Paradise Park - Not A Paradise ?

[balo]

I am one of the lucky condo owners there , next to Park Lane , soi watboon ( constructed by Matrix developments) , and I will not talk about all the other things that has gone wrong in my unit so far, no internet line , entrance door is damaged, .....it takes too long.

I want to talk about electricity , When I signed the contract the first time , everything was clear .

Water and electricity meter will be installed , and of course I expect to pay government prices from the moment I move in , as I have always done in the past , and pay the bill at 7 eleven.

But this time I had to sign new documents while I was moving in , that since the buildings not been officially transfered into the new owners name (chanote ) , this will happen in June and nobody told me that until last week .

So they claim they are using a temporarily meter and they want double charge , yes 7 b pr unit instead of 3.5 which is the official rate, same with water 34 baht per unit.

So that means 5 long and hot months using aircon and paying double price ! Not happy about this, but what can I do?

Edited February 28, 2013 by balo

[PattayaPhom]

Hadnt been to Park Lane for a while, there last week and was shocked how much it has deteriorated. Loose tiles in corridoors, bad smell, lifts a mess and the unit I went to hs definatlly not faired well. Expext PP to be the same soon. Electric I believe now is 4.3 baht so not quite double

[BlackPuddingBertha]

Hadnt been to Park Lane for a while, there last week and was shocked how much it has deteriorated. Loose tiles in corridoors, bad smell, lifts a mess and the unit I went to hs definatlly not faired well. Expext PP to be the same soon.

I expect many of the recent developments to end up like this within a few years of completion.

Build quality is generally very low and little attention is paid to making finishes durable. I think that laminate flooring replacement may be a real growth industry in Pattaya in a couple of years' time.

And as for the money that will need to be spent on maintaining these insane swimming pools that cover 90% of the outdoor area, I cant imagine where that will come from.

[monty]

At least they are not lying on the electricity charge.

If indeed they are still on a temporary meter, they are actually getting billed roundabout 7 Baht/unit by the PEA.

Permanent meters can only be obtained by the condo unit owner once he has the blue (or yellew) Tabien Bahn.

[OMGImInPattaya]

More reasons to stay away from condos with a 20" pole.

[balo]

At least they are not lying on the electricity charge.

If indeed they are still on a temporary meter, they are actually getting billed roundabout 7 Baht/unit by the PEA.

Permanent meters can only be obtained by the condo unit owner once he has the blue (or yellew) Tabien Bahn.

Ok so the PEA is the winner here. I just dont understand why they can delay this for 5 months . Shouldnt take them long to get all the papers from the land office and transfer it.

[balo]

Hadnt been to Park Lane for a while, there last week and was shocked how much it has deteriorated. Loose tiles in corridoors, bad smell, lifts a mess and the unit I went to hs definatlly not faired well. Expext PP to be the same soon.

I expect many of the recent developments to end up like this within a few years of completion.

Build quality is generally very low and little attention is paid to making finishes durable. I think that laminate flooring replacement may be a real growth industry in Pattaya in a couple of years' time.

And as for the money that will need to be spent on maintaining these insane swimming pools that cover 90% of the outdoor area, I cant imagine where that will come from.

Yes the swimming pools are huge , but as long as the owners are paying the maintenance fee this should never be a problem. Until the whole place looks looks deserted.

[BlackPuddingBertha]

More reasons to stay away from condos with a 20" pole.

Some condos, yes. Some others are great buildings. And, like it or not, as a farang they are the only property you can own outright in Thailand.

Being a tenant in a new condo isn't a problem as you can enjoy it whilst it is still nice and then just move to a newer building and leave the owner with the maintenance fees when they start to mount up.

[ReyBuono]

That, of course, assumes that you can sell your shabby condo to some sucker in this buyers' market.

[BlackPuddingBertha]

Yes the swimming pools are huge , but as long as the owners are paying the maintenance fee this should never be a problem. Until the whole place looks looks deserted.

Sounds good in theory but has anyone calculated just how much it will cost to rip out the pool in one of these "theme-park" condos and replace it after a few years when it starts to spring leaks all over the place? And how much it will cost to replace the galleons and lighthouses and underwater bar areas? The sinking fund money will probably have all been spent on new orchids and air-conditioning for the lobby by then.

I doubt that the build quality of these common features will be any better than that of the interiors, and if I owned one I would be very concerned about future costs.

