Will I have enough to Live in Udon Thani with this

[The Man Who Sold the World]

Barrie; Yes - you will have enough to live the rest of your days.

The simple truth is you have defined your "means"... You must live within them.

The real question, and it is one that only you can answer, is: Will you be satisfied with the lifestyle that "living within your means" will provide you and yours?

Good luck. Go ahead and give it a go. If you find it uncomfortable - change your plan. Do have a functional contingency plan in place.

[grabitanrun]

Hey,

Just a quick question, is £5k really enough to live off - unless you rent out your UK house, which is fraught with problems unless you have someone to manage / maintain it for you.

I'm looking to retire in a few years and was looking for £3k a month on retirement to make sure that not only could I live comfortably, with as many overseas trips as I wanted and be able to save a little for a rainy day - and that would only be till my UK pensions (which are small) kicked in to bump it up further.

Grabbit

[stickylies]

All good advice given IMO and I'd like to ask one question of the OP.

Living FULL TIME in LOS is vastly different from holidays or even from people leaving to work shifts in other countries. I retired here at 48 and did nothing for a fair few years (except get into trouble! 555). I now work full time (again) and it's actually much better.

My question then.......

What are you going to do with yourself @ 45yo ?

I "retired" in thailand at age 36. I was never bored. I traveled, read books, self-studied Thai language and history of SE asia, Burma in particular, did daily sports, aso. I also hang in hammocks and watched the horizon contemplating about the uselessness of our species/life... If I had to chose between working or doing what I want any time of my life I think I know the answer.

[Blackfox]

I'm a year younger than you and have about 5 times more.

I retired last year but work with my wife legitimately here in Thailand. All of my assets are in home country and all are reinvested. I won't touch it beginning 48 years (my plan).

I've planned and budgeted and am comfortable knowing there is enough even accounting for contingent large expenses.

You don't have enough.

You'll need minimum double what you have to make it work here but hey, sell it all, set up shop here, and see how it goes.

[onekoolguy]

Hi Barrie,

If you are sure you want to stay here, please consider selling the house.

I am a long term real estate guy and landlord. First off you are unlikely to net over 60 percent of the gross rent after paying taxes, insurance, repairs, vacancy and management fees. Living out of town you will almost have to use a management company to take care of the property for you. In addition to rental fees they will charge for supervising repairs and may not care near as much as you about filling a vacancy and picking a good tenant. Having owned many out of town properties I have decided that it is just not worth the trouble! Now my son takes care of the local properties and it works fine. However I do pay him and he has a vested interest in taking care of family investments and is very experienced in this business. For years we sent letters to out of town owners to buy their properties, knowing that a lot of them were frustrated with bad management and bad tenants. By that time the properties were usually in bad shape and the price had to reflect that.

Now you have a home in good condition that will bring top dollar on the retail market. If you decide to return later you can always buy another one.

Best of luck!

[Blackfox]

Hi Barrie,

Now you have a home in good condition that will bring top dollar on the retail market. If you decide to return later you can always buy another one.

Best of luck!

I think many as I will disagree with you there.

I have 4 properties in CBD and CBD fringe, each with a sound net return.

"...you can always buy another one."

There are many an older gent here who sold up, spent, and then couldn't get back into the market. But hey, everyone's different.

If he loves the girl and the feelings mutual, then perhaps go for it. It's only one life.

[vr6onlysiam]

Buy in company name

Keep your property in the UK

Rent to a housing associations

They guarantee 5 years let .

Hard to make money in Thailand

[vr6onlysiam]

You can't get a land lease of your wife

[vr6onlysiam]

Normally if family land given free divided evenly if many children. So why pay

[ginjag]

Oh dear oh dear....so you are not married? and you have bought the land in your gf's name? Don't sell your Uk house, If things go 'belly up' with you and your gf, you will need your house in the Uk, you will own nothing in Thailand....just be careful what you buy out of the marriage, it will be very difficult, if not impossible to get any of it back....chok dee

Hiya Ghostnigel

Yeah fair point I ain`t quite that Mad Yet though

Put small deposit on Land which We are Paying up in Full on Our next Visit also intending to Marry then

We have been together for quite a Few Years now and We do know each other pretty well

I am unsure Whether to Marry just before Land Purchase or after though Your Thoughts ?

