Advices for purchasing condo in Phuket!

[xylophone]

Message to "ozzy86" from someone who has bought, sold and rented here...........

When I first came here almost 10 years ago, I had no idea that forums like this existed, so did not know where to look for advice as regards buying a house, although I did do some research myself and all of the farangs who had bought here, especially in the little Soi in which I was contemplating buying, were very happy with their purchases and were confident that they would make money should they decide to sell.

So I bought a little house (two-storey, two large double bedrooms with two en suites, western style kitchen and third toilet/bathroom/laundry etc etc) and proceeded to improve it because it was showing signs of age and as others have pointed out, maintenance is not a key thing in Thailand, and buildings do not age well. Because it needed improving, I managed to buy it for 4 million baht on a 30 year lease.

I improved it (painting, some plumbing, some new electrics and general repairs) and lived quite happily in it for about four years before I sold it for 5.25 million baht, and I estimate I made about 750,000 baht, not including the fact that I had lived there rent-free for many years.

So looking at this one could think that buying property was a sound thing to do. NOT SO, because I was lucky, managing to buy cheaply (at that time anyway) and sell a good-looking house when the GFC had not fully hit here, for a good price.

Two years after I sold that place I could have bought it back for 3.75 million baht because property prices had plummeted, no one was buying, the GFC had hit many farangs and many apartments and condos had sprung up, ensuring that there was a glut of property.

So now I rent and I can move whenever I want, to wherever I want at a moment's notice, thereby ensuring that the effects of noisy neighbours, building works, bad landlords etc are not a problem for me.

Furthermore just to show you how badly the property market has fared here, just recently I helped a friend of mine sell his 62 m² furnished apartment, in the middle of a golf course for just 1.55 million baht, this because he had it on the market for a couple of years and nobody was interested in it.

Add to that the fact that we have the ACE condominium fiasco in which many people have lost their money and it doesn't look as if they will ever get it back; the 900+ apartment complex on Nanai Road stalled over 18 months ago and it looks as though the same thing has happened to that, and looking around you can see other apartment/condo blocks only partly occupied.

What I'm trying to say is that you have the benefit here of being able to access the experience and wisdom of long-term expats, so take note and listen to it.

Renting is the only way to go.

[KarenBravo]

Buying was definitely the way to go up until 2003-4. Prices were rising fast.

Now, renting is the way to go as demand has collapsed and the supply is always increasing.

The only valid reason now to buy, is to live there yourself for the rest of your life.

[eisfeld]

Every D condo they built in Bangkok went up in price. I am not familiar with phuket, but it should be the same build quality and may even look better than Bangkok condos in 10 years. However, I don't think D condo would allow airbnb rentals.

DCondo is certainly better build quality than some no-name ones but still not fantastic. And the market in BKK is a different world compared to Phuket. There is actually demand and not unlimited supply there.

[mcfish]

Message to "ozzy86" from someone who has bought, sold and rented here...........

When I first came here almost 10 years ago, I had no idea that forums like this existed, so did not know where to look for advice as regards buying a house, although I did do some research myself and all of the farangs who had bought here, especially in the little Soi in which I was contemplating buying, were very happy with their purchases and were confident that they would make money should they decide to sell.

So I bought a little house (two-storey, two large double bedrooms with two en suites, western style kitchen and third toilet/bathroom/laundry etc etc) and proceeded to improve it because it was showing signs of age and as others have pointed out, maintenance is not a key thing in Thailand, and buildings do not age well. Because it needed improving, I managed to buy it for 4 million baht on a 30 year lease.

I improved it (painting, some plumbing, some new electrics and general repairs) and lived quite happily in it for about four years before I sold it for 5.25 million baht, and I estimate I made about 750,000 baht, not including the fact that I had lived there rent-free for many years.

So looking at this one could think that buying property was a sound thing to do. NOT SO, because I was lucky, managing to buy cheaply (at that time anyway) and sell a good-looking house when the GFC had not fully hit here, for a good price.

Two years after I sold that place I could have bought it back for 3.75 million baht because property prices had plummeted, no one was buying, the GFC had hit many farangs and many apartments and condos had sprung up, ensuring that there was a glut of property.

So now I rent and I can move whenever I want, to wherever I want at a moment's notice, thereby ensuring that the effects of noisy neighbours, building works, bad landlords etc are not a problem for me.

