Investment in Bangkok

First take an appointment with a Law Office to explore the formalities.

Be aware that investment property is in the TOP 10 scams in Thailand, mainly when they propose to you a guaranteed return of 10% for 10 years,, what they not say to you is you can loose all your money if the company is bankrupt, they will sell off plan to you any condominium and ask you to pay huge deposit of full payment when the work did not even start and will be scheduled to be delivered in the next 2 years..... Many foreign companies are here just to attract the expats and foreigners,,, even nobody will ever check they own the land !! may be they just lease it for 30 years and build on it... all this property with big return are like hotel management, you will be charge huge monthly charge for maintenance and management, you will pay the condo overpriced, and it will be difficult to re-sell it later .... better to buy second hand condominium you visit yourself to avoid any scams.

Anyway goo luck in your searches

Thank you so much for your worthy advice.
I'll keep in mind your advice.

To : cthierrymk
Thank you so much for your worthy advice.

johnrusdiah wrote:

To : cthierrymk
Thank you so much for your worthy advice.

You are welcome.

I just talk about property investment as you did not precise which type of investment,,,

You can have saving, bonds investment in Bank or Life Insurance also,,,

Regarding property if it is something you manage yourself and something you buy already finished , that means you can see it from your eyes ( and not a beautiful attractive marketing brochure or video or scale model ), that means a second hand condominium or one which is already finished and just few units left to be sold,,, alway carry some searches on internet about the promoter of the building, most of the scams are usually also in areas like Pattaya, Phuket...These international companies I will not list here have branches in Thailand it is not to attract Thai people, but only expats...and they will be charged more than what they should pay for it...

When you invest money it depend also what you are looking behind it,,, for example a monthly rent or dividend,, or resell in the next 5 or 10 years and do a big profit,,,,

Never forget that property need maintenance, need to pay charge for the mooban, need to pay income taxes if you rent it, maybe new law will come about land taxes, etc....and if you are not located in Thailand but just want to invest here, exchange rate also is something to think about like others fees to transfer moneys in and out of Thailand....

To : cthierrymk
Thanks for your respond. I want to invest in condominium or apartment.
I prefer a self-service condo or apartment.
I intent to rent it out as my income and also expecting the capital gain.

As ever Location, Location, Location will be the most vital factor, especially if you want to run serviced apartments. They will need to be convenient to typically required locations. However, in Bangkok you will need to take the urban sprawl very much into consideration.

I am considering at prime location, like Sukumvit, Silom, around  Siam Squire, river view apartment.
Perhaps your know reliable property agent in Bangkok.
I would appreciate if you could let me know.

Then its strange you should be on Expat.com as you are talking about ultra professional investment locations (highly competitive occupation rates as well) and not just casual return on investment.

johnrusdiah wrote:

I am considering at prime location, like Sukumvit, Silom, around  Siam Squire, river view apartment.
Perhaps your know reliable property agent in Bangkok.
I would appreciate if you could let me know.

Please read about the asian financial crisis ( the Thai bath was devaluated in 1997 )....which left many developers in Bangkok bankrupt. The half finished, multi million dollar condos and offices they left behind are known to the Thais as Ghost Buildings you can find hundred of stories on internet about them, and they become an attraction for travellers and tourists, despite it is dangerous to visit them for security reasons ( they can not be finished now and they can not be destroyed as both situations need million of dollars.....

Some even will say that "Bangkok probably has more abandoned buildings and modern day ruins than any other major city on earth",,,, yes the Thai economy has recovered since, but never forget what happen in the past as this can happen again...,,

The current political situatiion in Thailand is not stable, in any investment there is a part of risks, you need to analyze them, to quantify them, to study them, if you want to invest in property I suppose you have money and you are an investor with good knowledge about the market ( Thai market here, and why investing in an asian market if you are not living here or have not a good understanding of this market, this is a high risk for you, but property company will love people like you having money to invest as they can just manipulate you easily). You need to have a good economics background too,,, it is the same than buying some shares, they performed maybe well in the past but this does not mean they will perform well in the future, can you afford to lose all or part of your investment,, or not..

Investment with high return are always attractive but they are also the most risky,,, when you have a portfolio, you balance between risky, not risky, moderate investment,,,....

Thank you so much for your worthy and useful advice.
I gave up investment in Bangkok and instead of  I plan to invest in Australia
where the political situation is stable and the law inforcement is strong

But the Australian Dollar is falling in value quite noticeably - it may be exactly the WRONG time to invest in Australia i.e. the currency has seen its peak (which makes investment expensive) and its value is going to deteriorate (making investment loss-making in terms of currency exchange).

