• About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Unsubscribe
No Result
View All Result
Live and Invest Overseas
FREE REPORT
BEST PLACES TO RETIRE
*No spam: We will NEVER give your email address to anyone else.
  • HOME
  • COUNTRIES
    • Top Destinations
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • France
      • Colombia
      • Dominican Republic
      • Thailand
      • Mexico
      • Spain
      • Argentina
    • Browse All Countries
    • Best For
      • Retire Overseas Index
      • Health Care
      • Cost of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Editor’s Picks For Retirement
      • Establishing Residency
      • Starting an Online Business
      • Single Women
      • Playing Golf
  • BUDGETS
    • Super Cheap ($)
      • Cuenca, Ecuador
      • Chiang Mai, Thailand
      • The Philippines
      • Las Tablas, Panama
      • Granada, Nicaragua
    • Cheap ($$)
      • Algarve, Portugal
      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Carcassone, France
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Affordable ($$$)
      • Abruzzo, Italy
      • Barcelona, Spain
      • Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
      • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
      • Costa de Oro, Uruguay
    • Luxury On A Budget ($$$$)
      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Paris, France
      • Panama City Beach Area
  • Real Estate
  • ARCHIVES
    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore Diversification
    • Our Latest On Coronavirus ⚠️
  • Making Money
    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing
  • CONFERENCES
  • BOOKSTORE
Live and Invest Overseas
  • HOME
  • COUNTRIES
    • Top Destinations
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • France
      • Colombia
      • Dominican Republic
      • Thailand
      • Mexico
      • Spain
      • Argentina
    • Browse All Countries
    • Best For
      • Retire Overseas Index
      • Health Care
      • Cost of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Editor’s Picks For Retirement
      • Establishing Residency
      • Starting an Online Business
      • Single Women
      • Playing Golf
  • BUDGETS
    • Super Cheap ($)
      • Cuenca, Ecuador
      • Chiang Mai, Thailand
      • The Philippines
      • Las Tablas, Panama
      • Granada, Nicaragua
    • Cheap ($$)
      • Algarve, Portugal
      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Carcassone, France
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Affordable ($$$)
      • Abruzzo, Italy
      • Barcelona, Spain
      • Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
      • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
      • Costa de Oro, Uruguay
    • Luxury On A Budget ($$$$)
      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Paris, France
      • Panama City Beach Area
  • Real Estate
  • ARCHIVES
    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore Diversification
    • Our Latest On Coronavirus ⚠️
  • Making Money
    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing
  • CONFERENCES
  • BOOKSTORE
No Result
View All Result
Live and Invest Overseas
No Result
View All Result
Home Real Estate

Ghosts And Buying Property

Paul Terhorst by Paul Terhorst
Oct 23, 2012
in Real Estate
0
a bundle of joss sticks burning
208
SHARES
3k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Make A Ghost Your Friend And Other Asian Investment Tips

About a year ago, our Thai friend Seh moved to a luxurious, large house. Recently she decided to leave the big house and try another place.

Reason? Ghosts.

Vicki and I helped her move.

In late 2004, a devastating tsunami hit the Phuket beaches here in Thailand and elsewhere. More than 5,000 people died in the Phuket area alone.

For years after the tsunami, even after much reconstruction, Asian tourists stayed away. They feared ghosts. [Story here]

On a recent trip to China, Vicki and I wound up in a small-town temple during ghost day. Spirits living in the realms of Heaven and Hell visited the living. Locals welcomed them with virtual gifts. They sent clothes and money via smoke, using a temple incinerator and small bonfires behind the temple. The living also dined with the ghosts, setting them places at the tables piled high with food.

The cooks offered Vicki and me a place at the table, too. I wonder if with our white skin we might have looked ghostly to them. The folks at the temple set off firecrackers, monks performed rituals, and everyone did what was necessary to pacify visiting ghosts.

I got the impression that ghost day mattered a great deal. Forget to pay attention on ghost day–forget to pay your respects to ancestors and all other deceased–and you could be in for a tough year.

I confess I know very little about ghosts. To me it’s as if the ghosts aren’t there. But if you’re going to buy real estate in Asia you need to know how ghosts can affect you.

Tsunami-hit Phuket booms these days, with new construction going up at a record pace. Chinese have become big investors and big buyers. Apparently the ghosts have disappeared, or been dealt with, or otherwise ceased to be a factor. Real estate investors without ghost knowledge lost out on the boom.

