Renting An Apartment

[Blake7]

I am looking renting a reasonable standard apartment in BKK - 3 bedrooms in a nice block - and have checked out the sites thaiapartmentsonline and thaiproperty.com etc. There seem to be some good options around at the 50,000 to 60,000 baht per month range. Should I really be paying this sum though? I mentioned this to a thai friend a he just laughed.

Has anyone any advice on renting apartments or can anyone recommend a good realty agent?

[whattodo]

I am looking renting a reasonable standard apartment in BKK - 3 bedrooms in a nice block - and have checked out the sites thaiapartmentsonline and thaiproperty.com etc. There seem to be some good options around at the 50,000 to 60,000 baht per month range. Should I really be paying this sum though? I mentioned this to a thai friend a he just laughed.

Has anyone any advice on renting apartments or can anyone recommend a good realty agent?

I certainly would not pay that when you can have all the comforts of an international class hotel for 1k a night

[OldAsiaHand]

I am looking renting a reasonable standard apartment in BKK ... There seem to be some good options around at the 50,000 to 60,000 baht per month range ... I mentioned this to a thai friend a he just laughed.

First you should remember that your view of what a 'reasonable standard' may be (if you are a average westerner) is almost certainly a heck of a lot different from that of your Thai friend.

Paying the amount you cite strikes me as pretty much down the middle for a particularly nice apartment of the size you describe in a modern block in a good location. Of course, you can no doubt get the number down to half that, or even less, if you're willing to be quite flexible on location or building type or even the standard of the apartment itself. But you want to live to an upper middle class standard in a fairly large apartment as you might live in, say, Los Angeles, yeah, 50-60K is not unreasonable.

As for agents, forget it. The real estate business in Thailand is unrecognizable to a weterner. I have never met a real estate agent here who wasn't lazy, inept, or just plain stupid. And most landlords refuse to pay commissions on leases anyway. So just read the ads and visit buildings you like, asking the manager if there are any apartments for rent. There's no more effective approach.

[Blake7]

Many thanks old asia hand

[Mango-Guy]

Whattodo, can you suggest a few 1K per night hotels that you know, I would like to see what is possible.