Suggestions to buy a house in Chiang Mai for around 1-3 mil baht?

[steve654]

Looking to retire in Chiang Mai.  Can any of you recommend a good area where housing is nice and safe and within walking distance to decent shops and parks? I'm assuming the bad air quality is just the burning of rice fields and will be temporary?

[ThaiBunny]

Can you buy a *house* anywhere in Thailand? A condo maybe

[Curt1591]

7 minutes ago, ThaiBunny said:

Can you buy a *house* anywhere in Thailand? A condo maybe

I believe the Thai government only allows purchase of the air inside the walls of a condo.

[steve654]

Would be in my wife's name.  Don't worry, been married 20 years and it will pass down to her kids later on.  Would prefer a house really, not a condo fan myself.  Can be anywhere in Thailand yes, I'm open to ideas if there is decent parks and shops around within walking distance.  I was thinking of Chiang Mai as I don't want to be isolated in an area where I am just about the only farang ????

 

I originally wanted Mae Phim Beach area, but the beach was so dirty when we got there that we gave up on that idea.  Nobody smiles in Mae Phim either, it was really strange.

[Lacessit]

Chiang Mai has hundreds if not thousands of houses for sale in your price range. You will be spoiled for choice. Your problem will be finding one that won't be derelict in 15 years due to lax building standards.

[steve654]

So what would be a reasonable price range where a 3 bedroom house would be built to a decent standard?  I want something that the kids can rely on later on in the future to be a stable home for them.

[Pravda]

1 hour ago, steve654 said:

I'm assuming the bad air quality is just the burning of rice fields and will be temporary?

 

Yeah, it should disappear sharpish after which air should be like in Finland again.

[Lungstib]

 I would give that further thought. Chiang Mai is fast developing into a second Bangkok with traffic jammed highways, long waits at every crossroad, a packed almost unworkable immigration (until recently) and air pollution thats getting worse and lasting longer. Try a smaller town, less insistent on ruining itself.

[sammieuk1]

Kankankok villie 10 hang dong brand new 3bed 3 bathroom 2.4 2.6m clean tidy modern still at least 30 for sale ????

[searcher22]

The quality of the air in Chiang Mai is bad at least six months per year, peaking in March. So yes, it is temporary, but its effects on health over the long-term may not be.

 

And being within walking distance to decent shops usually means more noise and other nuisances (karaokes, scooters, temple bells, odors, etc.) and less safety (stray dogs, absent/broken sidewalks).

 

If you're ok with all of that, then Santitham and Chang Phuak areas may interest you.

[jij]

The further you get out of town the better the prices will be in relationship to the house. I think you first need to do some ground work and decide where it is you want to live. CM and all surrounding areas are growing at an alarming rate. While I thought that I originally moved too far from town, now with the growth here, I wished I had moved further out still. CM proper holds little for me and being away from it all is more of a draw. At the time I had spoken to each and every agent here and each and everyone of them I have horror stories with, except Elite Property. I think you must also do your own reconnaissance 

 

[steve654]

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone!  Yes, I think it would be better to actually go there and look around more to see how we feel.  I didn't know CM was so crowded and that the dirty air lasts so long.  We have relatives in Prachuap Khiri Khan and they keep telling us it's much nicer down there, so I would say right now I am at the confused state.  I did go to PKK and it was nice, but I felt like the only white guy there and it was an odd feeling for sure.

[Lacessit]

2 hours ago, steve654 said:

So what would be a reasonable price range where a 3 bedroom house would be built to a decent standard?  I want something that the kids can rely on later on in the future to be a stable home for them.

I'll PM you.

[sfokevin]

3 hours ago, Curt1591 said:

I believe the Thai government only allows purchase of the air inside the walls of a condo.

I have bought condos here... When calculating the s/m price they also charge you for the space the walls take up... 

