Looking for house in Cha-am

[kmj]

Hi All,

I'm looking for a 2+ bedroom house in cha-am I don't mind within 3km of the center but would prefer a new(ish) build.

My budget is 15,000

Any ideas? please pm me.

Thank you in advance...

[darrendsd]

Can't help you but one thing I would advise is don't bother looking through the agents on the net

I was looking for a longterm house to rent last week, sent 12 emails to different agents, got one reply

[swissie]

3 Km from the center of Cha-Am for 15'000 is on the high end. Basically a Hua-Hin price.

Why not stay in a Hotel for 2 weeks and have a Thai-National be your scout, just as long as he/she doesn't work for an agency.

He/she may take a one-time-comission, whereas an agency will have a monthly commission built into the rent, can range up to 25 % of the rent for as long as you rent. Go slow.

Cheers.

[PattayaPhom]

Can't help you but one thing I would advise is don't bother looking through the agents on the net

I was looking for a longterm house to rent last week, sent 12 emails to different agents, got one reply

Agents get many emails just saying "more pics and details" in response to adds that have 10-15 pictures and a 200 word description....whats the point in replying when the client hasnt even bothered looking at the pictures or description. Whats wrong with calling...you are in Thailand, surely if you are serious a quick call is easier than emailing...or are you just window shopping and scared to speak to people.

[PattayaPhom]

3 Km from the center of Cha-Am for 15'000 is on the high end. Basically a Hua-Hin price.

Why not stay in a Hotel for 2 weeks and have a Thai-National be your scout, just as long as he/she doesn't work for an agency.

He/she may take a one-time-comission, whereas an agency will have a monthly commission built into the rent, can range up to 25 % of the rent for as long as you rent. Go slow.

Cheers.

Never heard of this commission structure for agents in Thaialnd......25% each month

[darrendsd]

Can't help you but one thing I would advise is don't bother looking through the agents on the net

I was looking for a longterm house to rent last week, sent 12 emails to different agents, got one reply

Agents get many emails just saying "more pics and details" in response to adds that have 10-15 pictures and a 200 word description....whats the point in replying when the client hasnt even bothered looking at the pictures or description. Whats wrong with calling...you are in Thailand, surely if you are serious a quick call is easier than emailing...or are you just window shopping and scared to speak to people.

Nice polite answer

For your information 2 of the emails I sent the agents had rentals available that I was interested in however the ads did not specify if the houses were available for long or short term rent, hence I emailed to ask

The rest were to let the agents know that I was looking for a house and to let them know what kind of house I was looking for and if they had anything available, sometimes agents may have rentals available that they haven't got around to listing yet

All the agents had a "contact us" email address on their website, in my own stupidity I thought that they welcomed email enquirys but by your post it seems they don't

Why on earth would I be scared of talking to people? It was around 10-12 PM when I sent all the emails off to the agents, call me naive but I would hazard a guess that most agents would not be in the office at that time? Hence it was easier to email

No I am not "window shopping" I have found a house now thanks to the age old tradition of going up and down Soi's and looking, why would I waste my time emailing agents before that if I didn't want a house?

1 agent replied to my enquiry, agents in Thailand have a reputation in not being really bothered, various posts on TV will confirm this and now I know this myself

Are you a agent by any chance PattayaPhom?

Edited July 14, 2013 by darrendsd

[swissie]

3 Km from the center of Cha-Am for 15'000 is on the high end. Basically a Hua-Hin price.

Why not stay in a Hotel for 2 weeks and have a Thai-National be your scout, just as long as he/she doesn't work for an agency.

He/she may take a one-time-comission, whereas an agency will have a monthly commission built into the rent, can range up to 25 % of the rent for as long as you rent. Go slow.

Cheers.

Never heard of this commission structure for agents in Thaialnd......25% each month

I wrote: CAN be up to 25% . Of course it will not be listed in the rental-contract as a separate expense, it's built into the monthly rent. It's an "under the table" deal between the agency and the person that has something for rent.

Cheers.

[darrendsd]

3 Km from the center of Cha-Am for 15'000 is on the high end. Basically a Hua-Hin price.

Why not stay in a Hotel for 2 weeks and have a Thai-National be your scout, just as long as he/she doesn't work for an agency.

He/she may take a one-time-comission, whereas an agency will have a monthly commission built into the rent, can range up to 25 % of the rent for as long as you rent. Go slow.

Cheers.

Never heard of this commission structure for agents in Thaialnd......25% each month

I wrote: CAN be up to 25% . Of course it will not be listed in the rental-contract as a separate expense, it's built into the monthly rent. It's an "under the table" deal between the agency and the person that has something for rent.

