Thailand does not have an MLS listing system--a database that all agencies post their listings on. When you go to a real estate agency's website, you will only see the condo listings for that agency. If a seller has only listed his condo for sale with Agency X, you will not see it if you go on Agency Y's website. Some sellers only list with a few agencies, some do exclusive deals with just one agency. For a buyer, the important thing is to see as much as what is for sale as possible in: the areas you are interested in, the size of the condo you are interested in, the price range you have, and the things you want in a condo and its project. I would suggest your friend start her search with Hipflat. I think it is the closest thing to searching an MLS-like database because many of the agencies will list their properties for sale on this website. You can search both by area and also by condo project name. When she is searching, she will notice that some condos are listed multiple times--this is the MLS working, with multiple agencies using Hipflat to list their properties. She could also try DDproperty and Thailand-Property, two other websites. Before she does anything, I would suggest she take a moment and really think about how she will be spending a typical week here. Where will she be going, what will she be doing? From hard experience, this is an important step to do. My spouse and I have lived all over Pattaya. At one point, we found ourselves in a beachfront condo in south Jomtien. Nice condo but a typical week for us usually meant 3 or 4 trips into Pattaya--a long hike from south Jomtien. We also like to eat out a lot--the choices, at that time, were limited with restaurants we could walk to in that area. We ended up moving first to north Pattaya, then to Wongamat, and then back to north Pattaya. If she doesn't drive but wants to be close to a big mall, I think north Pattaya is a better option than beachfront Wongamat, having the experience of living in both places. Although posters are fond of stating there are thousands of condos for sale--which is true--once your friend chooses the area she wants to live in, the condo size she is interested in, her price range, and the amenities that are 'musts', the list of condos for sale narrows down rapidly, to a manageable number to go look at. The last time we bought a condo--sea view, a requirement--we only had about a dozen 'maybe' choices, and then that narrowed down again to just a couple of real contenders. The choice of true 'sea front' condos is fairly limited, especially in certain areas; she might consider expanding her search to sea view condos that are short distances to the beach. If she won't be driving, she needs to pay careful attention to the public transportation options. If she plans to primarily use the baht buses, she needs to check the walking distance to the nearest baht bus line. Our first condo in Pattaya was at View Talay 3, and it was a long--uphill--walk to the baht bus. I think all the big agencies do good work and I can't recommend one over the rest. I would stick with these agencies. Any of these big agencies should be able to assist with the contract, the Foreign Exchage Transaction (FET) paperwork she will need to have as a buyer, and the closing at the Land Office. She should not sign any sales contract until she is completely satisfied with all the provisions in the contract--and understands all of them. As a buyer, she is in the driver's seat--until the contract is signed. She needs to take her time with the contract--and everything else, especially her search. The best lawyer I know is retiring, so no help there. I think it's more important to find the best condo rather than the best agency. If she sees a condo she likes on Hipflat, or one of the other websites, the next step is to contact the agency listing it to arrange to see it. If more than one agency has the listing, you might choose which big agency you know best, have used before in your search, is most convenient to your location, etc. A final thought. It's super important, in my opinion, that she ONLY buys a condo in foreign quota. If she remembers nothing else from this post, I hope she will remember this. She might hear otherwise but ignore them. She wants foreign quota only--which is legal, puts the condo in her name, limits any legal hassles, and avoids the expense and work of the yearly documents required for company name purchases. I wish her good luck with her search.
