Chance to Buy...Sould I Do It

[flyboy747 21]

An old chesnut I know guys, but I have the chance to buy (OK 49% factor....your thoughts on this are important!) a house in Hua Hin, at a very good price. Well below build cost 8 years ago, area is very good. looking at the house as a retirement investment 3/4 years down the line. It is rented to Britsh people at present....ok enough waffle.....how do you guys feel about buying on the 49% deal. This is a very nice place, not on an estate, has its own pool,and is secure....your thought please Gents

[honeypot 27]

An old chesnut I know guys, but I have the chance to buy (OK 49% factor....your thoughts on this are important!) a house in Hua Hin, at a very good price. Well below build cost 8 years ago, area is very good. looking at the house as a retirement investment 3/4 years down the line. It is rented to Britsh people at present....ok enough waffle.....how do you guys feel about buying on the 49% deal. This is a very nice place, not on an estate, has its own pool,and is secure....your thought please Gents

 

49 % deal ?

 

You mean to set up a company and purchase the house, correct ?

[flyboy747 21]

49 % deal ?

 

You mean to set up a company and purchase the house, correct ?

Yes thats right...whatever the norm is with 'House' purchase, not the Condo lease deal

[andy1 0]

Yes thats right...whatever the norm is with 'House' purchase, not the Condo lease deal

my freind had a house built up north on her land ,paid about £10-000

the side fell out of it, nothing he can do about it

the buildings there are totall crap, ive visited various new builds on phuket , im in the building trade btw--

thyeres absolutely no way i,d spend money on them their total junk , the electrics are a joke , as is the sewage system

renting is best option imo

[flyboy747 21]

my freind had a house built up north on her land ,paid about £10-000

the side fell out of it, nothing he can do about it

the buildings there are totall crap, ive visited various new builds on phuket , im in the building trade btw--

thyeres absolutely no way i,d spend money on them their total junk , the electrics are a joke , as is the sewage system

renting is best option imo

Thanks Andy...this house was built to a well above average Thai spec, have spent time there, seems in good order

[oblong 8]

Thanks Andy...this house was built to a well above average Thai spec, have spent time there, seems in good order

 

Well above thai spec... Every advertisement to the english speakers talks about how every house/condo/shithole are "up to western standards."

 

Have a reputable inspector check it out, preferably a friend of yours that knows the trade and is in the area on vacation. What we (as non experts) see is a great looking house made very well. What lies behind the drywall might speak another story.

 

It might be amazing, if so and it is well below the cost for the surroundings... Sure. But then again why is the price low? Lots of questions here.

[Norfloxacin400 87]

i think there has been a few dodgy brit's pretending to be builders operating in hua hin. One tried assasinating a fellow compatriot who complainted. i believe his wife is currently taking the rap.

 

 

do a search on hua hin on this web site Visit My Website BTW not my website just the name of the link.

Edited March 27, 2011 by Norfloxacin400

[ZARIS 20]

Amazing that with all the info available thru the net these days , that people still seriously consider such a proposal.

 

As humans we tend to emphazise the goods things and ignore the bad things when sub consciously we WANT to do something.

" built to western standards" is an example- thats what you want to believe is'nt it?

 

I make the following points

 

1.Why do you want to pay 100% to "own" 49%?

 

2. why is it below build cost of 8 years ago? What is wrong with it? How do you know what the build cost was 8 years ago? Why is build cost even relevant- has the market dropped that much?

 

3. If you are 3/4 years away from retirement why do you want to take such a risk? If it were all to go wrong what is the impact on you?

 

4. why do you want to make such a move in a country that is notorious for making it difficult for foreigners? If you were 35/40 yo then sure, because you have time to recover.

 

5. If you wanted or had to sell it in a crisis situation { you need the cash fast} what is the market like for such a property.Its already selling below cost, in 8 more years will it be even further below cost?

 

6. If you bought it and it turned out to be shoddy what would the repair cost be?

 

Plenty of foreigners have bought property in thailand with few issues.Maybe you can be one of those.Maybe not.Be so very careful.

 

What is wrong with renting? Invest in your own county and rent.That is the option with flexibility and low risk.

 

All the best with your decision.

[jaxxon55 252]

Despite the doomsayers many people own condos and houses in Thailand and have had them for many years in a company name. The standards are fine in most cases but certainly risky in others. Most don't have drywall so "looking behind the drywall" will be difficult. If you can't look at a house and know if it is built well you might not want to buy.