Furthermore just to show you how badly the property market has fared here, just recently I helped a friend of mine sell his 62 m² furnished apartment, in the middle of a golf course for just 1.55 million baht, this because he had it on the market for a couple of years and nobody was interested in it.

Add to that the fact that we have the ACE condominium fiasco in which many people have lost their money and it doesn't look as if they will ever get it back; the 900+ apartment complex on Nanai Road stalled over 18 months ago and it looks as though the same thing has happened to that, and looking around you can see other apartment/condo blocks only partly occupied.

What I'm trying to say is that you have the benefit here of being able to access the experience and wisdom of long-term expats, so take note and listen to it.

Renting is the only way to go.

Only a total twit would buy on a golf course. Sky high maintenance and always miles from anywhere, terrible example. And even worse is your example of the GFC has nothing to do with thailand it was untouched but your buddy panicked.

So far your the only winner with a solid buy and sell... And yet you advise to rent.

To be honest it really is just a silly post and you shouldn't be advising anything

[bearpolar]

Buying was definitely the way to go up until 2003-4. Prices were rising fast.

Now, renting is the way to go as demand has collapsed and the supply is always increasing.

The only valid reason now to buy, is to live there yourself for the rest of your life.

i paid 2.4mb for a 4br house with garden space in a non-soidog infested neighborhood near all the most sought out thai places and super close to town. Walking distance to a bunch of market yadyyada

Trying to sell, 2.5weeks later i still have not received a single call back from an agent, only to advertise it.

Barely impossible to sell anything unless you have a villa that somchai in sweden wants to buy, i cant even get a listing anywhere.(big real estate agent lives 10m from me, i still can't even get here lol)

Now renting, prices are ridiculous.. people expect you to pay 30k+ for toilet tiling in the living room and supercheap furniture around the run down house.

Take the 1.4mb to isaan and build your own mini beach.

Edited March 26, 2016 by bearpolar

[xylophone]

Message to "ozzy86" from someone who has bought, sold and rented here...........

When I first came here almost 10 years ago, I had no idea that forums like this existed, so did not know where to look for advice as regards buying a house, although I did do some research myself and all of the farangs who had bought here, especially in the little Soi in which I was contemplating buying, were very happy with their purchases and were confident that they would make money should they decide to sell.

So I bought a little house (two-storey, two large double bedrooms with two en suites, western style kitchen and third toilet/bathroom/laundry etc etc) and proceeded to improve it because it was showing signs of age and as others have pointed out, maintenance is not a key thing in Thailand, and buildings do not age well. Because it needed improving, I managed to buy it for 4 million baht on a 30 year lease.

I improved it (painting, some plumbing, some new electrics and general repairs) and lived quite happily in it for about four years before I sold it for 5.25 million baht, and I estimate I made about 750,000 baht, not including the fact that I had lived there rent-free for many years.

So looking at this one could think that buying property was a sound thing to do. NOT SO, because I was lucky, managing to buy cheaply (at that time anyway) and sell a good-looking house when the GFC had not fully hit here, for a good price.

Two years after I sold that place I could have bought it back for 3.75 million baht because property prices had plummeted, no one was buying, the GFC had hit many farangs and many apartments and condos had sprung up, ensuring that there was a glut of property.

So now I rent and I can move whenever I want, to wherever I want at a moment's notice, thereby ensuring that the effects of noisy neighbours, building works, bad landlords etc are not a problem for me.

Furthermore just to show you how badly the property market has fared here, just recently I helped a friend of mine sell his 62 m² furnished apartment, in the middle of a golf course for just 1.55 million baht, this because he had it on the market for a couple of years and nobody was interested in it.

Add to that the fact that we have the ACE condominium fiasco in which many people have lost their money and it doesn't look as if they will ever get it back; the 900+ apartment complex on Nanai Road stalled over 18 months ago and it looks as though the same thing has happened to that, and looking around you can see other apartment/condo blocks only partly occupied.

What I'm trying to say is that you have the benefit here of being able to access the experience and wisdom of long-term expats, so take note and listen to it.

Renting is the only way to go.

Only a total twit would buy on a golf course. Sky high maintenance and always miles from anywhere, terrible example. And even worse is your example of the GFC has nothing to do with thailand it was untouched but your buddy panicked.

