Renting a house

[moogradod]

We will soon come to Thailand (Non-immi-O or O-A) with the intention to retire.

Renting a house seems to be one of the first steps after opening accounts for the 800K. Must accomodate 4+ people (at least 3 seperate bedrooms (+1 for visitors) - at least 2 bathrooms)

What is the best way to get a reasonable local offer (no farang prices) ? My wife is Thai.

Most of the offers that appear on the internet and even those in the (Thai) magazines that you find at bookstores or in the skytrain stations in BKK seem to be a bit on the expensive side (just my impression).

1. Where to look - Thai newspapers, internet, approach local brokers ?

2. Do I have to conclude the contract (Application for driving license in mind or immigrations) or is it OK if my wife does that

3. Is it reasonable to calculate with 35'000 Baht/Month for a house with 5 rooms and 2 Bathrooms plus small swimming pool in a quiet area having fast internet access? I know it depends on the area - but lets say in 20-30 minutes driving range of either Hua Hin, Pattaya, Bangkok. The 20-30 minutes are a result of "emergency hospitalization possibilities" considerations

4. Further budgetary considerations: Internet: 2'000, Water/Electric: 7'000, Digital TV 1'500. all per month.

5. Is there something like a household insurance (theft, accidents) ? Example: Lets say they break in the house and steal guitars valued at 200'000. The insurance should then cover that fully. Expensve ? Impossible ?

Any ideas are appreciated very much.

Edited December 8, 2013 by moogradod

[moogradod]

I am just wondering why nobody has replied to that post.

Is there something wrong with it that I do not perceive ? Offending ? Not appropriate ? Boring cause asked thousand times before ?.....

Just imagine someone arriving for retirement and he has no home yet. Check in a hotel and rent a car to look for a home (rental). Study the ads in the books at the bookshops. But theses are all brokers ! And I read here that those are to be avoided because of the prices.

Has nobody been in this situation ? I am aware of the property section of this forum.

But what do the Thais do if they want to find a reasonable home for rent ? And how about the household insurance. I have been told that an occasional burglars visit is not that uncommon. And the security features (locks, doors etc.) of Thai houses are ridiculous.

[metisdead]

Moving to the Accommodation finding forum.

[CharlieH]

Where ? Do you want this accomadation?

[Spoonman]

For a 5 bed house near Pattaya with a private pool I would think you will need a starting point of atleast 60k per month, that is if you can find a 5 bed house for rent to begin with.

Internet from 590b per month.

water depends on usage, lots of people taking showers/using toilet/swimming pool top ups etc. I would budget about 1k per month.

electric depends on usage once again, shower water heaters/water pumps/air conditioning/pool pumps/filters... I would budget around 10k per month.

Edited December 26, 2013 by Spoonman

[moogradod]

Thanks a lot for the feedback and questions !!

I am asking right now just for budgetary purposes and for the general planning how to move ahead once we have arrrived at the airport. 50K is a bit much for us. The optimum is 4 bedrooms plus one room, but if it is significantly cheaper I could even skip one of the rooms. Electricity at 10k plus 1k water - this is quite a lot, too - will try to squeeze this into the budget. Highspeed Internet is a must. 590 seems very reasonable. 2000 has been budgeted so far.

SInce everthing is in the planning phase we do not even know where to stay exactly. The family of my wife stays about 350km north east of BKK, but this is pretty much nowhere land (with Nakhorn Ratchasima 70km away - seems not to be such a nice place - have been to the city a couple of times - but maybe somewhere in the vicinity ?) To begin with I would like to search near Pattaya or Hua Hin or even outside Bangkok. Medical care and food supply and cost of living are important. Foodland nearby is an advantage, primarily because of my 89 year old mother.

