Thread: Budget Build - Nong Khai

Originally Posted by Joesixpac

Frankly, I would like to just buy another piece of property but the family has it own ideas.

Joe, this sentence says it all to me. It's your money and your stress level. Do what you want. Definitely, do what you want.

In my Threads I say over and over that I really do listen to what people are saying .

I don't ask for their help just to argue with them . So I really do heed these people - people who have been there a long time before me and done it .

Well on your Thread here they are saying " Walk Away " .

I would certainly listen to them .



Wasp

I have had a house built on land that I have no claim. Its my better halfs of 23 years moms farm land. I have about mabey 25k into it. Her mom takes care of the place for us as she lives there. I would not be cowed into the situation you describe as their are far too many variables and way too many fingers in the pie. I would not loose any sleep over loosing the vacation home we (as the better half has invested some in the build and maintanance) built as It is no big investment. If you could not just walk away in the future you should walk away now in my opinion. Your situation like mine is a crapshoot. May have more fun playing the pass line with place bets on 6 and 8. And for sure take odds. Good luck with the come out roll. Hate to see anyone crap out.

Originally Posted by terp80

Originally Posted by Joesixpac

Frankly, I would like to just buy another piece of property but the family has it own ideas.

Joe, this sentence says it all to me. It's your money and your stress level. Do what you want. Definitely, do what you want.

Joe,
Some GREAT advice in this thread that should be considered. Sometimes our vision gets cloudy so taking the big step back is really quite critical in making a sound decision, not an emotional one. Of course this thinking should be coupled with a stout cocktail(or 2 or 3) on a beach somewhere.

At minimum you want to avoid being another foreigner statistic.

Cheers

ok. I screwed that up. Give me a second and I will try and get this picture posting correct. This is floor plan # 1. 104 m2, 3 BR/1 Bath with large covered porch and large covered outdoor kitchen and laundry

Originally Posted by JPPR2

Originally Posted by terp80

Originally Posted by Joesixpac

Frankly, I would like to just buy another piece of property but the family has it own ideas.

Joe, this sentence says it all to me. It's your money and your stress level. Do what you want. Definitely, do what you want.

Joe,
Some GREAT advice in this thread that should be considered. Sometimes our vision gets cloudy so taking the big step back is really quite critical in making a sound decision, not an emotional one. Of course this thinking should be coupled with a stout cocktail(or 2 or 3) on a beach somewhere.

At minimum you want to avoid being another foreigner statistic.

Cheers

Wasp

yes, i saw all the comments. I appreciate them and the voiced concerns (all legitimate). I don't disagree with anything said. I didn't, however, go in full detail regarding property options. It looks like the "old crone" (thanks for the description Charlie) wants to sell the land at substantially more than what it is worth, i,.e, the note on the land plus the purchase price. That is not the way things are done in the US - we pay the FMV for land and if the note is the FMV we pay that amount and not more. We are checking out the value of the property. Assuming that the value is less than the sale price, that is what we will offer. I would like to purchase this property - not because it is the best piece of property (it isn't) - but because MIL currently lives there and would like to stay on that piece of land. And frankly, we are going to have help MIL pay off some debt anyway, so it would be nice to get something in exchange for helping to pay off debt. We are also looking at other properties. The usfruct route is the route of last resort and is one we are unlikely to take. Our preferred route is to get land in my wife's name and build the house in my name. I realize that if marriage goes belly up I'm likely out of a house. Hence the reason this is captioned "Budget Build" - it is something I can comfortably walk away from if it comes to it.

Quite a nice and simple floorplan, Joe.

Will one bathroom be enough for a 3 bedroom place?

Sorry for multiple posts, but I can't figure out how to load more than one picture per post.

This is one of two front and back porch styles we are looking at. Really like its thai style feel.

Thanks. I like the the simple layout of it. 3rd BR will likely be used as a study/office and guest room. 1 BR is probably not enough, but this is a budget build. If there is a real problem, we will do a thai bathroom somewhere else.

