Looking at a 1bd condo for $170/month...is there a catch?

[Csaw]

So i am searching for a cheap but not too shabby place to stay at for a few months in BKK. I've come across some ads online for surprisingly decent looking places for $170/month. I am wondering, is everything as it's portrayed to be...or is there an invisible fine print somewhere?

[InMyShadow]

How about a link?.

Garanteed rat infested dump in the middle of no where. that's 1500 baht a week approx

think about that.

[Peterw42]

Depends on what dollar, Australian, Singapore, Canada. Its best to quote the price in Baht as many may not be familiar with the value of even the US dollar in baht.

Location, fan only, 5th floor walkup, cold water etc ?

A little hard to comment without a bit more information about whats on offer.

There is some fine print when it comes to water and elec prices.

Edited November 24, 2017 by Peterw42

[Sheryl]

Not unusual for there to be online ads for places that don't exist. Once you call, they say it's already rented and offer you something else, at higher price.

 

Even a one room place without real kitchen will run double that.

[lamyai3]

Plenty of rooms around in out of the way locations for about 5000 baht a month. Maybe one was converted to a 1br. At that price location will not be close to any convenient mass transport links, on the upside should be lots of cheap local food. 

[Csaw]

11 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Depends on what dollar, Australian, Singapore, Canada. Its best to quote the price in Baht as many may not be familiar with the value of even the US dollar in baht.

Location, fan only, 5th floor walkup, cold water etc ?

A little hard to comment without a bit more information about whats on offer.

There is some fine print when it comes to water and elec prices.

It's USD. Thought it was a giving thats its American when not specified. 5555 baht at current rates.4th floor, dont know about water. It's furnished, with WIFI and satellite TV. Not too far from the BTS too.

[steven100]

12 hours ago, Csaw said:

I am wondering, is everything as it's portrayed to be

well you'll just have to take a look to find out ....

[InMyShadow]

It's USD. Thought it was a giving thats its American when not specified. 5555 baht at current rates.4th floor, dont know about water. It's furnished, with WIFI and satellite TV. Not too far from the BTS too.

Why are you here and not there.

[Peterw42]

1 hour ago, Csaw said:

It's USD. Thought it was a giving thats its American when not specified. 5555 baht at current rates.4th floor, dont know about water. It's furnished, with WIFI and satellite TV. Not too far from the BTS too.

The main thing is to compare apples with apples, for a few months stay you can get a hotel, guesthouse, apartment for an all inclusive price, run the airconn 24/7, towels and linen replaced, cleaning, no deposit etc. Or you can get your 5,000 a month, 4th floor walk up in the suburbs, were you pay the elec and water at an inflated rate (add 2-3 thousand), do your own laundry and cleaning , pay a deposit, they usually want a long lease signed etc. Anything under a 3 month stay and the all inclusive probably works out cheaper, or at least more convenient.

[Metapod]

Completely depends on location. You can get places that cheap along the MRT, near the ends of the BTS or central in city but not near BTS or MRT. 

 

My friend rents a nice 30sqm place with a pool that is a 10min walk to Sutthisarn MRT for 4,900 thb as an example.

 

I also had a friend staying in Din Daeng in a 70sqm place for 7,500 thb (old ugly building and no pool). Din Daeng is in between ratchadapisek and victory monument, so u need to take a motorbike taxi to bts or mrt.

 

The best cheap room i ever saw was 2,500 thb for small room with a pool in ladprao (deep down soi 101) so quite far from anything and hard to travel from bangkapi area.

[BuddyDean]

Could be fine, but they will nail you on electric and deposit.  Agreed less than three months, get on Agora, string together some 10 day hotel stays....they will have deals the front desk never offer.  I stayed three nights at Siam Privi for 20 USD (<7 usd per night)  Total.  Air, TV, views, clean, frig....secure.  20 THB moto ride to Huai Kwang MRT...or 8 THB shuttle....found a club open until at least 3:30, cos that is when I left.  28 SM......Sukhumvit sucks....a magnet for Africans, Chinese, Arabs, Ladyboys, and scammers.  Bangkok is great, otherwise.

