Looking to buy a condo in Pattaya

[DonniePeverley]

3 minutes ago, BenStark said:

 

Where?

 

Any condo that you see. Just do your research that is strictly enforces no short term rentals. Check yourself too what they do to enforce this.

 

 

[balo]

Don't do it.  Unless you have money to waste.  Been there, done that. 

 

When your noisy neighbor starts getting on you nerves you wish you never paid a big sum of money for it.   You can instead sign a 12 month rental contract and move out any time.  Rent is cheap in Thailand.  

 

[BenStark]

1 minute ago, balo said:

Don't do it.  Unless you have money to waste 

 

 

I don't have money to waste, that's why I buy and not rent

[Nick Carter icp]

9 minutes ago, BenStark said:

 

I don't have money to waste, that's why I buy and not rent

 

   Even if it is cheaper to buy, I wouldn't want to spent 25 years  in the same place 

[BenStark]

3 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   Even if it is cheaper to buy, I wouldn't want to spent 25 years  in the same place 

 

I don't, I have a house as well, so I can split my time, and I want to move I can sell any time.

 

My house which I built 12 years ago, I have several buyers who have offered me a huge profit, and that isn't taken into account the 12 years I lived rent free. But I'm not even interested to sell.

[Nick Carter icp]

14 minutes ago, BenStark said:

 

I don't, I have a house as well, so I can split my time, and I want to move I can sell any time.

 

My house which I built 12 years ago, I have several buyers who have offered me a huge profit, and that isn't taken into account the 12 years I lived rent free. But I'm not even interested to sell.

 

   I hear many stories of people being unable to sell their property and you are claiming that numerous people have offered to buy your property, even though its not for sale .

   Do people come and knock on your door offering a fortune to buy your house ?

I do find that hard to believe , that people would offer you money for a house that isn't for sale 

[BenStark]

Just now, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   I hear many stories of people being unable to sell their property and you are claiming that numerous people have offered to buy your property, even though its not for sale .

   Do people come and knock on your door offering a fortune to buy your house ?

I do find that hard to believe , that people would offer you money for a house that isn't for sale 

 

I don't care what you believe, but yes people contact me to buy my house. Sure there are many properties that are for sale for years and may never get sold.

 

Everything depends on location and building standard, but I can understand that a pensioner living in a 10K rental room has no idea about that.

[Nick Carter icp]

2 minutes ago, BenStark said:

 

I don't care what you believe, but yes people contact me to buy my house. Sure there are many properties that are for sale for years and may never get sold.

 

Everything depends on location and building standard, but I can understand that a pensioner living in a 10K rental room has no idea about that.

 

  Ohhhh put your claws away , I am not  pensioner  and I have property in western Countries .

Location and standards ? I have a large property in an affluent part of London .

Where's yours ?

[lexxy]

Heres 2 things you may not have thought about which you can add in your list.

 

1) Bins - Are they on every level or do you need to take elevator to ground floor. Thankfully when i bought it was not in consideration but after looking for another place i realised some condos (ie the vision pratamnak) you need to take a lift to ground floor for every drop off..

2) Security - Do you want complete lockout going in so the person has to stand on the road outside or is there a foyer, or is there no security. Personally right now in my condo i have to go downstairs to escort every guest in. A painful but advisable thing to do. Going Out - This is more critical... Do you want guests to be able to leave without you? Certain condos need you to escort guests all the way out, quite annoying albeit safer but as a long term resident of pattaya i really am glad i can just say goodbye and let people leave. No escort out, no phone confirmation. (Not advisable for those who like FL, but as a Gogo hunter nothing untoward has ever happened).

3) Pool location - Does the pool get all day sun. This is important as i found out if there is shadow, it will be way to cold to swim believe it or not.

4) Lifts - Do you really want to be in a condo with less than 3 lifts.

5) Airbnb / Owners vs renters - it sounds cliche and obvious but really this stuffs up lifts, damages the condo block and also fills up the pool.

 

After saying that heres my biased opinion (Pattaya Hill Resort)

Example

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2390860487777842/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3Af4468c5d-ed47-4abd-9ccb-43c9e3ea0c20

 

 

[newnative]

8 hours ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   Even if it is cheaper to buy, I wouldn't want to spent 25 years  in the same place 

      Who says you need to spend '25 years in the same place'?  Spouse and I arrived in Thailand in 2010.  Bought one condo in Rayong and then moved to a second one we bought there.  Decided we wanted to live in Pattaya and sold the second Rayong condo and moved to a condo we bought on Dongtan beach. 

     From then until around 2020 we moved, if I've counted right, nine different times from one condo we owned and then sold to another condo we bought.  We've lived about everywhere from south Jomtien to Wong Amat.  It's been fun living in a number of the different neighborhoods of Pattaya.  

