Apartment Is "Full" And The Difference Between Condominium And Apartment ?

[duiter]

Dear all,

I tried to find cheap apartment with budget around 5000 baht

The manger/ apartment owner always said "full"

Does it mean that this apartment is really full or he does NOT like foreigner to stay at this accommodation ?

I am often confused with the apartment and condominium difference in Thai people's perception/ definition

" Is this apartment ?"

"No !"

"Is this condominium ?"

"Yes"

[h90]

I rented a complete nice house in Samut Prakarn for 6000 Baht.

Is it in the center?

My staffs apartments are somewhere 1200-1500 Baht

[HardenedSoul]

Think condos refer to flats in high rises whereas apartments refer to flats in converted houses or flats in low rises.

I'm sure someone will prove me wrong but this is my understanding . . . . for now

[Metapod]

Condo = rent from private owner of individual room

Apartment = rent from owner/management of building

[samran]

As meatpod said:

Apartment: One person owns whole building, and you rent from them.

Condo's: Where there are multiple owners owning the individual units in the building.

Could well be that the 'apartment' owner has a full building.

[wana]

i thought rich people have apartments

and poorer people have smaller rooms or "condos"

[inthepink]

Best not to think too much really.

[wana]

Best not to think too much really.

do you like your condo then?

[inthepink]

I live in somebody else's house. Not sure where that puts me on your socio-economic ladder, but I like it.

Edited March 23, 2012 by inthepink

[wana]

I live in somebody else's house. Not sure where that puts me on your socio-economic ladder, but I like it.

well ,you probably dont get too high up the socio-economic ladder if youre sponging off someone else ....but you like it so thats all that counts

[StreetCowboy]

I live in somebody else's house. Not sure where that puts me on your socio-economic ladder, but I like it.

Do they know?

Do they live there too?

That must be quite challenging...

SC

[thaifkrlim]

apartment = 1 unit dwelling in an apartment block/building or condomimium

condo = the whole high rise tower condominium

wheel (of a car) = rim + tyre

[inthepink]

I live in somebody else's house. Not sure where that puts me on your socio-economic ladder, but I like it.

Do they know?

Do they live there too?

That must be quite challenging...

SC

One of my gf's mother's houses, and yes,she knows. I didn't want to call it my house because, well, it isn't.

Re. the OP. If the guy says the building is full then perhaps it is.

Edited March 23, 2012 by inthepink

[harrry]

apartment = 1 unit dwelling in an apartment block/building or condomimium

condo = the whole high rise tower condominium

wheel (of a car) = rim + tyre

Not on Thailand. Here a condo is a special class of building where the individual rooms are owned by different people. The common property is owned in common.

With an apartment the whole building is owned by one person and he or she may rent each part as he sees fit.

[Spoonman]

Not on Thailand. Here a condo is a special class of building where the individual rooms are owned by different people.

I was invited once to invest in the bathroom of a Condo..... I declined the offer.

[thaifkrlim]

apartment = 1 unit dwelling in an apartment block/building or condomimium

condo = the whole high rise tower condominium

wheel (of a car) = rim + tyre

Not on Thailand. Here a condo is a special class of building where the individual rooms are owned by different people. The common property is owned in common.

With an apartment the whole building is owned by one person and he or she may rent each part as he sees fit.

so in Thailand, one can say " you can come to my condo, it's on the 5th floor of that apartment" ?

[IanForbes]

As meatpod said:

Apartment: One person owns whole building, and you rent from them.

Condo's: Where there are multiple owners owning the individual units in the building.

Could well be that the 'apartment' owner has a full building.

I think Samran explained it best... HOWEVER!

I always thought an apartment or a condo meant more than just one room... otherwise to me it's just a hotel room. An apartment or condo should have a separate kitchen area and possibly a bedroom separate from the living quarters. Unfortunately, in Thailand it seems to mean a one room unit that may or may not have balcony or outside patio... in otherwords, just a hotel room with a fancy name.

[Asiantravel]

it is interesting that many of the big apartment buildings along Sukhumvit Road

are owned by Indian families. Even President apartments is owned by Indians

but there are also many others such as orchid towers in soi 8.

