Condominium Tips?

[iamkanga]

So I am moving up to Pattaya/Jomtien in a couple of weeks from Patong. Hiring a pickup and throwing my old motorbike and golf clubs in the back. 

 

I am single  52  and have been to Thailand on holidays for a collectively for 40  weeks over 10 years (now retired here 6 weeks!) and where I am not going to be going to walking in street every night (if ever) I am certainly going to want to be lavished with attention on a semi regular basis. My home back in Australia was sizeable and comfortable so not having lived in something like this before I am wondering some of the pitfalls. 

 

For a number of reasons  my initial contract period will only be 6 months. I have done a fair bit of research and it appears Pattaya Condo Guide is a good resource tool and there are a number of ok places? Though I do wonder if these places are all available or do they just leave the ads up online? My budget is between 8000 and 15000. Obviously the cheaper the better but as I am just starting out I want to keep up a fairly decent standard of living initially so if my experience in Thailand is tainted it is for some other reason than my choosing a crappy home.  

 

So the question I have is "what is important in living in a condominium"? Should I be looking for a large complex or a smaller complex does the size of the room matter or is a small room just less walking. I get that there are many personal things I just want to get a cross-section of opinion from those with previous experience to add to my shallow pool of knowledge. Like one of the things that I don't understand at all, is some of the complexes have the capacity for no more than a bar fridge (well I sort of understand it but think it is crazy). I know you are not likely to be cooking a three-course meal. But beers vegetables milk chocolate etc! Anyway I'm going to need more than that. So a decent sized fridge is 1 of my top priorities along with comfortable walking access to the baht bus. 

 

Here are a number of other things I am mindful of that may or may not be important and hopefully I can get information that others might have to avoid potential pitfalls and improve my overall experience. 

 

Internet and TV included or add on

 

Some condominium complexes to avoid or some that work really well

 

In house restaurants and shops are these important

 

Nice view

 

Cleaning

 

Tips and tricks for negotiating price (is it expected I will negotiate)? Like what is negotiable. Rent Electric etc

 

I appreciate some people reading this will own Condominiums and may be doing it hard trying to rent it out but I am looking out for number 1 and money in my pocket is money "I"  can piss away!

 

Anyway sorry if this post he's a bit of a thought bubble. But I can not know where the next TV pearl of wisdom may come from! 

 

Cheers

Kanga

 

PS Anyone who has done the Phuket to Pattaya trip and has any info would appreciate that too. I am planning 4 days Phuket/Chumphon/Hua Hin/Pattaya nice and easy!

 

Edited October 3, 2016 by iamkanga

[anotheruser]

Make sure the balcony railings are in a state of good repair and high enough. Strange things happen when a person lives in a 25 square meter shoe box for 6 months.

[OMGImInPattaya]

I drove it straight through once...13 hours each way...man I was tired.

 

As for the condo thing,  I would get a hotel room for a few weeks and just explore around town. The online resources are a good start and you could visit a few of the real estate agent offices.  However, it's best to just find a location you like by walking and driving around and visit the buildings you like. Most will have in-house rental agencies and/or notice boards listing rentals. Rental prices are very negotiable but water and electric rates generally are not. One key with the electric is to try to find a unit that has direct billing (it's own electric meter) and you pay the bill yourself directly tomthe power company. Many landlords will markup electricity rates to sometimes double what they are paying.

 

Welcome to Pattaya and enjoy your stay.

[Rimmer]

I see so many posts on here from Condo dwellers about noise, coming from other residents and from bars outside, maybe you also have to be aware of that problem.

[fredob43]

Tip, try a place first for a month or so, before you rent long term.

As others have said check on the electric rates.

Try and get a condo that's low down as the fire safety there is at best poor. 

 

Best of luck.