Cheers.

I wouldn't say it's "under the table" as such, the letter is using the agent to provide a service, obviously the agent wants paying for providing this service

[hansje1980]

www.ddproperty.com covers all provinces including petchaburi

[kmj]

Thanks all, I took Swissie advice and now have a nice place on sports village 10,000 per month no agents just with a local driving around and making call to direct owners

n.b. same location through an agency wanted 18,000 per month

Edited July 15, 2013 by kmj

[PattayaPhom]

Thanks all, I took Swissie advice and now have a nice place on sports village 10,000 per month no agents just with a local driving around and making call to direct owners

n.b. same location through an agency wanted 18,000 per month

Prices at SP range between 6k and 20k.....6k gets an un/part furnished that hasn't been decorated/updated since built. 10k is about right for a reasonable condition with cheap furniture. Fully refurbed with fitted kitchen/oven etc and some with 3 beds go for more. I would think the property advertised by the agency is of the latter, hence 18K

[PattayaPhom]

Can't help you but one thing I would advise is don't bother looking through the agents on the net

I was looking for a longterm house to rent last week, sent 12 emails to different agents, got one reply

Agents get many emails just saying "more pics and details" in response to adds that have 10-15 pictures and a 200 word description....whats the point in replying when the client hasnt even bothered looking at the pictures or description. Whats wrong with calling...you are in Thailand, surely if you are serious a quick call is easier than emailing...or are you just window shopping and scared to speak to people.

Nice polite answer

For your information 2 of the emails I sent the agents had rentals available that I was interested in however the ads did not specify if the houses were available for long or short term rent, hence I emailed to ask

The rest were to let the agents know that I was looking for a house and to let them know what kind of house I was looking for and if they had anything available, sometimes agents may have rentals available that they haven't got around to listing yet

All the agents had a "contact us" email address on their website, in my own stupidity I thought that they welcomed email enquirys but by your post it seems they don't

Why on earth would I be scared of talking to people? It was around 10-12 PM when I sent all the emails off to the agents, call me naive but I would hazard a guess that most agents would not be in the office at that time? Hence it was easier to email

No I am not "window shopping" I have found a house now thanks to the age old tradition of going up and down Soi's and looking, why would I waste my time emailing agents before that if I didn't want a house?

1 agent replied to my enquiry, agents in Thailand have a reputation in not being really bothered, various posts on TV will confirm this and now I know this myself

Are you a agent by any chance PattayaPhom?

I agree, get out and look yourself and find somewhere, only problem with this you have no guarantee of getting your deposit back and when things are wrong with the property you may find the owner slow or reluctant to make repairs but that's the chance you take.

A phone call is always better and easier, you emailed at 10pm so would not have expected a reply until at least the next day..which then you could phone anyway and get an instant answer to your questions.

Seriously, the emails that customers send..."send more pics and details"...this is in response to a full description including 15-20 pictures...really want do they want details of.....its just people copying and pasting and sending to anyone.....when you reply asking please tell me what pictures and details you require, they either don't reply or say "what property you talking about"

[garydubbs]

I agree, get out and look yourself and find somewhere, only problem with this you have no guarantee of getting your deposit back and when things are wrong with the property you may find the owner slow or reluctant to make repairs but that's the chance you take.

no guarantee of getting either of those even with an agency let, in fact no guarantee the agent will still be in business when problems arise.

[darrendsd]

Can't help you but one thing I would advise is don't bother looking through the agents on the net

I was looking for a longterm house to rent last week, sent 12 emails to different agents, got one reply

Agents get many emails just saying "more pics and details" in response to adds that have 10-15 pictures and a 200 word description....whats the point in replying when the client hasnt even bothered looking at the pictures or description. Whats wrong with calling...you are in Thailand, surely if you are serious a quick call is easier than emailing...or are you just window shopping and scared to speak to people.

Nice polite answer

For your information 2 of the emails I sent the agents had rentals available that I was interested in however the ads did not specify if the houses were available for long or short term rent, hence I emailed to ask

The rest were to let the agents know that I was looking for a house and to let them know what kind of house I was looking for and if they had anything available, sometimes agents may have rentals available that they haven't got around to listing yet

All the agents had a "contact us" email address on their website, in my own stupidity I thought that they welcomed email enquirys but by your post it seems they don't

Why on earth would I be scared of talking to people? It was around 10-12 PM when I sent all the emails off to the agents, call me naive but I would hazard a guess that most agents would not be in the office at that time? Hence it was easier to email

No I am not "window shopping" I have found a house now thanks to the age old tradition of going up and down Soi's and looking, why would I waste my time emailing agents before that if I didn't want a house?

