - have done very well last 15 years = ball park 1,000%+

3. Family home - great having your own place, and knowing you/your family have a real home and the security it provides in case something happens to you. Also fixes your expenses. Don't know what it would sell for now. Do know if we had to buy another it would cost more, particularly in GBP terms.

As for the people who say don't invest in Thailand blah blah blah.... I also used to listen to these "experts" when I first arrived. As time went by, a few of the things I realised:

1. Wife and family are transient items, 50/50 chance of a total loss from any money you spend, best to keep spending to a minimum IMHO.

2. Don't know anything about LTFs.

3. Family home, again not an investment of you are a foreigner, your wife can have it off you in an instant (50/50 chance of total loss)

Do you really invest in items with a 50/50 chance of total loss?

Sounds like a poor investment strategy to me.

Different if it's a gift for ones you love, no strings attached, but this thread is about investments.

I personally don't invest in anything, anywhere any more.

I just spend on things I enjoy, and any material items I accumulate, when I no longer enjoy, I discard.

Edited February 14, 2015 by AnotherOneAmerican

[fletchsmile]

My top 3 investments:

1. Wife and kids - can't put a price on those

2. Thai equity funds - particularly LTFs - have done very well last 15 years = ball park 1,000%+

3. Family home - great having your own place, and knowing you/your family have a real home and the security it provides in case something happens to you. Also fixes your expenses. Don't know what it would sell for now. Do know if we had to buy another it would cost more, particularly in GBP terms.

As for the people who say don't invest in Thailand blah blah blah.... I also used to listen to these "experts" when I first arrived. As time went by, a few of the things I realised:

1. Wife and family are transient items, 50/50 chance of a total loss from any money you spend, best to keep spending to a minimum IMHO.

2. Don't know anything about LTFs.

3. Family home, again not an investment of you are a foreigner, your wife can have it off you in an instant (50/50 chance of total loss)

Do you really invest in items with a 50/50 chance of total loss?

Sounds like a poor investment strategy to me.

Different if it's a gift for ones you love, no strings attached, but this thread is about investments.

I personally don't invest in anything, anywhere any more.

I just spend on things I enjoy, and any material items I accumulate, when I no longer enjoy, I discard.

Life is transient = 100% chance of loss for you mere mortals. Might as well enjoy it

50/50 is more for those that haven't done their research before making their decision

Sounds a good strategy spending on things you enjoy.

I have thought about discarding the kids from time to time

Cheers

Fletch

[hhgz]

"My old mate said "Easy to buy in Thailand but very difficult to sell"."

What first-hand experience does you friend have? I'm guessing "none". What first hand experience do you have with buying and selling Thailand real estate. Again, I'm guessing "none". I bought a condo a decade ago for 6M THB. A decade later, I sold it with a month after I put in up for sale, and made a $175K profit. No, it's not the same as the million dollars you planned to have made in gold futures, but it's not nothing.

[KittenKong]

"My old mate said "Easy to buy in Thailand but very difficult to sell"."

What first-hand experience does you friend have? I'm guessing "none". What first hand experience do you have with buying and selling Thailand real estate. Again, I'm guessing "none". I bought a condo a decade ago for 6M THB. A decade later, I sold it with a month after I put in up for sale, and made a $175K profit.

For every person who can do that there must be 20 who cant.

Many people do indeed find it extremely hard to sell property here at prices equal to or higher than the price they paid.

OK, you might argue that they paid too much in the first place, but that's the "easy to buy" part of the saying. It isn't so easy to buy at sensible prices because so many places here are so overpriced for what you get. My own condo cost perhaps 20-30% more than it's really worth.

Why are so many places here so overpriced? Because so many vendors dont need to sell and dont need the money for other purposes. That was the case with my unit.

[umbanda]

Many builders are making a lot of money in Thailand, and many individuals are making a lot of money in real estate in Thailand, and most are Thai because they know the market and how to negotiate with other Thai people. Most farangs don't, specially because most Thai sellers will overpriced their properties when dealing with farangs. Nothing wrong with that. Bargaining is part of the business, and part of the culture of many countries, and buying from a non "motivated" seller never is a good buy. Thai sellers that needs to sell...sells fast, cheap..and most to Thais.

For farangs make real estate business here is even more complicate, because is not regulated like in western countries, and is more risky in many ways, starting that farangs cannot buy in its own name.

The other problem is that Thai only buy "second hand" when is a very good buy. If they can, they will buy new. That makes resell not easy, and land is always better buy than buildings, because can be subdivided, or used for developing of new homes. Small and cheaper homes are easier to sell than big and expensive homes. Townhouses and mix use properties, even easier and more lucrative RE investment in Thailand.

Anyway. In any case, Thailand is a risky market for most farang, just because its are not Thai.

Because I was in the real estate business all my life, in every related field, I still just curious about, not investing or working anymore now. But, I was living in a nice private village close to Chiang Mai with many abandoned 10 years old houses, most in foreclosure status. One, just cross street from my rented home, 2 stories, 3 bed 3 baths, in need of just cosmetic work. I contacted the bank. The asking price was 1.7 million, "non negotiable". Months later a Thai contractor started to rehabilitate the house. I asked about, even give him some ideas. I am an architect. Finally he told me that he paid just 1 mill for the house, and in 3 months he used 50 K to put it again in its splendor. Just 6 months later he sold it for 1.5 mill, financing to the buyer with the same bank he bought it. That was his business...similar to mine in the US before moving to Thailand. When I moved from the village, he was starting a new project in another foreclosed house. Looks like a good return to me, but I will not recommend any farang to be involved with RE or construction here alone. Few I know, are working with its smart Thai wives or Thai partners, and are doing very well.

Real estate is a long term investment in any country. Short term only for people with a lot of experience. Even in the US, with a very unstable market, people that bough 20 years ago makes a killing. A friend of mine in San Diego California just sold his house, regretting he didn't during the real estate boom in 2004. Now he had to sell "cheap". Bought in 1995 for 1 mill...sold it now for 3 mill....Had the chance to do it for 4 mill in 2004.

At the same time...other friends lost EVERYTHING in the US after working in RE during the last 15 years. That's is called LIFE.

Edited February 17, 2015 by umbanda