So far your the only winner with a solid buy and sell... And yet you advise to rent.

To be honest it really is just a silly post and you shouldn't be advising anything

Don't hold back – – please speak your mind!

So just to reply to a couple of your points: – the maintenance for this apartment was not sky high and the peace and tranquillity of being surrounded by lush greens and forest, yet being 15 min from a beach, had attracted the buyers in the first instance. As I recall, the body corporate was 1000 baht per month.

As for my example regarding the GFC, by this I mean that the expats/farangs/foreigners who had money to spend and a good exchange rate when they brought their money to Thailand, suddenly found things very different when the GFC hit, and even now the exchange rate from the UK pound to the baht is around 48, whereas it was about 75 then, so that's a big hit. Surely that's not so difficult to understand?

I advise people to rent because I was just plain LUCKY then, and now that I've been here for around 10 years (coming here for 12 years) I have been able to see with my own eyes what happens to buildings here, because they really do not age well.

And of course there is the FACT that more apartments and condos are being built, and being built more cheaply with shoddy workmanship, and this glut does nothing for current property prices, or for those in the future come to that.

So I offer my advice from experience and I stick with it and folks can take it or leave it!!

[ozzy86]

Well I do not want to rent because In the future I want to move to Thailand so I do want to buy a condo, i do not want to make big money out of it but some little income back would be nice!

If Phuket has that bad situation then I would look for other places but definetly I do want to buy something, even a small studio I will be happy with but I'm tired to rent, rented all my life and what i got back? nothing so I will try to find somehting, Thailand is big there must be something nice for me.

About the walls I agree, last condo i rented I could hear the neighoubours!! so I will keep looking around!

[bazza40]

OP Don't let posters here put you off 90% are no where near your savings and destined to rip up dead rent money until the bitter end.

Only one good point in the post above and that's wall thickness. buy a corner unit with no neighbors in the bedroom side. And the other is location. If I were you I would buy second hand but only in top quality building. I don't know about phuket but in Pattaya view talay fits the build. Your better off in a larger well maintained unit of 36+ sqm than a new shoe box for your budget, I repeat for your budget

I must be in the 10%. I could easily afford a condo here. As other posters have said, it's the issues with ownership, management, anti-social neighbours and resale which make renting a much more rational decision.

The condo apartment I live has very thick walls ( originally designed as a hospital ). Although I do know quite a few people have moved out

because of constant renovations. I'd say it's better than average, studios are 47 sqm. My landlord has been trying to sell my apartment for 6 years now.

Disagree rent money is dead. If your capital is getting a better rate of return elsewhere, why invest in something which is only going to give headaches?

[Inquisitorial]

Slightly off topic as not Phuket - agree with other posters - rent get a feel for the area, do your research before you buy. We purchased in BKK and have no regrets.

I was talking to a Thai (small business man) who told me that he has purchased two condos around 1.5m each in a new development and he mentioned that there are some good buys to be had in areas where the BTS extensions are going such as Samutprakarn (he mentioned that he has ocean view from his condos). No he was not trying to sell us one. As the value will go up once the BTS is operational.

BTS - In the southern expansion, the Green Line will be extended from Bearing to Samutprakarn. The northern expansion will include the extension of the line from Mo Chit to Khu Khot, via Saphan Mai.

The Bearing-Samutprakarn section of the MRT Green Line project is in advanced stage of development. Its construction is expected to open for service in 2017 (not sure how reliable the date is).

Maybe worth researching as another option.

[ozzy86]

Message to "ozzy86" from someone who has bought, sold and rented here...........

When I first came here almost 10 years ago, I had no idea that forums like this existed, so did not know where to look for advice as regards buying a house, although I did do some research myself and all of the farangs who had bought here, especially in the little Soi in which I was contemplating buying, were very happy with their purchases and were confident that they would make money should they decide to sell.

So I bought a little house (two-storey, two large double bedrooms with two en suites, western style kitchen and third toilet/bathroom/laundry etc etc) and proceeded to improve it because it was showing signs of age and as others have pointed out, maintenance is not a key thing in Thailand, and buildings do not age well. Because it needed improving, I managed to buy it for 4 million baht on a 30 year lease.

I improved it (painting, some plumbing, some new electrics and general repairs) and lived quite happily in it for about four years before I sold it for 5.25 million baht, and I estimate I made about 750,000 baht, not including the fact that I had lived there rent-free for many years.

