Buying a house with $300K: Where and why?

BerlusconiSchmidt said:

What investments are so secure that you would be putting 100% of your money into it and continue renting?

I already own crypto, stocks, cash, businesses and have cash flow. I think when everything goes to s**t the only thing that will matter is if you have roof and land that you can use to grow your vegetables...

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it is highly unlikely you can pull this off then. And even if you can, you need an army on top to starve off your hungry neighbors willing to visit you. Especially true if you're a foreigner, then you're easy prey.
Further, land and real estate is very easy to expropriate in such a scenario, 100x more likely if you're foreigner.
It needs at max 1 week in local news and social media to create the environment needed to have every peasant and his dog coming out and supporting this idea of foreigners having land "misappropriated".

Id enjoy the moment and if the shat hits the fan, well you can die only once. Best make peace with that.

However if you like being a farmer and nature go for it.

BerlusconiSchmidt said:

What investments are so secure that you would be putting 100% of your money into it and continue renting?

I already own crypto, stocks, cash, businesses and have cash flow. I think when everything goes to s**t the only thing that will matter is if you have roof and land that you can use to grow your vegetables...


Thailand sounds good however prices aren't a joke. It's only 30-40% cheaper than New Zealand which has a quality of life 10x greater.

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I would not assume living in a police state under communist lunatics from the breed of the horse witch to be considered a good life quality.
Far from it actually.

BerlusconiSchmidt said:

I already own crypto, stocks, cash, businesses and have cash flow. I think when everything goes to s**t the only thing that will matter is if you have roof and land that you can use to grow your vegetables...

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The day everything will really go wrong, along with the roof and land, don't forget to add lethal weapons + an extensive bunch of ammo cans. Throwing pumpkins and leeks will unfortunately not do the trick.

Alternatively, you could be set and ready to move fast to the next safer place, if any.

Mercury said:

The day everything will really go wrong, along with the roof and land, don't forget to add lethal weapons + an extensive bunch of ammo cans. Throwing pumpkins and leeks will unfortunately not do the trick.

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growing these and conserving them is actually not even that easy during normal conditions esp if one did not grow up as a farmer.

Mercury said:

Alternatively, you could be set and ready to move fast to the next safer place, if any.

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that is by far the more realistic and workable strategy.

theres this program in the DR that if you but real estate for $200k-ish you can get naturalized in 6 months iirc, google a bit.

IIRC @JohnnyDoe lived there for a minute and recommends the place.

TheCryptoAnt said:

theres this program in the DR that if you but real estate for $200k-ish you can get naturalized in 6 months iirc, google a bit.

IIRC @JohnnyDoe lived there for a minute and recommends the place.

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OP doesn’t want an island: he is a sophisticated person seeking to live in a place like Geneva or Monaco, with a budget of max $300k for a house, and of course 0 taxes, or 10-20% depending on the mood of the day.

BerlusconiSchmidt said:

Isn't DR attached to Haiti? I don't really want to be cannibalised but I'll look into it.

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DR people hate Haitians iirc so you good in that front.

BerlusconiSchmidt said:

I was happy with Ukraine before the war, Kiev was my favourite place to go. A bit too much corruption and rockets falling from the sky right now.

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It was turbo corrupt before the war too. I was there in '19 and their envelope game was strong.

JohnnyDoe said:

OP doesn’t want an island: he is a sophisticated person seeking to live in a place like Geneva or Monaco, with a budget of max $300k for a house, and of course 0 taxes, or 10-20% depending on the mood of the day.

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Im considering the DR btw, passport is a bit trash atm but hey if I can get a decent condo / town house with a free passport Im all for it.

TheCryptoAnt said:

Im considering the DR btw, passport is a bit trash atm but hey if I can get a decent condo / town house with a free passport Im all for it.

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the president already signed the decree for the introduction of biometric passports. Starting from 2025 you will get visa free travel to Europe.

