The owner of my studio Airbnb met me yesterday and told me he was selling

1,5 million baht

I have had to do a study research analysis on what apartment would suit me long term

I am calling it apartment/ unit / flat because in Australia if I said the word "Condo" no one would understand and they would think I said condom

Anyway my Airbnb that he is selling It's on the ground floor, the balcony facing the big swimming pool

So just metres away from your balcony you have people on banana lounges making noise ,so if you open your balcony door on a weekend you will hear their conversation.

Not only that , as it's on the ground floor I caught two east European guys leaning over the balcony railing to try to take the plastic table and chair to put near the pool for their group., then drinking loud only metres away from the bedroom window so I don't want ground floor

1.5 million baht is cheap for this apartment 24sqm that he he wants , BUT the negatives,ground floor, close to noisy groups of drunks , swimming pool splashes

..looking now at real estate in Pattaya,it's very difficult to get a Apartment under 2 million baht even studios ,they have risen dramatically

I also need to take into consideration transport, close to baht bus routes , grocery shopping ,

And my age , I still have 20 years left of life if I retire , so rent would be a waste for 20 years

17 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

BUT the negatives,ground floor, close to noisy groups of drunks , swimming pool splashes

No negatives, it's the best possible place to stay, unless you are miserable old grumpy guy (we have a few here)

Early hours of the morning, drunk bar girls coming home from walking street.

These drunk girls are desperate to pee, they see the swimming pool, splash, they're in the pool urinating.

Are there limits on monthly condo fees and special assessments? I had a condo in the US and barely got out of it before huge "one-time" fees hit - thousands of dollars a year because maintenance had been delayed for a decade.

Those ground floor places can get flooded by pool overflow after rain, best avoided, lots of other reason to avoid. Many studios elsewhere for around 1.5m older but ensure condo is well maintained

45 minutes ago, davb said:

Are there limits on monthly condo fees and special assessments? I had a condo in the US and barely got out of it before huge "one-time" fees hit - thousands of dollars a year because maintenance had been delayed for a decade.

Common fees can only increase at a general meeting and voted in, an annual supplementary fee is easier to get through. No doubt everyone gets hit with one off fees eventually, i doubt condos save properly for lift replacement for example

OP, whatever or whatever you buy - all condo owners are given a copy of the income/expenditure statement and balance sheet at the AGM. They also receive a copy of the previous year's AGM minutes and agenda.

Many also issue a copy of their cashflow statement on a monthly basis. These documents will give you an idea of how well the condo is managed. Take a look at their expenses and of particular importance is the size of the sinking fund, the value of any unpaid annual condo levies, and how much they have in the way of cash reserves.

Normally (but not always) the meeting minutes will also highlight any ongoing conflicts or difficulties the Juristic and/or the co-owners are experiencing. Whenever possible try and make the acquaintance of an existing co-owner and see if they can give you any inside information. From experience, most co-owners are more than willing to tell you how well or badly the management is doing.

If you can befriend one of the housekeepers, they will really be able to give you the lowdown - they hear and see everything.

3 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

I am calling it apartment/ unit / flat because in Australia if I said the word "Condo" no one would understand and they would think I said condom

Rubbish!

3 hours ago, davb said:

Are there limits on monthly condo fees and special assessments? I had a condo in the US and barely got out of it before huge "one-time" fees hit - thousands of dollars a year because maintenance had been delayed for a decade.

Oh I have the same in Sydney currently $3400 a quarter for the next 3 years because of new lifts

Offer 999,999 baht

1 hour ago, Gsxrnz said:

OP, whatever or whatever you buy - all condo owners are given a copy of the income/expenditure statement and balance sheet at the AGM. They also receive a copy of the previous year's AGM minutes and agenda.

Many also issue a copy of their cashflow statement on a monthly basis. These documents will give you an idea of how well the condo is managed. Take a look at their expenses and of particular importance is the size of the sinking fund, the value of any unpaid annual condo levies, and how much they have in the way of cash reserves.

