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The Gentleman Scamp

Do you own the apartment/condo that you live in, and if so do you own it outright?

Are there certain conditions that need to be met for a foreigner to own a unit - i.e. visa status, w/p etc?

Is Thailand as safe to buy as anywhere in Asia?

My budget is roughly 70 k stirling, if possible I would like to buy two - live in one and rent the other.

sabang

Many of us do not live in apartments scampy.
You are free to buy a 'foreign name' apartment, which can officially be up to 49% of a condo development. You do not need to be resident.
You pay a bit more obviously.

Luckydog

I have 49% of the shares in a company that owns the town house I live in in Pattaya. Annual Tax and accounts cost about 20000bht.

Now you have to have all Thai shareholders I hear.

There are SO many places up for rental nowadays that I would think seriously before going for that option. If I did I would make sure it was very close to my drum. Stories of people doing a 'Moonlight flit' are very common. So you need to hold a good deposit and watch the electricity,
TV and phone bills. They can cost you a bomb if the tenants bugger off without paying them.

Nothing new here I know, but it can't be said too often.

If I wanted to invest in property here I would buy/build a long row of those cheapo one room places for poor working class Thais. They bring in a couple of thousand each a month and are a doddle to let.

Good luck mate.

The Gentleman Scamp

Alright, cheers so far - though I am still not clear on the 49/51 ownership percentage - I have heard several times that that is only for land or house and that we can buy an apartment unit and own it loi percent, but let me get this question out of the way first.

Is buying in Thailand any more risky than anywhere else in Asia?

Sir Burr

Why would you want to buy a place? You'll get itchy feet and might find problems selling it. Getting Thai baht out isn't straight forward, either.

In a condominium, 49% of the apartments available, can be owned 100% by a foreigner. If you try and buy one of the apartments in the 51% Thai owned portion, you CANNOT put it in your name, no matter what they say.

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benbaaa

I live in a house.

britmaveric

Scampy - talk to Bluecat. He'll sort you out if you want to go down that route.

Art Vandelay

I own the townhouse I live in in the US. I don't own or rent a condo/apartment in Thailand. My wife owns several parcels of land in Thailand and we built a bungalow on her in-law's land so we have a comfortable place to stay when we are visiting them.

Sir Burr is correct about the 49% ownership of condos. Be careful with condos because there are both freehold and leasehold condos. Since you are a young man, I wouldn't even consider buying a condo unless it was on freehold land.

For a farang, condo ownership is probably the least risky however ROI are very low for renting in Thailand as compared to other countries.

Good luck with your decision shoeboat.

The Gentleman Scamp

Thailand has been my home from home almost 6 years now, I know I will only ever be a guest here and yes Thailand pisses me off sometimes but my love for Bangkok has never waned.

I am confident it will be my base for a long time to come and it's popularity in Asia will stay the same or get better.

I have had this money over a year and have blown about 4 grand in that time dawdling about and asking and listening but not acting.

If my business takes off - and by that I mean simply have a continual sucession of jobs sufficient to live off - then it sertainly makes sense to get my own place here, however visa status may be an issue I need to sort out forst or the property agent may not care a toss about it.

ROI?

Art Vandelay

Return on investment. Usually you would want to make between 8-10% on rentals.

If you buy a condo for 1,000,000 baht and you rent it for 8,000 baht/month, then you are getting close to 10% ROI. 8,000 * 12 = 96,000. Now this isn't taking into account various expenses such as repairs, condo fees, months without a tenant etc.

Bluecat

Indeed, so that at the end you do not really make money out of it.
And the end will come faster in these countries than in Europe, after 20 years, your appart will probably be worth nothing.

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Discussion is an exchange of knowledge, argument is an exchange of ignorance

Sir Burr

If you must buy, just get one to live in. Buying one to rent is a fools game at the level you want to get in at.

stroller

Yeah.

As explained already, your visa status doesn't come into it for the purchase and ownership.
However, one of the reasons I haven't bought property is that I feel a little uneasy to invest my life's savings here while I need to apply for new visas every couple of months to be able to stay.

I wouldn't think so, I don't consider buying a condo is risky, but the security of house-ownership through legal constructs is frequently discussed on web-boards, as you may have noticed as a former TV regular.
Rents can be rewarding if you have a condo in the right location and a reliable agent. Downside is that it's difficult to sell 2nd hand condos, Thais want new and wouldn't pay the inflated farang prices.

terry57

Sir Burr is right on the money here and i agree with him 110%.

I also have been pondering this question for many years and after much study of the Thai markets i have decided never to buy fok all.

I will be relocating full time to Los in 2 years and have decided to rent a condo on the river, this will be my base and Ill travel from there.

I want to be free to move when ever I want too and buying a place just don't make sense to me.

I own my own pad in Australia and will rent this out keeping all my security here just in case the shit hits the fan and one needs to leave the country.

Besides that, rents are booming over here and real estate has gone through the bloody roof in Perth.

When you read posts from punters that they hate Thailand, the Thais are wankers, the foods shit, its to foking hot , there balls are itchy and all that other shite, its because the stupid bastards have pored everything they own into Thailand and cant leave.

Stupid tossers they are and Im with you scamp, as I love Bangkok.

Anyway mate,

Invest your money back home, live of your interest , only rent as they are cheap and top value.

Its all too easy mate if ones thinks about it for a millisecond.

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saving life and property in the city of perth.

stroller

Well, yeah, if the Scamp managed to party for a year on 4 grand, 70k well invested in the UK should keep him afloat for many years to come!

DrAndy

well Terry, that is fine if you like living in condos, and I can see your point

what if you want something different, something you want to improve to your own taste? Buying in Thailand is quite cheap, so if you have some spare cash it would be better to not sell your home and just use the spare

then you have a rental income to live on and maybe a nice house to live in, exactly as you want it

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keep 'em coming

lom

^ Yeah, but he is only connected for a millisecond and that one takes a bit longer to figure out

terry57

^^

Yes Andy,

I do agree with you there and if you got spare money why not buy something, but if you ain't got spare money i'm foked if I'd be poring all my dosh into land and property leaving myself open to the whim of a Thai female.

At least one can own a condo in ones own name but the guys upcountry must put all there faith in there females as we all know its in there name.

If theres a breakdown in the relationship one can kiss it all good bye and if you can live with that thought, then why not.

Sorry, but i could never be that trusting and think Ill just rent.

cheers.

DrAndy

Of course Terry, up to you

I can see your point, no problem

chinthee