Investing in Thailand for future retirement

[Dreamaway]

Anyone has any experience buying property in Thailand to prep for future retirement?

 

Wondering how the procedure is like and how much ready cash is needed before one can trigger the plan. 

[ethanchen]

Interested to know too.. 

[Guest fudge packer]

If you are buying in Bangkok please   be aware that The Thai capital and the surrounding areas are sinking into the sea, fresh water underground is being encroached by seawater, and ground water is being dugout for drinking causing bangkok to sink lower and lower,

 

Do like angmoh's who go there for cheap food , cheap beer and cheaper MBs, just rent , and rent. You will thank me for my advice . send me your blessing.okay.

 

It is happening in just 10 to 15 years or even earlier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

That is why you see, aggressive marketing of Thai apartments in Singapore papers,

 if you got money to burn , go ahead. Better to  invest in Malaysia, good solid, earthquake free.

[Dreamaway]

Ok...

 

Maybe not Bangkok but not whole thailand sinking right? Lol.

[Guest guest]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marrying a Thai citizen is the best route to get a long stay visa, 

 

citizenship is very difficult to get,   more so than getting an Australian citizenship.

 

Australia allows de facto gay partner sponsorship which leads to permanent residence and eventually after meeting residency requirements a citizenship applications is possible after English proficiency test and Australian values written examination.  You definitely can learn english better than you can learn Thai.

[Guest guest]

 

 

There is an age requirement for a retirement visa, and you need to show proof you have retirement money coming into your bank of $1677 a month or over $33,000 a year in Thain Bank account and also get the proof notarised by Thai consular or embassy for retirement visa.

 

A lot ofang moh after staying iN Thailand and having Thai gf later come to the conclusion that Thai do not really want Farang to settle in their country permanently becos Thailand is very proud that it is the only south east asia country that escaped colonialisation by Thai king negotiating with foreign power.

[Guest BUY is easy. Sell is ...]

any country is not like singapore or hong kong where LAND IS SCARCE. Buy anyone NOW is chicken feet & abundance. Sell to who in FUTURE with so much land & so many many?? Am i right or wrong? 

[glider]

Bangkok is not a good choice also partly due to higher property cost and very bad air pollution, example a 30m2 condo will easily cost around 1.5m baht, where else Chiang Mai can get around 600k baht, but Chiang Mia also have its own problem which is haze when farmers start to burn their farm after harvest, and will last for 2 to 3 months. Pattaya, Hua Hin and Phuket also can consider due many foreigner retired at these places. Foreigner only can only own condo in Thailand and is usually freehold, you have to pay full in cash because loan from bank is not possible, and the money must remit from overseas. If you stay long term in Thailand, also must take note every 90 days must report to immigration, so make sure the area you stay not too far away from the local Thai immigration, they do have on line reporting but is not working very well and not all embassy accept that also. If you are above 50 yrs old and intend to retire in Thailand, you can apply for retirement visa, come to Thailand as tourist, then apply for retirement visa is easier because no need medical and criminal screening, lastly you must have 800k baht in a Thai saving account. Try google Thaivisa, there are tons of information available.    

[glider]

One more important thing forgot to mention, Thailand will legalise same sex partner marriage registration next year.

[Dreamaway]

Not so sure if I will really retirement in Thailand but though it's still worth having an investment and a potential retirement IF I want. 

 

Considered Malaysia also but actually prefer Thailand. Not so familiar with Philippines so never thought of it. 

 

Any other opinions?

[Guest Wise]

10 hours ago, Dreamaway said:

Anyone has any experience buying property in Thailand to prep for future retirement?

 

Wondering how the procedure is like and how much ready cash is needed before one can trigger the plan. 

You are very wise. In singapore you pay so much for a tiny flat, not worth it. Somemore its 99 years, after 99 years have to return to greedy government. Facilities are also not up to standard.

 

In thailand, malaysia, its different. So much land, just fraction of cost and you get so much more! Better fittings and quality top notch as people are more obliging while in sg money talks. The governments are also more open and more freedom.

[Guest Wise]

10 hours ago, Dreamaway said:

Anyone has any experience buying property in Thailand to prep for future retirement?

 

Wondering how the procedure is like and how much ready cash is needed before one can trigger the plan. 

You are very wise. In singapore you pay so much for a tiny flat, not worth it. Somemore its 99 years, after 99 years have to return to greedy government. Facilities are also not up to standard.

