Will I have enough to Live in Udon Thani with this

[chiang mai]

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.

I can't be bothered to respond individually to some of the nonsense that's been spouted here overnight so I'll correct the, er, um misconceptions en-masse, here:

"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", Rubbish!

Bringing funds to Thailand: At least one poster has advocated not bringing more money into Thailand than absolutely needed. The fact is that THB has strengthened quite nicely over the past few years reaching 45 to the Pound at one point, despite the current session of weakening the consensus is that THB will continue to strengthen and that a longer term norm is around 45, something that annoys the barstool experts enormously. Also, the Thai banking system is quite robust and contains some very large banks by global standards, all of which are protected by deposit protection. If I were you I would ignore the stories of how banks here have duped/stolen peoples money, your funds are very safe.

It is true that you can't own the land but you can own the house that sits on the land, you can own that 100%. A better approach perhaps is to bundle the land and house into a single unit and to control its usage in your name via an usufruct. An usufruct gives you the right to live in the house until your die and to say who else can live there (or not). An usufruct is also a useful way to control the sale of the property in that the chanotte owner cannot sell without your permission and that gives you the opportunity to control the sale, including the sale proceeds.

Edited August 5, 2015 by chiang mai

[justaphase]

I've heard of married Thai women living with foreigners for years then when the house and everything is all paid for..see you!

Why sell everything? And why eat poor peoples food just to be able to live?

I've been here 15 years, been with my gf 8, buy I wouldn't spend a

L that..crazy!

Only my opinion.

[1FinickyOne]

Hi Barrie - The reason you are probably feeling a bit insecure is that your formulas run very tight… not a lot of room for miscellaneous and just life to happen… you can find positives and negatives in all - - I have had rental properties and great tenants and life was wonderful. The last time I had rental property was in the 90s and it went from bad to worse and I really had to be there to deal with it. My last 2 tenants were only a matter of how much I would lose until I could get them evicted...

And the point I am making is that plans are great on paper and you should have them, but also realize your risks - - you seem to be thoughtful which is a help. There are always trade-offs in life between time/money and enjoyment of life…

So, stay as flexible as you can. As they say, life is what happens while you are busy making plans...

[mogo51]

Stay tuned for the wreckage, the world looks good through rose coloured glasses, luckily the glasses are cheap.

[Pormax]

You seem, to have done a lot of research and thinking about the future. There will always be differing opinions on this forum. Some with sound advice, others who just want to bash the Thai lady (again)

most likely because of a bad experience themselves or stories they have heard. You don't get to hear very much about those that are happy.

At the end of the day it will be your choice and only you will know if you will be happy in rural Thailand. I have lived in a small very rural village in Buriram, Isaan for over 5 years and am very happy here.

I do not drink alcohol so bars etc not missed. I would though not be happy if I did not have internet so that I can watch my sports and UK Tv programs.

One thing I should warn you about is the cost of living. Yes you can live very cheaply over here if you want to live the Thai way but I would suspect like me you would actually find this difficult to do

We can maybe drop our standards of living a little from what we are used too, but will find it hard to go down to village standards .

As I said before I don't drink alcohol but I do smoke. I have a 4x4 and two motorbikes. I estimate my monthly cost of living for myself my wife and 17 yr old daughter, in excess of 60,000B and this does not take into account the unexpected

expenses. Such as last week a new tyre for the car after being ripped apart by a nail, week before a new rice cooker and washing machine repair, 2 months ago extra school fees demanded. I could go on as there is always something if you own your own house that is getting old and worn or breaks down and needs repair.

Medical insurance here is not particularly cheap and does not cover all of your bills. Also in my experience the quality of medical expertise is not that great.

This is not included in my monthly living cost given above.

First class car insurance and Road tax on a 4x4 is not cheap and will cost you between 1,500 to 2,00 per month.

Electricity costs are reasonable but if you live the Farang way with air con , fridges, water pumps TV's etc then in the summer months this could cost you up to 3,000B a month.

My advice is that whatever you work out as your monthly cost/allowance then add 15 to 20% for the unexpected.

Also allow at least a 500B a month for the local village temple and their very frequent special 'Buddha' days.

[kungpao]

I've only rented a mother in law apartment in my house once and it didn't work out well - and this was a sister and her boyfriend. Cig smoke always in house, brought a dog in and it scared my cats, late on rent 75 months out of 76 and didn't pay last 2 and left a lot of trash and damage to walls and new fridge. So...risk there for sure. And property management can be pretty terrible - get anyone in the door more or less to rent (if they qualify) to make the money. And not watch the property. Plenty of those stories. S

As for living expenses, we live pretty cheap in the states, but as the other poster said, always add 20% or so. Every month it is something that adds to the "estimated" expenses.

[sometimewoodworker]

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?

It's the blasted autocorrect it should be a maisonette not marionette

[somo]

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

Crickey, You are a jolly fellow. If you want the Samaritans phone number I am sure you can google it.

[somo]

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???

