Buying a condo

[Walter Travolta]

Hi TVF

I first came to Thailand in 2013 on a 4 week holiday and same again in 2014.

I am now here looking to stay 6 months per year and work back in the UK 6 months a year (give or take a month or 2).

I have been given much advice about different things, mainly do's and dont's, but when I have asked about buying a condo out here, everyone seems to say "Oh no, don't do that!" But never really give a thorough reason for their advice.

I was wondering if anyone here could tell me the pitfalls of owning a condo here?

I hear that the prices are going to plummet so people say wait until the prices drop, as, I am told it was the Russians who pushed the prices up a couple of years ago. I am also aware that there are many many being built that are not being sold (supply outweighing demand).

My thoughts are that if I buy a condo, I obviously live in it whilst here, and possibly rent it out while away. I am not saying I want to rent it out because the return for 6 months rent income would only work out at around £1,000 ( 7-8000 a month ). A steady couple of weeks work in the UK would give me that amount so I am not dependent on renting it out.

I would be looking to spend between 650.000 and 1m baht (and please do not come on here saying that is not enough, or anything slating my choice) and just want to know the pitfalls that I could face? I am 47 so would be using it for the next few years and then maybe look at buying something else, should I still want to stay here.

I know that property is usually a safe bet as an investment, but could I lose money in the future by buying a condo here?

Any GENUINE replies would be appreciated

[Mario2008]

Moved to real estate forum.

[Mario2008]

Not sure where you want to buy a condo, but at most popular places the amount you want to spent is not enough for a decent condo and a condo for that money would not fetch 7 to 8 thousand baht a month. That will be a real issue, whether you want to discuss it or not.

Compared to building costs, rent is very low in Thailand and that is why many people say better to rent than to buy. Especially if you only want to use it for a few years I would rent instead of buy, at least till you know if Thailand is the right place for you. Going on a holiday is a lot different then actually living somewhere.

At many places you can rent a decent house for around 5,000 baht a month.

[Walter Travolta]

Hi Mario, Im in Pattaya (central) and dont need to be near the beach. In my 1st 2 months here I rented a condo on the Nirun complex on Soi Arunatoi opposite BigC on Pattaya Klang. It cost me 6500 a month plus utilities but the wifi was poor, so after I left after my 60 days I am now paying the same for a room between soi buakhao and 3rd road if you are familiar with the area?

The guy from the Nirun condo complex wanted 8000 but i got him down to 6500 because he showed me at least 3 condos so I knew he wanted occupancy so knocked him down. He looked like Mr Chow from The Hangover films, and spoke like him haha. But I have seen 'decent' condos for sale in this complex for between 650.000 and 900.000 and if he was asking 8000, I guess it is do-able

I would love to know where i could get a house for 5000 baht because a house is obviously better than a room (yard or garden to sit in, cooking facilities seperate bedroom and bath). My friend works here and he has a 3 bed house maybe 200m off Sukhumvit Rd and pays 15.000 + utilities. Nice house, 3 bed with his girlfriend

[Mario2008]

Pattaya is expensive. Up-country you would pay about 3,000 to rent a house and a nice house for 5,000 is certainly possible.

If you know you can get what you want for that price, who am I to argue about the price being enough.

That you didn't buy and just moved is one of the advantages of renting instead of buying. Buying gives you more certainty, but you must add in extra cost as taxes and monthly condo fees and if you will get your money back if you sale it. (They apparently had empty condo's, but that might only be for rent).

[Walter Travolta]

Yes buying ties you to a place and renting gives you freedom of movement.

I was thinking of buying a condo to make things hassle free in the way that if I come and go, I wont have to search for a place if I already have my own. The renting out of my original post was more for me to get an opinion because as I said in my original post, the return for say 6 months is not that much so I could let it lay empty unless a friend wanted to use it for a holiday.

But, as in my original post, I would hate to buy, only to see the price plummet after!! I guess if I got tired of Thailand in say 5 years, I can still sell it without a loss?

I was brought up that renting is 'dead' money as opposed to buying where you very rarely lose out.

