Korean Job Discussion Forums

[chaz47]

Would you consider buying a condo in Thailand as an investment? It seems that the pricing isn't too bad at the moment. I don't have any links, but I believe that you could get a decent place in Phuket for $40,000 (hopefully I'm not dropping a decimal).

While you are slaving away stacking up the won you could rest easy in the knowledge that your investment in Thailand is bringing in additional income. Then once a year you could take a month off and live there yourself.

Is this the stuff of pipe dreams? I thought I read that foreigners can actually own 100% of a condo in Thailand without a major investment.

[mrsquirrel]

Anything you have property wise in Thailand is NOT an investment. Don't kid yourself. All the people who have bought property over there do so knowing that they can afford to lose what they put in.

Marriages fail, loopholes are closed, things change.

[pastis]

In some cases it's definitely a good investment, mainly in Bangkok. As you said, you can buy a new condo for as little as 40k (likely double that in a really good area like Thong Lo), which really isn't much money. The value of your property is not likely to increase re-sale wise, but you can likely rent it out for double the monthly amount you'd need to pay back the bank. Lot's of people seem to do it. If you had enough condos you could just rake in a living on renting them out.

And if you plan on ever living in Thailand for more than a year, you're much better off buying than renting (if you can afford the down payment).

[shifter2009]

Interesting. Care to elaborate more? I am rather clueless to the real estate scene there.

[Capo]

there are some restrictions on ownership in thailand. When I was in Chiang Khong, before i crossed the boarder to Laos, I talked to guy from Manchester who owned a fair amount of land there, he said the only way he could get approval was to put 51% of it into his Thai wife's name.

However it might be a different deal with condos and I have a fealing the rules probably vary between provinces.

[mrsquirrel]

If you are really interested pop over to this forum www.teakdoor.com they have a lot of advice on living,owning and building property in Thailand. They have a resident lawyer who isn't a sponsor of the website who happily gives out information that isn't biased unlike some of the other Thai forums.

[unknown9398]

I've heard some real estate analysts say that Thailand is likely to become Asia's version of Florida, particularly for the Chinese as they grow in wealth. Only time will tell, but it seems like a reasonably sound investment to me, and I'm a licensed real estate agent in the U.S.

[pastis]

[oxfordstu]

[oldfatfarang]

Try www.ajarn.com (the teachers' forum for Thailand). I'm sure you'll get some sage advice about 'investing' in Thailand. A great place - the world's best people - but the expats in Thailand have a saying:

(Q) How do you get a small business in Thailand?
(A) Start with a big business.

Tread carefully in the Land of Smiles.

[mrsquirrel]

Ajarn might help him when he has lost all his money and needs a job. Not going to be much help to him for anything else though.

[oxfordstu]

Yeah, Teakdoor has forums tailored to the OP's specific needs:

Thailand Land, Property, and Condo Sales Listings

Construction in Thailand

Doing Things Legally


It's really interesting to see members building houses -- they post pics of progress, and experienced expats give advice on what to do and where to get materials, etc.

[mrsquirrel]

Got to agree.

I do have a soft spot for Teakdoor.

Excellent travel guides and diaries as well, lots of decent photos.

It's tongue in cheek side of things is always good for a laugh.

http://teakdoor.com/thailand-land-property-condo-sales-listings/

http://teakdoor.com/doing-things-legally/

http://teakdoor.com/construction-in-thailand/

[chaz47]

I will have to wait a few years to attempt this scheme. I mistakenly thought that I could get a VA home loan for outside the US. I also mistakenly believed that I could qualify for a small business loan through the VA.

Stuff it. I guess I'll have to work my balls off for a year or two and give it a try. Unless of course someone knows where I could get a decent loan to give this a go.

The rental rates on a few of the condos in Phuket that I looked at go for about $2000 a month or about $650 a week. Daily rates are even more profitable at never less that $300 and upwards to $900 at peak season. That's definitely a nice chunk of change, especially if you had a few.

If anyone has any direct links to this topic on other sites please share them. I'll begin to check out ajarn and teakdoor as well.

Thanks.

[spliff]

Yeah...dirty dog is swell guy.