How is the Pattaya Rental Market Now?

[RuamRudy]

I own a condo in central Pattaya which I rent out, but the leasee insists only on signing a 6 month contract, and each time it is up for renewal he whinges and moans about everything imaginable, trying to get a reduction in the already very reasonable rent. He made it clear that next renewal time, he wants a 15% reduction in the rent or he will leave because, according to him, there are few people looking for rental at the moment and it is therefore a leasee's market. I have decided that I am not going to concede to his request, and will chance my arm and find another tenant - but how depressed is the Pattaya rental market really?

[KittenKong]

I suspect that it's a buyer's market though of course it will depend hugely on where your condo is located and how desirable it is.

Are other rental units in your building vacant? If so, maybe this bird in the hand is worth hanging on to.

[namatjira]

A bird in the hand........something is better than nothing.....take a long time to claw back your money if it does not rent for 6 months or so

[trogers]

Vacancy levels in most buildings are over a third?

[chicago faggot]

how much are you charging and how does it compare.

as long as the place isnt infested with security thugs i could be interested

Edited May 30, 2016 by chicago faggot

[RuamRudy]

how much are you charging and how does it compare.

as long as the place isnt infested with security thugs i could be interested

It is a 115 sqm 2 bed/2 bathroom condo at the north end of Thappraya Rd in a 6yr old building. A couple of years ago I was getting 35k a month, now the tenant is paying 29k and wants it to drop to 25k.

[malcoml]

Not sure but when i first arrived to Pattaya in 09 there was only a hand full of houses available and no moving in price.

By 2014 it seemed rents had dropped 40% or so. I hear from friends it has stabalised there is just a heap more vacant.

I straight out told my landlord to meet the market. She refused, I moved into an identical house across the road. Her house sat vacant for 7 months and she ended up renting it to Thais for what i offered.

[landslide]

Perhaps you could offer him his price. if he signs a long term contract and pays up front.

[Suradit69]

Perhaps you could offer him his price. if he signs a long term contract and pays up front.

Good idea. Offer the monthly discount he's asking for but insist on a 12 month contract for agreeing to that concession.

Quite obvious that many units in my building that were occupied during the high season are empty now, but I get the impression that many of those are owner occupied (since it's the same people staying in them during winter months each year) and they are not attempting to rent them now.

I used my condo for nearly a decade only 3 or 4 months a year before taking up full time residence. I never had any interest in renting it out during my absence.

So just because there's an obvious drop off in the number of people in a building when you compare January to June, it doesn't mean that all those unoccupied units are available to renters.

Edited May 31, 2016 by Suradit69

[williamgeorgeallen]

Perhaps you could offer him his price. if he signs a long term contract and pays up front.

good ideas. so many places for rent. i wish i had not bought my condos now as it is so cheap to rent and it would have left me more flexibility. my friend has a place in paradise park, the tenant wanted a rent reduction and he said no. place has been empty for a long time now. tenants are hard to come by.

[bazza40]

how much are you charging and how does it compare.

as long as the place isnt infested with security thugs i could be interested

It is a 115 sqm 2 bed/2 bathroom condo at the north end of Thappraya Rd in a 6yr old building. A couple of years ago I was getting 35k a month, now the tenant is paying 29k and wants it to drop to 25k.

Is your tenant one who pays on time and treats your property with respect?

You will be losing 24K baht over the 6 months if he stays. On the other hand, you have two risks if he goes. One is losing 150K baht if you can't attract another tenant.

The other risk is unquantifiable,but if you get a tenant who trashes your condo your gain may turn to ashes.

I'm speaking as someone who has been both a landlord and a tenant. Landlords should treat good tenants like gold. IMHO, your tenant is not being unreasonable in a falling market. And 35K baht is high end to me. However,up to you.

[bazza40]

Perhaps you could offer him his price. if he signs a long term contract and pays up front.

good ideas. so many places for rent. i wish i had not bought my condos now as it is so cheap to rent and it would have left me more flexibility. my friend has a place in paradise park, the tenant wanted a rent reduction and he said no. place has been empty for a long time now. tenants are hard to come by.

I believe there is a rental market of 1-2 months in coastal places such as Pattaya or Phuket for people wishing to get away from the smoky season in central and northern Thailand. However,perhaps landlords need to be more flexible.

[bazza40]

Perhaps you could offer him his price. if he signs a long term contract and pays up front.

Good idea. Offer the monthly discount he's asking for but insist on a 12 month contract for agreeing to that concession.