[BuckBee]

I thought the same but realised that western logic that don't work here.

very few condos are true investments as simply used condo property doesn't have huge value growth like the uk.

Even if buy a condo you will be covering the monthly condo central fee & any sinking fund cost & insurance so actual difference in cost per month between owning & renting is smaller than you probably thinking currently.

I realised I could cover the difference of renting by investing the money wisely abroad & the annual return would offset most of my rental fees. This left me totally flexible & without any headaches. worked out good as better work has carried me on to singapore & with no heavy investment here transition was more simple.

If buying you really need check whole area around you for potential development changes as you don't want be living next to a building site for several years, also a lot of lower cost condos go down hill quickly with poor maintenance as owners not paying the fees (no legal obligation) so condo becomes scruffy & has low quality tenants & loads of problems.

Not a lot of benefit legally owning a condo either as no help in getting you a visa unless high end & part of an investment visa package.

If buying you will need proper lawyer to make sure all paperwork done right & everything above board or you could be in 5hit street with all sorts of hassle.

I rented some nice apartments for between 3,500bt & 7,000bt, 7,000 was a condo near silom with swimming pool, was older build but room s bigger & cooler for it, point being there is some decent rooms at very good prices if put in fair bit of effort looking & striking a deal with owners.

Ultimately choice is yours but you would be wise to take your time & review all options in depth, thailand is in a bit of a mess at the moment & more trouble is coming so don't rush things .

[mngmn]

Unless you are really good at bargaining, it is likely you will pay more than market price because you are a foreigner.

Watch the 50% foreign ownership rule. Like every rule in Thailand it can be bent and you may find yourself being the one forced to sell to a Thai.

Could take ages to sell because of the inflated price you possibly paid and over supply.

Work out the percentage return for renting and decide if the same money would be better off in another investment. I have rented places at less than 3% pa, of the supposed purchase price at a time when the bank was paying 5% pa.

Know people who have made money in Thai real estate and know people still trying after many years to sell.

There are better investments.

[BuckBee]

^ indeed without speaking thai or being wise to the ways of thailand you will be given higher prices for property for both renting & purchase, I speak pretty good thai & lived next door to a thai lady who was a rental & sales agent for apartments in my building & others in the area, learnt a lot listening in on some of her chats & being given info/tours & prices on rooms she dealing in & also knowing owners low price limit.

working on fact you will be paying around 1,000bt a month if not more in fees when you own a condo, you only need pay around 5,000bt a month more to rent. Put 1million baht (20kGBP) in savings investment with 5% return will give you 4,100bt a month income.

main draw back at moment is lower returns on cash investment but still a good way to go while you finding your feet & reviewing options.

Plus side on renting is a lot of vacant apartments as a large percentage of expats have gone home due to less illegal employment availability or general political & visa hassle bored them of the place, so low ball any future rental you do.

Also likely the Baht will fall to the pound so we could see 53/55 to the £ again & perhaps better ! trick if do buy is buy it cheap, make that low offer & stick with it & call agents again when see still not sold and confirm your offer still on the table, also making sure exchange rate is working for you helps greatly.

Selling used low end/quite old condo property is awfully slow generally so make that work for you as you to will need sell cheap too if want cash in or move location in the future .

Edited May 1, 2015 by BuckBee

[elgordo38]

You can get one here in Chiang Mai in the condo I live in for that price. Its a liveable fixer upper. You could live in it and fix it up as you go along. You can get one done and furnished 40 sq. metres along the back (quieter part of the bldg) for about 1.4 million Its close to everything with a pool.

[KittenKong]

I think that the main financial drawback to buying a condo in Pattaya is that you will probably be lied to endlessly by everyone involved with the transaction and you will probably end up paying far more than the thing is really worth. Also taxes and fees on the transaction will be quite high.

If you are buying a unit in a cheap place like Nirun for 650,000B, the only real question is "how much can you lose"? And the answer is "precious little". Even 50% of 650,000B is not a lot in the great scheme of things.

But if you are buying something nicer and more expensive then the downside could be more significant. 30% of 15MB is a fair old bit to lose, and I can show you plenty of people who have done it.

