Any thoughts on New House developments around Chiang Mai

[Tracyb]

I've just sold my condo in Bangkok and want to move to Chiang Mai.  I'm beginning to research new housing developments in and around CM and would welcome any constructive, knowledgeable thoughts folks may have about any of the new developments there.  I've been looking on-line  at Malada in Mae Rim among others.  I'll be hot footing it up to CM tomorrow to spend a couple of days looking around in person.

 

What should I be on the lookout for in terms of building quality, potential problems with developers, etc.  Should I just go to the resale market and forget about new developments???  

 

I have some experience in homeownership in the U.S. and I'm aware that real estate in LOS is a relatively unregulated free for all...so I'm keeping my eyes open and looking over my shoulder at every turn.  If you have positive experiences and/or negative experiences that I can learn from, I would appreciate hearing from you.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Dante99]

Do you have Thai citizenship?

[PoorSucker]

 

 

[Tracyb]

We do have Thai citizenship !

[Tracyb]

sorry that I forgot to mention that!

 

Edited September 25, 2017 by Tracyb

[Dante99]

topic is too broad, you want information, you need to be more specific about what kind of property you are interested in, size, price range, distance from city, close to schools la la la la la

[Aguda]

Don't know if it will work for you but we bought a lot in Nature's Home in Hang Dong. It is a large land area with nice mountain views. Not a lot of homes yet, the land was a rice field 30 years ago and was filled for a development then the Thai economy went bad. Eight years ago they started selling lots again. You can build what you want with the developers permission or go with one of their plans. The development works for us as it is close to our son's school. If you need to commute into the heart of Chiang Mai daily the rush hour traffic can be rough. With planning we miss most of the traffic.

[Berkshire]

Firstly, you want to be outside the city.  The question then is where.  Maejo?  Mae Rim?  San Kamphaeng?  Hang Dong?  Lamphun?  As for the resale market, the problem is everyone thinks their home is worth at least what they paid for it...with some appreciation.  But who's going to buy a used home when they can buy a new one for the same price, or even less?  I will say the land has appreciated in some areas.

[Ruffian Dick]

5 hours ago, Aguda said:

Don't know if it will work for you but we bought a lot in Nature's Home in Hang Dong. It is a large land area with nice mountain views. Not a lot of homes yet, the land was a rice field 30 years ago and was filled for a development then the Thai economy went bad. Eight years ago they started selling lots again. You can build what you want with the developers permission or go with one of their plans. The development works for us as it is close to our son's school. If you need to commute into the heart of Chiang Mai daily the rush hour traffic can be rough. With planning we miss most of the traffic.

I'd advise checking to see if it is violating the border of any national park. There has been a crackdown lately.

[Aguda]

7 hours ago, Ruffian Dick said:

I'd advise checking to see if it is violating the border of any national park. There has been a crackdown lately.

Not on national forest lands and full chanote recorded at the land office.

[Dante99]

Even those chanotes can and have turned out to be worthless.  Title search is the best way to get some assurance.  Did you do one?

[MaeJoMTB]

Mae Rim is too far out of town, as is Doi Saket IMHO.

Only the hardiest and most solitary of foreigners can live that far out.

 

If you must buy, get a 90% home loan from a Thai bank, the bank isn't gonna let anyone steal from them.

My misses bought off plan, total up front investment 20k, the day she moved in 300k. Small risk Vs the cash buyer.

Edited September 26, 2017 by MaeJoMTB

[lannarebirth]

If it were me I'd look for a development that lies somewhere along the proposed tram / light rail routes. Yes, the plan has not yet met final approval, but I think the routes are set and approval and construction will come eventually.  I wouldn't limit myself to new developments. In fact, I might exclude them.

 

[Dante99]

18 minutes ago, MaeJoMTB said:

a Thai bank, the bank isn't gonna let anyone steal from them.

 

Perhaps you need to look into more of the history of Thai banking and who has stolen from them.

 

Edited September 26, 2017 by Dante99

[MaeJoMTB]

4 minutes ago, Dante99 said:

Perhaps you need to look into more of the history of Thai banking and who has stold from them.

