Baan Sathorn Chaopraya

[petercr]

I'm considering a purchase at Baan Sathorn, Chaopraya

Does anyone have first hand experience of this condo. There seems top be a wide variation in pricing for units of similar specification and previous post have not been complimentory.

Would appreciate comment from existing/previous owners

Thanks

[london]

I'm considering a purchase at Baan Sathorn, Chaopraya

Does anyone have first hand experience of this condo. There seems top be a wide variation in pricing for units of similar specification and previous post have not been complimentory.

Would appreciate comment from existing/previous owners

Thanks

Its a converted Office development that didn't sell.

Bad design for a condo...but if you look at it as an Office building, you'll see it makes sense.

Oh, my advice is DON'T touch it.

[midas]

I'm considering a purchase at Baan Sathorn, Chaopraya

Does anyone have first hand experience of this condo. There seems top be a wide variation in pricing for units of similar specification and previous post have not been complimentory.

Would appreciate comment from existing/previous owners

Thanks

Its a converted Office development that didn't sell.

Bad design for a condo...but if you look at it as an Office building, you'll see it makes sense.

Oh, my advice is DON'T touch it.

SECONDED !!! This was an extremely amateurish redvelopment / refurbishment

When the few buyers looked at suing the developers for some major defects, the developers threatened to

go into bankruptcy :Jones Lang Lasalle had the management initially and for several reasons they were almost sued

as well ! You can rent there but as far as buying dont touch it with a barge pole

[Serpico]

I visited this project a few times.

Don't like the location or the building. I don't know who designed it but you can easily see into the neighbors bathrooms.

There is an empty lot in front that will someday get developed and the highway/bridge on the other side is NOISY.

I say. Avoid.

[BangkokWildcat]

I too seriously looked at this place (3 times) but in the end am soooo glad I didn't buy into it. Some of the owners have sat on unused units since they opened and still trying to sell at ridiculous prices.

I ended up just down the street at Watermark and am glad I did. Everyday when I take my boat past this this place I look at it and it looks just like the office building it was intended to be. In addition the walls are paper thin. The balconies are also pitiful. Like the other poster said, rent there should be ok but don't buy unless you've considered all these factors into your pricing. Just my opinion.

[trogers]

I too seriously looked at this place (3 times) but in the end am soooo glad I didn't buy into it. Some of the owners have sat on unused units since they opened and still trying to sell at ridiculous prices.

I ended up just down the street at Watermark and am glad I did. Everyday when I take my boat past this this place I look at it and it looks just like the office building it was intended to be. In addition the walls are paper thin. The balconies are also pitiful. Like the other poster said, rent there should be ok but don't buy unless you've considered all these factors into your pricing. Just my opinion.

Walls are paper thin because the structure of an office building was designed mainly on open office concept with some lightweight gypsum partitions in mind. Thus, the structure cannot bear the weight of the many blockwalls of a residential building.

Second problem converting an office building into a residential block is that the finished units tend to be too narrow and deep, resulting in poor natural ventilation and light in the inner spaces.

Edited July 21, 2009 by trogers

[somefellow]

I too seriously looked at this place (3 times) but in the end am soooo glad I didn't buy into it. Some of the owners have sat on unused units since they opened and still trying to sell at ridiculous prices.

I ended up just down the street at Watermark and am glad I did. Everyday when I take my boat past this this place I look at it and it looks just like the office building it was intended to be. In addition the walls are paper thin. The balconies are also pitiful. Like the other poster said, rent there should be ok but don't buy unless you've considered all these factors into your pricing. Just my opinion.

Walls are paper thin because the structure of an office building was designed mainly on open office concept with some lightweight gypsum partitions in mind. Thus, the structure cannot bear the weight of the many blockwalls of a residential building.

Second problem converting an office building into a residential block is that the finished units tend to be too narrow and deep, resulting in poor natural ventilation and light in the inner spaces.

Wow I'm glad I checked these forums for comments. I just looked at this place yesterday for me, my fiance and kid. I had a pretty favorable impression of it. The prices seemed quite reasonable (though I am new to the buying market here and dont have much to compare to yet).

I'm wondering if the down sides are perhaps rolled into the prices already?

I will look at the watermark. I'm interested in general in places that are in this general area. I suspect they will be a bit cheaper than around sapan thaksin or further into the city area, but still with easy acess.

As far as the specific criticisms are concerned - paper thin walls? The unit I am looking at has minimal overlap with other units. It's a 234 square meter "penthouse" they call it, though it seems odd to me to have like 20 or 30 "penthouses" in one building.

The walls of this specific unit have minimal overlap with other units, and there is a long wall along a hallway, though I assume that wont be much of an issue. As far as the loo is concerned, it doesnt seem to me that anyone could see me in the loo (and I'd feel more sorry for them than for myself anyway).

