The Hunt Has Begun!

[patsfangr]

My wife is this minute on the way to Pattaya from Bangkok. She's travelling with the family to meet with the first realtor on her list, East Coast Realty. She's talked to them on the phone, and already had discussion about our information that their website may be very outdated.

She had planned to be occupied in Bangkok until August 12 before beginning the hunt, but (as I had hoped) the excitement has apparently gotten to her, and prompted this early start.

Pardon my repetition, friends, but I want to be sure that we don't miss some special opportunity. So I want to quickly repeat the criteria we have for our property, and ask that, if you happen to know of a property that meets our desires, PLEASE give me some details and contact information that I can pass on to her when I call her Sunday night (Thailand time).

We want a MINIMUM of the following:

3+ bedrooms, 2+ bathrooms, with 200+ sq meters of "living space". Internally, we must have Western plumbing and kitchen facilities, A/C, and good insulation. There must be 100+ sq wah of land surrounding the property. Access to phone/internet, and satellite TV are essential at some point, though not necessarily immediately, since Suwanna and I won't be moving in until April of next year. We would love additional "nice to have" items, such as a water tank and pump, swimming pool, and separate guest/maid house; but those are certainly not immediate essentials, as long as we have the lands available to add them later.

Our budget for all of this is in the neighborhood of 4 million baht. I CAN stretch a bit beyond that for the perfect property, if it can't be found within that budget. Those of you are retired, and on a fixed budget, know that digging into the reserve savings is a last resort. But, since we hope (medical events notwithstanding) that this will be the last major expense of our lives, I'll do what I have to do to purchase our Valhalla!

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

GR

[Mr Red]

Good luck, GR!

I will be in Thailand on a trip to find the target areas for buying a house in November. We hope to retire there within a few very short years. Please keep me posted on your experiences as they happen. I will watch with interest.

Go Pats -- Brady will take them there again!

[patsfangr]

Good luck, GR!

I will be in Thailand on a trip to find the target areas for buying a house in November.  We hope to retire there within a few very short years.  Please keep me posted on your experiences as they happen.  I will watch with interest.

Go Pats -- Brady will take them there again!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

With that closing line, Red, you have ensured my total commitment to helping you in any way that I can!

GR

[Mr Red]

As long as you can find me a good place to watch the Super Bowl (no matter who is playing), you can count on me having your back.

Actually, my first love is college football -- big fan of the Florida State Seminoles (twice National Champs), but unlikely this year. Season ticket holder for 15 years and have worked my way down to 8 rows up on the 50 in the 85,000 seat stadium! Can't ask for much better! Go Seminoles!!!

[Ice Maiden]

My Dad has some homes with what your looking for. They are very nice and 10 mins away from all the noise in the central of Pattaya. Soi siam Country Club road they are down. And they are western too, my Dad planned all of them. A small area in which English people live, other nationalities are also welcome. They are called Park View Villas.

You won't be disapointed

[eljeque]

The land size is certainly larger than most, but on the non-beach side of Sukhumvit, there will be many properties that will suit you. Do you absolute best to get something new, or nearly new. It would really be in your best interests to hang out here for a month while looking, and you do not need an agent. There are plenty of homes with signs on them which have never seen an agent. Figure out which area of the city interests you, and go take a drive in that area.

If you do choose to find a place on the east side of Sukhumvit, consider having to cross the street everytime you go to Big C, Lotus, Carrefour, Walking Street--if you go there, good Western restaurants, hospitals, etc., etc.

There are few places to cross Sukhumvit now, so you often have to drive up and down it a kilometer or more first to get across.

I would suggest that you look south of Theprasert Road, and a few kilometers at that. Just drive in and out ofa lot of the areas. There are a lot of properties there, just like all of Pattaya, but the prices are not much more than the east side of Sukhumvit, but you are near the beach and do not have to cross Sukhumvit.

Soi Chaiyapruk is about 4 kilometers south of Theprasert and has two good developments.

1. View Point 3bdrm 2bth

2. Eakmongkol 1, and 2 3 bdrm 2 bth 72 tw, 3 bdrm 3 bth 80tw + you can buy more land

sorry, they do not have a website.

There are other developments in between Theprasert and Chaiyapruk as well. I think that Jomtien is affordable is a far better area to live than east Sukhumvit although not a great deal more expensive.

