Buying Property in Hua Hin, Thailand.

Buying Property in Hua Hin, Thailand.
Based on my own experience of living and operating an Real
Estate Agency in Hua Hin for nearly 5 years; and having
built my own house and many others for our clients, if I
had to do it all over again, I would most likely recommend
my clients to buy a condo over a house. Why you may ask?

For one, almost all projects I hear about have some sort of
problem along the way i.e. building standard is too low,
workers need more training, the builder is late in
delivering promised results, only 1 month guarantee on
construction, and many more.

But before I present my obviously biased opinion, let's
look at the Pros and Cons of buying a house vs condo.

House:

Pros:
- Larger Living space
- Private Garden
- Pets allowed
- Easier to do Renovations

Cons:
- More remote location
- Can feel less spacious
- Difficulties in transportation
- Slower Re-sale

Condominium:

Pros:
- Likely to be more centrally located
- Can be more spacious even with smaller total area
- Better Security
- Easier Re-sale

Cons:
- No private land or garden
- No private car port
- Possibly noisier
- Actual living space smaller
- No pets
- Restrictions in Renovations

The main obstacle for many foreign buyers is the language
barrier. When you buy a house you are really on your own
unless you have a Thai wife or girlfriend who can do some
translation for you and even then it can be a hurdle to be
understood. The majority of condominiums have staff who can
speak enough English and many of the routine tasks
associated with a home are the responsibility of the
Juristic Person.

If you are planning to buy a house and only live in
Thailand part of the year, you will need to find a property
management company to take care of your garden, pool, pay
bills, cleaning and possibly to rent it out. This is a
higher cost vs maintaining a condo.

If you are looking to get a return on your investment
quickly, condos are much more easily rented out simply
because of the location, support staff in place, security,
and low maintenance costs.

Lastly, the main reason I highly recommend buying a
freehold condominium in Hua Hin is simply, a foreigner can
legally own it 100% vs a house which a foreigner can only
lease the land for 30 years on which the house is built on.
I don't know about you but when I spend a couple of million
baht on a property, I want it to be mine for a much longer
time than 60 years!

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Maddy Barber runs Bangkok (Home) Finder, Bangkok's leading
rental agency which recently opened it's real estate branch
in Hua Hin, Thailand. Search properties for sale and rent
in Hua Hin at
http://www.huahinfinder.com