Real Estate In Phucket

[quiggs]

I am considering buting a couple of small proerties to rent out in Phucket, I have seen some good prices, just curious if anyone has any experience with owning rental property in Phucket. seems a good guaranteed income. These will be in my GF...soon to be wife's name. Any suggestions welcome.

[thaimee]

The biggest mistake that can be made in Thailand is being Optimistic.

but from there we Start..................Thaimee.

[fatter than harry]

These will be in my GF...soon to be wife's name. Any suggestions welcome.

Are you kidding? Go see a lawyer before you do anything, he can at least set up the deal so that you'll be able to walk away with more than your tail between your legs in two years time.

Or pick a random person off the street and give them the money you intend to invest.

[the gentleman]

As I am in real estate in Phuket, I will be biased in saying yes it is a great investment here, but as fatter than has says, lawyer,lawyer lawyer!

I would also suggest you buy land and then build some rentals, a lot cheaper and you get what you want... Unless of course you get a "super" deal on something.

I do not try to gain work from this forum, but would be interested to know what you regard as a good price and the location of the properties you have looked at - maybe I can give you some free advice?

house size ?(bedrooms? etc), area?, land size? and how old the property is?

[Sunbelt Asia]

Why are you putting these properties in your Gf's name? You can own buildings... either be a condo, townhouse, office building, shophouse in your name. The land cannot be in your name if you're a foreigner but you could "own” any land via a 30 year lease or own the land with a Thai company that you're a 39% shareholder with. If you insisted on putting it in your GF's name. at least have some legal protection and control as a minor shareholder with using different class of shares for voting rights and you being the Managing Director.

www.sunbeltasia.com

[the gentleman]

Why are you putting these properties in your Gf's name? You can own buildings... either be a condo, townhouse, office building, shophouse in your name. The land cannot be in your name if you're a foreigner but you could "own” any land via a 30 year lease or own the land with a Thai company that you're a 39% shareholder with. If you insisted on putting it in your GF's name. at least have some legal protection and control as a minor shareholder with using different class of shares for voting rights and you being the Managing Director.

www.sunbeltasia.com

get in there sunbelt

[Patong Bob]

Also consider that Land Titles in Phuket are as dodgy as the get-rich-quick schemes everyone on the island seems to have. www.phuketgazette.net is the local newspaper.....have a look at some of the stories about land scandals.

[guy_l0ndon]

As a lawyer from London I would not put anything in anyones name apart from yours. A formed company in the intended country with you as a shareholder would protect your interests. If something goes wrong in your relationship you will not be protected unless you take prior steps to clarify your position.

See a lawyer immediately.

guy

[quiggs]

I appreciate all of the advice. I never intended to do anything without a lawyer. I will be married in the states to this girl as well. There is a good chance I will start my own company, just feeling things out.....hate for the entire process to be steered from my signifigant other...I trust her, but, just wanted to hear other opinions, so I can engage in some Dialogue without being totally ignorant.

"Gentlemen" I would be curious to hear some of your expriences...just seems like a good source of steady income.

[Jimbo]

I have been in Phuket for a while and have seen various situations that might interest you:

* First of all I have met many farangs who were convinced 100% that their wife / gf was the real deal and that their wifes loved them. Many of those are now broke back home because they did not protect themselves.

* Some Belgians redid soi easy and the dragon disco there and rented it from the former mayor of Patong. They pumped 15 million bath in and when it was finished, the guy kicked them out die to a loophole in the contract which the Belgium's laywyer did not see (perhaps on purpose)

* Dutch guy bought land at freedom beach and wanted to build a house there. The land title ended up being wrong and it was government land so he ended up with nothing.

* An american guy bought land which had a plantation of some kind. He was assured with phony document that he could build a housing estate. he purchased the land and found out later that the zoning regulation only allowed him to grow trees and fruit.

On the other side, I have a friend who bought land in Thalang some time ago and just sold it for a very healthy profit

[quiggs]

I can see it is a minefield, and you must be careful.

[taxexile]

if you trust your wife 100% then stay invisible, use one lawyer for the company formation and another for the purchase, although if your wife is thai then you shouldnt need a lawyer for the land purchase.

the selling of land in every country is always associated with huge profit taking for everyone involved in the deal, and its the buyer who pays for this.

as a foriegner in thailand you are bound to be paying a lot more than a thai. let your good wife take care of business,all you need to do is stay hidden and sign the cheques.

land purchase in thailand,and especially in hot areas like phuket,are filled with traps and scams to trap the unwary,take your time,dont be rushed,there are lots of properties and lots of land plots available.

falang agents can be just as tricky to deal with as the locals.and may be as much in the dark about what they are selling as you are about what you are buying. make sure your western land agent (if you use one)can speak thai and knows his/her way around a title deed and has good contacts at the land department. too many of these agents just want the money for doing sod all work. make them earn their money or find another one.there is no shortage of agents.

trust no one.

and check the title deeds at the land department very carefully against the master plans they keep there (or preferably ask your wife to do it.)

somewhere deep in the jungles of central phuket is a graveyard filled with the dashed hopes and empty bank accounts of cheated and poorly advised foriegners.

there is money to be made on rentals if you get the right areas and money to be made from selling on. but do your homework very thoroughly.

