Condo Unit Selling Without Renovation

[yjysko]

I am planning to sell a condo unit (approximately 350+sqm.) without renovation. It is in poor condition so the potential buyer will have to do it him or herself. Is there a way to find out the estimated cost of renovation to reduce the price of the unit?

Thank you.

[malcolminthemiddle]

Obviously depends on a number of factors such as quality of materials used to renovate, number of bathrooms and grade of the condo building.

350 m2 is a big condo.

How much does the following add up to then add 10% contingency? I'd guess 3 - 4 million?

250K per each bathroom

650K for kitchen incl cabinets & wall/ceiling finishes

250K for kitchen appliances

400K upgrade AC

50K new internal doors

15K new hardware

30K new light fittings

30K new power and ancillary fittings

200K lighting

200K misc

2500 per m2 floor finishing in living areas excluding kitchen and bathrooms

750 per m2 wall and ceiling finishing in living areas excluding kitchen and bathrooms

10,000 per m built in units

Edited August 7, 2009 by malcolminthemiddle

[trogers]

Using the star grading system of hotels - which star ranking would you say your condo is suited to? How you grade will depend on the location of your condo building, its neighbourhood, and the state of its common area. No point spending Bt30k/m2 to do up a Nirun class of condo building.

[jerrylee]

also leaky windows, new frames etc.

Plumbings.

[tangoll]

For brand new condo units from top developers, to renovate to high standard, you can budget about 10,000 baht per sqm, and this would include all equipment, like TV, kitchen stove and hood, refrigerator, washing machine, etc as well as nice wallpaper, built-in closets, sofas, dining table and chairs, beds, etc.

Just go to Index or SB furniture in MBK and ask them for full package renovation for units of size 100, 200 sqms, etc.

[trogers]

For brand new condo units from top developers, to renovate to high standard, you can budget about 10,000 baht per sqm, and this would include all equipment, like TV, kitchen stove and hood, refrigerator, washing machine, etc as well as nice wallpaper, built-in closets, sofas, dining table and chairs, beds, etc.

Just go to Index or SB furniture in MBK and ask them for full package renovation for units of size 100, 200 sqms, etc.

That's a budget for furniture and electrical items.

OP said his condo is in poor condition....

[Chunkton]

Obviously depends on a number of factors such as quality of materials used to renovate, number of bathrooms and grade of the condo building.

350 m2 is a big condo.

How much does the following add up to then add 10% contingency? I'd guess 3 - 4 million?

250K per each bathroom - 60k

650K for kitchen incl cabinets & wall/ceiling finishes - 180K

250K for kitchen appliances - 30k

400K upgrade AC - 100k

50K new internal doors - 15k

15K new hardware

30K new light fittings - 20k

30K new power and ancillary fittings - 20k

200K lighting

200K misc

2500 per m2 floor finishing in living areas excluding kitchen and bathrooms

750 per m2 wall and ceiling finishing in living areas excluding kitchen and bathrooms

10,000 per m built in units

I haven't done all your numbers, but I am in Chiang Mai, don't know where you are, but it seems we live in different worlds. Agree 350 sqm is big. These are prices on good quality, not 5 star but good. And yes I have done quite a few, and as I am sure you would agree each one gets better as you learn.

[malcolminthemiddle]

I haven't done all your numbers, but I am in Chiang Mai, don't know where you are, but it seems we live in different worlds. Agree 350 sqm is big. These are prices on good quality, not 5 star but good. And yes I have done quite a few, and as I am sure you would agree each one gets better as you learn.

It does seem we live with different standards.

[BEENTHEREDONETHAT]

We did our 255 m2 condo, it was 10yrs old never been lived in, 4BR, 4Ba in Cha Am. Did a first class job including replacing plumbing, adding lots of lights and power points, dropped ceilings, refinished floor, replaced doors, took out windows replaced working parts and seals (pretty much waste of money they still leak in driving rain) added cornice and put in all new skirting. Completely upgraded kitchen and four bathrooms with granite and marble. Took six months cost 2 million plus furniture.

Done by Thai contractor did very good work but very slow, happy with the results.

[trogers]

took out windows replaced working parts and seals (pretty much waste of money they still leak in driving rain) added cornice and put in all new skirting.

Windows are probably sliding aluminium type...

[Gary A]

I think the OP got square feet and square meters mixed up.

