Invest In Pattaya Blog

Iguana – the only AIPP appoved developer in Thailand

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Lack of completed supply still provides strong yields in central Pattaya

The eastern seaboard is the second largest contributor to
Thailandûs GDP and its economic growth has boosted property
over the last two to three years, with the areaûs major city,
Pattaya, at the centre of activity. However, property demand in
the city still depends largely on a successful tourism market,
making it more susceptible than Bangkok to a slower global
economy and internal political unrest. In fact, out of Pattayaûs
top five tourism contributors, Germany and Russia were the only
countryûs that put in a positive performance, while Thailand,
China and South Korea turned in double-digit drops in arrivals.

Much like tourist arrivals, condominium launches cooled in 2009
after a record H2/08, while the take-up rate sank to 35.2%, a
low not seen in four years. With the gap between supply and
demand widening, the average unit price began slipping from its
H1/08 peak to below the THB100,000/sq.m mark in 2009.

It is fair to say we see more glossy sales brochures and
property billboards than actual cranes in Pattaya, and the lack of
finished supply continues to guarantee strong annual returns in
the range of 5-7%. Mean while, resale prices in finished
properties are escalating to be more in line with current off-plan
prices.

Condominium market recovered ?

The condominium market appears to be recovering, as all
major developers reported stronger Q1/09 presales after a
dismal Q4/08.
Developers are also enjoying lower construction and material
costs alongside a selection of reasonably priced, quality land
plots in 2009, but banks remain cautious in releasing new loans
for condominium projects.
Condominium development indicators for Q1/09 reveal:
ë Presales more than doubled those in Q4/08, signalling the
market has already bottomed out
ë Construction costs by gross floor area (GFA) have fallen
more than 10% since Q3/08
ë The construction material price index (CMPI) dropped 24%
from its July 2008 peak
ë However, the drawdown on new loans tumbled 36.5% to
THB1.8 billion from last yearûs THB2.9 billion
Stock Exchange of Thailand-listed condominium developers ›
Raimon Land, Noble Group, Preuksa, Major Development, Asian
Property, Supalai, LPN and Sansiri › reported THB8.52 billion in
condominium presales during Q1/09, a marked improvement
over Q4/08, but still 36.5% off the THB13.42 billion achieved in
Q1/08.
A drastic reduction in condominium launches is taking much of
the blame for slumping presales, and cancellations and returns
led to negative presales in Q4/08. However, most projects
launched in early 2009 are reporting good presales.

Written by Raimond Land

Airport traffic resumes gradually

Passenger traffic and aircraft movements through Suvarnabhumi Airport look set to resume a normal growth pattern over the next five months, thanks largely to the end of recession and improvements in Thailand’s political scene.

Airlines have booked 125,000 flights through the country’s main airport between the end of October and March next year – the aviation industry’s winter season – representing a year-on-year increase of 8.52%.

Passengers passing through the three-year-old airport in the period are expected to surge by 11.04% to 19.78 million, according to Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT).

The rise in domestic flights and passenger numbers is projected to significantly outpace the increase in international traffic, although domestic figures are lower than international ones.

International takeoffs and landings are forecast to rise by 3.35% to 90,000, while domestic flights look set to leap 24.56% to 35,000.

A total of 14.91 million international passengers – an increase of 6% – are expected to go through Suvarnabhumi during the winter season, while domestic passenger traffic is expected to grow by 30% to 4.86 million.

Most international passengers will be from East Asia, accounting for 53.33% of the total.

Five more carriers are starting to operate through Suvarnabhumi this winter, raising the number of airlines to 94 from 89 in the summer season.The airport bookings indicate a return to normal for air traffic, which was hit by the seizure of Bangkok’s two airports – Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang – toward the end of 2008, as well as by political unrest, the global downturn and the H1N1 flu scare.

International travellers seem to be getting over their nightmarish memory of being stranded between Nov 25 and Dec 4 last year to come back to Thailand during the holiday season, said an industry observer.

In fact, signs of recovery in air traffic through Suvarnabhumi became clear in September with a robust 22.41% rise in passenger numbers to 3.17 million, while combined flight movements rose by 9.74% to 20,636.

September brought the second consecutive monthly recovery in flight traffic figures and volumes began recovering from the contractions of the first seven months of this year.

But the first nine months of this year saw passengers, at 29.09 million, still down 5.08% year-on-year, while aircraft movements slipped by 1.97% to 187,073.

Analysts said the speed of the global recovery and Thailand’s ability to improve its image, especially in the eyes of tourists, would determine whether traffic through Suvarnabhumi in 2009 would match 2008’s 38.6 million passengers and 245,719 flight movements.