I read somewhere that it was better for Me if things went wrong that She had Possessions before We Wed ? doesn`t sound right to Me either

30 Year Lease Will also be put in place at time of Land Payment/Signing as Well

Cheers Again

Barrie

I have been here 34 years live in Udon city--------rent my friend --lease land---buy for what ?? I rent my 3 bed bungalow for 150 quid a month. 3 bathrooms -2 hot shower--3 bedrooms--car space for 3--2 air con rooms--good size gardens--walled surround. I live comfortable for 200quid a month, rent extra.-----BUT I choose to be single ---and rent when I want---no hassle. Your actual wants are far greater than mine-----I had one house stolen here --that taught me the way I think. all the best mate. Tony.

[Anon999]

No GF not Working Possibilities with earning some Extra Income though.Extremely Low Maintenance She always has been and that`s Living in the UK as Well.Just worried about Problems with Renting out accommodation and having it Vacant at all.

I think that We could Probably get by on Interest alone it`s just obviously a long Term thing without really knowing the Future Economy Etc.

I know I am just Wanting Christmas to come early and all and I really don`t expect to return back to the UK to live again

Thanks for Your reply though

Cheers

Barrie

If you use a reliable letting agency in the UK they will look after everything without any hassle. I've been doing it for over 9 years. Don't forget to apply to HMRC for the letting agent not to deduct the tax. You pay it a year in arrears.

[bazza40]

Don't have anything in yoiur own name or joint names with respect to property. Keep your bank account separate from hers. You don't want to wake up one day and find your teerak has taken out a loan against your? asset without your knowledge. It does happen.

My rule of thumb is to have 80% of my assets in my home country, and 20% in Thailand. The only physical assets I have in Thailand are a car and a scooter.

[sgtsabai]

I've been here off and on since '02 (before retirement) and permanently since 2010, except for holidays out of country, never US of A. No plans to go ever go back to the states. On the other hand even with the rather short life expectancy at my age, things can change very quickly, here and the US. The way things are going with the "austerity plans" in the states I could loose my pensions and VA compensation overnight. I contribute over 100,000 baht per month to supporting Issan, i.e. wife and kids, and Udon in particular, it isn't as cheap as it was back in '02, double/triple priced and still going up. Spent a hell of a lot baht unknown to me to rebuild "mom and dad" house, yea that's a problem. Been married to a Thai lady from just outside Udon since May 2008, had known/been with only her since 2006. Things change. Family is always a problem to consider, even if it doesn't show at first. I no longer stay at home and away from farangs like I did for years. When this house is paid off next year there will be a usufruct signed, sealed and delivered. As it is I'm entitled to half of all, at the least, because we are legally married, If every thing goes to hell in a hand bag and if the family bitches I'll lose the house but nobody else will get it either. It was bought with my money, not hers. Otherwise, when they pop me in the oven it is happily all hers. I would be extremely careful if I were you in burning bridges, although I burned all mine and don't regret it. I'm pretty much a country boy, but no way would I ever want to live in village, especially any closer to the in-laws than I already do. Just one man's experience and you haven't heard all of it. Best of luck to you.

[rgs2001uk]

Their girls are always different, LOL.

To the OP, how many Thai women have you been involved with on a long term relationship?

Whats the longest you have spent in Thailand at any one time?

Can you speak and read the language?

[DILLIGAD]

All good advice given IMO and I'd like to ask one question of the OP.

Living FULL TIME in LOS is vastly different from holidays or even from people leaving to work shifts in other countries. I retired here at 48 and did nothing for a fair few years (except get into trouble! 555). I now work full time (again) and it's actually much better.

My question then.......

What are you going to do with yourself @ 45yo ?

I "retired" in thailand at age 36. I was never bored. I traveled, read books, self-studied Thai language and history of SE asia, Burma in particular, did daily sports, aso. I also hang in hammocks and watched the horizon contemplating about the uselessness of our species/life... If I had to chose between working or doing what I want any time of my life I think I know the answer.