BerlusconiSchmidt said:

Isn't DR attached to Haiti? I don't really want to be cannibalised but I'll look into it.


I was happy with Ukraine before the war, Kiev was my favourite place to go. A bit too much corruption and rockets falling from the sky right now.

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Corruption didn't magically start in 2022. It was prevalent long before. And Kiev has very few rockets falling from the sky that would endanger civilians. Unless you live next to a school that they've decided to store ammunition in, then you'd likely be fine.

JohnnyDoe said:

OP doesn’t want an island: he is a sophisticated person seeking to live in a place like Geneva or Monaco, with a budget of max $300k for a house, and of course 0 taxes, or 10-20% depending on the mood of the day.

Click to expand...

That's a good point; to be honest, the OP is half-trolling. He has lived in one of the most totalitarian places on earth since 2019, and his tax expectations change with every post. He is happy with 0%, 10% max, 30% if there is no corporate tax, but maybe 20%.

BerlusconiSchmidt said:

What investments are so secure that you would be putting 100% of your money into it and continue renting?

I already own crypto, stocks, cash, businesses and have cash flow. I think when everything goes to s**t the only thing that will matter is if you have roof and land that you can use to grow your vegetables...


Thailand sounds good however prices aren't a joke. It's only 30-40% cheaper than New Zealand which has a quality of life 10x greater. I mean, if I could pay less than 10% taxes by living in Thailand I'll go for it, but right now it's all in doubt with the new regulations. Malasya seems a good option with their no tax on foreign income and cheaper houses than Thailand, can anyone recommend it?

I'm looking to move the whole family abroad only if I can justify the savings in dollar cost...

Click to expand...

You can work out the opportunity cost of renting vs. buying with a mortgage based on the % return you can conceivably earn from your cash elsewhere.

Most foreigners aren't taking on mortgages in Thailand; they are cash buyers. I would only buy in cash in full or rent.

cryptofriendly said:

Wasn't there a crackdown on such land holding companies, which have no other business than holding land for foreigners, just a few years ago? The company structure isn't risk free.

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Anyone doing it needs to make sure they have a good local lawyer. I know a couple of people who have done it with no issues. I also know one who put 51% in their girlfriend's (well, I assume she was a girl) name and got thoroughly rinsed.

polonieth said:

Anyone doing it needs to make sure they have a good local lawyer. I know a couple of people who have done it with no issues. I also know one who put 51% in their girlfriend's (well, I assume she was a girl) name and got thoroughly rinsed.

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ouch that hurt

It's a just funny how people theorize about quality of life in some countries with maximum knowledge of them from TV, wikipedia or beighn there as a tourists couple of days.

Schools in Kyiv are stored ammo? Childrens are studying in Kyiv same as in peace time, wtf about any ammo? Or childs sits in their classes right on ammo box? What a a*****e could even assume this for thinking of moving or not moving there.

Unfriendly people without stupid smiles? Lol, nothing wrong there, just a part of mentality, where face of the people just display current mood, unlike mentality of some stupid countries, where everyone smiles everytime even if literally s**t on you.

Corrupt countries? Just learn how to cook it and instead of big taxes just pay a little of taxes and put a bit of envelop. In result you will have bigger amount of funds in your pocket.

Unlike some snobs from Germany or DR who are literrally chew their ego with 0 real help, it's a lot of places in the world where you could buy decent house at price of 300k and pay adequate amount of taxes.
Almost all eastern Europe is suitable for it.
Starting from Slovakia or Poland, Baltics, where taxes\real estate cost will be somewhere higher, till Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine where you could swim around quite low taxes with cheap real estate.
Just look at Iași or Oradea instead of Bucharest in case of Romania.
Or Rzeszów instead of Warsaw in case of Poland etc. With smaller towns you will get cheaper prices where 300k will quite enough.