[yjysko]

Using the star grading system of hotels - which star ranking would you say your condo is suited to? How you grade will depend on the location of your condo building, its neighbourhood, and the state of its common area. No point spending Bt30k/m2 to do up a Nirun class of condo building.

I'm not sure which star rating it would go under currently. The unit is in Le Raffine Sukhumvit 24.

[trogers]

Using the star grading system of hotels - which star ranking would you say your condo is suited to? How you grade will depend on the location of your condo building, its neighbourhood, and the state of its common area. No point spending Bt30k/m2 to do up a Nirun class of condo building.

I'm not sure which star rating it would go under currently. The unit is in Le Raffine Sukhumvit 24.

I would say 5 star. That is prime condo location, across the road from Resort in Town. The building was completed about the same time as President Park up the street.

Here is an example of a renovated unit on the 6th floor of the same building:

http://www.condobangkok.com/productdetail....D=104&pic=3

I would budget Bt20k/m2 for a normal unit, and Bt24k/m2 for a duplex.

Budget covers total refurbishment - removing existing ceiling and floor finishes, replace all electrical and plumbing, demolish and rebuild some walls, total bathroom remodelling, etc.

[Serpico]

The super deluxe renovation I am looking at costs 25,000/sqm.

Real teak, marble, built in furniture, lighting, good appliances.

I suspect it might creep up another 10 or 20%.

[trogers]

The super deluxe renovation I am looking at costs 25,000/sqm.

Real teak, marble, built in furniture, lighting, good appliances.

I suspect it might creep up another 10 or 20%.

Yup. Six star grade may hit Bt30k/m2 as mentioned earlier. But I think such spending is not suitable for a 15 year old building.

[yjysko]

Using the star grading system of hotels - which star ranking would you say your condo is suited to? How you grade will depend on the location of your condo building, its neighbourhood, and the state of its common area. No point spending Bt30k/m2 to do up a Nirun class of condo building.

I'm not sure which star rating it would go under currently. The unit is in Le Raffine Sukhumvit 24.

I would say 5 star. That is prime condo location, across the road from Resort in Town. The building was completed about the same time as President Park up the street.

Here is an example of a renovated unit on the 6th floor of the same building:

http://www.condobangkok.com/productdetail....D=104&pic=3

I would budget Bt20k/m2 for a normal unit, and Bt24k/m2 for a duplex.

Budget covers total refurbishment - removing existing ceiling and floor finishes, replace all electrical and plumbing, demolish and rebuild some walls, total bathroom remodelling, etc.

Wow. That is big money to cut down from valued price.

[trogers]

I would say 5 star. That is prime condo location, across the road from Resort in Town. The building was completed about the same time as President Park up the street.

Here is an example of a renovated unit on the 6th floor of the same building:

http://www.condobangkok.com/productdetail....D=104&pic=3

I would budget Bt20k/m2 for a normal unit, and Bt24k/m2 for a duplex.

Budget covers total refurbishment - removing existing ceiling and floor finishes, replace all electrical and plumbing, demolish and rebuild some walls, total bathroom remodelling, etc.

Wow. That is big money to cut down from valued price.

A few large units (>250m2) at President Park were recently auctioned at around Bt45-47k/m2, also in poor condition.

My guess is that this old unit at Le Raffine will be valued around Bt50-53k/m2, being nearer to the BTS.

[donx]

I would say 5 star. That is prime condo location, across the road from Resort in Town. The building was completed about the same time as President Park up the street.

Here is an example of a renovated unit on the 6th floor of the same building:

http://www.condobangkok.com/productdetail....D=104&pic=3

I would budget Bt20k/m2 for a normal unit, and Bt24k/m2 for a duplex.

Budget covers total refurbishment - removing existing ceiling and floor finishes, replace all electrical and plumbing, demolish and rebuild some walls, total bathroom remodelling, etc.

Wow. That is big money to cut down from valued price.

A few large units (>250m2) at President Park were recently auctioned at around Bt45-47k/m2, also in poor condition.

My guess is that this old unit at Le Raffine will be valued around Bt50-53k/m2, being nearer to the BTS.

Before or after the renovation?

[trogers]

I would say 5 star. That is prime condo location, across the road from Resort in Town. The building was completed about the same time as President Park up the street.

Here is an example of a renovated unit on the 6th floor of the same building:

http://www.condobangkok.com/productdetail....D=104&pic=3

I would budget Bt20k/m2 for a normal unit, and Bt24k/m2 for a duplex.