Normally (but not always) the meeting minutes will also highlight any ongoing conflicts or difficulties the Juristic and/or the co-owners are experiencing. Whenever possible try and make the acquaintance of an existing co-owner and see if they can give you any inside information. From experience, most co-owners are more than willing to tell you how well or badly the management is doing.

If you can befriend one of the housekeepers, they will really be able to give you the lowdown - they hear and see everything.

OK, but any potentail buyer should do a detailed deep dive into the numbers (especially financial numbers) on any of the documents mentioned above.

I had a big condo in Bkk (3 beds / 2 bths, full kitchen)and more.

AGM had been held every year but owners never informed of AGM date / time / location.

All the documents mentioned were put up on a screen with a verbal warning from the condo admin. manager "NO PHOTOS" .

Copies of these documents not available; admin. manager claimed that was illegal.

Then we had a just retired very snr. cop buy one of the very big units. He asked (in cicie clothes) at the office 'when is the next AGM or all owners meeting?' Admin. Manager refused to answer. Then retired cop showed his business card and requested that his wife go and get his shirt with all hs rank etc.. This frightened the admin. manager and she then said 'next Sunday, but we don't publish the dae because that's illegal.

Snr. cop said 'just a moment' and he called a snr police colleagues and gave the phone to the admin. manager.

More discussion on speaker phone and the new retired snr cop asked the admin. manager to confirm 'GM next Sunday, starts at 11.00 am'.

The still working snr. cop said "I will also attend with 2 of my inhouse police lawyers who are experts on this subject".

Meeting starts and about 70% of all oeners had turned up, the new opener had made a private notice about the date / time / Location of the AGM, copy under every unit door 3 or 4 days in advance.

First slide goes up but new owner (snr. cop) says I want to see the annual statement of outgoing expenses. Admin. manager refuses but the extra snr. cop stands up and says 'you cannot refuse, this information belongs to all owners'.

Next, another owners says 'why is the bulding insurance so expensive?'

Eventually the outside accountant stands up and she says 'I don't know'.

Outside snr cop says 'please supply all attendees with a copy of this slide and signed proof that the 850,000Baht annual insurance bill has been paid for the current year.'

Admin. manager, under pressure shows a banking record for a payment of 850,000Baht. but refuses to give details of who received this money. Further pressure and it's revealed the accountant has fled the meting And there's evidence the 850,000Baht went into her husbands bank account. Further checking reveals the same thing had been happening for many years. Bottom line: the buiding acyually had no insurance and had not had any insurance for over 10 years.

Ouside cop tells his team to find the accountant and bring her back to the meeting.f

Now a very snr. director of a mainstram big Thai bank joins the meeting and say 'my wife has informed me our building has no insurance.

That's confirmed.

Bank director says 'just a moment' then he asks for the screen of his smartphone to be shown on the meeting screen.

It shows an insatant cover note providing full building insurance, issued by the insurance dept. of the bank.

By now accountant is pesent in handcuffs, also the admin. manager who tries to insist she was authorised to commit the ofense of paying insurance premium to a private citizen.

Meeting continues for several hours, admin. manager and all the office staff are sacked and told to leave the building with no documents....

1 minute ago, scorecard said:

OK, but any potentail buyer should do a detailed deep dive into the numbers (especially financial numbers) on any of the documents mentioned above.

I had a big condo in Bkk (3 beds / 2 bths, full kitchen)and more.

AGM had been held every year but owners never informed of AGM date / time / location.

All the documents mentioned were put up on a screen with a verbal warning from the condo admin. manager "NO PHOTOS" .

Copies of these documents not available; admin. manager claimed that was illegal.

Then we had a just retired very snr. cop buy one of the very big units, he stood up (in cicie clothes) and said he had aked at the office 'when is the next AGM or all owners meeting?' Admin. Manager refused to answer. Then retired cop showed his business card and requested that his wife go and get his shirt with all his rank, medals, ribbons etc.

This frightened the admin. manager and she then said 'next Sunday, but we don't publish the date / time because that's illegal.

