Happy property owners.

[mrboats]

Yes I'm very happy to have property in Pattaya

Owned a condo for 7 years and sold this year.....nice profit

Townhouse I bought is just great

You always make money if the location and surroundings are good

[catman20]

To some of us made/lost money is not an issue at all as we have bought a family home and not an investment, so I believe there should be a doesn't matter box for profit/loss.

or not made money and not lost money box. I recon I would get my money back, breaking even

[micmichd]

Cannot answer all questions.

My property had to remain in Europe when I came to Pattaya, Europeans refused to hand it over.

I would invest my money here as far as I am allowed under Thai law, together with my Thai family. Europe actually robbed my property from Thailand.

Edited September 28, 2015 by micmichd

[catman20]

Yes I'm very happy to have property in Pattaya

Owned a condo for 7 years and sold this year.....nice profit

Townhouse I bought is just great

You always make money if the location and surroundings are good

not true, it depends on when you buy a property in the boom or in a recession also if your money is coming from your own country depends on the exchange rate at the time you buy or sell your property.

[chiang mai]

40% of respondents claim to have lost money in their property transactions in Pattaya which is significant. I wonder how they calculate that, did those people factor in the cost of rent money saved during the period of ownership or was it a loss from a straight buy/sell, if the latter did they buy to high or did they need to sell low urgently?

If you factor in the money saved by not renting you also have to factor in the money lost (interest, dividends, whatever) by not investing elsewhere. When I still rented my condo the interest I got elsewhere on the capital more than covered my rental payments.

As for buying too high and selling too low, that can happen to anyone here for whatever reason. But it is much less likely to happen in the UK, for example, where the market is much more fluid and transparent.

Yes I'm happy that people factor in both sides of the equation, rent saved and interest lost, AS LONG AS they are reasonably honest and only claim interest that they would actually have earned, e,g 0.1% to 3.5% per annum for the vast majority.

Also, unfair to try and compare against the UK property market which is government sponsored/supported, comparison to a regional market may be better.

[chiang mai]

I am not surprised.

Here in Chiang Mai, there is massive development of condo complexes.

Yet, the number of expats making Thailand their new home is stagnating.

This equals over-supply=lower prices.

Most westerners consider an expat to be somebody from the west whereas the reality is that such folks only represent a small percentage of all expats, it's therefore almost impossible for the average western expat to asses what the overall expat market is doing in terms of growth.

[fang37]

Comment # 36

Having lived here for 13 years, purchased 7 condos - sold 6, I have come to the opinion that no one knows the value of a particular property.

Logic in valuation - what is that?

To me, I have no use for my CNX condo. Therefore, I wish to dispose of it.

In most cases, price & value do not equate.

My goal is to move on quietly with minimal disparity with seller's & buyer's opinion.

[chiang mai]

Comment # 36

Having lived here for 13 years, purchased 7 condos - sold 6, I have come to the opinion that no one knows the value of a particular property.

Logic in valuation - what is that?

To me, I have no use for my CNX condo. Therefore, I wish to dispose of it.

In most cases, price & value do not equate.

My goal is to move on quietly with minimal disparity with seller's & buyer's opinion.

Perhaps you misunderstood but my comment was aimed solely in response to your remark that the number of expats making their home in CM is stagnating, simply, we would never know.

[fang37]

Of course - mere intuition.

[Suradit69]

I'm happy with the property I bought.

I haven't made or lost any money since I haven't sold it and have no plans to sell, but based on other sales in the same building, I would get back more than I paid and, of course, have saved something like 15 years of rent.

I didn't buy it as an investment per se and have to plans to "invest" in Pattaya beyond the ownership of the one condo that I use as my residence.

[Naam]

Cannot answer all questions.

My property had to remain in Europe when I came to Pattaya, Europeans refused to hand it over.

I would invest my money here as far as I am allowed under Thai law, together with my Thai family. Europe actually robbed my property from Thailand.

reading your postings i often wonder whether this stuff you ingest is legal

[micmichd]

I don't need to buy a condo or land, I perfer a van or SUV as home office. My girlfriend needs to extend her restaurant though, fortunately we're not dependent on Farangs anymore.

