Housing Projects

My name is Thanee the developer of Le Cellini. One of our home owners suggested I read this forum today, as there has been a lot of discussion about our project after we announced the Phase Two houses starting at 7.9 million baht.

I will be happy to discuss any and all details of the project. Though I do not wish to use this forum for free advertising, so kindly do not try to contact me here. Please simply come to visit Le Cellini and ask for me.

We are always scoping out land and other nice big houses, and one day may build a dream house, so comparing custom build to buying in a project.

Saw a very nice house for sale on 2 rai near Global House off the highway going to the new University. Only completed about 2 years ago by Dream Up Builder, probably about 250 m2 inside plus lots of terraces and a pool, the landscaping makes it so nice. It is listed with FBI and on their website. Apparently the owner is asking just under 10 MB which is several million baht below their cost to build. Would be a nice deal for someone, is really worth a look around.

We were comparing it to an enormous half built house for sale on whopping 3 rai, now held by the bank, which could be redone and be quite fantastic though probably cost much more by the time done.

Probably better off to find a nice one rai plot, and keep it relatively simple, design our own and start from scratch, even if the cost is more than both options above, to do it right. Not sure we are up to the hassles with contractors and their subcontractors.

Then we arrived home at Le Cellini where mind you the land plots are small, though our house style and quality seemed worth a premium over anything else we've seen, and with virtually zero headaches during construction. The price at Le Cellini for the Phase 2 house is less than the 2 rai house above, for similar interior space, in a convenient town location. Low maintenance costs since the garden is smaller, easier to keep watered and up to scratch.

Or you could just buy a perfectly adequate built property for 650,000 to 2 million on one of the estates nearby town.
I am a great believer in people spending their money how they wish rct.
However you are on a failure on so many levels if you are trying to convince me that spending this much money on a property that you can never own somehow represents value for money or even a bargain.

Is he a failure who can provide the best he can easily afford, for his wife the mother of his children, with a big asset in the wife's name, that gives them all financial security? Is the main point about "in her name?"

Any Thai woman who is married with any Farang, whether she is from a relatively poor background or a millionaire family, deserves a husband who is not fearful of putting a house or asset or money in her name. And the farang should want to provide the best he can afford, for his own and his wife's and his children's safety and security and happiness and nice lifestyle. Even in Udon!

Little doubt most readers here will tend to agree with Bob's way of thinking, and only a few with mine. And I tend to go on about this housing subject....about my dreams of living well in Udon Thani. I certainly do not judge by price paid and in fact am aware of some nice houses in projects for low price, on the way to Carrefour for example. Though personally I would not want to live there as I have been used to a much higher standard of living and more space, and can afford it.

An increasing number of farangs, who knows if 1% or 5% or 25% of those coming, want to buy a bigger land plot and build a nice big house with a bigger budget, vs living in a crowded project on 60-80 square wah for 1-2 million baht. For them, I discuss pros and cons of custom build vs in a high end Housing Project.

I don't think Bob said anyone is a failure. I read it as meaning , trying to convince him, you would fail .
Whilst. I think, there is no doubt that you are correct and honorable in your desire to provide as well as you can , for your loved ones. There are certain problems, not connected with finance, or security of investment, to consider, especially if you are proposing to build such a palatial home in the relatively poor region of Issan. The reason why most expensive houses are built on projects is because of security. Normally a security company is employed to patrol the entire area . There is also the "Herd" effect. With many properties to choose from, we hope the robber won't choose mine . If you build an individual property you won't have this, so you must consider what alternatives to protect your investment you must put in place .
You have also to worry about those good old human emotions, jealousy and envy . You will get a lot I assure you, not all from the Thais. In my mind the best you can do for your family is to help them blend into the community, not stand out from it .

& I do not disagree with a word of what you say rct.
As I clearly said in my previous post I fully believe that people should be allowed to spend their hard earned money as they please.
My objection to your prior post was that it was implying that the houses on the Le Cellini Estate represent good value for money. They do not. To pay that much money for a property in Udon Thani is ridiculous.
If you are worried about your family's future after you are gone then there are far better ways of assuring it than landing them with a large albatross around their neck that consumes cash every month.

Yes,thank you TB, you had my meaning exactly.

Certainly the houses on Le Cellini are beautiful.Mind you they should be because for 10m you could get a villa in a beach front location in Phuket with its own swimming pool.
rct is to be commended on getting what he thinks is the best and safest location for his family
However,is it really necessary to post these views every week or so.We all get the point you are trying to make.There is no need to keep repeating it,surely ?

For myself it seems a very large sum of money to spend on a property that can never be yours but up to you,as they say.
Do you think your security guard,paid around 100 baht a day,is going to pull out all the stops to protect your wife and property and keep the mob at bay ?



Mod Note* Removed comments about the Monarchy.

I find it extremely gratifying to hear so many people so concerned over the welfare of someone who has stated many times the reasons for purchasing a nice house for his wife and family and is quite happy with the amount payed. I believe what a person pays for his house cars and toys it his business and don’t feel approval from other members is necessary.