Snr. cop said 'just a moment' and he called a snr police colleagues and gave the phone to the admin. manager.Outside op said 'to reveal this information is not illegal at all and by law must be given by written notice to all owners 7 days before the meeting.

More discussion on speaker phone and the new retired snr cop asked the admin. manager to confirm 'GM next Sunday, starts at 11.00 am'.

The still working snr. cop said "I will also attend with 2 of my inhouse police lawyers who are experts on this subject".

Meeting starts and about 70% of all oweners had turned up, the new snr cop owner had made a private notice about the date / time / Location of the AGM, and placed a copy under every unit door 6 days in advance.

First slide goes up but new owner (snr. cop) says I want to see the annual statement of outgoing expenses. Admin. manager refuses but the extra snr. cop stands up and says 'you cannot refuse, this information belongs to all owners'.

Next, another owners says 'why is the bulding insurance so expensive?'

Eventually the outside accountant stands up and she says 'I don't know'.

Outside snr cop says 'please supply all attendees with a copy of this slide and signed proof that the 850,000Baht annual insurance bill has been paid to the insurance company company mentioned for the current year.'

Admin. manager, under pressure shows a banking record for a payment of 850,000Baht. but refuses to give details of who received this money. Further pressure and it's revealed the accountant has fled the meting And there's evidence the 850,000Baht went into her husbands bank account. Further checking reveals the same thing had been happening for many years. One of the extra cops attending the meeting had called the actual insurance company who took an hour to confirm they had not rceived any premium payments for at least 10 yers.

Bottom line: the buiding actually had no insurance and had not had any insurance for over 10 years.

Ouside cop tells his team to find the accountant and bring her back to the meeting.f

Now a very snr. director of a mainstram big Thai bank joins the meeting and say 'my wife has informed me our building has no insurance'.

That's confirmed.

Bank director says 'just a moment' then he asks for the screen of his smartphone to be shown on the meeting screen.

It shows an instant cover note providing full building insurance, issued by the insurance dept. of his bank.

By now accountant is pesent in handcuffs, also the admin. manager who tries to insist she was authorised to commit the offense of paying insurance premium to a private citizen.

Meeting continues for several hours, admin. manager and all the office staff are sacked and told to leave the building with no documents....

3 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Common fees can only increase at a general meeting and voted in, an annual supplementary fee is easier to get through. No doubt everyone gets hit with one off fees eventually, i doubt condos save properly for lift replacement for example

Mine run about $16000 (about $520) a year, but we have good management, good security, five bldgs, six swimming pools, a well sticked gym , elevators that work and on-premisis resturant. Just figured out, if I had been renting the past 10 years I have owned my place in Jom Tien, I would have spent 2,600,000 - (two bedroom @ 18,000 a month) I paid 1.250,000 for my condo.

My condo fees in USA are $450 a month, but I am leasing it out long term . Peace

4 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

The owner of my studio Airbnb met me yesterday and told me he was selling

1,5 million baht

I have had to do a study research analysis on what apartment would suit me long term

I am calling it apartment/ unit / flat because in Australia if I said the word "Condo" no one would understand and they would think I said condom

Anyway my Airbnb that he is selling It's on the ground floor, the balcony facing the big swimming pool

So just metres away from your balcony you have people on banana lounges making noise ,so if you open your balcony door on a weekend you will hear their conversation.

Not only that , as it's on the ground floor I caught two east European guys leaning over the balcony railing to try to take the plastic table and chair to put near the pool for their group., then drinking loud only metres away from the bedroom window so I don't want ground floor

1.5 million baht is cheap for this apartment 24sqm that he he wants , BUT the negatives,ground floor, close to noisy groups of drunks , swimming pool splashes

..looking now at real estate in Pattaya,it's very difficult to get a Apartment under 2 million baht even studios ,they have risen dramatically

I also need to take into consideration transport, close to baht bus routes , grocery shopping ,

And my age , I still have 20 years left of life if I retire , so rent would be a waste for 20 years

Some good advice already from other posters. How refreshing to read from someone else that condo prices have 'risen dramatically'. When I post that I have been able to sell 20-some Pattaya condos, all at a profit and relatively easily, I have been called a bald-faced liar on AN, and worse. The prevailing AN wisdom is once you buy a condo you will never be able to sell it at any price, or even give it away, in some cases.

