Life, Love & the Little Things Inbetween

Rent vs Purchasing...The Hard Questions Living in Thailand

I don't like paying rent, and for the most part, over the last three decades, I was a homeowner. Those thirty years saw house prices in Australia increase substantially, and as I sold and then bought back into the housing market, the capital gains by far offset rates and any maintenance costs associated with home ownership. One house in particular, my ex-wife and I did very well. We purchased the house for 99k and five years later sold for 225k. So, instead of paying rent, we made 25k every year we lived in that house...with no capital gains tax after twelve months as long as we lived in the house.

Those kinds of gains are a thing of the past, but owning a home, rather than renting, is still the way to go...at least, in Australia. In Thailand, however, things are very different. Rents here are a lot cheaper than in Australia, and the resale value is not there because Thailand builds a lot of houses...mostly for foreigners who, since we cannot own land, often prefer to rent.

This means that if someone like me is looking to get into the housing market, it should not be looked at from an investment, but rather from a lifestyle point of view. Foreigners tend to buy brand-new homes here, which means second-hand houses can sit on the market for extended periods. The good thing about this is that a second-hand house can be bought fairly cheaply if you are willing to take your time and shop around for a bargain. Adding to this, Thais are superstitious, and even if they can afford to buy a house, they will almost always avoid second-hand houses due to fears that ghosts may inhabit the dwelling.

I've been contemplating whether to continue renting or to bite the bullet and buy (or build) a home. There is a lot to consider. By law, the land would need to be in Nada's name. However, there is no law barring me from owning the dwelling, but in the event of a separation, taking the house with me isn't an option. Nada already owns land in Isaan, and building a house there may be an option.

The first thing Nada and I need to do is get married. There are advantages for both of us to do this. For me, the easing of visa requirements and having someone who can make legal decisions for me if I am unable are high on the list. Legally, getting married (as opposed to having a Thai wedding, which is not recognised by law) also protects Nada from the possibility of spending years taking care of me, only to find upon my death that she gets little or nothing from my estate. We will need to discuss our options with a lawyer and agree on some terms in the event of a separation...a prenuptial agreement may be the way to go, although I have no idea if they are valid or enforceable in Thailand. We will also need to update our Wills.

I love traditional Thai wooden houses, and they can be built for around the same price as a brick-and-mortar house. There are companies that do knock-down wooden houses that are prefabricated off-site and then transported to the site and bolted together. These houses are predominantly made of Teak, and while both styles of house have advantages and disadvantages, the main positive (for me) is that in the event of separation/divorce, a wooden house can be unbolted and moved to a new site relatively cheaply.

I hate thinking this way, but there have been thousands of foreign men before me who came to Thailand, met a woman and built their dream home...only to lose it all in the following years. This will not happen to me. Unless I have a legally watertight agreement in place, I will just keep renting long-term. I have done the math, and to get ahead by buying a house instead of renting, I will need to own the house for twenty-plus years...and at my age and given my history of substance abuse, twenty more years may be a stretch. In saying that, there are many things other than financial to be taken into consideration.

I have been open and honest with Nada about my fears. She understands and agrees that we need to have everything legally binding before I commit to building (or buying) a home here in Thailand.