[quiggs]

Just to clarify, I realize alot of guys have been burned by Thai girls, and maybe vice versa....and that can always happen. Actually though, I do trust her, if she is scamming me, she is not doing so well, I owe her money at the moment. Rare even for the girls in the states. More concerned about learning the ins, and outs, of business in Phucket.

[fatter than harry]

http://www.phuketinvestment.org/

[taxexile]

More concerned about learning the ins, and outs, of business in Phucket.

then take your time.

[fatter than harry]

Sorry for being pedantic, the 'C' is around Phuket, not in it.

[fatter than harry]

.......ok, there is a Big C in it

so you could use the term 'PhuCket'

Carry on!

[thaimee]

some thai ladies can be trusted. i too quiggs have entrusted my girlfriend with monies in say stock investments. she could have run off by now! so there are exceptions as we know my friend, correct?

my thai investor collegaue is not pedantic and he says poooket.

Thaimee.

[Goat Roper]

I have been in Phuket for a while and have seen various situations that might interest you:

* First of all I have met many farangs who were convinced 100% that their wife / gf was the real deal and that their wifes loved them. Many of those are now broke back home because they did not protect themselves.

* Some Belgians redid soi easy and the dragon disco there and rented it from the former mayor of Patong. They pumped 15 million bath in and when it was finished, the guy kicked them out die to a loophole in the contract which the Belgium's laywyer did not see (perhaps on purpose)

* Dutch guy bought land at freedom beach and wanted to build a house there. The land title ended up being wrong and it was government land so he ended up with nothing.

* An american guy bought land which had a plantation of some kind. He was assured with phony document that he could build a housing estate. he purchased the land and found out later that the zoning regulation only allowed him to grow trees and fruit.

On the other side, I have a friend who bought land in Thalang some time ago and just sold it for a very healthy profit

Dang, this is scary stuff, I have a Dutch friend (with Dutch wife) that is building a mansion in Phuket, don't have any details about the land but I guess he does.

[the gentleman]

I have been in Phuket for a while and have seen various situations that might interest you:

* First of all I have met many farangs who were convinced 100% that their wife / gf was the real deal and that their wifes loved them. Many of those are now broke back home because they did not protect themselves.

* Some Belgians redid soi easy and the dragon disco there and rented it from the former mayor of Patong. They pumped 15 million bath in and when it was finished, the guy kicked them out die to a loophole in the contract which the Belgium's laywyer did not see (perhaps on purpose)

* Dutch guy bought land at freedom beach and wanted to build a house there. The land title ended up being wrong and it was government land so he ended up with nothing.

* An american guy bought land which had a plantation of some kind. He was assured with phony document that he could build a housing estate. he purchased the land and found out later that the zoning regulation only allowed him to grow trees and fruit.

On the other side, I have a friend who bought land in Thalang some time ago and just sold it for a very healthy profit

I would like to point out a few things in your post.

Soi Easy was being sold by Easy Trade, hence the name of the soi, Yvonne (easy trade) and the mayor of Patong at the time Poo Yai Pian were the ideas and capital for it.

This Soi was a white elephant from the beginning and sales were hard to come buy - only an idiot would of pumped 15,000,000 baht into a deal like that!

The Dutch guy who bought land at Freedom Beach was very badly advised, for one Freedom Beach is only accessed through The Safari Pub, which is owned by a good friend of mine, he never allowed that beach to be accessed from there. The land titles on this area were always Tor Bor 6, Sor Kor 1 and crown land (sor por gor). The beach is the nudist beach for Phuket and really is only accesable by boat.

Everything you have stated is sad on an investment point of view, but also a bad judgement call on the buyers. It is so easy (pardon the pun), to have due dilligiance done on land titles and that is why you do everything via a reputable lawyer - as you would in every other country!

These guys left there brains at the departure point!

[the gentleman]

I appreciate all of the advice. I never intended to do anything without a lawyer. I will be married in the states to this girl as well. There is a good chance I will start my own company, just feeling things out.....hate for the entire process to be steered from my signifigant other...I trust her, but, just wanted to hear other opinions, so I can engage in some Dialogue without being totally ignorant.