While renting is always an option, if you see yourself in Pattaya long-term at some point, buying can have some advantages. I would not concern myself too much on condo fees, which are a bargain here compared to the west. Look for a well-managed project that has a good balance sheet and make several visits at various times, day and evening. As others have said, try to talk to some owners and staff.

You are correct that prices are going up with some condos, especially those with ocean views, and at least maintaining with many others. Some years ago we looked at a 62 sqm 2-bedroom condo at The Palm, with oceanview. It was priced at 6.5MB, which was really quite good at the time and I think under-priced. We almost bought it as it was such a good buy but at the last minute we decided it was a little too small for us. Hipflat has this same size unit for 9MB and up now.

You should still be able to find some choices in your price range if you do some looking. I would start by thinking about what a typical week is like for you when you are here and start your search with the area that comes closest to where you spend most of your time.

If you like your current rental but not its location in the project, you might see if any other units are available in a more desirable location in the building. I would urge taking your time and look at as many projects as possible in the general area you want to be in. There are lots of projects tucked away on side streets that aren't as readily visible or well-known as, say, The Base or Centric Sea.

A final thought. I would urge you to only buy in foreign quota, despite what anybody might tell you. Unlike a house, there is absolutely no reason to buy in company name, and it offers no advantages whatsoever. Instead, you have the yearly obligation to file company paperwork, with many hiring a lawyer each year to do the paperwork for them to make sure it passes muster. Why saddle yourself with this if you don't need to. Buy in FQ and save the yearly bother and expense, plus the condo title deed will be in YOUR name. And, FQ condos are much more desirable should you ever decide to sell. Many buyers, including me, set FQ as one of their requirements and don't want to look at anything else. Good luck with your search.

8 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

The owner of my studio Airbnb met me yesterday and told me he was selling

1,5 million baht

I have had to do a study research analysis on what apartment would suit me long term

I am calling it apartment/ unit / flat because in Australia if I said the word "Condo" no one would understand and they would think I said condom

Anyway my Airbnb that he is selling It's on the ground floor, the balcony facing the big swimming pool

So just metres away from your balcony you have people on banana lounges making noise ,so if you open your balcony door on a weekend you will hear their conversation.

Not only that , as it's on the ground floor I caught two east European guys leaning over the balcony railing to try to take the plastic table and chair to put near the pool for their group., then drinking loud only metres away from the bedroom window so I don't want ground floor

1.5 million baht is cheap for this apartment 24sqm that he he wants , BUT the negatives,ground floor, close to noisy groups of drunks , swimming pool splashes

..looking now at real estate in Pattaya,it's very difficult to get a Apartment under 2 million baht even studios ,they have risen dramatically

I also need to take into consideration transport, close to baht bus routes , grocery shopping ,

And my age , I still have 20 years left of life if I retire , so rent would be a waste for 20 years

If you don't mind naming the condo I will give me consdidered opinion.

2 hours ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

If you don't mind naming the condo I will give me consdidered opinion.

Arcadia international

Im thinking of actually buying a few small studios and renting them out , could be a better income for me to retire

2 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

Arcadia international

Hmm it's a relatively new one is not on Jomtien Second road popular with short term lets and Russians.Have I got it right. Poolside would lack privacy and be very noisy in high season and security would be an issue in my mind anyway.Oh just checked it it's near Cafe de Amis - down those sois off Thappraya Road - I walked around it when they were building it - an impressive pool but a place more for holidays than living for the older gentlemen I would have thought.The other isue is how sold out is it - if they they sold 30% of the condos but not the rest then the developeer basically runs the comitteee with their votes and often lets the place rot. This has happned in some of the neweer View Talays for instance .