 

In thailand, malaysia, its different. So much land, just fraction of cost and you get so much more! Better fittings and quality top notch as people are more obliging while in sg money talks. The governments are also more open and more freedom.

[TheBee2]

Just read couple of days ago an article about buying a real estate for retirement https://tranio.com/articles/retirement-homes-investing-in-the-future/, hope information will be useful or will change your mind and you choose other location 

Edited December 13, 2018 by TheBee2

[Guest guest]

49 minutes ago, Guest Wise said:

You are very wise. In singapore you pay so much for a tiny flat, not worth it. Somemore its 99 years, after 99 years have to return to greedy government. Facilities are also not up to standard.

 

In thailand, malaysia, its different. So much land, just fraction of cost and you get so much more! Better fittings and quality top notch as people are more obliging while in sg money talks. The governments are also more open and more freedom.

 

Bro, you talk like it is so easy to move to Thailand, want to retire there must show proof you have passive income of THB$800,000 in Thai  Bank account a year remitted from home country or equivalent of Singapore money $33,000 being remitted into Thai bank account per year , that is about $ 2,700 a moth, where got Singaporean can remit  that kind of money in order to qualify for retirement visa in Thailand, and futhermore if you old and fall sick, you have to pay the foreigner's rate at hospital in thailand and not the Thai people's subsidised  hospital fees .

 

Many things to work out, So I still think malaysia a good choice, can rush back to singapore for medical treatment in emergency ,  and Malaysia issues a ten year visa for those qualified under MM2M retirement visa if you meet the requirements and qualifications.

 

Thai got language barrier and also scary as hell, when fall sick, dont know language in Thai hospital ,

 

 

sekarli you become organ harvesting farm, instead of trying hard to save your life, the hospital tuen you inot cash cow by selling your body organs to rich but sickly miiddle eastern fat obese, but rich enuff to pay sky high prices for stolen black market human organs.

 

Thailand can be scary for non native thai people, even for Thai themselves.

 

 

[Dreamaway]

For sure relocation is not easy but comparing Malaysia and Thailand, the latter does have some attractiveness. Time for travelling might not be too diff unless u compare with JB. 

 

However for now, I would just like to focus on the investment portion. 

 

Anyone with experience could enlighten the rest of us?

[Guest Hot Swimmer]

I have been eyeing bangkok studio or 1 bedder condo for years already and seen the bangkok properties booming due to many rich PRC buying up condos there and pushing housing price in bkk soars. For singaporean, only UOB thailand offers housing loan but the interest is very very high. Even the thai staff there do not encourage to take up loan. Best is to buy condo with cash. So you will need about S$300k-S$500k cash to buy a studio or 1 bedder in Sukhumvit area. Initial down payment is about 30%-40% then progressive payment. The PRC are cash rich. We're not. So can not compare. With that amount i can pay off HDB house.

For Investment is not so ideal. Reason local thais are not rich and rental income is very very pity. Unless you rent out daily as air bnb. But air bnb in thailand most condo forbids now. So the rental is unstable. If buy for own stay then ok. Most ang mo retire in thailand because of low living standard there. They have monthly pension from their home country to support their living expenses. If you think to do business in thailand, not good too. You wont earn a lot.

Best is just travel to thailand as tourist once or twice a year.

[Cantona55]

After you find the property you have to sign a reservation agreement that shows you've booked the property. Then you are going to pay a deposit, 10% of the property price. Then your lawyer gonna build up the sales contract and you gonna pay the remaining amount. I suggest you to use a lawyer which is familiar with Thai laws, as Thai property market law can be very tricky. After the payment the transaction will be registered in the Land Department of Thailand. And then you will take a certificate of ownership in Thai and ta-daaa! You have a property in Thailand . I recommend you to work with a real estate agency, as it takes way shorter then buying it yourself. For my own experience it took almost a week, but I heard stories like people suffered for a month with all these paper work. I've bought a holiday house in Phuket 2 years ago, if you are interested I can suggest a reliable real estate broker.

Edited December 14, 2018 by Cantona55

[Guest Hot Swimmer]

Yes agreed. Better get a reliable thai lawyer to handle those law documents, even you buy from developer! Cantona55 you bought phuket 2nd hand condo?

