Should I buy a condo as my forever home in Thailand, or is renting a better option?

Rent, rent, rent.

Buy a condo in your home country and rent it out if you want to own something.

So many variables and unforeseen circumstances here in Thailand IMO 🤪

Stay flexible you never know who moves in next door or construction. House better.

Condos and homes are a horrible investment in Thailand

I'm sorry but with DTV you can't have a "forever home" yet, is 5 year, who knows if you may be able renew it? I saw so many discussions about buying condo and the 99% of people suggested to NOT buy.

I would not buy. May as well rent. And you can move when ever you like.

What i see is the management companies not doing a good job, the buildings are not maintained, and the value goes down.

This is how i look at it.

Forever home? It’s only a 5 year tourist visa, 10 or 20. Better to rent. If don’t like move

Purchasing a forever condo home and an investment property are very different. Some people I know, their forever home is in an apartment block with 20% depreciation on their capital. They love where they live and will not be moving. so have no problem with capital loss. If you want a forever home/condo plus capital gain, very tough to do that in Thailand as Greg mentioned. Have you looked at foreclosures in Bangkok etc.? some are brand new, can get some good deals that route.

The only good thing about condos is foreign freehold. Maybe there’s one out there not in ruins after 5-10y and the managing company still doing great job, but it’s very rare

Good question for discussion. It depends on how you want to leverage the value of your forever condo. They don’t tend to appreciate in traditional ways like a real estate corporation being a part of a REIT or appreciation over time due to volume and occupancy.

You might want to research an bank that has an portfolio that offers mortgages on international commodities that leverages leans and deeds in Thailand. It’s a niche so if you discover that there is a gap and a market, you might find yourself with a entrepreneurial opportunity for products and services for those that want to leverage the value of their residential Thai investments 🏢 #EnjoyTheJourney

Just to give some advice, recently last month the Newish condo, built 6 months ago, had plumbing problems in at least two of the units I stayed in. Sewer gas entered both rooms I stayed in over two months, especially at night. I had to plug all drains to not have this happen. Once a gain a 6 month old condo with 12 floors.

On the surface it seems like a great idea but there are a lot of things to consider. Have you lived here long term yet? Thailand is great but lots of people move here and after a year or two realize it's not for them. If you haven't lived here yet, give yourself a while before you take the plunge, travel around to determine where suits you best.

Buying property here can be a crap shoot, construction standards are much different, getting work done isn't always easy and government can change the parameters of property ownership depending on who is in. It's also takes a lot longer to sell a property as has been pointed out. Properties here don't appreciate in value as quickly as they do in North America and some even depreciate in value so you might be better off leaving the money where it is to earn for you.

Why not get a rental, see how you feel about the building and area you are considering first? Give it a year, see what the juristic person is like, what the board is like for maintenance, etc. Then reconsider if that's what you want... sometimes the freedom of having a rental out weighs the aspects of buying.

I did the sums when covid was in full flight. People were leaving in their droves and trying to sell their condos so thought good time to get in. But it's a nightmare there are yearly fees attached also unstable rental market. Resale is also not high return so decided to keep my money at home and rent. Renting is less headaches and you can move where you want, try other areas Thailand is so diverse. You can check it out yourself and do the maths it suits some as westerners traditionally buy in their country but renting works here.

Location is very important. Not all condo purchases lose money when sold. It depends on location, and how big the condo is. Above 100sqm has typically the best resale value.

Very hard to sell if you want to walk away very shoddy construction over here jus rent you can walk away whenever you like,the way things are changing over here you probably won’t want a forever home here.

I've brought and would have been better renting ..I'm thinking.. also..hard to sell.. people in building are loud ...also ..in the one i live ( have 3 in total)...there has been 4 large buildings happening outside of my windows for 20 months next door ...they work into the night.. and everyday of the week .....good management is hard to find ...am selling now and as I have Thai partner .... may buy a house ...without noise and noisy people ...so over it

It can always be lived in. Subjective to how you view this value.

To buy for potential resale, probably not the country for that.

Agree condos only lose value over time. It’s only the land itself that increases in value over time.

There is also the factor Thai's do not like to buy second hand homes be they houses or condo's. This limits your resale market. There are other factors too as you point out - a never ending supply of new units on the market. Do a bit of research on the number of empty units in Bangkok alone. There is a famous high end building on Lower Sukhmvit around 8 year old - 23% occupancy.