Condo fees and building

[georgegeorgia]

I am tempted to buy a Condo at least 1 bedroom for my future 

 

I was surprised today to see a News article and please whilst we talk about News as such whatever happened to the News Cafe in Jomtien but please don't go off topic .

I saw today the Pattaya Mail about affected Thai owners in a big condo complaining of farang owners who have taken over the Strata committee and put the Fees UP 

 

"The condominium, which consists of 1,948 units across seven buildings, previously had a board comprised of nine members—five Thai and four foreign.

However, all five Thai members have resigned, leaving the management solely in the hands of the foreign members, who have now proposed the fee increases without community consultation."

 

Now I don't know the full story 

It's possible the Condo fees needed to go up 

 

But what I'm saying is the Condo fees need to be paid and I'm staying away from poorly maintained buildings eg Flybird 

 

How much are your Condo fees ?

 

 

 

[scubascuba3]

Increase in common fees needs an AGM vote, minimum % required. Condos with low common fees end up looking run down. Even VT6 has run down lifts, should have replaced them by now.

 

mine is 35 baht per M² a month, they are looking to increase further

[SAFETY FIRST]

I bought PKCP off the plan from developer looong time ago.

The fees 20 baht m², too low, the Juristic had no money to spend on maintenance and upkeep.

 

AGM we would try to increase fees but The developer (Ratanikorn) held a third of the building (unsold units) it took years to approved increase. 

 

We had to continually dip into the sinking fund for maintenance etc. 

 

Sometimes the annual m² fees need to be increased.

The Thai's aren't interested in increasing fees, most Thai's purchase for investment only, they don't care about maintaining the building.

 

My condo was purchased for investment (rental) but I still wanted the building maintained and kept in good condition. 

 

 

Edited October 26 by SAFETY FIRST

[Njoku]

55B per sq m here, 7 floors 35 units, only 2 sizes available, 100 and 120 sq m, several Thai owners have asked for a refund of common fees if not spent, which was rejected, I believe one Thai is on the committee of maybe 5 or 6, Thais in general take a short sighted view on maintaining anything especially housing, I would be worried if the committee was stacked with Thai owners as there likely to not keep the maintenance up let alone initiate spending to improve the place.

 

When looking around I had my eyes on a large complex in Jomtien I loved the 2 bedroom lay outs and what seems to be fantastic pool/s...on inspection was put off with how run down this 5 or 6 year old place was already looking, marks on the walls, water pooling in corridor on the third floor in the section we where in, agent goes, ho roof leak, like its still dry season, it was likely from a faulty bathroom judging by the location of water and room bathrooms, then there was the parking mayhem, which is common in most of these mega condo complex, 35 b per sq m in that place, is around 850 units and its a run like a <deleted> show.

[newnative]

     I've had condo fees ranging from 20 baht a sqm to 77 baht a sqm--and a number of condos with fees in between those two figures, with a dozen or so projects.  What's important to me, as a condo owner, is not how much the condo fee is but, rather, is it enough to keep the project maintained properly.   A condo is a big investment for me and I want my investment maintained.   

     At the last Pattaya condo I owned, at an older project, the condo fee was not high enough to maintain the project in the style the owners demanded.  Rather than raise the condo fee--if I remember 40 or 45 baht a sqm--the project did a special assessment every year to make up that year's shortfall.  Special assessments are easier to get approved than raising the annual fees.  The special assessments varied but generally amounted to the condo fee being around 60 baht a sqm--about right for the project's size and the small number of units.  

     Obviously, with a project of 1000 units, you get some economies of scale vs. a condo project with 200 units.  1000 owners are chipping in for the guard at the front gate vs. 200 owners at the smaller project.  The 20 baht condo fee I mentioned was at a project with 1800 units.   

      At one project I owned at, I could look from my balcony to another older condo project next door.  It was easy to see that the condo fee was not adequate to maintain the project.  The pool water was often murky green rather than crystal clear and the building had a somewhat rundown look to it.  I would guess that not enough owners want to raise the condo fees at that property to maintain it well.  I don't want to live in a project where that is the case.

      If you do your homework before buying you should be able to avoid purchasing at a project that is not adequately funded.  Check the condo fee, the sinking fund and the financials.  Even when properly funded, some condo projects are not maintained as well as they should be.  That's why there's no substitute for on-site observation before buying, with several visits at different times of the day, checking everything you can.

      I recently visited a condo project that I used to own at--a newer project of around 1000 units.  Although I was not there long, I observed enough to see that I would not be happy with how the project was being maintained if I still lived there.  Everything still looked to be working, the pool was clean, etc., but a closer look showed a lot of neglected maintenance that would drive me nuts.  

    Quite simply, it has around 1000 units and a condo fee of around 50 baht a sqm.  That should provide ample funds to keep the project in tiptop shape.  This project was plagued with illegal daily renters when I lived there and it was clear on my recent visit the project had been subjected to very heavy wear and tear.  I understand they have since cracked down on the daily renters but the maintenance hasn't caught up.  That's what you want to be looking for when you visit.  Keep a sharp eye on everything.

     I was a new owner at this project and it's always a gamble on how a new project will be maintained.   Seeing it now, I would give it a pass and look for a better maintained project, one with owners that are far more demanding with management about maintaining the building well.  

[kdrayong]

5 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

I bought PKCP off the plan from developer looong time ago.

The fees 20 baht m², too low, the Juristic had no money to spend on maintenance and upkeep.

 

AGM we would try to increase fees but The developer (Ratanikorn) held a third of the building (unsold units) it took years to approved increase. 

 

We had to continually dip into the sinking fund for maintenance etc. 

 

Sometimes the annual m² fees need to be increased.

The Thai's aren't interested in increasing fees, most Thai's purchase for investment only, they don't care about maintaining the building.

 

My condo was purchased for investment (rental) but I still wanted the building maintained and kept in good condition. 

 

 

 

Like me at PKCP.

 

20 Baht/m² is really a joke. Once I convinced a member of the Rattanakorn family to increase the common fee, but the next day at the AGM Rattanakorn refused again to increase it.

[Pattaya57]

I bought my condo in 2009 and fees were 35 baht sqm/month. This amount wasn't cutting it and it was voted to increase it to 40 baht sqm in 2014 AGM. It's been running smoothly since and property has been well maintained at all times (15 year old buildings still look great)

[Young Hick]

You get what you pay for.  Lower fees means lower maintenance.  

[jas007]

Can someone explain how it makes any sense for someone to spend money on a condo and then vote for condo fees so low that the building falls into disrepair? It doesn't take long to get to that state.  

[Celsius]

3 hours ago, Young Hick said:

You get what you pay for.  Lower fees means lower maintenance.  

 

It doesn't. Maybe for poorly built crrrap projects of today.

 

Recently visited 4 Wings residences in Bangkok. Residences are next to a hotel and very decently maintained for an 18 year old building.... i think it was 25 baht per square meter.

[scubascuba3]

37 minutes ago, jas007 said:

Can someone explain how it makes any sense for someone to spend money on a condo and then vote for condo fees so low that the building falls into disrepair? It doesn't take long to get to that state.  

Probably Thais especially don't trust the committee to spend the money wisely, you hear stories of money being syphoned off or squandered 

[jas007]

41 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Probably Thais especially don't trust the committee to spend the money wisely, you hear stories of money being syphoned off or squandered 

Thais or no Thais, there is a certain amount of money that is no doubt required to properly maintain a property.  And I'm sure there are honest and dependable management companies.