 

Irrelevant to this discussion. Thai Bank has 90% risk, Mattress Actress has 10% risk. Those odds work for me.

And if it all goes horribly wrong, I get to move on to a new MA with most of my money intact.

Edited September 26, 2017 by MaeJoMTB

[Dante99]

It would appear that you are irrelevent to this discussion.  Your views on who can live in Mae Rim are not at all consistant with the people actually living there and your take on Thai banking is equally mis-informed and inconsistent.

 

Try a cup of coffee.

[MaeJoMTB]

My views on Thai banking ...... I don't want them holding my money, but I'm happy to use their money.

Cup of coffee? .... good idea, but I think tea (as I'm British) with milk and sugar.

[Dante99]

Thanks, that explains it, you are British. And of course you trust your British banks since none of them have had any problems in the past 20 years.  Or did you wake up and move all your money to Singapore?

 

 

[dcnx]

11 hours ago, Dante99 said:

Even those chanotes can and have turned out to be worthless.  

Happened to someone I know. Corruption doesn't stop at the land office, it's everywhere and at every level.

[Tracyb]

We are up here in Cm now, arrived today.  Looking at Land and House development called Inizio, near San Kampaeng.  Looks good.  Anyone have experience with LH?

 

Thanks for the comments, so far!   At least the constructive ones!!

 

Also looking at Malada development in Mae Rim.  Seems a bit far, but I do like being out of town a bit.

 

waiting to hear everyone's two cents!

Thanks

 

[Ruffian Dick]

This is "Malady Home" isn't it? (Sorry, that's what the translation said!)

http://www.maladahome.com/?lang=en

[BuddyDean]

8 hours ago, Tracyb said:

We are up here in Cm now, arrived today.  Looking at Land and House development called Inizio, near San Kampaeng.  Looks good.  Anyone have experience with LH?

 

Thanks for the comments, so far!   At least the constructive ones!!

 

Also looking at Malada development in Mae Rim.  Seems a bit far, but I do like being out of town a bit.

 

waiting to hear everyone's two cents!

Thanks

 

LH is a public company.  You could get pretty good info by just getting a stock quote on LH.  They would be a relatively safe bet to get a nice house.  If you want appreciation, that will be a different story, as you won't be far from new builds in the next 30 years, as there is still ample land in the exurbs.  Some don't care.  For those, who want real appreciation, that is more likely to come in areas where the developers aren't going to pay premium land prices for a moo baan.  I would look for a beat-up townhouse or small lot, like 30 TW in the Old City, towards the west side.  Two years ago, a townhouse on the north side, right on the main road went for 7 million.  There is a very finite supply of land there.  Lower budget and still lots of potential would be Chiang Phuak....would look for higher ground.  10 years ago, it would have been Nimman....too late.

 

I looked at the LH models on their website, and they are upmarket, and well designed.  My parents were impressed.  It is still all about location.

Edited September 26, 2017 by BuddyDean

[Berkshire]

12 hours ago, Tracyb said:

We are up here in Cm now, arrived today.  Looking at Land and House development called Inizio, near San Kampaeng.  Looks good.  Anyone have experience with LH?

 

Thanks for the comments, so far!   At least the constructive ones!!

 

Also looking at Malada development in Mae Rim.  Seems a bit far, but I do like being out of town a bit.

 

waiting to hear everyone's two cents!

Thanks

 

I've been to Inizio, nice development in a nice area.  Only problem is small homes and small plot sizes...but you may prefer that.  L&H has a good rep.  That area has some pretty good developments and fairly new.  Collina, Bliss, Prego....you should check them all out.

[baansgr]

Although I view rent as wasted money and do prefer to own, if moving to a new area that you have limited knowledge of, why not rent an apartment or house for 3-6 months and check out all the areas. Also view each property at least three times, morning, noon and evening, take into account where the sun is as it can make the most beautiful property like an oven. Dogs, traffic, neighbours, impending construction, future resale possibilities, lots to think about so take your time.

[baansgr]

Just now, MaeJoMTB said:

Mae Rim is too far out of town, as is Doi Saket IMHO.

