Forget the arguments about price or is it better to rent as you've done that already and decided to buy. Just what makes you decide condo A over condo B ?

For me:

Location - perhaps because Pattaya is so big, does location matter ? For me, I'm not sure.

Large pool - I love a big pool, the bigger the better. I cannot consider a small pool.

Onsite facilities - often overlooked but I value these highly. Even a 500m walk to 7/11 feels like a drag some days.

You can decorate or upgrade as it is your own place.

Anything else ?

Most people who have been here a while

would consider the noise factor a high

prority .

Buy 2 studios preferably next to each other. One you can have a separte guest room if needed and they are the easiest to sell if you find yourself sepearted , divorced or needing the money. We have a 15th floor studio Jomtien View Talay 2A and on our 2-3 month stays I never tire of the view. The other side is noisy from Theprassit Road. Never regretted buying it 6 years ago in my wife's name - it's her base if I go first which I probably will and we mothball and fanatically clean everything when we come back to the UK and it's in great nick when we come back. If you are buying along buy farang name. Also maybe rent for a while before buying so you can check the vibe.

Location: driving has become quite risky, the less I drive, the better.

Noise: both street noise and, more importantly, noise from neighbors. My biggest concern is ending up with someone blasting their TV early in the morning when I’m usually asleep.

Common area regularly maintained.

Gym: I’ve been training daily for years.

Residents: a condo I really liked a few years ago has turned into a ghetto full of stoners, partygoers and bar girls.

Location near the baht bus route may be useful, or walkable to where you may go.

Is the condo well maintained, if not it gets worse and will be difficult to sell, check the last AGM or EGM minutes to see if a big liability ahead like new lifts.

Buy in foreign quota, don't get conned into buying in thai company name or girlfriend's name.

A nice size usable balcony with some view is a good thing

32 minutes ago, sustanon said:

Location: driving has become quite risky, the less I drive, the better.

Noise: both street noise and, more importantly, noise from neighbors. My biggest concern is ending up with someone blasting their TV early in the morning when I’m usually asleep.

Common area regularly maintained.

Gym: I’ve been training daily for years.

Residents: a condo I really liked a few years ago has turned into a ghetto full of stoners, partygoers and bar girls.

Where is this ?

I know the Arcadia international condominium has turned into this

So I rented in the OLYMPUS condo Airbnb

The owner had the condo for sale at 2million baht

Never would I buy it because the balcony face over the footpath to another balcony opposite

They can watch you

Another condo was 2 floors up above the pool ,too noisy

Learn to look for incidentals that could happen

1 hour ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

Buy 2 studios preferably next to each other. One you can have a separte guest room if needed and they are the easiest to sell if you find yourself sepearted , divorced or needing the money. We have a 15th floor studio Jomtien View Talay 2A and on our 2-3 month stays I never tire of the view. The other side is noisy from Theprassit Road.

This is good input, my teenage daughters wanted to sleep over their friends houses on weekends, I didn't know their friends parents and wouldn't allow it.

So a few years ago I bought two condos, side by side.

I told my daughters they could spend the night in one of the condos and bring their friends and I would sleep next door.

Over the years my daughters have grown up and lost interest so I keep one livable and one tidy for my girlfriend's.

1 minute ago, georgegeorgia said:

They can watch you

They can watch you, sounds familiar, you visiting Flybird, walking down the corridors, checking out the occupants who would leave their door open. 👀

11 minutes ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

This is good input, my teenage daughters wanted to sleep over their friends houses on weekends, I didn't know their friends parents and wouldn't allow it.

So a few years ago I bought two condos, side by side.

I told my daughters they could spend the night in one of the condos and bring their friends and I would sleep next door.

Over the years my daughters have grown up and lost interest so I keep one livable and one tidy for my girlfriend's.

We only have one but keep our eyes out for a second at a good price as we are good friends with an agent in the building and know the market. I would be quite happy with another on a different floor if necessary as there are always times as a couple when you want time out from living cheek by jowl. Also check out the condo committee - a good farang one will best a Thai one in Pattaya any day. In the more budget end condos Thais seem reluctant to spend any baht on the upkeep and always seem to think the committee is out to rob them. Though in many cases that might be true !