One advantage in an apartment building is that you will get a quicker response

from the management to maintenance issues whereas in a condo building

the management may not always be able to obtain the desired result

from an uncooperative condominium owner.

[wana]

ive just been told by a thai that an building with 5 floors or less is an "apartment "

once 5 floors is exceeded ,it becoms a codominium building

seems strange logic but im not thai

[2unique]

I was once told the difference was apartments go to the ground floor and condos are defined as such because the lower floors are parking spaces and the condos start from 6ish and above - which is obviously not the case at all.

If the owner of an Apartment block sells off the units, is it then a condominium?

The difference from reading above seems to be you rent an apartment from an individual (who may be a company) owner

You (or someone else) buy a condo

[2unique]

ive just been told by a thai that an building with 5 floors or less is an "apartment "

once 5 floors is exceeded ,it becoms a codominium building

seems strange logic but im not thai

heh I just printed that - however some moobaans in Pattaya have the bungalows legally classed as condominiums so that a percentage can be sold to non Thais

[StreetCowboy]

ive just been told by a thai that an building with 5 floors or less is an "apartment "

once 5 floors is exceeded ,it becoms a codominium building

seems strange logic but im not thai

Before you asked the question, you should have found out if he knew the answer. If he did not know the answer, then it is quite likely that whatever answer he gave may not be entirely correct.

I'm not sure about the Thai language, but in the English language, a condominium is a building which is jointly owned by a juristic person on behalf of all the unit owners, who each have title to their own units.

I don't know how Thais refer to flats, where each unit is owned by a different owner, but there is no juristic person owning the common elements of the building.

SC

[samran]

As meatpod said:

Apartment: One person owns whole building, and you rent from them.

Condo's: Where there are multiple owners owning the individual units in the building.

Could well be that the 'apartment' owner has a full building.

I think Samran explained it best... HOWEVER!

I always thought an apartment or a condo meant more than just one room... otherwise to me it's just a hotel room. An apartment or condo should have a separate kitchen area and possibly a bedroom separate from the living quarters. Unfortunately, in Thailand it seems to mean a one room unit that may or may not have balcony or outside patio... in otherwords, just a hotel room with a fancy name.

No, not just single room.

I've rented 'apartments' before. They are fully contained. eg. 3BR, 2bath, kitchen, lounge, three balconies etc. Just that they whole building was owned by a single owner. She hired people to take care of the admin, maintenance etc. A good set up in many ways, as everything was centralised.

[StreetCowboy]

What's the ownership structure for the walkups you see everywhere?

I am guessing that they are flatted (i.e. separate owners but no common ownership body - a recipe for difficulties when you have dry rot or foundation or roof problems; though normally the roof is the responsibility of the owner of the top unit.

I don't think that the term 'apartment' is specific to the ownership structure of a single building owner and tenants; I think it is generic, and refers to an individual dwelling of many in the building, whereas condominium indicates specific ownership structure - I believe that condominia can comprise houses as well as apartments.

Perhaps someone who actually knows something about the ownership of buildings might care to post, for the benefit and education of us armchair conveyencers

SC

[samran]

What's the ownership structure for the walkups you see everywhere?

I am guessing that they are flatted (i.e. separate owners but no common ownership body - a recipe for difficulties when you have dry rot or foundation or roof problems; though normally the roof is the responsibility of the owner of the top unit.

I don't think that the term 'apartment' is specific to the ownership structure of a single building owner and tenants; I think it is generic, and refers to an individual dwelling of many in the building, whereas condominium indicates specific ownership structure - I believe that condominia can comprise houses as well as apartments.

Perhaps someone who actually knows something about the ownership of buildings might care to post, for the benefit and education of us armchair conveyencers

SC

All I know is the lingua franca for Thailand where these terms mainly denote ownership structures, rather than the type of the accomodation.

Elsewhere, the terminology means different things.

In Australia, the use of the term 'flat' has gone the way of the dodo in the past decade. Slicked up estate agents and their shiny spruiking posters have done away with the quaint term (in their eyes) as they seek to get a premium for l what I've known for decades as a 'flat'.