Who paid for all of that? Bet it wasn't you???

[DILLIGAD]

I'm about 10 years ahead of you in that we have been married for that long. I've got a marionette in the UK that has been rented through an excellent agent just outside London near the M1 and M25 for the last 25 years.

If you can get a good agent then don't sell the house.

As to the land you can get an Usufruct that is for life much better than a 30 year lease. There is some debate over the possibility that if it is done after marriage it may be able to be cancelled by a divorce. However if you get it before marriage neither marriage nor divorce makes any difference. But if you do breakup having a legal right to live on the land makes no difference if the local people want you out.

If you want more information you can PM me

Does it dance or sing?

[elliss]

Not enough. You need another income source, an active one.

I doubt you will find any work worth getting out of bed for in Thailand, never mind 20 kms outside Udon. (e.g. teaching for 25,000 Baht a month) So you need to try and make money off the internet. It is easier than you think but you might need to put in 6 hours a day to make a few grand a year.

I have a simple spreadsheet I made in Excel to show you don't have enough.

Also I think your net annual returns of 250,000 Baht from house rental is optimistic. There may considerable expenses to factor in, such as repairs, and periods where a tenant cannot be found.

[ericthai]

Oh dear oh dear....so you are not married? and you have bought the land in your gf's name? Don't sell your Uk house, If things go 'belly up' with you and your gf, you will need your house in the Uk, you will own nothing in Thailand....just be careful what you buy out of the marriage, it will be very difficult, if not impossible to get any of it back....chok dee

Hiya Ghostnigel

Yeah fair point I ain`t quite that Mad Yet though

Put small deposit on Land which We are Paying up in Full on Our next Visit also intending to Marry then

We have been together for quite a Few Years now and We do know each other pretty well

I am unsure Whether to Marry just before Land Purchase or after though Your Thoughts ?

I read somewhere that it was better for Me if things went wrong that She had Possessions before We Wed ? doesn`t sound right to Me either

30 Year Lease Will also be put in place at time of Land Payment/Signing as Well

Cheers Again

Barrie

You seem to be well read up on this, each to his own, but i reckon, lawfully, It is better, safer, to buy in wedlock, with a paper trail, ( i.e., proof that the money came from abroad ). This is just from experience, not knowledge of the law, so maybe someone with knowledge on the subject, might be able to go into finer detail.

I hope everything goes well for you, and you have a long and happy future here. People can be happy here, you know...reading some of the put-downs from some of the members here, sometimes i wonder about that....hahaha

Hiya again Ghostnigel

Yeah I have been researching all this for Years and Years now and as I said putting them into practice everytime We are there I will not go into this blind so that I can see and enjoy everything when We are there

Regarding Paper Trail everything goes into Thailand through My UK Account transferred to My Thai Bank Account I hope that is suffice

And Thankyou for the Positive feelings I do need some now and then

Cheers

Barrie

AS for the purchase of the land. Your wife or Girl friend will need to swear that the funds for the purchase of the land did not come from you. So a paper trail will do nothing for the land and can actually be an issue so I would be careful about that. For the house yes it would be good to show you paid to build this. Divorce in Thailand is pretty fair anything purchased during the marriage is divided 50/50. She would either need to pay you for your share of the house or have time to sell it. A good friend of mine got divorced in Thailand and he was happy with the judgement.

Someone said you cant own anything, that is not true. Cars, motorcycles etc can be in your name, only thing that cant be in your name is the land.

As for your plan, I'm worried you wont have enough cash to live comfortably. You say living on interest I don't know what the interest rates are in Britain so cant advise you on that. For renting that will give you about 20,000B a month. I think once you pay for internet, phone, Elec, fuel, food, visa runs, etc you will have no money left for entertainment or holidays. When I started my company

I put all my cash into the company and had only about 20K a month and it was difficult. Our house was paid for, but all the small things added up quickly. You might want to look at waiting and getting a little more of a nest egg or look at working full or part time. I wish you all the best.

[thrilled]

You ask for something simple and you get all kinds of opinions.Um Bangkok is around 1 million baht A year.But prices are more

Expensive there.