[XGM]

1 hour ago, steve654 said:

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone!  Yes, I think it would be better to actually go there and look around more to see how we feel.  I didn't know CM was so crowded and that the dirty air lasts so long.  We have relatives in Prachuap Khiri Khan and they keep telling us it's much nicer down there, so I would say right now I am at the confused state.  I did go to PKK and it was nice, but I felt like the only white guy there and it was an odd feeling for sure.

 

Obviously you should look first and then ask long term stayers more specific questions.

 

Picking CM over PKK due to shortage of white people in the specific place your wife's relatives live at? makes very little sense. There are plenty of places in the South with many foreigners, for example Hua Hin, which is in PKK last time I've checked.

 

CM pollution: This year is significantly worse than last year. How do you make a projection to the future? average over last 20 years will result in a conclusion the situation is not very bad. Taking last 5 years will tell a different story. If you judge by this year then it's quite terrible.

 

So, to summarize:

- Location of about a 1,000 Km from your wife's preferred area.

- The house will be on her name

- In a increasingly polluted area

- In a place you know very little about (ever visited here?)

 

Great idea ????

[moontang]

25 minutes ago, sfokevin said:

I have bought condos here... When calculating the s/m price they also charge you for the space the walls take up... 

They do that in the States, too.  Outdoor areas count if they are covered, like most condo balconies.  House size will be determined by foundation size.  

 

I paid 900k in Baanwangtan in 2006, for a 2/2 on 60 wah.  Sold in 2008 for a million....now probably worth 1.5....lots of noise/dog issues.   

 

I would buy a townhouse near one of the new purple line stations in Nonthaburi.

 

A friend is selling his last house in hua Hin for 8.6...200 sm on 103 wah, 700 meters from a fairly poor beach...it was built to a western standard using Thai labor and materials.  All farang and a Korean couple on his street of 13 houses.  He could have got 12 million five years ago.  

[baansgr]

1 hour ago, steve654 said:

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone!  Yes, I think it would be better to actually go there and look around more to see how we feel.  I didn't know CM was so crowded and that the dirty air lasts so long.  We have relatives in Prachuap Khiri Khan and they keep telling us it's much nicer down there, so I would say right now I am at the confused state.  I did go to PKK and it was nice, but I felt like the only white guy there and it was an odd feeling for sure.

Pranburi/pak nam pram is reasonably close to PKK and has a fair expat community

[KittenKong]

1 hour ago, steve654 said:

We have relatives in Prachuap Khiri Khan and they keep telling us it's much nicer down there, so I would say right now I am at the confused state.  I did go to PKK and it was nice, but I felt like the only white guy there and it was an odd feeling for sure.

If you like fresh air, clean(ish) beaches and some farang presence then the area between Cha Am and PKK would indeed be suitable. There are more farangs than you think in PKK, though personally there are not enough for me and so I would prefer to be nearer Hua Hin.

Rent for a year before buying anything.

[bkk6060]

5 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

 

Rent for a year before buying anything.

Yes, I would rent something in the area you desire.

Maybe try a 6 month or month to month.

Lots of mistakes make by people buying not knowing what is around the corner or down the street.

There will always be houses for sale do not rush.

[jimgilly]

If you don't seriously consider how bad the air pollution is in CM you are making a big mistake.  The problem is only getting worse and it is not just for a short period each year.  You will constantly be breathing in highly toxic PM 2.5, which this year has now gotten CM listed as the most polluted city in the world. 

 

If you like gambling with your health and that of your family, then go for it.  I got out after a number of years and only wish I did it sooner.  Life is too short to begin with and you'll likely only make it shorter if you decide to move to CM.

[stillhereandlovinit]

45 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Yes, I would rent something in the area you desire.

Maybe try a 6 month or month to month.

Lots of mistakes make by people buying not knowing what is around the corner or down the street.

There will always be houses for sale do not rush.

Even this isnt a guarantee though, I rented for 5 years before I bought this house im in now, within 1 year of buying it 3 Karaoke bars sprang up and the noise some nights is terrible, then they start to sing.