Quite obvious that many units in my building that were occupied during the high season are empty now, but I get the impression that many of those are owner occupied (since it's the same people staying in them during winter months each year) and they are not attempting to rent them now.

I used my condo for nearly a decade only 3 or 4 months a year before taking up full time residence. I never had any interest in renting it out during my absence.

So just because there's an obvious drop off in the number of people in a building when you compare January to June, it doesn't mean that all those unoccupied units are available to renters.

Perhaps people don't attempt to rent their condos out during low season because they know tenants are in short supply. The real estate agents here are not exactly dynamic entrepreneurs.

[iggie]

IMHO, accept the offer with a Longer Period as a compromise between both parties.

Market situation is quite bad in Pattaya now. Tenants are hard to come by now.

I have 2 Condos Centrally located and had to accept 3 months Tenancy Contracts with the Tenant since Jan. (one of the condos)

I have started to occupy the other due to lack of Tenants during this Low season.

[KittenKong]

When I rented I paid yearly in advance and got a 45% discount on the asking price, and that was a few years ago.

[Sydebolle]

Had the same arm twisting kind of tenant. Forget pride and manners, let figures speak:

6 x THB 29'000 = THB 174'000 (present deal)
6 x THB 25'000 = THB 150'000 (new deal)
6 x THB 4'000 = THB 24'000 (loss of your revenue)

If you cannot replace the tenant within a month with a same-priced tenant then you are on the losing side. Start looking for a new tenant now and, worst case scenario, accept the THB 25'000, again on a six months deal. Times will improve over time and that's when you boot out the tenant; simple as that.
You can also get a friend to act as "mystery tenant" just to rattle the cage - not knowing details it could be playing with fire.

Maybe the tenant is reading Thaivisa too; my advice to him would be to keep the deal on THB 29K on a three year deal with the possibility to terminate the deal on a three months basis because over time rents will skyrocket (just wait for the avalanche of lovely Chinese brethren to sort things out). Pattaya springs to mind and finding a decent deal on a 115m2 place is not THAT easy after all. Different with pigeon holes but that's a different story again.

[travelerjim]

how much are you charging and how does it compare.

as long as the place isnt infested with security thugs i could be interested

It is a 115 sqm 2 bed/2 bathroom condo at the north end of Thappraya Rd in a 6yr old building. A couple of years ago I was getting 35k a month, now the tenant is paying 29k and wants it to drop to 25k.

Renew the lease and be thankful.

The property market in Pattaya is in decline IMHO.

Edited May 31, 2016 by travelerjim

[emilymat]

how much are you charging and how does it compare.

as long as the place isnt infested with security thugs i could be interested

It is a 115 sqm 2 bed/2 bathroom condo at the north end of Thappraya Rd in a 6yr old building. A couple of years ago I was getting 35k a month, now the tenant is paying 29k and wants it to drop to 25k.

Is your tenant one who pays on time and treats your property with respect?

You will be losing 24K baht over the 6 months if he stays. On the other hand, you have two risks if he goes. One is losing 150K baht if you can't attract another tenant.

The other risk is unquantifiable,but if you get a tenant who trashes your condo your gain may turn to ashes.

I'm speaking as someone who has been both a landlord and a tenant. Landlords should treat good tenants like gold. IMHO, your tenant is not being unreasonable in a falling market. And 35K baht is high end to me. However,up to you.

I have been a tenant in a 3 bed-roomed house, for 2 years. Two months ago my landlord (A Thai lady married to a UK citizen) advised me she wished to reduce my rent as I'd been a good tenant. I actually refused, as I thought the 18,000 a month was very reasonable and I had only treated the property with the respect as if it were my own. We ended up compromising with her paying my phone and internet charge each month.

The point of the above is to re-inforce your statement on the need for tenant and landlord to have a good relationship. I hope the guy can sort something out using the sensible advice put forward by posters.

[hagler]

If you don't really need the dough then get rid of him.

I got more than 1 or 2 rental properties and I dont take <deleted> from any tenants anywhere no matter what the market is. Life is too short for the shortchangers.

[bazza40]

If you don't really need the dough then get rid of him.

I got more than 1 or 2 rental properties and I dont take <deleted> from any tenants anywhere no matter what the market is. Life is too short for the shortchangers.

There are many landlords/owners in Thailand who won't do essential maintenance, keep security deposits without a valid reason, or generally ignore upkeep. What tenant wants to sleep on a twenty-five year old mattress?