1 hour ago, georgegeorgia said:

Im thinking of actually buying a few small studios and renting them out , could be a better income for me to retire

Why would you buy in a place you hate?

Your full of it!

Darl.

The only reason to buy a condo is if it is an exceptional place that would be difficult to find as a rental.

For example, if the place has a 100 sqm terrace on the 17th floor facing west for sunsets.

No one rents out a place like that, you have to buy it.

Otherwise, why would you not rent?

"Investing" in a cheap condo is pointless.

7 hours ago, scorecard said:

OK, but any potentail buyer should do a detailed deep dive into the numbers (especially financial numbers) on any of the documents mentioned above.

I had a big condo in Bkk (3 beds / 2 bths, full kitchen)and more.

AGM had been held every year but owners never informed owners of AGM date / time / location.

All the documents mentioned were put up on a screen with a verbal strong warning from the condo admin. manager "NO PHOTOS" .

Copies of these documents not available; admin. manager claimed that was illegal.

Then we had a just retired very snr. cop buy one of the very big units. He asked (in cicie clothes) at the office 'when is the next AGM or all owners meeting?' Admin. Manager refused to answer. Then retired cop showed his business card and requested that his wife go and get his shirt with all hs rank etc.. This frightened the admin. manager and she then said 'next Sunday, but we don't publish the dae because that's illegal.

Snr. cop said 'just a moment' and he called a snr police colleagues and gave the phone to the admin. manager.

More discussion on speaker phone and the new retired snr cop asked the admin. manager to confirm 'GM next Sunday, starts at 11.00 am'.

The still working snr. cop said "I will also attend with 2 of my inhouse police lawyers who are experts on this subject".

Meeting starts and about 70% of all owners had turned up, the new snr. police guy owner had made a private notice / handout about the date / time / Location of the AGM, copy under every unit door 3 or 4 days in advance.

Meeting starts, first slide goes up but new owner (snr. cop) says I want to see the annual statement of outgoing expenses. Admin. manager refuses but the extra snr. cop stands up and says 'you cannot refuse, this information belongs to all owners'.

Next, another owner says 'why is the bulding insurance so expensive?'

Eventually the outside accountant stands up and she says 'I don't know'.

Outside snr cop says 'please supply all attendees with a copy of this slide and signed proof that the 850,000Baht annual insurance bill has been paid for the current year.'

Admin. manager, under pressure shows a banking record for a payment of 850,000Baht. but refuses to give details of who received this money. Further pressure and it's revealed the accountant has fled the meeting And there's evidence the 850,000Baht went into her husbands bank account. Further checking reveals the same thing had been happening for many years. Bottom line: the buiding actually had no insurance and had not had any insurance for over 10 years.

Outside cop tells his team to find the accountant and bring her back to the meeting.

Now a very snr. director of a mainstram big Thai bank joins the meeting and says 'my wife has informed me our building has no insurance'.

That's confirmed.

Bank director says 'just a moment' then he asks for the screen of his smartphone to be shown on the meeting screen.

It shows an instant insurance cover note providing full building insurance, issued by the insurance dept. of the bank.

By now accountant is pesent in handcuffs, also the admin. manager who tries to insist she was authorised to commit the offense of paying insurance premium to a private citizen.

Meeting continues for several hours, admin. manager and all the office staff are sacked and told to leave the building with no documentsand never return.

New manager and office staff recruited, and I gain permssion on a vote of all hands hands by owners to daily monitor the daily work of the new manager and staff. At first new manager is not cooperating so within 10 days I wrote a summary / report on this and put a copy under ever unit door. Some 200 owners responded by sending a leter to the owners committee chairperson for the new manager to be questioned at a new AGM within 7 days.This frightened hell out of the new manager who was asked to sign a much more detailed 'list of responsibilities and the authorities' held by the new manager.

New manager starts to cry but get's hand clapped by the owners present. New manager then says 'I will try'.