[Csaw]

7 hours ago, BuddyDean said:

Could be fine, but they will nail you on electric and deposit.  Agreed less than three months, get on Agora, string together some 10 day hotel stays....they will have deals the front desk never offer.  I stayed three nights at Siam Privi for 20 USD (<7 usd per night)  Total.  Air, TV, views, clean, frig....secure.  20 THB moto ride to Huai Kwang MRT...or 8 THB shuttle....found a club open until at least 3:30, cos that is when I left.  28 SM......Sukhumvit sucks....a magnet for Africans, Chinese, Arabs, Ladyboys, and scammers.  Bangkok is great, otherwise.

agoda you mean? The budget ive set is around 4000 baht a month. At that price, i see only one place at 11km from city center. Everything else starts at about double that, and yet looks horrendous compared to the 170s i saw. What am i looking at in utility bills anyway?

I'm not going to be there for leisure, btw. Probably going to spend most of my time on my laptop in my room. 

[Csaw]

12 hours ago, Metapod said:

Completely depends on location. You can get places that cheap along the MRT, near the ends of the BTS or central in city but not near BTS or MRT. 

 

My friend rents a nice 30sqm place with a pool that is a 10min walk to Sutthisarn MRT for 4,900 thb as an example.

 

I also had a friend staying in Din Daeng in a 70sqm place for 7,500 thb (old ugly building and no pool). Din Daeng is in between ratchadapisek and victory monument, so u need to take a motorbike taxi to bts or mrt.

 

The best cheap room i ever saw was 2,500 thb for small room with a pool in ladprao (deep down soi 101) so quite far from anything and hard to travel from bangkapi area.

Mind sharing  where exactly your 4,900 thb friend is staying? I would like to check it out. 

[BuddyDean]

4 minutes ago, Csaw said:

agoda you mean? The budget ive set is around 4000 baht a month. At that price, i see only one place at 11km from city center. Everything else starts at about double that, and yet looks horrendous compared to the 170s i saw. What am i looking at in utility bills anyway?

I'm not going to be there for leisure, btw. Probably going to spend most of my time on my laptop in my room. 

There is a website with 100s of apartments under 5000.  Google for it Bangkok apartment finder or something...but...you say 4000...OK, you need 12000 to move in.  Add 500 for internet.per month...300 for water flat rate....electric will be at least double, if not triple gov rate.  So I can use my ac whenever ?I want and three computers fridge, hot showers, cooking...1000 per month.....so 2500 for you...but, do you think they have any reason to give you a nice 16 SEER AC?  nope, in fact it will benefit them greatly to give you an old shitty one that leaks as you use it more be cause it doesn't work right...so 4000 if running ac...or you can sit in the dark and take cold showers and pay 500.  Winter will be better.  March and on...ac big time.  So your 4000 month apartment is actually a 10,000 per month deal and you got a deposit, and cleaning fees...and do you know how much a set of pure cotton sheets cost in BKK?  

 

022742225..Siam Privi...call during business day...ask for a month...these people tend to judge quickly, and discrimination in housing is perfectly legal here..

Other place is SEA OF LOVE...and yes it was an old massage hotel, but plenty of uni girls live there, old and clean....maybe 12,000.....or look at Nonthaburi....or..come to Chiang Nai with the other cheapskates..I know a guy paying 2800...but electric is 12......but 3500 is common and may e pay 8 for electric.  Shoot for all inclusive of about 12,000 in BKK...If that is a crisis, take your camel elsewhere....look at the other thread about condos..you can buy one for 233,000 and walk to BTS...

[Csaw]

1 hour ago, BuddyDean said:

There is a website with 100s of apartments under 5000.  Google for it Bangkok apartment finder or something...but...you say 4000...OK, you need 12000 to move in.  Add 500 for internet.per month...300 for water flat rate....electric will be at least double, if not triple gov rate.  So I can use my ac whenever ?I want and three computers fridge, hot showers, cooking...1000 per month.....so 2500 for you...but, do you think they have any reason to give you a nice 16 SEER AC?  nope, in fact it will benefit them greatly to give you an old shitty one that leaks as you use it more be cause it doesn't work right...so 4000 if running ac...or you can sit in the dark and take cold showers and pay 500.  Winter will be better.  March and on...ac big time.  So your 4000 month apartment is actually a 10,000 per month deal and you got a deposit, and cleaning fees...and do you know how much a set of pure cotton sheets cost in BKK?  

