Nicest condo to live in Chiang Mai 2016

[baywatch82]

I have found the old thread dated 2012, but I believe in 4 years there is a lot of changes.
Old thread mentioned mostly : Mountain front, Floral, Rimping, Convention, Punna Nimman, even Hillside 4.

To clarify - I would like to hear what is the nicest condo in Chiang Mai to live in your opinion. I know there is many factors in play, such as desired location, budget, facilities etc, but would like to hear from you anyway.

What is mostly important for me:

- good management
- good quality construction

- facilities (pool, fitness etc.)
- parking availability

- good access to roads and shops

- no noise at day/night, sense of security

PS. please note, this is NOT condo vs houses debate. As I am foreigner, I can not own house in Thailand.

Edited July 1, 2016 by baywatch82

[baywatch82]

... and my vote will go to North 8 condo (Serene Lake Land and Houses), however I never lived there myself, but seems to be very nice project (I might be wrong).
Beautiful views, excellent sports club (but requires expensive extra memberships), good location and access to BigC, Makro etc., good security level.

[KhonKaenKowboy]

I know what the worst one is; but I think you just sold your interest in it.

[Berkshire]

... and my vote will go to North 8 condo (Serene Lake Land and Houses), however I never lived there myself, but seems to be very nice project (I might be wrong).

Beautiful views, excellent sports club (but requires expensive extra memberships), good location and access to BigC, Makro etc., good security level.

Serene Lake is very nice. Have visited a few times.

[kalbo123]

... and my vote will go to North 8 condo (Serene Lake Land and Houses), however I never lived there myself, but seems to be very nice project (I might be wrong).

Beautiful views, excellent sports club (but requires expensive extra memberships), good location and access to BigC, Makro etc., good security level.

Serene Lake is very nice. Have visited a few times.

Why would one live in a condo that is out of town?

Thought the whole idea of a condo was that you are close to restaurants, shops and other facilities.

[Berkshire]

... and my vote will go to North 8 condo (Serene Lake Land and Houses), however I never lived there myself, but seems to be very nice project (I might be wrong).

Beautiful views, excellent sports club (but requires expensive extra memberships), good location and access to BigC, Makro etc., good security level.

Serene Lake is very nice. Have visited a few times.

Why would one live in a condo that is out of town?

Thought the whole idea of a condo was that you are close to restaurants, shops and other facilities.

Well it depends on what you're looking for, doesn't it? The OP outlined what was important to him. If you have a car, it doesn't really matter if you live out of town. But if you don't, then Serene Lake is not for you.

[daveAustin]

Why would one live in a condo that is out of town?

Thought the whole idea of a condo was that you are close to restaurants, shops and other facilities.

Why not? CM is super busy nowadays - the town is everywhere - and being out of it a bit removes one from the din and pollution somewhat. Mae Hia is an up and coming area, there are restaurants along that spur (between HDong/Canal roads) and Makro, Big C and HomePro are just down the road while the airport is right next door.

North 8 from Perfect Homes: near to plenty of restaurants, cafes, markets and supermarkets. Condominium facilities include swimming pool, CCTV, gym, garden and lake.

I'd live there. There may be some noise from the airport, but it would beat schools, temples, busy roads and honking horns. Land & Houses is a quality outfit. Having 'owned' property there, I can vouch for build quality, management and maintenance and services. Property prices don't tend to drop with this outfit. Land & Houses site.

First thing I'd do with this place would be to install a retractable bed with a hole wall unit to have a bedroom/office/man cave + living room.

[mesquite]

How about noise in this (or any other) condo? Can you hear noise from next door? Do they enforce renovation hours? etc.

I've found condos in CM are incredibly noisy due to lack of control over renovations. Nothing like lying in bed at 9 AM only to hear a jackhammer start, and to have it continue until 9PM. Noisy renovations can last for months. Floral was that way.

Edited July 2, 2016 by mesquite

[MissAndry]

"PS. please note, this is NOT condo vs houses debate. As I am foreigner, I can not own house in Thailand."

But you can rent and live in a house, and you haven't specified 'condo to buy' anywhere.