[newnative]

Tenant is usually responsible for water and electric.  I think it's a good idea to be on the baht bus line or close to it.  The trend with newer condos is smaller units but many more amenities than some of the older condos.  Do some thinking about where you will be spending most of your time and that might help determine if you want to be in Jomtien or Pattaya.  My partner and I first lived in Jomtien but soon found we were spending a lot of time in Pattaya and eventually decided to move to Pattaya.  Lots of owners are accepting leases of less than a year so you might try a condo for 3 or 6 months to see how you like it.  Definitely look for a condo that has a big refrigerator--even if you don't do much cooking.  We rented a condo for a year with a tiny square refrigerator and it was awful.  Way too small and we had to manually defrost it about once a month.

[OMGImInPattaya]

34 minutes ago, Rimmer said:

I see so many posts on here from Condo dwellers about noise, coming from other residents and from bars outside, maybe you also have to be aware of that problem.

Very good point...many areas that seem quiet during the day take on a "party" atmosphere at nite. If you don't want that, be sure to visit a building you are considering at nite (after 9 pm...both the neighborhood and room if you can). Also, don't be shy about asking  building residents you see in the lobby or elevators how they like the building.

[iamkanga]

18 minutes ago, newnative said:

Tenant is usually responsible for water and electric.  I think it's a good idea to be on the baht bus line or close to it.  The trend with newer condos is smaller units but many more amenities than some of the older condos.  Do some thinking about where you will be spending most of your time and that might help determine if you want to be in Jomtien or Pattaya.  My partner and I first lived in Jomtien but soon found we were spending a lot of time in Pattaya and eventually decided to move to Pattaya.  Lots of owners are accepting leases of less than a year so you might try a condo for 3 or 6 months to see how you like it.  Definitely look for a condo that has a big refrigerator--even if you don't do much cooking.  We rented a condo for a year with a tiny square refrigerator and it was awful.  Way too small and we had to manually defrost it about once a month.

 

Could you elaborate a bit as to why Pattaya was drawing you over?

[ToddinChonburi]

I also say rent for 3 to 6 months to check for noise problems.

[KittenKong]

Just quickly find somewhere half-decent and rent by the month for a few months. Then spend that time looking at different units in different buildings before selecting somewhere for a yearly rental.

 

All rental prices are negotiable. Hugely negotiable in fact. Anyone who says otherwise is probably a landlord or an agent or a liar. There is vast oversupply here. When looking at a permanent place you would expect to pay the domestic government rate for electricity (just over 4B/unit) and the official building rate for water (varies in each building but commonly 15-40B).

 

All buildings have some sort of cleaning service available, sometimes private sometimes from the building itself. Commonly 300-500B

 

Scams with deposit money are quite common. In fact scams of all kinds are fairly common, but they are in Phuket too.

 

Whether you want facilities like shops, gyms, laundries etc on-site is up to you. Personally I dont see the point and would rather live somewhere quiet with no facilities and no activity.

 

As mentioned, watch out for outside noise. This can be a real problem here and often can only be heard after 9pm or later. Personally I would avoid anywhere with many short-term tenants as they are usually a complete PITA.

 

Personally I would not want to live in either Pattaya or Naklua (Wong Amat) due to the traffic and building density etc. Jomtien suits me much better.

[Qman]

5 hours ago, OMGImInPattaya said:

I drove it straight through once...13 hours each way...man I was tired.

 

As for the condo thing,  I would get a hotel room for a few weeks and just explore around town. The online resources are a good start and you could visit a few of the real estate agent offices.  However, it's best to just find a location you like by walking and driving around and visit the buildings you like. Most will have in-house rental agencies and/or notice boards listing rentals. Rental prices are very negotiable but water and electric rates generally are not. One key with the electric is to try to find a unit that has direct billing (it's own electric meter) and you pay the bill yourself directly tomthe power company. Many landlords will markup electricity rates to sometimes double what they are paying.

 

Welcome to Pattaya and enjoy your stay.

