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[whittler 3]

Hi guys, whittler here. I need some advice. I am selling my house, here in Indiana, and the market is shit.

My son said I should rent the house and move over to Thailand. My problem is after I pay my bills, I will

only have $1,500 usd net a month. I don't drink or smoke. Last yr. I had a condo in Jomtien for 6,000 bt

a month, which would do me fine until I sell the house, maybe a year or 2. Iwould like to go out a couple

times a week, and find some company. If I can hook up with the girl I was with last yr. I am pretty sure

she would be my live in.

Well that is it. Can I make it on $1,500 a month, or am I stuck in Indiana till the market breaks?

 

Thanks

whittler/ aka Mike

[jacko 8,813]

This is 50,000 baht/month.....

I know people living here on that but they have moved to the darkside for cheaper accomodation and other expenses (meals etc).

 

If you rent in Jomtiem, well 6k/month is cheap but can you afford the deposits..... 3 months rent in advance, and maybe a security?

 

I would say yes, if you have a flight ticket home and a lump sum to fall back on.

[Old Salty 3]

Mike I think you can, but it will be very hard. I assume you are older than 50 and you want to come with an O-visa and turn that into a retirement visa, than you have to show immigration that you have a minimum of Baht 800.000.00 for at leats 3 month in a thai bank account, can you do that? You can find a studio for Baht 6000.00 a month or even cheaper, even in some areas of Jomtien, but it would not be with ocean view and the size maybe 30 to 40 M2. You also have to calculate 2 to 3 month rent as a security deposit and if you find a TG she will expect from you some financial assistance to support her family in the bush, which will cost you about Baht 5000.00 to 10000.00 a month. So after all your fixed expenses you are left with US$ 1000.00 or at the current exchange rate Baht 33.000.00. I have an american friend here who survives on that amount and I will ask him, if he allows me to give you his email and than you can get in contact with each other, which might be very helpful for you. So have a look at the board once in a while to get new information.

[joekicker 53]

Well that is it. Can I make it on $1,500 a month, or am I stuck in Indiana till the market breaks?

 

Mike, this is a really tough amount. The answer is "yes but". If you just walk into Thailand and have to find a place to live and maybe make a visa run or three... very very difficult although possible. I'm not sure it would be very enjoyable.

 

If you have some real plans, like no visa runs because you have a proper visa, say, you can certainly SURVIVE on that. As long as you don't get sick or hit by a car, for example. There are certainly people who have done what you want to do, successfully, but you're really walking a tightwire and hoping for no bad luck.

 

If you DO do this, please ensure your stay is legal (visa up to date) and you have a valid ticket out of Thailand. Once you don't have both of these, even a slight misstep can put you in very deep and unpleasant doo-doo if all you can count on is a steady 50,000 baht a month without at least some emergency backup.

[hybrid 1]

$1500, budget on 30b/$ . not on 33. you never know which way it goes so budget on the low rate. thats 45k baht per month.

take away.

rent 6k, i'll assume you have to pay the electric etc on top

ubc tv or sophon cable, you may want this as you'll be in the room a while ! 2k if ubc.

water, 600baht

electric 2k (assume in room a lot with aircon going)

outings 9 times/month 9k total if you drink cheaply (not inc fun)

10k for a live in is about right. but remember this will increase your outgoings on food etc.

 

thats 29600 baht before you eat, so forget UBC you need sophon cable, but your still going to have less than 600 baht per day to live after all your expences are gone.

 

i would suggest buying a cheap motorbike if you like bikes ? theres an acution every few months of ex-finance ones. say 10k, will save on taxi's in the long run and give you something to do riding around

 

also for the 1st few months you are going to be contending with the inner tourist in yourself that wants to party, explore and enjoy yourself. so budget a lot of extra money for those months.

 

overall . you can do it. the key thing is sex drive then you will be ok . soem of the girls will help you save money. some will help you spend it. that is key to your plan which type you find.

 

also you may want to consider living on the darkside. you will not get a place for 6k, but being further away from town may help your budget in the long run.

 

as long as you make sure you have a return ticket then you have nothing to lose. go for itm and keep us all updated on the costs.

[whittler 3]

I want to thank all of you for the fast response. I think I will hold off at least untill next year, and try to

build up a nice savings acct. for a back up, and maybe in that time I will sell the house.

You know I am 67 yr. old when it comes to Thailand I revert back to a kid, and I want it NOW.

I will try to keep a mature state of mind, but it will be very, very hard.

 

Thanks again,

 

whittler/ aka Mike

[EnglishPaul 3]

Easy to sit back and say "Go for it" so I will.

 

As I understand it,until you sell your house you will have $1500 a month to live on.

You don`t smoke or drink and want to go out twice a week,know yourself to be happy

staying in a place at 6K baht a month as you have done so previously.

