Is this a good time to buy a Condo?

[newnative]

1 hour ago, Airalee said:

Sure...but...I have a feeling that you and your partner are doing much more tasteful remodels on “fixer upper” units.  I may be wrong, but that’s what I gather from your posts.  Unfortunately, tasteful (and neutral) remodels are few and far between here.  
 

Even much of the new stuff is pretty schlocky...even the high $$$ condos.  For the prices they are asking for the high end units I would expect full Viking/Wolf/Subzero kitchens with solid wood cabinetry, 1 1/2” thick granite countertops,  Ann Sacks tiles and other quality fixtures and materials throughout....but I’m not seeing it.

     Yes for both your points.  Yes, our last 2 projects have been older 'fixer-upper' units where we pretty much redid everything.  Of course, if you're going to go through the work of a total re-do, you want to start with a condo in a good project, in a good location, with a good view. 

      Yes, 'much of the new stuff is pretty schlocky'.  Agree.  One of my biggest pet peeves is, in many cases, whether you buy the 2MB studio or the 8MB 2 bedroom, you get the same <deleted> kitchen.  The 2 bedroom's might be a little bigger but likely the same, cheap cabinets.  We usually re-do the kitchens or at least improve them. 

     My same complaint applies to furniture.  At one new  project we bought a large 2 bedroom unit and a much smaller 1 bedroom unit.  They both came furnished with the same tiny 2 seat sofa.  The condos came furnished and we couldn't opt out but if you have a choice, always pass on the furniture package because it is likely over-priced and not good quality.  And, you don't want your condo to look like all the rest in the building.

[JimmyTheMook]

13 hours ago, fhickson said:

 

 

nirun sucks. i have lived there. the pictures suck. they hide the reality and show only the good angle or what the pic taker wants you to see.

 

 

 

 Some aspire to live better than back in the old council estate.....

[Airalee]

1 hour ago, newnative said:

     Yes for both your points.  Yes, our last 2 projects have been older 'fixer-upper' units where we pretty much redid everything.  Of course, if you're going to go through the work of a total re-do, you want to start with a condo in a good project, in a good location, with a good view. 

      Yes, 'much of the new stuff is pretty schlocky'.  Agree.  One of my biggest pet peeves is, in many cases, whether you buy the 2MB studio or the 8MB 2 bedroom, you get the same <deleted> kitchen.  The 2 bedroom's might be a little bigger but likely the same, cheap cabinets.  We usually re-do the kitchens or at least improve them. 

     My same complaint applies to furniture.  At one new  project we bought a large 2 bedroom unit and a much smaller 1 bedroom unit.  They both came furnished with the same tiny 2 seat sofa.  The condos came furnished and we couldn't opt out but if you have a choice, always pass on the furniture package because it is likely over-priced and not good quality.  And, you don't want your condo to look like all the rest in the building.

Totally agree on the furniture.  I even replaced the sofa and mattress in my rental.  The landlord loves me for it!

[how241]

The way you chose to remodel is your choice BUT high-end  or low budget remodeling , the bottom line is making profit.  Unless your planning on living there for a long time it is better not to fall in love with the place and keep what you spend to near what other units look like  in the same building.  It's easier to sell that way and you will make more for yourself in the end.  Over improvement can be a costly mistake.  Having the nicest house on the block makes it hard to sell and turn a decent profit. Just because YOU like a certain brand or style doesn't insure that your buyer will feel the same way.

[how241]

1 hour ago, Airalee said:

Totally agree on the furniture.  I even replaced the sofa and mattress in my rental.  The landlord loves me for it!

Sure the landlord is happy with you as you spent your money replacing items that he should have paid for and replaced.  Sofa and mattress  get replaced as normal 'wear-and-tear'  items  ever so often.  The funny part is I have heard of landlords raising that rents up as he knows he place is now  nicer. Even though you did this update/upgrade for him.  haha 

[Airalee]

24 minutes ago, how241 said:

Sure the landlord is happy with you as you spent your money replacing items that he should have paid for and replaced.  Sofa and mattress  get replaced as normal 'wear-and-tear'  items  ever so often.  The funny part is I have heard of landlords raising that rents up as he knows he place is now  nicer. Even though you did this update/upgrade for him.  haha 

I replaced it with nicer stuff than the landlord would have.  I have a 3 year lease so the cost has been amortized in my mind over that time.  I’m quite comfortable with my choice and we (My landlord and I) have a copacetic relationship.  
 

Your “ha-ha” sounds like you are more of a slumlord than a landlord.