If the  currency is deteriorate, what  would you recommend me to do.

I agree with Gravitas. The Australian dollar has fallen steadily since the beginning of this year yet real estate prices are high.

There are no reliable property agents in Thailand.   Trust none of them, especially if a Thai citizen.
Bitter and lots of experience here.

I am a agent from Bangkok Smile condo, we are helping  many customers and owner to figure out condominium in Sukhumvit area. I am not sure what experince you got from thai agent, sorry to here that but I garuntee that there are a good agents who could help you.

Hi John, there are so many condominiums where is worth your money to invest, search out from internet.For this period, there are many immovable property selling lower than market price, some are sold with the tanent contract which you can enjoy monthly return as well. In a worst situation, alway can find a good opportunity depend on what you are looking for

Bapak John, if you're from Surubaya, Indonesia and wish to buy an apartment in Bangkok as investment is very strange. Majority of your country men will invest in Singapore and HK properties as return is much higher than Thailand. Besides you're sure of your investment as many people don't understand what investment means. If the property is good then it's easy to sell but if property takes time to sell then it's liabilities. Put your money in the bank is safer than buying a property. I believe you know what are assets and liabilities. In Thailand, foreigners can buy certain types of apartments or condos, so do talk to a lawyer and banker. If the property is good, bank will not hesitate to give you loan or you can borrow money as they know the property value. It's easy to buy property in Thailand but very hard to sell. Go around and you see many properties are for sale and some take years yet it can't sell. You're not Thai so there are restrictions. Be careful and there are many well known and international property agents around. Buying property is not like buying a pen. Lots of money is needed so take your time and do lots of checking.

Terima kasih banyak banyak untuk nasehat yg sangat sangat berharga dari anda. Properties in Singapore and Hongkong are very expensive. Not attractive for investment. I got more than 50 offers in my email for properties in
Phuket,  Pattaya, Hwa Hin, Koh Samui that lure me to invest with 12% return for 10 years. It makes me scare.
I know that Thailand is somewhat  like Indonesia. So I just give up Thailand and instead of I plan to invest in Australia
where the law enforcement is strong and the political situation is stable.
Again thank you.

for KhomKhom :  thank you very much for your worthy advice.

johnrusdiah wrote:

So I just give up Thailand and instead of I plan to invest in Australia
where the law enforcement is strong and the political situation is stable.
.

John, for any countries you are looking to invest you need to understand the laws and taxation system as well as the market opportunity and political situation.

If you never live in this country and something happen you will have certainly to fly there, to pay a lawyer to sort out things, if you have to do repair and no money in your bank account, you will have to transfer money there ( transfer fees, forex , bank charges ... ), you will have to pay tax if you rent your property, you need to understand that or will have to pay accountant there to do it for you, if one day you want to sell the property you will have to pay CGT capital gain tax on profit ( depends on contry ),.... maybe some others specific taxes on building or council taxe, etc..

Are you ready for all of these, are you ready to fly over in another country to sort out everything, to open bank account, to pay lawyer, sollicitor, transfer money, pay taxes in different countries,...etc...even you have an estate agent who manage your property they will not pay for your expenses if something going wrong, they will not adavnce money, if things worsen with tenant, and there is a court judgment, you maybe have to be present or a juristic person

Each country has their specificities, study everything, don't send money in a country because you just read  things attractive in internet, if it is a country you have live or work there before, and plan for your kids to study in the future it can worth to invest there in this case..as you can have a better knowledge and quantify all the risks you will take

Bapak John, yes HK & SG properties are higher in price, NO argument and doubt but SURE safe with your money. Besides LIPO bank in HK too ;-)
Good choice for Australia and many Asians are studying there. I'm sure you know your country men are there too. Perth and Melbourne is great and Curtin University is well known among SG; Indo and M'sians too.
As A$ exchange goes down the cost is lower for foreigners just like Euro$ has gone down over the years thus buying European products are cheaper.
I believe you have foreign account since you're from Surubaya and I can guess your work too. Been to Surubaya few times as well as Gresik but miss Bromo mountains I know a fair bit of your country; culture; food and various cities.
Thailand is not the place for property investment neither is their local stocks. Now attention is on China stocks as they can give 20% returns. Tencent of China is now higher  value than Oracle; IBM but slightly lower than Facebook. Park your money in a country where laws are clean and welcome foreigners. Keep an eye on Phils and Myanmar for they are coming in.
You're welcome to PM me and perhaps have a kuppa while we can talk more about your country as I miss certain things there. Can't wait for my soto and rendang spices haha

Haloo   Rejoice,  NI HOW MA ?  I do speak Mandarin. Do have plan to come over to Surabaya ? I will be your host.
I'll take you to Bromo. There are various kind of SOTO. All are delicious.
Do you have WhatsApp or BB so we can communicate more privately.
I am afraid to disclose my email address in this forum

Ah - a Teak Door member!