[donnacha]

I have been spending about half the year in Chiang Mai for almost a decade but am mystified as to why anyone with options would stay anywhere in the North during January, February, March or April. The air is already noticeably bad by the time I usually fly out in the first week or so of January.

I hear so many rationalizations, "This is just a bad year", "It's not so bad if you stay indoors", "Whiners are making a fuss about nothing", "I got a special filter for my aircon" etc., but the levels from each year are publicly available, and the science on what even the levels from the slightly better years do to your health are horrifyingly clear.

I am not telling anyone else what to do, we each have to decide what our own priorities are, but I am concerned that many newbies are deliberately fed bad advice, downplaying the severity of the problem, by people with a vested interested in not scaring off new visitors.

Certainly, I would not buy a house in any part of Thailand without renting in the same area for a year or so first.

[boonrawdcnx]

 
Obviously you should look first and then ask long term stayers more specific questions.
 
Picking CM over PKK due to shortage of white people in the specific place your wife's relatives live at? makes very little sense. There are plenty of places in the South with many foreigners, for example Hua Hin, which is in PKK last time I've checked.
 
CM pollution: This year is significantly worse than last year. How do you make a projection to the future? average over last 20 years will result in a conclusion the situation is not very bad. Taking last 5 years will tell a different story. If you judge by this year then it's quite terrible.
 
So, to summarize:
- Location of about a 1,000 Km from your wife's preferred area.
- The house will be on her name
- In a increasingly polluted area
- In a place you know very little about (ever visited here?)
 
Great idea [emoji846]

Although to be fair - 1000 Km away from her relatives makes great sense!


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[Trujillo]

Prachuap Khiri Khan

[thaigolfer]

PM me if interested. I have a very nice 140 sqm 3 bed 3 bath poolhouse for sale in Cha Am. Pool in front of your porch and 150 m to the lovely Cha Am beach. Very private and quiet yet many shops / restaurants at 50 m only. 80% foreigners in the project. 4.4 M Baht only.

[AlexRich]

Seriously, it’s fine as long as you are there only during the six months they are not polluting the air ... it’s not temporary. If you can live in two locations good idea.

[brokenbone]

dont buy a house next to a larger road,

the noise can ruin your life.

like someone said: rent first a month or two to

find out what sux and what is rotten altogether

[steve654]

23 hours ago, XGM said:

 

Obviously you should look first and then ask long term stayers more specific questions.

 

Picking CM over PKK due to shortage of white people in the specific place your wife's relatives live at? makes very little sense. There are plenty of places in the South with many foreigners, for example Hua Hin, which is in PKK last time I've checked.

 

CM pollution: This year is significantly worse than last year. How do you make a projection to the future? average over last 20 years will result in a conclusion the situation is not very bad. Taking last 5 years will tell a different story. If you judge by this year then it's quite terrible.

 

So, to summarize:

- Location of about a 1,000 Km from your wife's preferred area.

- The house will be on her name

- In a increasingly polluted area

- In a place you know very little about (ever visited here?)

 

Great idea ????

I meant the town of PKK.  We both stayed at Hua Hin and didn't like it.

Have to admit that after reading all the comments about CM, we need to rethink things a little bit.  My wife remembers CM from 25 years ago and obviously things have changed for the worst up there. 

 

Renting for a little while might be the best option. 

[THAIJAMES]

The most important thing to consider for me is to be on a very quiet street or a dead-end street where there's no possibility of anyone building some kind of business especially car repair entertainment restaurant etc

 

I would personally go to the place you are interested in and be there at night to see what kind of noise there is.

 

Also consider the sun and how the house is facing because it may be cool while you're there but unlivable most of the year because of the way the house is situated.

[canthai55]

And visit an astrologer - see if the stars reveal when a Karaoke bar will open ...

How can you predict the Future ? What is fine now may not be next week - month - year - 2 years ...

Due diligence is all well and good, but that takes care of today only.

Want peace and quiet - Guaranteed ? Buy 50 Rai, construct a road to the dead centre of it, and build away