Other downsides are what happens as the building gets older and requires more money to keep it going, and what happens if someone opens an all-night karaoke bar next door to your building, of if a madman moves into the unit above yours. Dont laugh: it's all happened many times here.

One other thing you should bear in mind is that renting your unit in Nirun for 6500B is pretty poor value if you compare it to a much larger and nicer unit with sea view and large pool that you could find in Jomtien (with a bit of legwork) for maybe 10,000B and up.

So my viewpoint is that unless you are buying something at well under the market price, or you are buying somewhere that you just cant live without and where you want to stay forever, then you would be better off renting.

The really important thing to remember is that buying property in Thailand is very easy. Selling it is much harder.

[Anthony5]

I think that the main financial drawback to buying a condo in Pattaya is that you will probably be lied to endlessly by everyone involved with the transaction and you will probably end up paying far more than the thing is really worth. Also taxes and fees on the transaction will be quite high.

If you are buying a unit in a cheap place like Nirun for 650,000B, the only real question is "how much can you lose"? And the answer is "precious little". Even 50% of 650,000B is not a lot in the great scheme of things.

But if you are buying something nicer and more expensive then the downside could be more significant. 30% of 15MB is a fair old bit to lose, and I can show you plenty of people who have done it.

Other downsides are what happens as the building gets older and requires more money to keep it going, and what happens if someone opens an all-night karaoke bar next door to your building, of if a madman moves into the unit above yours. Dont laugh: it's all happened many times here.

One other thing you should bear in mind is that renting your unit in Nirun for 6500B is pretty poor value if you compare it to a much larger and nicer unit with sea view and large pool that you could find in Jomtien (with a bit of legwork) for maybe 10,000B and up.

So my viewpoint is that unless you are buying something at well under the market price, or you are buying somewhere that you just cant live without and where you want to stay forever, then you would be better off renting.

The really important thing to remember is that buying property in Thailand is very easy. Selling it is much harder.

One other thing you should bear in mind is that renting your unit in Nirun for 6500B is pretty poor value if you compare it to a much larger and nicer unit with sea view and large pool that you could find in Jomtien (with a bit of legwork) for maybe 10,000B and up.

And those much larger and nicer sea view units that can be rented out at 10.000 Bht, can also be purchased at 650K?

[KittenKong]

And those much larger and nicer sea view units that can be rented out at 10.000 Bht, can also be purchased at 650K?

Certainly not.

That 6500B rental for the Nirun condo is probably 10% of the sale price.

I know people in Jomtien whose rental payments are well under 5% of the sale price of their unit.

I paid 4% for 2 years.

[Langsuan Man]

The debate on whether to rent or buy here really comes down to what else can you do with your money

Back in the days of double digit interest rates it didn't make sense to buy, now with the anemic amount of interest you can get in your home country it puts the whole debate into a different light

As an investment, a condo in Thailand is a poor one, but for the convenience of carefree living it does make sense

I spend 8 months here and 4 months in the US, and owning a condo or a house makes my life more convenient. A short trip from the airport and I am home, not shuffling around looking for a place to stay and living out of a suitcase for a week or two while I find something is a distinct advantage IMHO

[KittenKong]

I spend 8 months here and 4 months in the US, and owning a condo or a house makes my life more convenient. A short trip from the airport and I am home, not shuffling around looking for a place to stay and living out of a suitcase for a week or two while I find something is a distinct advantage IMHO

I have several UK renter friends who spend 8 months here and 4 there. They all pay their rent here whilst they are away which means they get the benefit of a yearly rate and also have somewhere to leave their stuff. And of course their place is always available for them.

I think I would do the same in their position.

[Walter Travolta]

^ indeed without speaking thai or being wise to the ways of thailand you will be given higher prices for property for both renting & purchase, I speak pretty good thai & lived next door to a thai lady who was a rental & sales agent for apartments in my building & others in the area, learnt a lot listening in on some of her chats & being given info/tours & prices on rooms she dealing in & also knowing owners low price limit.

working on fact you will be paying around 1,000bt a month if not more in fees when you own a condo, you only need pay around 5,000bt a month more to rent. Put 1million baht (20kGBP) in savings investment with 5% return will give you 4,100bt a month income.

main draw back at moment is lower returns on cash investment but still a good way to go while you finding your feet & reviewing options.

