Hua Hin

[acebob]

I was wondering if purchasing a house in Hua Hin would be a good investment? I have a house in Khon Kaen but I would like to move further South. My wife, who is Thai says that Hua Hin gets flooded.

Bob

[kaunitz]

I was wondering if purchasing a house in Hua Hin would be a good investment? I have a house in Khon Kaen but I would like to move further South. My wife, who is Thai says that Hua Hin gets flooded.

Bob

I personally like Hua Hin. You have most of the amenities there but it's still more calm than Pattaya and other tourist places. About the flooding, I've never heard about that, maybe you go for some more info in the net.

[Andy_bkk]

Never heard about flooding in Hua Hin but maybe she means that in a couple of decades due to sea level rising all coastal areas may be flooded. Due to this unsolved issue and because of my lack of confidence in thai politics and their overall handling of issues in general I am reluctant to buy a condo in bkk.

[FarangFarang]

Agree with what Andy said about the flooding. I haven't seen any flooding but rising sea levels would certainly wreck havoc.

As far as investments in Thailand, the political and economic environment is too unstable for me. I don't mean this government in particular but the winds shift so radically and frequently in Thailand that I would only purchase property there if:

a) I was viewing it as a primary residence and balancing my cost of long-term rental payments vs. the purchase price

I was ready to have it taken from me by the government and-or I was willing to walk (or more likely run) away from it in the event Thailand comes unglued at the seams.

I'm not one of those who is down on everything Thai but the public sentiment (at least at the government level) tends to be very bi-polar when it comes to foreigners. One minute they're embracing them and 12 - 18 months later they're cracking down on proxy ownership.

It's sort of like tourism. Thailand built its tourism industry on backpackers and those seeking budget vacations (and some would argue sex tourism). But they eye Singapore and Hong Kong room rates (and money spent per visitor) and are constantly devising ways to get rid of the budget traveler and replace them with bigger spenders.

This results in a perpetual cycle of changing visa laws and TAT marketing initiatives which alternate from seeking budget Indian and Chinese tourists to trying to sell Thailand as an upscale tourist destination known for its eco-tourism (despite the fact that they are destroying the ecosystem at alarming rates).

In the immediate-term, Thailand will continue to do ok. But as the rice scheme has shown, the world has figured out that Thailand isn't the only country in the region to do business with anymore. Vietnam was more than happy to step in and help fill rice demand.

If trends like this (massively irresponsible populist policies) continue, Thailand's growth will slow dramatically as emerging countries like Vietnam, Burma, and Cambodia step up and offer more reliable and predictable business opportunities.

That won't happen overnight but if you're looking at 10 - 20 years down the road (as you should with real estate investments, in general), there are a lot negative influences that could drag the Thai economy down.

[acebob]

Well I lived in Khon Kaen for 8 years and BKK for 4. I found that if you stay away from interaction with the authorities (ALL) you should have no problems. I want a small place to relax and watch the world pass by. There is really nothing to do in Thailand anyway. I enjoy sports, watching them now at my age but there is very little on the tube that I can remember. I have been out of Thailand for 8 years and everybody tells me that it has changed so much.

Agree with what Andy said about the flooding. I haven't seen any flooding but rising sea levels would certainly wreck havoc.

As far as investments in Thailand, the political and economic environment is too unstable for me. I don't mean this government in particular but the winds shift so radically and frequently in Thailand that I would only purchase property there if:

a) I was viewing it as a primary residence and balancing my cost of long-term rental payments vs. the purchase price

I was ready to have it taken from me by the government and-or I was willing to walk (or more likely run) away from it in the event Thailand comes unglued at the seams.

I'm not one of those who is down on everything Thai but the public sentiment (at least at the government level) tends to be very bi-polar when it comes to foreigners. One minute they're embracing them and 12 - 18 months later they're cracking down on proxy ownership.

It's sort of like tourism. Thailand built its tourism industry on backpackers and those seeking budget vacations (and some would argue sex tourism). But they eye Singapore and Hong Kong room rates (and money spent per visitor) and are constantly devising ways to get rid of the budget traveler and replace them with bigger spenders.

This results in a perpetual cycle of changing visa laws and TAT marketing initiatives which alternate from seeking budget Indian and Chinese tourists to trying to sell Thailand as an upscale tourist destination known for its eco-tourism (despite the fact that they are destroying the ecosystem at alarming rates).

In the immediate-term, Thailand will continue to do ok. But as the rice scheme has shown, the world has figured out that Thailand isn't the only country in the region to do business with anymore. Vietnam was more than happy to step in and help fill rice demand.

If trends like this (massively irresponsible populist policies) continue, Thailand's growth will slow dramatically as emerging countries like Vietnam, Burma, and Cambodia step up and offer more reliable and predictable business opportunities.

That won't happen overnight but if you're looking at 10 - 20 years down the road (as you should with real estate investments, in general), there are a lot negative influences that could drag the Thai economy down.