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

[smotherb]

56 minutes ago, masuk said:

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.

Well, Dorothy, not everyone thinks of their budget in local currency. I have spent over 40 years living in many countries with different currencies and I have lived here for over ten years. All my finances are tracked in dollars. The only money I have in baht, is that I just took out of the ATM from my dollar accounts. It's rather simple, if you can do math in your head.

[glasswort]

There are thousands of empty condos in and Pattaya and perhaps the landlord is being sensible and letting at a price that people will pay. I have a condo which has been let for practically every month of the eight years I have owned it.  I am constantly at loggerheads with others as they think I am not charging enough. My retort is to point out other condos in the same block that are up for rent at far more than mine and which have been empty for years. I would rather have someone living in my condo, looking after it and giving me a small return rather than sticking out for the ridiculous 8% return that some think is a must.

[MyFriend You]

5600 baht a month??  thats not a condo, thats a room in a hostel.

[BuddyDean]

12 hours ago, InMyShadow said:

13 hours ago, BuddyDean said:

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.

Din Daeng, the suburbs?  Huai Kwang?  You sound knowledgeable, but actually, you couldn't possibly get much closer to the center of BKK, than Din Daeng.  I would rather listen to Thai than Mandarin, Arabic, Hindi spoken near the tourist traps, let alone a few hours of KSR body odor.

[Acemaker]

5 hours ago, smotherb said:

Well, Dorothy, not everyone thinks of their budget in local currency. I have spent over 40 years living in many countries with different currencies and I have lived here for over ten years. All my finances are tracked in dollars. The only money I have in baht, is that I just took out of the ATM from my dollar accounts. It's rather simple, if you can do math in your head.

Enough already, Sheesh !

 

[smotherb]

1 minute ago, Acemaker said:

Enough already, Sheesh !

 

And, why should I do as you say?

[bkk6060]

3 hours ago, BuddyDean said:

Din Daeng, the suburbs?  Huai Kwang?  You sound knowledgeable, but actually, you couldn't possibly get much closer to the center of BKK, than Din Daeng.  I would rather listen to Thai than Mandarin, Arabic, Hindi spoken near the tourist traps, let alone a few hours of KSR body odor.

So, you know the perfect place where everyone smells nice and speaks the perfect languages your ears want to hear??

[theguyfromanotherforum]

You can live in Nasa Vegas residences. It's less than 4k a month and you are right next to the airport link :)

[timendres]

4 hours ago, BuddyDean said:

Din Daeng, the suburbs?  Huai Kwang?  You sound knowledgeable, but actually, you couldn't possibly get much closer to the center of BKK, than Din Daeng.  I would rather listen to Thai than Mandarin, Arabic, Hindi spoken near the tourist traps, let alone a few hours of KSR body odor.

I lived in Din Daeng for three years, and absolutely loved it.

[timendres]

19 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.

I lived in Tulip Apartments, two buildings over from Sea Of Love. Tulip is considerably nicer, but far more expensive. I was paying 14,000 per month for a 51sqm 1 bdrm apartment. But I had two balconies, two bathrooms, maid service twice a week and a fabulous view. Sea Of Love, for the price, is a nice place. The only real downside to both is that you are at the end of a soi off of Ratchada Soi 3. You need to call Grab, or walk to Soi 3 to get a taxi. Food is a walk also, but not too bad. The only problem being that Soi 3 gives you roughly a 1 meter walking space with constant traffic flying by. I never liked walking Soi 3. Motorbikes are right outside the building to get you to everything cheap, but they disappear around 7pm, leaving you to walk. You are close to the MRT, Fortune, Tesco, Central Plaza, Esplanade and a little further Huay Kwang market. I very much enjoyed living there. But, not a lot of English fluent folks, so be prepared to learn a little Thai.

[wolfmanjack]

20 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.

Hotel.com has Siam Privy at 384 baht per night with free wifi.

[Grumpy Duck]

My suggestion, try checking Air BnB they offer many nice places affordably. I tried my place thru them for a month then I just switched to a cheaper rental rate. 

[ericthai]

11 hours ago, Tony125 said:

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.

There are rooms available for 4000-5000 a month in bang sue, ding dang, etc.  I know several thai friends that have rooms at these rates.

 

OP, I would book a hotel for your first few days and go out and look around where you are going to be working. You need to go out on the street and look / ask around.  I found a house and two great condos this way. You're not going to easily find any of these cheap rooms on any English websites

[Csaw]

I know i am not seeing things....

http://www.renthub.in.th/en/chayapat-mansion

http://www.renthub.in.th/en/b-32-apartment

 

These are just random examples. Thousands of them if you check out the site http://www.renthub.in.th

 

Most of them are the Ritz compared to my shoe box which i - literally - pay 13 times more for. Some of them are at 2k baht too!

 

There is also this site which has hundreds of apts under 5000 http://www.thaiapartment.com/search-price1

 

What am i missing?

[BuddyDean]

A long stay visa, and a lot of money in the bank.

[Just Weird]

On ‎11‎/‎24‎/‎2017 at 8:15 PM, Sheryl said:

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.

...or less than that.

[Skeptic7]

Seems like a bait & switch. That said...very decent studio apartments (no bedroom, no kitchen) close to BTS and shopping...can be had for ฿5000/month. 

[Bill Miller]

I am in the suburbs, in Bang Saray. 6,000 baht/ month  for a furnished  28 sq.meter room in an older but pretty well maintained condo complex. Three month deposit on a year lease. Water and electric run about 1,100/month, and I run the AC pretty much all the time. 
I pay about 500 baht/month for laundry service, which arrives back folded or on hangers as appropriate, neatly ironed.
I am on the eighth floor with a small balcony, and a nice view of the Gulf, with one of the better beaches about 800 meters away. There is a nice swimming pool as well.
Less than 1/2 klick to Sukhumvit with songthaews and minivan stops. No BTS, and few taxis out here, but I like the baht busses for the most part.

[BuddyDean]

9 minutes ago, Bill Miller said:

I am in the suburbs, in Bang Saray. 6,000 baht/ month  for a furnished  28 sq.meter room in an older but pretty well maintained condo complex. Three month deposit on a year lease. Water and electric run about 1,100/month, and I run the AC pretty much all the time. 
I pay about 500 baht/month for laundry service, which arrives back folded or on hangers as appropriate, neatly ironed.
I am on the eighth floor with a small balcony, and a nice view of the Gulf, with one of the better beaches about 800 meters away. There is a nice swimming pool as well.
Less than 1/2 klick to Sukhumvit with songthaews and minivan stops. No BTS, and few taxis out here, but I like the baht busses for the most part.

Do you get gov rate on electric?  Sound s pretty good...nice, middle of the road IMO, no reason to pay less or more.

[Bill Miller]

On 11/27/2017 at 8:16 PM, BuddyDean said:

Do you get gov rate on electric?  Sound s pretty good...nice, middle of the road IMO, no reason to pay less or more.

I believe it is the government rate, though not sure.
I really want to learn the language better! The terms were all settled with me as a smiling farang kwai standing by, waiting to be nudged into correct motion.