The number one rule often given to home buyers in Western countries is that it is better to buy the worst house on the best street. In Thailand, even the toniest neighborhoods usually have some real dumps, and often a tin-roofed shack or two, so maybe this rule doesn't really hold up. What are some good rules of thumb for buying houses in Thailand?

The opposite also appears to hold true in Thailand - in the middle of the worst slum you can find tony oasis'es. I guess, this means: forget about the neighborhood at large, but consider your immediate neighbors carefully. (well at least this seems to apply to cities - out in the countryside it might be different)

If you find a 250m2 house in a perfect neighbourhood of beautiful 250m2 houses but the house you find is fire damaged, has no roof, has become the home of rats, cockroaches and stray dogs while the garden is full of toxic chemical waste and discarded druggie needles.

Then the Thai seller calculates the price as follows:

P*1+N

Were

P=Highets price achieved for the most perfect clean and well kept house on the estate.

and

N = Price of the car the Thai seller has been promising his/herself.

Yes, that rule is out the window in Los and seems to be a general rule in asia.

Just simply look at where people live, nice next to dump etc and you soon realise that asians just dont seem to mins what they live next to. They can live on top of each other and all is ok.

It does seem to be changing a little where they can afford it, like with the estates and each neighbour has a nice home and yard and area etc.

But then look at where the estate is and it is the same basically, maybe in a shitty area, next to a shitty dump.

But some of the outer city cetnre estates are going ok.

If you find a 250m2 house in a perfect neighbourhood of beautiful 250m2 houses but the house you find is fire damaged, has no roof, has become the home of rats, cockroaches and stray dogs while the garden is full of toxic chemical waste and discarded druggie needles.

Then the Thai seller calculates the price as follows:

P*1+N

Were

P=Highets price achieved for the most perfect clean and well kept house on the estate.

and

N = Price of the car the Thai seller has been promising his/herself.

P*1+N

That is the best formula i have seen that works for second hand Thai real estate.

The N however can be somewhere between 500.000 and 5.000.000. But still it will give you a minimum price to work with.

For properties from the bank it is about the same. I figure it is.

P + ( T * (P / 100 * 8)) + L * -1

where T is the number of years the property is listed. The NPL has to be compensated. L = the luck factor. You have it or you don't.

Guesthouse.... you are soooooooo right....

all hail guesthouse..!!

Edited August 29, 200619 yr by Belfastboy

My street is nice.

Its kinda like the Wisteria Lane of Bangkok. Havent met any of those saucy housewives though. It all seems to be grumpy old maids around.