PKM, you in on this trend yet?
- Thread starter Duck Rodgers
- Start date
More per square foot.. not more overall.
The kitchen and baths are some of the more expensive square footage.
Example: a 3bd 2ba home that is 2, 000 square feet might cost $300,000 ($150 per square foot) to build.. but the 'air' space (what makes a room larger and only consists of floor and roof) may only cost about $45 per square foot.
So what I'm saying is you could downsize that same home to, say, 1, 200 square feet.. but the savings of that extra 800 square feet may only be about $39k. So instead of paying $300k (just an example.. most homes don't cost that much) for your larger roomed 2, 000 square foot house...you've paid $261, 000 for a teenie home with no elbow room. My point was most people can't justify the downsizing in relation to the little cost savings.
Yes. It's a developer with a pitch. Customers who bite.
Duck Rodgers
Well-Known Member
Where are you pulling your apartment costs from? I think you're probably making the mistake of looking at it as an American. First thing you need to realize is that everybody in those types of countries is a hustler so you're going to want to just land in the city and start hustling right back, rather than making sure everything is set in stone via a booking on the Internet. Those Internet sites are for you, not representative of the real market there. You drop in on the ground, pay some local $20 to help you find a spot if you run into language issues, and you'll knock 100-150/ month off any Internet sticker price in short order. We're not talking about living like a king obviously. You still would be in a modest apartment, but better than the rat holes. And have a better quality of life than the average working stiff in Tokyo.
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I have Thai friends who live and work in Bangkok. The locals generally pay between approx. 4,000 - 5,000 bath a month for 2-3 star apartments ($US 160). Then you add internet, power, cable, phone, etc, gets up to around 7,000 bath a month ($US 225). Then you've got your food, other expenses, etc, may be 2,000 bath a month ($65). But that's if you spend very minimally (a decent meal for 2 at a restaurant in the big department store (MK Suki, Sukishi, etc) can set you back 700 - 1,000 bath easily). So you would have to be careful where you eat too.
So yeah you can live off of $300. But it'll be in an average apartment, in an average neighborhood, etc. You'll also have to watch how you eat, how you spend your money too. If you have a lived in GF either you or her would definitely have to get a job to pay for anything extra.
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If you're looking at a proper condominium with swimming pool, a gym, in a swanky part of town, you're looking at 15,000 bath per month minimum.. which is approx $US 480.. usually well off Thais stay in these Condos.. they buy them outright.. either that or Ex pats living and working in Bangkok who can afford them...
scootsy
Well-Known Member
My parents live in the swankiest pad in Bangkok. Its legit. All the features KKK mentioned in addition to a private elevator and maid quarters (which are empty) all in a 1000 sq ft apartment.
How much are they paying a month?
Its scootsy's mom.. duh.
Wow.. sounds like your parents are loaded, they can afford a flashy condo in Bkk.. do they go there every year or something?
scootsy
Well-Known Member
they live there.
Ahh.. I thought you said they're only a 2 year mission or something or rather. Didn't know they actually MOVED there...
Are they doing the mission thing full time? Was it for LDS?
scootsy
Well-Known Member
full-time for three years. don't come home for anything, including my brothers wedding. well.. my dad didn't come, but my mom did.
And they bought that condo just for staying 3 years? Wow...
scootsy
Well-Known Member
why not? you rent it and all you get is a place to live. you buy it and then you can sell it when you leave. from a financial standpoint, even if you sell at a loss, it would probably be equivalent or less than the cost of renting for three years.
Depends how much you can sell it for I suppose.. plus there's commissions.. it might be worth it for the kinda place they got.
However, if they want to live simply, it'll probably be cheaper to rent..
I live in a one bedroom studio thats just over 500 square feet and I find it perfect for me. Any smaller would be a problem. But I heat the place for under $30 a month in winter and cool it for under $20 in the summer! It really forces you to be a minimilist... which I am any way. If I don't need something on an almost daily basis it's gonner.
scootsy
Well-Known Member
well considering they bought it at an extremely low point in bangkok's real estate market, and since then the market has risen by about 5.7%, they stand to make as much money when they sell as they would lose by renting the place for 3 years. that's an $80,000 swing.