Budget covers total refurbishment - removing existing ceiling and floor finishes, replace all electrical and plumbing, demolish and rebuild some walls, total bathroom remodelling, etc.

Wow. That is big money to cut down from valued price.

A few large units (>250m2) at President Park were recently auctioned at around Bt45-47k/m2, also in poor condition.

My guess is that this old unit at Le Raffine will be valued around Bt50-53k/m2, being nearer to the BTS.

Before or after the renovation?

Prices stated above are for condo units in poor conditions, thus, before renovation.

[donx]

A few large units (>250m2) at President Park were recently auctioned at around Bt45-47k/m2, also in poor condition.

My guess is that this old unit at Le Raffine will be valued around Bt50-53k/m2, being nearer to the BTS.

Before or after the renovation?

Prices stated above are for condo units in poor conditions, thus, before renovation.

I don't know why I didn't see those words in red in your previous post. Thank you for kindly pointing them out to me.

[yjysko]

A few large units (>250m2) at President Park were recently auctioned at around Bt45-47k/m2, also in poor condition.

My guess is that this old unit at Le Raffine will be valued around Bt50-53k/m2, being nearer to the BTS.

Before or after the renovation?

Prices stated above are for condo units in poor conditions, thus, before renovation.

I don't know why I didn't see those words in red in your previous post. Thank you for kindly pointing them out to me.

A friend has actually offered to do slight renovation for free! Walls, flooring, plumbing, lighting. Phew. Thanks for all your comments!

[FD333]

Yjysko

I am sure you meant to say a friend of your will do a reno for 'cost' rather than 'free' but that kind of sent a little red flag up to me.

Trogers has given some great info to you here which apparently you might not want/cannot spend in terms of budget.

That said I think there is something of a problem with Le Rafine in the sense that it is a five star location but could not be regarded as that attractive of a building in todays market. Unless I personally felt the price to be a bargain it would not even interest me and I would venture to look to a property such as The Madison for example. There is simply too much contemporary competition in the vicinity. I think this should give you pause to think what you really need to do.

You have said the friend is going to attend to electrics, flooring, plumbing, lighting etc but I have to ask why? This is still going to generate substantial costs without (I am presuming) actually presenting a finished product. It seems a little pointless to me as I do not feel confident that this would attract a buyer (after all if your friend is not making anything in the process I can't imagine it will be finessed to the highest degree). I think you are left with 2 distinct plans of action.

Plan A -Price it to sell

The first is the obvious - make it something of a bargain and try to sell 'as is' (Trogers has supplied some figures) If you purchased some time ago there should be some capital appreciation. I would clear out old funishings and strip back as simple as possible (probably even remove window treatments). I would then do a couple of cost effective things such as repaint for freshness and bring in a cleaning service to make sure floors, bathrooms and kitchen are as clean as possible, all windows spotless and pay to have them come in once a week to maintain it (it is remarkable how many apartments for sale are shown in a dusty, dirty state). Removing the furniture creates space and a buyer can potenially see what they might 'want to do' in terms of their own renovation.

I would also download the link which Trogers has supplied and be able to show what the unit could potentially look like. You can also have kitchen companies draught plans for a possible kitchen renovation (no cost to you at all) and be able to supply other renovation plans through interior design services (although in this case it would be taking advantage somewhat) In any case you should be able to arm yourself with a comprehensive giudeline of potential costs for renovation which should help presuade a potential buyer.

Plan B - renovate.

No real need to go into this but I would still go farly basic. New celings if needed, redo walls (always poor in buildings this age) new lighting, bathrooms etc but strictly basic, as again I would expect a potential buyer to customise the unit.

Of course your third option could be plan C and that would be back to total renovation...but it would be interesting to know (perhaps Trogers knows) whether that 6th floor unit sold for the asking price. Wonderfully renovated unit it might be but 28 million+ seemed too rich a sales price...

[yjysko]

Yjysko

I am sure you meant to say a friend of your will do a reno for 'cost' rather than 'free' but that kind of sent a little red flag up to me.

Trogers has given some great info to you here which apparently you might not want/cannot spend in terms of budget.

That said I think there is something of a problem with Le Rafine in the sense that it is a five star location but could not be regarded as that attractive of a building in todays market. Unless I personally felt the price to be a bargain it would not even interest me and I would venture to look to a property such as The Madison for example. There is simply too much contemporary competition in the vicinity. I think this should give you pause to think what you really need to do.