[Bung]

Karnkonok 3 greenery hill jed yod. (just bought there so I'm biased!) good price comparatively, good construction, good location (close to nimman and easy access to major roads) and apparently properly managed.

[invex]

Dear OP, I presume you're talking about a condo building/complex and not a condo unit itself. We're all different and have different priorities. Me, I could not live in a small expensive box, even in a rather nice building. I consider North 8 being that. Was there once as a Thai lady owner wanted to rent out quick. She bought with the sales promises that the rental income would cover almost her monthly installments. Of course not as she realized soon after she signed the contract. Yes, her condo offered everything: 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, kitchen, living, all in a +/- 40 sqm box !!!!!! My goodness. She paid almost 4M Baht for it and wanted rental income between 25.000 and 30.000 Baht a month........... It might be nice but too far out of town, too isolated and too expensive.

Myself, I need views, air, space and within the city to live good. I have that. Might not be voted as the "nicest condo to live in Chiang Mai" but I don't care. The building is less important to me. The "inside" of where I stay is much more important; I do not see the outside of the building complex being at "home" in one of my rooms. In my humble opinion; I live in perhaps the "nicest condo unit to live in in Chiang Mai". It is light, bright, modern, big, fully equipped, two bedrooms two bathrooms, very quiet, very private and with amazing views. All at very short distance to the "Old city", Night Bazar, 5 star hotels etc. At a fraction of the price of the "newer" buildings. "Newer" buildings getting old very quick here. I have friends with different ideas so they bought those expensive boxes and are not happy with it. Always complain about how bad the construction is and so on. I do not have complaints about my building: very strong and solid and no, I do NOT hear any of my neighbors. I hear different stories from my friends. On top, my condo building is not that bad at all but again, not my priority.

You see OP, difficult to find that "nicest condo" as we are all different with different expectations, ideas, budget and ego. Good luck with your search.

[Beng]

The Floral.

[1FinickyOne]

Hi Invex - So, which building are you in?

There seems such a distinctive difference between the in town condos and out of town condos, that they should be in 2 different categories - out of town able to have somewhat of a resort feeling to it and in town having more of the fun of living in CM city...

Are there any in town locations that have somewhat of a resort feel to them?

[Aussieroaming]

I used to live at the Resort Condominium next to the Convention Centre. It fits the bill and we enjoyed living there.

[Jeffkp]

The Shine. In town, excellent management, very clean. Security (need key card to access building floors, etc). Pool, Gym and sauna. Solid construction and relatively new ( 2-3 years). Set back from road, so very quiet. Many units are vacation homes, so not much of a crowd. Great Landscaping. Location in city on Changklan. about 10 minutes from Night Bazaar.

Units available to rent or buy. Note: this is a higher end development and maint. fees are a bit steep.

As you've probably guessed, I live and own there.

[logon1]

The Shine. In town, excellent management, very clean. Security (need key card to access building floors, etc). Pool, Gym and sauna. Solid construction and relatively new ( 2-3 years). Set back from road, so very quiet. Many units are vacation homes, so not much of a crowd. Great Landscaping. Location in city on Changklan. about 10 minutes from Night Bazaar.

Units available to rent or buy. Note: this is a higher end development and maint. fees are a bit steep.

As you've probably guessed, I live and own there.

The common fees are not steep, they are outrageous. They were practically doubled without the approval of the owners. It's not well run nor In my opinion does the management keep up with cam fees of unsold units which they are responsible for paying.

[KhonKaenKowboy]

how much are the fees?

[mikiea]

... and my vote will go to North 8 condo (Serene Lake Land and Houses), however I never lived there myself, but seems to be very nice project (I might be wrong).

Beautiful views, excellent sports club (but requires expensive extra memberships), good location and access to BigC, Makro etc., good security level.

Serene Lake is very nice. Have visited a few times.

Why would one live in a condo that is out of town?

Thought the whole idea of a condo was that you are close to restaurants, shops and other facilities.

dude , way to much time on the barstool , i fear brain is pickled............

[Jeffkp]

how much are the fees?

Last year, the owners voted to raise them to about 53 Bhat per Sq. meter.