Even the vicinity of Pattaya seems to have suffered a massive price increase for houses and condos. Hua Hin seems to be better in this regard. We have to install ourselves first and then we will have to look around all over the country for the best bargain and area. We could even buy a house some time later but not in the beginning - and never ever from a "project". I want to see what I get and even spend some nights there before a decision might be taken. Noise is an issue. No airport no highway no karaoke lovers nearby. And no other building projects on the way in the vicinity (I wonder how I could find out in Thailand about that - in Switzerland this would be easier)

What do you think about the prices for houses, rent etc. in general ? This is highly subjective, but it seems to me that everybody tries to overprice. I recently saw an advertisement for a house for more than 20 Millions and other ads for up to 70 Millions !. A (comparable) house for 20 Million could not be obtained easily in Switzerland where I live, but in Germany without problem. Probably with a better build quality. I expect a significantly lower price range in Thailand.

[Spoonman]

once you go above a 3 bed house the rental prices will jump significantly.

[Jasun]

1. If you were looking for a condo, i'd recommend walking the streets, but for a house you'll probably need to start online. This site, DD property, acute realty, craigslist, eve house, and the websites for the various real estate brokers. You might end up with an agent, but it won't cost you anything as the fees are paid by the landlord.

2. Anyone can be on the lease, in your situation it could be good to have both of you.

3. A 4-5 bedrooms and pool seems like a big ask on that budget. You might get a 3-4 bedroom townhouse in a complex with a common pool. These are pretty common in the outer areas of Bangkok. 35K might be ok a lot further out of town. Remember, everything is negotiable, and it's a renter's/buyer's market.

4. You could probably get by on half those utility estimates, unless you can't live a moment without air con.

5. House and contents insurance is available, works out about the same as it would in the west, check with your bank when you open an account. If you're on the ground floor, bars on windows and decent locks will be a better investment. If you're taking a long lease, you can negotiate with the owner to have things like that installed.

[moogradod]

Thanks again !!!

Now I am getting the picture much more than before. I will look as well into options in areas which are not so well known.

Really helpful advice and info.

Happy Christmas to all

Today first snow since a long time here. Hope you dont need a heater right now over there in Thailand.

[Tom Wattana]

Would you consider a 224 sq.m.-2 storey detached house without swimming pool. 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Parking space fits for 3-5 cars, and 20 sq.m. garden. The house only is 15000 bath/per month.

[MRTHAIBRI]

I would suggest you head to Bangkok, check in to a cheap hotel or find a condo for a month, rent a car for the same period then start having a good look around for a location that interests you. Use Thai Visa rental property search & contact owner/agent when you find a property that interests you. DD Properties are also a good start. Use the internet, that's what it's for! Prices for electricity, water and internet will vary. Consider a satellite for TV because it's a one off cost. Huge amount of channels and it's not just aimed at Asians as True Vision is. Been there done that. 84 channels with not much for a farang to watch unless you love sport & repeats of shows you probably have already seen back home. Best advice be patient.

[moogradod]

Thanks for any offers and advice.

So far this is only for budgetary purposes and to complete the general in advance planning. What I have learned is that there is a huge range of possibilities and prices. Depends very much on the location. A decent big house may be obtained for as less as 12'000 (rural area) or hundred thousand(s) ++ for top notch Bangkok. Condos are very expensive in comparison to houses. Bottom line is: My 35'000 Baht/month Budget will suffice for a start. This is what I wanted to figure out. As for the procedure - it would be exactly as MRTHAIBRI suggested: Establish a base in a hotel in BKK and rent a car and look in the internet and the sources available.

For TV I would absolutely consider satellite, but this would also cost something per month I suppose (decoder etc.). In fact I would need German TV as well because of my mother - and this would only be obtained via Internet. I am currently evaluating possibilities. Quality is some concern here if you want a medium size picture and not only a computer monitor - and with it the required bandwidth and stability of connection.

[retiredat50]

Would you consider a 224 sq.m.-2 storey detached house without swimming pool. 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Parking space fits for 3-5 cars, and 20 sq.m. garden. The house only is 15000 bath/per month.

More info .. :-) ?

[Tom Wattana]

Would you consider a 224 sq.m.-2 storey detached house without swimming pool. 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Parking space fits for 3-5 cars, and 20 sq.m. garden. The house only is 15000 bath/per month.

More info .. :-) ?

The house is near Nopparat Rachathani Hospital, Fashion Islands shopping mall, Amorini community mall, Mcdonald's, Starbucks. 20-30 minutes to the Suvanabhumi airport.