Germans still have to pay what I've worked for, that's the deal.

[micmichd]

Cannot answer all questions.

My property had to remain in Europe when I came to Pattaya, Europeans refused to hand it over.

I would invest my money here as far as I am allowed under Thai law, together with my Thai family. Europe actually robbed my property from Thailand.

reading your postings i often wonder whether this stuff you ingest is legal

Wanna bet?

[balo]

I sold the condo with a small loss. I was not happy , too much noise from the outside so could not sleep at night.

I bought off plan to save some money and that was a big mistake.

Now I am happy renting a place in a quite location.

[onemorechang]

I sold the condo with a small loss. I was not happy , too much noise from the outside so could not sleep at night.

I bought off plan to save some money and that was a big mistake.

Now I am happy renting a place in a quite location.

Yes, buying off plan is a real gamble.

[mrboats]

I sold the condo with a small loss. I was not happy , too much noise from the outside so could not sleep at night.

I bought off plan to save some money and that was a big mistake.

Now I am happy renting a place in a quite location.

Yes, buying off plan is a real gamble.

I would never buy off plan doesn't matter how good the deal

Read to many bad stories about this and most appear to be true

you don't have the scope to do due diligence ....eg noise ,neighbours ,management etc

A few friends who didn't listen to me became victims

It's always satisfing to see and know what you actually getting before parting with any cash

[farangmick]

Jomtien isn't Pattaya. But carry on.

Ok, my mistake.

Have requested it be changed to just Happy property owners.

Are you a happy property owner ?

I would not invest money in Thailand period. Hang on will check my lottery tickets first( I would never buy tickets in Thailand. Over priced and under prized). I would have to be stupidly wealthy before even considering it. Read Amazing Thailand and watch some of the recent postings of smart men that invested here and their spouses forged their signatures (and lawyers notarized these phony signatures) and they proved it beyond a doubt and their still hung up in the legal system here. No Disneyland is not here yet but the system here is like Disney World.

I think there is a big difference between investing in a property to live in, and investing in properties with a view to providing income, or capital gain. With a family, I am quite happy that I had a house built here, which will go to them when I croak. Still have a house in England though, and the idea of selling it and putting the money into property in Thailand is a very big no no.

[chiang mai]

Just about everybody who comes here invests in some way or another, the only difference between them is the degree to which they do so. If leaving money in a savings account suits some, a longer fixed term deposit suits others, Some prefer the stock market, others mutual funds, some property to live in and some property to rent out - it's all investment and I strongly suspect that most people invest here in a similar way to which they do/did back home, pension funds not withstanding, the only difference is scale.

And FWIW investing here doesn't mean investing here exclusively, having a property here to live in and one in the home country to rent out, with supporting funds in both locations, is very sensible.

Edited September 28, 2015 by chiang mai

[micmichd]

Wonder how many Farangs already failed in their home countries and repeat their mistakes in Thailand.

[Guderian]

After renting various condos for seven years I was feeling pleased when I finally bought a house and got some privacy and peace and quiet. That didn't last very long as, unbeknownst to me, the drain at the back of the house had collapsed due to its poor construction, and each rainy season was washing away the ground back there and slowly causing subsidence. A property surveyor would have spotted that, if such a beast was readily available in Pattaya, but I couldn't find one and I didn't see it. There then followed a major exercise of digging up the entire pathway and old drain around two sides of the house and laying a new drain. That wasn't cheap or much fun, and my feelings of happiness had largely evaporated. There then followed two years in which I've slowly been repairing the damage caused by the subsidence, mainly cracked floor and wall tiles. On the plus side it's given me a chance to improve some of the things I wasn't happy with and smarten the place up a bit. The only major thing left to do is to redecorate the inside and outside of the house, which needs doing anyway, and get rid of any small cracks in the walls caused by the subsidence. I've left this until last as even after we'd laid the new drain I knew there'd still be some settlement going on for a while, but I'm pretty confident it's all stable now, so I'm starting to feel a bit happier again.

