Seaview condos - high or low floor?

[TopDeadSenter]

Idle thoughts of buying a condo in Pattaya to retire in, but was wondering whether a low floor or high floor is more interesting, or one is better in other ways? Also if anyone has any suggestions of good beachfront(or near) condos, other than Reflections, that allow kitties, pref under 20m?

[1FinickyOne]

A high floor gives you a better view and a low floor should be cheaper... but you know that - right? 

 

I also do not know how much time you have spent in Thailand or Pattaya, but I would surely suggest renting first... Pattaya, for me, would be tiresome after a short while... [ in which case, a higher floor would also be preferable in that it is further away... ]

[Henryford]

Obviously high floors are better. Very few condos accept any animals.

[jadee]

I second 'kenk24's suggestion - always rent first. Get to know what a place is really like. Especially at night!

Lower floors are cheaper but are usually noisier (closer to the cars/traffic/people outside) especially if they overlook a pool or road. It depends on the condo - if there is a nice landscaped area with trees then a lower-floor unit (3rd-5th floor) might be nice - you'll look out at tree-height, you can hear the birds singing). If it just overlooks a pool then it will be noisier.
In the current climate, you may be able to get some great deals on lower-level units. 

[talahtnut]

Ground floor mate,

kitties cant reach lift buttons.

Get a town house and a cat flap.

 

 

[CHdiver]

High floor, no mozzies.

[Oldie]

11 minutes ago, CHdiver said:

High floor, no mozzies.

and no fire brigade. 

[baansgr]

I know the owner of a 208sqm 2 beds/baths ground floor and 8 metres from an "almost private" beach where you can here the waves, great views, two pools low maintenance and foreign name available 14 mil half on taxes...cats allowed

[bert bloggs]

our cat loves our garden ,but then i prefer a house .

[newnative]

     I think, as with most real estate questions, the correct answer is it all depends.  My partner and I have owned seaview condos in about a dozen condo projects in Pattaya.  What floor is best has a lot to do with how close the condo is to the ocean and what the seaviews are.

     In one project, the condo was direct ocean front and less than 50 meters from the beach--low-rise and probably one of the closest projects to the beach in Pattaya.  The project sat on a small cliff and our condo, on floor 4, was probably about the same as 7 floors from the beach.  Being so close to the ocean, it was an advantage being on a low floor because we could see not just the ocean but the beach and trees, the waves, and also boat activity, people wind surfing, etc.  If you are right on the ocean with no buildings in front of you, a lower floor can have advantages over a higher one.  If you get too high, from inside your condo you will sometimes just be looking at sky and distant ocean.  You have to go out to the balcony and look down to see the beach.  

     If your condo is back from the ocean or has both ocean and shoreline views, then higher is usually better--and, usually the farther back the higher you want to be.  We had condos on the 33rd and the 29th floors at Centric Sea and Unixx and beautiful ocean and shore views from both of them.  Ditto for our top floor condo at The Base.  If possible, there's no substitute to experiencing the views from the actual condo in person before you buy.  

     Buying today, I would avoid new and newer projects that are around 1000 units or more.  Too many of these projects have been over-run with illegal daily renters.  Having lived in several of these projects myself, I can say it is not a pleasant residential experience for someone living here year-round.  Others may disagree but I hated the elevators always being full of loud strangers dragging suitcases and the pools and gyms crowded with strangers often behaving badly and not obeying any of the condo rules.  Plus, bothering the staff all the time when they had problems with their illegally rented rooms and the owner was nowhere to be found.  

     Instead, I would look for an older project of around 500 units or less.  The project you mentioned, Reflection, would fall into that category, being built in 2013 and having 300 some units.  All projects can be vulnerable to daily renters but older and smaller projects are less likely to have owners who have bought 20 or 30 units and set up illegal boutique hotels within the confines of the project.  In Jomtien, another candidate might be Cetus.  Aeras is newer but also not large at around 300 units.  