5 minute drive to express way to downtown BKK.

[Tom Wattana]

Would you consider a 224 sq.m.-2 storey detached house without swimming pool. 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Parking space fits for 3-5 cars, and 20 sq.m. garden. The house only is 15000 bath/per month.

More info .. :-) ?

The house is near Nopparat Rachathani Hospital, Fashion Islands shopping mall, Amorini community mall, Mcdonald's, Starbucks. 20-30 minutes to the Suvanabhumi airport.

5 minute drive to express way to downtown BKK.

It is partly furnished. However, we can discuss if you need complete set of furniture.

[desmondspencer]

was in a similar situation.

Arrived bkk w/family in tow. Stayed at a hotel for 2 weeks. Got a rental car. Drove to lat krabang, bangkok yai & even nonthaburi to look for a place to rent! Ended up with a 3br house in a gated community w/a lap pool for 22k w/a truck already included in the deal. Monthly electrical bill came up to less than 2k, surfing costs less than 1k, tv channels less than 2k. Pool is not a "must have" unless you do skinny dipping and/or nude sun/moon baths on a daily basis. It boils down to compromise. One thing I never take for granted is the security windows and gates in the house. It's a deal breaker if you ask me. Take a chance, roll the dice since it's not worth splitting hairs

Hope you get your house and retire the way you want

[moogradod]

Would you consider a 224 sq.m.-2 storey detached house without swimming pool. 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Parking space fits for 3-5 cars, and 20 sq.m. garden. The house only is 15000 bath/per month.

More info .. :-) ?

The house is near Nopparat Rachathani Hospital, Fashion Islands shopping mall, Amorini community mall, Mcdonald's, Starbucks. 20-30 minutes to the Suvanabhumi airport.

5 minute drive to express way to downtown BKK.

Thank you Tom for all this info. I would love to discuss any offers, but this time has not yet come. I am still in the planning phase and only gathering budgetary info. The move to TH is then intended only in some months time. There is extremely much to prepare beforehand.

[moogradod]

was in a similar situation. Arrived bkk w/family in tow. Stayed at a hotel for 2 weeks. Got a rental car. Drove to lat krabang, bangkok yai & even nonthaburi to look for a place to rent! Ended up with a 3br house in a gated community w/a lap pool for 22k w/a truck already included in the deal. Monthly electrical bill came up to less than 2k, surfing costs less than 1k, tv channels less than 2k. Pool is not a "must have" unless you do skinny dipping and/or nude sun/moon baths on a daily basis. It boils down to compromise. One thing I never take for granted is the security windows and gates in the house. It's a deal breaker if you ask me. Take a chance, roll the dice since it's not worth splitting hairs Hope you get your house and retire the way you want

Thanks for your reply. It is interesting that you drove somewhere to look for a place to rent. How did you know which house was for rent then ? Where there signs in front of the house ? Or did you approach a local broker ? I know that a pool is some luxury, but being in a country with (usually ) hot weather this would be really something I would love to have. Security on the other hand is absolutely mandatory. I dont know how much of that a gated community provides. From what I have seen, the quality of lets say doors and their fixation leaves much to be desired in Thailand. I live in Switzerland and this is generally considered to be a safe country. Nevertheless I had one break-in and one attempt. I did install a 100000+ Baht door then, which is extremely burglar-proof. A normal door lock is no problem for a burglar. The police told me they use a specifically designed tool which works like a corkscrew. But not on my new door anymore. Since I live on the 3rd floor, windows are no issue. If I find the house of my dreams I might negotiate with the owner to install similar safe accessories on my own account.

[desmondspencer]

i merely rented a 4x4 and drove around on the outskirts (gated properties).

they have numerous signs up either for sale and such. I also use ddproperty and searched under "properties for rent"

drove all over and found one very suitable.

I had to negotiate for the vehicle of cos and got it down to a price which was way cheaper than leasing.

driving around yourself will save you loads, compared to introductions & referrals

(that way you can gauge for yourself, since one man's meat might be another man's poison)

good luck in finding your dream home