Selling a house back home to buy one in Thailand etc

[bbabythai]

I’m in a situation now where I have a wife and baby and life is good in Thailand. My wife is a medical professional and has good nature to her. We both care a lot for our child and she has proven herself to me so much. She pays half the rent, utility and grocery bills and has never asked me for money. Her family returned the sinsot dowry cash to me after the wedding many yrs ago.

 

I now face a big decision as to whether I should sell a house back home and contribute money to buying one here and setting up a clinic / business. Ive told her that I could possibly pay 25% deposit towards a house and she could borrow the rest and slowly pay it off just like I had to years ago. She sadi she is ok with that.

 

If I was single I would not be selling the house as I always thought it would fund my retirement. My gut feeling is that I should not sell it as its a future nest egg.

 

The truth is that my cash funds are slowly going down due to the cost of living here and because of my low teaching salary. I have shares on Nasdaq stock exchange which are doing really well but they do not pay dividends- they are high growth stocks. I believe it is a mistake to sell them instead of the house which has taken over 15 yrs to finally give me an average capital gain.

 

Has anyone else been in this situation where they have sold up back home to make a life over here. Im conscious of the fact that the divorce rate is high and worry in 20 yrs that I will have spent all the funds on the business, house, new car, trips overseas. Should I just not worry about this and go for it or should I sell off some of the shares when I need money?

 

We have been renting houses for the last 4 yrs and I’m tired of it. It would be nice to have my baby living in a house for a long time. The wife said that if we set up a clinic that she doesn’t want me to teach anymore. She wants me to be the house hubbie and drive our child to school etc.

 

I appreciate your opinions on all this.

 

cheers

[Daryle]

I think you know how you would like to bring up your child. Cut the safety net as your future is here with your family.

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[bbabythai]

4 minutes ago, Daryle said:

I think you know how you would like to bring up your child. Cut the safety net as your future is here with your family.

Sent from my SM-T530 using Tapatalk
 

Its a fair comment. I forgot to mention above that I have absolutely no intention of ever moving to oz and living there again.

[Daryle]

Its a fair comment. I forgot to mention above that I have absolutely no intention of ever moving to oz and living there again.

That makes two of us then lol.

[allane]

You don't give your age, or say what, if anything, you have in the way of a pension plan, or other savings, other than your house.  May I presume that your house in Oz is worth more than whatever house you would buy in Thailand ? Maybe invest the difference in some safe asset in Oz., and bring whatever income that generates to Thailand.

[CharlieH]

This might sound cold, but never invest or part with any more than you are prepared to walk away from in this country. 

[Kwasaki]

3 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

This might sound cold, but never invest or part with any more than you are prepared to walk away from in this country. 

Or plan ' B 'unless you still have your 800,000 in bank and old enough to have your pension. 

[steven100]

Your life is in Thailand and your responsible for your family and having a house and food.

Help your wife with the clinic as it sounds like she has nothing but the best intentions.

I assume the shares even if you sell will not be enough for a house in Thailand so I think you already know your answer ....   If you are absolutely sure of your situation and it is rock solid then I would sell the house and make a beautiful home here. But that's my opinion.

To be fair, your only putting in 25% of the deposit .....   which is not really taking care of your family ... is it.

[steven100]

hey bbabythai ....   what are you thinking  ?

[i claudius]

At 60 i sold up and moved here with the wife and our son,but then we had already been married 10 years and lived in the UK,we have been here 12 years,my wife has a good job ,her family are ,"comfortably off" i have my pension and much of the cash from the house sale,it was one of the better decisions in my life,only you can decide what is going to be a good decision,you roll the dice ,fate makes the answer

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[Thongkorn]

3 hours ago, CharlieH said:

This might sound cold, but never invest or part with any more than you are prepared to walk away from in this country. 

Agree Totally  dont burn your bridges

[jeab1980]

I sold my house and flat back in UK some years ago. I decided it was Thailand wher I would be living and dieing in. I invested some of the money to upgrade my income in retirement. Built a house and shop and bought some land. Its the wifes buisness and is thriving. As said in another thread we also have a granny house for MIL (paid for by her). Others will say bad decision I dont care I love life here I love my wife and child. My money my life my choice my decision. No one elses.

[sirineou]

Totally burn your bridges?

Wow!

leave no path for retreat .

Certainly a successful, strategy through out history.

We all know the political situation in Thailand will never change, and our rights here are guarantied. We will always love living here and never get home sick, and of course we will never get old  and or sick.

Bridges? who needs bridges, so expensive to maintain. and so easy to re-build when you need them.

[jeab1980]

1 hour ago, sirineou said:

Totally burn your bridges?

Wow!

leave no path for retreat .

Certainly a successful, strategy through out history.

We all know the political situation in Thailand will never change, and our rights here are guarantied. We will always love living here and never get home sick, and of course we will never get old  and or sick.

Bridges? who needs bridges, so expensive to maintain. and so easy to re-build when you need them.

