Buying a house

[whosyourdaddy]

I think the high end is oversupplied. The lower and middleclass end is still good value. My wife and I just are in the process of buying a house in Upper sukumvit. ( mortgage approved, contract signed, waiting on lawyers and the head office of the banks to settle things- slow process- 6 weeks so far)

 

If you buy directly from the banks, REAL deals are there. But you have to time it right before they release the houses to the asset capital companies. Mortgages are really easy to obtained, expecially if the house is with the bank.

 

Many of the houses in our area have been improved in the last year. People have some confidence in the market now and are willing to spend. As long as people dont go too much into debt, this should be a good thing.

[Guest]

To no one in particular. The Nation publishes a property guide every so often (I think it is quarterly). The last one came out last week.

 

One thing is immediately apparent from the Nation report, articles in the press and the general sentiment in the business community here now: serious concerns about a glut of condos come 2005. If you have been to Bangkok in the last 18 months, you will have soon construction activity all over the place and plenty of ads for new condos. Those new condos are starting to come on-line now, and you are now starting to predictions of a glut. The real estate brokers, of course, are all optomistic - it's in their economic self-interest to play up the market even it is starting to turn, which it clearly is.

 

My biggest concern right now would be making a deposit on a project that is never completed and not getting my money back. That is exactly what happened in the mid-90's and despite all of the rhetoric from developers I doubt that things have changed. Personally, if I was buying a condo in Bangkok, I'd wait another six months and see what happens. There might be some incredible bargains available next year if, as appears to be the case, supply vastly exceeds demand.

[whosyourdaddy]

Yes A friend did this. They ( Canadian women, Thai man) paid for a new condo. Unfortunately all they got at the end of the project was a shell. They were both professionals. She had the best thai language skills out of any foreigner I knew and used Thai everyday when she met with Thai diplomats etc. He was a manager of a major hotel. But despite the connections and thai knowledge they got BURNED. Eventually the mistake cost them their marriage.

 

Buyer beware.

 

Many condo/housing companies say they are 90% sold. But these figure are based on that people have put a 10K-20K deposit on the project, years before it is complete. They show you all these condo maps with all the sold units, hoping you will rush and put down a deposit before you miss the opportunity. Many of these units will reopen up after the deposit time has expired and people could not get full financing for the property

[New Petchburi Pete]

We bought a home in East Pattaya. We like it here.

 

I was sitting in a British pub in our area last Spring. A very distraught young fellow from England dropped in for a beer (more like many!). He was told that his home would be completed, and would be ready to move into in late March. He moved over in early May bringing all his possessions only to find out ground hadn't even been broken yet !!! ::

[Guest]

>>>My wife and I just are in the process of buying a house in Upper sukumvit.<<<

 

 

buying a house to live in, without much thought on using it as an investment in real estate is a different matter alltogether, after having done due diligence on the project. a fast resale due to oversupply of the market is nearly impossible.

if i or the missus would find a way to qualify for a mortage we would straight away buy the house we are living in now (anyone can lend me 60K US$? , or knows how to get a mortage based on my word? sorry, just selfemployed, no fixed income to show :.

[Guest]

>>>People have some confidence in the market now and are willing to spend. As long as people dont go too much into debt, this should be a good thing. <<<

 

 

that seems to be one of the two major problems of todays thai economy - they do get into far too much personal debt.

[SingaporeSteve]

eee said:

I'm thinking about buying a condo. I've seen this happen by going to real estate websites. I think these falangs do raise the price just so that they can pocket the difference.I email these english lad working for the real estate agency. He literally chewed me out when I said that Jomtien bch is so much farther than north Pattaya from walking street. All they want is MONEY. sell,sell,sell. I guess the best thing to do is to buy directly from the owner!!????? What do you think guys? I'm talking about condos only ...EEE

 

 

Its also a question of supply and demand. There are very few condo's in North Pattaya and loads in Jomtien, therefore the real estate agent will have more to offer in Jomtien. The fact is though that most sales are done via agents as thats what most farang buyers are more comfortable with and thus they are a critical distribution channel.

 

Cheers

[SingaporeSteve]

New Petchburi Pete said:

We bought a home in East Pattaya. We like it here.

 

I was sitting in a British pub in our area last Spring. A very distraught young fellow from England dropped in for a beer (more like many!). He was told that his home would be completed, and would be ready to move into in late March. He moved over in early May bringing all his possessions only to find out ground hadn't even been broken yet !!! ::

 

 

I am amazed that one project being pushed by Farang brokers on the Hill between Jomtien and Pattaya which has been advertised now for about 1 year, claims to be 70% sold and they have not even started the first house according to pictures in latest ad. I would be P****d if I had been an early reserver and ONE year later, nothing has happended.

 

I also went to see another project in Jomtien which is being proclaimed as the areas best (as they all are) high end project. Buyer beware is all I would say - the sales contract is so slanted towards the developer its unhealthy. 250,000 baht deposit, 30% deposit and then 60% split over 6 monthly payments - No mention of when title transfers to the buyer and the delay clause is laughable. These houses take 4 months max to build (and I have done it many times) - 30% front payment should mean transfer of land title and then seperate contract to build the house, based on progress not timeliness as the only determining factor. The infrastructure of the street drains is laughable - they are using 6" PVC pipe to drain away the water when the piping should be at least 60cm in diameter to cope with even moderate rainfall.

 

There are good places but you have to be very very carefull and do not believe anything you are told concerning an off plan project - detail it and include it in any contract as a minimum.

[whosyourdaddy]

" a fast resale due to oversupply of the market is nearly impossible."

 

 

This house as sold 5x in the past 5 weeks (mind you some banks and capital companies in there). People keep on flipping it. But still undervalued. Just too bad the bank could not get off their ass 6 weeks ago when it was 200K cheaper. Oh well. Not a big difference in the long run. Yes we are going to live in and then rent it out and buy the next one. Retirement fund.!!

[Guest]

Yes A friend did this. They ( Canadian women, Thai man) paid for a new condo. Unfortunately all they got at the end of the project was a shell. They were both professionals. She had the best thai language skills out of any foreigner I knew and used Thai everyday when she met with Thai diplomats etc. He was a manager of a major hotel. But despite the connections and thai knowledge they got BURNED. Eventually the mistake cost them their marriage.

Even smart people make dumb decisions. Or to put it in the alternative, you shouldn't conclude that a decision is right simply and only because the people making it are smart.

 

When it comes to property and certain arge ticket items, emotions can sometimes prevail over better sense. I have seen this with wealthy friends here and in the US when they are buying homes and expensive cars (I'd also like to have a Porchse, but...) When imagining my potential new beach house in Koh Samui or wherever, I also sometimes find logic and commonsense taking a backseat to my emotions. In the case of someone moving here from the West, I suspect the temptation to act irrationally is even greater; the consequences certainly are.