Where Would You Buy In Pattaya/jomtien?

[colmx]

Hi All

Have just returned from another short (but enjoyable!) trip to LOS and laos.

After lugging that suitcase of mine around once again - I have decided that i would like to buy a small Condo in pattaya/Jomtien to use as a base when I'm in Thailand.

I'm 34, so don't intend to retire for a long time yet, this condo would simply be a home away from home an would hopefully be rented out from may-November and kept for my own/family/friends use from Dec-April.

The condo is not intended as an investment - but neither is it considered as throw away money!

My budget is around 3M Baht and the key factors I am looking for are:

- Foreign ownership

- On a baht bus route

- Close to beach or South Pattaya

- Not too far south in Jomtien (ie. would rather Dongtan area)

I'm not a beach person at all, but the sea breeze would be nice

I have condidered the following developments,woudl be interested in hearing other peoples opinions:

Centre Condo:

Stayed here for a month around 5 years ago, building was a little tired back then - especially in relation to the lifts, has it improved or got worse since then?

Has the closing of Hollywood made it less noisy around there?

What about noise from the school/Wat?

City Garden:

(Near welcome plaza on Soi Toyota Karaoke)Looks impressive but won't be finished for 2 years, also seems over priced with units starting and 4M Baht

Yensabai Condo:

I have heard bad things about the owners of the building itself... Still true?

Also not sure if i want family/visitors staying so close to Sunnee plaza!

View Talay 5:

Any comments?

Better than VT 1 and 2?

I see unfinished condos for sale at 2M and finished at 3M, is the hassle of (tastefully) decorating a condo worth 1M

Is it beter to have a condo on the Jomtien or Pattaya side?

(Jomtien = south facing so gets all the sun - not sure if this is a good or bad thing!)

Also i notice there is a building C and D... Anyone know if there are plans for building A and B that would effectively block out the views from the C+D buildings?

View Talay 3:

Not sure if i want to live on pratumnak

As above not sure which side of the building is best

View Talay 1+2:

Wht is the upkeep of these buildings like?

I think the apts look much smaller than those avilable in VT5 and 3?

Too far from beach and have to cross Thrappaya rd?

Royal Hill condo:

These look really nice from the outside.

Has anyone bought here?

Much Noise from traffic?

Too far from beach and have to cross Thrappaya rd?

Any comments?

Chateau Dale:

Looks nice, but not sure if i can get anything there for my budget

Anybody any other places that they recommend that i take into consideration?

[PattayaParent]

Centre Condo - Noise depends on what side of the building you are on, on the back end noise from the school and the market twice a week. Only in daytime though. Overlooking the Wat LOTS of noise during the cremations. Never knew about noise from Hollywood / South Road.

Yensabai Condo - yes management still bad, can avoid Sunnee Plaza easily by walking up and down the sois on either side or onto South Road.

VT 1 & 2 - I personally don't like them, like a rabbit warren / cell block. VT3? on Pratumnak is much nicer, I have no problems living in Pratumnak, very quiet and close to the beach.

Royal Hill - quality of construction (rendered walls / floor tiling) not good, would need to spend money yourself to fix it but good value per m2.

Chateau Dale - poolside noisy at weekends and other side overlooks View Talay 1 so no view. Nice place but I think overpriced for your budget.

[wineaux]

Tara Court - Pratamnak area might suit you if there are any left..

[torrenova]

You don't say how big you want or whether you want to spend all your 3m but I'd buy in VT2. Why ? I lived there so I really do know it. Get a high floor and on the back of the building (like hel_l do you want the sun roasting you all day).

A one bed made from 2 x 37sqm units (74sqm) would likely be over your budget but you might just get one within. That is the smallest 1 bed I think whereas the largest studios are 46sqm.

If you are not living there then there is no way you can contemplate a shell and you doing the fit out.

If you get a one bed, you might get a few rentals at a few weeks here and there but you probably won't get a 6 month rental as people often want to extend.

[colmx]

Hi All

Thanks for your inputs so far!

Just wondering what people thought of Jomtien Plaza Condotel?

Also nobody seems to comment at all on VT5, is that because its so bad or so good?

I believe the blocks there are smaller thant VT1 or 2 - so i guess they are less "russian" looking?

I have seen some bargain properties online, but unfort they will be gone by the time I get back in April!

Anyone care to comment on how long it takes to "close" a sale once I find my dream place?

Thanks in Advance

[think_too_mut]

I have seen some bargain properties online, but unfort they will be gone by the time I get back in April!

Don't worry, not only they won't be gone, they might be sitting unsold for next 10-20 years or forever.