Ok, figured out multiple picture posting.

This is the second porch style we are looking at. Simple and functional.



And this is the second floor plan. 2 BR/1 Bath



A little smaller (but not much) and a smaller LR/DR. Laundry and outdoor kitchen are probably a little too small.

bathrooms directly opening on lounges/kitchen etc are illegal in most countries and should be avoided at all cost.

Originally Posted by splitlid

bathrooms directly opening on lounges/kitchen etc are illegal in most countries and should be avoided at all cost.

Wife said the same thing!

I prefer the 1st floor plan.

Originally Posted by splitlid

bathrooms directly opening on lounges/kitchen etc are illegal in most countries and should be avoided at all cost.

Most countries?

Originally Posted by thaimeme

Originally Posted by splitlid

bathrooms directly opening on lounges/kitchen etc are illegal in most countries and should be avoided at all cost.

Most countries?

Yes,it's ok to heAr someone shitting their pants and smelling their shit if your a fucking retard.
But most countries don't think that's ok
Be fucking sensible.
Had a couple of beers
So my tolerance level is pretty low.
Solly

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

I prefer the 1st floor plan.

Me too. I would enclose the kitchen.

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

I prefer the 1st floor plan.

Yes, I like this one more also. Simple and clean, plus it seems like you get a lot more house by moving the kitchen to the covered outdoor space. This seems reasonable option since the family cooks pretty pungent food and having some open space helps get rid of the smell.

Contacted the builder Undon Dreamhouse provided me. Seems like a pretty reasonable guy. He did a nice job on UD's house. He says he has a crew of about 40 people. Not sure if these are employees or subcontractors. I know with UD he took a break for two months to finish another house.

We provided him basic sketch ups of the two floor plans and the specifications and asked him to provide us bids for each with: (1) three different roof styles (tile, steel and color bond) and the two different porch styles. Interested he what he comes back with. Concerned the the because the UD build turned out so nice his prices may have gone up. There are several people who got a lot of bang for their buck - UD and slim for example- but subsequent customers may have to pay more because there are likely more of them as result of the quality and successful build. Regardless, we would like to get at least one more builder to bid on the project so if you know of any in the Nong Khai or surrounding area please PM me their contact information. It would be greatly appreciated. This is a budget build so we are not expecting western product (even though slim and UD certainly got quite a bit of it in their builds) but hope to get the best build for the limited budget we have.

We have scheduled a meeting with the builder in early April, hope to get something in place by then. We are hoping for all inclusive price , but if the numbers are too high we may contract only for labor and purchase material ourselves. I really don't want to go this route because we live in the states and it seems like a logistical nightmare but will do it if necessary. Some others have done it, but the are likely smarter and more organized than me.

Originally Posted by Norton

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

I prefer the 1st floor plan.

Me too. I would enclose the kitchen.

I see your point. If the house was for us or for resale I would. But MIL seems to like the outside kitchen so for now it will likely be only a covered porch enclosed only with wire. Because it will be covered, we can completely enclose it later if we want. I am hopeful the bid will be a little less having the kitchen outside.

Originally Posted by splitlid

shitting their pants

I and my guests always remember to pull our pants down before we sit on the toilet.

I've missed that part maybe a couple of handful of times in my life. Most of them memorable.
But I'm sure you get the jist.

JoeSP- purchase separate land in wife's name and proceed from there. Less headaches.

Originally Posted by Udon Dreamhouse

Hello where do you live? The costrution Worker live in Udon thani
He can speak a little english but youre wife can speak with him .
He can n contact you by line or e mail so that you alway's know what he is doping
Later i give you his nr

I can't send any PMs yet (not enough posts) but I DESPERATELY need a decent builder in Loei (next province).

PLEEEEEZE PM me with any details!

Buy a house that's built on stilts and can be moved on the back of trucks.

Make a Thai Will that legally leaves it to ghosts.

You should be okay.

Other than that, the house photos you're looking at are nice and cosy.