Sell / Rent Or Loose

[Foggy Dew]

Hi All,

My wife has a 3 bed room detached house in Lam Luk Ka just north of Bangkok. Currently she is renting it out “to a friend” at a very low monthly rent compared to her monthly mortgage payments.

My questions are:

Any idea what should one expect for rent in this area?

Do you know any estate agent in this area who would be familiar with property values in this area?

At the moment she is in arrears with the bank and we have some decisions to make.

1. Increase the rental income. 

2. Sell the house and pay off the bank.

3. Let the bank repossess the house. 

Any advice on this matter would be appreciated.

Regards,

Foggy Dew.

[geoffphuket]

Hi Foggy Dew,

I don't know the area you live in, but where I live here in Phuket, neighbours that have rented properties have made sure that the rental income covers the mortgage payments.

I think its better your wife talks to the friend and explains the situation.

Two choices.

1. She pays more rent

2. She moves out

- If the bank re-posses she’d have to move out anyway

geoffphuket

[ltdknowledge]

Also make sure your the one not left to cover the costs. My friend fell for that as i mentioned in another post.

His girlfriend rented her other house out to a friend under the morgage cost and assumed her boyfriend would subsidise the rest.

Edited September 6, 2006 by ltdknowledge

[thaigene2]

Well since it's your wife, I assume you're pretty sure she's not trying to rip you off. Mine has never done that. But sadly the rip-off stories are endless - and ingenious.

When did she acquire the house? How did she get it? Another farang? A mortgage that the other guy walked away from?

Many questions and not enough detial in your OP. But forget the tone of those and push that all aside and my answer to your OP is as above - increase the rent or tell her friend it's time to go.

[Thaibel]

Increase the monthly rental price....simple, the only solution if you don't wanna lose your house.

[number6]

Increase the monthly rental price....simple, the only solution if you don't wanna lose your house.

im not an expert here but in UK have rented places out for 30+ years - here market is completely different - unless your in central bangkok its very very difficult to rent places out except for very cheap rents - also Thailand does not have proper rental agencies - forget trying ot make rent pay mortgage and sell is my advice - this is not UK USA or whereever - their are onyl 2 real rental markets - very cheap thai and high up market forang with a few exceptions but not out of central BKK

[OldAsiaHand]

Increase the monthly rental price....simple, the only solution if you don't wanna lose your house.

im not an expert here but in UK have rented places out for 30+ years - here market is completely different - unless your in central bangkok its very very difficult to rent places out except for very cheap rents - also Thailand does not have proper rental agencies - forget trying ot make rent pay mortgage and sell is my advice - this is not UK USA or whereever - their are onyl 2 real rental markets - very cheap thai and high up market forang with a few exceptions but not out of central BKK

Good advice. I would only add that more or less the same thing can be said about selling property. Just because you decide selling would be the better course for you, that doesn't mean there is the slightest chance you can do it at a 'fair' (or really at any) price.

When you own residential property in Thailand, the odds are that you will own it forever unless you just walk away from it. Even in Bangkok, the number of foreigners who ultimately abandon residential properties because they can neither sell nor rent them is astonishing.

[Firefan]

Oldasiahand; Can you let me know where some of those farang abandoned properties are (start with the Bangkok ones-initially condos) so I can go there and take them over for free or a beer Chang? Cheers!

[geoffphuket]

Increase the monthly rental price....simple, the only solution if you don't wanna lose your house.

im not an expert here but in UK have rented places out for 30+ years - here market is completely different - unless your in central bangkok its very very difficult to rent places out except for very cheap rents - also Thailand does not have proper rental agencies - forget trying ot make rent pay mortgage and sell is my advice - this is not UK USA or whereever - their are onyl 2 real rental markets - very cheap thai and high up market forang with a few exceptions but not out of central BKK

Good advice. I would only add that more or less the same thing can be said about selling property. Just because you decide selling would be the better course for you, that doesn't mean there is the slightest chance you can do it at a 'fair' (or really at any) price.

When you own residential property in Thailand, the odds are that you will own it forever unless you just walk away from it. Even in Bangkok, the number of foreigners who ultimately abandon residential properties because they can neither sell nor rent them is astonishing.

Complete nonsense

[laxman1960]

Increase the monthly rental price....simple, the only solution if you don't wanna lose your house.

im not an expert here but in UK have rented places out for 30+ years - here market is completely different - unless your in central bangkok its very very difficult to rent places out except for very cheap rents - also Thailand does not have proper rental agencies - forget trying ot make rent pay mortgage and sell is my advice - this is not UK USA or whereever - their are onyl 2 real rental markets - very cheap thai and high up market forang with a few exceptions but not out of central BKK

Good advice. I would only add that more or less the same thing can be said about selling property. Just because you decide selling would be the better course for you, that doesn't mean there is the slightest chance you can do it at a 'fair' (or really at any) price.

When you own residential property in Thailand, the odds are that you will own it forever unless you just walk away from it. Even in Bangkok, the number of foreigners who ultimately abandon residential properties because they can neither sell nor rent them is astonishing.

Complete nonsense

I would not say that is complete nonsense, it all depends on the area. Maybe it is nonsense in Phuket, Hua Hin, Pattaya (all places I am considering buying) but where I am currently I have come to that conclusion. I live in Chuan Chuen, PathumThani, if I purchase here now my money is gone for a long time if not forever. I rent a place for 12,000B per month, I can buy the same model brand new across the street and it would cost me about 6.5M when I was done adding what I needed. The monthly payment on an 80% 30 year mortgage at 6% (my thai wife is older than 30 so can't even get that, and interest is higher than 6% but I can remember the calc) would be over 31,000 baht after putting down 1.3M baht. So why would anyone purchase and I would only be willing to pay enough to cover that payment if my landlord was a professional landlord and had set this place to totally modern Western standards.

Dan