 

022742225..Siam Privi...call during business day...ask for a month...these people tend to judge quickly, and discrimination in housing is perfectly legal here..

Other place is SEA OF LOVE...and yes it was an old massage hotel, but plenty of uni girls live there, old and clean....maybe 12,000.....or look at Nonthaburi....or..come to Chiang Nai with the other cheapskates..I know a guy paying 2800...but electric is 12......but 3500 is common and may e pay 8 for electric.  Shoot for all inclusive of about 12,000 in BKK...If that is a crisis, take your camel elsewhere....look at the other thread about condos..you can buy one for 233,000 and walk to BTS...

Thanks Buddy, for the low-down. Appreciably it! 

OK, where to start. I looked up Siam Privi. Booking.com got them listed at about 37,290 baht a month. 37290 baht??? Really?! Or will they offer a discount if i call? But how much of a discount will they offer...%90??

Sea of Love? 3,900-5,300 for a 1bd depending on floor. Perfect!... BUT! 4 months contract (according to their website). I am only staying for 3 months (possibly more) and even if they had 3 months contracts, i still wouldnt want to commit for that long. Shoot for 12,000? Lets say 2000 (at 6 baht/unit) for electricity and 300 for water. Internet at 350 a month. 4000+2000+300+350=6600. What am i missing? I would honestly be in Chiang Mai if i didnt have to be in BKK.

[BuddyDean]

Call Sea of Love, tell them you want three months and can pay upfront.

Look for serviced apartment, otherwise, may not have sheets, linens, etc..  Corner rooms will cost more.  You can walk to Fattys from Love..20 THB moto or walk to MRT.  You can aslso go the other way and get to BTS, around victory monument..a fe stops from it.

[BuddyDean]

2 hours ago, Csaw said:

Thanks Buddy, for the low-down. Appreciably it! 

OK, where to start. I looked up Siam Privi. Booking.com got them listed at about 37,290 baht a month. 37290 baht??? Really?! Or will they offer a discount if i call? But how much of a discount will they offer...%90??

Sea of Love? 3,900-5,300 for a 1bd depending on floor. Perfect!... BUT! 4 months contract (according to their website). I am only staying for 3 months (possibly more) and even if they had 3 months contracts, i still wouldnt want to commit for that long. Shoot for 12,000? Lets say 2000 (at 6 baht/unit) for electricity and 300 for water. Internet at 350 a month. 4000+2000+300+350=6600. What am i missing? I would honestly be in Chiang Mai if i didnt have to be in BKK.

Looks like 600 a piece for TV and frig..I hadn't looked ast their site in a while....6 is generous for elect...that would be a good place for a newco er on a budget..the real BKK, and not so in your face, and for gods sake not a backpacker dump...minimart and coin laundry..get the frig..skip the TV and BBC...BTW, agora just showed me 410 at privi..+17.7%.  Last month I paid 220 per night..booked in ?may, though.  Walk in rate was 590.  Both places beds are rock hard..sleep on the comforter.  If you are clean cut, they will treat you well, and you will meet some nice locals.  

[InMyShadow]

Looks like 600 a piece for TV and frig..I hadn't looked ast their site in a while....6 is generous for elect...that would be a good place for a newco er on a budget..the real BKK, and not so in your face, and for gods sake not a backpacker dump...minimart and coin laundry..get the frig..skip the TV and BBC...BTW, agora just showed me 410 at privi..+17.7%.  Last month I paid 220 per night..booked in ?may, though.  Walk in rate was 590.  Both places beds are rock hard..sleep on the comforter.  If you are clean cut, they will treat you well, and you will meet some nice locals.  

This is bad advice. OP if it's your first trip the last place you want to be is in the burbs surrounded by thais and you don't speak Thai! your gonna be depressed after a few weeks.

[bkk6060]

These out of the way places: I take a motorbike, a bus or skytrain to...

 

I am in and out of my room at least 6 times a day.  Its great to walk to the gym, market, coffee, mall, bar, masage, girls.

I hope some are adding up the extra costs and time spent transporting to life activities.