[treetops]

21 hours ago, jacko45k said:

And you choose that cramped grotty looking place and that hideous colour scheme?? 

It looks neither cramped nor grotty, although the colour scheme wouldn't be my first choice.

 

For comparison purposes, maybe you could put up a few photos of your place?

[jacko45k]

2 hours ago, treetops said:

It looks neither cramped nor grotty, although the colour scheme wouldn't be my first choice.

 

For comparison purposes, maybe you could put up a few photos of your place?

It isn't really a comparison so I think not. 

[scubascuba3]

7 hours ago, newnative said:

    if you're going to go through the work of a total re-do, you want to start with a condo in a good project, in a good location, with a good view.      

This is the problem with the bottom end condos, maybe can buy for 500k-700k but they often need a total refurb and the upside is limited. 90% of these places have the same miserable furnishings, dowdy old wood furniture, dark old bathrooms

Edited February 28, 2020 by scubascuba3

[jacko45k]

17 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

This is the problem with the bottom end condos, maybe can buy for 500k-700k but they often need a total refurb and the upside is limited. 90% of these places have the same miserable furnishings, dowdy old wood furniture, dark old bathrooms

Prison like corridors and scruffy areas with dogs and junk around. 

[bkk6060]

My landlord is super cool.  Thai lady from BKK.

When I moved in there was no TV.  She told me to buy whatever I wanted and send her the bill.  Did not want to be too greedy so got a 48 inch smart TV.  And yes, she paid for it.

Edited February 28, 2020 by bkk6060

[scubascuba3]

1 hour ago, jacko45k said:

Prison like corridors and scruffy areas with dogs and junk around. 

The corridors i can handle but the exterior to these thai condos is that most do their own thing with balconies so they generally look bad

[newnative]

5 hours ago, how241 said:

The way you chose to remodel is your choice BUT high-end  or low budget remodeling , the bottom line is making profit.  Unless your planning on living there for a long time it is better not to fall in love with the place and keep what you spend to near what other units look like  in the same building.  It's easier to sell that way and you will make more for yourself in the end.  Over improvement can be a costly mistake.  Having the nicest house on the block makes it hard to sell and turn a decent profit. Just because YOU like a certain brand or style doesn't insure that your buyer will feel the same way.

     Yes, usually, the bottom line is making a profit--always true for condos just bought to flip.  With the condos we buy to live in, our first priority is not to make a profit but to remodel to fit our wants and needs and to make a beautiful space we will enjoy living in.  Making a profit if we decide to sell is always in the back of our minds so we avoid being too taste specific with our remodels--no purple velvet wallpaper or pink tile bathrooms, for instance.  The Nirun kitchen posted is way too taste specific for resale with not one but 2 kitchen tile patterns that would not appeal to a majority of buyers.

     I have to disagree with your notion that a remodel should 'keep what you spend to near what other units look like in the building'.  We have been successful because, in most cases, our remodels do not look like other units in the building.  You do need, of course, to take into account the condo project.  You would not spend the same amount of money at Nirun as you would at, say, The Palm.  

      Sometimes, having 'the nicest house on the block' pays off. In an earlier post I mentioned buying 1 bedroom and a 2 bedroom condos at a new high-end project and both had the same kitchen fittings and furniture--which was ok for the 1 br but not for the 2br.  With this project, we would live in the 2 br and rent the 1 br.  

     In the back of our mind was resale at some point and we saw our competition as not other 2 brs in the building but 2 brs at another luxury project nearby.  We paid 7mb for our 2 br and 2 brs at the nearby project were around 10-13mb.  Our project was comparable with amenities--maybe even better--and newer.  Our goal was to improve our condo to put it up in the 10mb range to make it a viable choice with 2brs at the other project.

    To that end, we removed the brand new kitchen--something you normally would not want to do.  But, it wasn't a kitchen for a 10mb condo and we knew we could improve the layout. We were able to use some of the cabinets in the 1 br to expand that kitchen and make it better so not a total loss. And, the too-small refrigerator and cooktop went to another renovation. So, we added a new, custom kitchen with sleek cabinets, high-grade granite, induction cooktop, bigger refrigerator with ice maker, and an in-the -cabinet microwave. 

    Both baths got custom vanities for lots of storage, and the master bedroom got a new custom armoire that was much bigger and much nicer than the standard armoire that came with the condo.  