Bargains online? No such thing. You have to be on the ground for bargains.

[ace]

No need to rush it. I would first go to Fair Properties (big estate agent next to one of the VTs) and say " this is my budget, what you got?"

Pick some potentials.

Let them taxi you around and take a look for a couple of days.

Refer to the good advice available on this forum and make a decision.

Haggle.

Buy.

With 3M budget for Jomtien I would expect unobstructed sea view, high floor and seperate bedroom(s) at least.

[PattayaParent]

I think VT5 may be out of your budget which is why you've received no comments.

Kieng Talay is on Soi 6 Pratumnak, within your budget but not very nice.

Tara Court is a good suggestion but probably sold their 51% already.

Hyde Park but I think they have sold their 51% Farang allocation.

I too have seen some good bargains on the Internet only to find they've gone when 'phoning the agent. Guess they were either really a bargain or just bait to get you interested. Some of the 'bargains' may also be only in Thai or company names.

Jomtien Plaza is the one that's having the new big VT built slap bang in front of it blocking the sea views, but if you don't care about the view you may pick up a bargain there.

Sombat Condo is cheap but a bit nasty looking from outside but I have heard that they are going to spend some money on doing it up.

As for closing the sale, if you have the money already in the bank here it'll take half a day at the land office to make the transfer.

[Ungabunga]

New project, started construction called 'The Lofts Pratumnak'. This is next to the tennis courts of the Royal Cliff Hotel - just past Executive residence 2,3&4 on the left hand side. Note: this is not to be confused with the Lofts 'southshore' project that Raimon land are going to do later this year. Prices here are cheaper than most, style of building looks good, modern.

Hasn't been advertised yet, but drove past and seen the sign. Seems like the developer's friends and associates get the pick of the crop before it's offered up to Joe public.

[colmx]

Hi All

Thanks to everyone for their input so far... I'm still scouring the property sites looking at available property in Jomtien/Pattaya

Something keeps drawing me to Royal Hill Condotel and Hyde park residence...

RHC always caught my eye on teh way to Jomtien

HPR's location intrigues me as its quite close to where BF used to Live (soi Sattee) and a loction we both like for its convenience to both town and jomtien.

Anybody here been to See Hyde Park Residence?

I believe there is a HPR2 on the cards now...

Also wondering if anyone had any opinions on "Suan Sawarn"

http://suansawarn.com/

They don't give any address or location for the development - just that they are 700M from the beach...

I am really interested in their innovativ and smart duplex designs..

Anyone know what part of Jomtien they are in?

Anybody got any comments on the development?

Thanks in Advance (again!)

[PattayaParent]

Hyde Park is fuill of the foreign ownership percentage but go check it out and if you can wait until HP2 is complete I think it'll be good. I've seen the developers renovations works in other condos and IMO it's a good quality build.

Royal Hils on the other hand is very poor quality but at least it's cheap. If you're prepared to spend money to upgrade your own place , retiling floors, plastering walls and and replacing ill fitting doors for starters and don't mind the poor quality corridor finishings then it may be good value for you.

Suan Awan will be good I think, it's near The Residence and The Park in Jomtien.

[suansawarn]

Hi All

Thanks to everyone for their input so far... I'm still scouring the property sites looking at available property in Jomtien/Pattaya

Something keeps drawing me to Royal Hill Condotel and Hyde park residence...

RHC always caught my eye on teh way to Jomtien

HPR's location intrigues me as its quite close to where BF used to Live (soi Sattee) and a loction we both like for its convenience to both town and jomtien.

Anybody here been to See Hyde Park Residence?

I believe there is a HPR2 on the cards now...

Also wondering if anyone had any opinions on "Suan Sawarn"

http://suansawarn.com/

They don't give any address or location for the development - just that they are 700M from the beach...

I am really interested in their innovativ and smart duplex designs..

Anyone know what part of Jomtien they are in?

Anybody got any comments on the development?

Thanks in Advance (again!)

Hi my name is Peter,

I am in and out of Thailand since many years and I have been renting apartments here for 3 years now. I am working in Asia and Thailand is my base during projects. October last year I have been looking for a new place as my landlord planned to sell his apartment. During my search for an apartment to rent I saw some pictures of Suan Sawarn and I visited the showroom. I have bought instantly one of the last units in foreign ownership at that time!!!

• I loved the design!
  

• Loft like 5 meter ceiling height in the living room dining and kitchen area separated from the living area with the stair and space for an office space upstairs where you look down to the living room!
  

• The place is great value for money!
  

• The whole furniture is included and it is OK quality and I like the style!
  

• So when completed I don't need to spend extra time for anything – just to move in!
  

