Want to Buy a House Near to CM - But Flooding, Noise, etc?

[scooterboy]

Hi Guys

We're looking to buy a 3 bed / 2 bath house in a quiet semi-rural area, with a decent (200 tw up to 1 rai) sized land, not too far outside of CM and definitely NOT in a gated community.

It ought to be reasonably easy and there are many nice-looking houses around. However, I can still
remember the problems with flooding that occurred just a few years back (and in some places occur
every year! ). I naturally want to avoid any areas that are remotely prone to flooding.

We've seen (on the internet) some nice houses in Mai Rim, San Patong, San Sai and San Kamphaeng. Too, Doi Saket looks quite interesting.

Do you guys know which of the above areas are prone to flooding - or maybe just "not advisable to live" areas (noise, crime, maybe)?

Another area is Mae Taeng (or maybe it's Mae Daeng). Houses seem to be very good and some plots are quite large. The wife says to steer clear of this particular area, as she's heard that chanotes are
often "illegal" or non-existent. The area is supposed to include a national park, which some people
may have illegally built on. Can anyone shed any light on this?

Some posters may even know of other suitable areas around CM that I haven't mentioned?

Lastly - there are plenty of websites for people selling houses - but does anyone know of any buyers'
websites (not agencies!), where you can post info of what sort of house you're looking to buy?

Thanks for any help

[worgeordie]

No noise,virtually impossible in Thailand,some people even complain

about the "dawn chorus",!, if you want to be outside town,you would

most likely get more land,and if you don't mind an older house you

will be able to buy at a better price.

Heres another tip for you,look for a house that already has houses

built up around it and no spare empty land nearby ,as here the building

laws are very lax, and you could end up with a scrap yard,karaoke,and

almost anything nasty been built near you..

Try up the Mae Jo Road, or Doi Saket road, good access to town,and

all facilities at beginning of both roads ,shops Malls,little need to go into

town anyway.

Look or put a free Wanted add,on ThaiVisa classifieds,or Bahtsold,

or just drive up said roads and look around,sellers often have signs on

the gates or posts out on the main roads. Good Luck.

Regards Worgeordie

[scooterboy]

Thanks - and some good advice, WG!

"No noise" isn't about the dawn chorus - it's more about karaoke and industrial type of noise....

Older house, younger house - no big deal, as long as the house has 'personality', then that'd be a good thing.

Well, we don't yet live in or anywhere near to CM, so just "taking a drive" around any area is not an easy option, though I do take your point.

Thanks for the tips about Mae Jo Road and Doi Saket road - useful!

Cheers, mate

Yes - I'll try the TV ad, too, though Bahtsold doesn't seem to really cater much for the CM area. Might give it a go, though, and see what - if anything - happens.

[BillyBobThai]

Try south of town, Hang Dong, San Patong areas. When we moved up from Phichit we stayed in a hotel for a month and went out driving around every day. Don't rush it.

[worgeordie]

Try south of town, Hang Dong, San Patong areas. When we moved up from Phichit we stayed in a hotel for a month and went out driving around every day. Don't rush it.

Would the planes taking off and landing not bother him,stresses wants no noise.

regards Worgeordie

[roger1999]

I got use to the airplane noise real fast when I moved into Nimmen. Even my dog has no problem with it now.

[uptheos]

"Another area is Mae Taeng (or maybe it's Mae Daeng). Houses seem to be very good and some plots are quite large. The wife says to steer clear of this particular area, as she's heard that chanotes are often "illegal" or non-existent. The area is supposed to include a national park, which some people may have illegally built on. Can anyone shed any light on this?"

A trip to the land office will soon confirm.

I doubt your wife fancies being in Mae Tang.

[scooterboy]

Hang Dong is generally very flat - we've already seen some flooding in that area last year - although some (many!) areas were still quite dry..

Yes, the plane noise could be distracting. I know people say you get used to it, but I think I'd prefer the chance to live in another area, thanks, even though there are some very nice houses in HD.

.

"A trip to the land office will soon confirm."