When you make an offer, drop the price at least 10%. The Pattaya Trader and all of the other property magazines have been increasing in size for quite some time. There are a lot of unsold houses in this city. It is a buyer's market.

If you are not aware of how to form a company in which to own the house, please drop another note or pm me.

good luck

[patsfangr]

Thanks very much for your detailed information, Eljeque! I will pass along all of this to my wife to guide her in her search. This is precisely the kind of advice that we need to help us find the best property, in the right area for us.

George

The land size is certainly larger than most, but on the non-beach side of Sukhumvit, there will be many properties that will suit you.  Do you absolute best to get something new, or nearly new.  It would really be in your best interests to hang out here for a month while looking, and you do not need an agent.  There are plenty of homes with signs on them which have never seen an agent.  Figure out which area of the city interests you, and go take a drive in that area. 

If you do choose to find a place on the east side of Sukhumvit, consider having to cross the street everytime you go to Big C, Lotus, Carrefour, Walking Street--if you go there, good Western restaurants, hospitals, etc., etc.

There are few places to cross Sukhumvit now, so you often have to drive up and down it a kilometer or more first to get across. 

I would suggest that you look south of Theprasert Road, and a few kilometers at that.  Just drive in and out ofa lot of the areas.  There are a lot of properties there, just like all of Pattaya, but the prices are not much more than the east side of Sukhumvit, but you are near the beach and do not have to cross Sukhumvit. 

Soi Chaiyapruk is about 4 kilometers south of Theprasert and has two good developments.

1.  View Point  3bdrm 2bth

2. Eakmongkol 1, and 2      3 bdrm 2 bth 72 tw, 3 bdrm 3 bth 80tw + you can buy more land

  sorry, they do not have  a website.

There are other developments in between Theprasert and Chaiyapruk as well.  I think that Jomtien is affordable is a far better area to live than east Sukhumvit although not a great deal more expensive.

  When you make an offer, drop the price at least 10%.  The Pattaya Trader and all of the other property magazines have been increasing in size for quite some time.  There are a lot of unsold houses in this city.  It is a buyer's market.

If you are not aware of how to form a  company in which to own the house, please drop another note or pm me.

  good luck

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[Digger]

My Dad has some homes with what your looking for. They are very nice and 10 mins away from all the noise in the central of Pattaya. Soi siam Country Club road they are down. And they are western too, my Dad planned all of them. A small area in which English people live, other nationalities are also welcome. They are called Park View Villas.

You won't be disapointed

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Depends what your used to I guess, but for the average American, you will be very disapointed with Park View Villas - not least of all because the road into must be all of 10 foot wide and its clearly been designed by someone who has a vision challenged perspective of what is asthetically pleasing - you can do a lot lot better than this place.

[patsfangr]

My Dad has some homes with what your looking for. They are very nice and 10 mins away from all the noise in the central of Pattaya. Soi siam Country Club road they are down. And they are western too, my Dad planned all of them. A small area in which English people live, other nationalities are also welcome. They are called Park View Villas.

You won't be disapointed

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Depends what your used to I guess, but for the average American, you will be very disapointed with Park View Villas - not least of all because the road into must be all of 10 foot wide and its clearly been designed by someone who has a vision challenged perspective of what is asthetically pleasing - you can do a lot lot better than this place.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Do you have any specific recommendations, Digger? We would appreiciate any information that points us in the right direction, as well as any specific property you might know of that meets the specifications I described earlier.

GR

[Humphrey Bear]

Many good realtors in Pattaya - you mentioned East Coast Real Estate - good.

Also Northern Thai, KCR, Winnie's are long established, Western run.

These all go for reasonable priced property. Alan Bolton seems a little higher-end market than the others, but still has some good value-for-money.

But it is still better if you can do without the agent, rent for a few months, look around everywhere and decide your priorities. The whole place is different in November-March than now in August. You may find your ideal home in November, find no water in the place in June/July.

[wild1]

My Dad has some homes with what your looking for. They are very nice and 10 mins away from all the noise in the central of Pattaya. Soi siam Country Club road they are down. And they are western too, my Dad planned all of them. A small area in which English people live, other nationalities are also welcome. They are called Park View Villas.

You won't be disapointed

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hmmmm I am very interested where about can i get in touch with your dad

I'm seriously thinking of moving...Pattaya is the place 4 me.....