You have said the friend is going to attend to electrics, flooring, plumbing, lighting etc but I have to ask why? This is still going to generate substantial costs without (I am presuming) actually presenting a finished product. It seems a little pointless to me as I do not feel confident that this would attract a buyer (after all if your friend is not making anything in the process I can't imagine it will be finessed to the highest degree). I think you are left with 2 distinct plans of action.

Plan A -Price it to sell

The first is the obvious - make it something of a bargain and try to sell 'as is' (Trogers has supplied some figures) If you purchased some time ago there should be some capital appreciation. I would clear out old funishings and strip back as simple as possible (probably even remove window treatments). I would then do a couple of cost effective things such as repaint for freshness and bring in a cleaning service to make sure floors, bathrooms and kitchen are as clean as possible, all windows spotless and pay to have them come in once a week to maintain it (it is remarkable how many apartments for sale are shown in a dusty, dirty state). Removing the furniture creates space and a buyer can potenially see what they might 'want to do' in terms of their own renovation.

I would also download the link which Trogers has supplied and be able to show what the unit could potentially look like. You can also have kitchen companies draught plans for a possible kitchen renovation (no cost to you at all) and be able to supply other renovation plans through interior design services (although in this case it would be taking advantage somewhat) In any case you should be able to arm yourself with a comprehensive giudeline of potential costs for renovation which should help presuade a potential buyer.

Plan B - renovate.

No real need to go into this but I would still go farly basic. New celings if needed, redo walls (always poor in buildings this age) new lighting, bathrooms etc but strictly basic, as again I would expect a potential buyer to customise the unit.

Of course your third option could be plan C and that would be back to total renovation...but it would be interesting to know (perhaps Trogers knows) whether that 6th floor unit sold for the asking price. Wonderfully renovated unit it might be but 28 million+ seemed too rich a sales price...

Thanks for your comment, I really appreciate it. I definitely agree with you that the Le Raffine in Suk. 24 is not as attractive as other condos in the marketplace, which is why I decided to post on this forum. Many thanks to everyone commenting as I am actually new at this and doing this for the owner (mom). I have been thinking about Plan A as you have suggested. Obviously, I am in a financial dilemma here and need the money for medical purposes and cannot afford total renovation. I'm actually in the process of selling a lot of the furniture right now and plan to make the place look spotless. My friend, who owns an engineering company has offered to help take out old built in furniture, repaint walls and ceilings, etc. so that everything looks clean and big as it really is. And also as you have suggested, I want to gather up quotes and catalogues from interior design companies to show potential buyer the possibility of how it can look. My unit is way above the 6th floor, but I have no clue if it has been sold yet. It looks great though. Thanks again.

[trogers]

Thanks for your comment, I really appreciate it. I definitely agree with you that the Le Raffine in Suk. 24 is not as attractive as other condos in the marketplace, which is why I decided to post on this forum. Many thanks to everyone commenting as I am actually new at this and doing this for the owner (mom). I have been thinking about Plan A as you have suggested. Obviously, I am in a financial dilemma here and need the money for medical purposes and cannot afford total renovation. I'm actually in the process of selling a lot of the furniture right now and plan to make the place look spotless. My friend, who owns an engineering company has offered to help take out old built in furniture, repaint walls and ceilings, etc. so that everything looks clean and big as it really is. And also as you have suggested, I want to gather up quotes and catalogues from interior design companies to show potential buyer the possibility of how it can look. My unit is way above the 6th floor, but I have no clue if it has been sold yet. It looks great though. Thanks again.

The owner of the units on the 6th and 21st floor as seen on that website is staying in the same building. Ask the reception which floor Mr. Michael is at, and have a talk with him. Tell him the reason why you are planning to sell and perhaps he can give you a few suggestions.

[yjysko]

Thanks for your comment, I really appreciate it. I definitely agree with you that the Le Raffine in Suk. 24 is not as attractive as other condos in the marketplace, which is why I decided to post on this forum. Many thanks to everyone commenting as I am actually new at this and doing this for the owner (mom). I have been thinking about Plan A as you have suggested. Obviously, I am in a financial dilemma here and need the money for medical purposes and cannot afford total renovation. I'm actually in the process of selling a lot of the furniture right now and plan to make the place look spotless. My friend, who owns an engineering company has offered to help take out old built in furniture, repaint walls and ceilings, etc. so that everything looks clean and big as it really is. And also as you have suggested, I want to gather up quotes and catalogues from interior design companies to show potential buyer the possibility of how it can look. My unit is way above the 6th floor, but I have no clue if it has been sold yet. It looks great though. Thanks again.