Plus side on renting is a lot of vacant apartments as a large percentage of expats have gone home due to less illegal employment availability or general political & visa hassle bored them of the place, so low ball any future rental you do.

Also likely the Baht will fall to the pound so we could see 53/55 to the £ again & perhaps better ! trick if do buy is buy it cheap, make that low offer & stick with it & call agents again when see still not sold and confirm your offer still on the table, also making sure exchange rate is working for you helps greatly.

Selling used low end/quite old condo property is awfully slow generally so make that work for you as you to will need sell cheap too if want cash in or move location in the future .

I just opened an account at Bangkok Bank BuckBee so I can get my cash from the UK wired as and when I will need it. I only had 800+ baht in my wallet so luckily I only needed 500 to open the account and 300 for the ATM card.

I opened the account for the sole purpose of being able to have somewhere to have my money sent and to withdraw from the hole in the wall. After what you said above, I have just checked my bank book and it says it is a savings account. Will this be what you are talking about or is the +5%- return offered through a different account?

Any way I can make my money work for me is always good

[Walter Travolta]

The debate on whether to rent or buy here really comes down to what else can you do with your money

Back in the days of double digit interest rates it didn't make sense to buy, now with the anemic amount of interest you can get in your home country it puts the whole debate into a different light

As an investment, a condo in Thailand is a poor one, but for the convenience of carefree living it does make sense

I spend 8 months here and 4 months in the US, and owning a condo or a house makes my life more convenient. A short trip from the airport and I am home, not shuffling around looking for a place to stay and living out of a suitcase for a week or two while I find something is a distinct advantage IMHO

yeah that is the worst part, looking for somewhere in this heat dragging a case behind you and often a backpack!!

I guess once I have found somewhere I like to stay (if I don't buy) I will just return their everytime, book by email and just arrive.

I came with the intention of living here FT but I am realising more that I will have to do PT here and PT in UK but living at parents at age 47 is not a good look haha

But a good way to save money

[Walter Travolta]

I think that the main financial drawback to buying a condo in Pattaya is that you will probably be lied to endlessly by everyone involved with the transaction and you will probably end up paying far more than the thing is really worth. Also taxes and fees on the transaction will be quite high.

If you are buying a unit in a cheap place like Nirun for 650,000B, the only real question is "how much can you lose"? And the answer is "precious little". Even 50% of 650,000B is not a lot in the great scheme of things.

But if you are buying something nicer and more expensive then the downside could be more significant. 30% of 15MB is a fair old bit to lose, and I can show you plenty of people who have done it.

Other downsides are what happens as the building gets older and requires more money to keep it going, and what happens if someone opens an all-night karaoke bar next door to your building, of if a madman moves into the unit above yours. Dont laugh: it's all happened many times here.

One other thing you should bear in mind is that renting your unit in Nirun for 6500B is pretty poor value if you compare it to a much larger and nicer unit with sea view and large pool that you could find in Jomtien (with a bit of legwork) for maybe 10,000B and up.

So my viewpoint is that unless you are buying something at well under the market price, or you are buying somewhere that you just cant live without and where you want to stay forever, then you would be better off renting.

The really important thing to remember is that buying property in Thailand is very easy. Selling it is much harder.

One other thing you should bear in mind is that renting your unit in Nirun for 6500B is pretty poor value if you compare it to a much larger and nicer unit with sea view and large pool that you could find in Jomtien (with a bit of legwork) for maybe 10,000B and up.

And those much larger and nicer sea view units that can be rented out at 10.000 Bht, can also be purchased at 650K?