     Central Pattaya is limited.  Northshore would be the strongest choice.  Wongamat has Zire, Northpoint, Wongamat Tower, Baan Plai Haad, The Palm, and Ananya, plus some older projects.  There are a number of projects in Cosy Beach but I haven't lived in any of them.  The Sands, at less than 300 units, might be a possibility in Pratamnak.  Cosy, Pratamnak, and Wongamat by the beach have limited public transportation choices and are off the regular baht bus routes.  Good luck!

   

     

[scubascuba3]

I'm ok with lower floors, never ground floor as security seems questionable plus noise from foot traffic. Lower floors better for getting out in an emergency and if lift breaks down. High floor views will get old after a while, plus a friend has a 11 floor condo, says noise from ground travels all the way somehow, worse than lower floors, ask Dr Karl why

[spidermike007]

Always the highest floor you can afford. Far higher quality of life and typically better resale value. And the elevation gives you a sense of "being apart from it all", and provides daily inspiration. I have found that great views really never get old. 

Edited June 21, 2020 by spidermike007

[OneMoreFarang]

High floor = no mosquitos

That is one of the things which are easy to forget for people who live already in high floors.

[steven100]

second or third floor because if you do ever jump you may land on the grass below and sustain less injury.

[scubascuba3]

5 minutes ago, steven100 said:

second or third floor because if you do ever jump you may land on the grass below and sustain less injury.

High floor is a kind of double edge sword, perhaps would tempt someone to jump but on the positive side would die and end the pain they're in

[moontang]

The second floor from the top, may actually be more desireable than the top floor.  Otherwise, the higher floors are worth more.  The land office will have a book of all condo projects, and value will be broken down by floor.  I actually pay a premium on my maintenance fee for being on a higher floor...fair enough..it is still a song...6 THB more per day approx..  Have even heard of some condos doing a complete a la carte on things like gym, pool, and even elevators..all managed by key card or thumb print.  Ultra cheap Charlie would live on second floor, and not even use the elevators.

 

I have noticed in some older buildings, that the developer held onto unsold lower floor units and made them permanent rentals..so that can even mean a lower class on the lower floors, but now with the nightly rental cancer, it would matter less, and for a beach rental, paying more for a top floor would boost your returns.  And  would be easier to sell..even moreso in a downturn.  High floor with a view in an older building or a viewless brand new room?  Compare a twenty year old building to a new building...in twenty years you would have a 40 year old building compared to a twenty, and the newness premium is zero, while the view value of the older building will likely have increased.

Edited June 21, 2020 by moontang

[eyup]

Stinky cooking fats! No Thank you!

[wobblyjohn]

High floor if any distance from the beach 

Low floor if its impossible to build another condo between you and your view

I I wouldn't go for the top floor though as heat will come through the ceiling and if your very unlucky water leaks 

[Kerryd]

No higher than the 7th floor - ever.

Why ? 

Because apparently that's as high as Thai fire trucks can reach in an emergency. And they have a few too many "hi-rise" fires here (condos, apartment buildings and hotels) to leave things to chance. They've had fires in apartment buildings where people died in the stairwells because the emergency exits were chained and locked (to prevent tenants from sneaking out without paying supposedly). 
(They also had people die in nightclubs for the same reason, like the Route 66 Nightclub fire a few years ago.)

Personally, seeing the standards of construction in some places here, I'd be leery of living in any high-rise building in the country.

[Pattaya46]

4 minutes ago, Kerryd said:

No higher than the 7th floor - ever.
Why ? 
Because apparently that's as high as Thai fire trucks can reach in an emergency. //

Not exact. As it is the Pattaya forum, and as I live in Center Condo, I can tell you that firemen confirmed several times that their big ladder truck allows them to reach the roof of the condo, a 16 floors building. The flat roof of most high buildings is probably the safest location in case of big fire for those on higher floors.