Jack

[darkmancomes 75]

Firstly I have read a recent article regarding the Thai government and clamping down on this so called farang buying property through company issue so it was mentioned a higher tax on companies so bear that in mind (sorry cannot find the posting ) Anway if you are so keen to buy and think this is a good property and have checked out what I first mentioned why not ask the british couple living there at present about the house condition and short commings if any. Zarius has a good point though too especially when you see the price of property here at present could a buy to let long term be the answer for you ? Ideally if you owned a property here outright the income from it would cover rates and repairs plus have enough left over to add to your rental in los. That way as Z said relatively no risk. I too have this idea of buying a property in los further enhanced by a friend I know who has bought through a company he pays his taxes and lives happy but equally there are so many horror stories also. I have been put off by some of the things mentioned byZ also the fact that I could not afford to loose any money I would invest. Just think long and hard, there appear to be loads of property owned out there by foreigners who want to rent long term I would advise that. Its not to say the price of property fluctuates that much out there ? unless you are into buying around the places in demand as is at home. Anyway whatever you decide I wish you all the luck.

[Greg_B 306]

An old chesnut I know guys, but I have the chance to buy (OK 49% factor....your thoughts on this are important!) a house in Hua Hin, at a very good price. Well below build cost 8 years ago, area is very good. looking at the house as a retirement investment 3/4 years down the line. It is rented to Britsh people at present....ok enough waffle.....how do you guys feel about buying on the 49% deal. This is a very nice place, not on an estate, has its own pool,and is secure....your thought please Gents

 

So, if 51% sold your 49% and kept the money, what could you do...?

[jacko 8,813]

An old chesnut I know guys, but I have the chance to buy (OK 49% factor....your thoughts on this are important!) a house in Hua Hin, at a very good price. Well below build cost 8 years ago, area is very good. looking at the house as a retirement investment 3/4 years down the line. It is rented to Britsh people at present....ok enough waffle.....how do you guys feel about buying on the 49% deal. This is a very nice place, not on an estate, has its own pool,and is secure....your thought please Gents

Why have you posted practically the exact same thread/question twice? Edited March 28, 2011 by jacko

[joekicker 53]

Funny, I was just talking about this the other day. I have some land in Hua Hin area and have been thinking about the advantages of not living in Bangkok in the future. The word is that property down at town level is losing value, because people see a lot of coming floods from various factors -- over-building, government policies on land use and other. So property values up the hill are increasing. You might want to factor this in, or consider it.

 

.

[Gary 4,119]

Thousands of farangs have companies to circumvent the ownership law. No problems so far but better them than me. I like to sleep at night.

 

Better to buy a nice condo 100 percent in your OWN name.

[Obsession 571]

Thai houses are such a bad deal that it has depreciated in 8 years and they are having trouble selling it at seemingly any price. That says it all. It sounds like a bad investment.

[joekicker 53]

Thai houses are such a bad deal that it has depreciated in 8 years and they are having trouble selling it at seemingly any price. That says it all. It sounds like a bad investment.

 

He didn't ask if it was a good investment, though. He asked if it was a good DEAL. I've never bought a house as an investment, although the ones I sold, it turned out well for me. That was just incidental, not something I planned or cared about when I bought. I've only ever bought a house to live in it. I care about the neighbourhood, the flooding, the noise, the Internet service, the road-paving, the building quality ... and a lot more things WAY before I care about whether the house will increase in value in 5 or 25 years.

 

To me (in general, not every case for sure because people make their living buying/selling houses, and that's fine) buying a house for investment is like buying a Volvo because of how well it crashes. I don't PLAN to sell my houses any more than I plan to be in a car wreck, thanks very much.

 

.

[dannand 0]

Despite the doomsayers many people own condos and houses in Thailand and have had them for many years in a company name. The standards are fine in most cases but certainly risky in others. Most don't have drywall so "looking behind the drywall" will be difficult. If you can't look at a house and know if it is built well you might not want to buy.

Jack

Gidday, can you give me some details about this company stuff, re buying a house or condo, and what advantages there are with this setup. Curious

[rockyryan 2]

I bought a new house in a company name 7 years ago, pay 10,000 bht for my audit each year and feel I,ve got a good deal. My house is sound in every way. Have not bought to make a fast buck, I intend to be here for many years. Good investment for me.

[doolish 14]

Hi,

If you go about it properly you won't get your fingers burned.

I bought a new house, up north, over five years ago. Three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Land was bought in wifes name, and I went to lawyer to get a 30 year lease on land, extentable for a further 30 years. This might be going overboard, but i'm the belt and braces type. You can also buy a condo. The builders are allowed to sell a certain percentage of a building to non Thais.

As for the build of the property, mine is a lot better than some houses i have lived in, in other countries. And i am happy with it. Which is all that matters to me. The price was just under 1 million B.. for house and land, incuding a lot of furniture, curtains etc.. Was the first house built, on estate, and they wanted to get bums on seats. The electrics were all wired correctly. Having taught Electrical Wiring for the last 17yrs. of my working life. Also the wiring reg in 2006 in LOS, for new housing estates was altered, for the benefit of the buyer. Earths etc. must be included, but please get checked. Also if bought you can do anything you want with your own house, in LOS, if you have a look around you will see what i mean.