 

Good points here.  Many hotels or guest houses have monthly rates if you want to look around before committing to a longer term rental agreement.  Regarding noise, condos which have a lot of short term rentals may be nosier due to holiday makers staying there.  Some condos do not allow short term rentals (3 months or more) and are quieter with restrictions concerning tenant behavior, etc. which you must sign.  Can be a good thing depending on your objectives.  Another source similar to Pattaya Condo Guide is Hipflat  https://www.hipflat.co.th/en where you can search by area or just type in the name of the condo.  Note Pattaya is not specifically listed so use Chonburi.   Once here you can talk to people who have been here a while and can comment on pros and cons of various places depending on what are your main requirements in a place to stay.

[newnative]

Sorry to be late getting back to you, iamkanga. We like living in Pattaya because we like going to the movies, Central Festival Mall, Harbor, Index, Home Pro, etc. We can walk to a lot of places, including a hospital, fresh markets, grocery stores, barbers, banks, and lots of restaurants.  Usually any kind of activity going on is within walking distance and we don't have to worry about finding a parking place or driving home once the concert, festival, or whatever is done.   If we were here just for high season Jomtien would probably suit but we are living here year-round and central Pattaya works better for us.

[williamgeorgeallen]

i like the north end of jomtien. PM me if you want some tips on pattaya. i have lived here 10 years and there is a lot  more too it than meets the eye. fantastic place.

[IAMHERE]

Landlord will want two months deposit; be sure the lease says that deposit covers the last months rent. So that you don't get screwed out of two months deposit, only one.

Be sure the landlord knows he is responsible for the TM30.

Are you going to really be using the exercise room and the swim pool ? If not then unimportant.

Is the parking taken up by absent vehicle drivers; many condo have little parking.

[thaitero]

Here is my  2 cents..
Hotel > Short time rental deals to testlive buildings and area to see if you like living there or not > Long time rental deal or buy (Negotiate hard to get a good deal).

Edited October 3, 2016 by thaitero

[iamkanga]

46 minutes ago, thaitero said:

Here is my  2 cents..
Hotel > Short time rental deals to testlive buildings and area to see if you like living there or not > Long time rental deal or buy (Negotiate hard to get a good deal).

 

Thanks but I have zero plans for long term at the moment 6 months is my max and I cant see any situation where I would buy. So I guess my test live is 6 months!

[iamkanga]

1 hour ago, IAMHERE said:

Landlord will want two months deposit; be sure the lease says that deposit covers the last months rent. So that you don't get screwed out of two months deposit, only one.

Be sure the landlord knows he is responsible for the TM30.

Are you going to really be using the exercise room and the swim pool ? If not then unimportant.

Is the parking taken up by absent vehicle drivers; many condo have little parking.

 

Some great tips thanks

[iamkanga]

3 hours ago, newnative said:

Sorry to be late getting back to you, iamkanga. We like living in Pattaya because we like going to the movies, Central Festival Mall, Harbor, Index, Home Pro, etc. We can walk to a lot of places, including a hospital, fresh markets, grocery stores, barbers, banks, and lots of restaurants.  Usually any kind of activity going on is within walking distance and we don't have to worry about finding a parking place or driving home once the concert, festival, or whatever is done.   If we were here just for high season Jomtien would probably suit but we are living here year-round and central Pattaya works better for us.

 

Cheers. Those things may become more important to me but for the short term I think the travel will be ok. Certainly the walking or the baht bus but as I just finished walking over Patong hill I feel I can conquer anything!!!!

[JSixpack]

3 minutes ago, iamkanga said:

 

Cheers. Those things may become more important to me but for the short term I think the travel will be ok. Certainly the walking or the baht bus but as I just finished walking over Patong hill I feel I can conquer anything!!!!

 

Several gyms easily accessible in Central Pattaya too w/ free weights & machines to conquer.

 

I say if you're gonna move here to our beloved cesspool, you might as well go for the full monty & not waste time unnecessarily in traffic and fooling around w/ baht buses etc. I've lived in Jomtien and wouldn't again. Check out the many nice condos behind The Avenue mall. Perfect convenience! :)

[iamkanga]

You may well be right but I think I will be happier at the start dancing around the edges. And of course I'm not in any hurry. As me and a good mate remind each other regularly "we are just wasting time until we die! "

[nickmanchester2]

You can get a 2 room apartment here rather than a studio for not very much, I am paying 8700b for an apartment with a separate living area and bedroom.  I like to break up my living and sleeping space and also the 2 aircons probably work better than one cooling the whole room.