So looking at this one could think that buying property was a sound thing to do. NOT SO, because I was lucky, managing to buy cheaply (at that time anyway) and sell a good-looking house when the GFC had not fully hit here, for a good price.

Two years after I sold that place I could have bought it back for 3.75 million baht because property prices had plummeted, no one was buying, the GFC had hit many farangs and many apartments and condos had sprung up, ensuring that there was a glut of property.

So now I rent and I can move whenever I want, to wherever I want at a moment's notice, thereby ensuring that the effects of noisy neighbours, building works, bad landlords etc are not a problem for me.

Furthermore just to show you how badly the property market has fared here, just recently I helped a friend of mine sell his 62 m² furnished apartment, in the middle of a golf course for just 1.55 million baht, this because he had it on the market for a couple of years and nobody was interested in it.

Add to that the fact that we have the ACE condominium fiasco in which many people have lost their money and it doesn't look as if they will ever get it back; the 900+ apartment complex on Nanai Road stalled over 18 months ago and it looks as though the same thing has happened to that, and looking around you can see other apartment/condo blocks only partly occupied.

What I'm trying to say is that you have the benefit here of being able to access the experience and wisdom of long-term expats, so take note and listen to it.

Renting is the only way to go.

Thank you for all your details but I think rent is not the only way to go, Because if i have a time that i have money problem and i can not afford to pay the rent then i get kicked out, and this is not nice!

I saw so many expats in thailand owning condo, why can't i own one? maybe i should be looking somewhere where is not so turistic or as someone edvised me here to go to Isaan, too bad i can't buy a house or a land!

so i need to get a condo....

[Mansell]

I am fascinated by people like you who ask a question on the Forum, but have actually made your mind up already. In the 15 months I have been in Phuket the mantra I hear is rent, and this is what I am doing renting a house on the beach. I had one friend building a large house, and the contractor bailed with most of the money. I have one friend in real estate who told me yesterday nothing is selling and prices are dropping.....that may be to your advantage. Where I rent there is supposedly a large hotel going to be built soon....that is usually around two years of dust, noise, and who knows what after that.....and I will be moving at that point. If I owned here I would be stuck and needing to move somewhere else for that time frame....Why? Because they will work at all hours day or late night with no controls on them disturbing your world. I love Phuket, but it is out of control with construction, and it could be right next to you and blocking that view you paid for.....and if you own there are no options but just "Suck it up."

Many people have told you...come to Phuket and rent for a while and figure out the area you want to live....the places in your price range in Kathu is not an area I would want to live in. Good Luck.

[nsimmons]

I hope you are joking! I "own" four and they are unsaleable due to

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/804067-phuket-court-rules-secured-or-collective-leases-are-void/

Cheers,

NS

[mrfaroukh]

My best advise is not to buy anything immediately. First find the condo you want to buy then rent it for a year. In one year you would know if you have a crazy neighbor, how is the management and many other things. Specially how will you like it to live there rest of your life. Something you find a nice place but later you feel it is boring to live there etc.

[xylophone]

Message to "ozzy86" from someone who has bought, sold and rented here...........

When I first came here almost 10 years ago, I had no idea that forums like this existed, so did not know where to look for advice as regards buying a house, although I did do some research myself and all of the farangs who had bought here, especially in the little Soi in which I was contemplating buying, were very happy with their purchases and were confident that they would make money should they decide to sell.

So I bought a little house (two-storey, two large double bedrooms with two en suites, western style kitchen and third toilet/bathroom/laundry etc etc) and proceeded to improve it because it was showing signs of age and as others have pointed out, maintenance is not a key thing in Thailand, and buildings do not age well. Because it needed improving, I managed to buy it for 4 million baht on a 30 year lease.

I improved it (painting, some plumbing, some new electrics and general repairs) and lived quite happily in it for about four years before I sold it for 5.25 million baht, and I estimate I made about 750,000 baht, not including the fact that I had lived there rent-free for many years.

So looking at this one could think that buying property was a sound thing to do. NOT SO, because I was lucky, managing to buy cheaply (at that time anyway) and sell a good-looking house when the GFC had not fully hit here, for a good price.

