JC3

Some food for thought…more than 100,000 foreigners have settled on Phuket - though some now bitterly regret it.

A warning here:

The Phuket property nightmare - BBC News

JC3

bakedbean

Yep.... Phuket....been there, done that, and got out alive.

We had a couple of really stinky lawyers before we eventually got lucky with a good one right at the end. First lawyer put a really nasty clause in our house contract (when we were buying)....all in Thai of course. Meant that we were liable to some kind of commercial tax if the land got sold that our house was situated on (despite the fact that the land did not belong to us).

And then when trying to sell up later on, one of our potential house sales (which fell through) the buyer, a young Russian lady, decided she would engage the same lawyer as ourselves. Oh yeh, that was really good fun.

Thailand is a strange place. Good for holidays but....

I know of quite a few couples moving out of Penang and on to Chiang Mai presently. Maybe that's a better place. Who knows.

InVinoVeritas

Actually it's not the first time I've read this story - and it's not just buying property in Thailand which is ill-advised but also marrying a Thai.

SushiFan

I agree, also I have heard similar stories multiple times. It is one of the reasons why I decided not to move to Thailand.

Gunnar45

Regarding the marrying part, a problem with some SE Asian countries can be cultural differences to the western world regarding family relations.

sgcosta

Just wondering why there are still so many people flocking to Thailand for retirement. For me, Thailand is a country that I do not want to go even just for holiday, let alone for retirement.

Stuurman

Horses for courses, after living in Penang for six years I now live in Chiang Mai, the only regret I have is that I didn't made the move earlier.
We are renting and have no interest in buying. When living in volatile countries like Thailand AND Malaysia I prefer to be able to leave everything behind and to pack and leave whenever it suits me and not being tied to a property that has to be sold.

JC3

There's a lot to be said for that approach. Some other things that might put foreigners off buying property in Penang:

• There’s a huge over-supply of condos
• Having purchased a property foreigners are prohibited from selling it for 3 years
• Real Property Gains Tax of 30% for Non-Citizens and Non-Permanent Residents if you sell within the first 5 years (i.e. in year 4 or 5). It’s 5% from Year 6 onwards.
• Malaysians much prefer to buy brand spanking new, so re-sale may be harder.
• Foreign exchange risk. You may make a loss if the ringgit weakens and you want to sell.
  

That said, I hate renting. I prefer to own, but think on Penang Island that landed property is a safer investment than a condo.

JC3

scot47

A few days in Thailand as a visitor and I knew that it was not for me. A very alien culture.

sgcosta

Hi Scott, that's right.

Out of topic, are you Scott we used to know who ran mm2h forum last time?

InFlagranteDelicto

Always nice to own but there are nice benefits to renting. So nice just to pick up the phone and call the landlord when anything goes wrong.

Gunnar45

Not to mention the enjoyment of hearing the the landlords assurance 'no problem, will fix it soon'

nonthaburi

Never put into Thailand what you can't afford to lose!!

Regarding the BBC article, the guys were the victims of fraud. You can't blame them, and it doesn't mean that all Thais are out to get you, but having said that they can be very slippery.

I built a house in Thailand and I have absolutely no regrets. If I divorce my wife at some point, she will still have a family home with the children. The money involved was quite small too.

I'm one of the first to point out faults in Thai people but on the whole they're okay I think. Good and bad people everywhere. It is a very corrupt country though.

And unfortunately, the areas where most foreigners want to live they will meet the worst Thai people. Quite sad really.

As a retiree, I would go for a condo I think. Very safe, but probably hard to sell later on.

nonthaburi

A bit rash to write off a whole country after a few days maybe. You never found the ME alien either I suppose!

nonthaburi

there can be problems with smoke haze at certain times of the year. People do say the weather is nice though.