The balcony is kind of pitiful, I admit. The lighting in this unit is excellent though.

I will go see more places in the area and compare, but if the pricing is relatively cheap compared to other places I might go with the disadvantages if they can be lived with.

Of maybe more concern is a sign I saw in the elevator. It said there was an "Emergency meeting" of condo owners to discuss budget issues. Apparently only 10% showed up to the last one and the note said thai condo law says 25% or more need to show up to make a quorum. So they scheduled a second session and were urging everyone to show up. Uhm..... is this business as usual for a condo or something more spooky? I've always felt uneasy about the idea of a condo in that my investment depends on the behavior of everyone else in the building as well. A standalone house isnt an option in this area, but nonetheless....

Should this spook me out?

Edited June 24, 2010 by somefellow

[quiksilva]

Sounds normal to me.

I think despite the sign, you'll probably find it was an EGM (Extraordinary General Meeting). Quite normal to hold one if they cant get a quorum at a previous EGM or AGM.

I have known Thai "professionals" refer to these as Emergency meetings, unaware that the E stands for Extraordinary due to a poor command of English.

[somefellow]

Sounds normal to me.

I think despite the sign, you'll probably find it was an EGM (Extraordinary General Meeting). Quite normal to hold one if they cant get a quorum at a previous EGM or AGM.

I have known Thai "professionals" refer to these as Emergency meetings, unaware that the E stands for Extraordinary due to a poor command of English.

Very possible.

The quality of the english translations in the elevators was absolutely abysmal. Among the worst I've seen in thailand.

One of the signs about not abusing the library was practically indecipherable.

[petercr]

I decided not to proceed with this condo as there we too many negative reports from existing owners

:jap:

[midas]

I too seriously looked at this place (3 times) but in the end am soooo glad I didn't buy into it. Some of the owners have sat on unused units since they opened and still trying to sell at ridiculous prices.

I ended up just down the street at Watermark and am glad I did. Everyday when I take my boat past this this place I look at it and it looks just like the office building it was intended to be. In addition the walls are paper thin. The balconies are also pitiful. Like the other poster said, rent there should be ok but don't buy unless you've considered all these factors into your pricing. Just my opinion.

Walls are paper thin because the structure of an office building was designed mainly on open office concept with some lightweight gypsum partitions in mind. Thus, the structure cannot bear the weight of the many blockwalls of a residential building.

Second problem converting an office building into a residential block is that the finished units tend to be too narrow and deep, resulting in poor natural ventilation and light in the inner spaces.

Wow I'm glad I checked these forums for comments. I just looked at this place yesterday for me, my fiance and kid. I had a pretty favorable impression of it. The prices seemed quite reasonable (though I am new to the buying market here and dont have much to compare to yet).

I'm wondering if the down sides are perhaps rolled into the prices already?

I will look at the watermark. I'm interested in general in places that are in this general area. I suspect they will be a bit cheaper than around sapan thaksin or further into the city area, but still with easy acess.

As far as the specific criticisms are concerned - paper thin walls? The unit I am looking at has minimal overlap with other units. It's a 234 square meter "penthouse" they call it, though it seems odd to me to have like 20 or 30 "penthouses" in one building.

The walls of this specific unit have minimal overlap with other units, and there is a long wall along a hallway, though I assume that wont be much of an issue. As far as the loo is concerned, it doesnt seem to me that anyone could see me in the loo (and I'd feel more sorry for them than for myself anyway).

The balcony is kind of pitiful, I admit. The lighting in this unit is excellent though.

I will go see more places in the area and compare, but if the pricing is relatively cheap compared to other places I might go with the disadvantages if they can be lived with.

Of maybe more concern is a sign I saw in the elevator. It said there was an "Emergency meeting" of condo owners to discuss budget issues. Apparently only 10% showed up to the last one and the note said thai condo law says 25% or more need to show up to make a quorum. So they scheduled a second session and were urging everyone to show up. Uhm..... is this business as usual for a condo or something more spooky? I've always felt uneasy about the idea of a condo in that my investment depends on the behavior of everyone else in the building as well. A standalone house isnt an option in this area, but nonetheless....

Should this spook me out?

These things are minor

You should ask someone to tell you te story of the external cladding

They had used cut price methods to fix those huge panels to the building

and when independant engineers were called in there was panic they would

be blown away in strong storm...it was that flimsy.

Imagine one those falling on someone

And I would say the same cut price standards applied in many other areas as well.

Lipstick on a pig !

[trogers]

And I would say the same cut price standards applied in many other areas as well.

Lipstick on a pig !

Makes one wonders if the fire staircases are pressurized in the event of a fire...