1 agent replied to my enquiry, agents in Thailand have a reputation in not being really bothered, various posts on TV will confirm this and now I know this myself

Are you a agent by any chance PattayaPhom?

I agree, get out and look yourself and find somewhere, only problem with this you have no guarantee of getting your deposit back and when things are wrong with the property you may find the owner slow or reluctant to make repairs but that's the chance you take.

A phone call is always better and easier, you emailed at 10pm so would not have expected a reply until at least the next day..which then you could phone anyway and get an instant answer to your questions.

Seriously, the emails that customers send..."send more pics and details"...this is in response to a full description including 15-20 pictures...really want do they want details of.....its just people copying and pasting and sending to anyone.....when you reply asking please tell me what pictures and details you require, they either don't reply or say "what property you talking about"

12 agents 12 phone calls, I don't see how phoning them could be quicker than emailing?

As I said 2 had property that I was interested in and I emailed to ask if they were available on a longterm rent, 1 of these agents replied, actually replied to say the property I enquired about was no longer available but at least they replied

The 10 who I sent general enquirys telling them what I was looking for, my budget etc etc did not reply, even a reply to say we have nothing available but if we do we will contact you is in my view the sign of a good business, the fact that they couldn't be bothered shows me that most of the agents here are not interested

If a company cannot even be bothered to reply to a enquiry which in turn could make them money then in my view they are not worth dealing with again

12 emails sent, 1 reply, if I ever consider buying a house here or someone wants a recommendation for a agent guess which agent will get the business?

Edited July 15, 2013 by darrendsd

[PattayaPhom]

Average typing speed is 40wpm.....only a person with a speech impediment would find it quicker to email

[darrendsd]

Oh my god I honestly can't believe that people would find fault with emailing somebody with a enquiry

Ok so I call them to tell them what I am after, do you think they will have every property suitable for me in their memory? Of course not, they will need to check their database or see if there is anything waiting to go on the database so they will say, A : let us look and we will call you back, or B : Can we have your email address so we can email you with photos and description of anything that will suit your needs

So don't you think the email option is the best bet to start here?

Let me explain to you how emails work PP, I email a company with a enquiry, they check their information and then reply, pretty simple really and as far as I am aware this has been a line of communication for around 20 years now

I notice you haven't commented on my other points PP? To close to home are they?

Edited July 15, 2013 by darrendsd

[TenDreams]

12 agents 12 phone calls, I don't see how phoning them could be quicker than emailing?

As I said 2 had property that I was interested in and I emailed to ask if they were available on a longterm rent, 1 of these agents replied, actually replied to say the property I enquired about was no longer available but at least they replied

The 10 who I sent general enquirys telling them what I was looking for, my budget etc etc did not reply, even a reply to say we have nothing available but if we do we will contact you is in my view the sign of a good business, the fact that they couldn't be bothered shows me that most of the agents here are not interested

If a company cannot even be bothered to reply to a enquiry which in turn could make them money then in my view they are not worth dealing with again

12 emails sent, 1 reply, if I ever consider buying a house here or someone wants a recommendation for a agent guess which agent will get the business?

You didn't know it at the time, but you were sent a PM within minutes/hours of your initial post from someone working for a large property agency in Hua Hin that gave you straight advice without even mentioning their company or trying to work any angle at all. They are not all bad

Edited July 16, 2013 by TenDreams

[darrendsd]

12 agents 12 phone calls, I don't see how phoning them could be quicker than emailing?

As I said 2 had property that I was interested in and I emailed to ask if they were available on a longterm rent, 1 of these agents replied, actually replied to say the property I enquired about was no longer available but at least they replied

The 10 who I sent general enquirys telling them what I was looking for, my budget etc etc did not reply, even a reply to say we have nothing available but if we do we will contact you is in my view the sign of a good business, the fact that they couldn't be bothered shows me that most of the agents here are not interested

If a company cannot even be bothered to reply to a enquiry which in turn could make them money then in my view they are not worth dealing with again

12 emails sent, 1 reply, if I ever consider buying a house here or someone wants a recommendation for a agent guess which agent will get the business?

