Crackdown on Phuket condo owners confirmed

[NamKangMan]

I rent here, so couldn't really couldn't care less either.

However, as mentioned in Post 130, what could / would happen to your condo block, if / when co-owners simply walk away, because the condo can no longer pay its way, and they can't sell it?

The building would apply to the court to have the unit sold, as I mentioned.

I think that you should care even if you rent. Short-term tenants are rarely good neighbours and they overuse the facilities that you pay rent to enjoy.

"The building would apply to the court to have the unit sold, as I mentioned." - once again, who is going to buy it?

Nothing is "moving" here, and even less will move if this "crackdown" is enforced.

[NamKangMan]

"Co-owners cannot just walk away from their common fees" - I think you missed the part where I said "they COMPLETELY walk away." Similar to a business going into receivership.

Where are you going to send the bill, and how will payment be enforced?

Basically, the owner no longer wants to live on Phuket, can't sell the condo, can't rent the condo so it pays its way, so walks away.

The arrears bills can not be taken out of the forced sale of the condo if it doesn't sell.

There's been properties on the market here for years. Say they sell the condo at a real fire sale price, just to recoup the outstanding bills, what type of cheap charlie buyers, who will become your neighbors, do you think this would attract?

Get it?

In this situation the unit would be sold by the court. Whilst the price might be lower than average I dont think that this would have a significant impact as nearly all owners would rather sell at any price themselves than walk away and lose the lot. The only reason that property stays on the market for years is because it is overpriced.

I dont think that the real cheap Charlies have the money to buy a condo, even at 30% of current prices, and I dont see huge ghettos forming as a result of mass abandonment of units. I could be wrong though. If if does happen in my building I will either sell fast or simply abandon my own unit and leave it to the cheap Charlies also. Unlike some I have no faith in Thailand and so I only spent a tiny proportion of my money on property here.

"In this situation the unit would be sold by the court." - to who????

"The only reason that property stays on the market for years is because it is overpriced." - if that's the case, for the serious seller, which I would suggest is someone who just wants to be rid of the burden of their condo, either they paid too much for it when they bought it, or the market has declined considerably. Either way, they suffer a significant financial loss, including the back pay of fees, tax etc..

"I dont think that the real cheap Charlies have the money to buy a condo, even at 30% of current prices," - in conjunction with the other thread running, you may see the market collapse. If buyer were hard to find now, there will be zero if the short term rental ban is enforced. Once again, who will then buy these condos from owners who have walked away?

"I dont see huge ghettos forming as a result of mass abandonment of units." - possibly not, but there will be an increase of derelict buildings failing into disrepair, especially if that condo block has several owners abandon their property.

"If if does happen in my building I will either sell fast or simply abandon my own unit and leave it to the cheap Charlies also" - and so will others, creating a race to the bottom and / or abandoned properties everywhere. How low will you drop your price just to get out?

"Unlike some I have no faith in Thailand and so I only spent a tiny proportion of my money on property here." - I agree. I have no faith in Thailand either. My property and investments are kept in developed nations, where they make money, and I spend some of the proceeds here, having a good time.

[sead]

Hotels complaining about less customers. Government doesn't aknowledge that there's less tourists because they themselves make it harder to visit or stay here. SInce most condos that are out for renting are farang owned, we again are the bad guys.I have never seen any country so negligent of their own faults but instead blaming everything on foreigners

[KittenKong]

"In this situation the unit would be sold by the court." - to who????

"The only reason that property stays on the market for years is because it is overpriced." - if that's the case, for the serious seller, which I would suggest is someone who just wants to be rid of the burden of their condo, either they paid too much for it when they bought it, or the market has declined considerably. Either way, they suffer a significant financial loss, including the back pay of fees, tax etc..

"I dont think that the real cheap Charlies have the money to buy a condo, even at 30% of current prices," - in conjunction with the other thread running, you may see the market collapse. If buyer were hard to find now, there will be zero if the short term rental ban is enforced. Once again, who will then buy these condos from owners who have walked away?

"I dont see huge ghettos forming as a result of mass abandonment of units." - possibly not, but there will be an increase of derelict buildings failing into disrepair, especially if that condo block has several owners abandon their property.

