Seeking a year+ long rental in Khanom from March 2014

[rwdrwdrwd]

My wife and I and our baby son are hoping to move to Khanom next year (mid March) with the intention of buying a small bit of land and getting our own place built.

In the meantime we would like to rent a place, at least for a year but perhaps for 18 months - 2 years. These are the criteria:

Essentials:

• 2+ bedroom place
• Unfurnished or very minimal furnishings - we have everything we need
• Near the sea (preferably right on the beach), alternatively with a pool
• Decent A/C options, at least in bedrooms
• Capacity to get decent internet (ideally fibre though I hear it's rare in the area)
• Some garden area
• Reliable hot water and electric
• Good structural condition

Desirables:

• 3rd AC bedroom or dedicated office space
• A pool would be nice even if on the beach
• Off road parking
• Detached house / not a condo
• A bath
• Ideally one level
• Newish build

The budget is open. We currently rent a place with all above essentials (excluding the beach/sea aspect) and some of the desirables for 13k currently - but we'll certainly go higher for the perfect place.

I'm posting this early to get a chance to hopefully find a few options, we can visit in Jan to check places out / search for places but we'd hope to move toward the end / after high season.

Do let me know if you know of anything! Either by reply or by PM

Edited October 31, 2013 by rwdrwdrwd

[mikebike]

Hi rwd!

Just went through the process you are starting. Moved to Khanom 3 months ago, but started looking 6 months ago with similar requirements to yours.

First thought, other than the resorts we have yet to see a private swimming pool at a house here. The sea is your pool!

Is your wife Thai or farang? I ask because mine is farang and although our Thai is reasonable, most landlords speak NO english and we found it easier to bring a native Thai speaking local with us when viewing houses/negotiating.

Like you we had a house-full of furniture already and it was very difficult to find an unfurnished home. We ended up taking a 'lightly' furnished house and then asking the landlord to remove their furnishings.

There is NO issue with internet here. Phone lined based ADSL and stand alone fibre-optic are readily available and speeds are very good considering the light load on the infrastructure compared to busier expat/tourist locations.

We found that internet searches for houses in Khanom was an exercise in futility at best and a portal to some nasty scams at worst… best to get your feet on the ground here and poke around all the sois yourself in January.

There are definitely homes here that would meet your requirements, but not that many, and they tend to be rented VERY quickly. We would be happy to send you some photos/phone numbers for available places via PM if you'd like to have an idea of what's available before you come in January.

[rwdrwdrwd]

Hi mikebike!

Firstly thank you very much for taking to time to give such a detailed and informative response.

The pool is definitely a nice-to-have, especially if we can find very close to the beach, but I thought I would add it to the 'Desirables' list just in case

My wife is Thai so communication with Thai landlords is not a problem. If we find the perfect place and it happens to be furnished we can put some stuff in storage if necessary, but it would certainly be nicer to find somewhere empty (was hoping to catch something brand new before they had a chance to furnish) or a landlord that is amenable to storing their own stuff instead.

I am very glad to hear that the internet is better than I had anticipated - we had a very bad line in the hotel we usually stay at and they indicated it was a problem with the area rather than with their line - sounds like it might have been a fib.. We did hear elsewhere that fibre optic was available on the main stretch of beach, is it more widespread than that? To be honest ADSL is fine so long as it is reliable - are 3BB or CAT (or TRUE) there now, or is it TOT only?

I've certainly spotted some online claims of scams / rogue agents with property in the area unfortunately, this is partly why I'm trying to get info from a few avenues on properties available and to set aside time in January to go and look at options. May I ask how long it took to find your place / how many places you looked at?

If you are able to send us any photos or phone numbers via PM that would be very much appreciated - We buy beer and food for people who do things like that - I'd also like to know what we should be budgeting for if you can offer any advice on this?

Thank you once again!

Edited November 4, 2013 by rwdrwdrwd

[Jody0012]

Here is a place that is quite modern. Very beautiful. Three very modern looking bathrooms and three bedrooms. Right now there is no furniture but the lady who owns this place says she will sought that out once an agreement is reached. When I asked the price she told me she will rent for 25 000 baht a month. I suppose you could negotiate.

It's located about 500m from the beach. It's in the behind Talkoo Resort.

It has a kitchen

Big space

2m+ doors all over the house

Absolute beauty

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[Jody0012]

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[rwdrwdrwd]

ImageUploadedByThaivisa Connect Thailand1383572077.594283.jpg

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

Thank you Jody0012 - looks interesting! Would you be able to PM me some contact details for the landlady?