Only the hardiest and most solitary of foreigners can live that far out.

 

If you must buy, get a 90% home loan from a Thai bank, the bank isn't gonna let anyone steal from them.

My misses bought off plan, total up front investment 20k, the day she moved in 300k. Small risk Vs the cash buyer.

Home loan rates here run at about 7%, maybe get fixed 2 or 3 years discounted so at that high interest rate not an ideal way to go.

[Capt Rob]

12 minutes ago, baansgr said:

Although I view rent as wasted money and do prefer to own, if moving to a new area that you have limited knowledge of, why not rent an apartment or house for 3-6 months and check out all the areas. Also view each property at least three times, morning, noon and evening, take into account where the sun is as it can make the most beautiful property like an oven. Dogs, traffic, neighbours, impending construction, future resale possibilities, lots to think about so take your time.

Some sage advice here. With regard to developments if you wish for a ' bigger ' plot possibly consider older homes which have established large gardens. This could be in a former L & H, 'Q House' moo baan where 'body corporates' have already been established ( therefore costs, security and reliability known ).

Seemingly people have moved on to newer/smaller properties and a number of properties available. A sound survey will reveal any issues ( all buildings seem to suffer small cracks, for a variety of reasons ). Index Living or similar can install a full European kitchen etc.

Bought a new house here and happy with the modified result but a fully renovated building would likely have saved both up front and down the track when possibly selling. 

[EnlightenedAtheist]

On 9/26/2017 at 8:33 AM, MaeJoMTB said:

Mae Rim is too far out of town, as is Doi Saket IMHO.

Only the hardiest and most solitary of foreigners can live that far out.

 

If you must buy, get a 90% home loan from a Thai bank, the bank isn't gonna let anyone steal from them.

My misses bought off plan, total up front investment 20k, the day she moved in 300k. Small risk Vs the cash buyer.

I guess your wife has a "government" job. Right? If not, how did you get those terms?

[maybefitz]

Have a look at the Non Zee site, opposite Rhum Chok market, start of road to Phrao, 1001' just off the ring road. Some developments ongoing, some tasteful properties for sale/rent.

[nickmondo]

On 9/25/2017 at 1:16 PM, Tracyb said:

I've just sold my condo in Bangkok and want to move to Chiang Mai.  I'm beginning to research new housing developments in and around CM and would welcome any constructive, knowledgeable thoughts folks may have about any of the new developments there.  I've been looking on-line  at Malada in Mae Rim among others.  I'll be hot footing it up to CM tomorrow to spend a couple of days looking around in person.

 

What should I be on the lookout for in terms of building quality, potential problems with developers, etc.  Should I just go to the resale market and forget about new developments???  

 

I have some experience in homeownership in the U.S. and I'm aware that real estate in LOS is a relatively unregulated free for all...so I'm keeping my eyes open and looking over my shoulder at every turn.  If you have positive experiences and/or negative experiences that I can learn from, I would appreciate hearing from you.

 

Thanks in advance.

please do not buy a house in Thailand.  You cannot own the land, and putting it in the name of a Thai will only end in disaster.  Just rent.  It is by far the best option to you.  There are loads of lovely cheap rentals in CM.  I lived there for a year and loved it.  I lived midway between CM and Doi Sakhet, just far enough out of the city, but close enough to be there easily when required.  There are so many horror stories.  DO NOT BUY!

[peterb17]

On 25/09/2017 at 6:41 PM, Aguda said:

Don't know if it will work for you but we bought a lot in Nature's Home in Hang Dong. It is a large land area with nice mountain views. Not a lot of homes yet, the land was a rice field 30 years ago and was filled for a development then the Thai economy went bad. Eight years ago they started selling lots again. You can build what you want with the developers permission or go with one of their plans. The development works for us as it is close to our son's school. If you need to commute into the heart of Chiang Mai daily the rush hour traffic can be rough. With planning we miss most of the traffic.

Just got back from Changmai- many like the place- can’t just quite see the attraction- the one thing I did notice was the traffic ( as you mentioned) it was just horrendous. It seemed really difficult to get anywhere .

So out of town looks a very good idea.