There was A thread about Udon saying how much A day to live .The average was 1000 baht A day.Average 30000 baht A month.

Um I imagine you could maybe possibly make it on A 1/4 million baht A year but maybe not eating much meat.Maybe using the

Airconditioning now and then.I'm thinking 1/3 of A million baht minimum.Myself with traveling that I do.I like eating farang food,

That's expensive.I can go thru A million baht A year,traveling,vacationing etc.

[stickylies]

All good advice given IMO and I'd like to ask one question of the OP.

Living FULL TIME in LOS is vastly different from holidays or even from people leaving to work shifts in other countries. I retired here at 48 and did nothing for a fair few years (except get into trouble! 555). I now work full time (again) and it's actually much better.

My question then.......

What are you going to do with yourself @ 45yo ?

I "retired" in thailand at age 36. I was never bored. I traveled, read books, self-studied Thai language and history of SE asia, Burma in particular, did daily sports, aso. I also hang in hammocks and watched the horizon contemplating about the uselessness of our species/life... If I had to chose between working or doing what I want any time of my life I think I know the answer.

Who paid for all of that? Bet it wasn't you???

Poor betting skills ...

Lucky u u didn't really bet but just posted some typical tvf blah...

?

Not all people are losers, keep that in mind...

[Bulldozer Dawn]

I reckon you're too young for a permanent move.. Work hard and save for another five years. You and your GF can make much more in the UK then you ever can in Thailand. Spend all your holidays in Thailand. Put in place all your property improvements (ponds, fences, bores, landscape/fruit trees, driveway, house pad etc).

I've been in Thailand for 18 months, but am 55 and have a pension. I started like you building a new house, buying a car etc. I've always wanted to have a bit of land to rehabilitate, attract wildlife and keep a few exotic pets. Well, that is what I am doing on our 5 Rai near Mahasaraham.

I don't think you have enough money. Another poster mentioned long term costs. I started on a pension of 100,000 Baht per month 18 months ago. Since then the Aussie dollar has gone down 20% against the Baht so I am down to 80,000 Baht. Under Australian law I have to pay tax at a flat 33% if I am living overseas for more than 12 months which has taken me down to 65,000 Baht. Plus part of my pension is dependent on the stock market which is currently down about 10%. So now I get about 58,000 Baht per month. This is only after 18 months. Maybe it will be cheaper to live in Australia after another 18 months, but I have put my savings into Thailand and have nothing left in Australia. Don't sell your UK house just now, keep your options open.

I reckon you need about 60,000 - 80,000 Baht to live comfortably. You can live on much less, but without luxuries. If you don't chase girls, your wife/relatives are undemanding,and you have no rent, so much the better.

I am amazed you saved enough money to retire in your 50s when you know nothing about Australian tax law.

If you are a non resident in the eyes of the ATO you pay:

• Only 10% on bank interest
• Nothing...zero...zip on fully franked dividends received from Australian shares.

[Travelman868]

No GF not Working Possibilities with earning some Extra Income though.Extremely Low Maintenance She always has been and that`s Living in the UK as Well.Just worried about Problems with Renting out accommodation and having it Vacant at all.

I think that We could Probably get by on Interest alone it`s just obviously a long Term thing without really knowing the Future Economy Etc.

I know I am just Wanting Christmas to come early and all and I really don`t expect to return back to the UK to live again

Thanks for Your reply though

Cheers

Barrie

Hi Barrie

If you sell up, the interest income from your capital will be about 4K, not sufficient to live on. 150K may seem like a lot but your only 45 so a " boy " lol.

I used to live in Udon and it certainly is far cheaper than living in Bangkok. I think you need to budget about 40000 baht minimum.

