Should I give up DTV for a Non-B visa for a short-term job in Thailand?

I agree entirely, better to invest your money at home, rent in Thailand and live of the earnings of your investments knowing that they are safe.

Buying what exactly?

Either way you never own the land, if your married to a Thai woman she owns the land and it's easier to get a house book, but either way Condo or house you never own the land, I would say build a small house if your married or do a lease hold on the land

Rent first and live here then meet people who will tell you the pros and cons

I bought a toastie from , never looked back,

When buying delicious food at night markets, sometimes there’s nowhere to sit down and enjoy your newly acquired goodies.

I think the saying here is "dont buy anything unless you are willing to lose it"

Buy all you can afford!

Negatives about buying in Thailand? Buying what? I am guessing you are talking about real estate🤷‍♂️

A foreigner can’t buy real estate in Thailand…. Unless you are married to a Thai citizen you can use your money to buy real estate in their name, only! Your name will go on the title as married partner in case the Thai would pass away you would get 1 year to sell the real estate…. And get your money back, but be warned Thai real estate is not as liquid as in your home country, possibly. But you will never own it!

My wife and I have 3 homes now we are building the third now. We live in one, the other is for her mom & brother, #3 will be for us and the one we currently live in will be an investment (AirBnB) …. But I don’t own them my wife does she could evict me. We have been married 12 years and together for 14 so I have a very high comfort level she has constantly worked to make me happy.

I would not recommend anyone to do what I have done … I would recommend anyone moving to Thailand to rent! Keep yourself flexible by renting it is easy to move and try new areas renting is a fantastic value in Thailand 🇹🇭

Dont buy a house unless you can afford to lose it.. I bought but dont care if I lose it..

​"As Felix Dennis, who was a financial tycoon, once said: 'If it flies, floats, or fornicates, rent it.'"

Cannot buy property or house...just condo and restrictions on that.

Only the regrets of not doing it sooner ✌️

Buying what? Beer,soda, chips?

I buy only food from vendors that i can watch them cook it infront of me big suggestions

When in stalls ask to see their back room that is where they keep the good stuff we bought sneakers several pairs they have Nike on them and lasted for ages never except the first price be ready to bargain with everything you buy they know you are a tourist they set the price higher even their transportation

You can’t buy land so if you let someone else on the land and you own the house, you’re out of luck if they get mad at you, you can own the condominium lot of horror stories about men who

 Buy a house and put it in the woman’s name

Buying WHAT

You will pay too much that's a certainty. If it's for illegal purchases like land you will lose your money. Just like god made little green apples there is no value for money. This food purchased at a local market in a rural area was USD 3. See the tiny plastic spoons for size comparison in the absence of a banana

Sick buffalo

When buying clothes they come in a smaller sizes than the usa

try rent first then buy, but watch out for any russian selling

Ensure you buy at a discount, renovate it to a high standard and nothing to worry about.

I’ve bought 4 (3 condos and a house) and sold 3 as I like to move around. Always profited and never had to waste money on rent.

Don’t listen to the poor people that can’t afford to buy.

Depends what your buying

Lot of negativity here.Ive bought two pieces of land in my wife’s name and built small but comfortable houses on each.I live in NZ but try spending 6 mths of the year in nz and Thailand so I don’t loose my pension.We have two beautifull grandchildren we take care of and they will each inherit a house when my wife and I are gone.I have a property in NZ which will go to my own family so win win win all around.Now in the event my wife and I split I couldn’t care less .I would still have my nz property and my wife and Thai grandkids will have somewhere to live.

Buying what exactly?

Don't buy any luxury items that are imported into Thailand. You usually can get it a better price in your home country. Luxury watches just for an example, are cheaper in the States than in Thailand but if you go to Hong Kong or Singapore they are cheaper than both rhe States and Thailand because they have no import taxes.

You might have trouble selling

Be aware, to many people recently have lost their condos saying by Thai government it wasn't purchases through proper channels. Becoming more common. Not worth the risk. Exactly the reason I just backed out of a purchase. And recent news there has many scams reported on future sales. Some Chinese purchase top floor 47th floor I believe but the developer only built 30 something. Why risk the gamble and jurisdiction office can find any excuse to kick you of building if a Thai neighbor doesn't like you

Sounds Jewish.

I have had 3 houses,sold 2 using 30 yr leases with wives, 5 cars,3 motor bikes a workshop of tools over 25 years with no problems.