Property investment - any investment in Thailand - has potentially more risk for expats. We lack personal experience & knowledge of investments in Thailand?

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Hi fang37,
Thank you for your advice.

Are you looking for business investment in Thailand?
Thanks
Wayne Panasuik

Remember as a foreigner you cannot own land get a "Chanote", or a house, get a "Tambien Baan", foreigners cannot.

But the can lose as much money as they are prepared to in Thailand.

Our money is wanted here, we are not.

Hi John
May be I can help you with that. I got help few of my foreign friends bought condominium Bangkok. they can rent out when they are not here. One of my friends, she bought a condo name NYNE BY Sansiri. its near BTS line. she bought it from the pre-sale period and last week she just sold out  and can earn quite a lot.

so if you want to invest in buying property here I suggest you to start searching for a condo Bangkok or condo sukhumvit just to focus on the BTS line.

for more details, dont be hesitate to ask for my help. I'm local thai people

HI  M_lyn
Nice to meet you. Where is the best location for condo investment in Bangkok ?
What is the price for 2 Bed room.
Can a foreigner own property in Thailand.
Regards,

johnrusdiah wrote:

HI  M_lyn
Nice to meet you. Where is the best location for condo investment in Bangkok ?
What is the price for 2 Bed room.
Can a foreigner own property in Thailand.
Regards,

Hi  nice to meet you too!!
the best condominium's location is depend on what environment you want? (in city? expat area?) .
But my suggestion is you should find not that expensive brand of property but convenience. May be you can search for the BTS line or condo sukhumvit area.
Buying a condominium in Thailand as a foreigner is the easiest and most straightforward method to invest in real estate. Due to the 1979 Thailand Condominium Act, foreigners can own condominiums anywhere in Thailand 100% outright, as long as the building has not already sold its 49% foreign quota. Each condominium in Thailand when registering with the land department designates 49% of its units for sale for potential purchase by a non-Thai buyer.

for more details can contact me anytime

M_LYN wrote:

Hi John
May be I can help you with that. I got help few of my foreign friends bought condominium Bangkok. they can rent out when they are not here. One of my friends, she bought a condo name NYNE BY Sansiri. its near BTS line. she bought it from the pre-sale period and last week she just sold out  and can earn quite a lot.

so if you want to invest in buying property here I suggest you to start searching for a condo Bangkok or condo sukhumvit just to focus on the BTS line.

for more details, dont be hesitate to ask for my help. I'm local thai people

I live in sansiri condominium too. It's facilities really good. I just move in few months ago and also very enjoying it here

your information is useful.  can i have the link for the sansiri that you say ?  where is the location, is it Convenience enough ?  cause i planning to move to bangkok living.

gjie86 wrote:

your information is useful.  can i have the link for the sansiri that you say ?  where is the location, is it Convenience enough ?  cause i planning to move to bangkok living.

condo bangkok

It is a buyers market now in Thailand. Do not invest more than you can afford to lose, that is the rule here, as a foreigner you cannot get a Chanote/land title, or a Tambien Baan/house book.

You can own 49% of a condo, a Thai corp., the other 51%.

John, check out a condo's issues and their HOA fees not being paid up. Take my condo:

* this very second, a loud water pump on the top floor's roof bothers me.
* one elevator has been disabled (or it remains un-repaired)
* Over 10% owe huge amounts in HOA fees. Often $ 5-figure amount and surprisingly on the top floor where prices are the highest.
* Crazy Thai developer - PM me if you want to take a look-see. They embark on silly adventures, then leave an eye sore. Or they finish a huge office building by 80% and abandon it, instead of selling it at a loss after completion. Now, they have wasted many millions of Dollars...

You can get double digit returns in the USA. You need to find motivated sellers.

The returns here in Thailand are not that great TBH. YMMV, but you better be Conservative and add vacancy, PM fees and HOA fees to a rental.

Chris

One of your friends bought a condo and you think that she is going to earn a lot???

She will be lucky to ever get what she paid for it, never mind making a profit.

Everything is over priced, it is an inflated, buyers market.