Rule number 1 never use a solicitor recommended by an agent, never ever, it should be at the top of your list of no no's.

It was good you saved your client a lot of money through your recommendation Benchmark but as a general rule of thumb you should always get recommendations from a third party IE: Other foreign property owners in your area, never from an agent.

Yes, I completely agree with you. But I would recommend the client to consult their Embassy or a consulate to get a third party recommendation. If the client has their own solicitor that's completely fine. What I expect is for them to use a solicitor in the first place. It is important that they also consult the right kind of lawyer because we all know how some of the lawyers here work in their own interest to make profit for them not being fair to their clients. But in the case I mentioned if those clients didn't use the lawyer I recommended they will potentially loose a big amount of money. They are new to the market and trusted me to recommend someone to them as they didn't have any connections. Practically in some situations it is difficult to follow the theories but how ever "Due Diligence" is of utmost importance before buying something from anybody.

This post has been edited by benchmark: 2009-11-08 11:36:20

You've taken quite a bit of stick here and I admire you for keeping your cool, retaliation is a dead give away from someone unprofessional.

Good luck with your business, be honest and upfront every time and I'm sure you will make a good name for yourself.

Thank you CitizenSmith I highly appreciate your feedback. As real estate agents we need to be patient as well. What do you think about the idea of this market getting over saturated in the future? Is this really going to happen or are we going to experience another booming market with the improved infrastructure compared to what it was 5 years ago?

Improved infrastructure needs more explanation. The place is getting worse by the day. 5 years ago, traveling up Soi Siam Country Club, Nern Plub Wan, Khao Talo etc. was quite easy. Now they are shocking. What used to be nice areas are looking like apartmenthell, the traffic management has gone downhill rapidly, and NO ONE seems to care.
Once you reach the SP 5 area, it gets quite nice on Soi Siam Country Club, but for how long?
As an example, the Canary Islands tourist areas were properly designed and planned, but it is really open season out here.

It's a good and interesting question and thanks for asking. In the western world there are organized infrastructure, medical care, etc because in these countries all citizens pay a high tax on everything which goes to the government. In return government is using this money to maintain and improve the infrastructure, health care, etc. This is not the way things work in developing Asian countries like Thailand. We all know that we don't pay any property taxes or high income or other government taxes in this country. But why do we enjoy living here? Why do we buy or invest on property here? simply because the cost of the property is low and because we don't pay high taxes like in other western countries. The price comparison between Spain/ Canary Islands and Pattaya will explain that definitely buying in Pattaya is much more value for your money. Infrastructure? Comparison is Pattaya has a reasonably good infrastructure and compared to what it was 5 years ago we have better telecommunication systems, shopping malls, International standard hospitals, improving roads, International hotel chains, etc. Some foreigners who are here for some time actually have forgot why they are here and the benefits they enjoy. If you look at the positive side yes things are getting better and Pattaya has more to offer than before and it's transforming in to a International resort city. I know there are few things like road works dragging for sometime and traffic light issues, etc. But as we know in Thailand things are not happening that fast even if we want it that way. But at some point these things will improve and will be completed. Pattaya is a growing city and that's why we see all these changes, improvements everywhere. If we can focus on the benefits and positive side of living here I think we should be able to not to complain but to help improve these areas which need to be improved. Overall I think living in Pattaya is affordable and the lifestyle you can have here as a foreigner would cost us a fortune in the western world.

I copied this from another thread. This person says it all. It's all about being positive and appreciating the benefits you get by living in Pattaya and not to focus on the negatives. This is a person who has lived here long time too.

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Well; to all of those 'wingers-oer-Pattaya': READ THIS:

I have lived in Pattaya for almost 18 years and thoroughly enjoyed it ! !

It's a bit like TV in most European Countries: there'll be a number of Porno-Channels - however; nobody is holding a gunto your head, forcing you to watch any of them. There are buttons on the remote,which will take you to CNN, BBC, Nat.Geographics, ANPL etc. So: the choice is entirely yours.
Likewise in Pattaya; sometimes a tear goes by where I (we) don't see the Walking Street, Soi 6, 7 or 8. Only when we get visitors from overseas, do we venture to these areas and come home with cheeck-musscles hurting from laughing so much.

The reason WE love Pattaya is this:

1. Superb Shopping (You can buy most everything you can at home,at places like Foodland; Frienship, Carefour et al)
2. Superb Restaurants (Virtually unlimited choice, at prices that puts most of the rest of Thaiand to shame)
3. Superbs shops (in fact, there is an abundance of shops and malls for clothes and everything else here)
4. Some great Used-Book shops.
5. Superb Sailing

My point is, nobody is forcing anyone to ive in "The Circus", so pick your residence with some foresight and thought.

Pattaya is a truly terrific plae to live (near to) !

JGK/Pattaya

Today I have seen a new condo project from the owners of the Nova Group who is my friend Mr. Rony Fineman. It's called "The Cliff" and it's situated in the up market Cozy Beach area. The price for a 37 Sqm large studio starts from just Baht 1.8 Million. This is a really good value for money project from a developer who has a very good track record and credentials. The show units are now open so if you need to visit this exciting project just let me know. Very attractive payment plan and nice show units.

