Intending getting a retirement visa extension later this year , I was intending travelling to different areas before deciding on where  to be based.

 

Any idea how this will work out with 90 day reporting , will a stay in an apartment /hotel automatically suffice ?

 

Also , will I be able to actually get a visa , if intending moving around or do I need to show long term residence ?

You will only be able to use an Immigration office in the Province in which your address is registered.

 

If your going to be staying for long periods in different Provinces you may have to register a formal change of address at a different IO using a TM28.

 

To obtain an extension based on retirement their is a financial requirement of 800,000 baht deposited in a Thai bank for 2 months prior to the date of the first application (3 months thereafter), or having an income of 65,000 baht a month, or a combination of the two totalling 800,000 baht per annum.

If the OP is planning real estate assessment AFTER getting the extension then yes, the 90-day reports can only be done at the IO where the extension was issued. If the online 90-day reporting system hasn't fallen over, it should be relatively easy to do it on-the-fly so to speak.

 

Maybe make a short list of ALL the possible home search locations and post them here and members will give advise on which one is the easiest, fastest, less pedantic to work through if you need to break your travels after 90-days and check-in. I would suggest a 'central' one with good access by air. If it has regular air service, decent bus and rail links may be a given. Don't pick a far border or island one as your 'hub'.

 

I think most IO's are reasonably efficient on the 90-day report; I know that Jomtien and Udon Thani are easy. However, Chiang Mai may entail queuing and others may ritually and arbitrarily demand extra paperwork, ad hoc fees, etc..

 

As Tanoshi said, getting the extension (at the first/best choice 'fixed abode') should not be an issue. If you tell them you will be hopping all over the place, they may bend your ear about 'cannot' when in reality all they mean is you have to make sure you do the 90-day report at that office (or online).