INPUT....

[Scott]

I am debating on weather to retire in Udon, on a part/full time basis?Should I buy a home or rent? How much in American dollars do I need a month to live in an average style? As people who have retired in Thailand from another country, you know this is a very important decision and one that should not be taken lightly. I would appreicate any input and advice..........THANKS for any insight...

[dooley110]

Scott, my understanding is, a foreigner is not allowed to buy landed property unless he uses his Thai spouse's name.. One can only rent.

Tony from Singapore

[Stevo]

Hi Scott,
Before you can retire to Thailand, you will need some sort of visa which will allow you to stay there... check out the Thai embassy/consulate in your home country for options.
As dooley110 says, you cannot own land (certain exceptions)... so if you intend to buy (other than a condo), you will need to clear that hurdle first!
Renting an apartment or a house, is a good option to start with... as rents are not expensive, (c. $100-$150/month).
Your monthly living expenses, could be anything over $150, depending on things like... transport, entertainment, socialising, drinking, shopping, (if you don't know your way around, it will cost you more to live ).

[BKKSTAN]

Scott,so much depends on what your motivation is for wanting to retire here!From your question,I assume you have very little experience in Thailand other than a or some tourist trips.You will get a lot of advice from various personalities,but who you are makes a great bit of difference,and not many expats are the same!I would counsel to take plenty of time researching and relating that info to your own evaluation of yourself!!I would recommend that you read much from sites like stickmanofbangkok.Start with an attitude that you don't know anything,even if you think you do.The difference between coming on holiday versus becoming an expat here is like night versus day!Good Luck

[Papy Ion]

I am debating on weather to retire in Udon, on a part/full time basis?Should I buy a home or rent? How much in American dollars do I need a month to live in an average style? As people who have retired in Thailand from another country, you know this is a very important decision and one that should not be taken lightly. I would appreicate any input and advice..........THANKS for any insight...

Hi, Scott!

You should probably first spend some time as a "semi-expat" here before you consider seriously if you want to really retire in Udon Thani. You can try to stay a few months in the area, renting a house and making contacts here whom might help you to have a better understanding of the everyday life in this place. You could even spend some time to learn the language or at least, to better know the culture and the Thai ways. Then, you would be able to decide whether or not you want to retire in Udon Thani.

Just my two satangs...

[Scott]

Thanks for all the input! I think a condo might just be the best option. For I would not want to get married, just so I can own a home. In the U.S. condo's seem to be bettar. In construction, appearance and just for the fact that the people that own the property have a vested interest in taking good care of them. I have heard of Condo's in BKK and Phuket. That 49% of the buyer can be forgieners. I am not familiar enough with Udon to know if they have these types of Condo projects. I understand the posters concerns about the cultural differents and other issues( language barrier, natural conditions such as heat, humidity and floods). I have researched this intensively and have also visited for a month at a time. I have enjoyed my time in Thailand and the quality of life that you can recieve for a fraction of the cost in the U.S. is really what makes Thailand a very alluring place of course the culture,food and the very charming people. Maybe this is a view I have as a tourist and that appeal will wear off. If I stayed for a much longer period..............Thanks for the input.........I am also open to hear more.................Scott

[arjay]

Yes Scott, I too would recommend that you rent here for up to a year, and really get to know Udon and Thailand and related idyiosyncrasies (?), BEFORE making any long term decisions.

[Prenders88]

I'd rent first see how you like Udon and get a feel for the place.
You might like somewhere else better. I made the mistake of buying in Udon Thani, I prefer Nong Khai.

[Coot]

Prenders,is the property market so illiquid that you cannot sell your place in Udon and move to Nong Khai?

[BKKSTAN]

From what I see,the 2nd hand market is pretty well confined to falangs.So it is hit and miss,depending on the particular type of falang that happens to come into the area.There is not to much in finacing available to most of the falangs.So,most purchases are for cash.Definitely confined to those with savings.Village houses are pretty much a deadend as far as resale is concerned ,unless you are the replacement BF/Husband and are dpoing ''upgrades''!LOL

[TC]

I have to agree with Prenders88

I would say that Nong Khai is the better option.

Not having total recall but I do remember reading somewhere that Nongkhai was in a top ten list of places to retire.

TC

[Prenders88]

Prenders,is the property market so illiquid that you cannot sell your place in Udon and move to Nong Khai?

Coot,
We can easily sell up and move to Nong Khai, we are located in a good area near Nong Prajak, We bought the place in haste from the Kasikorn Bank, it was a repossesion, we got it cheap and it was to good to turn down. It's now worth double for what we had paid for it. We just prefer Nong Khai. The 'Issan Riviera'.

[arjay]

We just prefer Nong Khai. The 'Issan Riviera'.

You mean the "Kong Riviera", don't you?

I'm coming up to visit it tomorrow.

[TC]

Mmm


Suppose all the Farangs that arrived in Udon, say this century, moved to Nong Khai. Wouldn't that be nice?

Then we could have a nice big bar strip (plus decent pie and chips)and maybe even start "Nongkhaimap.com"


TC

[wickder]

I was in Nong Khai yesterday.The river is an amazing site as half the trees from Chiang Mai flash floods are floating by.Wow.

Prenders you did not say why you do not consider selling up.Loads of very cheap land in Nong Khai.

[AussieBoy]

If intending to buy a home you the purchaser buy the land in wife GF name and you take a mortage over it, so you supply the funds and the GF wife pays you the mortagee, the so called repayments, best if wife GF does not know you supply the funds, go through a laywer, The wife GF goes to your lawer and borrows the funds as a private loan.

to many farang get caught with buying home and relationship fails with property in girls name, this way you own the mortage, she thinks you will pay the monthly repayments, which you tell her you do, but in fact you dont need to repay any thing as its your own money, but it easy to make payments into account and use those funds to live off.

So you take monthly payment out of your account and pay into your mortage account, then you with draw the funds via ATM as you need the money, what it shows is wife making monthly payments to pay off mortage.

It shi. hits the fan and the relationship fails, well you can stop making payments, always better to get behind with payments like several months.
So your laywer informs you wife GF that the property will be sold and the funds from the sale will go to pay the mortagee, which is why she not know you are the mortagee, simple you can own property but not in your name, Called Power with out the glory, you have the power to sell any time but you have no glory in having your name as the owner.

The courts will allow the forclosure as the mortagee wants its money for non payment of loan, so best to arrange the funds as private lender which a lawer can arrange that way now one knows who owns the lending funds

Worked well here in Aussie, when I thought a GF was not honest and a money grabber, so I arranged a private loan with her and my self at a good interest rate, my money, and my gut feeling was right 2 years later she was not getting what she wanted and left , thinking there was plenty of asset in the property, But bad luck, I we got behind in the repayments, and at 8% interest, not long before the loan goes up, the property sold for 40,000 more than we paid for it less the mortagee penalites and repayments, she got almost $1000 after 2 years of me paying the mortage, cost me & her about $8000 for the forced sale by the mortagee, (Me). I ended up with the property still with a $8000 bill for transfers tax ECT, still worth it as rent would have been $200 a week over 107 weeks we had been together
She got $1000 after 2 years and I got the rest, If I didnt do it that way I would have lost over 30000 in repayments and she would be intitled to half the sale profits, and not making any funds towards the repayments


have a good day, I'll be in Udon 1 sept to the 5 th Oct hope to catch up with any forum members at the meeting

CHoW

[laphanphon]

already received good advise to rent, i agree. living expenses, you should be comfortable with 1000 USD a month. can be done cheaper, or if having more needs, vises, more expensive.