The thing is he's only 38 now

[fang37]

Suggestion - avoid renting - sell. Living far away from your property - even greater risks. You can invest your capital in other sectors but diversify investments. Investment "salesmen" - avoid!

When in LOS, some farangs avoid eating Thai food. I suggest that you adapt - no need to go all the way eg snakes, grasshoppers. Saving - substantial.

Once you are set up ie home & vehicle, cost of living is surprisingly cheap.

We mainly buy cooked meals & monthly expenses are B20-30k excluding medical insurance, holidays & abnormals.

Life is shorter than you think - maybe a compromise. I suggest age 50=retirement visa eligibility. (I know zero re UK pension requirements). I do not get a pension.

Make sure the lady & her parents respect you - mutual respect.

[somo]

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.

Hmm, can't have much in the UK then. A lorry and a motorbike?

[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?

It's the blasted autocorrect it should be a maisonette not marionette

Sorry, couldn't resist. It happens to me too!

[lanng khao]

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

Crickey, You are a jolly fellow. If you want the Samaritans phone number I am sure you can google it.

the Samaritans hung up on him..

[canarysun]

i don't know why some of you are so interested in buying a property? Stay single and in parts of Thailand you can rent yourself a nice little condo ( with pool ) for 6,000 baht a month and you dont need to waste money on " jeeps & mopeds " when you can buy a bicycle or perhaps far more enjoyable to just " walk " .If you dont drink or smoke then you can be living a lovely life on a cool 12,000 baht a month . Why complicate your life ?

Greetings

F.J x

[rocketboybkk]

Interest alone? Not at today's rates.

What if you get sick? You need a contingency

How about your UK NI contributions?

At 67 you won't get a full state pension no matter what it's worth

Rent the UK property, that's you living

Everything else is savings etc.

How much are you spending in the land, house build etc?

It's doable at 45 yo but imo it won't get easier as you get older which is what it should do.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BARRIE44]

Hi again Barrie. Sorry to have to use your thread to put down a rather stupid poster, that's how it goes on here at times.

I won't go on about selling your house and things but just want to point out one thing that people seem to be missing.

You've told us your monetary position as it stands now but have you thought about 10, 20 or even 30 years time?

At 44/45 you have not built up enough years for a full UK pension. I know you would get a reduced one.

Do you have a company or private pension?

You might get by right now but as you get older you will need extra income as things wear out including yourself!

250,000/350,000 may be doable now but in 10 years time will not be enough!

I really think that you and GF working in UK for at least another 10 years would make your position so much easier!

Hiya again No problem I always believe that everybody is entitled to their opinion

Top advice again Sir Thanks

Yes I have a Private Company Pension been paying in for about 25 Years now I came out of Serps and I am not sure how that has effected My State Pension to be fair so My pension plans have been for exactly the reasons You have said in order to have some extra funds in My later Years

Fortunately I have recently been made MD of the Company I have worked for since School a (pretty large Company) with a good package

so 10 Years hopefully won`t be that necessary and before anyone says save for 10 Years as I have said before I am not here for the Material things I would just like out with some sort of security

Cheers again

Barrie

[BARRIE44]

Hi again Barrie. Sorry to have to use your thread to put down a rather stupid poster, that's how it goes on here at times.

I won't go on about selling your house and things but just want to point out one thing that people seem to be missing.

You've told us your monetary position as it stands now but have you thought about 10, 20 or even 30 years time?

At 44/45 you have not built up enough years for a full UK pension. I know you would get a reduced one.

Do you have a company or private pension?

You might get by right now but as you get older you will need extra income as things wear out including yourself!

250,000/350,000 may be doable now but in 10 years time will not be enough!

I really think that you and GF working in UK for at least another 10 years would make your position so much easier!

For as little as 1900 baht a month you can pay your contributions and top up to obtain a full UK pension.

At 45 years old alrerady the OP is going to receive the pension at 67.

Hiya Again

Is this true about the Contributions being enough already I thought I had heard somewhere that I had to pay in for something like 32 Years which would make Me 48 I am not all that sure though ?

Cheers

Barrie

[BARRIE44]

3 mill. for a build, ex land, is a fair price to build something nice and equip it to a decent standard. Sure it's possible to get away cheaper, make it smaller, use lower quality, use C Grade tiles, have to ak yourself though, why would you when you don't have to. Now if the OP would have said 500k or 10 mill., I would have said no way, but 3 mill. is very fair.

Hiya Again

Yeah it will plenty big enough and nice enough for us Two and Family visitors from the UK they will pay

for all entertainment when they arrive

I intend to fund a pool with that budget as well mind

All based on 20000 GBP per each 100M2 and I have already gotten cheaper prices xthan that already

And I have designed the House Myself

Cheers

Barrie

[BARRIE44]

Just keep the house in the UK and let a letting agency look after it for you this way they can sort out insurance and any problems that you might have regarding bad tenants etc and remember never spend purchase more in Thailand than you can just walk away from if some major problem arises here in Thailand be it family or medical. Always have an opt out plan for the future.

