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Buying a condo to rent it out


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28 minutes ago, Chris.B said:

" I've lived a year or two in Thailand before."

 

You don't know how long you lived in Thailand? ????????

Between 1,5 and 2 years.

 

2 minutes ago, bojo said:

There are just so many threads on here about this subject, If you use the search button, you will find loadsa info and more.................

I did use the search, and I could not find any experiences of people renting out condo's. Feel free to share if you did.

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22 minutes ago, Capitalist said:

I did use the search, and I could not find any experiences of people renting out condo's. Feel free to share if you did.

I have messaged you a couple of suggestions..........however you're right, it's not easy to find on the search function here......................hopefully some professionals will spill the beans for you....................If it was me, I would be putting myself in the eyes and mind of the renter and asking myself, what would they want when looking for a condo and then targeting those requirements. There are some areas not far from Pattaya which have older condos which are much larger in square metres and are very reasonably priced and IMO would make great rentals...check some Pattaya vloggers on youtube, a bit time consuming but worth doing the research..................

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The search facility on thaivisa is very poor. You will have more success using google and adding the word thaivisa to your search. For example googling "buying a condo to rent out in thailand thaivisa" gives several TV topics at the top of the page.

 

Can't help you with advice about buy to rent except to say that I regret not doing the same when I first moved here, 16 years ago, with a lump of money in my pockets. It would have given me a THB income, protected from the ever-changing exchange rate.

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16 minutes ago, bojo said:

I have messaged you a couple of suggestions..........however you're right, it's not easy to find on the search function here......................hopefully some professionals will spill the beans for you....................If it was me, I would be putting myself in the eyes and mind of the renter and asking myself, what would they want when looking for a condo and then targeting those requirements. There are some areas not far from Pattaya which have older condos which are much larger in square metres and are very reasonably priced and IMO would make great rentals...check some Pattaya vloggers on youtube, a bit time consuming but worth doing the research..................

Thank you Bojo for the links you shared in the private msg.

 

I have been to Pattaya and I do not like the place. Lots of old white drunkards, and bar-girls on the streets. Nothing wrong with that, but it's not my cup of tea. I prefer Bangkok, Samut Prakan or Nonthaburi. I also think the lower-end properties in these areas make for good, stable rentals. There's plenty of work, and a constant influx of young people from other provinces. It's less subject to seasonality. But I could be wrong.

4 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

The search facility on thaivisa is very poor. You will have more success using google and adding the word thaivisa to your search. For example googling "buying a condo to rent out in thailand thaivisa" gives several TV topics at the top of the page.

 

Can't help you with advice about buy to rent except to say that I regret not doing the same when I first moved here, 16 years ago, with a lump of money in my pockets. It would have given me a THB income, protected from the ever-changing exchange rate.

Thank you, I also tried Google and will try it more. Indeed, the Thai Baht is a good currency. Never good to be 'all in' on one country or currency, but the Baht is a good one to diversify yourself into. It's never to late to make a small change, especially if you have children, they can reap the benefits of our modest investments long after we've passed.

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14 hours ago, 1FinickyOne said:

1. where will you find your tenant?

 

one fellow I knew was looking in CM and did not understand why NOBODY discounted the price and everything seemed too expensive in a down market...

 

The answer was that the people who discounted found tenants - - the lesson for you might be not to judge market value by what people are asking... 

 

In general, it is a <deleted> business... 

 

I know a Thai company that finds tenants, collects rent, and deals with maintenance requests. I'm willing to give steep discounts during and after the pandemic to ensure occupancy. 

 

14 hours ago, Excel said:

Well for $40 k outside of Bangkok could get something but hardly worth the trouble as the rental return would be low. 

If the first condo goes well, you could purchase more. Let's do the math using a real life example: My Thai friend is renting a condo for $230/month. I looked up the price of the condo if one were to buy it, it's under $40K. Owning 5 condo's would gross you $1150/month. All the condo's in that area are fully occupied. It's oustide of Bangkok so not sensitive to tourism. Rents always go up with inflation, and will recover post-pandemic. 

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55 minutes ago, Capitalist said:

I know a Thai company that finds tenants, collects rent, and deals with maintenance requests. I'm willing to give steep discounts during and after the pandemic to ensure occupancy. 

I have a condo that is rented out.. I had not bought it for rental... but circumstances arose... I was also very lucky to find a tenant right in the beginning of covid crisis... and lucky again to get a good tenant... I did comprise the price over what might have been the norm in the building... but I am getting about 3% on my money... 

 

You seem to be thoughtful and doing your due diligence... best of luck to you... 

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52 minutes ago, Capitalist said:

I've been investing in stocks for 15 years and will continue to do so. I've had incredible results for which I am thankful, but I also realize it's wise to diversify at some point.

If you understand it's wise to diversify then you should own REITs.  No need to own real estate directly which is far more risky.  Only good reason to own real estate directly is as a primary residence.

Edited by shdmn
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feels like a disaster waiting to happen ????

 

1. my 1st thought is how do you get people out who can't pay or who pay late? or handle safely keeping deposits for damages?

 

2. how to do vet people creditwise?