No Anthony, the ones with seaviews are generally 1m+ from what I saw on the web, and obviously they are the 24sq mtr ones, the ones around 34sq mtr are 1.3m but i think that the return when renting out is around 10.000 - 12.000 baht. The only problem is the amount of empty and new condos going up. So its ok saying "yeah I can get 12.000 per month for renting out my condo" . . . the problem is, getting someone!

[tolsti]

Does the Bangkok Bank card you received have a chip in the middle of it?... If it does then be aware that you can use Bangkok Bank ATMs.... And in certain areas that are as rare as rocking horse poop.

[Walter Travolta]

Does the Bangkok Bank card you received have a chip in the middle of it?... If it does then be aware that you can use Bangkok Bank ATMs.... And in certain areas that are as rare as rocking horse poop.

Bangkok Bank were the ONLY bank offering me an account based on me only having a TR visa!!

Yes the card had a chip in the middle and it says debit card on it, although when she asked me if i wanted to use the card to buy items with, I said no, I just want it to withdraw cash. That way i find it easier to observe my spending

[BuckBee]

I just opened an account at Bangkok Bank BuckBee so I can get my cash from the UK wired as and when I will need it. I only had 800+ baht in my wallet so luckily I only needed 500 to open the account and 300 for the ATM card.

I opened the account for the sole purpose of being able to have somewhere to have my money sent and to withdraw from the hole in the wall. After what you said above, I have just checked my bank book and it says it is a savings account. Will this be what you are talking about or is the +5%- return offered through a different account?

Any way I can make my money work for me is always good

Make your money work in UK, banking here is awful, poor rates, awful fees & not same cover if money stolen etc (happens a fair bit here) plus moving large funds back to uk has issues & obvious losses. I have investments with invesco. you can find some easy investment bonds for around 3.5% at present but you need do some leg work for more.

If transferring funds to thailand find way for best rate/lowest fees & easy to use. I found halifax good for this as online transfer fee is £9.50 & you can do anywhere you got internet access, funds best sent in UK Sterling as conversion best done offshore as they give you better conversion rate than uk banks. Thai banks conversion rates can be seen on their websites, not sure how Bangkok Bank scores though.

halifax credit card could be worth looking at too as backup atm option as did have fee free foreign withdrawal & by paying credit card off instantly no costs at all. If doing split between uk & thailand then staying with parents in uk would be good way go due to low cost & ease of use.

[Walter Travolta]

I just opened an account at Bangkok Bank BuckBee so I can get my cash from the UK wired as and when I will need it. I only had 800+ baht in my wallet so luckily I only needed 500 to open the account and 300 for the ATM card.

I opened the account for the sole purpose of being able to have somewhere to have my money sent and to withdraw from the hole in the wall. After what you said above, I have just checked my bank book and it says it is a savings account. Will this be what you are talking about or is the +5%- return offered through a different account?

Any way I can make my money work for me is always good

If transferring funds to thailand find way for best rate/lowest fees & easy to use. I found halifax good for this as online transfer fee is £9.50 & you can do anywhere you got internet access, funds best sent in UK Sterling as conversion best done offshore as they give you better conversion rate than uk banks.

Before I left UK my dad told me about his mate who lives in spain and gets his pension sent over via a company called Currency Index, who I contacted, basically I give them an amount of money and they send it to me as and when I need it. They said if I give them enough of a time span for when I require my money, they can keep an eye on the exchange rates and deduce when the best time is in that given period where i will get the best rate.

It costs £12 for any amount up to £30k and no charge above £30k

Im going to sound thick now, but I dont understand what you mean about offshore? That sounds to me like I should open a Swiss bank account to avoid paying UK bank rates

Another thing i should mention is that my money is in my mothers bank account, so she will withdraw it, send it to Currency Index, and they will send it to my Bangkok Bank account, so surely that means I will avoid any UK bank fees?

[BuckBee]

I just opened an account at Bangkok Bank BuckBee so I can get my cash from the UK wired as and when I will need it. I only had 800+ baht in my wallet so luckily I only needed 500 to open the account and 300 for the ATM card.

I opened the account for the sole purpose of being able to have somewhere to have my money sent and to withdraw from the hole in the wall. After what you said above, I have just checked my bank book and it says it is a savings account. Will this be what you are talking about or is the +5%- return offered through a different account?