[ozyjon]

Where will you be when you are an old wrinkly sock

what if you get so sick yo need a full time carer

what if one day your country of origin tells you

-- no benefits / money while you are out of the country

-- any money leaving your country will incur severe tax

-- your property in the UK is severely taxed because you

are not currently a resident there

what if one day your country of residence --Thailand tells you

-- you are working illegally,,,-- get out --

-- we (Thailand) don't want foreigners -- get out --

-- you ugly falang -- get out --

-- your neighbors decide they don't want you around

any more -- get out --

These are the questions i ask myself often, like some of my

friends who were showing off to their buddies back home

with quote: ''I'm going to divorce the wife, sell up and move

to Thailand'' the sensible ones woke up after 6 to 9 months

with ''i think i made a mistake'' the beer guzzling / brainless

ones were there longer because they were caught in no

mans land, i worried about this so much i gave up my

retirement visa and now i am a tourist in Thailand always

returning to my homeland for 6 months, thank you to Greece

the dominoes will soon start to fall,

1; don't burn your bridges

2; you are not Thai but a 2nd class citizen in that country

a falang forever you will be

[Old Croc]

I reckon you're too young for a permanent move.. Work hard and save for another five years. You and your GF can make much more in the UK then you ever can in Thailand. Spend all your holidays in Thailand. Put in place all your property improvements (ponds, fences, bores, landscape/fruit trees, driveway, house pad etc).

I've been in Thailand for 18 months, but am 55 and have a pension. I started like you building a new house, buying a car etc. I've always wanted to have a bit of land to rehabilitate, attract wildlife and keep a few exotic pets. Well, that is what I am doing on our 5 Rai near Mahasaraham.

I don't think you have enough money. Another poster mentioned long term costs. I started on a pension of 100,000 Baht per month 18 months ago. Since then the Aussie dollar has gone down 20% against the Baht so I am down to 80,000 Baht. Under Australian law I have to pay tax at a flat 33% if I am living overseas for more than 12 months which has taken me down to 65,000 Baht. Plus part of my pension is dependent on the stock market which is currently down about 10%. So now I get about 58,000 Baht per month. This is only after 18 months. Maybe it will be cheaper to live in Australia after another 18 months, but I have put my savings into Thailand and have nothing left in Australia. Don't sell your UK house just now, keep your options open.

I reckon you need about 60,000 - 80,000 Baht to live comfortably. You can live on much less, but without luxuries. If you don't chase girls, your wife/relatives are undemanding,and you have no rent, so much the better.

I am amazed you saved enough money to retire in your 50s when you know nothing about Australian tax law.

If you are a non resident in the eyes of the ATO you pay:

• Only 10% on bank interest
• Nothing...zero...zip on fully franked dividends received from Australian shares.

Australian public servants can retire at 55 on a superannuation pension.

If they live overseas, ATO can declare them to be a non-resident and tax their pension at 32.5%.

Comsuper pensions are excluded from the Thai/Oz Tax Agreement and therefore taxed by Oz.

If you can get portability on the OAP it is untaxed!

Unfair, complete crap!

Edited August 5, 2015 by Old Croc

[NCC1701A]

the op's life is to complicated. he needs to simplify. no wife, no real girlfriend, no property in Thailand. sell all your stuff.

take up a few cheap hobbies, travel around the country on the train. Eat.

i live in Hua Hin at the beach for 45,000 baht a month. in a pinch i could take it down to 30,000, and i a prepared to have to double my budget over the next twenty years. i own a motorcycle and a scooter. that is it.

all other assets are in the USA where Thai lady can not see.

Edited August 5, 2015 by NCC1701A

[stevensg]

I believe this guy has got his head screwed on right but I just question if his ideas are unrealistic about living like a Thai farmer at the age of 45.

+1

And not only that, paying for the privilege of being one.

That 3 million baht for the house build is ringing big alarm bells in my head.

Who in their right mind at the age of 45 gives up, house, job, family and friends to move half way round the world to live like a peasant?

No mention made of what type of visa the OP will be on.

No mention made of future pension plans, etc etc, this doesnt pass the logic test.

Keep the house in the UK rent it out, and rent some place for 5k baht per month here.

The OP will go stir crazy from cabin fever.

I guess you probably haven't read the whole thread.

I dont need to read it all to know the 3 million baht he quotes for a house is BS.

Wont even bother mentioning the land he has already bought.

This whole deal could be put together for 1 million baht, rent land at 1,000 baht per rai per year, 4,000 baht per year, x 30 = 120,000 baht, build a 2 storey Thai house for 7-800k.