A very agro owner / a Thai lawyer says 'that's not acceptable' and demands the new manager be sacked on the spot and asks for permission to recruit a new manager. Approved by the owners and with 2 weeks a new admin. manager starts work. And the work is excellent, focused, always up to date and speaks Thai and English. To this day still in the psoition with excellent performance and supervisies the office staff politely but firmly.

7 hours ago, scorecard said:

15 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

I am calling it apartment/ unit / flat because in Australia if I said the word "Condo" no one would understand and they would think I said condom

Yeah but did everyone back home tease you that you're going to Pattaya for the seedy nightlife?

2 hours ago, save the frogs said:

renting vs owning:

• you can move away if you have crap neighbors or sth in the neighborhood gets worse

• you can live in different parts of the country or different areas of the same city, move around

• and since there are so many cheap rentals, not sure you would lose that much

• will real estate values continue to go up and up for the next 20 years? if so, you may lose a lot by renting as you will be able to dump the condo to a spouse or children at the end of 20 years and make a profit.

I agree with everything you said, but looking at it from the other side (I am in this dilemma at the moment)...

1. Buying means you're no longer at the mercy of your landlord wanting to sell the place (1 month after moving in on this place, but we're still there 3 years later) or jack your rent up (33% on my last Condo, in fairness it was worth it as I'd rented cheap during Covid but still, they could have increased it gradually rather than hitting me with such a huge increase - Place ended up empty for 4 months, I know as I had the PEA bills on my phone)

2. The condo is now your home, you want to spend a lot of money on beds, High End TVs, Fridges, Furniture etc... they're all yours... Want to paint the walls a different colour or put in a power shower instead of the <deleted>ty bath, do it...

3. If you are retired & this is your "Forever Home", It shouldn't matter what it's worth when you die as long as you enjoy your life while living there.

I'm still on the fence, but am leaning to buying...

52 minutes ago, SamSpade said:

I agree with everything you said, but looking at it from the other side (I am in this dilemma at the moment)...

1. Buying means you're no longer at the mercy of your landlord wanting to sell the place (1 month after moving in on this place, but we're still there 3 years later) or jack your rent up (33% on my last Condo, in fairness it was worth it as I'd rented cheap during Covid but still, they could have increased it gradually rather than hitting me with such a huge increase - Place ended up empty for 4 months, I know as I had the PEA bills on my phone)

2. The condo is now your home, you want to spend a lot of money on beds, High End TVs, Fridges, Furniture etc... they're all yours... Want to paint the walls a different colour or put in a power shower instead of the <deleted>ty bath, do it...

3. If you are retired & this is your "Forever Home", It shouldn't matter what it's worth when you die as long as you enjoy your life while living there.

I'm still on the fence, but am leaning to buying...

Buying can be a good longer term option, but why a ground floor condo with all the problems you highlighted? Buy something better, even if you need a bigger budget.

Dont invest in anything in Thailand..its a really risky business.U can't trust this country at all.

19 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

selling It's on the ground floor, the balcony facing the big swimming pool

9 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

Arcadia international

It's mentioned above regarding water damage etc to ground floor condos. This is common but If you are buying in an Arcadia Beach project, you can be assured that this is not an issue.

Saying that, has anyone here had any issues with ground floor condos at Arcadia?

31 minutes ago, norsurin said:

Dont invest in anything in Thailand

This is a very common statement mainly from people in the west, living in council/housing commission housing.

1 hour ago, norsurin said:

Dont invest in anything in Thailand..its a really risky business.U can't trust this country at all.

Are you one of the don't buy rent people? those people missed out on the gains since covid

I say do it. Will be the best decision you ever made.

Good luck.

20 hours ago, Old Croc said:

Rubbish!

As usual.

5 hours ago, norsurin said:

Dont invest in anything in Thailand..its a really risky business.U can't trust this country at all.

He is not investing he is buying somewhere to live for 20 years. If he chooses the right place place it is well worth doing. Certainly NOT a ground floor condo in Arcadia.