The owner of the units on the 6th and 21st floor as seen on that website is staying in the same building. Ask the reception which floor Mr. Michael is at, and have a talk with him. Tell him the reason why you are planning to sell and perhaps he can give you a few suggestions.

Mr. Michael owns both units on the 6th and 21st? On the website, it stated, 20th. Thanks for the tip. Appreciate it.

[trogers]

Thanks for your comment, I really appreciate it. I definitely agree with you that the Le Raffine in Suk. 24 is not as attractive as other condos in the marketplace, which is why I decided to post on this forum. Many thanks to everyone commenting as I am actually new at this and doing this for the owner (mom). I have been thinking about Plan A as you have suggested. Obviously, I am in a financial dilemma here and need the money for medical purposes and cannot afford total renovation. I'm actually in the process of selling a lot of the furniture right now and plan to make the place look spotless. My friend, who owns an engineering company has offered to help take out old built in furniture, repaint walls and ceilings, etc. so that everything looks clean and big as it really is. And also as you have suggested, I want to gather up quotes and catalogues from interior design companies to show potential buyer the possibility of how it can look. My unit is way above the 6th floor, but I have no clue if it has been sold yet. It looks great though. Thanks again.

The owner of the units on the 6th and 21st floor as seen on that website is staying in the same building. Ask the reception which floor Mr. Michael is at, and have a talk with him. Tell him the reason why you are planning to sell and perhaps he can give you a few suggestions.

Mr. Michael owns both units on the 6th and 21st? On the website, it stated, 20th. Thanks for the tip. Appreciate it.

It is a duplex - 20th to 21st FL.

[FD333]

Well, sorry to hear that you have the additional stress of medical bills...but you are being pro-active so just try to stay as positive as possible! Also Trogers has provided a good contact so kudos to him, as that is invaluable.

I just thought of a couple of other things to suggest (excuse me if you have thought of these already)

I would incentivise the sale to the sales agents/realtors (and anyone such as the building manager who might bring a buyer) If we say under normal conditions that you would pay a realtor a sales commission of 3%, but that this is a slow market with a lot of competition I would set a fair/sensible price. If we follow Trogers ballpark (which I think is sound although this is obviously up to you) and suggest a figure of 53,000 baht per square meter as possibly a good/acceptable sales price that would approximate an asking price of just under 17,000,000 baht.

I would incentivise (just a guideline here) something along the lines of

A 5% commission for 55,000 per square meter or baht 19,250,000

A 4% commission for under 55,000 down to 53,000 per square meter (and under) or baht 18,550,000

A 3% commission for anything under 53,000 per square meter or a sales price under 18,550,000

However, be flexible.

If you mother owned the property from the launch of the condo, there should have been appreciation and in this market I might be inclined to drop the sales price a little further but still set up the incentives above a normal commission rate. It does not really cost you that much (especially when talking about baht 300,000 kitchen renos etc) but it might get agents excited to try to sell.

Make sure that the building manager knows the unit is for sale and that they can earn the commission if they bring the buyer. There are some good agents and some lazy ones in Bangkok, but I have sometimes been surprised at approaching building managers directly. Obviously, they are engaged with the building and the individual owners and relish the opportunity to make a good bonus for themselves. They can be an amazing source of information regarding the building and the owners.

That said, I do not know if the management is still through the original developer, but that developer still has an active sales office for their Jambu Dvipa project on Sukhumvit 39. I would go to the sales office and make sure that they know you have an apartment for sale in the original Le Rafine on 24, and if they bring a buyer, they get the commission.

Once again, good luck with the sale and try not to stress too much!

[FD333]

Sorry, I wrote a sales price of 17,000,000 baht instead of 19,250,000 in the first section...obviously then corrected myself!

[tangoll]

I think your potential buyers would be local Thai's rather than farang. If you believe that, then my comments about trying to sell a large condo in a good location, but in poor condition would be these:

1. Get the condo in as good a condition as you can -- decent paint job, remove old furniture and built-ins, leave vacant, but be sure air cons are working so that the flat is cool when buyers come to inspect. Have a table and a few chairs around, electricity and lights on, water running.

