Property market........Condo's.

[Owen` 2]

I have come to realize that this whole matter is largely a UK thing. A lifetime of observations of how house ownership was the path to riches have become deeply embedded in the British presumptions of what is normal and typical.

 

Just be warned. It does not have to be normal and typical. The incentive to try to find a way around the Thailand rules is all about your lifetime of observations and the presumptions developed. They may not be correct in Thailand, and they may not be correct in the UK of the future. Or anywhere else. There is no physical law of the universe that says owning a house will make you rich.

 

Quick peripheral question. Are the "houses" pseudo owned by farangs in Jomtien or Pattaya in locales with gated community sort of security? Condo complexes have security arrangements, but what of houses?

Edited December 7, 2007 by Owen`

[Gary 4,119]

You are setting up a company. Your lawyer finds Thai stockholders. He issues stock to them and they sign the stock back to the farang. They have NOT invested anything and in fact sometimes get paid for signing back the shares. The government has already threatened to investigate these stockholders to see if they do indeed have an investment in the company. They do NOT. Why would they? Anyways you slice or dice it, this company was set up for the purpose of a farang to own property. The shareholders never had an investment, never had a vote, never received profits and have already signed their shares off. Plain and simple manipulation of the law. The Thai government was OBVIOUSLY aware of this practice and did nothing. WHY? A new government may permit farang company owners to sell the property because although it was manipulation, it was accepted. If the new government is VERY nationalistic the property could be confiscated. The statement that Thailand is for Thai people means what it says. It has also been said that not one square centimeter of Thailand will EVER be sold to anyone other than a Thai citizen. Of course you are free to draw your own conclusions. I think lawyers are the scum of the earth both here and elsewhere. The million baht card deal had provisions that would have allowed a farang to buy one rai to build a home. That was quickly withdrawn because it was illegal and because of the BIG commotion it caused. The whole company thing stinks and could be a major disaster for those unfortunate farangs who bought homes thinking everything was on the up and up and legal. The crooked lawyers who set these companies up should be punished, NOT the people who invested their money.

[js007 795]

People will have to learn the hard way. Or maybe not. All I know is that for me, 4-6 million baht would be no small deal. For other people, maybe not. In any event, I'm not about to pay that kind of money for a "chance" at owning property.

 

J

[Obsession 571]

Best to wait until after the elections, but I cant see why the prices will keep going up. I think people just compare it to the west and assume it must be a bargain.

[aqua4 2]

You are setting up a company. Your lawyer finds Thai stockholders. He issues stock to them and they sign the stock back to the farang. They have NOT invested anything and in fact sometimes get paid for signing back the shares. The government has already threatened to investigate these stockholders to see if they do indeed have an investment in the company. They do NOT. Why would they? Anyways you slice or dice it, this company was set up for the purpose of a farang to own property. The shareholders never had an investment, never had a vote, never received profits and have already signed their shares off. Plain and simple manipulation of the law. The Thai government was OBVIOUSLY aware of this practice and did nothing. WHY? A new government may permit farang company owners to sell the property because although it was manipulation, it was accepted. If the new government is VERY nationalistic the property could be confiscated. The statement that Thailand is for Thai people means what it says. It has also been said that not one square centimeter of Thailand will EVER be sold to anyone other than a Thai citizen. Of course you are free to draw your own conclusions. I think lawyers are the scum of the earth both here and elsewhere. The million baht card deal had provisions that would have allowed a farang to buy one rai to build a home. That was quickly withdrawn because it was illegal and because of the BIG commotion it caused. The whole company thing stinks and could be a major disaster for those unfortunate farangs who bought homes thinking everything was on the up and up and legal. The crooked lawyers who set these companies up should be punished, NOT the people who invested their money.

 

 

Well then they are in for a hell of a ride mate! Carrefour would be one of the first on their arses.

 

 

[pattayachip 0]

interesting subject gentelman,time will tell,elections down the road,real estate had a good run this cycle,let see what happens when the chinese economy sneases,i personally will consider buying if there is weekness in the real estate market and a strengthening of the not so mighty dollar,

sort of a perfact storm or the sun and moon lining up,rare, but happens,and only invest what i could afford to walk away from,no hurry epecially with rents being so sheap,you can pay rent with the interest you earn on the capital,granted you don't get the depreciation,but you keep you freedom to move about ,imho

[Gary 4,119]

Well then they are in for a hell of a ride mate! Carrefour would be one of the first on their arses.

 

I think you're missing the point. A legitimate company and operates for the purpose of earning a profit. The Thailand BOI also helps legitimate companies in many different ways. A farang owning a house certainly isn't the intent of the law. I can see why Thailand has allowed this to happen. You have a company for the purpose of owning a house. Now you have to have an accountant and file tax returns for a company that does no business. The tax returns alone were enough to prevent me from going that way.

[Sa-teef 44]

"Thailand embraces in its bosom all people of Thai blood.

Every inch of Thailand belongs to the Thais."

-first two lines of the Thai National Anthem

 

Let them have their land.

In a legal shit fight they would probably prevail upon you the foreigner anyway in any arrangement that was not rock solid.

