beaker wrote: ↑Sat May 13, 2017 11:50 am do the math
ie: the home I rent would
cost $50,000 USD
rent $ 100 USD
50000/100=500 so I could rent for 500 months .
so could pay rent for over 41 years and don't have all the additional fee/taxes etc

put the money in the bank for 41 years and pay rent is what I would do (if I had the cash to buy) in my case

good point beaker
tfor the same maths hats why i decided to start buying motorbikes out here instead of renting per month

Do you really think a comparison of buying realestate (condo) & motos is in any way realistic?

Your ROI on a moto is damn near immediate providing you no , crash, not thieved, etc.
A $1,000 moto will return you with 80%+ in 1-2 yrs. with just avg. maintainance.

A condo will bleed you to death with maintainance fees alone which of course will not be applied to correct existing & future problems. Prolly 35-40% occupants will not even pay said fees. You can see where this leads. Buying a condo in KoW is less than a pig-in-a-poke.

Rent, buy moto or car/truck. Fuk more, drink more & when shit hits fan call a blue flat bed & put your moto & stupid shit you have aquired & move. Sorted.

Buy a condo & you mare stuck! Bad neigbors. No one fixes anything. Lose $$$$.

Going back about 12 years ago,,, I rented a apartment for $80 per month, I had only been in it for one month when someone knocked on the door and wanted to look at it as they were interested in buying it. I said NO,,,, then went and asked the landlord if she was selling it , and why she had not told me. She wanted $16,500 for it so I immediately paid a deposit and paid the balance a week later.

Fifteen months on,,, I wanted to sell out cause they were building next door,,, So I sold it for $ 22,500

Fifteen months is 450 days.

My profit was $6,500,,,, or $? per day

Had I stayed in a guest house for $10 a day it would have cost me $4,500

What would you have done ?

Why would you have stayed in a guest house for a day instead of renting another $80 apartment?

It would have cost you $1200 and you were lucky you sold for a profit.

Why oh why do people always use the exception to the rule as an argument?

LionsLeftTesticle wrote: ↑Sat May 13, 2017 1:33 pm Why would you have stayed in a guest house for a day instead of renting another $80 apartment?

It would have cost you $1200 and you were lucky you sold for a profit.

Why oh why do people always use the exception to the rule as an argument?

Luck had nothing to do with it and it was not '' an exception ''. It's all about buying at the right price and selling at the right price. As always, if your not willing to invest, how can your investment go up in value ?

I wont go into details of my later purchases as it would make you jealous and wish you had done the same.

I don't think your comparison is fair Luigi. Housing typically APPRECIATES. I don't get the whole thing of "for every one that makes a profit, another 10 lose"... WTF? As Duncan says, housing has been increasing steadily over the past twenty years... EVERYONE has made money (though in any rising market, after you sell everything else is pricier than it was, of course). As Duncan pointed out, making money is not the exception, it's the rule. How do you think 90% of Khmers invest?

The house I have in the countryside I reckon I could get 1.5 the price I paid if I needed QUICK cash. If I waited out a bit, I could easily double. I built it around 3 years ago... The shophouse I sold two years ago I ended up flush (well, I did make some profit, but nothing insane). I had bought it for $26 000 around 6-8 years ago and sold it for $43 000 minus commission, sangkat etc. At the time I was in desperate need of cash and going through tumultuous times. After I'd sold it (person to person) two of the agencies who had agreed to list it balked when I told them how much I'd sold it for, saying they could have gotten me a lot more had I given them the time and I didn't doubt them. I knew that if I had waited a few months I could have likely gotten 50k+ but I was in a hurry... Oh well. It was a rental so I made some cash of renting it for 5 years or so, plus a bit of appreciation. If I were to sell the current place I live in, I would probably get 1.5X my costs (including the renovations I did). Maybe a bit more if I took my time. I've had this place for roughly 4 years I think, so I've saved something like $12-16 000 in rent on top if it... I remember seeing shophouses by Psah Touyt for $36 000 around 7 years ago. They probably wouldn't sell under $80 000 now. I've never sold a motorbike for MORE than I'd bought it for. Scooters hold their value ok (lose about $100-200 in a weird elliptical curve). All the bigger bikes I've owned I've had to sell at GREAT loss. As in losing 30-40%+. Only one was I able to sell for what I'd bought i for (but I had done a lot of work to it).

Granted, Sihanoukville is quite different and I don't know the market. Phuket posted on the forum a link to someone selling two small houses there by a dirt road for $600 000... I think prices are really inflated in Sihanoukville. Few amenities and services, but there's a premium because the ocean is nearby. I don't get it personally as I hate the place. Plus, rents are very cheap in Sihanoukville. You can get a whole house for very little, and prices are generally low compared to the purchasing price (% wise). And again, I think the important thing is that he's new here and has never lived here full-time. Also, the condo market has exploded so it's all a bit of an unknown at the moment. Might be a good time to get some deals before the election though, but best to wait until late 2018 or so when the OP has a better idea of what he wants to do. I do urge caution and not to buy in December 2018, especially since the guy is retiring I would want a nice and safe place for my cash.

Duncan wrote: ↑Sat May 13, 2017 1:50 pm It's all about buying at the right price and selling at the right price. As always, if your not willing to invest, how can your investment go up in value ?

Excellent advice.

I'd like to add 1 if your chicken is pink don't eat it and 2 make sure the bungee is attached to your leg before you jump off a bridge.

Cruisemonkey wrote: ↑Sat May 13, 2017 6:04 am ... as soon as the Chinese decide they won't renew my Residence Permit anymore ...

7 Reasons why you should move to Cambodia

Reason 1: Getting a visa is easy.

So, it is true!

Why move to Cambodia? Because you can!

Other reasons? Bah! Nothing important or worth mentioning, besides 6 flimsy non-reasons ...

eriksank wrote: ↑Sat May 13, 2017 2:17 pm

Cruisemonkey wrote: ↑Sat May 13, 2017 6:04 am ... as soon as the Chinese decide they won't renew my Residence Permit anymore ...

7 Reasons why you should move to Cambodia

Reason 1: Getting a visa is easy.

So, it is true!

Why move to Cambodia? Because you can!

I'm sure as HELL not going back to Canada! I can't stay in China even if I wanted to (and I don't). Cambodia has an 'easy' visa and good weather - it doesn't get as hot as China in summer or any where near as cold in winter (40+ to 10 below zero C).

So renting is THE way to go (I kinda knew that already). I'll be in Sihanoukville in a month and will rent a scooter - so I'll be able to zip around and check out what's available. Who knows? I might not even like it there. I was in Kampot for an afternoon last February. It struck me as being too full of the 'backpacker' crowd. But, a nice place on the river a little ways out of town for the right price could be OK. I want to have access to 'western amenities' (I can't buy cheese or real bread where I live in China). I can alway 'westernize' the kitchen if it's not already - i.e. buy an oven so I can cook roasts and bake cookies.

I did see that Thaivisa post about the guy and his pool side condo in Jomtien. Perhaps I'd better rethink the 'pool thing'... although I really want a pool! However, I realise you have to pay for it (like beng direct beachfront)... and that puts private Pool Villas way out of my price range. Perhaps a riverfront rental is the way to go. When it floods, who cares?... I'm renting. I'll check it out when I'm in Kampot.