I bought a stylish Rolex yesterday and I'm happy with it; it's so cheap and shines like a diamond 😎

If you think it works like the West you are dead wrong. Westerners are used to high rent and therefore they must own and build equity. It still doesn’t make sense investing wise. 🤷‍♂️

Huh?

Buying what?

Every country you have to become a citizen before owning any land in that country. I thought this was common sense.

Umm… just don’t?

Bought a condo, sold it easily in 2 months, bought pool villa sold in 4 months, bought large pool villa .... keeping this one. Made good money on both sales. Bought in wife's name.

THE BEST ANSWER (I actually took a little time to make this, not like the others who are just throwing their 2 second thoughts.)

REIC data cited in 2026 shows about 93,600 unsold new condominium units in Bangkok (developer inventory).

For Bangkok and surrounding provinces, one report estimated 350,000 unsold condo units. (This is including used and new units)

The most recent REIC-related data shows 71,718 condominium transfers in Bangkok and the surrounding metropolitan area during 2025. This includes both new and second-hand units.

So if there’s over 350,000 units for sale, but only 71,000 are selling per year….

That means only 20% of the total units sell per year.

New condo purchase for example:

Developers typically launch projects with:

* Marketing costs

* Sales commissions

* Showroom costs

* Foreign buyer campaigns

As a result, many new condos are sold at a premium to their immediate resale value.

A common pattern is:

* Buy new from developer for 4.0 million baht

* Project completes 2–3 years later

* Similar units resell for 3.6–4.0 million baht

The owner may have little or no capital gain, and after transfer fees, taxes, agent commissions, and inflation, could be at a loss.

You can own a structure but not the land it is on. That privilege is Thais only.

Your not thai

Only rent them for the night .Dont marry them because most are already married to Thai man(Brother)

Many people have worthless condos in Thailand

If buying clothes..check the sizes..they tend to run on the small side

Pussy ? Motor ? Sandals ?

Always check for the Adams Apple before paying for in Thailand 🤣

Buying what?

The question should be all the negatives. Some dudes give in to the pressure of a gal insisting the guy buys a house OR she will cut him loose. IF that's your situation by chance, cut HER loose. Us farangs are a hot commodity. Not hard to find another Thai lady who is good with a farang renting. Rent is so cheap compared to the West, that it's ok to just rent. Especially if older. We are conditioned to believe it's better to buy than to rent, which is usually true living in the West. Many Thai's think that way too, so a fair share will want the man to buy a house. All that being said, if a man cares about his Thai & wants to leave her w/a house(especially if she's younger & figures he will likely pass away before her), then it's a decent honorable thing to do to buy a house if he so chooses. What some guys do, is to have his Thai gal get a bank loan for a home and he pays the monthly mortgage. Because a foreignor definitely isnt getting a bank loan in Thailand. If the Thai doesn't have a decent job or a work history, she may not be able to get a bank loan. IF a foreignor is single but just wants to buy a home, go for it. But he won't be owing the land. That's a whole other subject. And selling the home or condo tends to be WAY harder to sell than in the West. Be prepared to be willing for those circumstances to happen. A LOT of different variables to consider.

I'm learning that the grass is greener wherever you water it. I love SE asia but I wouldn't live there full time. Ideal would be like 60 percent America, 40 percent of the year in Thailand.

Don’t buy any property at all. I did, and lived in the house for 20 years. Everyone told me I would never get my money back and possibly be kicked out after we separated. Nope, I eventually had the house put into a company name and immediately sold it. Wasn’t easy but it eventually happened. I even made a substantial profit due to the exchange rate. I received 100 % of the transaction. Most guys I know have lost their homes and money, some just keep living there convincing themselves that they are happy with the situation. Bullshit, they are to weak to fight for it! If you are acceptable to the terms then buy. I tell everyone not to buy.

It's not Thailand, but people are talking about buying properties in a country that you're not a citizen of. I bought a condo in Hong Kong in 1999 for HK$1.1 million. I sold it four years later for HK$3.3 million. I also bought a condo in Manila back in 1998 and still own it. If I hadn't bought the Manila condo, the amount I would have paid in rent over the last 28 years would have far exceeded the amount I paid for the property. I'm not sure I would buy again, but it's not necessarily always a bad idea to buy.

