Condo Advice

[dutchmagnum]

Hi all,

I've been living in Chiang Mai for a few years now and the time has come to invest in some real estate. I'm looking to buy a condo with my girlfriend, but I could do with some suggestions as to where to start looking.

I would appreciate it if anybody could give me the name of any good condominiums in the Chiang Mai area.

To be more specific, my budget isn't huge, so I would prefer a condo that is 1 million baht or less.

Also, I would prefer a place to the west, north or east of Chiang Mai (and in between of course).

As a side question, is it possible to buy a condo with 1 bedroom, 1 living room for less than 1 million baht?

All responses will be greatly appreciated, as long as the answer isn't considered raving lunacy.

[nivram4491]

Buying a condo is a great idea since you can buy it in your own name. Don't let anyone or anything persuade you not to put the condo in your own name. Sorry for stating the obvious.

Make sure you have a solicitor you can communicate with and can trust.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Make sure you have a solicitor you can communicate with and can trust.

Why? I'd prefer to get clued in myself, and not rely on anyone else, and rely on his trustworthiness, just to fill in a bunch of forms. It's not like you're going to court, it's a business transaction with the condominium developer (and perhaps a bank in case there's financing involved).

Anyway, I'm interested in this topic too. I also wonder if there are any (low-rise) condominium developments inside the old town. It would have to be low-rise there, which is a good thing. Another area of interest for a *cheap* condo for me would be Santitham. (I know that all the fancy expensive ones are near Nimmanhaemin or the CMU area. ( Don't want to pay a premium for that just because Thai yuppies fancy it currently. I want to buy where Thai yuppies fancy it 5-10 years from now. )

[roger1999]

Two years ago a friend of mine bought a studio (not 1 bedroom) and paid less than 250,000 baht. He is in a high rise on the canal road not far from 'Fine Thanks' but on the opposite side of the road and may 1 km further northeast.

But he had three months to look around and probably saw 100+ places.

So the lesson for me is to take your time and drive a hard bargain. Best is if you find 10+ places you like and make low offers (well under the asking price) and see what happens. Hope this helps.

[Theo007]

raving lunacy here, never!

[Sojourner]

Buying a condo unit is more than just liking what you see when you walk in the door. You must keep in mind that the owner of the building has to have an interest in maintaining his investment. Find out before you buy if the building has been well maintained and how much the monthly co-owner fees are. If the units were sold with the addition of a "sinking fund" and there's no monthly fees, I would be cautious. Does the condo have a Juristic Manager on duty? Is there a committee of co-owners that meet with the Juristic Manager periodically? What does the building interior and exterior look like? It's all very important.

[hellodolly]

Buying a condo unit is more than just liking what you see when you walk in the door. You must keep in mind that the owner of the building has to have an interest in maintaining his investment. Find out before you buy if the building has been well maintained and how much the monthly co-owner fees are. If the units were sold with the addition of a "sinking fund" and there's no monthly fees, I would be cautious. Does the condo have a Juristic Manager on duty? Is there a committee of co-owners that meet with the Juristic Manager periodically? What does the building interior and exterior look like? It's all very important.

All excellent points. If the general area is looking run down and the halls dirty it might indicate that things are not being taken care of and in all likelihood won't be in the future and your value will decrease.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

On the other hand, that'd where the 250-500K deals are..

[flying]

I think it is possible to find what you want at the price you want...

Whether or not it is to your liking is subjective.

That aside recently while in our condo in Chiang Mai I was shopping a bit for a 2nd condo to be used as a rental.

One thing I noticed is many of the condos I liked were full already as far as foreign ownership quota was concerned.

Meaning there were units for sale but only if you were going to hold title in a Thai nationals name. The foreign ownership was full.

Those that did have some available averaged 500-600kk THB more than the Thai owned units for sale in the same building.

Even though for the most part they were identical.

So I guess the 49% is commanding a premium at least in some of the buildings?

[dutchmagnum]

Thanks for the information so far.

It's given me something to think about at least. I will get out there and start looking asap.

[freedomnow]

I want to buy where Thai yuppies fancy it 5-10 years from now. )

Spot on Winnie.