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

[BerlusconiSchmidt]

Let's say you have a family with 2x kids and you are tired of renting and want your own place. You have an Online Business and therefore can live anywhere.
You saved $300K USD and want to buy a house in cash.
Where would you purchase a property to live in most of the year?

Below the requirements:
- Relatively Safe country
- You only have $300K to purchase or build a whole house
- Not a third world s h i t hole and not in the middle of nowhere (Paraguay or islands are a NoNo)
- Not an aggressive Tax system or at least a Tax system that doesn't tax overseas company profits
- You can actually OWN the land
- Property laws are not corrupt and no one is going to steal your house or land


I have found Ukraine and Romania to have very affordable land and house prices ($150K Lviv and $300K in Bucharest for a 4 bedroom house including the land) but I'm
a bit afraid of local laws there, Ukr is very corrupt and Romania tax system is changing fast.


Shoot your advice and options.

Family members Nationalities: Italy, NZ and GB

 

[JackAlabama]

Let's say you have a family with 2x kids and you are tired of renting and want your own place. You have an Online Business and therefore can live anywhere.
You saved $300K USD and want to buy a house in cash.
Where would you purchase a property to live in most of the year?

Below the requirements:
- Relatively Safe country
- You only have $300K to purchase or build a whole house
- Not a third world s h i t hole and not in the middle of nowhere (Paraguay or islands are a NoNo)
- Not an aggressive Tax system or at least a Tax system that doesn't tax overseas company profits
- You can actually OWN the land
- Property laws are not corrupt and no one is going to steal your house or land


I have found Ukraine and Romania to have very affordable land and house prices ($150K Lviv and $300K in Bucharest for a 4 bedroom house including the land) but I'm
a bit afraid of local laws there, Ukr is very corrupt and Romania tax system is changing fast.


Shoot your advice and options.

Family members Nationalities: Italy, NZ and GB

well, your terminology of third world holes makes no sense to me from what you quote , you even included an actual war zone as option.
nevertheless id go to nz land, and build there something far out in the nature where the communists will leave you alone for sure. There was some youtube videos from like a tiny house kinda thing (doesnt have to be tiny tho) which is self sufficient.

 

[aniglo22]

Montenegro

 

[Don]

well, your terminology of third world holes makes no sense to me from what you quote , you even included an actual war zone as option.

Yeah, in such case, why not look out for something in Transnistria. At least its not a war zone, and not part of western banking system with CRS, etc.

Lets spice it up with some examples:
https://makler.md/ru/real-estate/real-estate-for-sale/houses-for-sale/an/356752
In Transnistria you can enjoy free education, free university, free social care, almost free public transportation and sometimes receive income from the government. The paradox is that most westerners are actually poorer than Transnistrians. In the US and the UK, most people have to take a loan to pay for everything and will only be able to save a part of their income after they are 30, while the Transnistrians have access to pretty much everything for free.


Alternatively I can suggest Estonia:
1) most competitive tax system of OECD countries with plenty of tax planning opportunities
2) profit of a foreign PE of Estonian company will not be taxed, and in some cases also foreign company profits will not be taxed
3) no property taxes on home
4) you can sell your home tax free (no capital gains tax in such case)

https://www.kv.ee/muua-ilus-ja-hubane-kodu-koos-sisustusega-maja-on-3591938.html

 

[BerlusconiSchmidt]

Yeah, in such case, why not look out for something in Transnistria. At least its not a war zone, and not part of western banking system with CRS, etc.

Lets spice it up with some examples:
https://makler.md/ru/real-estate/real-estate-for-sale/houses-for-sale/an/356752
In Transnistria you can enjoy free education, free university, free social care, almost free public transportation and sometimes receive income from the government. The paradox is that most westerners are actually poorer than Transnistrians. In the US and the UK, most people have to take a loan to pay for everything and will only be able to save a part of their income after they are 30, while the Transnistrians have access to pretty much everything for free.


