Land value in Tha Am

[migrant]

Hey All,

My Thai fiance has not been back (other than our trip last year) for 10 years. She has some land outside Tha Am (outside Cha Am).

She was offered, by a family member, 5 rai for around 400,000 bt. It is contiguous to her 5 rai, so would make a nice parcel.

The land is currently used for rice, but is on a road, right in front of a canal (used for everything from bathing to cow washing) so could make a nice plot, once filled.

It's a nice area, but I am not sure of the price. She is wary of this relative, and no one else to ask.

I don't care to live there (our current plans are semi retirement in Thailand in 4-5 years).

She raised the thoughts of building a couple rentals (she has the money to construct them) but I am, again, wondering who would rent.

It's not far from the main road to Tha Am (and Cha Am is about 15-20 minutes away).

Anyone have any ideas of value?

Thanks!!

[JW]

Hi Migrant,

Tha am is north of Cha Am i guess, it would be an awful long time before the land has any real value, if the location is very pretty and you think that at some point some sort of development (resort or housing) then it may be worthwhile.
But if she doesnt trust the owner then why bother, would it affect you if someone else bought the land.. do you intend to live on this piece yourself?
Also way out i think it is worth nearer to 50 000 baht a rai (obviously unseen, but land 40 km away from Hua Hin centre can still be bought for this sort of figure. Is there any infrastructure linked to the land?

[Guess]

What JW has told you I have to agree with 100%. To add my bit though.

The price as JW said seems a little on the high side but of course that would depend entirely on the exact location.

As far as development and rental is concerned I would forget that as far as the farang market is concerned but again that depends upon the exact location.

A Thai residential development would be more appropriate but again location is an issue. The requirement of most working Thais is for there to be the basics of electricity surface drainage and water. These can all cost serious money if they are already available close by. The electricity board in particular can demand extortionate sums for laying cables even for distances as short as 100 yards and they won't let you find you own contractor to do it. Drainage and water supply can be expensive to install at any rate. There are then the minor desirables like telephone landlines (not really an issue nowadays with the very low cost cell phones.) and cable connectivity.

After all that is sorted there must be facilities like shops, laundries and eating places within walking distance.( Less than 100 yards for Thais). Without these they have to be built into the project and occupied as soon as possible.

As for the mistrust of the family member, and I can identify with that one all too well, the solutions is to eliminate the element of trust altogether and go through the same channels that you would if you were dealing with a complete stranger. The land registery office needs to do a search on the land to ensure that is actually sellable by the person sellling it and there are nothing pending that would render the development unusable at some time in the near future and that is is possible to build on that land. Building regulations are slowly and surely coming into effect. If the relative is genuine then he/she will have absolutely no objection to going through the proper channels.

If the land is genuine and satifies the above criteria, the investment would probably be sound even if you continue to rent it to the rice farmer for one baht per month. Land in this area has been steadily increasing at higher than the rate of inflation and high than the base rate for at least twelve years.

Any development should be done after a long look at the surrounding area with view to the trends in that exact location and should be seen as a completey different investment. Obviously by owning the land outright you (or your fiance anyway) have the enormous advantage of not having a landowner to deal with. From my experience the land itself usaully causes greater problems that the buildings put on it.

Thai developments are very good for medium to long term investments and have less fluctiaons and less pot holes than farang investments.

There has been a recent topic on cheap housing for Thais but it is riddled with ill considered bullshit.

Keep monitoring local prices and don't do anything hastily.

[migrant]

Thanks for the info!

I am the one pushing wait (although it is her money entirely). The land is in her family village area, so precious, and sentimental, to her, but perhaps not others.

As mentioned, it would be the Thai rental market, too far for commercial development but not far from small Thai street markets, food.

I feel the price is high, so am hoping some support will have her rethink it over.

If she does go ahead and buy (hopefully after price negotiation) we will hop back there (although there is no such thing as 'hopping' between California and Thailand) and ensure the filing, etc.

Thanks!

[Guess]

As I said before, my gut feeling, as yours, is thatg is over the top. I do not know of any accurate valuation process here in Thailand. What I have always done is get a large a sample as possible of nearby land for sale noting any defficiencies or bonuses and then sit down and evaluate for yourself.

I have also found that waving cash in front of people's faces can significantly reduce the asking price.

[migrant]

I have also found that waving cash in front of people's faces can significantly reduce the asking price.

Agreed!