First time house buyer in Thailand

[Alphim]

Good day all,

I am intending to buy a house in Thailand for the first time. Can anybody please advise what costs I am likely to incur?

The house I am looking at is priced at 4.5 million Baht.

Any advice, hints etc would be appreciated.

Thank you. 

[juehoe]

Is your budget for the house alone or for house and land?

 

Do you plan to build yourself or buying a already finished house?

 

What is the size of land and house?

 

[Alphim]

3 hours ago, juehoe said:

Is your budget for the house alone or for house and land?

 

Do you plan to build yourself or buying a already finished house?

 

What is the size of land and house?

 

Hi Juehoe,

 

No budget involved. The house, ready built, is priced at 4.5 million baht. I would like to know what legal costs, transfer, stamp duty etc I am likely to meet with.

[juehoe]

The transfer costs for the house at the Land Office are maximal 6.8% of the estimated price. The cost for the lawyer depends on the location.

[Pilotman]

We bought our new house 2 years ago,  although we are only now moving in.  We used a good lawyer and had a survey and a land search done.  If I recall correctly,  that part came to 25k.  One word of caution.  We have spent 2 million additional on making the house not only habitable,  but how we want it.  That includes an outside veranda,  full air conditioning,  TV and internet,  pool,  water filtering system,  out side covered kitchen area.  So our original 4,2 million is now 6.2 m.  I had forgotten how much a new house needs to set up.  Just curtains and light fittings came to 40k.  On the good side,  we will have a beautiful tropic styled house at a fraction of the cost a UK estate house would cost 

[Alphim]

15 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

We bought our new house 2 years ago,  although we are only now moving in.  We used a good lawyer and had a survey and a land search done.  If I recall correctly,  that part came to 25k.  One word of caution.  We have spent 2 million additional on making the house not only habitable,  but how we want it.  That includes an outside veranda,  full air conditioning,  TV and internet,  pool,  water filtering system,  out side covered kitchen area.  So our original 4,2 million is now 6.2 m.  I had forgotten how much a new house needs to set up.  Just curtains and light fittings came to 40k.  On the good side,  we will have a beautiful tropic styled house at a fraction of the cost a UK estate house would cost 

Thanks Pilotman,

The house as it stands is just what we want/need. We have a bigger house in Chaiyaphum that we built a few years back, this one for a business point of view. 

I was actually looking to see the legal/government fees. I heard that there are fees for transfer, stamp, a business tax totalling about 7%, can you remember any such fees? Again, any advice is appreciated.

[Alphim]

On 7/15/2017 at 7:24 PM, juehoe said:

The transfer costs for the house at the Land Office are maximal 6.8% of the estimated price. The cost for the lawyer depends on the location.

Thanks Jouhoe,

I heard that approximate figure also. I also heard that transfer costs are split between the seller and buyer, have you any such knowledge?

[biplanebluey]

 I thought the first thing someone would have said is--------- A Farang cannot buy a house in Thailand !!!!!

         Or can he now???

[Roger Harris]

Don't buy anything here. Invest your money not here, just rent, its safer

[williamgeorgeallen]

40 minutes ago, Roger Harris said:

Don't buy anything here. Invest your money not here, just rent, its safer

yea, i <deleted> up and bought a couple houses in thailand. wish someone had given me this advice. buy a small condo if you really have too but dont buy a house. even then live in the condo project for a year before you buy. you will regret buying  down the road when it takes years to sell. seriously it is not worth the risk. i would never rent in my own country  as i can afford my own home but i would never buy in thailand again. please do some more research before considering buying.

[spetersen]

On 7/15/2017 at 7:24 PM, Alphim said:

Hi Juehoe,

 

No budget involved. The house, ready built, is priced at 4.5 million baht. I would like to know what legal costs, transfer, stamp duty etc I am likely to meet with.

I was buying a house in 2015 ,  4,9 mil, 3 bed and  3 bath and a private pool 2 years ago , land 104 sqw, and the transfer fee, everything included was 205.000 thb in Chonburi province, so I guess you will end up with something similar. Best regards and good luck.

[Alphim]

Thanks speterson, that seems to fit the figures I have in mind.

[Alphim]

Perhaps I should have said we?

[Mysterion]

4 hours ago, Roger Harris said:

Don't buy anything here. Invest your money not here, just rent, its safer

If you patiently hunt around and do your research, you can actually find and buy houses or condos in good locations that offer very attractive yields and/or future capital gain, and have carrying costs that are significantly cheaper than burning money on rent.

 

Anyone planning to live in a specific location for longer than a year may well be advised to consider buying if they find a good deal, rather than burning a years+ worth of rent money.

 

Almost all the good deals are found in the completed resale market.

Edited July 17, 2017 by Mysterion

[juehoe]

Thanks Jouhoe,
I heard that approximate figure also. I also heard that transfer costs are split between the seller and buyer, have you any such knowledge?

It is a common practice , but the law.

[XBroker]

This is all predicated on having it in the wife's name, is that correct? They haven't changed that law, have they?

[fordguy61mi]

1 hour ago, XBroker said:

This is all predicated on having it in the wife's name, is that correct? They haven't changed that law, have they?

Funny how you have so many posts on here about guys getting scammed by their wives by buying a house in their name and then you have all of these here type of posts. How do you reconcile the two?  Crazy.

[gk10002000]

16 hours ago, Pilotman said:

We bought our new house 2 years ago,  although we are only now moving in.  We used a good lawyer and had a survey and a land search done.  If I recall correctly,  that part came to 25k.  One word of caution.  We have spent 2 million additional on making the house not only habitable,  but how we want it.  That includes an outside veranda,  full air conditioning,  TV and internet,  pool,  water filtering system,  out side covered kitchen area.  So our original 4,2 million is now 6.2 m.  I had forgotten how much a new house needs to set up.  Just curtains and light fittings came to 40k.  On the good side,  we will have a beautiful tropic styled house at a fraction of the cost a UK estate house would cost 

6 million baht is 175K USD.  One can get a decent little place in some areas of Florida for close to that.  As for living, quality of life, etc.  obviously up to the buyer.

[esprit]

16 hours ago, Pilotman said:

We bought our new house 2 years ago,  although we are only now moving in.  We used a good lawyer and had a survey and a land search done.  If I recall correctly,  that part came to 25k.  One word of caution.  We have spent 2 million additional on making the house not only habitable,  but how we want it.  That includes an outside veranda,  full air conditioning,  TV and internet,  pool,  water filtering system,  out side covered kitchen area.  So our original 4,2 million is now 6.2 m.  I had forgotten how much a new house needs to set up.  Just curtains and light fittings came to 40k.  On the good side,  we will have a beautiful tropic styled house at a fraction of the cost a UK estate house would cost 

I trust you also ripped out the Thai electrical installation and had a new installation to European standards for your own safety ?

[Alphim]

19 hours ago, juehoe said:

 

It is a common practice , but the law.

 

Is it the law or just common practice?

[juehoe]

Common practise and not the law (sorry for my typo...).

[juehoe]

 I thought the first thing someone would have said is--------- A Farang cannot buy a house in Thailand !!!!!
         Or can he now???

You can buy a house, but not the land.

[tonray]

15 hours ago, gk10002000 said:

6 million baht is 175K USD.  One can get a decent little place in some areas of Florida for close to that.  As for living, quality of life, etc.  obviously up to the buyer.

Yes..and Spanish is far easier to learn than Thai.