     At this same time, we bought a getaway condo in Bangkok, decided after a year it was too small, sold it, and bought a bigger condo down the street closer to the subway.  

     Around 2020, we decided to switch from condo living to living in a house.  We are now on our third, on the Darkside, another part of Pattaya, and enjoying both our house and this area. 

     We have never lost a penny on any property we purchased, condo or house, here in Thailand.  We have found buyers for each property we put up for sale.  Some properties sold quickly, others took longer, but they all sold, at a profit.  The notion that if you own a property you lose your mobility is just not true.

[BenStark]

7 hours ago, lexxy said:

Heres 2 things you may not have thought about which you can add in your list.

 

1) Bins - Are they on every level or do you need to take elevator to ground floor. Thankfully when i bought it was not in consideration but after looking for another place i realised some condos (ie the vision pratamnak) you need to take a lift to ground floor for every drop off..

2) Security - Do you want complete lockout going in so the person has to stand on the road outside or is there a foyer, or is there no security. Personally right now in my condo i have to go downstairs to escort every guest in. A painful but advisable thing to do. Going Out - This is more critical... Do you want guests to be able to leave without you? Certain condos need you to escort guests all the way out, quite annoying albeit safer but as a long term resident of pattaya i really am glad i can just say goodbye and let people leave. No escort out, no phone confirmation. (Not advisable for those who like FL, but as a Gogo hunter nothing untoward has ever happened).

3) Pool location - Does the pool get all day sun. This is important as i found out if there is shadow, it will be way to cold to swim believe it or not.

4) Lifts - Do you really want to be in a condo with less than 3 lifts.

5) Airbnb / Owners vs renters - it sounds cliche and obvious but really this stuffs up lifts, damages the condo block and also fills up the pool.

 

After saying that heres my biased opinion (Pattaya Hill Resort)

Example

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2390860487777842/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3Af4468c5d-ed47-4abd-9ccb-43c9e3ea0c20

 

 

 

 

Thanks some good points I have to consider

[Pattaya57]

8 hours ago, lexxy said:

Heres 2 things you may not have thought about which you can add in your list.

 

1) Bins - Are they on every level or do you need to take elevator to ground floor. Thankfully when i bought it was not in consideration but after looking for another place i realised some condos (ie the vision pratamnak) you need to take a lift to ground floor for every drop off..

My condo I have to go to car park to drop rubbish but I've never seen it as a hassle. I leave the condo 2-3 times a day so just a carry a rubbish bag with me one of those times. I rarely need to make a separate trip other than when I've drank too many beers

 

Personally I'd rather not have people's rubbish on the same floor near my condo. Who's the unlucky condo owner/renter that lives near the rubbish bin room? That's why most countries have garbage chutes which I've not seen in Pattaya

 

[lexxy]

3 hours ago, Pattaya57 said:

My condo I have to go to car park to drop rubbish but I've never seen it as a hassle. I leave the condo 2-3 times a day so just a carry a rubbish bag with me one of those times. I rarely need to make a separate trip other than when I've drank too many beers

 

Personally I'd rather not have people's rubbish on the same floor near my condo. Who's the unlucky condo owner/renter that lives near the rubbish bin room? That's why most countries have garbage chutes which I've not seen in Pattaya

 

 

Pretending that carrying rubbish down to your carpark 3 times a day is an advantage is ridiculous.   Our rubbish goes into a large bin with a lid, in the fire escape, behind a door, more than 20 metres to anyones door. You could have just said wow, that would be a nice idea good suggestion instead of taking centre stage like you always do. As for stinky rubbish its collected 2 times per day. Some condos do it well. obviously yours does not

[JimTripper]

13 hours ago, balo said:

Don't do it.  Unless you have money to waste.  Been there, done that. 

 

When your noisy neighbor starts getting on you nerves you wish you never paid a big sum of money for it.   You can instead sign a 12 month rental contract and move out any time.  Rent is cheap in Thailand.  

 

Not quite. They would be stuck there for a year to get the deposit back which can be up to two months rent.

[JimTripper]

12 hours ago, lexxy said:

Heres 2 things you may not have thought about which you can add in your list.

 

1) Bins - Are they on every level or do you need to take elevator to ground floor. Thankfully when i bought it was not in consideration but after looking for another place i realised some condos (ie the vision pratamnak) you need to take a lift to ground floor for every drop off..

2) Security - Do you want complete lockout going in so the person has to stand on the road outside or is there a foyer, or is there no security. Personally right now in my condo i have to go downstairs to escort every guest in. A painful but advisable thing to do. Going Out - This is more critical... Do you want guests to be able to leave without you? Certain condos need you to escort guests all the way out, quite annoying albeit safer but as a long term resident of pattaya i really am glad i can just say goodbye and let people leave. No escort out, no phone confirmation. (Not advisable for those who like FL, but as a Gogo hunter nothing untoward has ever happened).