A client of mine asked for advice to buy in Siam Ocean View condo in Pratumnak Soi 6. I think it is a good investment because he is buying for rental returns and returns there is as high as 10% P/A. What is your opinion Citizensmith? Would appreciate your input.

I just stumbled across this thread. I am quite shocked by it.

Benchmark, I don't think you are well served by this thread. It appears to be an advertisement for you. I, for one, would be very wary of doing business with you because instead of advertising in a straighforward way, through an ad, you instead try to make this seem to be just a normal thread. I believe this seems underhanded and does not reflect well on you.

If I were you, I would ask the moderators to remove this thread and would stop advertising in this manner--I really think it does a lot more damage than good.

This post has been edited by Jimmyd: 2009-11-14 08:40:26

I know very clearly about what I am doing. I think you have not seen my banner AD on top of the real estate section. That's what makes you and me different. I am a sponsor and I am allowed to advertise my products or services in the forum. Can you specify what kind of "damage" you are talking about?

Ok, here's the damage.

I am actually a potential customer of yours--I bought a property recently in Pattaya and am interested in buying more. I came to this thread expecting a discussion about Buying Property in Thailand.

Instead, I found what I consider to be an extremely thinly veiled advertisement for your services. That strikes me as a dishonest thing to do. I don't mind sponsors advertising, but starting threads and then using them for advertising purposes is underhanded in my opinion. Note, for example, your post #50:



That is one example of blatant advertisement. In addition, in many of your posts, you come across to me as more interested in generating business than increasing the valuable information available here on this forum. Because of this, you have alienated a potential customer. I would suggest to you there are others who feel as I do.

Thanks for your feedback. My potential clients do not approach me in such a way. If you were a potential client you could have been straight about it. Why do we need to go in circles like this? Anyway my point is if you need my service I am happy to be able to assist you but I already told you about me advertising in the forum. That will remain just like that without any change.

I am looking at buying some property in pattaya, I was hoping to find advice on this topic, however this seems to be an advertisement hidden, this topic will not enhance reputations

Now I feel even more cautious about who to deal with.

The question I have for Benchmark is with the dangers of buying in a unknown neighborhood, why is the western concept of "Rent with option to buy" not more popular here in Thailand ?

I don't have a problem buying, despite the restrictions with the Thai law, but am scared to death to end up with an untenable situation with lousy neighbors

When I first came to Pattaya I rented a "townhouse" where I shared a wall with neighbors on each side, thankfully all I lost was some sleep and my deposit but that experience has made me gun shy when it comes to buying

Any thoughts ?

Hi thanks for your question. Yes, it is a very important thing to consider when you are buying in a Property in Pattaya. Because if you buy in the wrong kind of building or neighborhood (Village) it could be a long term reason to regret for until you relocate. When you are buying a condo to live in there are couple of key things you need to look for such as

What's the occupancy rate of the building? Whether it is 50% or more?- This will give you an idea about whether the building is well maintained or not and will also give you an idea whether you will live in a building where you will see some other residents because in some buildings it is very unlikely sometimes to see another human being (50% or more is a good occupancy rate). Another thing to inquire is about the juristic committee of the building whether they do a good job maintaining the place or not and to see whether the majority of residents are paying their maintenance fees.

It is also good to buy in a building where there are good number of foreign owners. If there are foreigners in the management committee that's a plus as well.

Are there many short term tourists renting in the building? (which will most probably not be a pleasant place to live if there are many of them)

When you are looking for a housing project there are couple of important things to look for as well.

One thing you already mentioned "neighbors" -It is always good to buy in a project where there are good amount of foreigner owners/residents. In low price housing projects if you notice too many "Home/Shop" kind of businesses inside the project it will not be a very pleasant project to be in the long run. Few shops are not a problem but if you see the shops frequently than usual that's what I mean.

Also important to inquire about homeowners association. Whether it is run properly and the communal facilities are maintained well.

Townhouses- It is a bit difficult if you have a not very pleasant neighbor if you live in a townhouse compound. The key again is to pick the right project. For the same price there are good projects you can select if you do your research or consult the right kind of agent. There are some projects where they have a mix of detached houses and townhouses. These projects are normally good places to be but you need to look for the key points I mentioned above.

The concept you mentioned "Rent with an option to buy" is not popular here in Thailand but it does exist. Some of my clients made contracts like this with their landlords but I should say most of the time a sale did not take place in the end. It actually has many plus points because the potential buyer can "test" the area and the neighborhood he lives in and also gives him a chance to see whether he likes the house or not. One other benefit is that the buyer can lock the landlord in to a pre-determined price for the property if he decides to buy it. Most of the property owners who got their properties for both sale/rent will consider this concept positively. But the owners who got their properties only for sale won't see this beneficial for them because most of the time they will not like the potential buyer to "test" rent their property and walk away if they decide not to buy it. I think this is the reason why it's not so popular here. The flip side of it is that there is no firm commitment from the potential buyer that he will buy the property. So it is a bit similar to test driving a car and not buying it in the end. I have discussed this issue with a couple of property owners and the comments of the owners who got their properties only for sale was similar to what I mentioned above.

