What I learnt about buying Bangkok/Thailand Properties/ Real Estate 🇹🇭 - The Nest at Sukhumvit 71 by Capital One
On 6/4 Star Properties together with CapitalOne, a Thailand real estate developer organized a Bangkok property showcase. While I've travel around Indo China a bit (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia), I've never bought any foreign property before and was curious about the procedures and products compared to our Malaysia context.
 |
| Talking about the Bangkok BRT line |
The property showcase was held at Menara Star near Eastin Hotel Petaling Jaya. The talk was around 1 hour and conducted by Capital One Real Estate http://www.capitalone.in.th/ together with their partner One World Real Estate, a Malaysian Real Estate firm.
The developer, Capital One is responsible for bringing in the Swiss brand Nestle brand to Thailand. Interestingly this time round, the property they are promoting is called The Nest at Sukhumvit 71 which is inspired not just by their parent company owning the Nestle brand and also a bird’s abode.
 |
| The Nest Sales Brochure |
 |
| 515 low density units |
 |
| Light Green Line - Phra Khanong Station |
The property project is located at Phra Khanong and is around 200m-300m comfortable walking distance from the BTS Skytrain station (Bus station (Phra Khanong Station). The property is sitting on freehold land.
The real estate agents from Capital One were 2 ladies from Thailand, while they didn’t speak much in the event, they were real lookers. The agent from One World, a Malaysian however did give a lot of insight into the property and also investing in general relevant to Malaysians and foreigners. I start to see why it’s important to partner a local in business as they can see from the perspective of the group of customers you trying to attract.
Booking fees for the unit is RM5,000 with starting price from RM450K. Total units 515 units and total. Need to pay up 30% upon signing sales and purchase agreement and the other 70% is paid up after completion.
One thing to note for foreigners, the source of funds needs to come from outside Thailand. The remittance of funds into Thailand for purchase needs to clearly states the purpose if not it will be rejected. Remittance of funds also needs to be exact or more. If there is a shortfall of remittance amount, nobody from inside Thailand is allowed to topup for you. You will need to fill up the FET (Foreign Exchange Transaction Form) also.
One thing to note for foreigners, the source of funds needs to come from outside Thailand. The remittance of funds into Thailand for purchase needs to clearly states the purpose if not it will be rejected. Remittance of funds also needs to be exact or more. If there is a shortfall of remittance amount, nobody from inside Thailand is allowed to topup for you. You will need to fill up the FET (Foreign Exchange Transaction Form) also.
The points I like about Bangkok Properties
Sinking Funds
Sinking Funds are paid 1 time only during purchase. This is different from Malaysia where sinking funds are collected monthly.
Service Charges
Service Charges are paid for the whole year. Unlike Malaysia where service charges are main monthly or tri-monthly. This method is technically more efficient as it will ensure there is sufficient funds by the management office to manage the property. The naysayers will say it is open to abuse by the management office as they are collecting a 1 lump sum payment.
Design
The design looks quite inviting and if the estate agent’s opinion is to be trusted, Thailand architects are good in designing small units apartments.
The points I didn't like about the project :
Small Units
The units were around 250sqft to 350 sqft. These sizes are called shoebox apartments.
Car Parks
Car parks allocated are a portion of the number of units, all the car parks are shared on a 1st come 1st serve basis. This means that whoever arrives first will have the parking rights while the others might not have such luxury.
Payments
Interestingly Thailand properties do not have progressive payment but you need to foot out 30% up front and then 70% upon completion. So cash investments is heavy at the beginning and at the end of construction. The payments (source of funds) needs to come from outside Thailand for a foreigner, means if you have a business that generates cash in Thailand, that money cannot be used to buy the property.
Loans
No banks will loan you as a foreigner because they do not have your credit history and complications in tracking you down (eg Thai version of CCRIS, CTOS).
The main points I concluded from attending this short event on Thailand real estate
1) Relatively, Malaysian properties are cheaper than their Bangkok counterparts.
2) You need to have lots of cash up front as financing is virtually nonexistent for foreigner (not easy).
My stand on buying foreign properties is similar to my opinion on buying property outside Kuala Lumpur/Selangor. For investments, I only put my money around Klang Valley (Kuala Lumpur and Selangor). I don't invest in Ipoh, Johor and Penang no matter how interesting it is. Being a DIY person, I don't really like to delegate the management of property to another agent entirely, the agent fees and commissions can really eat into profits. Even as a weekend home, end of the day, say Johor, I wouldn't want to drive all the way there and come to a home full of dust, just pay and stay in hotels is more convenient and better.
Product Link :