Location, quality of the building, and people who cares for the maintenance, facilities such as gym, sauna, swimming pool, good ample parking, high floor, preferably with minimum number of neighbours, and of course, a sea view,

if you can all the above, buy the place.

52 minutes ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

They can watch you, sounds familiar, you visiting Flybird, walking down the corridors, checking out the occupants who would leave their door open. 👀

Speaking of Flybird, it's a great location, loads of agogo girls living there, lots of foreigners drinking on the steps adjacent 7-Eleven and extremely cheap.

It has a swimming pool but last time I drove by it was empty

Echo most of the points made already.

1. Must be on the baht bus route.

2. Must be walkable to bars/restaurants/beach in case the traffic too bad.

3. Preferably not in Central Pattaya, too crazy now.

4. Preferably a corner unit to reduce neighbours and get better airflow and light.

5. Preferably an older unit, bigger size, cheaper and better build quality

6. Check financial statements for a good financial position

7. Preferably not overlooking the pool or bars nearby.

8. A good view not looking straight into another condo. High floors OK

9. Most have gyms but maybe not that important for some

10. A good sized pool of course not in the shade.

11. A 7/11 close by which most will have

12. Undercover parking

Most has been already covered.

So regret duplications. But you asked us generally.

Me - aside from price:

1. Location and Freehold - mixed commercial/residential - more upmarket and away from the chaos/drunks, etc. (yet easy enough to walk to services, supermarket, hospital, etc.)

2. Unobstructed view of the water would be nice

3. Parking for one car included

4. Size of condo (min 90 sqm)

5. Age of condo/condition - no more than 15 years old and visibily in decent condition inside/out

6. Western kitchen in good shape (with a real oven and four burner cook top - not just a built-in microwave with a hotplate)

7. Decent gym with weight machines for upper and lower body

8. Mix of Thai and Western/Asian neighbours

9. Shaded pool area

10. Condominium accounts and up-to-date payments from owners on maintenance

11. Obviously less than 50% foreigners (to buy legally)

12. Condo JP rules: No AirBnB or similar short-term rentals

13. No rentals at all would be better - but unlikely

4 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

Where is this ?

I know the Arcadia international condominium has turned into this

arcadia continental

If you wanted to buy a Pattaya condo, what would you consider most ?

Psychiatric evaluation would be a good start.

A lot of very good replies already, especially from ezzra, ronnie50, and henryford1958. Spouse and I have owned about 16 condos in Pattaya, a rather wide variety from View Talay studios to a large 3 bedroom/3bath that felt like a beachfront cottage. From south Jomtien to Wongamat, and a number of points in-between. We no longer own any condos in Pattaya, having moved on to a pool villa on the Darkside, but if we were buying again these are some things we would be considering:

Location: Think about what an average week is like and where you are mostly spending your time. Look for a condo in that area.

View. Every condo we bought had a seaview, which we wanted and was a requirement. We found many buyers also wanted a seaview, and our seaview condos were mostly easy to resell at a profit.

Foreign Quota. Except for two exceptions, all the condos we bought in Pattaya were in foreign quota. With our experience, we would only buy in foreign quota if we bought in the future.

Illegal Daily Rental Issue. We owned several condos in projects that became overrun with illegal daily renters, making the project feel like a disorderly hotel. This was especially a problem with several very large new projects we bought at with around 1000 units, with many of the units hotel room-sized. Buying again, we would look for an older, smaller project with the majority of the units larger-sized. The last condo we owned was at Northshore, which fit the above quite nicely. If buying at a large, newer project, check how they are handling illegal short-term rentals of less than 30 days.

Financials/Building Upkeep. When we have selected a project, the next step is to look at the projects financials and how the project is being maintained. Check the annual report, if possible, talk to some of the residents, and walk the property yourself. Make several visits, both day and evening. Pay attention to things that are sometimes overlooked, like parking if you have a car--try to check that on a weekend evening.

For those looking, good luck with your search.

6 hours ago, SGD said:

Forget the arguments about price or is it better to rent as you've done that already and decided to buy. Just what makes you decide condo A over condo B ?