In the meantime land prices in this area of town have shot up. There's just one unsold shell unit left like mine in the village and that's on sale for 6 million Baht. which is more than I paid for my house which was already finished to a reasonable standard (professionally designed garden, uPVC windows, smart European kitchen with Kitzcho units and Smeg appliances, full security installation, etc.). A smaller, two bedroom shell was recently sold for 5 million Baht, a shade less than I paid for my finished house. A couple of houses the same size as mine but which were rebuilt to a better standard (among other things, decent drains!) and with a small swimming pol have been sold for around 12 million Baht each. So if I sold today I should make a healthy profit, but in spite of the problems I've had with the place I like living here as people are friendly, security is good and the location is perfect for my needs (roughly 5 minutes each to Jomtien, Sukhumvit and Walking Street). In the end my Thai partner will probably inherit the house off me, so I won't have made anything, but it's kind of fun to ponder the "what if's". And in the meantime I've saved a stack of money in rent plus I can do the place out as I want. Once the redecoration is finished next year the plan is to save up some money and then cannibalise a large slice of the garden and build an extension on one side to enlarge the kitchen, my office and provide an extra two bedrooms. Unlike replacing drains I enjoy that sort of thing.

[loppylugs1]

Hope you guys leaving the house to the wife have a few more funds left over,death awaits us all. Couple of English guys I am aware of, house bought in wife's name one had a stroke or accident clocked up hospital bill of over 2 million plus before dying,no way of paying, the hospital took action against the house,another just about the same vogue but hospital took action with air medivac and took his or wife's assets.

Just do not want to pop my clogs especially in this country with no pain relief to hand either,be taking my funds with me,the authorities can take what Ive got the other end

[newnative]

Owning condos both here and in America has been good to me both financially and in my happiness. I like owning my own place rather than renting--but not for the financial gain it may or may not bring but for the happiness it brings to have my own place with my own stuff.

[micmichd]

After renting various condos for seven years I was feeling pleased when I finally bought a house and got some privacy and peace and quiet. That didn't last very long as, unbeknownst to me, the drain at the back of the house had collapsed due to its poor construction, and each rainy season was washing away the ground back there and slowly causing subsidence. A property surveyor would have spotted that, if such a beast was readily available in Pattaya, but I couldn't find one and I didn't see it. There then followed a major exercise of digging up the entire pathway and old drain around two sides of the house and laying a new drain. That wasn't cheap or much fun, and my feelings of happiness had largely evaporated. There then followed two years in which I've slowly been repairing the damage caused by the subsidence, mainly cracked floor and wall tiles. On the plus side it's given me a chance to improve some of the things I wasn't happy with and smarten the place up a bit. The only major thing left to do is to redecorate the inside and outside of the house, which needs doing anyway, and get rid of any small cracks in the walls caused by the subsidence. I've left this until last as even after we'd laid the new drain I knew there'd still be some settlement going on for a while, but I'm pretty confident it's all stable now, so I'm starting to feel a bit happier again.

In the meantime land prices in this area of town have shot up. There's just one unsold shell unit left like mine in the village and that's on sale for 6 million Baht. which is more than I paid for my house which was already finished to a reasonable standard (professionally designed garden, uPVC windows, smart European kitchen with Kitzcho units and Smeg appliances, full security installation, etc.). A smaller, two bedroom shell was recently sold for 5 million Baht, a shade less than I paid for my finished house. A couple of houses the same size as mine but which were rebuilt to a better standard (among other things, decent drains!) and with a small swimming pol have been sold for around 12 million Baht each. So if I sold today I should make a healthy profit, but in spite of the problems I've had with the place I like living here as people are friendly, security is good and the location is perfect for my needs (roughly 5 minutes each to Jomtien, Sukhumvit and Walking Street). In the end my Thai partner will probably inherit the house off me, so I won't have made anything, but it's kind of fun to ponder the "what if's". And in the meantime I've saved a stack of money in rent plus I can do the place out as I want. Once the redecoration is finished next year the plan is to save up some money and then cannibalise a large slice of the garden and build an extension on one side to enlarge the kitchen, my office and provide an extra two bedrooms. Unlike replacing drains I enjoy that sort of thing.

