Condominium in Udon

[douglas]

Hi,
Parrot, You missed the main point, in the differance between owning and renting, if after say ten years you want to move. If renting, rents tend to go up rather than down you will have been paying well over 1MB and have nothing in return. If home was bought like mine, outright, if i wanted to move in ten years time, when the chicks fly the coup, i will have a good sum of money in my pocket. In 4 years the value of the house has doubled I will be happy if it doubles again in another four years.
I don't know why I'm pushing for buying, as i bought another home, as a investment, and am renting it out. The rent easily covers the cost of buying and the repairs and upkeep costs. In 4 years i have only had it vacant for 4 weeks. Yes please please rent.
As to building quality, I am happy with it. The electrics i checked and got the builders to put a earth in and checked it out myself, used to be in the electrical and electronics trade myself. As far as I know, last year any houses build on a estate in LOS had to have a earth installed.I might be wrong about this but i am sure i read this somewhere.
As to building a good quality house my mate who owned and ran a building firm back home, for thirty five years building 250 to 500 thousand pound places, has just completed a three bedroom house just outside of Kalisan. Ordered and bought all materials himself and hired workers to do job and he kept a check on them. The cost of the building and all contents were just over 12,000 GBP. I asked him to check my place and the only thing he said was that the kitchen was to small, and no ceiling or extractor fans, but building was O.K.
I don't know why but in the U.K. majority of people rent instead of buying. As opposed to other countries.
Cheers Doug.

[BobHelm]

I don't know why but in the U.K. majority of people rent instead of buying. As opposed to other countries.

I don't know where you got that idea from Doug - but it is certainly a misplaced one. Indeed it is equal 3rd. in the percentage of the population owning their own homes. Beaten only by Ireland & Italy.

[plien]

Hi,
Came to Udon Dec 2005. Looked at rental for a three bed two bathroom house, they wanted 10000B a month for same, new, unfurnished. Could not live with wife and 2 kids in a condo. Decided to buy, Same house cost me 980,000B then, this included land and fees for buying, best thing i have ever done. Put land in TG name and house in mine, yes you can do this, and got a 30 year lease extendable for another 30 years on land I should be so lucky, as i am 69 now but belt and braces. If i rented the place i would of paid the price of the house in just over eight years. This is assuming the rent does not rise, if you are lucky Ha Ha. I think the rent will about double, or more, in the next ten years and if you are on a fixed pension this could hurt. Also i could do what i want with the property. The only extra i pay is 100B a month for street lighting and security and binmen
The prices for the same size bare house with land on same estate now is over 1.7MB. I was offered more than that for mine but i would not sell, to happy here. So in less than 4 years my house has doubled in price. Even if you account the low interest rates you get on your money in U.K. I think i got the best deal.
If you intend staying here like me, i'm retired, i would certainly buy. IMHO.
On the same estate a five bed four bathroom two story house is for sale, they are asking 6MB, house was bought with extra land for just under 4MB new 2 years ago. Guy had trouble with his L.B. but i think he is asking to much as you can buy a new house to your requirements of that size for less, not as much land though. The estate is also inside the ring road.
Cheers Doug.

Hi Douglas. Looks like you have done a good deal, congratulations and well deserved. I just want to argue a little for the sake of it.
My experience is, rent rarely ever go up in Thailand. It stays the same year after year. Its first when next person moves in rent is hiked accordingly. I know people who have lived and still do at the same place for 10 years and rent is the same as year one. And also, can one really say that one own a house here? Can we put a price on the insecurity factor when we chose to invest here? Guess not, but it should be be a part of the equation. If you built a house on land belonging to you tg... I hope you have covered your ass from all angles. If your tg decides to leave this earth before you do... Wish you all the best, Plien

[korkenzieher]

But I think that is the point isn't it?, that most falang look at the headline cost, and perceive it to be cheap, rather than doing a valuation on what you actually get. Buying is at some point predicated on 'the greater fool' being around to take the asset off your hands for an acceptable price in the future. I always use a figure around 10 too - just think of it like a stock market P/E - and in Hua Hin, there is little doubt that valuations of well in excess of 30 are one of the things that is crushing the housing market currently. I can find a dozen properties tomorrow which I can rent for sub 10k/mo (often well below) which have a selling price more than 3 mio. I think 10 might be a figure that is relatively low in these days of near zero interest rates, but if I want to live in (and could rent) that property then the only real justification for buying it is if I need funding, and the payments are below the equivalent rent and likely to stay that way.