You didn't know it at the time, but you were sent a PM within minutes/hours of your initial post from someone working for a large property agency in Hua Hin that gave you straight advice without even mentioning their company or trying to work any angle at all. They are not all bad

Exactly, I didn't know it, I thought it was a general poster, why would you hide the fact that you were a agent in your PM? I have no issues in dealing with honest agents

[PattayaPhom]

Oh my god I honestly can't believe that people would find fault with emailing somebody with a enquiry

Ok so I call them to tell them what I am after, do you think they will have every property suitable for me in their memory? Of course not, they will need to check their database or see if there is anything waiting to go on the database so they will say, A : let us look and we will call you back, or B : Can we have your email address so we can email you with photos and description of anything that will suit your needs

So don't you think the email option is the best bet to start here?

Let me explain to you how emails work PP, I email a company with a enquiry, they check their information and then reply, pretty simple really and as far as I am aware this has been a line of communication for around 20 years now

I notice you haven't commented on my other points PP? To close to home are they?

Other points???...

[PattayaPhom]

Oh my god I honestly can't believe that people would find fault with emailing somebody with a enquiry

Ok so I call them to tell them what I am after, do you think they will have every property suitable for me in their memory? Of course not, they will need to check their database or see if there is anything waiting to go on the database so they will say, A : let us look and we will call you back, or B : Can we have your email address so we can email you with photos and description of anything that will suit your needs

So don't you think the email option is the best bet to start here?

Let me explain to you how emails work PP, I email a company with a enquiry, they check their information and then reply, pretty simple really and as far as I am aware this has been a line of communication for around 20 years now

I notice you haven't commented on my other points PP? To close to home are they?

Other points???...I am merely saying its quicker to call rather than email but you still insist emailing is quicker

Edited July 16, 2013 by PattayaPhom

[darrendsd]

Oh my god I honestly can't believe that people would find fault with emailing somebody with a enquiry

Ok so I call them to tell them what I am after, do you think they will have every property suitable for me in their memory? Of course not, they will need to check their database or see if there is anything waiting to go on the database so they will say, A : let us look and we will call you back, or B : Can we have your email address so we can email you with photos and description of anything that will suit your needs

So don't you think the email option is the best bet to start here?

Let me explain to you how emails work PP, I email a company with a enquiry, they check their information and then reply, pretty simple really and as far as I am aware this has been a line of communication for around 20 years now

I notice you haven't commented on my other points PP? To close to home are they?

Other points???...I am merely saying its quicker to call rather than email but you still insist emailing is quicker

When it comes to dealing with 12 people yes it is

A email to each agent, say 1-2 minutes, if they were to reply, the same again reading the reply

A phone call to each agent, by the time I explain what I am looking for and they check their database, approx 10 - 15 minutes each call

In this instance emailing was the best option

Edited July 16, 2013 by darrendsd

[swissie]

This is nothing new, but if having a Thai-National as your scout can save a Farang tons of money (can be wife, GF or other relative). Preferably, the Thai-scout's appearance should resemble the "optics" of a BKK professional that has money, but knows about "Thai-ways". Applies for house-rentals as well as 2 week hotel-bookings.

My occasional hotel-bookings (Cha-Am / Hua Hin) are strictly done by my stepdaughter. Having Farang visitors in the same Hotel and discreetly chatting about the rates, sometimes I don't know if I should laugh or cry.

Cheers.

[somchai jones]

Oh my god I honestly can't believe that people would find fault with emailing somebody with a enquiry

Ok so I call them to tell them what I am after, do you think they will have every property suitable for me in their memory? Of course not, they will need to check their database or see if there is anything waiting to go on the database so they will say, A : let us look and we will call you back, or B : Can we have your email address so we can email you with photos and description of anything that will suit your needs

So don't you think the email option is the best bet to start here?

Let me explain to you how emails work PP, I email a company with a enquiry, they check their information and then reply, pretty simple really and as far as I am aware this has been a line of communication for around 20 years now

I notice you haven't commented on my other points PP? To close to home are they?

About sums it up, if Pattaya Pom's anything to go by, the agents are piss poor. Let's not beat around the bush, driving round the sois looking for deals yourself is by far the best way to find a realistic (and often remarkable price). Certainly helps if you speak Thai. If price is not important or you want it easy, sure, use an agent......be aware you WILL be paying well above the odds. As Cha-am is a retirement home, there is a slew of agents waiting to pray on retirees....in twenty years when I'm at retirement age I still won't use the leeches......

[Cloggie]

Jump on a motorbike and drive around and have a look yourself, can take a few days before you find something.

[garydubbs]

check out the thai property websites, the ones with free classifieds. if you ignore the agents and freelancers there are some gems to be found. i just landed a sweet deal, well below even ground level price and in a prime location (i wish i'd looked before driving round all day lol)