    We kept the second bedroom bed and armoire but put in a much nicer custom bed and bedside tables in the master.  New, custom granite dining table replaced the low-grade table that came with the condo.  The tiny 2 seat sofa was put into one of our studio condos and we had a custom L shape leather sofa made to fit the space perfectly.  The living room itself was reconfigured so the sofa had a better view of the ocean and did not look at the aircon storage door on the balcony.  

     We like a restrained eclectic look so we added some nice Asian antiques here and there to break up all the modern sleekness a bit.  Most of the major wall art pieces were custom made for the spaces and color scheme.  All the rooms were wallpapered in attractive but neutral patterns that fit the decor of the rooms.  The lighting was all changed and ceiling fans added.

    We lived in the condo for a year and decided the balcony was too small for us so we put it on the market.  With our upgrades we were able to bring our condo into the 10mb price range of the project nearby and it sold at a price that made it our most successful condo sale in Pattaya.

     

    

[how241]

8 hours ago, jacko45k said:

with dogs and junk around.

There are NO dogs at Nirun. No junk laying around as every building has a dedicated cleaning lady who cleans the building everyday.  It is a older building but it is kept clean. 

Edited February 28, 2020 by how241

[how241]

7 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

The corridors i can handle but the exterior to these thai condos is that most do their own thing with balconies so they generally look bad

This is a good/bad situation depends on how you look at things.  In many USA condos you can't even hang out a beach towel to dry or they will fine you.  If you like strict rules then Nirun and other Thai condos will not be for you.  Having lived in condos with the 'condo police' watching everything you do, I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere at Nirun. You are right in that people will cook and hang out clothes to dry on the balconies. 

[how241]

newnative:  You certainly sound like you know what your doing and glad things have worked out well for you.  Personally,  I only deal in very low end condos so my 'game'  will be different than yours.  Those high priced condos worry me as there are so many available but there is definitely more money potentially to be made.  Continued Good Luck !!!

[how241]

13 hours ago, Airalee said:

I replaced it with nicer stuff than the landlord would have.  I have a 3 year lease so the cost has been amortized in my mind over that time.  I’m quite comfortable with my choice and we (My landlord and I) have a copacetic relationship.  
 

Your “ha-ha” sounds like you are more of a slumlord than a landlord.

If you have a 3 year lease then you did the right thing as you will have 3 years of use and enjoyment. Especially with a bed,  the use and enjoyment is well worth the money spent.  Even if you got the landlord to buy a new bed it is doubtful that he would buy as nice a bed as you would. Money well spent !!!

[scubascuba3]

41 minutes ago, how241 said:

This is a good/bad situation depends on how you look at things.  In many USA condos you can't even hang out a beach towel to dry or they will fine you.  If you like strict rules then Nirun and other Thai condos will not be for you.  Having lived in condos with the 'condo police' watching everything you do, I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere at Nirun. You are right in that people will cook and hang out clothes to dry on the balconies. 

I don't think many people care about the odd towel or people cooking, it's more the prison feel when some people have put up bars, other condos are worse where all the balconies are different. First photo Nirun, second Pattaya Plaza

[how241]

3 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

I don't think many people care about the odd towel or people cooking, it's more the prison feel when some people have put up bars, other condos are worse where all the balconies are different. First photo Nirun, second Pattaya Plaza

I never really thought much about some people that put up bars. It is less than half have bars and I don't see the need for them as you almost never heard about any robberies at Nirun.  I also doubt that many Nirun tenants have so much to protect that they need bars on the patio. In that photo, on some condos what appears to be bars is really windows and that the owner have enclosed the patio and the entire area is under air cond.  This is common. It is what it is. It's not for everyone. 

[newnative]

1 hour ago, how241 said:

This is a good/bad situation depends on how you look at things.  In many USA condos you can't even hang out a beach towel to dry or they will fine you.  If you like strict rules then Nirun and other Thai condos will not be for you.  Having lived in condos with the 'condo police' watching everything you do, I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere at Nirun. You are right in that people will cook and hang out clothes to dry on the balconies. 

     You can put me squarely in the 'bad situation' camp.  Condo buildings tend to look bad after a few years if the residents are allowed to do whatever they want with no rules.  I've noticed the same thing with housing developments with no rules.   They look good when they are new and then a year or so later residents have destroyed the nice look with all their tacky add-ons and 'improvements'.  At one condo I lived at there were fines if you hung your wash on the balcony railings. You could hang your wash on the balcony but not on the railings.   While we were there it was enforced pretty well and the building always looked nice.  Sometimes it's a good thing to have some rules.  