On the other hand, I realize the Internet is some peoples 12 hour a day friend, so they never go out anyway.

 

[dotpoom]

Why would the owner advertise the rent in dollars?.....in Thailand the Thai Baht is the currency in use?

[Ulic]

You have the gist of the problems and scams. So don't send any

money until you see the place, ask for the government rate for electric,

ask which companies provide high speed internet and the cost, make

sure the place has a working elevator, etc....etc... Nothing will be fixed

once you have paid and moved in so make sure everything is to your

satisfaction before moving in and that you will not be responsible for

things that break down while you are living there. (air con, fridge, etc....)

It is often very hard to get damage deposit from Thai landlords so

negotiate how you want that handled as well. Best of luck.

[1FinickyOne]

On November 25, 2560 BE at 7:51 AM, Csaw said:

It's USD. Thought it was a giving thats its American when not specified. 5555 baht at current rates.4th floor, dont know about water. It's furnished, with WIFI and satellite TV. Not too far from the BTS too.

That would be true if you are talking amongst North Americans... even Canadians. If that is your hoped for price range, you will do much better in Chiang Mai... 

 

good luck searching but nothing like seeing a place in person - and what is next door. 

[BigT73]

If your going to be working on your laptop and need decent wifi, the free wifi too can be a bit of a scam, I once rented a appt it had the slowest cheapest adsl connection which was then shared with everyone else.  You could be waiting 2 min for a web page to load, when I complained the manager says 'but its free mista'.  Then finding backup internet wasnt cheap at the time.

[tryasimight]

If you are going to spend all your time in your room on your laptop,  why do you need to be in Bangkok? 

[masuk]

On 25/11/2017 at 7:51 AM, Csaw said:

It's USD. Thought it was a giving thats its American when not specified. 5555 baht at current rates.4th floor, dont know about water. It's furnished, with WIFI and satellite TV. Not too far from the BTS too.

Oh come on now.  The USA is a long way from here.   You're not in Kansas now.

 

A lot of condos available, fully furnished, for 8000baht and above, power, water extra.  This city has an absolute glut of places to rent,  so bargain a bit or read notice boards inside buildings of where you're interested.

[realenglish1]

It is probably bate and switch When you go to see it they will tell you its rented but they have another for a little bit more

 

Usually you will need to spend  350 to 500 USD for something decent

[Tony125]

On 11/25/2017 at 1:44 AM, lamyai3 said:

Plenty of rooms around in out of the way locations for about 5000 baht a month. Maybe one was converted to a 1br. At that price location will not be close to any convenient mass transport links, on the upside should be lots of cheap local food. 

Not even out of the way locations, TaoPoon Mansion in Bang Sue has studios for that price and also in Lad Prao and Rama 9 areas.

[smotherb]

On 11/25/2017 at 8:53 AM, InMyShadow said:

On 11/25/2017 at 7:51 AM, Csaw said:

It's USD. Thought it was a giving thats its American when not specified. 5555 baht at current rates.4th floor, dont know about water. It's furnished, with WIFI and satellite TV. Not too far from the BTS too.

Why are you here and not there.

Since the US dollar is an international standard, I agree that simply saying dollar means USD, if you want to signify another dollar currency, you need to be specific.

[natway09]

As long as you are prepared to live a bit outside the metropolis & travel into town there are many, many reasonable one bedroom (small) for 6,000 Bht which is close to your budget.

If wanting air con & a decent pool well ?

Get on your bike & go take a look

[Metapod]

19 minutes ago, natway09 said:

As long as you are prepared to live a bit outside the metropolis & travel into town there are many, many reasonable one bedroom (small) for 6,000 Bht which is close to your budget.

If wanting air con & a decent pool well ?

Get on your bike & go take a look

6-7k gets you a small studio condo with a pool in central bkk with short motorbike ride or 10-15m walk to bts/mrt

 

On nut for bts and sutthisarn/huaykwang for mrt.

 

There are also some seriously good deals go be had along the new purple line. taipoon is going to be a really sweet place in a few years as it will connect to both purple and blue (will be circle to both silom and sukhumvit) and also building a new mall to be completed at end of 2018. Alot of new condo just finished in that area. The Tree Exchange Taipoon is really nice and dirt cheap for the quality and future convienence