"Gentlemen" I would be curious to hear some of your expriences...just seems like a good source of steady income.

mate, my experiences are mixed, but all up, very positive, just be carefull and be thorough - it is a developing country (the wild west), but by paying a good lawyer, is better than heart ache. I have quite a few properties here and I am as happy as a pig in sh+t.

The high end rental market (250,000 Baht a month), is in great demand as is 10,000 baht a month - what areas were you thinking?

[taxexile]

but by paying a good lawyer

and finding a good lawyer is the hardest part of it all.!

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Just to clarify, I realize alot of guys have been burned by Thai girls, and maybe vice versa....and that can always happen. Actually though, I do trust her, if she is scamming me, she is not doing so well, I owe her money at the moment. Rare even for the girls in the states. More concerned about learning the ins, and outs, of business in Phucket.

While looking at the deals in detail it might pay to learn that the place is called..... .........P H U K E T

[guy_l0ndon]

Perhaps she can finance the whole thing.

If she is so trusting etc will understaand that as a businessman you need to keep things in your name or at the very least joint names.

[quiggs]

Sorry for the mispelling It does have a "wild west" feel to it to some degree. I just have a funny feeling there is money to be made. All you have to do is drive around to see that.

[12call]

Any bargain properties in BKK ??? Condo's etc etc

[Dutchy]

Any bargain properties in BKK ??? Condo's etc etc

There are some bargains in bangkok, condos around the srinakarin region are not that expensive.

BTW, be aware of brokers who advertise with "integrity and confidentiality", they're in fact so confidential that they won't even reply you if you ask information about more than three properties.

Dutchy

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Sorry for the mispelling It does have a "wild west" feel to it to some degree. I just have a funny feeling there is money to be made. All you have to do is drive around to see that.

You can always spell it with an F instead of a PH.

[BobAnderson]

Aside from all the legal stuff . . .

There was a good discussion about owning and investing in property in Thailand on Ajarn.com perhaps a year ago - lots to consider - here's comment a friend of mine made at that time. To it, I would add that I think that some of the property has become insanely overpriced recently. But, that can be quite relative and in two years current prices could be seen as cheap - or as a bubble.

Here goes:

There is another consideration to make when considering whether to buy property in Thailand. That is the relative return on investment that you will receive compared to putting your money somewhere else.

As I’ve lived in Thailand (mostly Phuket) for a couple years and now travel back and forth to/from SK for financial reasons (as it sounds like you do), I have had the same thoughts you have had about owning a home there. Owning the home I live in is just in my blood. It is an instinct – since most of my life I have owned my own residence.

However, the more I looked at it, the less it made sense financially.

On Phuket the type and style of house I would like to eventually retire into costs about B4-6 million – but let’s use B4 mil as that is close to US$100,000 (actually about 96.6k today). I don’t know where you come from but where I come from most rental properties rent (montlhy) for about 1/100th of their sale value. So, a house in Phuket that sells for B4 mil should rent for about B40,000 per month. But, here’s the real decision maker, they don’t. They rent for about half of that – or slightly more.

So, generally speaking, your money is better invested back home (wherever that is) – and the rental proceeds will get you more house for your money. And, you avoid political risk (they decide to chase all the farangs out of Thailand – or decide that farang titles are null and void – or war or ) as well as fraud (quite common – look at some of the recent title problems on Phuket) and other issues. Also, when they decide to put the motorcycle shop next to your house – you can just up and move.

Even the mooban neighborhoods will not protect you from the lack of zoning laws in Thailand. Look around the moodbans – how many people have turned their carports into businesses of one sort or another – many!

Anyway, this is the analysis that I used in making the decision. I already own several properties at home and the return on investment exceeds the value I would get on Phuket – significantly. And it frees me from political and other risks.

Just FYI, the house I currently rent (my wife works and lives on Phuket) is almost new, beautiful, an eight-minute walk from Bang Tao Beach, and in a great neighborhood. I pay B15,000 a month for rent (totally furnished with high-quality furnishings - including TV and cable) – but what it would cost me to buy the house would NET me about B25,000+ back home. That would be a great upgrade!

Don’t forget to factor in your real ‘net” after property taxes, management and vacancy repairs etc (for me my real net is probably about 65-68% of the projected gross) – but you might find that your investment back home would still significantly out perform buying a home in Thailand. And don’t forget you’ll still have to pay all the repairs and maintenance where you live – if you own. And, you’ll be SOL when the Karoke joint opens up next door – as they so often do. It’s okay if you don’t mind going to sleep after 2am! If that happens and you rent –no problem – pack and move to an even better home.

Just my opinion!

[quiggs]

This is very helpful, I had already arrived at this conclusion...or was getting close.

Thanks!

Brad