[Jody0012]

I can do that but I lost her contact details. Give me a few days I will gladly get her details

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[cornishcarlos]

Here is a place that is quite modern. Very beautiful. Three very modern looking bathrooms and three bedrooms. Right now there is no furniture but the lady who owns this place says she will sought that out once an agreement is reached. When I asked the price she told me she will rent for 25 000 baht a month. I suppose you could negotiate.

It's located about 500m from the beach. It's in the behind Talkoo Resort.

It has a kitchen

Big space

2m+ doors all over the house

Absolute beauty

ImageUploadedByThaivisa Connect Thailand1383571468.174379.jpg

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

That is Phuket pricing !!! Not even beach front.

Like Mike says, you need to be there and see for yourself.

There are always plenty of places for rent, well at least I always see signs when driving around.

I would have thought you could get a very nice place for 15k or less.

Mike, what did you get your place for, if I remember it was smaller but only about 6k ??

Still waiting for the house warming BBQ

[mikebike]

Hi mikebike!

Firstly thank you very much for taking to time to give such a detailed and informative response.

The pool is definitely a nice-to-have, especially if we can find very close to the beach, but I thought I would add it to the 'Desirables' list just in case

My wife is Thai so communication with Thai landlords is not a problem. If we find the perfect place and it happens to be furnished we can put some stuff in storage if necessary, but it would certainly be nicer to find somewhere empty (was hoping to catch something brand new before they had a chance to furnish) or a landlord that is amenable to storing their own stuff instead.

I am very glad to hear that the internet is better than I had anticipated - we had a very bad line in the hotel we usually stay at and they indicated it was a problem with the area rather than with their line - sounds like it might have been a fib.. We did hear elsewhere that fibre optic was available on the main stretch of beach, is it more widespread than that? To be honest ADSL is fine so long as it is reliable - are 3BB or CAT (or TRUE) there now, or is it TOT only?

I've certainly spotted some online claims of scams / rogue agents with property in the area unfortunately, this is partly why I'm trying to get info from a few avenues on properties available and to set aside time in January to go and look at options. May I ask how long it took to find your place / how many places you looked at?

If you are able to send us any photos or phone numbers via PM that would be very much appreciated - We buy beer and food for people who do things like that - I'd also like to know what we should be budgeting for if you can offer any advice on this?

Thank you once again!

Hi again RWD. Sorry the reply is so slow, I got caught up in real life!!

Not much NEW construction 'on the beach' so I would be interested in knowing your needs on actual proximity to the beach… 50-100 metres from the beach is a different real estate world to 1km from the beach...

I am not entirely sure of the penetration of fibre-optic off the main drags. TOT is the only game in town for adel-based internet. True Move air cards are popular also but not all that fast.

It took us about 4-6 weeks to find our place.

When I can I will take some pics and gather numbers and forward them to you as a PM. Re budgeting - our home is a little beachfront cottage, 1 bedroom (its just me and my wife), clean, unfurnished 3yrs old @ 70,000 baht/year. The house posted by Jody at 25,000/month would be the (very) high end of the scale.

Hope that helps again, Mick.

[sibelius]

I used to live really lovely house just few hundred meters from the beach, that house is now for rent and other house behind my old house is free now too.

Both houses have big private garden area and basic furnitures, not too much. Internet is easy to get there, i need to find out how much cost the optic cable there, not too much if nearest TOT box is not too far away.

Both houses have 2 bedroom and 2 bathroom, my old house is now about 12000 / month and other is 9000 / month

U stay long time so maybe price is negotiable.

I lived there almost 4 years and really liked.

Location is perfect, near the beach, near the center and 50m away from main road, that alley have only 3 houses and it is dead end road, NO traffic.

If u look from map just near from GOLDEN BEACH hotel

I have brand new houses for rent too but my houses are fully furnished and equipped + not on the beach

Good luck and welcome to Khanom

[rwdrwdrwd]

Hi again RWD. Sorry the reply is so slow, I got caught up in real life!!

Not much NEW construction 'on the beach' so I would be interested in knowing your needs on actual proximity to the beach… 50-100 metres from the beach is a different real estate world to 1km from the beach...

No worries at all, I appreciate you taking the time to reply!

In terms of proximity to the beach, to be honest within 1.5km is good enough, with two identical houses we'd probably choose the one closest to the sea, but a nice house 1.5km would also be great - we have a car and I should probably do a daily run anyway - if the house 1.5km from the beach happened to have a pool (though I know you've mentioned they are very hard to find) we'd consider it on an equal footing to the same house without pool right on the beach.

It took us about 4-6 weeks to find our place.