 

Happy with just 1 girl also,if the same one will stay with you again or if not you`ll find another.

 

Then when eventually your house sells I assume you`ll have a fair bit extra coming in?

 

Quality health/accident insurance would be vital in addition of course as well as some back-up

money as someone else posted so that you can return to US if you have to.

 

It was you posting your age as 67 that prompted my post.

 

Food for thought.

 

All the Best whatever you do.

Edited July 3, 2008 by EnglishPaul

[aussiexpat 1]

I want to thank all of you for the fast response. I think I will hold off at least untill next year, and try to

build up a nice savings acct. for a back up, and maybe in that time I will sell the house.

You know I am 67 yr. old when it comes to Thailand I revert back to a kid, and I want it NOW.

I will try to keep a mature state of mind, but it will be very, very hard.

 

Thanks again,

 

whittler/ aka Mike

 

Don't hold back, go for it as long as you have a ticket back & medical insurance :)

 

As rent is paid at 6k/mth, you'll have more than 1350bt a day to spend which is huge if you don't drink....either that or you can spend 500bt a day on essentials and then still have about 25k a month for the odd Soi 6 extravaganza

 

Seriously, if you start to overspend during the month, just pretend you had an absolute blinder on the booze...this always cleans me up for 2 cheap days whereby I only spend on Lipo's, Red Bull & Panadol

Edited July 3, 2008 by aussiexpat

[bangkapiboy 5]

$1500USD is enough to live on in Pattaya for me... But surely not everyone.

[soi6 0]

maybe get a reverse mortgage, and rent out the house if you are able.

both would give you income over the $1500 a month into the future. At 67 you can do the reverse mortgage route.

[Owen` 2]

Hi guys, whittler here. I need some advice. I am selling my house, here in Indiana, and the market is shit. My son said I should rent the house and move over to Thailand. My problem is after I pay my bills, I will only have $1,500 usd net a month. I don't drink or smoke. Last yr. I had a condo in Jomtien for 6,000 bt a month, which would do me fine until I sell the house, maybe a year or 2. Iwould like to go out a couple times a week, and find some company. If I can hook up with the girl I was with last yr. I am pretty sure

she would be my live in. Well that is it. Can I make it on $1,500 a month, or am I stuck in Indiana till the market breaks?

 

1) At age 67 (which you mention later in the thread) I suppose the presumption is that the $1500/month (NET OF BILLS, apparently) is from Social Security and whatever private pension you have. The bills in question . . . are hard to identify here.

 

2) One of those bills might be your Medicare premiums. You have to look deeply into this because Medicare will NOT send money overseas for medical treatment. If not, then you need to chat with them about ceasing that premium payment and use the money for med insurance in Thailand.

 

3) Your son wants you to rent the house. Your son may not be aware that your expectation is he will be the one to shovel snow, cut grass and do maintenance as your tenants generate wear and tear. Assuming there are tenants. Rented property doesn't always fill up. Remember too, even if a house is "fully paid for" (no mortgage) you will always have property tax and house insurance to pay. So . . . the asset is worth what it is worth. The glib waving of a hand and presumption that "if I wait until next year or the year after I can sell at a higher price" is pure guesswork. People saying that in 2005 are where right now? The asset is worth what it is worth. If you sell it and invest the cash, you will maybe get 5% for that cash. That MAY exceed rent - maintenance - property tax - insurance.

 

4) If you are not there, and your son is not there or doesn't want to be bothered with it, that house can degrade quickly. It's very hard to insure an empty house, too.

 

5) You are 67. You want to go. Just how long do you think you have to wait? Look carefully about selling everything, putting the cash into 5% CDs, and have no further burdens at home. Cash is forever. You can always come back. If you want a house when you get back, that's what cash is for.

[Guest anto1]

$1500, budget on 30b/$ . not on 33. you never know which way it goes so budget on the low rate. thats 45k baht per month.

take away.

rent 6k, i'll assume you have to pay the electric etc on top

ubc tv or sophon cable, you may want this as you'll be in the room a while ! 2k if ubc.

water, 600baht

electric 2k (assume in room a lot with aircon going)

outings 9 times/month 9k total if you drink cheaply (not inc fun)

10k for a live in is about right. but remember this will increase your outgoings on food etc.

 

thats 29600 baht before you eat, so forget UBC you need sophon cable, but your still going to have less than 600 baht per day to live after all your expences are gone.

 

i would suggest buying a cheap motorbike if you like bikes ? theres an acution every few months of ex-finance ones. say 10k, will save on taxi's in the long run and give you something to do riding around

 

also for the 1st few months you are going to be contending with the inner tourist in yourself that wants to party, explore and enjoy yourself. so budget a lot of extra money for those months.