Alternatively I can suggest Estonia:
1) most competitive tax system of OECD countries with plenty of tax planning opportunities
2) profit of a foreign PE of Estonian company will not be taxed, and in some cases also foreign company profits will not be taxed
3) no property taxes on home
4) you can sell your home tax free (no capital gains tax in such case)

https://www.kv.ee/muua-ilus-ja-hubane-kodu-koos-sisustusega-maja-on-3591938.html

There are zero services in those countries, I'm avoiding most of the Balkans since people are generally unfriendly there.
I had past good experiences with Romania and Ukraine but they have since then declined majorly (War and and unfriendly government).

well, your terminology of third world holes makes no sense to me from what you quote , you even included an actual war zone as option.
nevertheless id go to nz land, and build there something far out in the nature where the communists will leave you alone for sure. There was some youtube videos from like a tiny house kinda thing (doesnt have to be tiny tho) which is self sufficient.

I am a citizen of NZ and I prefer not own any home in the countries where I am a citizen of.
Also I wouldn't have a problem buying if just a piece of land wouldn't cost half a million dollars, plus building a house another 300K. Prices are insane there, it's just impossible to buy unless you are a multi millionaire.

Montenegro

Is it safe? are people friendly? I read horror stories about banking there

 

[Don]

Is it safe? are people friendly? I read horror stories about banking there

Banking is indeed a horror.

People tend to be friendly with people they like, not just everyone.

 

[JohnnyDoe]

Buy a house in Italy for 1 Euro
https://www.idealista.it/en/news/tags/1-euro-homes-italy

 

[thomasparra]

Depends what you are looking for. I have been to multimillion dollar (2 to 20M) apartments in world leading cities, tiny houses in the middle of nowhere etc across North America Europe Asia and Africa to a smaller extent so I’ve seen it all. I grew up in a lower middle class family. I am living it “big” in a huge city but I can definitely see myself living 1 hour away from a tier 2 city in a 400k house, when I’m 40 or more.

Freedom and financial independence are most important to me. I wouldn’t trade my soul for more money if it means long term stress and pressure.

 

[drpreobrazhensky]

Interesting thought experiment.

I think wherever you go you'd have to accept some pretty big trade offs.

In Japan foreigners can own property (with a permanent residency) and can even get extremely low fixed rate loans (sub 1%) up to I think $300k.*

*That's another consideration: can you get favorable loan terms, or even get a loan at all?

It's one thing to pay $300k up front, it's another thing entirely to pay $300k over the course of 30 years with loan terms below inflation.

But taxes are pretty high (not sure about foreign sourced income), there are a lot of rules about everything, and the whole fam would need to learn the Japanese language and adapt to a culture that doesn't suit everyone.

On the other hand they have strict zoning laws, you probably won't get screwed, and it's an awesome country that offers a lot to those willing to put in the effort.

If you're comfortable living with a reasonable amount of low calorie corruption and uncertainty then Thailand would probably be my first pick.

There's not really a place I've ever been that even comes close to the ease, livability, convenience and general "live and let live" vibe that Thailand offers.

But you can't own land directly, although you can own the house that sits on someone else's land, zoning laws are a joke, getting screwed in various ways is almost inevitable, visa situation is a constant headache, and oh yeah they've just introduced a law which obligates foreigners who live here 6/12 months to pay taxes on all remittances (although it's still a very big question mark IF and to what extent this will even be enforced; I'm betting in the end it'll be much ado about nothing).

Yet many foreigners still own and build their own houses here through various loopholes* because even with all of the headaches it's a hard place to beat for overall quality of life.

*Main loophole by which foreigners own a house is by opening a Thai Limited Company, which can own land as well as property, so long as that's not the sole purpose of the company (this can be fudged and is fudged routinely).

 

[Jerry1911]

Nowhere. Life off the interest/capital gains

 

[BerlusconiSchmidt]

Interesting thought experiment.

I think wherever you go you'd have to accept some pretty big trade offs.

In Japan foreigners can own property (with a permanent residency) and can even get extremely low fixed rate loans (sub 1%) up to I think $300k.*

*That's another consideration: can you get favorable loan terms, or even get a loan at all?

It's one thing to pay $300k up front, it's another thing entirely to pay $300k over the course of 30 years with loan terms below inflation.

But taxes are pretty high (not sure about foreign sourced income), there are a lot of rules about everything, and the whole fam would need to learn the Japanese language and adapt to a culture that doesn't suit everyone.