Bangkok Post November 19th

Real Estate Investment in Pattaya, Thailand

Investing your money in real estate may seem like a bad idea today. With the current global economic crisis, investing in real estate is the last thing in people’s minds today. A lot of people would rather save money in the bank in order to have something to use on emergencies. However, if you dig a little deeper, you will find plenty of opportunities in real estate that will definitely be worth your time and money.

If you are looking for a sound real estate investment, then you should try investing in real estate in Pattaya, Thailand. Why? Well for starters, Pattaya, Thailand is a well-known tourist destination. This is where a lot of people go to in order to have a relaxing vacation.

Considered to be the jewel in the crown of Thailand, you will see that Pattaya has a lot of potential in the real estate market. With new developments booming in the area as well as a new international airport, you can safely say that Pattaya is the next boom in the real estate market.

Thais and foreigners alike are now investing in as much real estate as they can in Pattaya. They know that soon enough, this part of Thailand will develop in to one of the finest and most popular tourist destinations in the world. From condos, to apartments, to beach houses, to villas, you will find almost everything here to invest on.

You have to consider the fact that even in today’s global economic situation lots of people are still traveling to exotic vacation destinations, such as Pattaya, Thailand. It may be because that they want to escape the stress that the real world is offering today, or it may be because they simply want to relax and have fun. If you have a property here, you can be sure that it will be rented all year round. So, expect to get your return of investment in a very short time.

You also need to understand that the price of the properties in Pattaya, Thailand is not yet that high. Even with the on going developments, you can still get properties here at a very cheap price. But, with the expected boom in tourism and development in Pattaya, you can’t expect that the cheap prices will last long. This is why you may want to invest in real estate in Pattaya as soon as possible.

The sooner you invest in real estate in Pattaya, Thailand, the better the chances of getting properties at a bargain price. And, because Pattaya is expected to become very popular in the near future, you can simply sell your property here at a very high price in the future. Not only that you will get a chance of getting your investment back through rentals, but you will also make a huge profit by selling the property you own when the market value skyrockets.

There is a very large demand for property or real estate in Pattaya, Thailand. If you have the money, then don’t hesitate to invest in real estate here. Whether you are looking for apartments, condo units, lots, duplexes or houses, or new homes, you can be sure that you will be able to find it in Pattaya, Thailand.

By investing in real estate in this particular place, you can be sure that you are making the right decision. It is better than letting your money sit in the bank, and it is definitely something that you will make extra cash on especially in today’s economic situation.

Ashley Tiernan

The Six Risks of Risk Free Real Estate Investing Techniques

There seems to be a lot of talk lately about “no-risk” real estate investing techniques. I’ve heard this talk before but it seems much more abundant as of late. Maybe it’s the economy and all the fear the downturn has generated, or just the new flavor for the real estate guru’s. Regardless of its origins, I believe it is misleading and more importantly it is a very inhibiting mindset.
Real estate investors are in the business of risk.

The Six Risks of Risk Free Real Estate Investing Techniques

Don’t be afraid of it. Don’t delude yourself otherwise. Embrace the pervasive presence of risk and set yourself free. Those who make the most money in this business take risks. Those who struggle often seek unreasonable assurances of a good deal. This notion of guarantees has our society paralyzed and shoveling out money for dubious warranties. I see it with home buyers all of the time. They want every assurance in the world that they will not loose their earnest money deposit if they don’t go through with a home purchase.

There are no guarantees in life, though so many of us struggle to secure assurances. How many people do you know that are miserable and making no money working in a government office but they do it for the “job security” and the retirement? Job security? I say it’s a job prison. The U.S. Government is no guarantee either, particularly the way we’re printing, spending, and borrowing money right now. A major reason why we bailed out AIG was because so many retirees had taken their life savings and set up annuities through that goliath insurance company that would never fall. How many people said you’re crazy for investing in real estate and instead pumped their hard earned money into “blue chip” stocks? Well, now, CITI and GM are no longer blue chip stocks.

Now, about those risk free investments. In most cases I’ve seen they’re talking about real estate wholesaling or some similar variation. Wholesaling in a nutshell is were you find a property that is just an amazing deal and you take it to another investor or end buyer who actually buys the house and pays you some version of a finders fee. It’s risk free because you never actually buy the property. So, using wholesaling as a general example . . .

Here are the 5 major things you’ll risk with so called risk free investing:

1. Precious Time:
Many of these gurus say real estate is a numbers game. They might tell you that you need to look at 100 houses. Of those 100 houses you might put offers in on five of them. Of those five offers you’ll hopefully get one contract. That takes a lot of time. You risk unrecoverable time with your friends and family. You risking time you could be relaxing and/or enjoying life. You risk looking at 100 houses and not making a deal.