You have no hope . Muiltpe post's that will answer your question. No one in their right mind would open a business in Thailand now. They are going after frangs companies.

Buying is easy, selling later is much more difficult :)

Buy what??

You can rent a nice condo pool balcony beach

£14 day crazy to buy

you can buy a house, but the tripping hazard is that by thai law a foreigner can‘t buy the ground that it is built on. So even if you buy ‚buy‘ a property, it is never really yours.

All you will own is the bricks and the furniture.

So my recommendation is - don‘t do it and just rent a place.

Only one rule- you can’t ( buy property)

She no love you no more in the morning 😜

Allegedly 350k unsold condos in Bangkok alone, personally i would only rent in a country where my legal residential status was temporary and subject to review every 90 days or every 12 months. Each to their own 👍

If it flies floats or fks you rent it ! Condos in thai are same

RENT EVERYTHING

Where do you want to begin? I can give u 10 Good reasons why to not own anything there. You’re better off renting.. and just a quick heads up. You can’t legally own anything there, especially Land. Unless you have some kid rat holed away that you knocked up. You could put the Property in his name as long as he’s “born there” and he’s a “citizen”, but “you legally cannot own nothing.” ….. and that whole condo bullshit “freehold shit” . Yeah if you wanna live like that more power to you, but you don’t own it. Cause you’re gonna be paying maintenance fees and repairs for the rest of your life. And if you pay attention to what’s going on in Thailand, those condos are being dumped. Most of those developers were foreign that used old money and really inferior products. And that’s why they’re all falling apart right now. Just drive around and look at it. See if I’m making this up . They all look like shit . They’re not maintained in the developers all went bankrupt. That’s why there’s so many. Empty ones right now. …. And the biggest kicker right now. As you have all these real estate agents guaranteeing you 12% return. How do you get 12% return when you have so much inventory on the market.

I think you need to be a little more specific

Just like gambling, if you can afford to loose , than go for it. Some manage to do alright, some don’t . Depend on what you wanted out of it. Some of the comment here said don’t trust Thai. When it come to $, you can’t even trust your own family member why just Thai people?

Buying is crazy in Thailand, IMO. Especially as a foreigner. It’s a renters market for sure.

Just stay away from the negatives and just buy the positives 🤣🤣

Patrick, you need to spend time in different parts of the country to see what you like. As others have stated, you cannot 'own' property freehold in Thailand. Leases are limited to 30 years. If you have a Thai partner, they will be willing to own the property which will be their's if you split up for any reason. One way to protect your capital is to let your partner own and you pay the 95% mortgage which may well be cheaper than renting. Thailand wants your money but not your ownership. Think carefully about cars etc. as well! Do be coerced into something you don't want. Being nice will make you poor! Good luck! It is a lovely country to spend time in if you keep under the radar. 😎

I am going to be the first and only foreigner that will own

Don’t buy anything in Thailand. Just food and drink. That’s it.

Buying what? Thai stocks perform much lower than the S&P 500, and there are by many reports 1.3 million empty condos in Thailand. Google says just under 1 million, 730k in Bangkok alone.

Buying food from street vendors and local restaurants is the best value of anything I've ever bought.

Because they change the laws all time

Big gamble with Thailand government

Just rent

Depends on your legal status etc....

If you want to make a good investment, do some research for the property and regulations.

If it looks good, buying in advance, might benefit you.

Some real stupid answers, if you can help don't bother to respond. He is obviously talking about property

Clothes - good

Food - good

Beer - good

Company - good

OMG - such a question and thinking about going there 🙈😂

With the amount of information you have put in your post I suggest the most expensive purchase you make in Thailand is a beer

I buy stuff all the time....

Easy to buy difficult to sell.

You can't trust a Thai

Wtf you talking about?

Only buy a condo you can actually own the damn thing, forget about buying a house with some 30 year lease that's absolute nonsense

Dont buy a bar girl

Rent don't buy

Definitely avoid buying a sandwich from 🙈

Uh, if you’re referring to non Thai’s buying real estate, you can’t. With some minor exceptions.

Don’t buy anything you don’t actually own just rent

Rent everything. Lease a car.

My philosophy is simple

I’ll never buy anything in any country I’m not a citizen of

Business rules change, visa rules change, you can get in trouble, lose access to your asset and fortunes can be lost

Just rent it’s less stress and easier to walk away from

That’s it, now you go and make your own decisions

Buying what?

Following