| If you are considering moving to Thailand, and | | | | - Easier Re-sale |
| buy something in the popular beach town Hua Hin, | | | | Cons: |
| make sure you read on before making a hasty | | | | - No private land or garden |
| decision. Many real estate agents and developers | | | | - No private car port |
| will entice you with "cheap" landed properties for | | | | - Possibly noisier |
| sale but having been in the business for some | | | | - Actual living space smaller |
| years now, my recommendation is, if you are | | | | - No pets |
| looking for a return in investment at some point, | | | | - Restrictions in Renovations |
| go for a condo. Why you ask? | | | | The main obstacle for many foreign buyers is the |
| For one, over 90% of projects I've heard about | | | | language barrier. When you buy a house you are |
| encounter some sort of building issues | | | | really on your own unless you have a Thai wife |
| somewhere along the line i.e. building standard is | | | | or girlfriend who can do some translation for you |
| too low, workers need more training, the builder is | | | | and even then it can be a hurdle to be |
| late in delivering promised results, only 1 month | | | | understood. Most condo buildings have office staff |
| guarantee on construction, and many more. | | | | who speak adequate English and help attend to |
| But before I present my obviously biased opinion, | | | | tenants, home owners and guests. |
| let's look at the Pros and Cons of buying a house | | | | If you are planning to buy a house and only live in |
| vs condo. | | | | Thailand part of the year, you will need to find a |
| House: | | | | property management company to take care of |
| Pros: | | | | your garden, pool, pay bills, cleaning and possibly |
| - Larger Living space | | | | to rent it out. This is a higher cost vs maintaining |
| - Private Garden | | | | a condo. |
| - Pets allowed | | | | If you want a quick return in investment, I'd say |
| - Easier to do Renovations | | | | that condominiums are a better option since they |
| Cons: | | | | rent easier due to better location, facilities, |
| - More remote location | | | | security and in-house maintenance. |
| - Can feel less spacious | | | | Lastly and most importantly, the main reason |
| - Difficulties in transportation | | | | why I advise foreigners to buy a freehold condo |
| - Slower Re-sale | | | | in Hua Hin is simply because, a foreigner cannot |
| Condominium: | | | | own land legally. Basically, you can only lease the |
| Pros: | | | | land on which your house is built for 30 years with |
| - Likely to be more centrally located | | | | an option to renew the lease for another 30 |
| - Can be more spacious even with smaller total | | | | years. I don't know about you but when I spend |
| area | | | | a couple of million baht on a property, I want it to |
| - Better Security | | | | be mine for a much longer time than 60 years! |