I will suggest TS to buy from well known thai developer like Sansiri. Thai developer workmanship varies greatly. Sansiri workmanship is good. Sansiri in thailand is like our SG CDL. There from time to time has roadshow in Singapore. Mostly roadshow market by CBR prop agency and sometime can see huttons too. Many cases developers in thailand building half-way then stop work. So choosing a reliable developer in thailand is very very important. Thailand condo maintenance mostly not as good as Sg. So after 5 yrs you will see your condo running down. In conclusion, i not encourage you to buy prop in thailand. You will have buy with cash. Since rental there is low. Logically better just rent and you will have plenty options to choose to change house later.

[Dreamaway]

Thanks hot swimmer and @Cantona55!

Really useful info indeed. 

@Cantona55, u bought mainly to invest? If it's really all cash then it'll be quite tough I think. 

Any websites where there's some info on the property prices in Thailand? I think Bangkok would not be my first choice, was hoping to get a bigger space and less crowded though still need to be relatively accessible. 

[Guest Guest123]

6 minutes ago, Dreamaway said:

Thanks hot swimmer and @Cantona55!

Really useful info indeed. 

@Cantona55, u bought mainly to invest? If it's really all cash then it'll be quite tough I think. 

Any websites where there's some info on the property prices in Thailand? I think Bangkok would not be my first choice, was hoping to get a bigger space and less crowded though still need to be relatively accessible. 

Try johor. My friend moved his whole family to johor. His house is a mansion! The price is less than a hdb 3 rm flat! And so big, got land somemore! In sg, so small like a birdcage while in johor its a 3 story palace! So worth it. 

 

 

[Dreamaway]

2 minutes ago, Guest Guest123 said:

Try johor. My friend moved his whole family to johor. His house is a mansion! The price is less than a hdb 3 rm flat! And so big, got land somemore! In sg, so small like a birdcage while in johor its a 3 story palace! So worth it. 

 

 

Johor is still being considered actually. Just would like to understand more about options in Thailand. 

 

But am sceptical about johor being a good investment location too mnay developments and really not much investment potential in my opinion, will be purely for retirement if johor. 

[Guest Hot Swimmer]

If for investment, better buy in bkk central area. At least you may rent out to ang mo if lucky to find one. Expat will not stay at outskirt of central district.

If not bkk, you can consider pattaya. It is booming now with many PRC and Russians investments. 10 yrs ago when i first went to Pattaya, a studio or 1 bedder condo sea view cost about S$60k but now it costs more than double about S$150k. ROI is high there even better than bkk. I foresee pattaya will continue to be hot place for investments as thai gov has just announced by 2030 there will be high speed train from survanabhumi airport to pattaya.

As i already said, thailand condo buy only for own stay and not good for investment. Those PRC they buy but they will face hard time to rent high. Only can rent low price.

[Dreamaway]

15 hours ago, Guest Hot Swimmer said:

If for investment, better buy in bkk central area. At least you may rent out to ang mo if lucky to find one. Expat will not stay at outskirt of central district.

If not bkk, you can consider pattaya. It is booming now with many PRC and Russians investments. 10 yrs ago when i first went to Pattaya, a studio or 1 bedder condo sea view cost about S$60k but now it costs more than double about S$150k. ROI is high there even better than bkk. I foresee pattaya will continue to be hot place for investments as thai gov has just announced by 2030 there will be high speed train from survanabhumi airport to pattaya.

As i already said, thailand condo buy only for own stay and not good for investment. Those PRC they buy but they will face hard time to rent high. Only can rent low price.

Thanks Hot Swimmer!

 

Heard about the high speed train. Definitely an important factor to consider! Thanks!

[lonelyglobe]

Have they started building the hst? Dont bang too much on infrastructure plan unless work is in progress but even then an airport can take 40 years to complete....10 years ago they were saying makkasan area is going to be the next cbd but till now, nothing have been change, everything is still the same....

[Dreamaway]

55 minutes ago, lonelyglobe said:

Have they started building the hst? Dont bang too much on infrastructure plan unless work is in progress but even then an airport can take 40 years to complete....10 years ago they were saying makkasan area is going to be the next cbd but till now, nothing have been change, everything is still the same....

Thanks for the reminder. Definitely worth assessing the risk. 

 

Anyone has some website containing info on property prices in Thailand, not just Bangkok. 

