Buy a home or have one built?

[DesertStorm]

I'm ready to make an investment, but this is the first time I've ever done it in Thailand.

I'd appreciate some input...

...buy a home or have one built?

[Laan Yaa Mo]

That's a good question that I have thought about for awhile. My first reaction was to rent when I decide to move permanently to Thailand. However, I just spent 5 weeks living in a home in Khorat, which has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a large living room and kitchen. The cost of the house was 600,000 baht. I am sure there must be similar ones to that in Udonthani.

It suits my needs, and is in a quiet neighbourhood not too far from the centre of the city (10 minutes), and close to the Mall and so on. It is also minutes from the expressway, which leads north to Khon Kaen, south to Bangkok, east to Buriram and west to somewhere.

[DesertStorm]

There are some real bargains up in Ponpisai.

But my hearts kind of set on Udon.

[Tafia]

Check out as few real estate agents FBI and the like, give you some idea about prices of second hand and new.
Im in the process of buying (new.. being built) on a small estate, but I rented for almost 2yrs first, which in my opinion is sound advice, gives you time to explore the area and see what's around and where you want to buy or build.

[Galee]

I will be going down the "have one built" route. IMO you get better value for money and the advantage of designing your own home..
Of the pre-built houses I have seen, most have little or no space around them, giving no privacy and being prone to noise from nearby neighbours.

[parrot]

Build your own. Do your homework on finding a good location (neighbors, infrastructure - power, water, phone, market, etc, distance from town, schools if needed, flooding potential, preferably a few (or a few hundred) km from the family. I've known of a few who have built their own home only to find out they have no reliable source of quality water....but then, there are some horror stories of people in town who to this day don't have reliable water from the city.
If rice fields aren't your thing, there are nice views of hills as you venture out to Nongwahsaw and beyond. 4 lane highway into the city means you're not far away. Mekong river in/around Nongkai is idyllic....if that's your cup of tea.
I'm not knocking subdivisions, but having lived in the countryside the past 12 years, I'd find it very difficult to go back to city-style living, close neighbors, noise.

[Philip101]

Try not to have one built honestly.

Sorry no i mean if you DONT speak thai dont have one built.

Thai builders are known to be unreliable and alot gets lost in translation, and when it does get lost in translation, your the one whos going to pay for it.

Also, alot of houses custom made are hard to resale unless done really well.

AND on top of that usually if u want a house built from scratch its probably going to be on a piece of land in the middle of nowhere, which youll regret after about a year.

dont get me wrong im only picking out the negatives if you doit well it will be amazing...a house in your image

but as i said if you dont speak thai, for heaven sake dont use your wife as a translator it will cause alot of grief if things go wrong.

and while im here dont use members of the wifes family to help build, again it will cause alot of awkwardness and gried if things go wrong

[LoveDaBlues]

After renting 2 stand-alone single family homes and 2 townhomes I decided to build. I wasn't happy in any of the 4 rentals. I like my peace and quiet but I also like the convenience of living close to town center. The solution for me was to find a larger piece of property and have a home built.

My new home has more than met my expectations. Grounded electric, proper kitchen, A/C throughout, no close neighbors etc. etc. etc. I still own a home in the states but my Thai home is far better IMO.

I don't know if I could sell my home and take a profit/loss......it's a moot point for me as I built the house for my comfort and it's not for sale. I do know that I wouldn't live in a house I didn't like just to save money; life's too short for that.

Well, enough posting for now and back to watching the 55" TV in the Home Theater room with my little girl.


Some folks know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.

[parrot]

"Some folks know the cost of everything and the value of nothing"

words of wisdom...especially worth remembering as we get older.

[RLTrader]

...buy a home or have one built?

SB -

...buy a home or have one built, or Rent?

Rent.

If I had it to do over again, I would Rent.

[old-timer]

Build your own house? Buy a house ? or rent a house ?
Trickey questions arn't they ?
The answer is easy enough. Do what suits you.
Building a house can be a bit of a pain at times but if youv'e got the time to be there throughout the construction you will have a property built how you want it. It's no good to just send money over and hope for the best.
Buying a house from a developer is an option some people like because it's so easy, no hassle, pay your money and move in. These houses are expensive and most housing estates look run down after a few years. IMO.
Or you can rent, this being the cheapest option. Don't expect the landlord to pay for a new kitchen or bathroom when the wife wants one.

OT...........

[Texpat]

I like chocolate ice cream.
Anyone who prefers strawberry is wrong.
Chocolate is best.

Chacun ses goûts.

[RLTrader]

Build your own house? Buy a house ? or rent a house ?
Trickey questions arn't they ?
The answer is easy enough. Do what suits you.

correct

you will have a property built how you want it.

You will never get a "built how you want it", well unless you do it yourself.

can be a bit of a pain at times

a understatement

[-o<

[bullgoose]

Why would anyone buy or build a house you cannot own and which can be taken from you at any time ?