Another question it's a personal preferences in your and your family life: hobbies, climate, acitivity, language, mentality, etc.
As you said you like Romania and Ukraine, Bulgaria is also quite similar to these countries.
Hovewer Baltics and Poland a bit different in mentality with a more western mind, so depend on what exact you liked in above countries you could like or dislike them.
In any case, corruption level in Ukraine and possible tax changes in Romania is a absolutelly not a main factors to make a decision if move or not to move there. You are not investor from Rheinmetall to worry about Ukraine's corruption level and with dramatical changes of taxes in Romania you will be at same boat with almost 20 million of Romanians who face this problem, so 'solution' will be found any way.

Mercury said:

The day everything will really go wrong, along with the roof and land, don't forget to add lethal weapons + an extensive bunch of ammo cans. Throwing pumpkins and leeks will unfortunately not do the trick.

Alternatively, you could be set and ready to move fast to the next safer place, if any.

Click to expand...

Yeah, the smart way is to stock up on weapons and ammo, they will be the true currency after a collapse. Why stock up on food, water, and gold, when you can get it all with

polonieth said:

Corruption didn't magically start in 2022. It was prevalent long before. And Kiev has very few rockets falling from the sky that would endanger civilians. Unless you live next to a school that they've decided to store ammunition in, then you'd likely be fine.

That's a good point; to be honest, the OP is half-trolling. He has lived in one of the most totalitarian places on earth since 2019, and his tax expectations change with every post. He is happy with 0%, 10% max, 30% if there is no corporate tax, but maybe 20%.

You can work out the opportunity cost of renting vs. buying with a mortgage based on the % return you can conceivably earn from your cash elsewhere.

Most foreigners aren't taking on mortgages in Thailand; they are cash buyers. I would only buy in cash in full or rent.

Anyone doing it needs to make sure they have a good local lawyer. I know a couple of people who have done it with no issues. I also know one who put 51% in their girlfriend's (well, I assume she was a girl) name and got thoroughly rinsed.

Click to expand...

I

polonieth said:

Corruption didn't magically start in 2022. It was prevalent long before. And Kiev has very few rockets falling from the sky that would endanger civilians. Unless you live next to a school that they've decided to store ammunition in, then you'd likely be fine.

That's a good point; to be honest, the OP is half-trolling. He has lived in one of the most totalitarian places on earth since 2019, and his tax expectations change with every post. He is happy with 0%, 10% max, 30% if there is no corporate tax, but maybe 20%.

You can work out the opportunity cost of renting vs. buying with a mortgage based on the % return you can conceivably earn from your cash elsewhere.

Most foreigners aren't taking on mortgages in Thailand; they are cash buyers. I would only buy in cash in full or rent.

Anyone doing it needs to make sure they have a good local lawyer. I know a couple of people who have done it with no issues. I also know one who put 51% in their girlfriend's (well, I assume she was a girl) name and got thoroughly rinsed.

Click to expand...

It worked well in the past, but either it's me, or it's getting a bit hotter year by year for the land holding companies.
I'd only invest what I can lose, or better: just get a 30 year lease instead of 'buying'.

Oh, and just in now:


It's monkey business.

BerlusconiSchmidt said:

What investments are so secure that you would be putting 100% of your money into it and continue renting?

I already own crypto, stocks, cash, businesses and have cash flow. I think when everything goes to s**t the only thing that will matter is if you have roof and land that you can use to grow your vegetables...


Thailand sounds good however prices aren't a joke. It's only 30-40% cheaper than New Zealand which has a quality of life 10x greater. I mean, if I could pay less than 10% taxes by living in Thailand I'll go for it, but right now it's all in doubt with the new regulations. Malasya seems a good option with their no tax on foreign income and cheaper houses than Thailand, can anyone recommend it?

I'm looking to move the whole family abroad only if I can justify the savings in dollar cost...

Click to expand...

