Propery Appraisal

[sirineou]

Here is how almost every Thailand story begins:
A few years a go while visiting Thailand I met a girl , Haaaaaaaaa. An experience that I can best describe as a brick falling from the heavens, hitting me on the head , at which point I lost the ability to reason( among other things). A few years later happily Married to above stated girl , In love with Thailand ( cant wait to retire there) , purchased a small piece of land ( or should I say my wife did )and is thinking about building a small house. does the story sound familiar to you?? The land I purchased was a distress sale , so I know I got a good deal. But other than the fact that I paid very little for the land, I have no other way of knowing what the real value of the property is.
I Have being investing in the US real-estate market for many years (lost a load of money lately)..Am a licensed real estate Agent in Florida. working in the construction industry now. ( a little background )
, I would not dream of investing in a property in the USA with out doing my Due Diligence, and that includes am unbiased appraisal.
. In the US this is easily accomplished, there are services such as Multiple Listing Service ( M.L.S.) where all listings available for sale, are posted. When sold ,their status is changed to SOLD and the sold price is published, so one can determine what the asking price was , how long the property was in the market at that asking price, what adjustments had to be made in the asking price and what was finally sold for. There are also other sources where all that information can be obtained.( if anyone is interested send me a message) .It is a simple process to find recently sold properties make adjustments for their differences and come up with an average price of what a similar property can be sold or purchased at a particular time.
. My personality being what it is, I am getting the “itch” to start investing in Thailand,( I know the advise , don’t do it. but...)
So after this very long story , if you are still reading, here comes my question:
I mentioned above how I would go about ascertaining the value of a Residential property in the US( commercial has other considerations) .
How would I go about, personally determining, the value of a Residential property in Thailand?

[thaifly]

How would I go about, personally determining, the value of a Residential property in Thailand?

its a gidday to sirineou...its the thai fly from mae rim...yes matey the thai fly where you are coming from..suggest youalways get a ball park figure to work on..this can be easily obtained by hawking around..then the vital bartering comes into play..this could lead to anything......trust yourself..and anoboby else FARUNG OR THAI..on a lighter note maybe a FORTUNE TELLER...would be of good service to you..THATS THE NATURE of the business that you are about to encounter... KEEP ON YOUR TOES..best of luck...ITS A IN THE LAP OF THE GODS GIDDAY TO ALL...ITS THE THAI FLY FROM MAE RIM

[dozer]

Yes, it is difficult here as there is no 'comp' data available on sold properties. If you were able to get the information from the land office, it would not be for the actual amount of the sale, but the declared amount used to reduce the transfer tax. So, the bottom line is that basically in 99% of sales (the ones transferred at less than the actual paid amount), only the buyer and seller know the actual transaction amount.

The best way to do it IMHO is get to know the area, call on signs, check bank foreclosures in the area (although these can also be over priced) and talk to people who have recently sold properties similar to the type you are interested in.

[Rick B]

I think this is an area where your wife can help the most, unless you speak fluent Thai yourself. As Dozer says, talking to the locals can be one of the best sources of information. Get to know the "Poo Yai Ban" (leader of the neighborhood) and find out what he knows. Ladies talking to ladies in the neighborhood is probably the best source of info. However, you must be careful that you are not getting inflated numbers to help boost the potential sale price of the land that you are considering buying. Each neighborhood usually has someone who is willing to loan money to families who use the Chanote of their land as colateral. This person, too, can be an idicator of how much land is valued at, although this will most likely be the absolute bottom end of the spectrum. I think the best advice to offer is wait until you are living here and can get a "feel" for the area yourself. Good luck and welcome to the CTH.

[sirineou]

Thank you Rick B
I am getting some good advice from all of you, and I appreciate it.
You are right I will wait until I spend a couple of years here until I involve my self in any serious investments . Your advice is echoed in what my Mom always told me
“ When new to a place, always keep your mouth shut and your ears open”
Advice I plan to keep. For now small steps.
I follow the Thai Visa Forum , where I read everything posted, regardless if it is something that interest me or not, so that I might be able to triangulate a position as close to understanding as I can. But I find the information in CoolThaiHouse , much more reliable, I believe the people participating in this forum are doers , not talkers , and for the most part, put their money where their mouth is.
So Thanks again, I appreciate any and all advise I get.

[sirineou]

How would I go about, personally determining, the value of a Residential property in Thailand?

its a gidday to sirineou...its the thai fly from mae rim...yes matey the thai fly where you are coming from..suggest youalways get a ball park figure to work on..this can be easily obtained by hawking around..then the vital bartering comes into play..this could lead to anything......trust yourself..and anoboby else FARUNG OR THAI..on a lighter note maybe a FORTUNE TELLER...would be of good service to you..THATS THE NATURE of the business that you are about to encounter... KEEP ON YOUR TOES..best of luck...ITS A IN THE LAP OF THE GODS GIDDAY TO ALL...ITS THE THAI FLY FROM MAE RIM

Thank you Thai Fly, all good advice, I seems that a Fortune teller would be the way to go.
This is a question that is directed to everyone in this thread: I know that banks must use some sort of criteria to establish the Value of a property before they lend money.
Does any one know , what method they Use??? It would be interesting to know

[dozer]

I know that banks must use some sort of criteria to establish the Value of a property before they lend money.

On land itself they use the assessment valuation at the land office. This value is used when property is transferred (raka bramurn ราคา ประเมิน).

[sirineou]

On land itself they use the assessment valuation at the land office. This value is used when property is transferred (raka bramurn ราคา ประเมิน).[/quote]

Excellent Dozer Thank you ,
Land is really the only variable in assessing property value, as far as the structure is concerned, if the statistical method is unavailable do to the lack of input info, the replacement method of appraisal is always an option ( How much it would cost to replace the structure at a particular time, minus devaluation for age of structure).
Three thoughts remain. First, what would be the devaluation rate in Thailand for structures?( how much less would a 5 year old structure , is worth than a new structure) Anyone have any Ideas on that? I realize that there is a lack of uniformity in building standards, and that different structures would devaluate at a different rate, so i would concentrate in western standards buildings.
Second , is the assessment valuation at the land office accurate? or at the very least consistent? Even if it was not accurate , if it was consistent it can be used as a baseline .any one have any experience with that?
Third is the assessment valuation at the land office available to the public?
If my thinking sounds a little incoherent, aside for the fact that some time it simply is In this instance it is becouse I am thinking out loud trying to get my head wrapped around this chalange. You guys are great, and i appreciate your patience with me. Thank you

[dozer]

is the assessment valuation at the land office accurate? or at the very least consistent? Even if it was not accurate , if it was consistent it can be used as a baseline .any one have any experience with that?

The assessment value is fairly consistent, I believe it is about 1/3 of the market price. This is the value that the banks use so it must be somewhat consistent.

Third is the assessment valuation at the land office available to the public?

Yes it is, but the information is not published, you would need to request it for a specific area or chanote.