Two years after I sold that place I could have bought it back for 3.75 million baht because property prices had plummeted, no one was buying, the GFC had hit many farangs and many apartments and condos had sprung up, ensuring that there was a glut of property.

So now I rent and I can move whenever I want, to wherever I want at a moment's notice, thereby ensuring that the effects of noisy neighbours, building works, bad landlords etc are not a problem for me.

Furthermore just to show you how badly the property market has fared here, just recently I helped a friend of mine sell his 62 m² furnished apartment, in the middle of a golf course for just 1.55 million baht, this because he had it on the market for a couple of years and nobody was interested in it.

Add to that the fact that we have the ACE condominium fiasco in which many people have lost their money and it doesn't look as if they will ever get it back; the 900+ apartment complex on Nanai Road stalled over 18 months ago and it looks as though the same thing has happened to that, and looking around you can see other apartment/condo blocks only partly occupied.

What I'm trying to say is that you have the benefit here of being able to access the experience and wisdom of long-term expats, so take note and listen to it.

Renting is the only way to go.

Thank you for all your details but I think rent is not the only way to go, Because if i have a time that i have money problem and i can not afford to pay the rent then i get kicked out, and this is not nice!

I saw so many expats in thailand owning condo, why can't i own one? maybe i should be looking somewhere where is not so turistic or as someone edvised me here to go to Isaan, too bad i can't buy a house or a land!

so i need to get a condo....

Well it seems like you've already made up your mind to buy, so may I wish you all the luck in the world.

And just a few tips if you are going down this route, and many have been mentioned before: –

– Be aware of where your condo is situated because anyone can build anything within a couple of feet of your window/windows/view and you won't be able to do a thing about it.

– The same goes with noisy neighbours who may want to party until the early hours of the morning and again you won't be able to do a thing about it. Whereas in other countries, my home country and perhaps yours, a complaint to the police would sort it out, here it won't, especially if the neighbours are Thai.

– The same goes with construction in the complex or nearby, and no amount of complaining about the noise will get you anywhere. I know because on a construction site close to me they were working until after midnight most nights and despite the complaints from neighbours, nothing happened because brown envelopes changed hands.

– Internal maintenance of your 28 m² condo (that's about all you will get in Phuket for that money and then only if you are lucky) will be up to you and this can get expensive if the electrics or plumbing go wrong, and they often do.

– If you are worried about not being able to pay the rent in a rental condo, despite having over 1.4 million baht in the bank or possibly invested, then watch out for the body corporate fees that you will be liable for and any maintenance inside your apartment. Not being able to afford to pay the rent if you are looking at living here full-time would seem to suggest not a lot of thought has gone into your long-term planning (respectfully).

– So let's say you have bought this condo and it is not ideal but you put up with it, and then you want someone to share it with you, or move to something bigger, will you be able to sell it? You only need to peruse the posts on this and other similar threads to know that unless you basically give it away, resale can be extremely difficult, so that is possibly money lost.

– The saying, "never invest more money in Thailand than you can afford to walk away from" wasn't made up because this is a great place to invest in, rather the opposite.

– There are some apartments which rent quite well and you may well be lucky with one you buy (if that's what you want to do for a while), but then again you have to consider the occupancy rate, the body corporate fees which you have to pay, plus the maintenance, as well as the advertising costs and so on, and of course if you wish to come over for a holiday you are going to have to find somewhere else to stay because I doubt whether the occupant would want to move out for a few weeks!

There are poorer parts of the country where 1.4 million baht can buy you a nice condo and it would be great if you were able to go up and stay in those places to see if you liked it/them...........however remember they are not for everybody.

As others have said, if you are going to buy, then rent initially, try out other places, sound out the market and also seek out the advice from other farangs in the neighbourhood to get their point of view, and again good luck.

[KarenBravo]

Also, not all condominiums are "condominiums" where 49% are reserved for foreigners and you can have the property in your own name.

You will need to check when you find a place.

[ozzy86]

Message to "ozzy86" from someone who has bought, sold and rented here...........

When I first came here almost 10 years ago, I had no idea that forums like this existed, so did not know where to look for advice as regards buying a house, although I did do some research myself and all of the farangs who had bought here, especially in the little Soi in which I was contemplating buying, were very happy with their purchases and were confident that they would make money should they decide to sell.

