Places to Live in Pattaya

[murraynz]

also note-cosy beach is slightly off the baht bus route..

for an elderly retiree, being on baht bus route ,is invalueable...

jomtien and cosy beach are russian areas--not very friendly..rude.

always best to rent in the area that you like, before buying.

most condos are for sale for yrs--dont offer asking price..

pratumnak hill is quite good-away from the noisy bar scene, but easy to get there...

[Delight]

On 4/10/2019 at 12:09 AM, Pravda said:

 

That's a pretty terrible return considering that 2005 building doesn't age well in Thailand.

 

P

 Ny motive was to find a place to live. The condo was very cheap(for me) -back in the day . 70 Baht to one £ ensured that. That was as a  consequence of broader economic circumstances that produced a  short term financial sweet spot -which worked in my favour. I had no input to the production of this short term financial sweet spot. I just benefited.

In my view that  financial sweet spot will never be repeated.

 

As far as the condition is concerned it is in better condition now as it was in 2005.

As I write the building is being re pianted.

The gardens have improved. All the technical problems  inherent with the building -as supplied by the developer-have been solved.

With good maintenance the building should be good for at least another 60 years-probably longer.

Those who bought,in my building, to flip or rent out are losing out. Apartments purchased for 5M baht in 2005 have sold for 3M Baht

Do not buy in Thailand as an investment.

Some have successful achieved investment success. Most have not.

[Jip99]

On 4/9/2019 at 10:32 PM, Inn Between said:

 

Oh dear, don't assume that your logic will be the same as Thai logic. In my experience, it's usually about 180 degrees opposite. The basic rules of "supply and demand" don't seem to apply here, especially in the area of real estate. Thais appear to see more value in sticking with their price, although nobody is showing any interest for the amount of money being asked, even if the property sits deserted and deteriorating for years. And even farang who have been here long enough often start to think like Thais, but I'm a believer that there's always good real estate deals to be had with enough patience and perseverance. Good luck with your relocation and housing. 

 

+1

 

Normal modus operandii........................ couldn't sell last year for 2m so increase the asking price this year to 2.2m because somewhere in Bangkok a property went up 10% in value.

 

Doesn't matter if your property is in Nakhon Nowhere the market will surely come up to meet your asking price.

[Ulic]

If you are not embarrassed by your offer you are offering too much is the expression that comes to mind. Don't lock in on the two condos unless you are happy to pay the asking price. Maybe rent or six months to a year with the rent going toward the purchase price that has been agreed to if you decide to move forward with buying the unit. Best of luck.

[Iforbach]

couldnt agree more...rent ...im in block were they cant give em away as far as renting ,,i livein wongomat area.....naklua ,,,not bad spot ,,,

what ever you do good luck but buying ..i feel is not the go and such a strong baht ,,

[Hanuman2547]

First of all, rent in areas or buildings that you are thinking about buying.  I would do short term leases of say three months.  Six months max even if they say they only do one year leases.  Money talks!  Next, don't ever pay the "asking" price of the rent.  Offer maybe 20% to 30% less.  Chances are the unit you are looking at has been sitting empty for almost a year.   

 

Secondly, don't buy a condo or house.  Just rent.  This frees up your money for other things.  Leave it in a bank, CD, or something else that generates money.  Your condo will not increase in value.  It is a buyers market so trying to sell your condo will be very difficult.  You never know when you might have to leave quickly due to government changes, visa issues, or your own health.

 

Thirdly, Don't buy a condo to rent out.  It works well in the west but you are not in the west.  Right now there is an oversupply of empty units waiting to be rented out with very few people looking to rent.  Your unit might easily sit vacant for six months to a year!  

 

Cheers!

[The Theory]

On 4/9/2019 at 11:13 PM, madmen said:

Make sure you buy a condo thats a CORNER condo with the bedroom having no neighbor

Yes and make sure no upper neighbor as well (top floor) and no South-West corner, but, but if he can find such unit available. ????????????

I wish the OP luck. 

[sead]

You have to ask how much the yearly costs and monthly service costs are. Can be up to 2000bht per month

[myshem]

On 4/10/2019 at 12:16 AM, Pravda said:

 

Actually this is the only reason why I didn't buy a condo. Maintenance and construction.

 

You want to know how your building is going to look like in 10 years? Just go around and look at 10 year old condo buildings. Then have another look at 20 year old buildings. The rapid deteriorating is shocking, admittedly less shocking in Pattaya than Bangkok.

 

But if you are not an idiot you buy a condo in a 10 years old building and you already know how well it is maintained. Not rocket science, only retarded buy new.

 

 

[losworld]

On 4/9/2019 at 10:32 PM, Inn Between said:

 

Oh dear, don't assume that your logic will be the same as Thai logic. In my experience, it's usually about 180 degrees opposite. The basic rules of "supply and demand" don't seem to apply here, especially in the area of real estate. Thais appear to see more value in sticking with their price, although nobody is showing any interest for the amount of money being asked, even if the property sits deserted and deteriorating for years. And even farang who have been here long enough often start to think like Thais, but I'm a believer that there's always good real estate deals to be had with enough patience and perseverance. Good luck with your relocation and housing. 

it's called money laundering lol

[stiggy23]

Thank you for all your feedback people. So looks like I am going to steer away from rental for now. I am 38 years old so not exactly on the verge of retirement yet. My preference to Pratamnak was merely to do with it being away from walking street area but at same time not that far away from the malls etc. But yes, what worries is whether it is too much of a Russian ghetto. I want to live around my British/EU bretherin. Some Good points made regarding doing due diligenece on the building financials, etc. Renting with the intention of buying later on sounds like a good idea. I might suggest this to my agent. Some reviews of the building on airbnb site informs me there are issues with hot water in the building, so need to understand more on that front too. It is a totally foreign ownership(Russian) at moment.

[geisha]

Yes , the condo I rent is slowly falling apart, and so are the pools. I think mine is one of the better ones. So far, only the shower  is leaking, and all the shelves fell down !! The windows are blocking too. I’ve seen worse at the neighbours with their tiles all risen up.This condo is about 5 years old.  This seems to be a common problem here, my neighbour in a previous condo had all her tiles rise, and I came home to my condo in  PHUKet once and thought there’d been an earthquake while I was on the beach ! In general, the workmanship is horrendous in condos under the 5 million mark. In the more luxury buildings I would like to think it’s much better. That said , I wouldn’t swop my apartment in the south of France for one here. Mine was built in the 70 s , is looking great , never had a major problem, and any time one comes up for sale it’s snapped up. Through chatting with neighbours (in Thailand) who own their condos, I know that none of them  have been able to sell , and have been on the market for over 2 years.

[KittenKong]

8 hours ago, stiggy23 said:

Some reviews of the building on airbnb site informs me there are issues with hot water in the building,

I know of no condo buildings that have central water heating here. So possibly the reviews you read were for individual units with individual water heating problems.

 

Personally I if buying today I would avoid like the plague any building that appears on AirBnB or the various hotel booking websites. Short-term tenants are a nightmare and only badly-run buildings allow them.

 

 

8 hours ago, stiggy23 said:

It is a totally foreign ownership(Russian) at moment.

49% direct and 51% company, all Russian? Seems a little unlikely.