Long term rental the safe way to go.

[ajsp9]

Why would anyone buy or build a house you cannot own and which can be taken from you at any time ?

Long term rental the safe way to go.

I disagree with your opinion but if thats your opinion, then fine.

You have highlighted the negative aspect of owning a home in Thailand, and advocate long term renting but on the contrary some are happy to invest in a home as it provides stability, security and allows one to put down roots.

I think a watered down view of your post could be more appropriate in that you don't spend what you cannot afford to lose in terms of property and by this, I mean if a relationship breakdown or legislative change in govt means losing that potential investment.

[bullgoose]

Fair point, I guess each situation should be judged on its own merit, IE, a married man, with kids and plenty of wonga might feel secure enough to take the chance, I guess its easy to fly off on a negative tangent having heard so many horror stories over the years, though for some losing a home is like water of a ducks back, one old chap I know has been taken for a mug four times but clearly has the means to not to be bothered by it as he is the proccess of setting himself up for the 5th time.

Good luck to those going down that road however.

[FrazeeDK]

- If you're not sure you're staying here long term, try a rental for about a year to gauge if you really like it..

- If you do know you're staying long term, then shop around and look at a variety of developments to get an idea what you really want to build.. If a development suits your needs, go for it.

- On building it yourself; plan, plan, plan.. KNOW EXACTLY what you want. Don't start building and get a wild hair up your ass every week and have the contractor adding/changing... This will cost you moah money!! Planning properly also means land prep if you're doing landfill to raise the property.. LET IT SIT for a goodly time to compact/settle, otherwise you'll have major cracks in your walls. Have full buy-in from your other half and get full-blown drawings done from whatever initial plans you develop.. If necessary stake out the land to show the other half the layout.. Find a contractor that has a good reputation or absent knowing anyone to recommend them, go look at previous houses they built and as many of them as possible. Better yet, look at houses they built 1-3 years prior to see how the work holds up. As an earlier poster stated, you've got to be there on the ground to watch the contractor.. Remember, he's not your buddy, he's trying to make the highest profit he can so if you don't specify specific building materials, they'll buy cheap stuff to increase the profit margin.. As you watch the building go up, don't get mad (once more DON'T GET MAD!!) if the contractor cocks up portions of the work. Just have solid contract specifications that you can point to and say, "take it down, do it again." DO NOT expect your Thai half to be your "inspector". They invariably will not be able to be a hard ass to get things done right..

If you do solid planning, select a decent contractor and monitor the work, you'll have a nice place..

Oh, remember, money goes a lot farther over here than back home.. Don't get the typical Farang big head and decide to build the Taj Mahal.. Keep it reasonable.. And as earlier posters commented.. NEVER think that your oh so lovely house is EVER going to be worth the money you put into it.. Your wonderful palace make look nice to you but be entirely unmarketable..

[thrilled]

I believe first of all start slow.Maybe find A place to rent and then look at houses for sale.Then take your time shop around for contractors.
Just like in the previous threads,do what ya think is best for you.Just remember don't hurry ,take your time.

[thalenoi]

Why would anyone buy or build a house you cannot own and which can be taken from you at any time ?

Long term rental the safe way to go.

And where are you going to rent that house?

In a ghetto where your bedroom is 2m away from your neighbor's living room?
A house with 3 bedrooms size 3mx3m?
What if you want to live in green surroundings far from street noise (dogs, roosters and children)
What if you want space, re 1 rai of land and a swimming pool?
What if you want a decent bathroom, kitchen, electricity, water supply?
What if you want to live say 20m from the sea?

Those might be some of the many reasons why some decide to built a house to live in until we die or get thrown out...

[douglas]

Ho,
Some posters say you cannot own a house. This is incorrect. you can own a house, but you can't own the land. There are a few ways of getting around this, my way was to put the land in my wife's name and get the papers signed so I can live there for 30 years, with the option of a further 30 years. You then cannot be "chucked out" as some people say.
I bought my home in 2005 for 980.000B. Inside the ring road, In stirling, then was less than 14,000GBP. Got GBP's sent over here and converted in LOS. Now a similar house in the same area, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, is selling for 2MB at today's rate 40,000GBP. The same type of house to rent is about 10,000B a month, and rents have a habit of increasing, never seen any decrease. Also I can do anything I want with the house to make my life comfortable, Not bad. If I sold the house now, not that I would, after splitting 50-50 with wife, I still would have about double GBP's than what I paid for it. And what I would pay in rent would have bought me the house in about 8 years of renting.
I'm very happy with what I did. Other people have different needs and this way might not suit them. Horses for courses. I just thank God I did not take peoples advice and rent, like they told me to do.
Just thought i'd give you my experances.
Cheers Doug.