3) Pool location - Does the pool get all day sun. This is important as i found out if there is shadow, it will be way to cold to swim believe it or not.

4) Lifts - Do you really want to be in a condo with less than 3 lifts.

5) Airbnb / Owners vs renters - it sounds cliche and obvious but really this stuffs up lifts, damages the condo block and also fills up the pool.

 

After saying that heres my biased opinion (Pattaya Hill Resort)

Example

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2390860487777842/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3Af4468c5d-ed47-4abd-9ccb-43c9e3ea0c20

 

 

I don't like security involved for visitors. They act as witnesses if there are any problems that can go against you.

 

For example having somones id card and signing in proves they were at your unit and they can lodge any accusation they want with the police. Can lead to blackmail or other problems.

 

You never want two thai's against one. If someone steals or something security does not get involved anyway, they just call police.

[Pattaya57]

48 minutes ago, lexxy said:

Pretending that carrying rubbish down to your carpark 3 times a day is an advantage is ridiculous.   Our rubbish goes into a large bin with a lid, in the fire escape, behind a door, more than 20 metres to anyones door. You could have just said wow, that would be a nice idea good suggestion instead of taking centre stage like you always do. As for stinky rubbish its collected 2 times per day. Some condos do it well. obviously yours does not

I said I drop off 1 bag a day, not 3 plus it's on the way out anyway so not much extra effort than taking to a floor garbage room.

 

i have two condo and the other one has garbage bins on each floor so I have experienced both so there is no "wow" factor you claim I should feel about your statement of must have.

 

I'm still not convinced having rubbish bins on each floor is an advantage. Rubbish shutes like my place in Australia, yes that would be ideal

 

[noobexpat]

6 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

Not quite. They would be stuck there for a year to get the deposit back which can be up to two months rent.

 

If you can't afford to sacrifice 2 months rent, then you need to consider buying because you have financial limitations.

 

This is likely to be the low income and modest capital demographic.

[JimTripper]

 

6 minutes ago, noobexpat said:

 

If you can't afford to sacrifice 2 months rent, then you need to consider buying because you have financial limitations.

 

This is likely to be the low income and modest capital demographic.

Buying means I could not move at all which is much worse!

[newnative]

2 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

 

Buying means I could not move at all which is much worse!

Nonsense.  See my earlier post.

[noobexpat]

5 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

 

Buying means I could not move at all which is much worse!

 

Yes, possibly. But choose your poison. 

Your are describing a scenario for someone with limited financial means who won't give up a deposit.

[noobexpat]

4 minutes ago, newnative said:

Nonsense.  See my earlier post.

 

Is it fair to say you have zero experience of buying/selling without the support of a local?

 

Which would probably be the case for most expats??

[newnative]

4 hours ago, Pattaya57 said:

My condo I have to go to car park to drop rubbish but I've never seen it as a hassle. I leave the condo 2-3 times a day so just a carry a rubbish bag with me one of those times. I rarely need to make a separate trip other than when I've drank too many beers

 

Personally I'd rather not have people's rubbish on the same floor near my condo. Who's the unlucky condo owner/renter that lives near the rubbish bin room? That's why most countries have garbage chutes which I've not seen in Pattaya

 

     I suppose a personal preference but I, myself, would not like to carry my garbage out, down 20some floors on the elevator and then to wherever the garbage is collected.  Nor would I like to be in a crowded elevator with someone else carrying out their sometimes stinky garbage.  Spouse and I ruled out from the get-go one project that did not have a garbage room on each condo floor hallway.   In at least a dozen condos where we've owned at, we never had a problem with the garbage room being somewhere on the condo floor.   But, as I said, our preference.

[Pattaya57]

I really don't understand the don't buy as you could have loud horrible neighbours argument. 

 

That's the same anywhere in the World so you're basically saying  people should never buy a condo, (apartment or house) anywhere in the World due to this issue.

 

[Pattaya57]

12 minutes ago, newnative said:

     I suppose a personal preference but I, myself, would not like to carry my garbage out, down 20some floors on the elevator and then to wherever the garbage is collected.  Nor would I like to be in a crowded elevator with someone else carrying out their sometimes stinky garbage.  Spouse and I ruled out from the get-go one project that did not have a garbage room on each condo floor hallway.   In at least a dozen condos where we've owned at, we never had a problem with the garbage room being somewhere on the condo floor.   But, as I said, our preference.