[LeanMature]

7 minutes ago, frienz86 said:

Anybody knows good Property agent in Bangkok? 

 

Buy or sell ?

[maturechn]

Hi all , 

I have been monitored the property in bkk for some years n this year i had visited some showflat n saw some condos. Their prices are too high now, not a good choice for investment  .

The rent is low and it is difficult for subsales. The marketing agent there cant be trusted , i know more information than them . 

It is difficult to find a good broker there. 

[lonelyglobe]

Be it malaysia or bangkok, beside the price getting higher, risk of policy changes, there is always a few issues faced:

1. Most developer will try to use cheapest materials for building, after a year or so, all sort of problems will start to surface.

2. Need to pay maintenance fees but then dont know where this goes to as the building will start to look old after 3 years if lucky.

3. As most correctly pointed out, they have vast land meaning there will always be new development coming up, people will want to rent or buy new ones in the market.

 

For those who need more first hand info, there is a thread under travellers hut about retiring in bk.

[Guest Guest]

I will strongly advise people to invest in malaysia for a reason. 

 

Its political stability. Every since Tun M won the election, Malaysia has seen high improvements! Corruption is eliminated as Najib and cronies are no longer in power. Malaysia has also put a stop China's various investments in rail/highway/property sectors...these will see less chinese flocking to malaysia which is a good thing, property prices will raise as new Chinatowns will not be formed.

 

Malaysia has also turn the tide against Singapore, unlike Najib who had close tiew with singapore. Malaysia now wants to increase the price of water it sells to singapore and take back air and sea space. These will show the international community that Malaysia is smart and brave as it cares for its people. The international community is certainly impressed as Tun M is invited to various high profile visits to UK and upcoming China trip.

 

Malaysia aslo has the best healthcare system in the world as it recently shows, beatesting Singapore.

 

Its housing is also cheaper and better than Singapore. Their public housing is so cheap!

 

Malaysia is the leader in innovation as it will once again build its own national car. It will show the world now tech savvy, modern and technologically advance malaysia is against singapore.

 

Also its education system is world class. Its standard of english is one of the best in the world. Its teachers and schools are committed from the heart to educate its children. 

 

All these are achieved in such a short space of time, and only will get better in decades to come. Give Tun M 10 years, it will surpass Singapore, HK, Korea, Japan and be at the forefront of the world stage.

 

Its time to invest in malaysia. Truely Asia!

[Guest guest]

 

I love Thailand, but only for visit and as Tourist.

 

Thank you.

 

I love Thailand and their forbidden fruits.

[mate69]

1 hour ago, Guest Guest said:

I will strongly advise people to invest in malaysia for a reason. 

 

Its political stability. Every since Tun M won the election, Malaysia has seen high improvements! Corruption is eliminated as Najib and cronies are no longer in power. Malaysia has also put a stop China's various investments in rail/highway/property sectors...these will see less chinese flocking to malaysia which is a good thing, property prices will raise as new Chinatowns will not be formed.

 

Malaysia has also turn the tide against Singapore, unlike Najib who had close tiew with singapore. Malaysia now wants to increase the price of water it sells to singapore and take back air and sea space. These will show the international community that Malaysia is smart and brave as it cares for its people. The international community is certainly impressed as Tun M is invited to various high profile visits to UK and upcoming China trip.

 

Malaysia aslo has the best healthcare system in the world as it recently shows, beatesting Singapore.

 

Its housing is also cheaper and better than Singapore. Their public housing is so cheap!

 

Malaysia is the leader in innovation as it will once again build its own national car. It will show the world now tech savvy, modern and technologically advance malaysia is against singapore.

 

Also its education system is world class. Its standard of english is one of the best in the world. Its teachers and schools are committed from the heart to educate its children. 

 

All these are achieved in such a short space of time, and only will get better in decades to come. Give Tun M 10 years, it will surpass Singapore, HK, Korea, Japan and be at the forefront of the world stage.

 

Its time to invest in malaysia. Truely Asia!

 

As they say, when it all sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

 

[Garyl]

Interesting :  800,000 thai bath requirement

According to this : https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1076642-thai-immigration-reveals-new-requirements-for-retirement-marriage-extensions-visas/page/68/

 

[Guest Guest]

12 hours ago, mate69 said:

 

As they say, when it all sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

 

I am giving my expert professional advise. My views and thoughts on world affairs is high sort by leaders and professionals the world over. I highly believe in Tun M and his leadership. The team Tun M has is highly capable and wise. They are the brightest and the best in their trade, these people can earn so much money as international companies are willing to pay them so much because of their expert views, however, these men chose their country first. They serve malaysians with heart and compassion.

