Investing in property in Thailand

Has anyone purchased an investment property in Thailand to generate passive income?
I have been looking at small studio apartments to buy.

What else would you invest 1 million NTD in?

Why Thailand? I think Vietnam would be a better choice. They are growing like crazy right now and with the trade war they will grow even faster.

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Please, do share your secrets kind sir.

“The maximum duration of residential house ownership is 50 years from the date of your certificate under Vietnamese law.”

That is a bit of a problem.

I know very little about Thailand per se, but buying property to rent, in general, is not a game for the faint-hearted. There are two problems: buildings (which need endless repairs) and tenants (who are often the cause of said building needing said repairs). Your net profit is likely to be fairly modest, especially in a country where foreigners don’t have equal access to the law. A local would deal with a non-paying or destructive tenant by calling in a few dodgy relatives to sort him out. You don’t have that option.

I spent all my spare cash on farmland, but just before I did that I was looking into peer-to-peer lending. The risks appear to be modest and the payback % is high.

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Wow, like loan sharking??
(serious question)

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In Taiwan?

Vietnam is the hotspot right now. Everyone seems to be making their money there.

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Do they buy and sell or lease it?

I’m not quite sure about the deets. I just know my cousin’s husband is doing something with property there right now, and the getting seems to be good.

I could ask, but it might be kind of a strange question since I’m obviously not going to be doing any investing anytime soon.

The classic “asking for a friend” line. :money_mouth_face:

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Peer-to-peer lending is starting to become a pretty big thing. There are a number of websites that offer the service.

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No, it’s regulated in the UK like any other lending. It’s normally used by the same sort of people who seek venture capital: the main difference is that (a) it’s a straight loan instead of a cash-for-equity arrangement and (b) the clients are established businesses rather than startups. The niche arose because banks became incredibly risk-averse after 2008 - although they were encouraged to lend to businesses in order to forestall recession, most of them wouldn’t lend to anybody except international conglomerates. The problem is that recessions are actually a prime opportunity for investment, and entrepreneurial types were opportunity-rich and cash-poor. Peer-to-peer lending filled the gap and has remained a viable financial service. The APR is typically comparable to the bank lending rate. The mediating agency takes either a small cut, or an upfront fee from the borrower.

Just to be clear, I’m talking about large loans here (tens of thousands of $), to people with viable business plans, not payday loans for people who are living hand-to-mouth.

No, the UK. You can currently buy multiple hectares there for about the same price as a parking space in Taiwan.

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Jeeziss, go to western Canookistan, I could buy literally 3 1500 sq ft houses on huge lots for less than my crappy 28 ping apartment costs

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The real estate market is very soft in Thailand. Recent government policies have changed to make is less desirable to live as a foreigner.

Basically low availability of rental customers and low availability of future buyers with an over supply of units.

Can buy cheap but not so easy to keep rented out. People are not staying long term like they used too so high turnover in renters.

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Would you ever invest in farmland in Taiwan? Somewhere in the middle of nowhere east coast?

Agree . The rules for retirees are getting tougher every year . I looked at property there and I hope ( with a bit of money from a UK house ) that I can buy in Asia . Thailand looks good but less so now.
Taiwan would be an option if the pricing was reasonable…but it just isn’t .
Philippines would be an option but Duterte so volatile …look at Boracay .
Spain is looking better by the day , unless there is a reasonable alternative .

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