Yes, that's what I'd said _ but I just got the TIT look and a wry smile..... Later in the day I read about the poor sod in Phuket who got his property taken away - a "mistake" had been made....

Even as "far" out as Lamphun would be quite OK - though not Lampang..

Cheers

.

[I Like Thai]

I got use to the airplane noise real fast when I moved into Nimmen. Even my dog has no problem with it now.

You're so accustomed to it that that you have conversations with your dog about it.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Try south of town, Hang Dong, San Patong areas. When we moved up from Phichit we stayed in a hotel for a month and went out driving around every day. Don't rush it.

Would the planes taking off and landing not bother him,stresses wants no noise.

regards Worgeordie

Only on the East side of the Hang Dong road. West side once you get past the Middle RIng (and any side when you get to Hang Dong proper) is not an issue. This also because Thailand in general is a noisy place; when planes aren't flying pretty much overhead but you have some horizontal space you don't really hear them. Anyway it's easy enough to check by standing there for half an hour or so and gauge the noise.

The OP may consider looking at land first, and then building something. That makes it easier than looking for the combination of nice house + nice area at the same time. But at the same time you sign up for a year of headaches as the build progresses. Another challenge when not buying in a moo ban is that it's sometimes hard to find plots that aren't too large. All too often you find very nice land, but then there is 10 rai of it, and the seller doesn't want to cut it up.

As for flooding, this can be quite local. For example some areas near the river in San Sai district can flood.. but San Sai is a huge area and only a tiny bit would actually flood. It's mostly not a problem, but you do want to ask around in the area if it ever flooded.

[scooterboy]

Thanks for the advice - been away all day and have just got back home.

I agree, flooding is often very local and it can be a good idea to ask around any area that appeals to us.

True, noise is everywhere, but in the evenings (and sometimes during the night!) some places are more noisy than others. Can't say I'm fond of not being able to sleep, due to loud parties and boom-boom-boom coming from the walls of loudspeakers that some folks think it's necessary to have.

Cheers

[circusman]

Why not just rent. That way you can just move away from anything bothering you.

[scooterboy]

Renting could certainly be an option for me....but not for the wife.

I've even suggested renting for a limited time - say, 6 months or a year, but it's a no-go area..

She is extremely careful with our economy and I rather think she would hate to see someone else pocketing our money every month.

Cheers

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Renting could certainly be an option for me....but not for the wife.

I've even suggested renting for a limited time - say, 6 months or a year, but it's a no-go area..

She is extremely careful with our economy and I rather think she would hate to see someone else pocketing our money every month.

If you do find a place that you like and the seller is willing to let you rent for a couple months first, possibly with a deposit on the purchase afterwards, then you'd be nuts not to do for it. A lot of the small details you really only find out when actually living somehwere. (Both good and bad)

If that's not an option (it's actually rare that it is, and if the sale is a good deal then you also don't want to delay it) then at least camp out there at different times of the day and days of the week to see what goes on.

[opalred]

i live in maerim some good areas around here where many frang live in quite areas my wife sells real estate in area and arranges builders for many farangs if want to look cheers allan

[scooterboy]

@WtK - yeah, right! That'd be a nice thing, but as you say, it's pretty rare for a seller to want to rent just for a few months in the hope of me buying. I'm sure if I really liked a place, then I'd probably concentrate more on buying it, rather than renting it.

BUT - ya never know!

Yep - you only really get to know an area by living there for a while. Guess I've been pretty lucky - only one place I've stayed in has turned out to be something of a bummer - and not THAT bad, either..

Thanks, I know that coming back to a possible buy at different times of the day/week is a good thing - but it's obviously not always possible. We've got other things to do, as well. Some guys here have already given some useful info, all of which is much appreciated.

@ opaired. Many thanks for the offer. I'll get in touch if we find Mae Rim to be an area of interest. There's a Mae Rim area in Lamphun, too, which is said to flood out almost every year. Hopefully you're referring to CM Mae Rim - maybe that one don't flood out very often!

Cheers