I agree 20-30 floors would be an issue. I'm on the 5th floor of 8 so not really an issue. Most people I've seen carry a 7/11 size bag in elevator so not as if they are carrying massive bags of smelly rubbish they've kept in their apartment for a week (well I'd hope not anyway)

 

Actually, in a 8 floor condo block with 2 fast elevators I've found it rare that I see anyone in the elevator at all

[bkk6060]

Any decent condominiums have garbage bins on each floor near the service elevators.  An older stinky place where people put their bags of garbage outside their doors until they have time to walk downstairs seems lowlife.

Have you looked at Nurin condo?  So fantastic you can walk to Big C.

 

[newnative]

2 minutes ago, noobexpat said:

 

Is it fair to say you have zero experience of buying/selling without the support of a local?

 

Which would probably be the case for most expats??

      Yes, here--but I could certainly do it on my own--and I know a number of single farang who have.  I'm married to a Thai and we choose the properties we buy together.   If single, I would be making the choice.  I'm in charge of transferring the money in with the proper documentation for buying property and securing the bank paperwork.  I'm mostly in charge of the selling, which involves taking photos, putting together an email package that contains good photos and a detailed description of the property, and then sending out the email to as many of the agencies as possible.  Then checking the agency websites to see if our property got listed, and sometimes sending a follow-up email.  Also listing the property on Facebook, Craigslist, etc.  We work together showing the property, with me being in charge of staging.  We also work together with both the buy and sell contracts but I could do those on my own.

     Were I here without my spouse, I could certainly search for a property for sale and use a real estate agency to facilitate the buy and assist at the Land Office.   Ditto for selling.   It's not that different here from the eight or so properties I bought and sold on my own in the US--and far easier with regard to paperwork, inspections, appraisals, mortgage loans, proof of finances, etc.   With renovations, I would likely use the services of stores more than we do now, but I have some single farang friends who have used local contractors with house and condo projects.  

[noobexpat]

45 minutes ago, newnative said:

      Yes, here--but I could certainly do it on my own--and I know a number of single farang who have.  I'm married to a Thai and we choose the properties we buy together.   If single, I would be making the choice.  I'm in charge of transferring the money in with the proper documentation for buying property and securing the bank paperwork.  I'm mostly in charge of the selling, which involves taking photos, putting together an email package that contains good photos and a detailed description of the property, and then sending out the email to as many of the agencies as possible.  Then checking the agency websites to see if our property got listed, and sometimes sending a follow-up email.  Also listing the property on Facebook, Craigslist, etc.  We work together showing the property, with me being in charge of staging.  We also work together with both the buy and sell contracts but I could do those on my own.

     Were I here without my spouse, I could certainly search for a property for sale and use a real estate agency to facilitate the buy and assist at the Land Office.   Ditto for selling.   It's not that different here from the eight or so properties I bought and sold on my own in the US--and far easier with regard to paperwork, inspections, appraisals, mortgage loans, proof of finances, etc.   With renovations, I would likely use the services of stores more than we do now, but I have some single farang friends who have used local contractors with house and condo projects.  

 

No doubt you could do it all now! ...but the starting point for many (me!) is you don't know what you don't know.

 

Legal folks for the buying/selling worries the noobs like me 55

Trades people language barrier is not great either.

 

I feel i have skills elsewhere to simply provide the rent as opposed to learning hard lessons. Owning becomes a 'my problem' and renting is a 'somebody elses problem'. You can imagine which type i prefer.

How things 'feel' will be different for me and you, of course. And feelings can change over time and probably will.

 

[Pattaya57]

2 hours ago, noobexpat said:

 

Is it fair to say you have zero experience of buying/selling without the support of a local?

 

Which would probably be the case for most expats??

I bought two condo in Pattaya without having a local partner. Was no different to any other property I bought in Australia. Hire a lawyer, sign contract and make payments as required by contract, lawyer ensures all legal actions are done on settlement, simple as. I wasn't even in Thailand during condo settlement, lawyer did everything. 

 

[JimTripper]

2 hours ago, noobexpat said:

 

Yes, possibly. But choose your poison. 

Your are describing a scenario for someone with limited financial means who won't give up a deposit.

I don't just "give up" deposits. It's owed money. Has nothing to do with the amount of assets I have.

[newnative]

1 hour ago, noobexpat said:

 

No doubt you could do it all now! ...but the starting point for many (me!) is you don't know what you don't know.

 

Legal folks for the buying/selling worries the noobs like me 55

Trades people language barrier is not great either.

 

I feel i have skills elsewhere to simply provide the rent as opposed to learning hard lessons. Owning becomes a 'my problem' and renting is a 'somebody elses problem'. You can imagine which type i prefer.

How things 'feel' will be different for me and you, of course. And feelings can change over time and probably will.

 

    Certainly, it's what you are comfortable with and what suits best.  My spouse and I like being homeowners and having our own space to do with what we want.   For others, renting can be a better option.