texanaust

If you are not embarrassed by your offer you are offering to much.

Best piece of advice I've heard yet.

The problem is how do you find out what is selling and for what?

That's simple: you can't. I've long believed that an official database report of property sales/prices from Land Offices as is available in many developed countries would make fascinating reading here.

Even if it was available to the public, the information would be useless. Most sale prices on the second hand market are report far below the actual amount to avoid taxes. For example, a unit is sold for 5 million, but report to the land department as sold for 3 million and now only have to pay taxes on the 3 million. I am not say this is right. It is just what I have come across in conversations and real estate dealings.

A Zillow or Trulia for Thailand would be so useful for sellers and buyers but where would they get the real info needed to build a database of actual sales prices?

I wonder how many sales of foreign freehold condos are reported low? It is one thing for a thai-thai transaction, but most people using a lawyer are probably going to front up to the land office with the sales contract in hand. Even if everyone does cheat the land office, perhaps someone could compile a list from the real estate agents and lawyers handling the transactions...obviously this is fraught with complications but it might be something that could eventually help agents sell more properties.

Are there any banks in Pattaya that you can open an account with a visa exempt stamp? (30 day stamp/foreigner from Western country). A specific branch would be extra helpful and/or recent success stories. Thank you in advance.

Here is the criteria again: Foreign Freehold condo in not new building. Pattaya south to Ban Ampur, close to or on the beach, larger than 120sqm, min 2bd/2ba.

From my research, under Thb 40,000 per sqm seems like it is approaching fair market value. This is generally for a used condo that appears to be in good condition, renovated and (in some cases) selling fully furnished. Am I still too high or are places in the sub Thb 40,000/sqm becoming decent deals?

OP try here - if you had searched it would have been one of the first entries as was discussed earlier this month.

http://www.thaivisa....er#entry6022821

Thanks, I did read this thread but was unsure if these lawyers also handle property transactions. The OP mentioned international business in his post and not real estate.

I would say that Pattaya has two sorts of condo seller: the ones looking to make a large profit (or cover a previous large loss) from a pigeon and the ones who actually want/need to sell.

Have to agree. Many of the listed properties are not really for sale in the sense the owner would accept a near-market price offer. Some owners take the view that having the property listed at an inflated price helps to influence sales in nearby properties upwards as real sellers and buyers look at other listed properties for guidance on price. There's always a small chance they'll achieve the asking price, but my experience is that the more unrealistic the price is, the less the owner is interested in facilitating viewing. Also noticed that this is more often the practice on Farang owned properties on Farang oriented websites.

Why would owners of inflated price condos want to help influence sales in nearby properties if they do not have a vested interest in said project? I also do not understand why Farang owned properties would be more unrealistic in pricing. I would have thought (perhaps incorrectly) that Farang condo resales would be the best buys. Foreigners need to get out for whatever reason and lower their price to meet the market; Thais hold on because they have no reason to sell unless they make a profitable return.

The problem is how do you find out what is selling and for what? BTW, I am purchasing to live in which is why I want a larger place in an older building. I do not want to wait for a new condo and see if my building lives up to the fake "artist impressions" that are posted on every real estate website. The other thing I cannot understand is why some completed buildings still have these "artist impressions" as their main photos. It makes you wonder if the finished product just didn't live up to expectations...

Thanks for all the replies. I'm sort of thinking along the lines of USNret, but the problem is that the sqm values of new projects are all over the place making comparison hard. I am looking for something fairly large and there are not very many condos in Pattaya being built new that are large. The large new condos (130sqm and up) have astronomical sqm pricing compared to the newer studio, one bdrm stuff.

Like I mentioned, I won't be buying new, but probably in a complex anywhere from 5-15 years old. From what I understand, older condos are not as popular (especially with thais) and therefore do not command as high a price per sqm. So what sqm price do you put on these buildings? Specifically I am looking at South Pattaya along/near the beach down as far as Baan Amphur.

Technically you are responsible for the full contract. The deposit is supposed to cover damages, not loss of rent. Here in the USA, we try to hold people to the full lease, but this is only enforceable if you sue. I highly doubt immigration would have anything to do with your breach of contract. Personally, the fair thing to do would probably be paying the 1400thb and leaving the landlord the deposit.

Ok, I'm new to the Thai property market, but not new to real estate. I am planning on purchasing an older resale foreign freehold condo between 6-9 million baht probably in Pattaya or nearby. My question is what sort of offers do people put in on places in Thailand? I.e. How much lower than the asking price does the average place go for?

In the USA, its pretty easy to find out market prices, what the place sold for previously, and what has sold recently. I am going to predict that there is no such resource in Thailand except for word of mouth. Here in the USA, 10% is pretty common and most home sellers pad their price accordingly. Of course since the housing crisis, people have been willing to accept a lot more than 10% off their asking price just to get rid of their place.

How about Thailand? Obviously I know that I can lowball and see what happens, but I'd be interested about real-life experiences. Thanks in advance for any advice.

I'm looking to purchase a condo and wanted some recommendations on English speaking lawyers that specialize in Real Estate transactions. Any thoughts about companies good or bad are welcome!