I have dreamed of having a condo somewhere in Thailand for many years. On a security guards salary it has remained a dream but maybe at some future date with lots of work it could happen. Condos in Thai run the gauntlet from cheap small places to lavish penthouses. I was thinking I might like to try to find a cheaper place, a place that had decent size but was older and easier to purchase. The condo does not have to be in the most prestigious neighbourhood but secure enough to store my camera gear there when I am in Canada.
The plan (hope) would be to buy a cheaper-larger place then fix it up (labor is cheap in Thai). I could store all my camera and flash gear there and have a small darkroom for film development. If things worked out properly I would only have to carry my film 1 way through X-ray machines and I would have to take less gear each trip as I get older and more frail. All my stuff would be waiting for me in Thailand, safe and sound, I would also have a cheap place to stay and I could prepare my own food etc.
This is something to plan and save money for in the future, I have been to Thailand 13 times I think (lost count) and will return yearly probably the rest of my life so having a place there makes sense. If I bought a place in Bangkok I would have easy access to all the photo stories in that large city. In the future if I decided to spend more time in Nepal, Burma or Cambodia more I could use Bangkok as my base of operations, cheap flights are easy to come by in Bangkok that go all over South East Asia.
If I did eventually buy something in 3 or 4 years I would have to pay the buyers fee along with lawyer and property title cost changes etc (maybe $2000- $3000). Condo fees on older places should be around $30 a month maybe cheaper, water and power are charged based on usage.
Here a are a bunch of older properties all in Bangkok that could fill the bill add another $5000-10000 in fix up fees and you can make up a very nice room for part time living and gear storage.
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| $24800, 51sqm |
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| $22300 CAD, 51sqm |
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| $24200 CAD, 63sqm |
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| A nicer one $39000 CAD, large 2 bedroom 95sqm |
