# Building a house in Thailand



## Booby85

My wife and I are looking to build a house in the north near Chaing Rai. I was trying to figure out what would cost to build and was told it should be around 8,000 baht a square meter. Can anyone tell me if this sounds right?


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## Mweiga

Booby85 said:


> My wife and I are looking to build a house in the north near Chaing Rai. I was trying to figure out what would cost to build and was told it should be around 8,000 baht a square meter. Can anyone tell me if this sounds right?


Built my house almost eight years ago - not sure how many square metres but it's a 4 bedroom , 3 bathroom , 2 kitchen , 1 dining area , 1 living room two storey house with an extra top turret for my office and I'm guessing roughly 500 sq m total floor area for the two and half storeys. Just the construction cost was 4.6 mill THB back in 2004 / 2005 which comes to approx 9,000 baht per sq m , so I guess you're in the ball park.


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## Booby85

That was the finished price right? With cabinets and sinks and all of that stuff?


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## Mweiga

Booby85 said:


> That was the finished price right? With cabinets and sinks and all of that stuff?


That construction price was just for the bare house but did also include all the bathrooms kitted out. Kitchens , all internal fixtures and fittings , all furniture , etc , etc were additional.

It also didn't include cost of land and architect fee of course.

It was also at a time when you got 75 baht to the GB Pound which makes a big difference to the real price assuming your baht is originating from forex.


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## Booby85

The exchange will really make a difference. We also already own the land so that should help some. I just trying to get a soild idea on how much it will cost. This fall my wife and I will get our house plans drawed up when we go to Thialand and then hopefully start contruction early next year.


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## mikecwm

Whatever you build - a house, a sail boat, a custom car in your garage - will cost more than you originally estimate.
I too will be building in Thailand soon and will be the contractor, so hopefully that will keep costs down.
I think 8000 B per Sq M is a good starting point- but then figure adding 50% to that for all the other unknowns.
Maybe add 80% if you want top quality.
I'm also planning on a modest size - 100 sq M and well insulated walls and roof so that air-conditioning costs will not be excessive.


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## terp80

*Building Cost*

I am looking to build in the Chiang Mai area, and have been given quotes by multiple sources. They vary from 9k to 15k per square meter. For a "quality" (western) build, I have been told it will certainly be closer to the 15k figure. On the other hand, if you do the contracting yourself and can handle all the buying of materials and can supervise the construction on a daily basis, then it's my understanding that you can probably do it closer to your 8k figure. Good luck! :fingerscrossed:


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## thai-insights

Booby85 said:


> My wife and I are looking to build a house in the north near Chaing Rai. I was trying to figure out what would cost to build and was told it should be around 8,000 baht a square meter. Can anyone tell me if this sounds right?


I don't know what the housing prices in Chiang Rai are like, but everything depends on the type of construction. I'd say you could put up a cinderblock simple construction for as little as 300,000 to 500,000 baht just about anywhere in Thailand. I paid 2.3 mm baht 10 years ago for a comfortable three bedroom 2 bath house. Construction costs have gone up considerably over the past 10 years, however.

My specific advice would be:
1. Rent !!!!!!!!!! You will almost certainly never get your money out of the house no matter how much/or little you put into it. I have heard that there are tons of rental properties available in Chiang Rai.

2. Buy a condo which allows you to register your ownership right! 

3. If you do decide to build, DO NOT be tempted into an all-inclusive pricing plan, where you agree to fork over x amount of baht in exchange for a promise to build a house based on a floor plan or a photo. Make the agreement with the contractor based on materials (which you pay directly) and a labor rate. The all-inclusive pricing is very tricky. For example, when it comes time to install tiles, the contractor might tell you the budget is 200 baht per square meter, and what you want is 2000 per square meter. 

Bottom line: The best thing to do is rent a property for a year in the area you plan to live, hunt around for houses which appeal to you, track down the contractor and go from there. And another thing, if you build a house you need to be on site regularly, and I wouldn't delegate construction oversight to my wife. Don't get rushed into anything. Go slow, and really think about what kind of house you want to live in.