So in Australia - 'flats' have become 'apartments'. 'Units' have become 'town houses'. Even more confusing, I say.

[farang000999]

if someone owns an apartment building then they cannot sell a single unit, because that would mean they would need to turn the building into a condominium. an apartment is a building where the owner owns everything. condominium is one of multiple ownership.

Imo, it is MUCH better to rent from an apartment building than from a individual owner of a condo. They will 99/100 times be managed not by the owner and are much more likely to be non-corrupt/amoral/you get quicker responses to any problem/they are in the business of renting apartments it is not a second job/etc

Also, so many of the trendy condos for rent seem to be owned by young Thais with rich parents. I think you are more likely to have "deposit problems" with people as they are less mature, not in the business of renting, and significantly less wealthy than an apartment owner thus more motivated to screw you over.

[gregb]

As meatpod said:

Apartment: One person owns whole building, and you rent from them.

Condo's: Where there are multiple owners owning the individual units in the building.

Could well be that the 'apartment' owner has a full building.

I think Samran explained it best... HOWEVER!

I always thought an apartment or a condo meant more than just one room... otherwise to me it's just a hotel room. An apartment or condo should have a separate kitchen area and possibly a bedroom separate from the living quarters. Unfortunately, in Thailand it seems to mean a one room unit that may or may not have balcony or outside patio... in otherwords, just a hotel room with a fancy name.

No, not just single room.

I've rented 'apartments' before. They are fully contained. eg. 3BR, 2bath, kitchen, lounge, three balconies etc. Just that they whole building was owned by a single owner. She hired people to take care of the admin, maintenance etc. A good set up in many ways, as everything was centralised.

The definitions of apartments and condominiums in Thailand are the same as the definitions used in most areas of the United States, with notable exceptions of places like New York. I would guess it is because this industry was heavily influenced in the beginning by American servicemen, and they understandably brought with them the definitions they used at home.

It is exactly as Samran has said. An apartment is a building that is owned by a single juristic entity, with individual living spaces that are rented out directly by the juristic entity. A condominium is a building where the individual units have been broken up and sold to private individuals. There is an building owner's association in a condominium where the individual owners vote on issues affecting the entire building, and a common area managed by the property firm hired by the building association.

It is the structure of holding that determines whether something is an apartment or condominium. To the renter, there is very little difference. An apartment can not be converted into condominiums without completely rewriting a new charter and complying with different building codes and regulations. Buildings are designed to be apartments or condos when they are constructed, and changing from one to the other usually requires lawyers and renovation.

In Thailand, when I was renting, I would always eschew apartments in favor of condos because typically with condos you get electric and water bills direct from the municipal agency, rather than getting one from the building owner that has egregiously inflated per unit charges. With apartments charging as much as 9 baht per unit now for electric, getting the 3.x rate direct from the MEA in a condo makes a huge difference to your bottom line.

[pmarlin]

i thought rich people have apartments

and poorer people have smaller rooms or "condos"

You thought wrong.

[bendix]

apartment = 1 unit dwelling in an apartment block/building or condomimium

condo = the whole high rise tower condominium

wheel (of a car) = rim + tyre

Not on Thailand. Here a condo is a special class of building where the individual rooms are owned by different people. The common property is owned in common.

With an apartment the whole building is owned by one person and he or she may rent each part as he sees fit.

Precisely. A condominium building is very different to an apartment building and has nothing to do with size etc. Condominium buildings comprise units owned by a mulititude of owners who share common expenses (public space maintenance etc) and who usually manage the building by committee.

Apartment buildings are where a single owner owns the whole building and lets out units as he sees fit.

[DP25]

I tried to find cheap apartment with budget around 5000 baht

The manger/ apartment owner always said "full"

Does it mean that this apartment is really full or he does NOT like foreigner to stay at this accommodation ?

Maybe it's full. Maybe he doesn't like foreigners. Maybe he doesn't like you. Kind of hard to say. Assuming you don't look like a bum, it's most likely just full.