Thankyou for that Sir

Cheers

Barrie

[hereforgood]

Yes what you are asking can be done question is can YOU do it

Sent from my LG g3

[BARRIE44]

I think you had better realistically incorporate your low maintenance beauty taking her share of the house (100%) while seeking maintenace for the child you will probably end up having, into your calculations

Thanks for Your input I suppose

We really are not You though Sorry

Cheers Barrie

[BARRIE44]

Personally I cannot follow what has been paid for and what hasn't

Land paid for

(Wonder why you do n ot mention what you paid...are you that sure you got a good deal???)***

***That would be a good indicator as to how the rest of your plans might go

Generally, whatever you pay for consider lost

You will have to pay to get half of whatever back

As for 'a rock-solid relationship'......I have heard it too many times...

250,000 baht/year is only 20,000 baht per month.......not much at all....especially if you will have to be paying workers to get things done....

Good luck

Sir Your post is extremely Confused

Yeah heard many times and some actually do work Law of averages I guess and not just an attitude to working at a relationship to keep it awesome

What are You on about Money to Pay for Workers that is in the Budget of 60000 GBP ?

OK as far as the land goes My original Post was about Will this be enough after all of those costs have been included ?

Also as You can see I have been totally open on all of this in order to benefit from the answers "well most of them at least"

So just for You and no I am not saying I had a good deal or a Bad deal We have however bought exactly what We wanted We bought 3.5 Rai with 2 Rai already filled at least 2 metres high for 950000 THB that was when the THB was 44 and now it is nearly 55 and I have exchanged the funds for the Land at that rate

So just over 17000 GBP

Cheers Barrie

And thanks for the Good Luck

[BARRIE44]

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

Hiya Thankyou

For that and I will PM You on the Weekend

Cheers

Barrie

[BARRIE44]

Just remember the land you have bought is probably either in your girl friend's name or buy so called company name. In either way probably you can never sell it again. Whatever you will build has the same fate.

Now it is up to you to sell your house in UK or not. Just imagine your future with the facts.

Anyway 20 000 Baht a month is not a big deal and you have to live probably hand to mouth too.

Hiya mrfaroukh

Thankyou for Your comments

I have said a lot on here now mind that I do not care what happens to the Land/House it will always be Hers/Her family`s

And I know it is pretty much a bare bones Living if You are not that Materialistic then How much do You need

I closed My social life down 18 Months ago in Preperation and Literally just stay at Home after Work researching/learning about Thailand`s Pitfalls I do not need to spend much to have fun I love People

Cheers

Barrie

[BARRIE44]

You have far too much $$$.

I suggest that you either -

be a monk

start a poker game

Ready?

Hiya Cheers

Texas Holdem ?

No problem.Online private table let`s do it :-)

Oh I forgot You can`t gamble over there

Cheers

Barrie

[fang37]

I am an excellent cheat. Should something go amiss, I don't pay.

You pay up immediately.

You agree to these rules? Simple!

[BARRIE44]

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.

Hiya sticky lies

I hope the lies bit isn`t true :-)

Thanks for what You have posted You seem to have the same ideals as I totally

there are so many things that I just havn`t got time to do believe Me I cram a lot in outside of work as well

Long term stuff like learning to play guitar etc

No time for thinkers over here anymore either

Cheers

Barrie

[BARRIE44]

no one on this forum know what is going to happen tomorrow. we are in uncharted economic territory.

what will the exchange rate be in thirty years?

policies of your UK government? USA government? China?

What type of government in Thailand?

have you projected forward and factored in inflation?

i used excel to build a spread sheet to project costs forward for 20 years. Look at 2% inflation per year.

don't forget ongoing costs like bank service and transfer fees, immigration fees, drivers license fees, fuel, entertainment or hobbies, your Thai extended family, travel back to UK for family emergencies or holidays, vehicle maintenance, house maintenance, taxes, tools, clothing, shoes, new electronics, internet, cellphone, higher electricity costs, medications, health insurance, dental, divorce and unexpected costs like minor to serious injuries and having all your belongings stolen.

Trying to still save money is also important at 45 years old.

Are you going to have cash in the bank for Thai immigration requirements for 30 years or more?

To plan for 30 to 40 more years is not easy. I am 59 and living in Thailand and the laws are changing so fast here and in the USA.

I fully expect to be told in the future social security will not be paid out if you live abroad. Anything is possible.

Why "buy" property you don't really own when you can rent super cheap Thai style houses all over the country?

Hiya and thankyou

Yeah most of those suggestions I am aware of all property being stolen a frightening although fair point

Future state pensions probably want exist either I know

The rent thing certainly something to think about

Thanks again

Barrie

[nycjoe]

Make sure that you have a back up plan. If things go sour here. Which could happen.

[BARRIE44]

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.

Hiya and Thankyou

Our plan is to have some form of work all of My figures though are based on the worst scenario

I would have had 10 times what I have now if 2008 didn`t happen hence My lack of positivity for the West Corporate World

Cheers for the info though

Warm Regards

Barrie