So I bought a little house (two-storey, two large double bedrooms with two en suites, western style kitchen and third toilet/bathroom/laundry etc etc) and proceeded to improve it because it was showing signs of age and as others have pointed out, maintenance is not a key thing in Thailand, and buildings do not age well. Because it needed improving, I managed to buy it for 4 million baht on a 30 year lease.

I improved it (painting, some plumbing, some new electrics and general repairs) and lived quite happily in it for about four years before I sold it for 5.25 million baht, and I estimate I made about 750,000 baht, not including the fact that I had lived there rent-free for many years.

So looking at this one could think that buying property was a sound thing to do. NOT SO, because I was lucky, managing to buy cheaply (at that time anyway) and sell a good-looking house when the GFC had not fully hit here, for a good price.

Two years after I sold that place I could have bought it back for 3.75 million baht because property prices had plummeted, no one was buying, the GFC had hit many farangs and many apartments and condos had sprung up, ensuring that there was a glut of property.

So now I rent and I can move whenever I want, to wherever I want at a moment's notice, thereby ensuring that the effects of noisy neighbours, building works, bad landlords etc are not a problem for me.

Furthermore just to show you how badly the property market has fared here, just recently I helped a friend of mine sell his 62 m² furnished apartment, in the middle of a golf course for just 1.55 million baht, this because he had it on the market for a couple of years and nobody was interested in it.

Add to that the fact that we have the ACE condominium fiasco in which many people have lost their money and it doesn't look as if they will ever get it back; the 900+ apartment complex on Nanai Road stalled over 18 months ago and it looks as though the same thing has happened to that, and looking around you can see other apartment/condo blocks only partly occupied.

What I'm trying to say is that you have the benefit here of being able to access the experience and wisdom of long-term expats, so take note and listen to it.

Renting is the only way to go.

Thank you for all your details but I think rent is not the only way to go, Because if i have a time that i have money problem and i can not afford to pay the rent then i get kicked out, and this is not nice!

I saw so many expats in thailand owning condo, why can't i own one? maybe i should be looking somewhere where is not so turistic or as someone edvised me here to go to Isaan, too bad i can't buy a house or a land!

so i need to get a condo....

Well it seems like you've already made up your mind to buy, so may I wish you all the luck in the world.

And just a few tips if you are going down this route, and many have been mentioned before: –

– Be aware of where your condo is situated because anyone can build anything within a couple of feet of your window/windows/view and you won't be able to do a thing about it.

– The same goes with noisy neighbours who may want to party until the early hours of the morning and again you won't be able to do a thing about it. Whereas in other countries, my home country and perhaps yours, a complaint to the police would sort it out, here it won't, especially if the neighbours are Thai.

– The same goes with construction in the complex or nearby, and no amount of complaining about the noise will get you anywhere. I know because on a construction site close to me they were working until after midnight most nights and despite the complaints from neighbours, nothing happened because brown envelopes changed hands.

– Internal maintenance of your 28 m² condo (that's about all you will get in Phuket for that money and then only if you are lucky) will be up to you and this can get expensive if the electrics or plumbing go wrong, and they often do.

– If you are worried about not being able to pay the rent in a rental condo, despite having over 1.4 million baht in the bank or possibly invested, then watch out for the body corporate fees that you will be liable for and any maintenance inside your apartment. Not being able to afford to pay the rent if you are looking at living here full-time would seem to suggest not a lot of thought has gone into your long-term planning (respectfully).

– So let's say you have bought this condo and it is not ideal but you put up with it, and then you want someone to share it with you, or move to something bigger, will you be able to sell it? You only need to peruse the posts on this and other similar threads to know that unless you basically give it away, resale can be extremely difficult, so that is possibly money lost.

– The saying, "never invest more money in Thailand than you can afford to walk away from" wasn't made up because this is a great place to invest in, rather the opposite.

– There are some apartments which rent quite well and you may well be lucky with one you buy (if that's what you want to do for a while), but then again you have to consider the occupancy rate, the body corporate fees which you have to pay, plus the maintenance, as well as the advertising costs and so on, and of course if you wish to come over for a holiday you are going to have to find somewhere else to stay because I doubt whether the occupant would want to move out for a few weeks!

There are poorer parts of the country where 1.4 million baht can buy you a nice condo and it would be great if you were able to go up and stay in those places to see if you liked it/them...........however remember they are not for everybody.