2. As for giving stratified incentives to agents, I have mixed feelings about even using agents. Thai buyers, even if brought in by agents, know that the price has built in commissions for agents, and they just don't like the thought of agents getting any commission, because that means the buyer could have gotten a discount on the price if there were no agent/commission involved. So, if the buyer finds out that the agent is getting a larger 5% commisssion, that's going to drive them bonkers thinking that there is a 1 mil baht commission on the 20 mil baht that they might be paying. Their thinking is, why the hel_l couldn't I have gotten the unit for a price without the commission? If the buyer knows that the commission is only 1%, this they can accept, because then they feel that the contract price is closer to your net in price. So somehow, you need to work out with the agents some way to overcome this Thai mindset.

3. If you don't work with agents, you need to have photos/videos taken of the inside of the unit and of the view when looking out of the windows/balcony. You certainly need to market the unit on the local Thai websites, like prakard.com or pantip.com, and using just English is OK. I've also seen a direct seller (that I know) advertising his units in Bangkok Post, though I myself have not used that method before. And you need to be very available to show the unit whenever a buyer wishes to come view or inspect the unit. And be very flexible on discussing anything, especially price. I would not willingly show buyers any of the quotes that you might have on total renovation; that would just hammer in the point that they need an additional 30,000 baht per sqm on top of the 50,000 baht price that they are paying to renovate. A Thai buyer would be able to figure this out for him/herself.

Anyway, the above are my thoughts on how I would do this if I were trying to sell a poor condition unit.

Good luck. PM me if you wish to contact me or for me to come take a look at your unit. I'm next in BKK from 8 - 12 Sept.

[FD333]

Tangoll

Not quite sure of your rationale on some points of advice

The general premise that the apartment will be sold to a Thai seems skewed. Most Thais with a 20 million war-chest, are not going to look at a 15 year old building. I can't imagine the banks either would be that enthused to offer a mortagage on a 15 year old property - they'd be asking why not buy in a new condo, wouldn't they? It is common knowledge that Thais prefer to buy brand new and frequently noted. I am not saying this could not happen but I would guess that the chances are a buyer will be a foreigner looking for a large apartment, exhibiting worthwhile renovation potential for a good price. The location is outstanding regardless of anything else.

#1 We both agree.

#2 In a buoyant market, I would not suggest this. However, the OP appears to want to resolve the situation he finds himself in and has the added stress of facing medical bills. My presumption is that he will enthusiastically employ any tool that helps him facilitate a sale. Why pose an argument to start limiting the number of avenues you might use? This is sluggish market. 'Serious sellers' are already employing higher commissions to find a 'serious buyer'. (In fact the flip side to this is realtors asking for higher commissions themselves) It just levels the playing field.

I do not rate most realtors here myself. It seems that in Thailand more energy is spent getting numerous properties listed on the books than selling them. But, the other advantage hopefully is that you then have someone to show the unit at any time when you might not be available at every hour, everyday. Additionally, they are going to at least have a list of potential customers on hand to call, rather than the seller starting from ground zero.

Sorry, completely disagree on the comission front and that Thais would be shocked/offended. Every buyer knows that a commission goes to the seller.

Besides which, why on earth would a realtor be discussing their private sales agreement between the seller and themselves, with a potential buyer? That's confidential business, so how would the buyer know whether a 1% or 5% commission was paid?

#3 Agree...use any avenues you can find to get the word out.

However, from experience I have to disagree with being open and constructive regarding renovation costs regarding the buyer.

Really, really disagree with the following from direct experience...

"that would just hammer in the point that they need an additional 30,000 baht per sqm on top of the 50,000 baht price that they are paying to renovate"

They are only inspecting the unit in the first place precisely because they know it is to be renovated...that's why it is on the market for baht 50,000+ PSM rather than baht 140,000 PSM. Therefore how is a renovation cost going to somehow surprise anyone? The majority of buyers (Thai or Foreign) will not have done a comprehensive renovation before in Thailand (and probably not done one, period). This can be a very intimidating prospect no matter how much potential they can see. Having renovation plans, budgets, a contractor to recommend can often be the deal maker rather than a deal breaker. At least you have armed them with facts that assist a buyer in making a more informed and hopefully therefore more relaxed decision.