"If if does happen in my building I will either sell fast or simply abandon my own unit and leave it to the cheap Charlies also" - and so will others, creating a race to the bottom and / or abandoned properties everywhere. How low will you drop your price just to get out?

At the right price condos sell here. The only thing that causes them to stay on the market for months or years is when they are overpriced.

If I wanted/needed to sell I would drop my price as low as necessary in order to do so. For me life is too short to hang on to something unwanted just because selling it may create a loss.

That said, I see no reason why it should be necessary to drop prices by more than perhaps 25-50% to achieve a sale and I dont see this changing even if the existing laws relating to rentals in condo buildings are enforced correctly. Indeed it could be argued that if buildings weren't full of noisy short-term tenants, and units weren't often owned by "investors" who care only about profit, then there could be a huge influx of people buying Thai condos as a nice place to live in or for use by themselves when on holiday, which is what often happens in other parts of the world.

Not everyone in the world is as greedy and desperate as many "investors" in Thailand are. Some just want to own something nice and to enjoy it in peace, and dont need to extract every last satang from it. I certainly know which type of people I would prefer to be a co-owner with.

[NamKangMan]

"In this situation the unit would be sold by the court." - to who????

"The only reason that property stays on the market for years is because it is overpriced." - if that's the case, for the serious seller, which I would suggest is someone who just wants to be rid of the burden of their condo, either they paid too much for it when they bought it, or the market has declined considerably. Either way, they suffer a significant financial loss, including the back pay of fees, tax etc..

"I dont think that the real cheap Charlies have the money to buy a condo, even at 30% of current prices," - in conjunction with the other thread running, you may see the market collapse. If buyer were hard to find now, there will be zero if the short term rental ban is enforced. Once again, who will then buy these condos from owners who have walked away?

"I dont see huge ghettos forming as a result of mass abandonment of units." - possibly not, but there will be an increase of derelict buildings failing into disrepair, especially if that condo block has several owners abandon their property.

"If if does happen in my building I will either sell fast or simply abandon my own unit and leave it to the cheap Charlies also" - and so will others, creating a race to the bottom and / or abandoned properties everywhere. How low will you drop your price just to get out?

At the right price condos sell here. The only thing that causes them to stay on the market for months or years is when they are overpriced.

If I wanted/needed to sell I would drop my price as low as necessary in order to do so. For me life is too short to hang on to something unwanted just because selling it may create a loss.

That said, I see no reason why it should be necessary to drop prices by more than perhaps 25-50% to achieve a sale and I dont see this changing even if the existing laws relating to rentals in condo buildings are enforced correctly. Indeed it could be argued that if buildings weren't full of noisy short-term tenants, and units weren't often owned by "investors" who care only about profit, then there could be a huge influx of people buying Thai condos as a nice place to live in or for use by themselves when on holiday, which is what often happens in other parts of the world.

Not everyone in the world is as greedy and desperate as many "investors" in Thailand are. Some just want to own something nice and to enjoy it in peace, and dont need to extract every last satang from it. I certainly know which type of people I would prefer to be a co-owner with.

There's not enough sales here at the moment to even gather reliable data for comparable sales. So, buyers can't even gauge the market here, so they hold off.

Have you considered many people have bought property here, with a view to living in it in the future, when they retiree? They are currently not living in Thailand and rent the property out to receive some return on it. I wouldn't call them "greedy and desperate investors" although, I agree, there are many desperate to sell and leave Phuket.

Unfortunately, many of these people are now stuck on Phuket. They can not sell their property, not even at a loss, but maybe it could sell at a big loss, but most can't afford that loss. Many of these people have downsized and rent out their own property, whilst they live in more modest accommodation.

There's another thread running at the moment about the amount of properties on the market, with nothing selling. The figures are huge.

The authorities need to look at why there are so many nice properties on Phuket, but no one wants to live here anymore.

Basically, you can live in a nice home, but there is no point having a nice home if as soon as you step out your front door you are in a dump that the very same authorities have created, and they wonder why nothing is selling.

For many years Phuket survived on its good reputation. That reputation has since faded, dramatically, and without some serious and major positive changes here, I can't see it coming back to its former glory.