As others have said, if you are going to buy, then rent initially, try out other places, sound out the market and also seek out the advice from other farangs in the neighbourhood to get their point of view, and again good luck.

It's good to hear all this informations that are opening up my mind, 1.4 was my maximum budget but of course If i can spend 1 Milion is better, the money problem was just an example, but as u said to rent a place for one year and then decide its not easy because I live abroad so i just thought to buy it and rent it out for the moment!

there are many place in thailand that i like, Phuket, kho chang , Chang mai...

I think i need to get some holidays go there and try to see if the zone where the condos are is good and stuff.

as i told you I wanted to own a condo since few years, since i steped a foot in Thailand for my first time, and like in europe with 1.400.000 u buy a new car that u can destroy the next day, at least a condo its something that more or less can get me a small income if im lucky!

But well as i heard Phuket is not the right place, even if i love phuket.

I think i will cosider to look in Chang mai, there are no beaches but i think prices are a bit lower then phuket!

[Pinot]

You'll love Chiang Mai.

[KarenBravo]

Yeah you'll...cough...cough....love Chiang....hack....splutter... Mai.

[Poppadom]

Living in dCondo Creek in Kathu. Unit is bought with g/f in addition to her house in Phuket Town _BUT_ only because the price was right. Wouldn't have paid more than the 0.99m promotion price last year and that includes 1 year waiver of management fee, unit insurance and all registration costs. This condo has 806 units, 10% of which is not sold and of course not occupied up to the difference of 90% - a lot less than that. A lot of Thai folks buy it to rent out, I know that the 69 car wash coffee place (terrible coffee though) guy bought 4 and tenting them out for 9,900 per month. Build quality is not quite good and noise wise other than the occasional door slammings, I have no complaints, but that's because the residents are pretty disciplined. From what I've seen mostly working professionals, young couples or students. And of course the occasional Russian and Chinese tourists, airbnb people, but let that be the problem of pool facing units. Our unit is facing the north (mountain side), nice, relatively cool throughout the day and quiet. Parking is a big problem especially after 7pm and you'd see a lot of cars lined up outside the condo.

Having said that, we don't really want another building in the city - had a look at Pruksa, etc, but I don't like the build quality at all. Rather pull up a nice house on her 4 rai in Phang Nga later... My advice is unless you get a really good price (ours could still be sold with an little margin) don't buy a unit, but rather rent - especially if buying would eat up your savings. Stay there and keep your eyes open for deals. You also have to ask yourself is what you want the unit for? If investment/profit taking then with current prices that will be a disappointment. Others have pointed out that there is too much supply and demand is not on par with that. However I have seen multiple units here advertised by the owner and actually sold. Guess also bought at heavy promotion price in the beginning.

We mainly got it to stay here or there and to have a place to put up sis/dad when they visit - not to rent out. Also don't be put off by Kathu. Yes, the shittiest beach is some 15-20 mins ride and the road can be quite dangerous on scooter, but Kathu has a lot to offer. I like the Thai Chinese neighborhood here, all the hidden food places, two golf courses, Bang Wad Dam area, two markets, etc. The condo itself has a big swimming pool (split into ~50m, wading pool, ~30m pieces), gym and they do take care of the surroundings. However at the last condo meetings a couple of issues have been brought up - hope those will be addresses. But I guess in a local timely fashion

[bearpolar]

Once they finish building 10-20 underpass in 10years you'll be able to get to kata beach as fast from phang na as it would take from koh kaew right now

[grumpyoldman]

Without re-posting the whole lot, Poppadom I want to say good post.

Informative as well as recent experience for the OP. Right on

[DrDave]

<snip>

A lot of Thai folks buy it to rent out, I know that the 69 car wash coffee place (terrible coffee though) guy bought 4 and tenting them out for 9,900 per month.

<snip>

A lot of good information in your post!

I think the guy that bought 4 units at 990K and is renting them out at 9,900/mo is very lucky. I don't know what your monthly CAM fees are, but 12% gross ROI is very good for this market. I think most of condo and house owners are lucky to squeeze out a 4-5% net ROI from their "investment".

