Where to buy a house in TH? Buy or rent?

[AoNuDa]

In a few years I will retire to TH, and live there with my Thai wife to be. I would like some advice.

We would like to buy land and a small 2 or 3 bdrm house or bungalow.
We intend my wife to buy the land and me to buy the house.
We would like to spend no more than 3M or 4M THB.

Here are my questions:

What are the best places overall (if region did not matter)?
What are the best places not too far from the sea?
What are the best places not too far from the sea and from BKK?

If we buy in a tourist area, we can rent out the property for a few years before moving in.
What would the rate of rental return be on that?
Later. we could also rent out for a few months a year, while we are in Europe.

I have read that it does not make sense to buy, but rather that it is better to invest the money and rent a house with the income from investment. The reasoning is that income from investing, say, 3M THB, would produce more than renting a property that cost 3M THB.

So what are the pros and cons of buying and of investing to pay for rent?

If we decide to buy and build, how easy is it to have an ecologically friendly house built?

Many thanks for your ideas and advice.

[jazzman]

You'll find plenty of interesting threads on your subject on this board - with plenty of ideas, you just need to search around a bit. At current prices, your budget will get you land and a very nice house of the kind you describe. The choice would be whether you want to be on one of those housing developments where there is a 4 m gap betwee the houses, or whther you would like a bit of garden around it.

If you only have a few years left to live, it would of course be cheaper to rent something. But houses are so cheap, and it is so easy to get you own custom design built within your budget.

As far as the ROI is concerned on your investment idea, a financial expert is probably the best person to ask.

By searching this site, you will see thet Jazzman is extremely biased in favour of Isaan. Others like to be near tourist areas with bright lights and prices to match.

[johnleepbs]

We would like to buy land and a small 2 or 3 bdrm house or bungalow.
We intend my wife to buy the land and me to buy the house.
We would like to spend no more than 3M or 4M THB.

Here are my questions:

What are the best places overall (if region did not matter)?
What are the best places not too far from the sea?
What are the best places not too far from the sea and from BKK?

If we buy in a tourist area, we can rent out the property for a few years before moving in.
What would the rate of rental return be on that?
Later. we could also rent out for a few months a year, while we are in Europe.

I have read that it does not make sense to buy, but rather that it is better to invest the money and rent a house with the income from investment. The reasoning is that income from investing, say, 3M THB, would produce more than renting a property that cost 3M THB.

So what are the pros and cons of buying and of investing to pay for rent?

If we decide to buy and build, how easy is it to have an ecologically friendly house built?

Many thanks for your ideas and advice.

Well firstly if you are wanting to build a small place as you describe your budget is more than sufficient!!

Rental would only give you a very small ROI, certainly less than you could get from investing, and in the meantime it will be depreciating through usage. As an aside, the only build projects that seem to generate any decent ROI seem to be "rooms" knocked up as cheaply as possible for rental to workers and/or students, not houses.

Buying... pros? Well you get what YOU want, not what is available. You have a house where you can live with complete security unless the Thai Government turns nasty. You have security for your wife should you shuffle off this mortal coil unexpectedly. But yes it will in real terms cost you more than renting unless you have a large number of years of life expectancy.

As for where.. well only you can decide that. Within your parameters of near the ocean and BKK there are lots of pleasant places. You would need to be much more specific about your wishes before anybody could really give advice I think. However I also live in Issan which certainly does not meet options 2 and 3!!

[jazzman]

What are the best places overall (if region did not matter)?
What are the best places not too far from the sea?
What are the best places not too far from the sea and from BKK?

Bangkok is a very large, sprawling urban agglommeration of districts, towns and other cities, much like most other very rge cities. Lots of people, lots of shops, lots of cars. In some parts of the city and particularly in the enormous department stores and malls, it is easy to forget that you are in Asia - you might as well be in London, Lyon, L.A., Birmingham, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Beijing, Doncaster, Delhi, Moscow, Marseille, Melbourne, Rome, Rio de J, or Istanbul.
Bangkok is a place for habitual 'big city' dwellers. You either love it or hate it. Jazzman lived in it for two years, near it for another two, and as far away as possible for the rest.

Farangs have accumulated so densly in littoral areas that their nearest facilities are almost within walking distance. Pattaya - more correctly it's conurbation of Banglamung, Nong Prue, Jomtien etc, - even boasts 2 Big Cs, 2 Tescos, a Tops, a Carrefour, and a plethora of everything else Western.

The opposite is true in Isaan: the more beautiful the countryside, mountains or riverside or lakeside gets, the further away you are from everything. It's the 'real' Thailand, or what's left of it.

I don't care, I've got a car, a big freezer, don't need pubs and karaoke, don't need farang neighbours

For more information of the kind you require, there are several excellent internet boards on living in Thailand, one even ran a poll recently on the best places to live. Search Google with 'Thailand' & 'forum'. There are also lots of books on the subject.There is also a great deal here http://www.tourismthailand.org and herehttp://www.tat.or.thand here http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/As ... iland.html. Finally, one of the best sources of regional and local information, although aimed at backpackers, is the Lonely Planet Guide to Thailand.

Maybe we should run a poll here too, but CTH members are inconsistent. When they have finished their houses, there is understandably little reason for them all to keep coming back. Their postings have, however, contributed greately to the wealth of building information which this board has become.

Here are a few place names (and/or areas) more or less within your criteria, with a few others thrown in for good measure, to whet your appetite. Look them up on a map then Google them. You will also find lots of interesting information on places in Thailand in the Wikipedia.
Kanchanaburi, Cha Am, Hua Hin, Samui, Phuket, Chonburi, Pattaya, Rayong, Trat, NOng Khai, Pon Pisai, Sri Chiang Mai, Mukdahan, Loei.

Farangs have a habit of settling in some of the most uninspiring places, but this is mainly governed by where their wives have their land and family. Jazzman is one of these and of course totally biased, but maybe some other members will throw in teier 2 cents.