2. Opportunity:
You risk missing out on other opportunities to make money doing something else. If you’re looking at all those houses and don’t find one or don’t find an end buyer you’ve lost the opportunity to work at a job that would have made you money. If it takes you 20 minutes to look at each house and you look at 100 houses that’s about 33 hours. Or, if you find a house with $50,000 in equity and you find a buyer who pays you a $5,000 finders fee you’re missing out on the opportunity to make an additional $45,000 if you were willing to take the risk and buy the home yourself.

3. Enthusiasm and Motivation:
You risk loosing interest and enthusiasm in one of the greatest industries ever. Once you start wholesaling it takes a massive commitment to get to the point where you can make a living. You have to spend a great deal of time finding legitimate buyers for your homes (a buyers list) and a great deal of time finding sources of homes. Its much easier and exciting, in my opinion, to take the risk and buy a home that’s a good deal. You’ll take more risk, but I believe you’ll generate much more enthusiasm and learn a great deal in the process. I’m not telling you not to wholesale. I’m just saying, be willing to actually put your name on the line and take some “risk” when the right deal comes along. In real estate you should be flexible, willing to do a range of different things when an opportunity presents itself. If you’re too risk averse you’ll be too inflexible to be successful in this business.

4. Reputation:
The local real estate scene is a small world. You might end up building a reputation as being too timid to pull the trigger on a good investment. In wholesaling if your buyer doesn’t come through then in the sellers mind you didn’t come through. You need to build a reputation as a go to person. Real estate professionals want to deal with people who are flexible, creative, willing to pounce on good deals, and able to pull deals together despite obstacles.

5. Money:
Yes, I said money. In most any case you’ll be putting some sort of money on the line. For example, our wholesaler will likely run newspaper ads, send out flyer’s and post signs. In many cases when you do find a home you may be asked to put a deposit on the property. If your end buyer doesn’t come through you could loose thousands of dollars.

6. The Unknown:
Anything can happen in real estate. I’ve had deals where things have come up, good and bad, that I never could have expected. There might be laws in your state that make it at least murky for you to receive a finder’s fee in real estate without being a licensed real estate broker. You might get a ticket for posting your “I buy houses” signs on the street corner. There are always liability issues in everything you do and if you’re not working for a company then you’re fully exposed; the buck starts and stops at you.

My point here is not to beat up on wholesalers. I have great respect for good wholesalers. Just make sure you know what you’re getting into. It is not an easy job. I’m merely using them as an example to illustrate my point.

The above list is applicable to other forms of investing as well. I also recommend wholesaling as a way to get going in real estate; however, you should keep clearly in mind the realities of real estate and life in general. No matter how you choose to invest you do have to be a little bit daring. There is risk with everything and the greater the risk the greater the reward. The worst thing you can do is to get complacent by telling yourself you’re not taking any risk.

Instead embrace risk and go into your real estate investing career with your eyes wide open. Do your due diligence, cover your bets as much as possible but eventually take the plunge. Move forward with the assurance that as long as you keep working hard and maintain your precious enthusiasm you’ll learn from every mistake and misfortune and then be confident your education will lead to greater fortune.

A 7-Day Plan for Aspiring Real Estate Investors

This blog post is for the newbies, but for those who have crossed the line into actual real estate investor, I believe there’s something in here for us all!)

As someone who was an inexperienced real estate investor only two years ago, I can completely relate to the challenge of moving from an aspiring real estate investor to an actual real estate investor. It’s a daunting process for many.

You may be feeling overwhelmed by any number of obstacles…

* No money and/or bad credit
* Information and sales pitch overload (typically leading to analysis paralysis)
* Fears of losing money, doing something wrong, ticking off a spouse, or accidentally doing something illegal

I’m currently reading a book by author and multi-millionaire entrepreneur Dan Kennedy, titled No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs and there’s one specific thing he said that inspired this post:

“When you focus your self-discipline on a single purpose, like sunlight through a magnifying glass on a single object, look out! The whole world will scramble to get out of your way, hold the doors open for you, and salute as you walk by.”

A key to your success in moving from “aspiring to actual” real estate investor is within that quote – self-discipline on a single purpose. In other words, laser focus.

If you’re feeling stuck in a seemingly unending “aspiring” spiral, I want to urge you to take the next 7 days and immediately do the following things to help you practice self-discipline on the purpose of being a successful real estate investor:

* Today, Day 1: Determine your “why”. Why are you looking to do real estate? What’s the end goal? What is it that you’re seeking to achieve that makes you so excited and gives you the drive to keep at it and crush any obstacles you may face? You have to start with the end in mind. Don’t move forward unless you’ve done this.