"Cannibalise ... the garden" - lol.

My gf made up a garden restaurant, good idea. Now more and more customers come, and soon there will be not enough place for them in the "cannibalized" garden. Good she didn't buy the place yet.

Maybe she can "cannibalize" her neighbour's garden, her neighbour gets bored and is already working in my gf's restaurant sometimes.

Me as a Farang, I can only watch small-scale Thai economy and their power of improvisation. Me as a commie rat, I think sometimes "Is that Thai socialism what I'm seeing?"

[chiang mai]

Hope you guys leaving the house to the wife have a few more funds left over,death awaits us all. Couple of English guys I am aware of, house bought in wife's name one had a stroke or accident clocked up hospital bill of over 2 million plus before dying,no way of paying, the hospital took action against the house,another just about the same vogue but hospital took action with air medivac and took his or wife's assets.

Just do not want to pop my clogs especially in this country with no pain relief to hand either,be taking my funds with me,the authorities can take what Ive got the other end

I believe you will find that most of us don't actually own that house (usufruct), are not legally married and have health insurance coverage.

[Naam]

Cannot answer all questions.

My property had to remain in Europe when I came to Pattaya, Europeans refused to hand it over.

I would invest my money here as far as I am allowed under Thai law, together with my Thai family. Europe actually robbed my property from Thailand.

reading your postings i often wonder whether this stuff you ingest is legal

Wanna bet?

bet that your claims are ridiculous? yes! any time. starting with fairy tales what happened in Germany and ending with the repetitions "my Thai family"

disclaimer: the buyers of my properties in Europe and a fistful of other countries refused a handover too when i moved to Thailand

[huawei]

i find it quite strange that some people consider the roof of their heads an "investment".

Thank you thank you thank you..

[huawei]

Hope you guys leaving the house to the wife have a few more funds left over,death awaits us all. Couple of English guys I am aware of, house bought in wife's name one had a stroke or accident clocked up hospital bill of over 2 million plus before dying,no way of paying, the hospital took action against the house,another just about the same vogue but hospital took action with air medivac and took his or wife's assets.

Just do not want to pop my clogs especially in this country with no pain relief to hand either,be taking my funds with me,the authorities can take what Ive got the other end

How can they make a claim against the house if it's in the wife's name.?

[mrboats]

I guess they can claim because being married it's 50/50 ownership regardless who's name it belongs

Have bought 2 houses from foreign/Thai married couples and even though the house was in the wife's name each time I still needed a letter from the husband to show the land office he relinquished his 50%

[micmichd]

Cannot answer all questions.o

My property had to remain in Europe when I came to Pattaya, Europeans refused to hand it over.

I would invest my money here as far as I am allowed under Thai law, together with my Thai family. Europe actually robbed my property from Thailand.

reading your postings i often wonder whether this stuff you ingest is legal

Wanna bet?

bet that your claims are ridiculous? yes! any time. starting with fairy tales what happened in Germany and ending with the repetitions "my Thai family"

disclaimer: the buyers of my properties in Europe and a fistful of other countries refused a handover too when i moved to Thailand

Hmmh,

the bet was about the stuff I disgest.

My claims "ridiculous"?

Do you mean I lie about facts, or do you mean my conclusions are absurd?

Easy to prove the facts if you understand German, not so easy to accept my legal conclusions - but some lawyers and mediators share them.

Do you know what "non liquet" means, and how such cases can be handled?

Your "disclaimer" probably means you got ripped off, too.

Edited September 28, 2015 by micmichd

[chiang mai]

The unhappy 25% perhaps need to check out the poll and note they are seriously in the minority, oh well, perhaps you'll get it right next time around!