On the other hand they have strict zoning laws, you probably won't get screwed, and it's an awesome country that offers a lot to those willing to put in the effort.

If you're comfortable living with a reasonable amount of low calorie corruption and uncertainty then Thailand would probably be my first pick.

There's not really a place I've ever been that even comes close to the ease, livability, convenience and general "live and let live" vibe that Thailand offers.

But you can't own land directly, although you can own the house that sits on someone else's land, zoning laws are a joke, getting screwed in various ways is almost inevitable, visa situation is a constant headache, and oh yeah they've just introduced a law which obligates foreigners who live here 6/12 months to pay taxes on all remittances (although it's still a very big question mark IF and to what extent this will even be enforced; I'm betting in the end it'll be much ado about nothing).

Yet many foreigners still own and build their own houses here through various loopholes* because even with all of the headaches it's a hard place to beat for overall quality of life.

*Main loophole by which foreigners own a house is by opening a Thai Limited Company, which can own land as well as property, so long as that's not the sole purpose of the company (this can be fudged and is fudged routinely).

Thanks. Unfortunately Japan is out of choice due to the high taxes, otherwise I would consider it.
Thailand new tax laws are also a big no. I make $300K a year in profit now, soon will be double that, I don't want to pay more than 10% in taxes.

Eastern Europe sounds like a good option but it all looks overpriced as fu c k right now... in New Zealand you get a house for 1.5 million, in Romania for 500,000 USD, I believe they are both overpriced.

To be honest the only decent priced place looks like Ukraine (war zone) : a good large 200m2 modern house goes for 150k USD which literally was the price of a whole house in New Zealand back 5-7 years ago.


I think Inflation is just out of control. I'll keep looking.

 

[wellington]

Let's say you have a family with 2x kids and you are tired of renting and want your own place. You have an Online Business and therefore can live anywhere.
You saved $300K USD and want to buy a house in cash.
Where would you purchase a property to live in most of the year?

Below the requirements:
- Relatively Safe country
- You only have $300K to purchase or build a whole house
- Not a third world s h i t hole and not in the middle of nowhere (Paraguay or islands are a NoNo)
- Not an aggressive Tax system or at least a Tax system that doesn't tax overseas company profits
- You can actually OWN the land
- Property laws are not corrupt and no one is going to steal your house or land


I have found Ukraine and Romania to have very affordable land and house prices ($150K Lviv and $300K in Bucharest for a 4 bedroom house including the land) but I'm
a bit afraid of local laws there, Ukr is very corrupt and Romania tax system is changing fast.


Shoot your advice and options.

Family members Nationalities: Italy, NZ and GB

Thailand.

6hrs from Dubai, 12 hrs from Europe.
Surrounded by 1st world lifestyle (Bangkok, Phuket, Singapore, HK, etc)

Surrounded by nature (rest of Thailand and laid back lifestyle).


Villa cost 2-3m THB on the lower end, land roughly 1-2-3-4m THB based on requirements (size).

On your budget though you can't own the land (will need 40m THB for that) under Investor Visa.

 

[polonieth]

Where do you live now?

Before buying, why don't you shortlist 2/3 locations and rent in each one for a few months?

Ukraine wouldn't be my choice. It is now a failed state and will probably lose access to the Black Sea, so it will be dead economically. For now, Lviv, while nice architecturally, is home to the Banderists, too. Maybe that becomes Poland; who knows?

I think you need to be more specific, too. Are you looking for proximity to a major city? A good international airport that's easy to get to? What sort of infrastructure is important, such as schools?

 

[JohnnyDoe]

I don't want to pay more than 10% in taxes.

You need a good reality check.

 

[drpreobrazhensky]

Thailand new tax laws are also a big no. I make $300K a year in profit now, soon will be double that, I don't want to pay more than 10% in taxes.

I would wait and see on this one.

Just because something is officially law doesn't mean it's enforced in any meaningful way.

For a country that depends so heavily on foreign money it's such a massively self-sabotaging move that I just don't see it playing out.

If they really do enforce it the way I'd play it is to be in Thailand 6 months out of the year and pick another nice place for the other 6 where you can be tax resident.