However although I do understand the importance of buying the "right" property to live in, most people decide to buy property because they do not want to waste money on rent. It also gives them a more secured feeling than renting. So to save the money you pay on rent you need to make a buying decision without renting for too long and you will also need to find the right property in the right neighborhood. My best recommendation is to consult a reputed real estate broker in the area and work together with them to find what you are exactly looking for. These days there are many developments where they offer to pay a substantial deposit and pay the balance money in few years in monthly installments. This is a good way to save up the money paid on rentals so it's also another option for those clients who do not wish to pay rental money anymore and want to have their own home. Sometimes these monthly installments are similar to the rental payments they are paying currently so it makes a lot of sense.

Please let me know if you have anymore questions and I will be more than happy to answer. Thanks again for letting me share my thoughts with you.

Hi, if you have any questions about buying property please ask me first. I started all my threads to share my knowledge with the people who need it. If someone is happy with my service then that will be an advertisement for me. Other than that there is nothing to hide. Our business is to guide clients to buy/rent properties and that's how we make a living. I have served many clients to buy, sell, rent properties and most of them are foreigners. We also deal with large multinational companies to help them relocate their corporate executives so I hope you will understand that if we are not a professional and reputable company these large multinational companies will not do business with us.

There are many people in this forum who are against property agents. Some of them are trying to damage our image just by making pointless comments. Some of them make very offensive comments for no reason.

I am ready to answer any question from anybody if they present it in a way not being offensive or pre-judged. Otherwise I will simply ignore it. I hope that is fair enough. I would like to hear your thoughts.

To conclude this yes I am a businessman and I want to sell my service to potential clients. But in this business without knowing the persona and knowledge of the broker you are dealing with it is hard to do business with them. This forum gives me an opportunity to serve people who needs my advice and also the potential clients to know me and to contact me to get my service. This is the reason why I am running these threads and since I am a sponsor I am allowed to advertise my products and services in the forum as well.

Why buy, why buy
now?!? Rents are under pressure, just look around!

There is a crisis brewing and the Thai Baht is way too high.

Just sit on the sidelines and when trouble erupts, do your buying, if any.

And if someone tells you you will make X thousand a week getting your condo rented out,
just buy the timeshare people's fairy tale and voodoo math.

Be careful. fools and their money...

Chris

Langsuan Man, thank you for sharing your experience renting that town house.
We rent a condo in Nonthaburi and there is a neighbor who constantly keeps his door open and is noisy. Lound TV,
Thai music or raised voices. It is too much to close the door?!?

You may get to know dangerous soi dogs etc., just rent before you buy - it makes perfect sense!

Pattaya is not that attractive to me. Clearly overbuilt and waiting for some
kind of a correction. Half the businesses seem to be doing badly, but that's a guess.

Our own condo is poorly finished and not insulated at all.
so it heats up during the night...

I'm dreaming of a passive condo over here, with high tech glass and such good insulation
that half an hour aircon will keep it cool all day.

Chris

Pattaya has many high quality low price condos and a lot of fresh air to offer. If you get time come and take a look at a few. I am sure it will change your mind.

This offer is simply too good to refuse. From a very reputed developer with an extremely good track record and did few finished projects.

Park Royal 3 Pratumnak 45 Sqm 1 Bed room Condo only 1.29 Million Baht (best offer in the market)

Park Royal Pratumnak 35 Sqm Studio Condo only 1.6 Million Baht

Club Royal in exclusive Wongamat Beach area 33 Sqm Condo only 1.85 Milllion Baht

This is a limited offer and if you contact us you can make a reservation to get this special price. We have an extremely good relationship with the developer so let us know if you want to a make an early reservation before you miss the boat.

IMO one of your best posts to date - and yes you have come in for some stick, and have held your cool, I take my hat off to you.

I watch something called a television set, possibly a new fangled invention not yet available in Thailand. Its editorial content often contains adverts - so what, I have the capability of screening such information.

The only thing I would add is there are too many threads on Pattaya; it is giving me a headache!

It may be possible to ask the mods to merge them, on the general real estate forum. At least we can then keep everything in one place and can work out who seems to be waging some form of guerrilla warfare. These guys are not helping me understand what is possible in Pattaya at all!

This post has been edited by pkrv: 2009-11-17 22:33:09

Wow. I mentioned yesterday that the same prices for these condos can be got from the developer direct via their own website, so obviously aren't exclusive or special in any way to Mr Benchmark and the post gets deleted. Wonder why?

If you are talking about This Post It is still there as far as I can see.

Thanks PKRV, the usefulness of this forum as I see is that people who are in need of information or recommendations can find useful information from experts. If someone is making comments just to harm someone that serves nobody. In the real estate section there are quite a few people who got the expertise. We need to focus on giving the right information to the people who need it and just see the positive side of things as I believe.