[mjakob007]

If you like Nimman area, 'Punna' is still a good option. but nimman roads are busy

If you like it near the night bazar and still quiet, 'Twin peaks' is a good option.

some 8 year old building done by japanese.

construction is good.

very nice common facilities, lobby, sauna, pool, parking, library. access to peaks spa at reduced rates.

spacious rooms. 2 BR condos of 90-140 sqmts,

common area fee is only 35/month.

although in Chang klan, on a quiet soi/cul de sac. so access to restaurant and bars, but pretty quiet soi,

[dcnx]

I used to live at the Resort Condominium next to the Convention Centre. It fits the bill and we enjoyed living there.

Almost daily power cuts, hard water, airplanes flying directly overhead every 30 minutes (and very low), and a pool that has to be drained and fixed every year. Other than that, it's great. Huge rooms, decent enough construction, amazing view, common areas maintained, never hear the neighbors, and it's always a little cooler here than in the city.

[Postmaster]

Why would you you not want to live by the sea. CM stiffling some parts of the year.

[KhonKaenKowboy]

Why would you you not want to live by the sea. CM stiffling some parts of the year.

Island mafias. Thais gravitate there to overcharge farang. Farang on 1 week drinking binge for vacation. Almost zero economy/education system other than tourism...no thanks..

[MyFriend You]

How about noise in this (or any other) condo? Can you hear noise from next door? Do they enforce renovation hours? etc.

I've found condos in CM are incredibly noisy due to lack of control over renovations. Nothing like lying in bed at 9 AM only to hear a jackhammer start, and to have it continue until 9PM. Noisy renovations can last for months. Floral was that way.

9 AM?? thats almost afternoon for some of us, its the late night noise I can't deal with..............but agree with your post, there are no regulations or if there are they are not enforced.

[logon1]

how much are the fees?

Last year, the owners voted to raise them to about 53 Bhat per Sq. meter.

the owners were no consulted when the cam fees were almost doubled. Many owners are bailing out and trying to sell

[mjakob007]

how much are the fees?

Last year, the owners voted to raise them to about 53 Bhat per Sq. meter.

the owners were no consulted when the cam fees were almost doubled. Many owners are bailing out and trying to sell

CAM fee increase has to be passed at a general meeting. how can that be done without majority of owners' consent?

[baywatch82]

Thanks for all the useful information ! I would like to hear more ! Not many condo names have been mentioned.

To clarify more:

- I will stay in Chiang Mai many years, so this will be place to live for myself, not rental investment. That's why I would prefer to buy, not to rent.

- I can not own house, and I am not interested to live near the beach. I have been in Chiang Mai 5 years already, I see many nice condos, but I have never been inside any of them.

North 8 condo offers small boxes for high price indeed. 35sq.m. 1 bedroom apartment is for around 3mln baht. However, 35sq.m. is rather a studio size, with the glass between bed and living room area.
But North 8 offers quite good lifestyle that I am looking for - perfect to play sports, as the sport club is amazing. Swimming pool is beautiful and gym well equipped. Can do jogging around the lake without worry about dogs, traffic and your safety. Beautiful views and landscaping around the gated community. Easy access to Big C and Macro.

I would be very glad if I can find condo that can offer similar lifestyle, but with more reasonable rooms size/price ratio.

I see the Starhill condo constructed and almost finished (took years and changed name) on the canal road, that looks quite promising.

Also, I am looking for something rather in the City and south side of the City, not really north part of the City, because of location of my work (Hang Dong).

[HenryB]

Please Sit in the lobby for days and hear the noise some Condo are nothing a building site

unbelievable amount of noise I live in one and it noisy with Remolding by fools thinking it will increase the value of the rental

not realizing it is chasing the renters and smart buys away

I you have buy buy but live in a house like most landlords of Condo

They will not live with that noise

Edited July 3, 2016 by HenryB

[Tracyb]

Stay AWAY from Riverside condo. Bad facilities, crumbling infrastructure, seriously bad committee of owners who care only for themselves at the expense of others.

[Bung]

Just Google the name of the condo and often you will see the top posts being complaints about management, poor construction etc. Plenty of info from old threads on thai forums.