We built the house a little over 3 1/2 years ago and while wages in Thailand haven t seemed to change material prices are probably up 25%. We saw the plan on the internet and liked the look but added about 300 sq feet to it as the kitchen was at the end of the living room and we preferred n enclosed kitchen an added a meter in width and 2 in length to the plan. We took rough drawings of what we wanted to an Architect and for $400 USD he drew up proper plans and a materials list. No building permits were required, no property tax is paid haha. Electricity and water to the site were less than $1000. Construction took about 5 months but the rainy season was part of the delay. We ended up right on budget (40,000 USD) and my wife did the general contracting as I was in NY working at the time. Having a good set of plans kept the workers doing what we wanted as opposed to what was most profitable for them and we purchased the materials so there were no substitutions, these are the two most common problems here, the like to supply you with cheaper materials and cut corners to make an extra buck. The house is two-bedroom, the master is a decent size, 1 bath and a 400 square foot covered carport that is tiled. We usually eat outside and the carport/patio gets a lot of use. I have added a 120 sq foot outbuilding for the water tank, washing machine and storage. We are located in a village of 200 1/2 km from her parents and 15 km from a city of 125,00 with 3 hospitals and 3 large grocery stores, 1 hour to an airport and if I book tickets 3 weeks in advance I can get to Bangkok for $30 and hour airtime. Our home is not the largest nor most expensive in town, just different. I see many fellows build mansions and have no desire for a mausoleum or my money tied up in somewhere no one in their right mind would choose to live if it weren t for the family connection. She tells me often not to be too small or people talk bad about you being poor and not to be too big or people are jealous and talk bad. I once paid for a pack of smokes with 6 ten baht coins and it got back to my mother in law that I must have financial problems because I was using coins to pay, try using a 1000 baht bill out of an ATM machine and you get the look of love from the shop keeper. I stall have lots to learn.

Well done, and congrats for keeping to your budget, I know by experience how hard it is to achieve

Haha, love the 10 bath coin story

Looks super nice

Well done mate, it looks great, and all for $40k.

Very nice, and yes it will be different from many of the other houses. Have you received any comments about this?

Nice pad.........and well pulled off. I admire your shrewd approach.

Humours me how many people try so hard to flaunt their wealth (screams financial insecurity), or people trying to impress people they even don't know with money they don't have.

I have a friend who married a great local girl who is incredibly parsimonious even though she has the money to buy whatever she wants. Her sister, having shacked up with some materially-rich dude, brags right in front of her much poorer relations about how much her jewellery and clothes cost. Nouveau riche!

AndyKK wrote: ↑Mon Dec 16, 2019 1:08 pm Very nice, and yes it will be different from many of the other houses. Have you received any comments about this?

of course, anything that is not done the Thai way is subject to derision, how will I add to it? why put in sod? I suggested a bigger counter surface in the kitchen and my wife replied that she wanted more floor space because she likes to cook with friends. I would do it standing of course but she and her friends prefer to sit on the floor. I was told the interior looked like a hospital and that violet and blues would be better. Modern style houses are very popular now and oddly a couple of houses in town have changed their roofline to the shed style. This is rural bumf@ck Thailand, most have cattle or raising frogs within 10 feet of their dwelling. I suggested banana trees at the kitchen side of the house and my wife asked if I would plant vegetables on my lawn at home? fair enough, it is give and take, I have lots to learn and know I will never really fit in, the best is be accepted. My lawnmower was the talk of the town until they saw the lawn cut evenly and the laser lights in the garage were considered wasteful by the Mother in law until we had a party with the karaoke machine and then was considered a good investment.

I live here differently than the Thais do, I wanted my home to be like a little resort, a fun place to hang out in a tropical paradise. They want to make a living and get ahead. I am sure the house would fit in better in more touristy or farang populated areas but this is where her family is and that is very important to her. There is a generation or two missing from Isaan, anyone with brains or looks heads to Bangkok, Pattaya or Phuket to have a good life. We are lucky to be able to do it near family and that part is respected. Most see the method to my madness after a closer look and the truth is the ones that don t I am far too old and settled in my ways to give a shit about

good job. always satisfying when you get what you planned on

Can i add on my house build??
When i built my house here in phuket in 2001, home pro had just opened, I went with my contractor and choose everything i wanted and let him source his own dealers and he kept the difference He made about 8% on the difference.He was quite happy with that

I was on site for 95% of the time to make sure it was done right. When we built it we were the ONLY ones on a dead end dirt road heading up the mtn. For 2 years my electricity came from my closest neighbor, ( 800 meters away) via an extension line.Only after 2 others started building were we able to get the electric company to put in a line up from the main road 400 meters away
But the land when we brought was cheap!!! 2,600 sq meters for only 1.6 million baht
House came in under budget ( planned for 1.5 million) including the full kitchen and furniture
I put in a large closet inside off the kitchen for storage and the washing machine and a hall closet upstairs as well, totally never seen in a thai built house
notice no bars,.... something i am told i cant do, once we start building in Kep

after completion but before we got the grass put in..

put the car port away from the house


after the grass and trees grew


Dinning room looking towards the kitchen


He said 6 months and the rains held hm up for an extra month. I was very pleased.

Meanwhile down in Kep, my gf sister house is in its a 14 month of construction 6 past completion date) and gone thru 3 contractors and still only 80% finished.

Did that $40,000 include the two cars ?

Duncan wrote: ↑Mon Dec 16, 2019 2:45 pm Did that $40,000 include the two cars ?

A lowly Mazda 2 diesel set me back 25k. A BMW 5x is $142,000 USD new in Thailand and it depreciates the minute you drive it off the lot. Car prices here are as close to getting raped as I have come. Oh and on car loans there is no giveback if you pay it off early, you pay the full interest for the original contract even if you walk in the week after you buy and offer to pay the loan off. Thailand sucks when it comes to buying cars