Even if Thailand enforces the new law.. why it's necessary for you to remit the money on a thai bank account? Just keep it abroad, and invest the rest of your money ETF/stocks, crypto, international real estate or something else without BRING it in thailand.

toums said:

Even if Thailand enforces the new law.. why it's necessary for you to remit the money on a thai bank account? Just keep it abroad, and invest the rest of your money ETF/stocks, crypto, international real estate or something else without BRING it in thailand.

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Agree. Thailand is still good if they enforce this law. But at some point you want to enjoy your money.

There are also a lot of loopholes. If you have a wife for example you can do a tax free gift every year. I think if this law will be enforced that worldwide income will be taxed in a few years . Let’s see how things will develop.

John Spectre said:

It's a just funny how people theorize about quality of life in some countries with maximum knowledge of them from TV, wikipedia or beighn there as a tourists couple of days.

Schools in Kyiv are stored ammo? Childrens are studying in Kyiv same as in peace time, wtf about any ammo? Or childs sits in their classes right on ammo box? What a a*****e could even assume this for thinking of moving or not moving there.

Unfriendly people without stupid smiles? Lol, nothing wrong there, just a part of mentality, where face of the people just display current mood, unlike mentality of some stupid countries, where everyone smiles everytime even if literally s**t on you.

Corrupt countries? Just learn how to cook it and instead of big taxes just pay a little of taxes and put a bit of envelop. In result you will have bigger amount of funds in your pocket.

Unlike some snobs from Germany or DR who are literrally chew their ego with 0 real help, it's a lot of places in the world where you could buy decent house at price of 300k and pay adequate amount of taxes.
Almost all eastern Europe is suitable for it.
Starting from Slovakia or Poland, Baltics, where taxes\real estate cost will be somewhere higher, till Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine where you could swim around quite low taxes with cheap real estate.
Just look at Iași or Oradea instead of Bucharest in case of Romania.
Or Rzeszów instead of Warsaw in case of Poland etc. With smaller towns you will get cheaper prices where 300k will quite enough.

Another question it's a personal preferences in your and your family life: hobbies, climate, acitivity, language, mentality, etc.
As you said you like Romania and Ukraine, Bulgaria is also quite similar to these countries.
Hovewer Baltics and Poland a bit different in mentality with a more western mind, so depend on what exact you liked in above countries you could like or dislike them.
In any case, corruption level in Ukraine and possible tax changes in Romania is a absolutelly not a main factors to make a decision if move or not to move there. You are not investor from Rheinmetall to worry about Ukraine's corruption level and with dramatical changes of taxes in Romania you will be at same boat with almost 20 million of Romanians who face this problem, so 'solution' will be found any way.

Click to expand...

Calm down Balkan boy. This is the internet. Take it with a pinch of salt.

Everybody on Earth has the problem of trying to make decisions on the basis of very limited knowledge. That's how it works. Welcome to life.

You have a lot of choices but many of them depend on personal preferences, languages you speak, passport you hold, willingness to learn and adopt etc.

Here are some options:

1. Cyprus - EUR 300k + 5% VAT gets you a nice new apartment. After 7 years if you have lived there 5 years you can get citizenship/passport. It's good if you have shitty passport. You live by the sea. Public services are not great but manageable. Lowest taxes in EU. Not so cheap place to live + expensive company services (accounting etc). Most people speak English language, lot of Russians at the moment.
2. Bulgaria, Romania - you can get decent apartment or a house especially out of the main city. I would target 2nd largest city in the country as it would still have all the services (hospitals, university etc) but the prices will be lower. Low taxes. Public services are again not great. You have 3rd world country feeling in most of the places (things falling apart, gypsies, gray buildings, corrosion etc)
3. Hungary, Czech, Slovakia, Poland - great for family life, moderate taxes, illegal immigrants are not welcome. Moderate taxes and great prices.
4. In the Balkans I would only consider Montenegro - purely for the sea - but 300k may not take you far. Acceptable taxes. Croatia is another option but higher taxes and even more expensive real estate (by the sea). You can buy a house for EUR 0.13 in some shithole village at the north border with Hungary.