For me:

Location - perhaps because Pattaya is so big, does location matter ? For me, I'm not sure.

Large pool - I love a big pool, the bigger the better. I cannot consider a small pool.

Onsite facilities - often overlooked but I value these highly. Even a 500m walk to 7/11 feels like a drag some days.

You can decorate or upgrade as it is your own place.

Anything else ?

to start with the management and economy

Maintenance fees is paid by most and future upgrades planned.

Common facilities such as swimming pool (pools) er maintained well

No Airbn or short term rentals if Im going to live there myself

Good old quality building not these cheap mock ups like they builds now

Higher floors but not top floor.

Sunset and sea view preferred

A 7/11 or simular next door of course

Noise and traffic

7 hours ago, Jim Blue said:

Most people who have been here a while

would consider the noise factor a high

prority .

I live in a rented condo, 10 floors above nearby Jomtien 2nd Rd and the noise in incessant, 24/7. Before buying any property, one should try to rent nearby for at least a month so the areas characteristics, day & night are revealed.

#1. A very high and incredibly stable rail on the balcony!

9 hours ago, SGD said:

Forget the arguments about price or is it better to rent as you've done that already and decided to buy. Just what makes you decide condo A over condo B ?

For me:

Location - perhaps because Pattaya is so big, does location matter ? For me, I'm not sure.

Large pool - I love a big pool, the bigger the better. I cannot consider a small pool.

Onsite facilities - often overlooked but I value these highly. Even a 500m walk to 7/11 feels like a drag some days.

You can decorate or upgrade as it is your own place.

Anything else ?

Make sure the Condo project is properly managed and budgeted correctly with a 25 year Cap Ex budget plan. Most here are not and owners can be continually surprised with unbudgeted maintenance expenses and a continually declining building appearance, feel, function and VALUE. Buying here is easy, selling not so much so protect your asset value

Find a condo that is lived in by owners, offering a real community not somewhere with constant holiday makers.

8 hours ago, ezzra said:

Location, quality of the building, and people who cares for the maintenance, facilities such as gym, sauna, swimming pool, good ample parking, high floor, preferably with minimum number of neighbours, and of course, a sea view,

if you can all the above, buy the place.

I'm currently renting on a quiet condo in Jomtien. I've been here 2.5 years and they recently installed a face recognition set up to gain access to the lift.

Previously I've seen Air BNB folks with baggage waiting by the security card machine for someone to use their card to gain entry. That used to piss me off because they don't make good neighbors.Thats a feature I'd be looking for if I I were to consider buying.

I only go for 6 month contracts just in case I get the urge to move on because of a very noisy neighbor because the walls a thin in most condos.

I agree 100% about the noise problem not just by immediate neighbours

with the mortar and pestle, musical chairs, door slamming..but also the Karaoke or motorcycle race tuning shop popping up out of the blue

the packs of soi dogs and late night street racers..

Thailand is not a quiet country !

Nirin condos are fantastic. Walk to Big C what else do you want?

1. View

2. View

3. View

4. 65 sq2 or more

5. 2 separate living areas. ( e'g. living room and bedroom ). The wife and I need our own space.

Lived in and owned many condos and the view is what by far added the most value for my me but some would rather have 5 bedrooms and loads of "home".

For me, proper enforcement of the 'no short term let' rule would be top priority. Then I'd like to see the split in ownership nationality - this info is needed when buying to demonstrate the 49% rule, but if it shows a high % of Chinese or Indian owners, that would be a concern.

Then no vacant land next door, as that will become a building site in future.

Location, obviously, and I think Jomtien is better for living and you can always visit Pattaya beach for entertainment and malls.

1 hour ago, atpeace said:

The wife and I need our own space

Separate condos even better

1 hour ago, bkk6060 said:

Nirin condos are fantastic. Walk to Big C what else do you want?

That's over 500 metres, 1.1 kilometre round trip. I can't see most here doing that.

10 minutes ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

That's over 500 metres, 1.1 kilometre round trip. I can't see most here doing that.

and a dangerous walk, no pavement, so walking the gauntlet, more dangerous than a motorbike