I wonder just how adequate a house in the price range of 650,000 to 2 million really would be for someone who can afford and is living in a 10M Baht home. Maybe it’s just me but that seems to be more like walking off a cliff than stepping down. If you are happy with a price payed then it is good value for you. Hopefully when your taken to the Wat for the last time you would have been perspicacious enough to leave a few Baht for your loved ones so they would be able to continue living the same lifestyle.

Anyone here who has bought a house for their wife has put faith in them and the future. If you purchase a house that is in your price range that could seem like a very large sum of money to spend on a property for some or rather paltry to others.

Interesting how a safety issue gets wrapped into civil war and mobs. Do be careful crossing the street now.

This issue of "house not in ur name etc " What happens to your money after u die, If your will says it goes to your wife, then whats the probloem.

Sounds like some here what to give it back to some shadowy pasts ???

Dublin Tony wrote:Certainly the houses on Le Cellini are beautiful.Mind you they should be because for 10m you could get a villa in a beach front location in Phuket with its own swimming pool.
rct is to be commended on getting what he thinks is the best and safest location for his family
However,is it really necessary to post these views every week or so.We all get the point you are trying to make.There is no need to keep repeating it,surely ?

For myself it seems a very large sum of money to spend on a property that can never be yours but up to you,as they say.
Also as regards the safety issue.I would be just a little concerned that when ****** ends there could be a civil war in Thailand.
Do you think your security guard,paid around 100 baht a day,is going to pull out all the stops to protect your wife and property and keep the mob at bay ?

Co-signed.

Being a returnee to Udon with plans to buy/build in 2010, I personally do not see why one would go pre-built for that kind of money on so little land in Udon. It seems contrary to the reason WHY expats relocate to Udon. Good luck with that, though.

I am concerned about the aftermath of a change in the ******. VERY concerned. So much so that I would be willing to wait and see, but the wife "assures" me that we need not be concerned in Udon, unlike places such as Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket. I am not so sure given that there is a military base and airstrip in town...

I would like to ask members to avoid discussions about the Monarchy on this forum. If you have any questions please pm me. Thanks for your understanding. Lee

lee wrote:I would like to ask members to avoid discussions about the Monarchy on this forum. If you have any questions please pm me. Thanks for your understanding. Lee

OOPs . You just have Lee

BkkBill wrote:I find it extremely gratifying to hear so many people so concerned over the welfare of someone who has stated many times the reasons for purchasing a nice house for his wife and family and is quite happy with the amount payed. I believe what a person pays for his house cars and toys it his business and don’t feel approval from other members is necessary.

I wonder just how adequate a house in the price range of 650,000 to 2 million really would be for someone who can afford and is living in a 10M Baht home. Maybe it’s just me but that seems to be more like walking off a cliff than stepping down. If you are happy with a price payed then it is good value for you. Hopefully when your taken to the Wat for the last time you would have been perspicacious enough to leave a few Baht for your loved ones so they would be able to continue living the same lifestyle.

Anyone here who has bought a house for their wife has put faith in them and the future. If you purchase a house that is in your price range that could seem like a very large sum of money to spend on a property for some or rather paltry to others.

Interesting how a safety issue gets wrapped into civil war and mobs. Do be careful crossing the street now.

I certainly agree with you,however Truebrit makes some very good points also!''Standing out'' for a falang creates security issues that that are real ,especially where their is comparative poverty,resentment,jealousy and a lack of community support if you are victimized!Although ,if you are real rich,you might be able to ''buy'' security and justice,maybe maybe

@rct

I couldn't agree more with what others are saying: spending anything north of 3-5 million anywhere in Isaan is a complete rip-off and far too expensive even for the nicest house imaginable. Just to give you an idea, we were buying 22 rai of land in 2009 (just for our house-to-be-built) near my wife's village in an amazingly beautiful spot not too far from the nearest fast growing town for THB 650k !! Can't wait to be semi-retired and spend 6-8 months a year there. I won't tell you where exactly though, otherwise prices will quadruple in the area

Sorry to say but people like you thought a USD 2 million McMansion in some dried out dusty place in the Nevada desert was a good buy! So much for the perceived safety of real estate assets.

Nevertheless, enjoy!

Dublin Tony, I promise to reduce repeating myself on this particular project, you are absolutely right.

The fact is I have little else to do as I sit here reading udonmap, no home maintence issues, nothing to repair, not busy reinforcing the iron bars on the windows etc. just relaxing and staring out the window at the nice view and stylish homes... (except bad view toward phase two, though they did begin cleaning it up to start building, maybe they were inspired by my writing).

Funny though, we seldom actually see specifics about other housing projects, the point of this thread, this is why I keep trying to keep it alive. Perhaps need one thread for projects under 2 MB and another for the higher end. Friends are looking for projects in the midrange eg 5-7 MB, though I believe it is currently in sort of a no-man's land, everyone wants either very low cost, or DIY at the high end.

Meanwhile please show me a beach front pool villa in Phuket for 10 MB, provide the website link here is fine. I'm going to Phuket this week (seriously, to check on my properties, I moved to Udon from Phuket). No worries at home in Udon while away. Please don't prove me wrong on this too....