This has been the proverbial debated topic for decades, in fact since 4 decades ago when I first visited. The answer is both simple and complex, it depends on your circumstances. As such there is no right or wrong answer, it will depend whether you want freedom to move around or a fixed property and whether you are investing or looking for a home.
Let’s deal firstly with the oft cited negatives:
- You might lose the property. In 40 years of travel here I have seen no act whatsoever that endangers foreign ownership of property. Condos can be bought up to 49%, land not so. It has always been like that and there has been no indication it will change, in fact there are always rumours that even limited land ownership will be allowed at some stage.
- Leave all your money in your home country where it is safe. As most western countries have bank bail in laws I am not sure how cash in the bank at home is seen as safe. If worried about the world economy the sound advice is to always move into hard assets. Property is a hard asset.
- Be prepared to jump on a plane at short notice. If people feel more comfortable with that mind set then they should do so, but again at what point in Thai history has this ever occurred or been necessary? Never. I was here during a military coup, driving the kids to school a soldier at the intersection apologised and said due to the coup school was closed that day but all would be back to normal the next day, it was.
Renting or buying are both perfectly good options, people simply need choose what suits them better. If buying an investment it is no different to anywhere else, be sure it is a property with good rent potential in a zone of good demand. If a home, simply what you like.
Buying a property gives surety of tenancy, if that is important then buy. Your children can inherit the property on your death if you provide a will, nothing is lost. If happy to move around a bit then renting is a better option. Likewise buying uses up your capital quickly then it stops, renting maintains your capital but eats away at it slowly. If you have offset capital to produce income via stocks etc then this doesn’t really matter.
What is a good idea though is to test run the country first, Thailand isn’t for everyone, just like at home it has pluses and minuses, be sure you want to live here before buying. Another consideration for those in that category is pensions. Do you need the government pension to provide daily living money or are you self funded?
I have encountered all opinions, but have never really understood the heated debate, simply do what suits your needs, never rush into anything, do your due diligence.