• The location is right (1350 [not 700m sorry] m by road away from the beach not 700m - Soi 6 and 900 m from road 2 where construction has now started)!
  

• This is a distance you can easily walk or ride by bike and motorcycle! Motorcycles are cheap and convenient way to get around here but one should be driving carefully.
  

• I like the size of the project as it is not to small but also not one of these huge blocks like View Taley which would fit more to eastern Germany 30 years ago!
  The developer TAG Group Thailand is trustworthy and has several projects in the area ongoing or almost completed.
  http://www.thepark-jomtien.com
  http://www.jomtien-park-villas.com
  

They have started construction late December which was on schedule and they have initiated a phase 2 where I got the information quite early and I have bought 4 units as investment.

I was that convinced about the concept design and value for money that I could not resist!

I have bought following units for resell which are under foreign ownership:

Building E:

4th floor (is in reality 7 and 8 due to duplex construction)Unit Nr. 54 and 64

3rd floor (is in reality 5 and 6 due to duplex construction) Unit Nr. 47

Building F:

3rd Floor (is in reality 5 and 6 due to duplex construction) Unit Nr. 29

The location map is attached and so is the building layout.

The building itself has 5 floors (4 times 2 storied apartments and the 5th floor is a single story layout) so the 4th floor is just one down from the roof and the highest floor for a double unit.

All these are 2 storied unites with 65 m2, which ends up to 40m2 ground floor and the second less due to the open space in the living area which gives a great felling due to the loft like architecture and the 5 m ceiling height. 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom everything fully furnished (everything except the decoration items on the pictures on their HP http://suansawarn.com/ is included – even the TV).

The only downside is that it takes more than a year until the apartments are finished.

But considering the price and comparing it to other projects it is certainly worth waiting.

What I can say is that I have been looking around for quite some time here and this was the best deal I run ever into and this still applies even for the price of now 2.8 Mio Bath.

Anyone who is interested can contact me through this forum!

• I can not recommend buying anywhere where you don't know enough about the developer and I would never buy anything in a View Talay for a view reasons.
  

• Most importantly these are empty shells which many people buy and then that's how they stay for years until the finishing starts.
  

• This makes often terrible noise and you have construction all the time in the building whereby when you buy anything in an apartment which has bathroom floors ceiling and kitchen done you don't need to worry. Besides the buildings are seriously the ugliest pieces of architecture you can find in the whole area and I would not like to live there at all. But this is pure personal taste and others will think different. Sad though!
  

• I would also not buy anything in any old building as wherever the building has reached 10 to 15 years you will have a lot of resell and renovations with again noise. I have been a view times in my old apartment in Baan Suan Lalana and also in my new one only for one week and it was Mo till Fr construction ongoing in neighbor apartments from 8.00am till 6.00pm. This can really spoil your trip!
  

• Look what a building asks for maintenance and if they offer anything less than 30 Bath per SQM ask yourself if you like to live in a place which will deteriorate due to lousy maintenance.
  

• Always look at the developer closely as it can be serious shit if the company does not develop what they are supposed to be developing and you loose your initial payments or end up in years of waiting.
  

• This is especially important if you buy in the early stage of a project and does not matter if the construction is finished as by then you have the history of the developer in concrete in front of you.
  
• I would only buy under foreign ownership as Thai laws have sharpened up and I would not really trust these company constructions used to buy property to be a save way forever.
  

So my tip is that Suan Sawarn is one of the hottest places around but there are many others as well most of them are costing more money though and don't have the same smart concept and this one would fit your budget.

Now one could say I have to have this opinion because I have some units for sell there which is true because this is exactly the reason why I bought them in the first place.

I hope I could provide some help and Ideas what to look for.

Very best regards,

Peter

Suan_Sawarn_Building_E_and_F.pdf

[trotski]

Hi,

I have bought in Tara Court and am very happy indeed with the quality of the finishes and the management there. The whole operation is very professional and efficient, . Not the cheapest (and boy am I thankful I got my funds into Thailand last year and not looking to do so at todays exchange rate) but was the best I saw by a mile when I was looking at property last year. At that time I lalso looked at a duplex penthouse at Royal Hill and whilst the apartment was nice and the finishes seemed ok I was not very impressed with the corridors and common areas quality wise. The killer for me was when I opened the balcony doors and the road noise hit me, lets just say it was loud and I just could not see myself sitting out there watching the sunset with a glass of wine with that level of traffic noise.

I also looked at the Park at Jomptien (one of the TAG developments) and it looks like that will be really nice, but it was just too far out for me and not on a baht bus route so would need your own transport.

Dont know if any of this helps.

Trotski