[huahinjoe]

Living in dCondo Creek in Kathu. Unit is bought with g/f in addition to her house in Phuket Town _BUT_ only because the price was right. Wouldn't have paid more than the 0.99m promotion price last year and that includes 1 year waiver of management fee, unit insurance and all registration costs. This condo has 806 units, 10% of which is not sold and of course not occupied up to the difference of 90% - a lot less than that. A lot of Thai folks buy it to rent out, I know that the 69 car wash coffee place (terrible coffee though) guy bought 4 and tenting them out for 9,900 per month. Build quality is not quite good and noise wise other than the occasional door slammings, I have no complaints, but that's because the residents are pretty disciplined. From what I've seen mostly working professionals, young couples or students. And of course the occasional Russian and Chinese tourists, airbnb people, but let that be the problem of pool facing units. Our unit is facing the north (mountain side), nice, relatively cool throughout the day and quiet. Parking is a big problem especially after 7pm and you'd see a lot of cars lined up outside the condo.

...

Well said, I have a 1bedroom unit also in Plus condo and it has been a very good deal, saved around 12k/month for nearly 4 years which is about 576k nearly half of the condo's price came back indirectly to my pocket (minus the common fee and utilities) from the original 1.2m price which i selling the same price now and happy with it, but i admit its very hard to find customer to buy a 2nd hand condo, the market changed a lot in the last few years and nobody want to buy now really. Lots of units are sold already and many owner rent it out or lives here, the negatives are the walls are very thin so you can hear your neighbours, sometimes the food smell coming through the ceiling too but overall its a great area lots of green and convenient to go anywhere due its central location and if you tend to live long i would recommend to buy, your money come back after 8 year if someone lives in it. The question is you can live in a small area for long time, most of the time these people who live normally not at home but working or living a social life and only stay home for sleep. Other option is to let it out long term and nearly same price you can rent a house or townhouse if you need more space.

[LivinginKata]

I think the guy that bought 4 units at 990K and is renting them out at 9,900/mo is very lucky. I don't know what your monthly CAM fees are, but 12% gross ROI is very good for this market. I think most of condo and house owners are lucky to squeeze out a 4-5% net ROI from their "investment".

A very good analysis of buying and renting. Anyone buying from a developer would be lucky to make over 10% net net. Owners I know here in Kata are lucky to make 5% on their purchase cost. The OP seems to be looking at the short term AirB&B rental market. Even harder to make a regular rental return.

Edited March 27, 2016 by LivinginKata

[Poppadom]

<snip>

A lot of Thai folks buy it to rent out, I know that the 69 car wash coffee place (terrible coffee though) guy bought 4 and tenting them out for 9,900 per month.

<snip>

A lot of good information in your post!

I think the guy that bought 4 units at 990K and is renting them out at 9,900/mo is very lucky. I don't know what your monthly CAM fees are, but 12% gross ROI is very good for this market. I think most of condo and house owners are lucky to squeeze out a 4-5% net ROI from their "investment".

It's not all hunky-dory though. He is still advertising one unit in his cafe and the others aren't 12 month rentals either, but think he does on a min. monthly basis and his tenants are Thai. But even with this occupancy, it should be more than 4-5%.

[SooKee]

I'd definitely check any prospective place out at different times of the day and night, weekdays and weekends. 7am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm, 8pm, 11pm and 2am. Places have VERY different noise profiles at different times of day, especially tourist haunts and most of the problems won't be evident, even to the extent of there being visible signs to set alarm bells ringing until said problem is in full swing.

I've avoided some very big mistakes, even in terms of renting, in respect of what otherwise looked to be great locations, until x hour.

Edited March 29, 2016 by SooKee

[bodunchar]

There was a very wealthy chap who brought a ton of land infront of his property so noone could steal his sea view.

Once build had started on his hi-spec villa, government wanted more and more "fees" else they would bulldose the sight.

Whilst away on business, the builder had erected a dozen or more pillars infront of the property, without instruction. He then proposed to charge the owner to have them taken away, so to this day they remain.

This is the trouble the very wealthy have with property in Phuket. No doubt someone of lesser means will have the troubles scaled down somewhat but the impact is perhaps the same..!

If you want to own anything in Phuket, own a business, this you can do.

Rent on the Thai housing market, its so cheap in comparison. Be prepared to move around a bit.

With ownership you are really tied up by law. With private rentals you can at least bribe/sweet talk/arm twist the landlord.

Edited April 13, 2016 by bodunchar