To take an offshore example, a cousin inherited the family home in what is now a Chinese neighborhood of Los Angeles. My cousin wanted to build a new house on the property and sell it to a Chinese buyer. I advised against it because of ghosts. My cousin finally agreed. He knew nothing about ghosts. Without such knowledge he could easily build a house that had no protection against ghosts. He decided to sell the property to a more ghost-savvy builder.

Funeral ceremonies here in Thailand revolve around getting rid of ghosts before the actual cremation of the empty physical body. If the ceremonies fail, the deceased’s house could present problems. Our friend Seh, above, believed the owner’s mother had died in the large house. For some reason–an inadequate ceremony, offering, or whatever–the mother’s ghost stayed behind. Seh would have had to get monks over, and pay money, and do a lot of extra work to get rid of the ghost. She decided it was easier to move.

As an aside, for ghost reasons, Thai’s shy away from buying antiques. Thais fear old objects that once belonged to the deceased might have ghosts attached. And before building a new home, Thais install a spirit house for any spirits or ghosts already there. They figure ghosts who have their own home will tend to stay there, rather than haunt the new house.

Make a ghost your friend. Take a ghost to lunch, or at least offer him a tasty tidbit in his home. I know so little about ghosts I lack the proper way to phrase it. But the message is clear. If you buy Asian real estate, the more you know about ghosts the better.

Paul Terhorst

Continue Reading: Calculating Your Retire Overseas Budget

Tags: Ghosts In AsiaInvesting In Asian PropertyPaul Terhorst
Share83Tweet52
Previous Post

Home To The World’s Largest Population Of North American Retirees

Next Post

Schumacher Will Leave Switzerland Over Taxes

Paul Terhorst

Paul Terhorst

Paul Terhorst and his wife, Vicki, retired young and can now be found traveling the globe. These perpetual travelers have been everywhere from Chiang Mai, Thailand to Paris, France, and beyond. Paul regularly writes for the retirement and investing publications of Live and Invest Overseas.

Related Posts

Beautiful panorama over the cityscape of Camara de Lobos in Madeira island, Portugal
How to

Keep Your Money From The IRS With Overseas Real Estate

by Kathleen Peddicord
May 15, 2022
0

8938. That is the number of the IRS form you have to fill out to report foreign financial assets. If...

Read more
Scenic view of traditional cycladic houses on small street with flowers in foreground, Oia village, Santorini, Greece.

Questions You Must Ask Before Buying A Home Overseas

May 12, 2022
Cefalu is city in Italian Metropolitan City of Palermo located on Tyrrhenian coast of Sicily, Italy

Find Out How To Buy Real Estate Overseas For Cash Flow

May 11, 2022
View of Puerto Vallarta city

Top 10 Reasons To Buy Property In Mexico Today

May 2, 2022
The city of Fortaleza, State of Ceara, Brazil

Invest Now, Earn Later: Best Places To Invest In Real Estate

April 14, 2022
8 Tips To Get Maximum Profit Selling Your Overseas Property

8 Tips To Get Maximum Profit Selling Your Overseas Property

April 13, 2022
9 Reasons Why Real Estate Overseas Is A Great Investment

9 Reasons Why Real Estate Overseas Is A Great Investment

April 12, 2022
Next Post
Former Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher

Schumacher Will Leave Switzerland Over Taxes

A world full of fun, adventure, and profit awaits! Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we'll send you a FREE report on the 10 Best Places To Retire In Style Overseas Today.

Start Your New Life Today, Overseas

LIOS Resources


  • New To LIOS
  • Ask An Expert
  • Media Center
  • Contact Us
  • FAQs

Quick Links


  • Best Places To Live
  • Best Places To Retire
  • Finding A Job Overseas
  • Real Estate

Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and get your FREE report: The 10 Best Places To Retire Overseas In 2022

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Unsubscribe

© 2008-2021 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Countries
  • Budgets
  • Archives
  • News
  • Events
  • Bookstore
  • Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Members Area
  • Contact Us

© 2008-2021 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

The World’s Best Places To Be In 2022?

Discover Them Here…

WANT TO RETIRE OVERSEAS?

Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we’ll immediately send you a free report on the 10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE in style overseas. Each day you’ll learn about the best opportunities for international living, retiring overseas, offshore diversification and asset protection, and investing in real estate around the world.