Great example of the other side to my post its all about how individuals feel not the collective. Why would i want to retreat back to a country i no longer have any affiliation with neither do i or will I ever feel home sick for the place.

I can never see the day when either todays governing body or an ellected Goverment in Thailand would throw all Expats out thats just a non starter.

Yes im going to get older but i would regardless of where i lived. Who knows about illness yes maybe or no if i do i will go to the doctors or hospital here in my home city and get it sorted.

I respect others views and my way is not one size fits all but it fits me.

Edited May 14, 2017 by jeab1980

[sirineou]

12 minutes ago, jeab1980 said:

I respect others views and my way is not one size fits all

A very reasonable attitude, To: " but it fits me"  I would add, at this time.

I dont know how old you are, but I know that things that were important to me when I was young, no longer are, and things that were not,  now are.

I Don't think they will throw as out (though it has happened in other countries in the past)but they could make things more difficult to stay here, either collectively, or individually to you.

You and only you know your self ,and you sound like an intelligent person so I am not telling you what to do, I am only telling you my opinion for you to consider.

In my opinion if you need to "burn your bridges" to come here,  , you are not ready.

I could sell my house in the US and that combined with my pension  that I am vested in an can start collecting right now, retire full time in Thailand and live very comfortable. But... every year I work increases my pension by $300 usd a month, and I would be afford to take a reduced amount so that my wife can get it for life.

I could sell my house and come up with a considerable amount of money, but after I am gone, my wife and daughter will have nothing in the US.

Again I am not telling you what to do, I dont know you and your situation, and to do so would be wrong,   

I am just throwing some things up, for you to consider or reject.

Which ever way you go. I wish you the best of luck.

 

[swissie]

Burning bridges yes/no? Here is a short checklist:

- I am sure, that the (relatively) liberal Visa-Rules will remain liberal during my lifetime.
- I am sure, the "Clinic Project" will fly (according to my detailed business plan).
- I am sure, we can deal with unforseen events (health problems, accidents, etc). If necessary with the help of the Thai-Family.
- I am sure, that my marriage will be as "intact" 20 years from now, as it is today.
- I am sure, that my house in my home country, will not gain in value in the future. A good time to sell.

If you can answer ALL of the above with "yes", you can start burning your bridges tomorrow.

Easy to say: "I will never ever want to live in my home country again". Under certain circumstances, it's no more a question of "not ever wanting to return to your home country, but having to return to your home country.
If that should come to pass, I would rather take domicile in my house, instead of sleeping under a bridge.
Cheers.

[jeab1980]

I have nothing now in my country of birth everything is here with me in Thailand. My pensions are in Gibralter to take advantage of tbe low 2%tax. If and when i pop my glogs my wife will get the full amount left in my pension pot tax free not the small annual spouse pension she would have got if i left it in the UK. She has the house and business here and the land. We have been to the UK once in the 20 yrs we have been together and married ,i hate tbe place thats obvious. I asked if she wanted to settle there the answer was "i will settle wherever you settle". In two years the lad will join the thai police, which although i am not overwhelmed with his choice it will give myself and wife benifits on health care. We can all be cautious and say what if. But im a positive type person and firmly belive once a decision is made then you stick with it.  I will die here at some point knowing I have done the right thing. Leaving my family in a great position to live comfortably. There is no circumstances that would ever make me move back to the UK. If the authorities here did throw us out we would mearly move to Cambodia or Vietnam. In the intrim however as stated i belive that will never happen.

Edited May 14, 2017 by jeab1980

[Apiwan2]

I’m in a situation now where I have a wife and baby and life is good in Thailand. My wife is a medical professional and has good nature to her. We both care a lot for our child and she has proven herself to me so much. She pays half the rent, utility and grocery bills and has never asked me for money. Her family returned the sinsot dowry cash to me after the wedding many yrs ago.


 
I now face a big decision as to whether I should sell a house back home and contribute money to buying one here and setting up a clinic / business. Ive told her that I could possibly pay 25% deposit towards a house and she could borrow the rest and slowly pay it off just like I had to years ago. She sadi she is ok with that.


 
If I was single I would not be selling the house as I always thought it would fund my retirement. My gut feeling is that I should not sell it as its a future nest egg.


 
The truth is that my cash funds are slowly going down due to the cost of living here and because of my low teaching salary. I have shares on Nasdaq stock exchange which are doing really well but they do not pay dividends- they are high growth stocks. I believe it is a mistake to sell them instead of the house which has taken over 15 yrs to finally give me an average capital gain.


 
Has anyone else been in this situation where they have sold up back home to make a life over here. Im conscious of the fact that the divorce rate is high and worry in 20 yrs that I will have spent all the funds on the business, house, new car, trips overseas. Should I just not worry about this and go for it or should I sell off some of the shares when I need money?


 
We have been renting houses for the last 4 yrs and I’m tired of it. It would be nice to have my baby living in a house for a long time. The wife said that if we set up a clinic that she doesn’t want me to teach anymore. She wants me to be the house hubbie and drive our child to school etc.