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## terp80

*Excellent Advice*

Thai-insights is giving good advice all around. If I weren't in my particular situation, I would rent in the area(s) I wanted to live. Once you build, you are pretty much stuck there, so you ought to take your time.


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## Booby85

The area where we are going to build the house is easy. As a wedding gift 2 years ago my wife father gaves us 5 rai and put in my wifes name. The land is nice with only one neighbor and great views of the mountains but still close enough to town. I dont retire for another 11 years at the age of 39, but i want to start building the house next year and use it as a vaction house until I retire. I know there are alot of scary stories of guys losing every thing after they invest all their money in a house in thailand. (Wife leaving them) I have did a lot of research about visa for when i move there after i retire. I will have my mother inlaw over see the construction of house. I trust her with no problems since she runs their business very well and make more money then i do. lol. I will come back to thailand at each major phase of the house to buy the supplies needed and pay for the labor. I also have a extenstive backround as a civil engineer and can spot out thing when they are not done correctly.


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## thai-insights

Booby85 said:


> The area where we are going to build the house is easy. As a wedding gift 2 years ago my wife father gaves us 5 rai and put in my wifes name. The land is nice with only one neighbor and great views of the mountains but still close enough to town. I dont retire for another 11 years at the age of 39, but i want to start building the house next year and use it as a vaction house until I retire. I know there are alot of scary stories of guys losing every thing after they invest all their money in a house in thailand. (Wife leaving them) I have did a lot of research about visa for when i move there after i retire. I will have my mother inlaw over see the construction of house. I trust her with no problems since she runs their business very well and make more money then i do. lol. I will come back to thailand at each major phase of the house to buy the supplies needed and pay for the labor. I also have a extenstive backround as a civil engineer and can spot out thing when they are not done correctly.


Just a couple of quick points:

When I said don't delegate the construction to your wife, one reason I said this was because I have heard stories about the wife being in cahoots with the contractor and siphoning off money. But another reason I said it is that there are sometimes major differences between what a Thai and a Westerner thinks is a standard or acceptable construction standard. I have known guys who show up after construction is completed who have been surprised by what the final outcome is. I also want to warn you that finding building supplies (especially if you want higher quality or customized stuff) can be exhausting and stressful in Thailand. To find what you're looking for sometimes can have you running all over town (and Thailand). 

Based on your comments that you won't be living in the house for at least 11 more years, and that you have been married for two years, I recommend you ask yourself why you are in such a rush to build? Are you being pressured to do this? If you are, I would treat this as a red flag. 

Ask yourself, do you really want to take every vacation for the next 11 years in the same place? You can travel all around Thailand and the world in the meantime. I can't understand why you would want to build a house so far in advance of actually moving to a place. That 5 rai of land will still be there 11 years from now and can be used as farm land in the meantime. Property can be a headache: it has to be maintained, secured, etc., and in Thailand, houses seem to fall apart faster than you might ordinarily anticipate. Also, if you sink money into this property, do you think you will be able to recoup your investment if you ever got a divorce?

I know this sounds kind of negative, but I'm just trying to be helpful here.


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## Booby85

Thanks for the advice on building the house. I never thought about the idea of the house being 11 yrs old when i retire. I talk to my wife and both agreed to wait to build. We are just excited about building a house and all. Waiting will just allow us to save more to make a bigger house . Thanks again everyone for the advice.


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## mikecwm

A great forum for Farang builders is coolthaihouse.com
All your questions can be answered there.


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## anthonyc12

Thai style, 6-8k psm.
Farang style, minimum luxury, 8-10k.
Farang syle upgraded, 10-12k.


Sounds to me as if you need a one stop shop do to everything for you.

You do have planning permission already?
Water and electric available?
You do have a set of plans?
You do have a contract for the builder to sign?
You have worked a staged payment plan?

Who have you asked, and how many have built houses here?


PS, can you read Thai?
Take it thats a no, so how do you know that when the spec calls for 17 or 20mm rebar Somchai hasnt used 12mm?


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