FROM VEGAS TO KANCHANABURI
- By: Nina Suebsukcharoen
- Published: 14/12/2008 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: Spectrum
Reasonably priced housing from the 'King of Rock'n'Roll'
The property market is all shook up in Kanchanaburi, where a British acolyte of the "King of Rock'n'Roll" - Elvis tribute performer Philip Royle - is investing 1 million (52.4 million baht) to develop a reasonably priced housing estate. The real Elvis would be tapping his blue suede shoes in approval in the other world.
Called Royle Village Resort, it has been divided into three phases with the first, covering five rai, with around 35 houses on 50-square-wah (200-square-metre) plots with the house itself covering 30 square wah. The second phase is a bit bigger at eight rai and the third is again five rai.
The first phase, which is fully constructed, has a bar, restaurant, mini-mart and swimming pool. There's a 10-room hotel in the second phase and it is here that Mr Royle is currently living.
What buyers worldwide will find attractive is the price - currently set at 1.4 million baht for a three-bedroom house. It was higher earlier but a favourable currency exchange rate has enabled a reduction.
"A lot of builders in Thailand haven't looked at this. They say, 'No I'm sticking to my prices; my competitor, he's selling property at 1.9 million baht'," said Mr Royle.
That "Elvis" decided to develop a housing estate in Kanchanaburi is itself an interesting story. He first came here five-and-a-half years ago to do some shows and check out his friend's condominium development just outside Phnom Penh in Cambodia. He took a few day trips and seems to have become attached to this western Thai province, which reminds him of his home in Yorkshire. "It really felt like home, all the mountains in the morning. It's gorgeous, lovely," he said.
Mr Royle took up the challenge of developing the estate three years ago when he bought the land, with construction starting a year later. The going has not been easy and when an Australian woman thought of following in his footsteps, he advised her against it.
"What I said to her is, 'Don't do it'. It's so difficult working in a foreign country anyway. Working in Thailand is really, really difficult, so hard to get people you can trust, to get the standard right."
Even so, Mr Royle has managed to work things out quite well by adapting to Thai ways.
"We are in Thailand and it is done the Thai way. There is no point losing your temper - jai yen, yen [keep a cool heart]. Just take everything simple and easy because you will get things done."
He had to adapt to Thai construction standards which differ from those in Europe. "They use more iron than we would do anywhere else in the world - which is good because it keeps it strong - and a lot of concrete. We don't use timber here because all the ants and insects go to it, whereas in England and Spain we would use timber for our roofs. We use iron for our roofs here and tiles. Materials here are fantastic."
Marketing has been a rather simple affair to date with an advertisement placed in an English publication, Daltons Weekly, leading to 70% of first-phase houses being sold. "What happened was one person bought and they told their friends and they told their friends, so it has gone on like that."
Although Mr Royle is bullish about selling to the English market, pointing out that up to 700,000 people are emigrating every year to escape the harsh climate, he has attracted other nationalities as well, including Australians, Swedes and a couple of Thais. While foreigners are obtaining leaseholds, Thai buyers are getting freehold titles for their plots.
He wants more Thais to buy into the project. "What we're trying to do is sell more to Thais if we can; we want to get more Thai people living in the community because we are in Thailand and it would be nice to have that mix."
Buyers' ages range from 32 to 60 years with the 32-year-old having already retired from England and moved to live here. They have all bought the houses to live in and not obtain rental returns, although this might be possible in the long run with a real estate agent from Pattaya investigating this potential, especially among golfers because the estate is close to eight golf courses.
Apart from a community charge for the estate's guards and utilities, there is a certain rule to make very sure the community does not offend Asian sensibilities.
"You know, in Thailand they don't like topless bathing. In European countries they tend to do it quite a lot, so I have signs saying no topless bathing," Mr Royle said.
While Thailand's continuing political upheaval has shaken the confidence of many, Mr Royle is not going away. However, some sales have slipped away with three to four people deciding not to buy just yet. "They just want to wait until things have calmed down a little bit."
He said he is also not too worried about not yet having obtained the full return on his investment. "I'm not panicking, I am not worried about things to be honest with you. I'll eventually get my things sorted out. As long as we don't lose money, we make a little bit, you know.
"You are never going to make a lot of money in Thailand. If you can make enough money to live and be happy, that's the idea of it really."
Once he is through with this project, the Elvis in him would like to concentrate on doing more shows. "I have an agent in Bangkok and I'm just going to start working a little bit, maybe a bit for charity, do some charity shows, because everybody knows Elvis, everybody knows a bit of rock'n'roll."
However, his experience in developing housing has led to the purchase of a beachfront plot on Koh Chang, where he intends to build 10 upmarket, five-bedroom executive homes.
"Certainly at the moment the time is not right because of the pound and the baht [exchange rate]. [Also] the politics here not are not good for trying to offload a property for 21 million baht," he said.
Visit http://www.royleresort.com
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