To avoid:

1. Greece also offers residency by investment like Cyprus for EUR 250k - but they you can forget about English and they will make your life a hell.
2. Italy - as JD mentioned you can buy a 1 EUR house - but it's a place to go for a vacation - not to live there. Insane taxes. Just don't.
3. Balkans in general (Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia, Serbia, Kosovo) - you just don't want to waste your life there and you probably don't want to raise your kids there.

JimBeam said:

You have a lot of choices but many of them depend on personal preferences, languages you speak, passport you hold, willingness to learn and adopt etc.

Here are some options:

1. Cyprus - EUR 300k + 5% VAT gets you a nice new apartment. After 7 years if you have lived there 5 years you can get citizenship/passport. It's good if you have shitty passport. You live by the sea. Public services are not great but manageable. Lowest taxes in EU. Not so cheap place to live + expensive company services (accounting etc). Most people speak English language, lot of Russians at the moment.
2. Bulgaria, Romania - you can get decent apartment or a house especially out of the main city. I would target 2nd largest city in the country as it would still have all the services (hospitals, university etc) but the prices will be lower. Low taxes. Public services are again not great. You have 3rd world country feeling in most of the places (things falling apart, gypsies, gray buildings, corrosion etc)
3. Hungary, Czech, Slovakia, Poland - great for family life, moderate taxes, illegal immigrants are not welcome. Moderate taxes and great prices.
4. In the Balkans I would only consider Montenegro - purely for the sea - but 300k may not take you far. Acceptable taxes. Croatia is another option but higher taxes and even more expensive real estate (by the sea). You can buy a house for EUR 0.13 in some shithole village at the north border with Hungary.

To avoid:

1. Greece also offers residency by investment like Cyprus for EUR 250k - but they you can forget about English and they will make your life a hell.
2. Italy - as JD mentioned you can buy a 1 EUR house - but it's a place to go for a vacation - not to live there. Insane taxes. Just don't.
3. Balkans in general (Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia, Serbia, Kosovo) - you just don't want to waste your life there and you probably don't want to raise your kids there.

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I have been looking into the Balkans and was planning on exploring those countries this year. Could you elaborate on your reasons for not recommending them?

JimBeam said:

You have a lot of choices but many of them depend on personal preferences, languages you speak, passport you hold, willingness to learn and adopt etc.

Here are some options:

1. Cyprus - EUR 300k + 5% VAT gets you a nice new apartment. After 7 years if you have lived there 5 years you can get citizenship/passport. It's good if you have shitty passport. You live by the sea. Public services are not great but manageable. Lowest taxes in EU. Not so cheap place to live + expensive company services (accounting etc). Most people speak English language, lot of Russians at the moment.
2. Bulgaria, Romania - you can get decent apartment or a house especially out of the main city. I would target 2nd largest city in the country as it would still have all the services (hospitals, university etc) but the prices will be lower. Low taxes. Public services are again not great. You have 3rd world country feeling in most of the places (things falling apart, gypsies, gray buildings, corrosion etc)
3. Hungary, Czech, Slovakia, Poland - great for family life, moderate taxes, illegal immigrants are not welcome. Moderate taxes and great prices.
4. In the Balkans I would only consider Montenegro - purely for the sea - but 300k may not take you far. Acceptable taxes. Croatia is another option but higher taxes and even more expensive real estate (by the sea). You can buy a house for EUR 0.13 in some shithole village at the north border with Hungary.

To avoid:

1. Greece also offers residency by investment like Cyprus for EUR 250k - but they you can forget about English and they will make your life a hell.
2. Italy - as JD mentioned you can buy a 1 EUR house - but it's a place to go for a vacation - not to live there. Insane taxes. Just don't.
3. Balkans in general (Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia, Serbia, Kosovo) - you just don't want to waste your life there and you probably don't want to raise your kids there.

Click to expand...

What is the issue with the Balkans? Is life there so bad?