The Pros & Cons of Buying a Condo or House in Hua Hin, Thailand

Based on my own experience of living and operating an Estate Agency (www.huahinfinder.com) in Hua Hin for nearly 5 yrs, having built my own house and many others for our clients, if I had to do it all over again, I would likely and recommend to clients to buy a condo as a better option. Almost all projects I hear about have some sort of problem along the way, 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
• Difficulties in transportation
• Slower Re-sale

Condominium:

Pros:
• Likely to be more centrally located
• 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 Co. 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 30years on which the house is built on.

If you have any questions regarding the above, e-mail me at info@huahinfinder.com

Geoff

Fresh Activities for Families in Hua Hin, Thailand

If you’re like me, I’m always searching for fun and exciting activities to do with my 3 kids here in Hua Hin, Thailand. When most families arrive they do the usual few days at the beach, elephant trekking, more like elephant pushing, shopping trip to the night market, the usual. But if one looks deeper, Hua Hin has so many activities that are just not advertised simply because they are FREE to do! One activity I discovered by accident was The King’s Dog Rescue Program on Pala-u road. Our Thai Ridge Back dog went missing and I was searching for him and went to see if he might be there and Wow! So many beautiful and friendly dogs come to greet you as you walk through the main gate. Now if concerns of safety are on your mind…what are you nuts, bring my kids to be surrounded by hundreds of dogs……you can put your mind at ease. The mean dogs are removed from the general public but still some caution should be adhered to. This is an activity to teach your kids about dogs and how to approach and handle them. It’s also fun to play guess the breed. Thailand truly has some of the most amazing mixed breeds I have ever seen like a mix between a Dashan hound and a Labrador. This was just one of several dog compounds I visited in search of our missing family dog. The next was at the temple on the view point road, Hin Lek Fai. This temple also doubles as a dog shelter where the monks treat and care for dogs who were hit by road vehicles. Maybe after visiting these two dog shelters, just continue up to the view point lookout where you can enjoy an authentic Thai lunch and the kids can watch the family of peacocks strut there stuff.

Cheers

Geoff