 

I would try and get dedicated internet, ive hated using shared internet in some of the 8 places I have rented in the last 6 years, I now have TOT 30 down and 5 up for 590b a month + tax.

 

Neighbors can make or break it, I had a guy who would constantly make cottage cheese all day long next door to me and he liked to keep is door open for a cool breeze... the constant rattle of his whisk or whatever against the bowl was driving me insane, luckily he has left and my current neighbors are not too bad - the walls are thin in new builds, older buildings are better.

 

 AirBnb will probably have apartments available in all the buildings you are interested in (its a rental website for owners)

 

being close to the bhat bus route will help, Thai girls dont like to walk, so I would have trouble getting one to walk the 10 minutes from the bhat bus back to my room - also they will even complain if you pick them up in your own vehicle or come back on a motorbike taxi with her if you are more than 3KM away from the place where you found her.... be ready for moaning 'glaiiiii, glaiiiii' gets boring so maybe find your lady friends close to home if you decide to move to jomtien and not get her from central pattaya.

 

best places to eat for me are in central pattaya, so I go there a few times a week to eat at least - but I do have a full kitchen including oven, 2 fridges (smaller bar fridge in the bedroom) microwave blender etc, so I can cook pretty much anything I like even in this tiny condo - its good to get a few hobbies such as cooking.

 

walking distance to a few bars... I dont like drink driving, so happy I can walk to local bars and have a few friends around here... a guy who has moved away from our area still comes here as he says nowhere to drink where his new place is.

 

try not to frequent the local bars that much... ive seen 2 friends with bruises on thier faces in the last week or 2 - familiarity breeds contempt

[Deepinthailand]

9 hours ago, KittenKong said:

Just quickly find somewhere half-decent and rent by the month for a few months. Then spend that time looking at different units in different buildings before selecting somewhere for a yearly rental.

 

All rental prices are negotiable. Hugely negotiable in fact. Anyone who says otherwise is probably a landlord or an agent or a liar. There is vast oversupply here. When looking at a permanent place you would expect to pay the domestic government rate for electricity (just over 4B/unit) and the official building rate for water (varies in each building but commonly 15-40B).

 

All buildings have some sort of cleaning service available, sometimes private sometimes from the building itself. Commonly 300-500B

 

Scams with deposit money are quite common. In fact scams of all kinds are fairly common, but they are in Phuket too.

 

Whether you want facilities like shops, gyms, laundries etc on-site is up to you. Personally I dont see the point and would rather live somewhere quiet with no facilities and no activity.

 

As mentioned, watch out for outside noise. This can be a real problem here and often can only be heard after 9pm or later. Personally I would avoid anywhere with many short-term tenants as they are usually a complete PITA.

 

Personally I would not want to live in either Pattaya or Naklua (Wong Amat) due to the traffic and building density etc. Jomtien suits me much better.

Naklua is not noise with traffic at all we had a lovley condo 24th floor lumpini ville. Just off the main road no traffic noise at all. Rent 7500 a month internet included. Sat tv add on. Electric at goverment rate. Nice pool and fitness room. One months rent and one months deposit. Had a year lease no noise problems from neighbours. Security spot on. Cafe and shops just outside entrance and bhat busses ever few mins into Pattaya.  I would recommend highly

Edited October 3, 2016 by Deepinthailand

[KittenKong]

44 minutes ago, Deepinthailand said:

Naklua is not noise with traffic at all we had a lovley condo 24th floor lumpini ville. Just off the main road no traffic noise at all. Rent 7500 a month internet included. Sat tv add on. Electric at goverment rate. Nice pool and fitness room. One months rent and one months deposit. Had a year lease no noise problems from neighbours. Security spot on. Cafe and shops just outside entrance and bhat busses ever few mins into Pattaya.  I would recommend highly

 

My comment was about traffic and building density, not traffic noise. I find that it is very difficult to get in and out of Naklau/Wong Amat with a car to get to the places that I want to go to. But it's just my personal opinion. YMMV.