It's not ideal but again there are no perfect solutions, only trade-offs, and it's just really hard to beat Thailand on overall quality of life, ease, and real on-the-street freedom.

 

[BerlusconiSchmidt]

Where do you live now?

Before buying, why don't you shortlist 2/3 locations and rent in each one for a few months?

Ukraine wouldn't be my choice. It is now a failed state and will probably lose access to the Black Sea, so it will be dead economically. For now, Lviv, while nice architecturally, is home to the Banderists, too. Maybe that becomes Poland; who knows?

I think you need to be more specific, too. Are you looking for proximity to a major city? A good international airport that's easy to get to? What sort of infrastructure is important, such as schools?

We are in New Zealand since 2019, ready to move out ASAP. Taxes are insane and the rentals keep going up and up and up. Up 30% compared to two years ago, this is not sustainable hence why I'm looking to spend 30% of my savings into buying a home outright or with a mortgage elsewhere, where I can legally, or in the gray area, pay 10% of taxes.

You need a good reality check.

You're right on this however I am aware of several individuals paying very little tax in some latin american countries and eastern Europe, surely there must be a way to pay less tax in these places. For example I am happy to just pay a 20-30% income tax in let's say Romania, while my company pays 0% Tax if set up in the UAE or other zero tax jurisdiction. In New Zealand they tax me on everything, and any foreign company I operate automatically becomes a local NZ Resident company so I'm screwed both on the personal and corporate side of things.

I would wait and see on this one.

Just because something is officially law doesn't mean it's enforced in any meaningful way.

For a country that depends so heavily on foreign money it's such a massively self-sabotaging move that I just don't see it playing out.

If they really do enforce it the way I'd play it is to be in Thailand 6 months out of the year and pick another nice place for the other 6 where you can be tax resident.

It's not ideal but again there are no perfect solutions, only trade-offs, and it's just really hard to beat Thailand on overall quality of life, ease, and real on-the-street freedom.

I like Thailand, I go to Phuket once a year, the only issue is that you can't own Land. Owning a house on someone else Land is risky.

 

[polonieth]

We are in New Zealand since 2019, ready to move out ASAP. Taxes are insane and the rentals keep going up and up and up. Up 30% compared to two years ago, this is not sustainable hence why I'm looking to spend 30% of my savings into buying a home outright or with a mortgage elsewhere, where I can legally, or in the gray area, pay 10% of taxes.

Wow you survived the Jacinda Regime when it was at its most fascistic

I was going to say I'm surprised you didn't leave earlier, but it was impossible.

You're right on this however I am aware of several individuals paying very little tax in some latin american countries and eastern Europe, surely there must be a way to pay less tax in these places. For example I am happy to just pay a 20-30% income tax in let's say Romania, while my company pays 0% Tax if set up in the UAE or other zero tax jurisdiction. In New Zealand they tax me on everything, and any foreign company I operate automatically becomes a local NZ Resident company so I'm screwed both on the personal and corporate side of things.

This is the same basically everywhere.

I like Thailand, I go to Phuket once a year, the only issue is that you can't own Land. Owning a house on someone else Land is risky.

You can do it via company structure. Find a decent lawyer and you can buy a house in Thailand without the horror story of your Thai girlfriend owning 51% of it and rinsing you.

I'd say Thailand is probably a good choice for you.

 

[cryptofriendly]

Wow you survived the Jacinda Regime when it was at its most fascistic

I was going to say I'm surprised you didn't leave earlier, but it was impossible.

This is the same basically everywhere.

You can do it via company structure. Find a decent lawyer and you can buy a house in Thailand without the horror story of your Thai girlfriend owning 51% of it and rinsing you.

I'd say Thailand is probably a good choice for you.

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.

 

[berseker]

morocco

 

[Mercury]

I like Thailand, I go to Phuket once a year, the only issue is that you can't own Land. Owning a house on someone else Land is risky.

You don't have to own anything to be happy
Joke aside, you can secure a perfectly legal leasehold contract on land/house for 30 years renewable in Thailand.

Owning nothing does not have only drawbacks: your capital is liquid and can be working invested at much better rates paying for your living costs, you are free to move at any time when rules change against you, ...

World is drastically shifting and future is less predictable than ever. Being flexible is increasingly valuable.