cavanami Posted September 29, 2010 Report Share Posted September 29, 2010 When I get to the actual buying stage' date=' I fully intend to get competent professionals to vet things in every way that I can. However, finding competent professionals may not be so easy and is part of what this thread is about. I've heard a lot, both good and bad, about Sunbelt Asia.[/quote'] My $0.02 worth, get cheap local legal advice, and then back that advice up with a local lawyer in your jurisdiction, that legal firm having offices in the LOS but you can rely on their western insurances if the shite hits the fan. I do, and pay for it (on serious or expensive outlays) even if I am very confident the local advice seems correct - legal insurance is the cheapest insurance you can get Doesn't always work...while working in Japan, the Japanese legal office suggested that we work with their US based office, same international legal firm. It started to go sideways and I went back to the Japanese legal office to complain, they said, "...that US office issue, we not involve..."...yeah, lawyers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozpharlap Posted September 29, 2010 Report Share Posted September 29, 2010 It always depends how you ask the question or get the advice. You get it from both. You asked the expat firm to confirm your understanding, and if it is legally correct. You don't just hand the local firm's advice direct to the international firm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffalo_bill Posted September 30, 2010 Report Share Posted September 30, 2010 About how to "own" a building / property / land in Siam are enough approved ways available that do not need a 500 USD / hour lawyer . Depending on the personal situation . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
expat Posted October 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 Thanks to all who have responded--much food for thought. Building is a huge hassle anywhere...snip...It just needs one paid professional to keep trouble on low level . Pay the right people...snip... Depending final closure of a land purchase I will build...snip... First thing I do is installing 2 webcams on the site and if they sleep under the truck I pick up the telephone . This system velly goos . Interesting. Finding a competent builder is the problem for me. Also, may I ask which method you will use to 'own' the land? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexi Posted October 1, 2010 Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 How about buying condo units and renting them out....more simple than obtaining land and buiding...dont know what the rate of return would be...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted October 1, 2010 Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 The condo that I rent; original purchase price, 1.3M Baht, improvements/remodel, 500K Baht (?), so approx. 1.8M Baht....rents for 15K Baht/month, so a ten year pay back, not counting any maintenance. IMO, not a good pay back, plus after 10 years can it be resold? maybe not or a a very low price. A friend bought a condo for 1M Baht, now the Muzlims have invaded the area and the condo will sell for 400K Baht, big loss! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexi Posted October 1, 2010 Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 thats a 10% yield - pretty good by todays standards ....but as you point out its no good if you cant sell it at some point.Sounds like too big a risk to take unless you have mega$ and can afford to take the hit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unit731 Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 I'd like to hear from more who actually have been landlords. Been a landlord for 30 years in Farangland. It's a real hassle. Yes, there are some who actually take care of place and actually pay on time. But the vast majority of renters just don't have the knowledge, capability, and care of property that one would seam reasonable. You had best have some long talks with people who are landlords in LOS. New or old. Upkeep is a money drain. Never mind those that do not pay on time. Never mind those that destroy the property thru neglect. Never mind the calls in the night that the water heater does not work or the AC is broken. Or there are bugs in the place (insects). Yes, you can hire a service to 'fix' all this - but that service may or may not be competent and does take a cut in rental income. Insurance may or may not be a big expense in LOS. The laws may be different in LOS - and it might be easy to evict a non-payer of slob. But do ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilli13 Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 expat, along with the consensus so far I'd not really classify property biz (buying to rent out be it single units or complete building) low risk or straight ahead. of course it depends, but since you already have another biz maybe you could expand or do some related stuff more in your area of 'expertise'? feel free to PM should you want to discuss more on TH investments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
expat Posted October 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2010 Thanks for the response and offer, chilli13. I don't have any businesses now, I'm an employee and have been at the same place for quite a while. If the company folds, there are no other job opportunities in this area that pay well enough for me to be interested, hence my interest in putting my savings to work. I used to own rental property in back in farangland, so it's fairly familiar to me. I'm open to other businesses, but would be clueless on how to start one. If you had some specifics in mind that might be of interest to me, feel free to PM me--I'm all ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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