When I can I will take some pics and gather numbers and forward them to you as a PM. Re budgeting - our home is a little beachfront cottage, 1 bedroom (its just me and my wife), clean, unfurnished 3yrs old @ 70,000 baht/year. The house posted by Jody at 25,000/month would be the (very) high end of the scale.

Sounds like it might be good for us to start in January then, it gives us a couple of months to find something, but heads up on places to start are certainly much appreciated - if you're able to send any info over by PM then that would be awesome. Thank you for adding some clarity to budgets, it sounds like there are some good value places.

I am not entirely sure of the penetration of fibre-optic off the main drags. TOT is the only game in town for adel-based internet. True Move air cards are popular also but not all that fast.

Air cards won't work for us, except as a very occasional backup / additional option, so will have to bear in mind the availability of a TOT connection (and ideally the fibre optic type)

Thank you once again!

[rwdrwdrwd]

I used to live really lovely house just few hundred meters from the beach, that house is now for rent and other house behind my old house is free now too.

Both houses have big private garden area and basic furnitures, not too much. Internet is easy to get there, i need to find out how much cost the optic cable there, not too much if nearest TOT box is not too far away.

Both houses have 2 bedroom and 2 bathroom, my old house is now about 12000 / month and other is 9000 / month

U stay long time so maybe price is negotiable.

I lived there almost 4 years and really liked.

Location is perfect, near the beach, near the center and 50m away from main road, that alley have only 3 houses and it is dead end road, NO traffic.

If u look from map just near from GOLDEN BEACH hotel

I have brand new houses for rent too but my houses are fully furnished and equipped + not on the beach

Good luck and welcome to Khanom

Great answer Sibelius, thank you for posting - we'd certainly be interested in seeing these places in January if they are likely to be available for March onward - could you PM me any contact details etc? In fact I will PM you regarding your brand new houses as well, we wouldn't rule anything out, especially a new house.

[mikebike]

I used to live really lovely house just few hundred meters from the beach, that house is now for rent and other house behind my old house is free now too.

Both houses have big private garden area and basic furnitures, not too much. Internet is easy to get there, i need to find out how much cost the optic cable there, not too much if nearest TOT box is not too far away.

Both houses have 2 bedroom and 2 bathroom, my old house is now about 12000 / month and other is 9000 / month

U stay long time so maybe price is negotiable.

I lived there almost 4 years and really liked.

Location is perfect, near the beach, near the center and 50m away from main road, that alley have only 3 houses and it is dead end road, NO traffic.

If u look from map just near from GOLDEN BEACH hotel

I have brand new houses for rent too but my houses are fully furnished and equipped + not on the beach

Good luck and welcome to Khanom

Great answer Sibelius, thank you for posting - we'd certainly be interested in seeing these places in January if they are likely to be available for March onward - could you PM me any contact details etc? In fact I will PM you regarding your brand new houses as well, we wouldn't rule anything out, especially a new house.

I can vouch for Sib and the houses he has built. He was invaluable to us in our search!!

[rwdrwdrwd]

Just wanted to add a follow up to this topic

Firstly thanks to everybody who contributed, the advice was really helpful and it certainly proved sensible to seek out places by car on the ground in Khanom. We spent a week doing so at the end of January, and probably looked at 15 different houses in total. Prices were mostly in the range of 10k - 25k, and we ended up moving in to a big detached 3/4 bed place with a large garden earlier this month. Looking back at my original desirables / essentials list, we actually got everything in both columns except the on the sea / pool option - we have no pool but the sea is just a 1 - 1.5km drive. Internet is also not great currently but there is the possibility of fibre if we are patient. We did not locate a place with a private pool during our search, but have since seen an advert for one which I am refusing to look at - it looks like a smaller place though.

Have to say though, by far the nicest house we saw was Miki's (@sibelius above) - http://khanomresidence.com/ - He somewhat undersells these in his aside, they are beautifully constructed and fully furnished to an extremely high standard, alongside this the facilities are excellent for long term stayers - 2 saunas and a plunge pool already constructed and a larger pool, bar and cafe area on the way, we seriously considered renting a house here and putting our furniture in storage (or even buying one and selling our furniture - which we might do in a year or two) but for now we had to stay sensible and choose somewhere unfurnished that we could move all of our stuff into.. in short though, for anyone looking to rent long term or buy that is looking for somewhere fully furnished to move into, I highly recommend you check out his properties. Additionally his restaurant in the town, Dusty Gecko, is similarly superb (and good value)!

Thanks again for all the help, and hopefully meet some of you around Khanom!