* Day 2: You know that there are a ton of ways to get started in real estate…you’ve already spent days, weeks, or maybe years consuming information on these various ways. Pick one! The options are limitless…you can focus on absentee owners, short sales, free & clear properties, subject2 deals, lease options, wholesaling or doing rehab flips with distressed properties, probate and estate deals, I can go on and on (and on and on). All of these ways have worked successfully for hundreds, even thousands of investors so just pick one that feels right for you. [Word of caution: If you’re looking to start off with buying & holding for passive cashflow, please make sure you have reserves to deal with vacancies, termites, other maintenance issues that will come up.]

* Day 3: Evaluate the Real Estate Investing related e-mail lists that you’re on – pick your favorite 1 (no more than 2) that is directly focused on your area of real estate investing interest and unsubscribe from all the rest. You simply cannot afford to be listening to every new webinar, compelling story, and sales pitch. Almost all of it sounds good…in fact, quite a bit of it is good and working well for people! But you can’t do it all. Not right now. Laser focus…remember?Once you’ve moved to actual investor, feel free to add some of these back on if you’re looking to branch out into other areas to diversify your investing experience and increase your profits…the lists will still be there (and if not, thank goodness you unsubscribed!).

* Days 4-6: You’ve picked a real estate investing focus. Now put a plan in place. What are you going to do in the next 30-60-90 days to make progress? What will you accomplish in that time and what resources do you need to get it done?

People may disagree with me, but I strongly believe that you should have at least a little operating capital if you’re going to do real estate investing. Depending on your strategy, it can take anything from a small investment to a pretty significant one. Even if you’re low on cash and need to focus on a very low budget strategy, that’s fine. Just know that even the littlest things cost money – paper, stamps, gas to drive around looking at houses, signs, a domain name for a website, etc. This stuff is not free. Don’t let that be a discouragement. You have a plan…so figure out what you need financially to support that plan and hustle and make the necessary sacrifices to ensure you have what you need.

* Day 7: Commit to do something every single day for at least 30 minutes that will help you move forward on your real estate investing goals. If you’re taking massive action and have some rather aggressive goals, you’ll need to spend more than 30 minutes daily on this, but hey, you have to start somewhere. Just be careful to spend more of that focused time doing, rather than talking about it (or socializing with others who may or may not be doing).

Bottom line, this is an excellent time to be involved with real estate investing, so I urge you to get off the sidelines and play – just stay focused, be willing to keep learning, don’t let obstacles trip you up, and keep taking massive action!

Here’s to your success!

Ashley Tiernan
Iguana Company Limited

Are You Really a Real Estate Investor?

At a small lunchtime gathering of real estate investors last week someone made an interesting comment. The conversation had turned to the topic of wholesaling and then rehabbing and flipping properties. The comment was very simple on the surface – if you didn’t actually hold on to properties were you an investor, or did you merely have a real estate business?

A Real Estate Business

If someone says they have a real estate business you think of mortgage brokers, real estate agents, title people and the like. Their business is obviously centered around real estate transactions in some way. A wholesaler who places properties under contract and then assigns the contract to the end buyer also has a business based on transactions. Someone who acquires properties to rehab and flip is also in a transactional business. The length of time involved is significantly longer but it still isn’t investing.

The point that was being made is that a real estate business, like any other business, has to be tended to constantly. As soon as the transaction, sale, loan, or project is completed you need to do it again. Much like a job, you are trading money for time and working for your money. If you don’t have another transaction lined up you are out of business.

The Business of Investing

Make no mistake, investing is a business as well. An investor’s business is looking for opportunities to put his or her money to work. As an investor instead of working for money, the money is working for you. An investor can have a team in place so that it can truly be a hands-off business.

Plenty of people get into real estate because they envision a lifestyle free from the chains of the working world. If you do not have a lot of cash it is almost impossible to start off as an investor. Instead you can start a real estate business that not only allows you to build the cash needed, it puts you close to the action where you can spot opportunities as they come along. Hopefully you’ll be in a position to take advantage of one of these opportunities at some point.

An Investor’s Life

Years ago I started a real estate business of rehabbing properties. Eventually I did a rehab deal that turned out so well that I became an investor. While still rehabbing properties, I know hold a number of rentals. I’ve also sold properties with seller financing and now hold mortgages, which is another form of passive investing.

Last year I went on a cruise for two and a half weeks. With a job or business that would have meant lost income. However, as an investor I still had rents being paid and interest on mortgages earned. That truly is having your money work for you. If you have a real estate business, isn’t it time you became an investor?

How many millionaires do you know who have become wealthy by investing in savings accounts? I rest my case. – Robert G. Allen

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