Continuing on from last week’s post, How to Know If Your Home is in a Good Location, we’ll talk today about how to tell if your home is in a bad location.
Being able to identify and separate good from bad locations is an extremely important skill for anyone who wants to invest in property by buying a house or condo in Thailand. When you discover a good location, you can save a lot of money by buying a presale property before the area becomes highly developed. Similarly, a good location ensures a much easier and faster re-sale in the future, even if the property itself needs major updating.
Here are some key things to look out for if you are questioning how well the location of a potential property will serve you.
Take Taxes and Fees into Account
The number one piece of advice our top agents give our readers is that when it comes time to buying a home, especially one in Thailand, you should hire a trustworthy lawyer.
As already stated, it’s very important to determine a good location for your home and a lawyer can help you do that by investigating the taxes, property fees and maintenance dues that will be associated with the purchase. It is only until this cost is determined and factored into the total cost of the home that you can accurately calculate the potential costs and profits that come with buying and eventually reselling a property. Even if you don’t intend to re-sell the property, it is still extremely important to know what kind of monthly or yearly fees you will be required to pay as a homeowner. The amount could be enough to make or break the deal for you.
Notice the Noise
Being near main roads and highways that connect suburban areas to metropolitan areas can drastically increase the value of a town or neighborhood. However, a property that’s too close to these high-traffic areas will decrease in value. No one wants to have to tune out the raging sounds of a busy highway or the constant thunder of a low-flying airplane or elevated train.
If you are interested in a property that is nearby a major highway or airport, try to visit it during multiple times per day (rush hour, evening, etc.) to assess how loud the noise is. Consider if the noise level will increase in the future by finding out if there are any plans for transportation construction.
Get a Crime Report
Buying a property in crime ridden neighborhoods will not help your chances of eventually reselling. Even if the property is beautiful to begin with or you flip the house during your ownership, the property will remain at a low value if newcomers need to be cautious on a constant basis.
Look around for normal homes or condo buildings with bars on the windows to guess if robberies tend to happen in the area. Also, keep an eye out for suspicious houses nearby. If a house covers all of its windows during all hours of the day and constantly has visitors late at night, there is a possibility it is a drug house. To avoid offending anyone, you can get a report of the neighborhood from the local police.
Remember You’re Not Just Buying into a Property, You’re Buying into a Neighborhood
Buying a property in a nice neighborhood will help your chances of making a profitable resale, because even if the property isn’t great the desirable neighborhood will at least show buyers that the property has potential. If the neighborhood is not kept well, this will devalue your property. Poor landscaping, heaps of rubbish, old appliances or furniture on the road should be red flags to a neighborhood and might signal it to be an economically depressed area. While these areas can become gentrified and increase in value, a major purchase can be risky as the area also has the potential to get worse.
Look Below the Land Surface
A property may look beautiful and clean and new, but if it is poorly positioned on the earth could lead to major consequences. For example, a property that’s at the base of a hill will be vulnerable to flooding and will need a good drainage system that must be maintained over the years. Similarly, if there’s a nuclear power plant nearby or other potentially hazardous surroundings (such as a landfill or a swampy area), steer clear as these factors could lead to eventual deterioration of the property and/or its land.