[WillyPlatt]

Just spoke to a friend who spent 2 months in Jomtein fixing up a house he has had for 15 years. He had not been since last December and spent 5 minutes listing all the problems he had had.

Think he pays a communal maintenance fee, but garden was literally like a jungle.

Told me that properties around him had been for sale for 3 years and that you could not give them away.

Why anyone wants to own anything in Thailand is quite beyond me.

Get a nice rental house/condo/bungalow and tell the agent what you are prepared to give.

Repeat this exercise until you get yourself a bargain.

[bkk6060]

11 hours ago, newnative said:

Sometimes it's a good thing to have some rules.

Just about every place has rules.

It is a good thing to live in a place that enforces them.

Which here, is difficult to find as generally they do not care.

IE:  No short term rentals..

Edited February 28, 2020 by bkk6060

[jacko45k]

14 hours ago, how241 said:

There are NO dogs at Nirun. No junk laying around as every building has a dedicated cleaning lady who cleans the building everyday.  It is a older building but it is kept clean. 

The topic isn't solely about Nirun. 

When I visited a friend's condo in  that vicinity I was horrified. Noisy corridors, people had doors open with music playing, smelly and fortunately a guy opposite kept his doors closed as he had 2 large dogs in there. 

It is the same with housing estates too, except the problem is more with junk in gardens, overgrown, dogs and old vehicles etc. Not how I wish to spend my remaining time. 

[jack7106]

On 2/28/2020 at 6:39 AM, jacko45k said:

It isn't really a comparison so I think not. 

My atrocious looking apartment that I actually live in @ Nirun - happy days????????‍♂️????????????????????????

[muffy]

On 2/25/2020 at 6:20 PM, how241 said:

Why?   It's a buyers market right now and if your planning to live here permanently,  why not buy...I have bought and sold several condos and 2 pieces of land, in my Thai ladies name,  and have made profits on all of them .  My rising bank account tells me that I am not so stupid BUT I understand that dealing in real estate is not for everyone.  Better to keep that money safely in the bank at 1-2%...

Not with the strong Baht , if you bring funds from outside .

[jacko45k]

13 minutes ago, jack7106 said:

My atrocious looking apartment that I actually live in @ Nirun - happy days

She was swimming in my pool last week!

[luckyluke]

I live now at MaxxCity, next to  Nirum. 

Previously at MaxxCentral. 

 

Nothing wrong to live at Nirum if that is the only what one can afford.

 

Not everyone is  well-off. 

 

Well-off being a relative concept. 

 

I can not believe that people wish to live there for another reason than it is cheap. 

 

MaxxCity is a rather nice place for the price, at least in my opinion. 

 

http://www.maxxcity.com/en/index.php

 

Addendum :

 

"Can afford" can also being "wish to afford";

 

due to other priorities. 

 

I have an acquaintance who live in a place similar to Nirum, because he wants to go out every night in Go-Go's and is very generous in paying Lady Drinks. 

 

 

 

Edited February 29, 2020 by luckyluke

[newnative]

15 hours ago, how241 said:

newnative:  You certainly sound like you know what your doing and glad things have worked out well for you.  Personally,  I only deal in very low end condos so my 'game'  will be different than yours.  Those high priced condos worry me as there are so many available but there is definitely more money potentially to be made.  Continued Good Luck !!!

Thanks and good luck to you, too.

[Henryford]

3 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Just about every place has rules.

It is a good thing to live in a place that enforces them.

Which here, is difficult to find as generally they do not care.

IE:  No short term rentals..

That's the problem with short term tenants. They don't care about the rules because they are gone in a few days. Once a building starts taking short term guests it's finished as a decent place to live.

[scubascuba3]

1 hour ago, luckyluke said:

I live now at MaxxCity, next to  Nirum. 

Previously at MaxxCentral. 

 

Nothing wrong to live at Nirum if that is the only what one can afford.

 

Not everyone is  well-off. 

 

Well-off being a relative concept. 

 

I can not believe that people wish to live there for another reason than it is cheap. 

 

MaxxCity is a rather nice place for the price, at least in my opinion. 

 

http://www.maxxcity.com/en/index.php

 

Addendum :

 

"Can afford" can also being "wish to afford";

 

due to other priorities. 

 

I have an acquaintance who live in a place similar to Nirum, because he wants to go out every night in Go-Go's and is very generous in paying Lady Drinks. 

 

 

 

Maxxcity isn't a great location for the price. I stayed at Maxx Place once that was overpriced too