Life is too short to put up with a***hole landlords also.

Edited May 31, 2016 by bazza40

[Sooo Upto Me]

how much are you charging and how does it compare.

as long as the place isnt infested with security thugs i could be interested

It is a 115 sqm 2 bed/2 bathroom condo at the north end of Thappraya Rd in a 6yr old building. A couple of years ago I was getting 35k a month, now the tenant is paying 29k and wants it to drop to 25k.

Meet him halfway 27k. Still good money, can't afford to leave it empty.

Somethings better than nothing

[Sooo Upto Me]

If you don't really need the dough then get rid of him.

I got more than 1 or 2 rental properties and I dont take <deleted> from any tenants anywhere no matter what the market is. Life is too short for the shortchangers.

Thank God u don't work for me with that attitude.

[mrfaroukh]

There are not many European tourist around, Chinese are coming but on low budget tour staying in good LK hotels at very low price. I know of one that the room rent is 1800 and is given to Chinese for 700 a night.

I usually rent a condo for few months when I come to Pattaya. Earlier if I come around November I would be having problem finding the condo I was interested but this time I could see many adds for rental condo. Price of some condo that usually was round 26000 to 30 000. I got it for 20 000 a month. Recently I see add for another condo that used to be 35000 to 40 000 a month and they now want 25000, may be we can even bargain.

So my advise if you reduce your rent you will be better off. Think how much you lose if you reduce your rent by 15%, now calculate how much you lose if your condo stay empty for 2 to 3 months only if you lucky to get new tenants. I am the loos will be much more.

[12DrinkMore]

Aah, isn't it good to see market forces at work?

[Gsxrnz]

Condos and houses are ten a penny at the moment and it's been getting worse for landlords for the last three years. I rent a house in a village and am paying 12k less per month than I was four years ago because at renewals i always ask for a reduction due to an oversupply of houses for rent.

Luckily my several landlords (except one) have understand simple maths, and before I rented the current house it was vacant for over a year. The house I vacated a year ago is still empty, and i only wanted a 3k per month reduction.

OP - take the deal but insist on a 12 month contract and three months deposit up front. The maths is simple, and cutting of one's nose to spite one's face is rarely a wise decision.

[1FinickyOne]

Absolutely take the rent and sounds like you should be happy to get it... just figure out how many idle months and the cost for finding a new tenant will likely add up to.. and how long it will take you to get it back.

I have always been thankful when I had renters who paid on time and did anything to keep them...

[BernieOnTour]

The market is definitely down, no matter, if sale or rent, if houses or condos.

From your location and condo size, I assume, it is an older building - this year, again 1000s of new condos will be finished and hit an already oversaturated market.

This low season is the lowest of all, the number of Westerners is considerably down, also the Russians with their 50% devaluated Ruble are staying away.

The request of your tenant sounds sensible: a friend of mine just recently rented a 118 sqm 2-BR with high quality furniture in a nice, 5 year old condomnium for 23.000. - The old quotation was 39.000, but the landlord could not find a new tenant for 9 months, even for 28k he was not able to find a tenant.

[ozyjon]

I still own some rental properties in Europe, with previously

involved in rental properties in Australia and the US,, what

i noticed every year at tax time was that earnings went up

some years as went down some years but what was the

interesting thing was that the earnings went up and down

in all countries simultaneously, that was very interesting,

as governments increased taxes on rentals and financial

strain hit the people my earnings went down, our family

had some rental properties on Costa Del Sol, then there

was a building boom, now there is misery because over

supply and degrading buildings, i have sold many buildings

and i hope Thailand doesn't go that way.

Absolutely horrible.

[trogers]

I still own some rental properties in Europe, with previously

involved in rental properties in Australia and the US,, what

i noticed every year at tax time was that earnings went up

some years as went down some years but what was the

interesting thing was that the earnings went up and down

in all countries simultaneously, that was very interesting,

as governments increased taxes on rentals and financial

strain hit the people my earnings went down, our family

had some rental properties on Costa Del Sol, then there

was a building boom, now there is misery because over

supply and degrading buildings, i have sold many buildings

and i hope Thailand doesn't go that way.

2016-05-31_18-05-05.jpg

Absolutely horrible.

A result of the herd instinct...

[mcfish]

When I rented I paid yearly in advance and got a 45% discount on the asking price, and that was a few years ago.

I promise you that you were overcharged 45% to begin with.