[Pdaz]

Yep those fancy galleons and other frippary will look like a hundred year old ghostly pirate ships in no time. Imagine the effects of UV and high temps on them over time. Lets face it many builders/developers here can't even prep surfaces correctly or use an appropriate paint schedule. Fungicide ? Primer ? So what chance for fabric sails and fancy lighting and gardens.

Then there are the poor quality tiles, cheap laminate and shoddy electrics etc o consider. The cost of repainting and maintainng these building will be huge as the cheap second rate original materials will be worn out in very short order.

And where will the money come from? Avoiding the maintenance fee is a Thai national pastime. Even if they do get some revenue it then has to survive misapropriation and shrinkage ... A good friend lives in a very high end condo in Pratumnak. One of the elevators stopped then decended between floors trapping the occupants. After some investigation they discovered that there hadn't been any elevator maintenance for 10 years. Considering there are many wealthy Thais/farangs living in the condo and (unusually) most of the occupants pay their fees they still can't guarantee maintenance and quality management.. I can think of better ways to spend 25-30 mil Baht.

[properperson]

36 m2 ?? - sounds like hell to me.......

Edited March 1, 2013 by properperson

[thenervoussurgeon]

36 m2 ?? - sounds like hell to me.......

I dont know it sound ok to me ,our bathroom is just a bit smaller and we find it adequate.

Edited March 1, 2013 by thenervoussurgeon

[PattayaPhom]

More reasons to stay away from condos with a 20" pole.

Thats not so, many established condos are well looked after, even at almost 20 years old. Am suprised at Park Lane as Matrix seem to be one of the better developers. Some good points on upkeep of these massive feature pools etc, sinking funds are about 600 Baht per sqm and maintenance 39/49 Baht sqm, so not cheap and this should cover future costs. I believe Matrix hand over management after 3 years so interesting to see also what happens at that stage.

[balo]

Stay away from Matrix .

So the latest news here is that I will not get my title deed until earliest November 2013 !!!

So that means I will be charged double price of electricity and water almost 1 year since I moved in here in February !!

I lose 2000 baht monthly and there is nothing I can do . Well played Matrix !

[OMGImInPattaya]

You asked what can you do...simple...in the future, don't buy anything off-plan.

[bigwilly]

Stay away from Matrix .

So the latest news here is that I will not get my title deed until earliest November 2013 !!!

So that means I will be charged double price of electricity and water almost 1 year since I moved in here in February !!

I lose 2000 baht monthly and there is nothing I can do . Well played Matrix !

balo.

Look on the bright side, If Matrix put profits they are skimming from the electric into the Maintainance or Sinking Fund the Condo will be financially better off.(probably unlikely)One may assume you are all being ripped off as the Government rate for electric is little over 3 Baht. Seems to me that Matrix should be avoided.

BW

[i claudius]

Another reason to rent ,when the shit hits the fan ,you can walk away.

[GirlDrinkDrunk]

That, of course, assumes that you can sell your shabby condo to some sucker in this buyers' market.

no, that assumes you are renting

[GirlDrinkDrunk]

Stay away from Matrix .

So the latest news here is that I will not get my title deed until earliest November 2013 !!!

So that means I will be charged double price of electricity and water almost 1 year since I moved in here in February !!

I lose 2000 baht monthly and there is nothing I can do . Well played Matrix !

balo.

Look on the bright side, If Matrix put profits they are skimming from the electric into the Maintainance or Sinking Fund the Condo will be financially better off.(probably unlikely)One may assume you are all being ripped off as the Government rate for electric is little over 3 Baht. Seems to me that Matrix should be avoided.

BW

you have been told a temporary meter bills high, as anyone who has built can attest. when i built a place 6 or 7 years back the temporary meter came in at almost 6 baht per. the cost of electricity has gone up substantially since then.

you are being done in a manner of speaking, but very likely not by matrix

[JakeBKK]

A waterfall is a noisy, energy-hungry issue. i do not understand why one would move next to it, then live in a 28 m2 phone booth for a million baht next to it.

Edited July 27, 2013 by JakeBKK

[jbrain]

More reasons to stay away from condos with a 20" pole.

Thats not so, many established condos are well looked after, even at almost 20 years old. Am suprised at Park Lane as Matrix seem to be one of the better developers. Some good points on upkeep of these massive feature pools etc, sinking funds are about 600 Baht per sqm and maintenance 39/49 Baht sqm, so not cheap and this should cover future costs. I believe Matrix hand over management after 3 years so interesting to see also what happens at that stage.

It is as you say Mister real estate agent.