 

I strongly believe if Tun M is to lead Malaysia for the next 15 years, Malaysia will be the nost advancr country in the world, surpass USA, Japan, China.

 

Its best to invest in Malaysia than Thailand because of the capable leadership of Tun M.

 

[Luke321]

32 minutes ago, Guest Guest said:

I am giving my expert professional advise. My views and thoughts on world affairs is high sort by leaders and professionals the world over. I highly believe in Tun M and his leadership. The team Tun M has is highly capable and wise. They are the brightest and the best in their trade, these people can earn so much money as international companies are willing to pay them so much because of their expert views, however, these men chose their country first. They serve malaysians with heart and compassion.

 

I strongly believe if Tun M is to lead Malaysia for the next 15 years, Malaysia will be the nost advancr country in the world, surpass USA, Japan, China.

 

Its best to invest in Malaysia than Thailand because of the capable leadership of Tun M.

 

Well, I didn't realize there was someone that high up in a relation to Khazanah Nasional that is gay. Hahaha, whay were you doing when it was the previous Prime Minister though? Also saying these positive things?

[Guest Guest]

17 minutes ago, Luke321 said:

Well, I didn't realize there was someone that high up in a relation to Khazanah Nasional that is gay. Hahaha, whay were you doing when it was the previous Prime Minister though? Also saying these positive things?

Don't be rude! I am a true blue Singaporean and nothing to do with past or present malaysian government! 

 

What I did was an indepth study on malaysia and my reknown knowledge on world views and politics.

 

 

[Luke321]

8 minutes ago, Guest Guest said:

Don't be rude! I am a true blue Singaporean and nothing to do with past or present malaysian government! 

 

What I did was an indepth study on malaysia and my reknown knowledge on world views and politics.

 

 

Hahaha. Hahaha. Hahaha. 

 

Thanks for the laughs dude!

[Garyl]

On 12/13/2018 at 9:51 PM, glider said:

One more important thing forgot to mention, Thailand will legalise same sex partner marriage registration next year.

bro, any update on this?

[Garyl]

On 2/21/2019 at 2:19 PM, Luke321 said:

Hahaha. Hahaha. Hahaha. 

 

Thanks for the laughs dude!

Bro, Dont bother with "guest"  .

[tomcat]

investing in Thailand property is always a fast-in-fast-out case. same for Malaysia also. and only then, you must be quite connected to the higher ups in the hierarchy so your investments are protected (whether illegally or not). so i don't think it is wise or very safe to invest in it as a retirement home. 

due to lower building standards than Singapore, a lot of the buildings there don't last the test of time. 5 year old building can deteriorate like 10 year, as most are built and finished with improper or inferior materials and fittings. even simple things like paint, can cut corners, so it looks good only the first 1 or 2 years. 

and there is also the common scenario of development projects which fold midway, leading to loss of investor money and half-built abanndoned buildings.

 

so if you want to invest, buy a property that has been built, and been around for at least 5 years. If it is still look good, it means 1. we can at least 50% assume it was built properly, 2. it is being operating by management that has a good maintenance policy/contract.

within Pattaya itself, there are a few. Beautiful, beachfront, quiet - away from the main stretch. some of these are so affordable, and due to the competition, sometimes they even throw in a free car. but always keep to the first 2 points mentioned above, they will at least help you make an informed decision that will pay dividends in the long run. 

 

personally for me, I would rather keep my money liquid and negotiate a good 1 or 2 year lease. then i can move when the scenery gets boring, or if anything changes in the direct environment that is bad. 

I would feel better about that, rather than have to worry as an aged foreigner if my property is even going to go down faster and earlier than me...

 

 

[LeanMature]

Easy to buy, difficult to sell. 

Easy to transfer in $$$, very difficult to transfer out. 

[Guest ServiceApartment]

I bought a 2 bedder service apartment in Bangkok which promises 5% rental yield. Hope my bf and me can stay in it sometime during our retirement

[Guest Fubuc]

My landlord sold his condo so I was forced to move. He said he was going to retire in Bangkok where he and hia friends open up a brothel busineaa.