If I ever build a home in Thailand it will be on leased land with a lease agreement prepared by a competent attorney.

And if I'm not prepared to pack up and leave the house (or the country) tomorrow then I've invested too much.

Good on you if you can make a few baht in the Thai land market.

But it's still the third world and your rights and interests could evaporate with the next coup.

 

 

~Sa-teef

[Greg_B 306]

Buying a condo is very risky, unless you will occupy that condo for a period of time.

 

Who actually rents a condo...?

 

Chinese, Japanese, Indians, Arabs or Falangs...?

 

I've been in a small condo room for 2 months and will extend for another 1 month, as the market is flooded and the landlords are begging for renters. If it was a tight market, I'd be unable to extend on a monthly basis with such ease.

 

With numbers down in tourism {falangs}, it's a wide open market for renting and negotiating a very fair price. The political crisis that will soon be upon Thailand hasn't helped

[js007 795]

It wasn't that many years ago that condo prices in Thailand seemed a bit more reasonable. Now, they seem a bit high, although I can't tell from the listings the actual sale price. Anyway, it would be nice if prices would drop 50%.

 

J

[Gary 4,119]

It wasn't that many years ago that condo prices in Thailand seemed a bit more reasonable. Now, they seem a bit high, although I can't tell from the listings the actual sale price. Anyway, it would be nice if prices would drop 50%.

 

J

 

 

Five years ago condos were reasonably priced and were actually cheap. Since then they have doubled in price. Even with the price doubling you can still get a nice unit for less than 35,000 baht per square meter. New construction prices make that a bargain. In my opinion, anyone who would pay 100,000 baht per square meter pre construction is a LOT braver than I am, perhaps foolish is a better term. I'm not really a gambler, BUT, I would be willing to bet that many of the new projects will NEVER be completed. I doubt that you will ever see older established projects drop in price.

 

In my case, I really don't care if the price goes up or down. I bought with the idea of always having a place to stay and knowing that there will never be a bossy landlord raising my rent or telling me what I can do or can't do.

[Mirkwood 342]

I know everybody is talking the condo market down at the moment.

 

Reality though.

 

Some friends and I have been looking for long term renting of condo's in Naklua. Something between 10 - 20 thousand a month.

 

You try finding one and most of the units that go on sale are snapped up. (In 1-3 million baht range).

 

 

I can't see how you could go wrong if you bought 2 up that way for renting out. You'd get 20 - 30 thousand a month clear.

[Greg_B 306]

Mirk...

 

You can easily go wrong on that theory, as look at the glut of rentals available at this time. As previously stated, it's only the farang who really rents a condo, as others are booked into a hotel package. The room I have rented was vacant for the last 4 months, before I came in Nov 2007.

 

Just one example I found in a short search.

 

http://www.fairproperties.com/

http://www.viewtalaycondos.com/rates.htm

http://www.towncountryproperty.com/condo-for-rental.html

 

Walk around Pattaya and just look at the hundreds of pictures posted at rental places, it's not a good investment at this time.

Unless you have a long term renter, who will take care of the place.

 

Take that money and buy shares of MCD and you'd be better off in the long term, if the condo is an investment and not a place to reside at.

Edited December 26, 2007 by Greg_B

[dv34917 13]

In today's paper there was a short history of Thai democracy. they have had 56 governments and 17 coups in 75 years since dropping absolute monarchy. Buying property in Thailand does look like a good investment but the political instability of the country makes such an investment just too risky for me.

 

The way I look at it is to compare rents and the return I can get in the stock market with the money I DON'T invest in a property. I could sink 100K dollars into VT6 for instance and save my $600 rent I am currently paying at a nice hotel. Annually that would save me 7,200 dollars but if I can make better than a 7.2% return in the stock market then I come out ahead by renting and don't have to worry about some future government scamming me out of my property.

[Eneukman 1]

As I mentioned previously, I am now looking to buy a condo - for my own use.

 

I've done various sums and by selling my lowest yielding investment, I reckon that even if I pay my top price of 4 million baht, I will still be 6,000/7,000 baht per month better off. Of course, I hope to pay quite a bit less than 4 million baht. It will, however, be April before I can pay for it as I will need to give 60 days notice to transfer the funds. That works out quite well, as my existing lease expires at the end of June, which would give me time to do any odd bits of work that may be required to the condo.

 

Alan

[Gary 4,119]

I just returned to up country from Jomtien. The guy who rents my condo in Jomtien still has a year left on his lease. He wanted an additional two year lease. He asked me if I would raise the rent. I told him that I was satisfied with 9,000 baht per month. He is a good friend and offered more money. He asked me why I would rent for 9,000 when similar condos were renting for 12,000 and up. I told him that I wanted to make sure that he couldn't afford to move so I wanted to keep the rent low. He now has a new three year lease. Having a good renter is a pleasure. He takes care of things. The bedroom air con was leaking water. He called a guy who totally dismantled and cleaned the whole unit. The charge was 900 baht. I wanted to pay for that but my renter refused to accept the money. That's what you call a good renter.