Some good points on upkeep of these massive FUTURE pools etc,

Edited July 27, 2013 by jbrain

[paddyjenkins]

Never buy off plan, full stop. And given that every completed condo I have seen has been a decaying, stinking tip, at best fit for habitation in its present form, but fast becoming unihabitable, I have to say also never buy completed condos. In short, never but a condo in Pattaya, completed or off plan.

[JakeBKK]

Never buy off plan, full stop. And given that every completed condo I have seen has been a decaying, stinking tip, at best fit for habitation in its present form, but fast becoming unihabitable, I have to say also never buy completed condos. In short, never but a condo in Pattaya, completed or off plan.

And even if you do follow this advice, it does not prevent from management running away with funds,skimming whatsoever.

Edited July 27, 2013 by JakeBKK

[Benmart]

I will rent when I land in August and see where the real-estate roller coaster goes. From what I've seen in the last 20 years, it's hit or miss in build quality and maintenance. The real estate animal is awash with questionable practices much as was/is the case back home. Buyer beware and use extreme caution.

These Disneyland like water features and other eye candy are a maintenance nightmare that will require a lot of money to maintain.

[smutcakes]

More reasons to stay away from condos with a 20" pole.

Thats not so, many established condos are well looked after, even at almost 20 years old. Am suprised at Park Lane as Matrix seem to be one of the better developers. Some good points on upkeep of these massive feature pools etc, sinking funds are about 600 Baht per sqm and maintenance 39/49 Baht sqm, so not cheap and this should cover future costs. I believe Matrix hand over management after 3 years so interesting to see also what happens at that stage.

It is cheap- the problem you have in is these developments in Pattaya with 300-600 units, but the actual sellable space is small, as all the units are small. So in essence you do not have a large income to manage the property, but with that number of units, people in the building they are extremely management intensive on lifts, fitness use etc. Some of the planned even bigger developments with 100's of 20 sq m studios, will be close to unmanageable.

[brummiebob]

When I got my house in a project, the electric meters was in the developer's name for years, Maybe it's something to do with the mortgage? or maybe they didn't have temporary meters system back then

[I Like Thai]

If you don't get a bill from the electricity company, set against the actual units you use, then don't pay anything. If they threaten to cut you off then sue them.

[anto]

Park Lane ,next to Paradise Park and also developed by Matrix was the same .I bought a unit there and did not get an official meter for at least a year .About 4 months after i got the Chanote and blue book .

Another shock was the transfer and tax costs .The buyer pays 100% and that worked out at B90,000 ,on a Condo i bought for B1,200,000 .

Building quality seemed ok to me except for one near disaster .The Condo was empty for about 6 weeks and the week i came back to check it out there was very heavy rain .The drain in the balcony had blocked and the rain water was coming in to the Condo itself through the bottom of the sliding balcony doors .I returned to the Condo to find it flooded with about an inch of water all around inside .They did sort that out after a few days and several visits to the Condo management office .

Then i rented out the Cond for about a year at B10,000 a month before selling it to a Russian for B1,370,000 (B70,000 of that went to the selling agent as a fee .)

Edited July 28, 2013 by anto

[balo]

Park Lane ,next to Paradise Park and also developed by Matrix was the same .I bought a unit there and did not get an official meter for at least a year .About 4 months after i got the Chanote and blue book .

Another shock was the transfer and tax costs .The buyer pays 100% and that worked out at B90,000 ,on a Condo i bought for B1,200,000 .

Building quality seemed ok to me except for one near disaster .The Condo was empty for about 6 weeks and the week i came back to check it out there was very heavy rain .The drain in the balcony had blocked and the rain water was coming in to the Condo itself through the bottom of the sliding balcony doors .I returned to the Condo to find it flooded with about an inch of water all around inside .They did sort that out after a few days and several visits to the Condo management office .

Then i rented out the Cond for about a year at B10,000 a month before selling it to a Russian for B1,370,000 (B70,000 of that went to the selling agent as a fee .)

Interesting , thanks for that information .

So you paid double price for a year too , seems to me that Matrix is speculating in this and it's always difficult to get a clear answer from them , I have asked them a lot of questions but they try to avoid the difficult ones.

So did you get your chanote after 4 months or 1 year after you moved in? And yes I was stupid enough to sign an agreement before I moved in that I have to pay all the transfer fees and tax .

I hope to do the same as you , sell the condo to Russians , they are the only one stupid enough to buy .

Edited July 28, 2013 by balo