 

overall . you can do it. the key thing is sex drive if you can live with 1 tilak, and as long as she is thinking the bigger picture in that she can screw you for baht once your house is sold then you will be ok . soem of the girls will help you save money. some will help you spend it. that is key to your plan which type you find.

 

also you may want to consider living on the darkside. you will not get a place for 6k, but being further away from town may help your budget in the long run.

 

as long as you make sure you have a return ticket then you have nothing to lose. go for itm and keep us all updated on the costs.

 

 

Your figures seem rather high .I own my own studio Condo in Jomtien and pay around 80 baht a month for water and 700 baht a month for electric ( have A/C ) .Cable tv with around 30 stations is free in my Condo block .Other Condos in my block rent for 6000 baht a month upwards plus electric and water .The baht bus passes outside and is only 10 baht to Pattaya .2 swimming pools plus a gym in the complex .

The OP could easily live fairly well on his budget especially as he does not drink and smoke .

[Emil 0]

Can be done. I had a friend move over here 3 years ago and lived on $500 USD a month, however that was when the exchange rate was 40 to 1. At your age you could get a retirement visa and not have to do any visa runs. 800k baht in a Thai bank or 65k baht a month income or combination required for the retirement visa.

[marleyboy 140]

I could live on that amount of money in Pattaya no worries. Go for it my friend!

[whittler 3]

I want to thank everyone for their input. Not sure what I am going to do.

But it is good to hear from others.

I will keep you posted on what I finally decide to do.

 

whittler

[bigdelta 46]

I have USD1550 a month to live on when I come in September.I have rented a condo in Jomtiem for 19k baht and will make do with what is left after that.Yes-IT IS DOO-able! If I found something for 6k(unlikely) I would be living the high life.

If you find you can't do it on 1500-make an adjustment.At least you tried which is more than the other 99% of Americans.

[BigDUSA 71]

IMHO you can live in Pattaya on your budget. I've been told if you move north to Udon Thani you can live even more cheaply. At 67 don't wait for tomorrow.

[vidman 2]

You need to do the move now.

 

Refinance somewhere and get some excess cash to add to your 1500 rent profit. Wait till the market recovers and pay the refinance off with the added profit from the house sale.

 

you may have to sit on the house move for a few years tho....but at least you will be in pattaya whilst you wait.

[jacko 8,813]

You need to do the move now.

 

Refinance somewhere and get some excess cash to add to your 1500 rent profit. Wait till the market recovers and pay the refinance off with the added profit from the house sale.

you may have to sit on the house move for a few years tho....but at least you will be in pattaya whilst you wait.

Does re-finance mean borrow more money in a climate of increasing interest rates and a bad property market?

 

Sounds a little risky and impetuous......OWEN needs to comment.

Edited July 9, 2008 by jacko

[whittler 3]

Hi guys, the 1,500 usd, wasn't from rent, but from my retirement. When I sell the house I will have $2000 a

month net. I have talked to some people who hwve rented out their homes and got some bad reviews.

A couple rented out and went to the PI, ok for a couple of months, but they moved out and trashed the

houes. I just don't know, right now what I am going to do.

 

Thanks again for the input.

 

whittler/ Mike

[soi6 0]

what about doing a reverse mortgage? that would pay you monthly and you could still return to the house if things in Thailand didn't work out..

[Owen` 2]

Look, guy, you're 67. You're going to live XX more years. A good working hypothesis is 13.

 

Sell the house. It doesn't matter if you can get 30K more for it by waiting a year. The year is more important than the 30K. It also is not a source of "income" for you if sold. Stop thinking like that.

 

You sell the house, you get XXX K dollars. Forget what you earn in interest on it. SPEND THE PRINCIPAL. You're 67. Divide it by 13 and spend it. The interest you'll earn is frosting on the cake.

 

Want to leave some for your son? Then take XXX K dollars and subtract son's XX K dollars and put it away. Then Divide The Rest By 13 And Spend It.

 

The typical conversation on this board about this matter is from guys at age 55. That's a different matter. They have 25 yrs to fund. You don't.

 

What happens if you live longer than 80? Then you live longer than 80. You won't need as much money (80 year olds don't do a lot of world touring) and you'll have your pensions.

 

Sell The House and Spend The Money.

Edited July 10, 2008 by Owen`

[Gary 4,118]

Time marches on and you just get older. I'd take whatever you can get for the house. I had a house for sale when I was ready to make the move. It didn't sell so I called my son and told him to meet me at the lawyers office. I signed the house over to him and told him that was his and my daughters inheritance and not to expect anything more. I further told them both that if they inherited anything more, it would be strictly by accident. I left the US owning nothing there. The rest of my life is for me to enjoy and I needed NO worries about property in the US.

[marleyboy 140]

Put everything into perspective, particularly regarding your age! I know families living on less

(here in the U.K.) than 2,000 dollars a month! Go for it!