[moontang]

I don't recall the last time I read about someone dying in a high rise fire in BKK, which is surprising, considering the wiring.  Riding a motorbike is 1000 or more times, more dangerous.  Have a Hellish commute, or live in a high rise are the only options for many.

[jacko45k]

14 minutes ago, moontang said:

I don't recall the last time I read about someone dying in a high rise fire in BKK, which is surprising, considering the wiring.  Riding a motorbike is 1000 or more times, more dangerous.  Have a Hellish commute, or live in a high rise are the only options for many.

This is about Pattaya and it was last November,

Riding motorbikes is a false analogy.

Edited June 21, 2020 by jacko45k

[moontang]

7 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

This is about Pattaya and it was last November,

Riding motorbikes is a false analogy.

BKK is Skyscraper City, so it may actually be worth looking at.  

[Airalee]

3 hours ago, newnative said:

     I think, as with most real estate questions, the correct answer is it all depends.  My partner and I have owned seaview condos in about a dozen condo projects in Pattaya.  What floor is best has a lot to do with how close the condo is to the ocean and what the seaviews are.

     In one project, the condo was direct ocean front and less than 50 meters from the beach--low-rise and probably one of the closest projects to the beach in Pattaya.  The project sat on a small cliff and our condo, on floor 4, was probably about the same as 7 floors from the beach.  Being so close to the ocean, it was an advantage being on a low floor because we could see not just the ocean but the beach and trees, the waves, and also boat activity, people wind surfing, etc.  If you are right on the ocean with no buildings in front of you, a lower floor can have advantages over a higher one.  If you get too high, from inside your condo you will sometimes just be looking at sky and distant ocean.  You have to go out to the balcony and look down to see the beach.  

     If your condo is back from the ocean or has both ocean and shoreline views, then higher is usually better--and, usually the farther back the higher you want to be.  We had condos on the 33rd and the 29th floors at Centric Sea and Unixx and beautiful ocean and shore views from both of them.  Ditto for our top floor condo at The Base.  If possible, there's no substitute to experiencing the views from the actual condo in person before you buy.  

     Buying today, I would avoid new and newer projects that are around 1000 units or more.  Too many of these projects have been over-run with illegal daily renters.  Having lived in several of these projects myself, I can say it is not a pleasant residential experience for someone living here year-round.  Others may disagree but I hated the elevators always being full of loud strangers dragging suitcases and the pools and gyms crowded with strangers often behaving badly and not obeying any of the condo rules.  Plus, bothering the staff all the time when they had problems with their illegally rented rooms and the owner was nowhere to be found.  

     Instead, I would look for an older project of around 500 units or less.  The project you mentioned, Reflection, would fall into that category, being built in 2013 and having 300 some units.  All projects can be vulnerable to daily renters but older and smaller projects are less likely to have owners who have bought 20 or 30 units and set up illegal boutique hotels within the confines of the project.  In Jomtien, another candidate might be Cetus.  Aeras is newer but also not large at around 300 units.  

     Central Pattaya is limited.  Northshore would be the strongest choice.  Wongamat has Zire, Northpoint, Wongamat Tower, Baan Plai Haad, The Palm, and Ananya, plus some older projects.  There are a number of projects in Cosy Beach but I haven't lived in any of them.  The Sands, at less than 300 units, might be a possibility in Pratamnak.  Cosy, Pratamnak, and Wongamat by the beach have limited public transportation choices and are off the regular baht bus routes.  Good luck!

   

     

This pretty much sums it up for me.  I was close to buying a unit in HuaHin and one thing that was important to me was having a whitewater and coastline view.  A view of only sea and sky would become monotonous.  In the end, I ended up buying a condo in Bangkok where I felt that it was important to be as high up as possible.

[Kerryd]

4 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

Not exact. As it is the Pattaya forum, and as I live in Center Condo, I can tell you that firemen confirmed several times that their big ladder truck allows them to reach the roof of the condo, a 16 floors building. The flat roof of most high buildings is probably the safest location in case of big fire for those on higher floors.