[Deepinthailand]

14 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

 

My comment was about traffic and building density, not traffic noise. I find that it is very difficult to get in and out of Naklau/Wong Amat with a car to get to the places that I want to go to. But it's just my personal opinion. YMMV.

As you say personal opinion I didn't find it hard to drive in any direction from condo. Building density is more prolific in Jomtien I belive. But luckily enough we are all diffrent. 

[Ulic]

In no particular order but things to consider.

1/ Direct billing for electric (pay yourself at 7-11)

2/ Noise level at night from karaoke bars and general street traffic

3/ Apartment not close to parking, or entrance of building.

4/ Does the apartment have a back up generator for the occasional times the

power goes out. (elevator, etc....) Walking down 8 floors is OK, going up

especially after a shop is not so fun.

5/ Inspect the pool and exercise facilities. If the exercise room is important does

all the equipment in good order, is the pool clean and maintained.

6/ Internet and TV were/are include where I rent, will it be in yours and what are

the internet speeds. If it is not already there, what internet is available.

7/ Are the units adjacent to you rented, how loud are the tenants, do they

rent out those units short time(weekly) to people on vacation. They tend to come

back lase and be noisy.

8/ I paid my rent in two six month installments. Easy for me easy for the landlord

and avoided giving two months security/damage deposit. Apparently many have a

hard time getting damage deposit back from landlords. (especially if they are Thai)

9/ Have a clear understanding of any other possible charges. Both my air con units

needed to be serviced. My landlord was great. His guys were there next day and he paid

for the service. Air conditioner units need yearly servicing. Of course when things like

light bulbs etc... went out I just replaced them myself.

Best of luck with your search.

[whaleboneman]

10 hours ago, Qman said:

 

Good points here.  Many hotels or guest houses have monthly rates if you want to look around before committing to a longer term rental agreement.  Regarding noise, condos which have a lot of short term rentals may be nosier due to holiday makers staying there.  Some condos do not allow short term rentals (3 months or more) and are quieter with restrictions concerning tenant behavior, etc. which you must sign.  Can be a good thing depending on your objectives.  Another source similar to Pattaya Condo Guide is Hipflat  https://www.hipflat.co.th/en where you can search by area or just type in the name of the condo.  Note Pattaya is not specifically listed so use Chonburi.   Once here you can talk to people who have been here a while and can comment on pros and cons of various places depending on what are your main requirements in a place to stay.

I had a look at "hipflat" and the prices seem very high. Actually, they seem similar to AirBnb which I no longer use as they have priced themselves right out of the market.

[hawker9000]

17 hours ago, Rimmer said:

I see so many posts on here from Condo dwellers about noise, coming from other residents and from bars outside, maybe you also have to be aware of that problem.

 

Determine whether or not there will be units around you, particularly adjacent to yours, which are available as short-term rentals.  Vacationers certainly can make as much noise as the permanent residents, can have children, etc., and are unpredictable when it comes to noise since the renters come & go.  Guidelines the condo management may have for permissible noise levels might or might not be subject to any enforcement and meaningless.

Edited October 3, 2016 by hawker9000

[Rimmer]

Off topic post has been removed

[baansgr]

Noise is one of the main issues regarding condos, especilly those with lifts leading to corridoors with walkways which seems to be the majority in Pattaya. Sound travels and the modern construction isnt particulary designed to help with that due to cost and use of inferior materials. Baan Suan lalana an older residential style low rise project built 25 years ago is one project that dosnt suffer this problem and has swimming pools and is well looked after although South Jomtien so not on the immediate Baht Bus route but have rentals in your budget with plenty parking. Condos are sbout 42sqm for studio