[gc0805]

bought condos in both kl and bkk. transactions in kl took months and months to complete, and five years after selling the condo, i still get letters from some crazy land authorities there asking if i still own the bloody place. i remembered tenants were not easy to find and the rental was paltry, even though the condo was at the embassy row 15 min walk from klcc. eventually got rid of it.

buying condo in bkk was a a different story. transaction took less than a week to complete. and if u buy from a reputable developer, there is no need for a lawyer. a friend bought and sold four properties there, never once needing a lawyer. admittedly rental and resale yields are not ideal, so buy only if u r thinking of staying there in your retirement. i know a bw member who moved there for his retirement last year (or 2 years ago, can't remember).

recently I've taken a liking to taipei too, and am thinking of getting a place in the up and coming suburb in linkou. any taiwanese mates here can give some advice?

[Guest Guest]

1 hour ago, gc0805 said:

bought condos in both kl and bkk. transactions in kl took months and months to complete, and five years after selling the condo, i still get letters from some crazy land authorities there asking if i still own the bloody place. i remembered tenants were not easy to find and the rental was paltry, even though the condo was at the embassy row 15 min walk from klcc. eventually got rid of it.

buying condo in bkk was a a different story. transaction took less than a week to complete. and if u buy from a reputable developer, there is no need for a lawyer. a friend bought and sold four properties there, never once needing a lawyer. admittedly rental and resale yields are not ideal, so buy only if u r thinking of staying there in your retirement. i know a bw member who moved there for his retirement last year (or 2 years ago, can't remember).

recently I've taken a liking to taipei too, and am thinking of getting a place in the up and coming suburb in linkou. any taiwanese mates here can give some advice?

Both are wise investments. Bangkok has more nightlife and excitment and a global city and KL, under the capable leadership of Tun M will only go from strength to strength. Meanwhile in Singapore, Dyson pulled out of its electric car business...so economy go downhill. 

 

Also property in singapore too expensive. After 99 years no value. I can properly buy several units in bangkok with the money I spend to a 3 rm hdb in singapore.

 

Alao you do not hear people get tax tax tac tax in bangkok or KL.

[Guest Guest]

Medical fee is expensive for foreigners there 

[LeanMature]

On 10/15/2019 at 2:38 AM, gc0805 said:

bought condos in both kl and bkk. transactions in kl took months and months to complete, and five years after selling the condo, i still get letters from some crazy land authorities there asking if i still own the bloody place. i remembered tenants were not easy to find and the rental was paltry, even though the condo was at the embassy row 15 min walk from klcc. eventually got rid of it.

buying condo in bkk was a a different story. transaction took less than a week to complete. and if u buy from a reputable developer, there is no need for a lawyer. a friend bought and sold four properties there, never once needing a lawyer. admittedly rental and resale yields are not ideal, so buy only if u r thinking of staying there in your retirement. i know a bw member who moved there for his retirement last year (or 2 years ago, can't remember).

recently I've taken a liking to taipei too, and am thinking of getting a place in the up and coming suburb in linkou. any taiwanese mates here can give some advice?

 

Whether KL or BKK, it is easy to buy, hard to rent and difficult to sell.  It is almost impossible to bring the money out of the country after getting rid of the property.

[Guest Batam better]

Cheaper to buy there to retire. Also much closer to Singapore in case need medical help. Labour also cheaper if you need a full time helper to Bath you.. 

[Guest Guest]

It is extremely dumb to invest in Bangkok!

 

Lots of interesting posts that most Singaporeans are unaware.

 

 

[gc0805]

On 10/16/2019 at 12:18 PM, LeanMature said:

 

Whether KL or BKK, it is easy to buy, hard to rent and difficult to sell.  It is almost impossible to bring the money out of the country after getting rid of the property.

yes agreed.

but bkk is for retirement , so i kept my funds there for use when I'm there.

i brought back my funds from malaysia after selling the property, cos i have any intention for staying there.

[LeanMature]

6 hours ago, gc0805 said:

yes agreed.

but bkk is for retirement , so i kept my funds there for use when I'm there.

i brought back my funds from malaysia after selling the property, cos i have any intention for staying there.

 

There is also a limit to the amount that you can remit back on a single day.  So if the amount is huge, you have to visit the bank everyday for a week or more, meaning you have to stay in hotel for up to a month to complete the full transfer.