Buying Phuket villas for sale could be compared to winning some kind of lottery prize. Beautiful beaches, lively culture-what is there not to like? Still, before you start really envisioning yourself sipping cocktails by the pool, let’s delve into some not-so-obvious costs that could turn your dream villa into an expense nightmare. We’re talking way beyond the purchase price: the maintenance, the repairs, and the exponentially higher property management fees. Picture yourself sipping that cocktail while the call comes in that your roof needs a serious face-lift. Yeah, not quite the spa treatment you had in mind.
Ever hear the expression, “nothing’s for nothing”? These seem to be those hidden villains that keep on popping out during the processes involved in buying a villa. In Thailand, a foreigner cannot own land outright. You would need those legal structures enabling you to own the land, which again means paying lawyers to dot all the ‘i’s and cross all the ‘t’s.
And if that isn’t sufficient, the cherry on top is the property tax, which finds its way of going up just in time.
And of course, there’s maintenance too: think beautiful gardens but always in need of pruning; think pool, but don’t they just adore leaves? Manpower isn’t exactly as cheap as a plate of Pad Thai either when you need skilled people to keep your villa up. Oh, and if you re thinking of renting it out when you re back home, add management fees and advertising costs to the mix.
A costly one at that. Think utilities are straightforward, month to month? Think again. Those high-season months of tourists will have the electricity and water bills spiraling downhill like a young coconut. Particularly, this is very true if you happen to be renting out to those guests who feel that your villa deserves full AC even when they are absent from the room. Ah, the joys of hosting!