Any way I can make my money work for me is always good

If transferring funds to thailand find way for best rate/lowest fees & easy to use. I found halifax good for this as online transfer fee is £9.50 & you can do anywhere you got internet access, funds best sent in UK Sterling as conversion best done offshore as they give you better conversion rate than uk banks.

Before I left UK my dad told me about his mate who lives in spain and gets his pension sent over via a company called Currency Index, who I contacted, basically I give them an amount of money and they send it to me as and when I need it. They said if I give them enough of a time span for when I require my money, they can keep an eye on the exchange rates and deduce when the best time is in that given period where i will get the best rate.

It costs £12 for any amount up to £30k and no charge above £30k

Im going to sound thick now, but I dont understand what you mean about offshore? That sounds to me like I should open a Swiss bank account to avoid paying UK bank rates

Another thing i should mention is that my money is in my mothers bank account, so she will withdraw it, send it to Currency Index, and they will send it to my Bangkok Bank account, so surely that means I will avoid any UK bank fees?

What I mean by offshore is transfer to £GBP is done offshore, exchange rate thai banks give here is better than uk banks give.

With halifax you send it to thai bank in GBP & it exchanged once gets here by thai bank, obviously you keep an eye on exchange & pick good point, transfer takes 2 days & as long as submitted before 12am uk time it still done in 2 days.

You need compare rate you got from currency index company to rate of thai bank on that day & see what best. also check for any fees thai bank may have for your wired transaction from currency index.

Halifax online international transfer is a good one & something you can control yourself anywhere you are in the world.

Worth having a backup atm card option pre planned & costed too, too many expats don't plan then end up in right mess & loose hundreds in fees etc.

[Langsuan Man]

Seriously you really think a company in the UK is going to be able to predict which way the Thai Baht is going to move you have a lot of learning to do . Those of us who live here can't do that with much success and we are on site to follow the markets in real time

You also living in a fantasy world if you think that there is any way to transfer funds to Thailand for free. The best you can hope for is a bank in the UK that will reimburse you for the ATM fee that all Thai banks charge. And even if you do find a bank in the UK that does provide free Swift transfers you are still going to get hit with a fee the transfer on the Thai end

Off shore means any bank account outside of Thailand, not just Switzerland

[Walter Travolta]

Seriously you really think a company in the UK is going to be able to predict which way the Thai Baht is going to move you have a lot of learning to do . Those of us who live here can't do that with much success and we are on site to follow the markets in real time

You also living in a fantasy world if you think that there is any way to transfer funds to Thailand for free. The best you can hope for is a bank in the UK that will reimburse you for the ATM fee that all Thai banks charge. And even if you do find a bank in the UK that does provide free Swift transfers you are still going to get hit with a fee the transfer on the Thai end

Off shore means any bank account outside of Thailand, not just Switzerland

Wow calm down fella!! Whats wrong has your wife come back?

Where did I say i expected to transfer any money for free?

And experts can predict the markets to a certain extent. Im not saying they can predict the thai baht, but they can predict the US dollar which affects the thai baht. Even I know that.

[Walter Travolta]

I just opened an account at Bangkok Bank BuckBee so I can get my cash from the UK wired as and when I will need it. I only had 800+ baht in my wallet so luckily I only needed 500 to open the account and 300 for the ATM card.

I opened the account for the sole purpose of being able to have somewhere to have my money sent and to withdraw from the hole in the wall. After what you said above, I have just checked my bank book and it says it is a savings account. Will this be what you are talking about or is the +5%- return offered through a different account?

Any way I can make my money work for me is always good

If transferring funds to thailand find way for best rate/lowest fees & easy to use. I found halifax good for this as online transfer fee is £9.50 & you can do anywhere you got internet access, funds best sent in UK Sterling as conversion best done offshore as they give you better conversion rate than uk banks.