 

3. are you able to pick up nuances of a reference or employer conversation on the phone in a culture that won't obvertly give out bad info on somebody?

 

4. best case scenario imo would be hire a management company to do it, but i have had problems with that even in my home country where i had full rights and had to cut them off for various reasons.

 

5. there is also airbnb who holds the money and your both bounded by their contract, but it's monthly or daily, pretty much a full time job. it also has reviews, with a grain of salt. this could work but they do BOW OUT if something serious happens. in other words all you would get back at best is the payment for the month, nothing more.

 

5. what happens with my rentals is i find someone who looks great initially. soon after they start asking for things to be repaired or replaced to a higher standard. you go ahead and do what they ask because you want them to stay and be happy. their demands increase the more you comply. after awhile you start feeling like you want them out. (your experience may differ of course, perfect tenants are out there ????).

 

people who are renting have all sorts of problems and they kind of get linked to the landlord in a way. with a sale your just one and done, everything is pat settled and it becomes someone else's problem.

Edited by DerbyDan
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will add to my post above...

 

if it's the kind of thing you like to do anyway, or are retired and money is not the primary objective, i could see going ahead with just one cheap place, meet people in person and see how it goes.

 

it could be an interesting retirement project or way to meet people, if you have the right mindset. if your not stretched financially the problems that do arise have a way of working themselves out given time.

 

 

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5 minutes ago, Airalee said:

My former landlord appears to have a 50% occupancy rate on his condos and that’s with dropping rents 30%+ and he’s the most proactive landlord I have ever known when it comes to procuring tenants. It’s a full time job basically.  Then, deduct for management fees, taxes, cleaning, repairs, common fees etc etc etc.

 

Finally, look around between the hours of 7pm and 10pm and you’ll see that most buildings are at about 10-20% occupancy  (My building is at 13% occupancy)  Even the cheap ones.  You’re certainly not going to get $230 (฿7,000) per month rent for a $40k (฿1.2mm) condo.  I see 2.2 million baht condos asking ฿8000 month and can probably be had for ฿6000-7000 after negotiations.  

 

You really want all the headaches and risk (of no tenants, damages, unpaid rent, etc) for a less than 3% return?  Knock yourself out.  

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. You raise good points. May I ask in which neighborhood you saw that low occupancy rate?

I've seen the same low occupancy in central Bangkok recently. Lack of tourism really butchered the rental market, and there's tons of condos for sale. Supply is vast and demand is low. It's a buyers market right now.

 

I'm aware rents have dropped. Please note I'm not interested in getting quick yield/cashflows. I'm willing to wait a year or two for things to return normal again. In fact, I'm not even sure I want to rent it out, as I might want to live there myself, even if it's a few months per year. 

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23 minutes ago, DerbyDan said:

if it's the kind of thing you like to do anyway, or are retired and money is not the primary objective, i could see going ahead with just one cheap place, meet people in person and see how it goes.

 

it could be an interesting retirement project or way to meet people, if you have the right mindset. if your not stretched financially the problems that do arise have a way of working themselves out given time.

 

 

Thanks for understanding Dan. Indeed, i'm not using my last buck and insisting on it being profitable. My primary goals are to expand my horizon, learn something new, and diversify. In the worst case scenario, my first condo unit would not have any renter, and I'd be happy to live there myself. 

 

Edited by Capitalist
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20 minutes ago, Capitalist said:

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. You raise good points. May I ask in which neighborhood you saw that low occupancy rate?

I've seen the same low occupancy in central Bangkok recently. Lack of tourism really butchered the rental market, and there's tons of condos for sale. Supply is vast and demand is low. It's a buyers market right now.

 

I'm aware rents have dropped. Please note I'm not interested in getting quick yield/cashflows. I'm willing to wait a year or two for things to return normal again. In fact, I'm not even sure I want to rent it out, as I might want to live there myself, even if it's a few months per year. 

Don’t think it’s easy to rent out a condo, there are 10s of thousands for rent or sale, I believe 25,000 in pattaya and 100,000 in bangkok 

I would certainly think your capital being invested would bring much more income. -and your money is in your bank in your country. 
for the sake of living there for only a few months a year????????????

I would strongly suggest you sit down and give this serious thought!

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I’d guess everyone’s experience is different. If you buy a condo and get a long term tenant who looks after it and pays the rent promptly, it’s a good result. If you get problem tenants or have long time periods between tenants it becomes like a weight round your neck, more so if you are outside of Thailand. The hassle factor puts me off.

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2 hours ago, ChaiyaTH said:

If you insist on being as well staying profitable, you should never want to enter the Thai market in the first place. The wise people come to spend money in Thailand, not earn it (exceptions only exist with very proper timing, which isn't now or soon).

 

That aside the entire domestic real estate market is a bubble that is bursting as we speak. Guess the 1.5-2 years living in TH haven't been near enough, else you would concluded this yourself already too.

 

As you are not short on money you must have some sort of tunnel vision to wanting it to be real estate. Go pioneer in Vietnam instead, it is one of the fastest growing countries globally.

One major problem with Vietnam is there is no retirement visa.  Right now they are not even doing extensions but that will probably come back.  So right now it's only 30 day stay if/when you can get back in.

Edited by shdmn
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