You sure? I'm ready to pay a million to build a 2 storey house at Kampheang Phet.

It's around 20M by 14M.

Let me know if you can do it.

[RedQualia]

Looks like lots of different opinions here, so I'll just add to that if that's OK. But fair warning: I know little about the UK, housing costs, retirement options, etc. I just live in Thailand...

You might want to stay in the UK another five years, working and saving every last cent you earn. Drive a junker, if you need to drive anything. No car payments. Live in a cheap apartment (rent that big house now).

If you insist on coming to Thailand now (I can relate!), then sell the house in the UK. Renting it from afar would be a pain in the derriere, and then taxes, and yada yada yada. Put at least half the yield of the house into a UK bank account (assuming it's safe and pays interest).

Take the other half and build a house in Thailand BEFORE you get married, with a typical/standard 30/30 lease on the land beneath. Do not put it into your wife to be's name at all. Keep it your separate property. In theory, your separate property BEFORE you're married will be your separate property AFTER you're divorced, as well. (What the law suggests, in any case.)

If you subsequently marry, build a house on the wife's land, and live there, you can rent the first house you've built, the one that's all your own, while you wait to see if a divorce will be necessary one day. If you rent the house you buy for you in Udon, you'll have a separate income of say, 12,000-17,000, depending on what you build. And if you decide to go back to the UK some day, you've still got a fair amount in the bank back there to start over, buy another house, etc., etc.

Understand -- the house I talk about building in Udon shouldn't be all that special... Somewhere in a decent neighborhood, maybe 100-120 sq. meters, two million Baht max cost, out the door, with kitchen, decent furniture, etc. Note that the Baht is currently falling relative to western currencies. It should be 35 Baht per US dollar in another month or so. Your mileage relative to the pound may vary. But regardless, now would be a good time to build, and you should be able to pay cash for a two million Baht house in less that six months (over the course of the build contract, say), if you stay in the UK and keep working that long. In fact, you might even want to build 2-3 nice western houses for the purpose of renting to nice westerners. That should generate a fairly decent income, no? It's what I did, in any case. My wife has another house that's all hers from before we met. Also has a small farm that's all hers, and I'm sure we'll build a (not too big) house there one day. But my houses, owned from before we met, are still all mine.

If you DO come to Thailand to stay any time soon, I'm thinking the house in the UK would be a boat anchor. I would sell it. You can always buy another one day.

Edited August 5, 2015 by RedQualia

[KonaRain]

I live on a Hawaiian mountain so what do I know, but it seems like renting

Your house out for now, is da right thing.OA retirement visa after turning 50..

KEEPING BUSY ON THE FARM..

ALOHA FROM HERE.LOOKING FORWARD TO RETURNING..

[Shiver]

I would say that it can be done, but it's a fine line. Issues in life will happen that we don't anticipate. Having been a property owner renting out in UK I can say for sure that you shouldn't expect a whole 12 months of uninterrupted income without unexpected outlays, and have other strategies in case of such a scenario.

I'd be slow to make commitments, and marry after investing rather than before (though personally I wouldn't marry at all as I don't understand the reasoning), but hey, that's your choice.

Since you don't drink a lot and you (in this particular scenario) wouldn't have rent, you have removed two of the biggest expenditures, though I would be aiming to save as much as I could each month for the event that will eventually t-bone us all, whatever that may be.

[rhodie]

Don't sell the house in the UK. Don't build the house in Thailand until you are there and can supervise the build. Look at the stories on Cool Thai House. Google.

Nobody can tell you how much you need. With everything paid some can live well in the boonies on 15,000 a month. I said SOME, as everyone is different. Obviously the more you have, the easier it is, but only you can be the judge. Just try to make sure you keep the capital, house and savings, and try to live off the earnings. A lot relationships fail no matter how good they start off, so be realistic and keep your assets that you have in your name.

The only thing you need to factor in are the big items, like health insurance and trips back home.

Just do it. If it all goes belly up, you can at least look back and say you did it. You know you are going to do it and all the comments are helpful and need to be taken in.

Good luck.