 
I appreciate your opinions on all this.


 
cheers

don't do it.. you will regret it

[DILLIGAD]

don't do it.. you will regret it

Have you seriously investigated selling a house in the U.K. Right now? Generally, it's not good.

I think that might clarify your way forward.

 

 

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[jeab1980]

7 hours ago, DILLIGAD said:

Have you seriously investigated selling a house in the U.K. Right now? Generally, it's not good.

I think that might clarify your way forward.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Depends where your house is of course

 

[Pinot]

Buying property in Thailand is usually a bad financial decision. 

[jeab1980]

10 minutes ago, Pinot said:

Buying property in Thailand is usually a bad financial decision. 

How so. Please explain.

[williamgeorgeallen]

19 hours ago, CharlieH said:

This might sound cold, but never invest or part with any more than you are prepared to walk away from in this country. 

good advice. i sold up everything in australia and bought a couple houses in pattaya. it was a mistake as it took years to sell them when i wanted to move to new zealand. i should have just rented in thailand, there is a good chance you will get sick of thailand and see a brighter future for your kid(s) in your home country.  i wish someone had given me this advice when i moved to thailand.

[jeab1980]

2 minutes ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

good advice. i sold up everything in australia and bought a couple houses in pattaya. it was a mistake as it took years to sell them when i wanted to move to new zealand. i should have just rented in thailand, there is a good chance you will get sick of thailand and see a brighter future for your kid(s) in your home country.  i wish someone had given me this advice when i moved to thailand.

But this thread is not about moving away from Thailand its about settling here permanently.  As the OP mentioned. Just because you became bored does not mean everyone else will. 

Edited May 15, 2017 by jeab1980

[steven100]

1 minute ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

good advice. i sold up everything in australia and bought a couple houses in pattaya. it was a mistake as it took years to sell them when i wanted to move to new zealand. i should have just rented in thailand, there is a good chance you will get sick of thailand and see a brighter future for your kid(s) in your home country.  i wish someone had given me this advice when i moved to thailand.

and there is a good chance he will be happy in Thailand and never live in Auss again as he stated.  Not all situations end up like yours ... some do some don't.

he is in a predicament, as his heart is to build his family and a house ... but he needs funds to do this and his funds are a house in Auss so it's really either one or the other ...   keep hios house in auss and no family support in Thailand or sell up and support and house his family   ... 

[uffe123]

I would not buy anything in Thailand, nor invest any money. Never know when the military will seize your property or immigration will  void your visa. They don't answer to anyone for their actions, and never forget you are only a guest, and they wont let you forget this.

If  I would have known, what I know now 18 years ago, I probably would not be here. Big mistake, now have family and too much invested

[irwinfc]

the first step in planning any mission is to figure a way out. and i don't mean bailing out on your family or anything close. you seem to be blessed with a good spouse. the thing is, you now have an advantage over so many foreigners here who have put all their eggs in a thai basket. they won't have anything else back home in case things go sour here. looking into thailand's recent 20 years is enough to worry a lot of people. the way children are being raised, the educational system, economy, etc. change is constant along with it, uncertainty. nothing new with what i'm saying. bottomline, you might want keep your options open because those options also extend to your family.

Edited May 15, 2017 by irwinfc

[12DrinkMore]

 

Join up the dots.

 

20 hours ago, bbabythai said:

The truth is that my cash funds are slowly going down due to the cost of living here and because of my low teaching salary.

 

 

20 hours ago, bbabythai said:

The wife said that if we set up a clinic that she doesn’t want me to teach anymore. She wants me to be the house hubbie and drive our child to school etc.

 

 

If you go down this route you will be totally dependent on your wife for every Baht that you spend. Not many men could handle that unless she is totally generous and you get a decent monthly allowance from her salary, no questions. And even then,  there will be low points and issues coming up over the next few years. Resentment can build up and suddenly no money to get a beer or have a weekend away from home.

 

Not for me, that's for sure.

 

Here's my advice, worth every penny.

 

1. Keep the house.

 

2. Sell the shares as a deposit.

 

3. Keep the job.

 

4. Look for an opportunity to start a business.

 

[weegee]

Simple answer...NO !!!!

[Peterw42]

OP, i presume you are retired. Retirement is managing your capital/investments and your ongoing income. Ideally you would keep your capital intact, get a return on capital (income) and possibly grow your capital. Ideally you will have an income that keeps pace with inflation.

 

A pen and paper and work out the best way of achieving that, forget geographical borders, emotional purchases.

 

Its all personal circumstances but for me a house in Australia keeps your capital intact, the capital will grow, and you have an income linked to inflation. 

 

The shares you mention are high risk, high gain shares with no ongoing return on investment, ie: a short term capital growth investment. Realize a profit and move that capital to a new investment. Does an investment in a business for your wife keep your capital intact, does it give a return on capital, a return that stays ahead of inflation ?