It seems things have improved since I last took note.

From a 2013 article:
"Saeree noted that Pattaya also has a large stock of modern fire-fighting equipment, with ladder and basket trucks that can extend up to 68 meters. In cases of fire above that, the city has air cushions and fabric shafts to facilitate escape, and more than 100 firefighters to search upper floors."

(Apparently 68 meters is about 20 stories according on an online conversion site.)

That was from an article about how fire safety had improved since the Royal Jomtien fire in 1997 where 90+ people died from a fire that started on the ground floor. It was noted that, at the time, the fire services didn't have the equipment needed to get to the top floors of the 17 story building. (They actually brought equipment in from Bangkok but it took hours and was delayed due to a traffic accident involving some volunteers who were on their way to help with the fire. 10 or 11 of those volunteers died in the accident.)

And I waded through a number of stories of fires (recent ones) in hotels and condos in Pattaya in the last couple of years. None as dramatic as the Royal Jomtien or that hotel that used to be on 2nd Road (where the Camelot Hotel is now).

I'd suggest that if you are considering living in a high-rise, or already are, take a look at the Emergency Exits and stairwells. As in, actually go look. Walk down the stairs. Check the exit doors. Walk around outside and check where the doors open.

It seems one of the (many) issues with the Royal Jomtien fire was that some Emergency Exit doors were blocked. At one door, firefighters had to clear over 100 stacked chairs that were blocking a door from the outside.
(It was also noted at that place that the fire suppression system wasn't working on the first 3 floors and no smoke/heat detectors were installed.)

[briley]

Top floor can be nosier.  I hear concerts from some way away, often very loud. When I go down to the ground floor I can not hear them as other buildings block the noise. Of course you don't get many concerts out at sea, at least not for long.

[sanuk711]

Seaview condos - high or low floor?--

Cant believe anyone would actually ask a question like that----

Low floor obviously in fact if you can get one in the basement ...its usually a higher price because you don't have to pay out for having any windows to clean....Penthouse is actually a Thai word meaning Pavement, so if you can get a (Penthouse) condo I.E. pavement level---great--but these are well sort after as the Som Tum  and other traders are just sitting outside your window.

Unscrupulous Real estate agents will not tell you that after the 20th floor peoples noses just start to bleed with the height, so be aware of this when dealing with them.

On reflection I would take some of the advice on here and just rent---"Maybe"  your just not ready for the Condo buying yet.

 

**FYI**The last Condo I brought (& sold ) was in Ban Chan--sat right on the beach, just 20 minutes away from Suk road Pattaya, 7 stories high, 4 bed rooms hugh-- 2. 1 million. it was an older one--so I took one floor down from the top as the top of the Condo block had tin roof-- little insulation. (The others of course had concrete floors insulation)

[moontang]

Windows opened or closed is a big factor on noise.  Bar noise doesn't matter, if you are a night person (or at the bar), but Temple noise comes real early, and a fire station would be a lot more peaceful than a school.  My 20th floor condo in BKK is considerably more quiet than my house in a popular Chiang Mai moo baan..mostly the dog thing..and don't forget the air traffic.....

[Trillian]

4 hours ago, Oldie said:

and no fire brigade. 

The organisation I work won't let us book anywhere higher than the sixth floor, it's policy for the very reason you cite.

[Kerryd]

Oh and being in the Pattaya area - don't forget to check the balcony railings. 

There seems to be a problem with them here. Maybe they are designed for people who tend to be a bit shorter than your average foreigner. Or maybe they are just lower than they really should be regardless of stature.

For whatever reason though, a lot of people here seem to "fall" over them. Enough that at one point it was suggested that the Olympics might consider declaring it an official sport. Almost surprising that they didn't start putting up "Falling Farang Zone" signs around the bottoms of every high rise.