Before I left UK my dad told me about his mate who lives in spain and gets his pension sent over via a company called Currency Index, who I contacted, basically I give them an amount of money and they send it to me as and when I need it. They said if I give them enough of a time span for when I require my money, they can keep an eye on the exchange rates and deduce when the best time is in that given period where i will get the best rate.

It costs £12 for any amount up to £30k and no charge above £30k

Im going to sound thick now, but I dont understand what you mean about offshore? That sounds to me like I should open a Swiss bank account to avoid paying UK bank rates

Another thing i should mention is that my money is in my mothers bank account, so she will withdraw it, send it to Currency Index, and they will send it to my Bangkok Bank account, so surely that means I will avoid any UK bank fees?

What I mean by offshore is transfer to £GBP is done offshore, exchange rate thai banks give here is better than uk banks give.

With halifax you send it to thai bank in GBP & it exchanged once gets here by thai bank, obviously you keep an eye on exchange & pick good point, transfer takes 2 days & as long as submitted before 12am uk time it still done in 2 days.

You need compare rate you got from currency index company to rate of thai bank on that day & see what best. also check for any fees thai bank may have for your wired transaction from currency index.

Halifax online international transfer is a good one & something you can control yourself anywhere you are in the world.

Worth having a backup atm card option pre planned & costed too, too many expats don't plan then end up in right mess & loose hundreds in fees etc.

Ah i see what you mean and yes that was the way i was going to do it, transfer GBP to here

Im just looked at Invesco and I might as well have been reading Chinese!

I know ISA's do not have good returns anymore but would you suggest a 5 year bond as a good idea?

[mcfish]

"but when I have asked about buying a condo out here, everyone seems to say "Oh no, don't do that!"

They prefer cash in the bank and rent money is generated...If you ask them you will find out most of them are very astute self taught stockmarket traders and invest heavily in gold as well but of course only on the upswing. They buy the stock in the morning and then go straight to the pub ..piece of cake

Edited May 2, 2015 by mcfish

[Walter Travolta]

"but when I have asked about buying a condo out here, everyone seems to say "Oh no, don't do that!"

They prefer cash in the bank and rent money is generated...If you ask them you will find out most of them are very astute self taught stockmarket traders and invest heavily in gold as well but of course only on the upswing. They buy the stock in the morning and then go straight to the pub ..piece of cake

I haven't got a scooby doo about what you said?

[BuckBee]

What I mean by offshore is transfer to £GBP is done offshore, exchange rate thai banks give here is better than uk banks give.

With halifax you send it to thai bank in GBP & it exchanged once gets here by thai bank, obviously you keep an eye on exchange & pick good point, transfer takes 2 days & as long as submitted before 12am uk time it still done in 2 days.

You need compare rate you got from currency index company to rate of thai bank on that day & see what best. also check for any fees thai bank may have for your wired transaction from currency index.

Halifax online international transfer is a good one & something you can control yourself anywhere you are in the world.

Worth having a backup atm card option pre planned & costed too, too many expats don't plan then end up in right mess & loose hundreds in fees etc.

Ah i see what you mean and yes that was the way i was going to do it, transfer GBP to here

Im just looked at Invesco and I might as well have been reading Chinese!

I know ISA's do not have good returns anymore but would you suggest a 5 year bond as a good idea?

Invesco does look complex but actually easier than looks once get into it :-S

I think a 5 year bond very much depends on the rate, if it's fixed rate & if money being tied up for that period of time a concern to you.

Would be wise looking a isa options as might be something with 1yr introduction bonus that could be useful !

Just have a real good hunt around & do what feels right for you. at end of day any sensible effort is better than nothing so a short term 1 or 2yr investment could be good to start with due to flexibility & allows you improve your investment once gained more knowledge & more sure of your lifestyle requirements.

I used Halifax before for some transfers (uk fee £9.50,had first 3 transactions free for new users) to Kasikorn & works well with quite good rates, kasikorn rates was as stated on website & no additional fees on sterling transfer as all built into rate. Do check how good your exchange company done ... Rates can be judged to some extent to avoid worst low points & make good judgement so get roughly what would be happy with.

[Walter Travolta]

Yes I will check out my options - always good to know what others have had success in by investing