If i rented the house, at 10,000B per month in 2005, at 71B to the pound, and from last year to under 50B to the pound. As i got money from home, I would have paid for my house in less than 7 years of rental, assuming rental did not go up in this time, if your lucky. plus i would have a house worth nearly 2 million B, Was offered that 4 months ago, but would not sell. So i would have now paid for house, if i rented it, and made another landlord happy.

Oh, forgot to say a friend of mine, who runs a building firm at home checked it out for me. No major faults with it. And not built like some people say. Wonder if these people have bought a house here.

Did not buy to make a profit. If anything happened to me the wife will have something to fall back on. She also has a two bed brick built home in Korat.

Yes if you have the money buy. Don't know about morgages so cannot comment. Houses and land are on the rise where i am in LOS.

Keep a landlord happy rent.

[yselmike 389]

Be afraid be very afraid about any deal with housing in Hua Hin,

 

Do some serious research about the vendors, some used serious

strong arm tactics [allegedly] deaths occurred.

About the rest of Thailand I dont know.49% its dodgy for sure.

[joekicker 53]

Be afraid be very afraid about any deal with housing in Hua Hin,

 

Good advice, that. Hua Hin is on the shortlist of places with very dodgy, very violent "real estate agents". It's not the worst but it is one of the worst. And one of the real danger signs is if a foreigner is involved in any manner in the deal. Be VERY chary about that sort of stuff in Hua Hin, Samui, Phuket.

 

.

[john5001 54]

Having heard all of this, and not being experienced, I would go for a condo...at least you own it and security is better.

[JohnnyK 28]

I own in HH and to be sure there are quite a few dodgy builders, Brit and Dutch being the worst. Caveat emptor.

I own my property through a company and with regard to ownership, the Land Office looks closely at the 49/51% ownership.

They don't look at 39/61%.

Don't get hung up in those raw numbers, owning 39% doesn't mean you can be booted out.

Here's why:

 

A Thai company can issue two kinds of shares called "Ordinary Shares" and "Preference Shares" (often called "Preferred Shares" in the west).

 

The important point is Thai "Ordinary Shares" hold more voting power (NOTE: What we call "Preferreds" are called "Ordinary" in Thailand).

The two classes of shares explain how corporate looters like Conrad Black and Dennis Kozlowski (TYCO) could rape companies without majority ownership and without putting up 51% of the capital.

 

How it works:

 

In Thailand "Ordinary Shares" have 10 votes per share while "Preference Shares" have 1 vote per share.

Company issues 1000 shares for example, 390 (39% of all shares) "ordinary shares" totalling 3900 votes and 610 "preference shares" totalling 610 votes. Totally legal.

Who holds the "ordinary shares" controls the company. No decisions can be made without that shareholder's approval.

It should cost between 10-15K baht a year to do company accounts and file the tax return, mine costs 14.5K baht. There may be a small amount of tax to be paid, if so pay it and keep the tax man happy (he is the main worry in any country).

Cost of setting up the company is 35-40K. If the property is already owned by a company look into simply buying the company and avoiding the Land Office.

ALWAYS USE A LAWYER.

 

BTW, where is the house located? There are areas in HH that experience flooding.

Edited March 28, 2011 by JohnnyK

[JohnnyK 28]

flyboy747,

Forgot to add this...

 

Build quality is just one thing to look at and you can easily find someone to check that if you don't know what to look for.

 

With regard to HH look out for these scams that some friends of mine have suffered:

 

1) House built with no building license. It means the house is llegal and worst case would be a tear-down order. Thats unlikely but some $$ would have to change hands to bring it in line. Headache all around.

2) Houses built on land not owned/leased by the developer/builder. (Encroachment was particularly bad on Samui where park land was encroached upon with collusion of local officials, many of whom no doubt have shiny new SUVs)

3) Land not properly sub-divided into plots or not sub-divided at all except on the developer's marketing bumpf.

4) Plots not registered. A totally illegal tax dodge by some developers. Plots not registered, building licenses not obtained = officially nothing built or sold therefore no revenue therefore no tax paid by the developer.

 

The property in question should have a building license and a chanote land title deed. Walk away if neither is forthcoming or you are told they are "not important" or "they are coming".

Edited March 28, 2011 by JohnnyK

[jacko 8,813]

Thousands of farangs have companies to circumvent the ownership law. No problems so far but better them than me. I like to sleep at night.

 

Better to buy a nice condo 100 percent in your OWN name.

Could I sleep that well near to a window 12 floors up?

 

More seriously, buying a condo has it's worries. A major one for me would be the management 'team' and expensive maintenance charges that you have little control over. Renting might be best!

Edited March 29, 2011 by jacko