13 replies to this topic

[Morgan]

There's another thread posted here today about a new condo to be built in the area of the Bali Pier in south Pattaya. It's just one of many high rise projects being built or planned here which are very expensive.

I almost bought a condo four years ago but thought it was too expensive for Pattaya. Now, I find myself largely priced out of all these new condo buildings which are just as expensive as what I can buy back home. I was hoping to sell my house back home and be able to buy a place here for half of the proceeds, keeping the balance as a retirement nest egg.

I have noticed, however, that many older condos are much cheaper here. There is a huge price difference between these new "5 star" buildings and some of the older high rise condos you can find in parts of Pattaya.

These older condos generally lack the impressive entrances and hallways you find nowadays and would be classed as 2 stars at best. Many are not well maintained. The main thing that makes them attractive as a retirement home is that you can still afford to buy them at a price that allows you to fix them up to suit yourself and still save a lot of money compared to what a new 5 star place would cost. I mean, I am talking abut spending 7, compared to 14 million bahts.

The problem is that you end up with a 5 star apartment in a 2 star building. But if you can't afford the new places, and don't like to rent, is there any alternative for a retiree living on a moderate budget here ?

[DOLLY]

The one thing you can't afford to do is live beyond your means when you're retired. For many retirees, that means renting, not owning, because rents have not gone up here in Pattaya anywhere near as fast as sales prices.

If you are dead set against renting, you may find better bargains these days in a house, not a condo.

Don't believe what some brokers tell you. My nose and sources tell me that used house prices are falling because lots of expats have been scared out of the market by this tough talk in Bangkok about abuses in owning a house through a Thai company. If you're going to live here 24/7, and not be away for long periods, I'd say that a house may be the best way to go now. You may get a lot more for your money that way.

[Taxi driver]

The problem with investing big bucks in Pattaya now is that you are paying Hamptons prices to live in Coney Island.

[loeploh]

Pattaya is going to have a great skyline.
Pattaya is a great beach town, convenient located to an International airport and a world class city.

Where in the world one can find such a vibrant beach city ?

Fort Lauder dale ? Nassau ? Monte Carlo ? Marbella ?.

I for sure think Pattaya is the best place to live..

No taxes !!!
Good night Life !!
Cheap !!!
Bangkok !!
International airport!!
Tropical islands nearby !
all year around great weather!!
friendly people !!
good healthcare !!
Boys Boys Boys !!
Girls Girls Girls !!
katoi's katoi's katoi's

Pattaya has it all !!



The Thai's know how to handle infrastructure problems.
See the infrastructure in Bangkok.
Great skyways around the city.
Easy access to all parts of the city.
Subways,monorails.
Electricity cables under the ground.
A lot of greenery in the streets.

Soon as the cars are not going to polute so much anymore, Bangkok will be a great city to be.

I love Thailand.
I love pattaya.

[Sexpat]

My nose and sources tell me that used house prices are falling because lots of expats have been scared out of the market

I think you are right. There is a large new house that was built acros the street my my place almost 2 years ago and was originally placed on the marker priced at 27 million Baht. You can find the same house being advertized on the internet today for 19 million. It's still not cheap, but that's a drop in price that rivals all those places in the States that you read about are having falling RE prices. You just don't read about it here.

[Haloi]

If you do decide to renovate in a "2 star" building, you should ask them how much money they have in the bank to cover maintenance costs. Hihg rise condos cost a lot of money to maintain and if they don't have money in the bank to cover the costs that probably indicates that the building is either filled with a bunch of dead beats who don't pay monthly fees or the management is siphoning off the money into its own pockets - or both ! Renovating a unit in a building that is run down is not a good investment in my opinion, especially if you plan on spending your years of peaceful retirement there.

[Hedda]

The problem is that you end up with a 5 star apartment in a 2 star building.

How's that any different from paying five-star prices for a brand new condo that's being built in a two-star city like Pattaya ?

Given the lack of any real planning or zoning here, it's only a matter of time before the ugly urban sprawl that we call "Downtown Pattaya" spreads further and further into every decent looking neighborhood. Sooner or later, the most expensive condo buildings available will probably find themselves surrounded by the same kind of shophouse slums that seem to grow in Pattaya like weeds.

Where but in Pattaya can you find a 7-11 opening across the street from the entrance to a five star condo where studio apartments start at 5 million baht ? Where but in Pattaya can you find stray dogs and chickens running around condo parking lots filled with Mercedes ? And where but in Pattaya can you find an Issan gourmet selling smoking hot dogs from his motorbike at the entrance to your lavish five-star pink marble lobby ?

So, if you're worried about renovating an apartment because it's in a building whose lobby is not five stars, just remember that all those folks paying those prices you can't afford will probably find themselves living in a neighborhood no better than yours now, or in very short order. Their lobbies are just nicer, that's all. The rest is why we still call it Shitsville.

[Tony]

The rest is why we still call it Shitsville.

Perhaps you can explain why you stay in Pattaya if you think that conditions are that bad ? Maybe you just like to whine ?

[Hedda]

Perhaps you can explain why you stay in Pattaya if you think that conditions are that bad ? Maybe you just like to whine ?

Given the fact that these boards have no sound effects, it's difficult to see how any post can "whine" in the correct useage of that word. If by "whining" you mean complaining about conditions here in Pattaya, I certainly plead guilty to being totally disillusioned with this city's capacity to function in any constructive pattern.

Like most gay expats, I retired to Pattaya for the opportunities it provides for an active and rewarding sex life after 50. No, it's nowhere as good as it was ten years ago, but then what is ? It's still far more fun than watching old porno movies on a date with Johnny Walker and my right hand.

What's distressing about Pattaya is the way in which its government seems incapable of preserving what's good and fixing what's broken. Instead, what's broken is left unattended and what's good disappearing by the day. I'm sure I'd feel differently if I was a tourist or snowbird, who came here for a weeks each year for fun. Having made this my only home, however, albeit adopted, it's only natural in my opinion to complain when I see things being handled so badly.

[UncleSam]

just remember that all those folks paying those prices you can't afford will probably find themselves living in a neighborhood no better than yours now, or in very short order. Their lobbies are just nicer, that's all.

The only thing in my building that looks worse than the lobby is my apartment.

Hehehe....

[loeploh]

feel free to complain Hedda.
My sugestion is to see things a little less negative.. I also see that Pattaya isn't perfect but for the money most of us spend in this area ( farangs) you cannot expect golden roads.
If you look around and see what your dollar can buy I wqould think think that you are quite fine in Thailand.
Have a look in the countries around Thailand ! No Thailand/Pattaya isn't that bad.
Anyway I love it and thats why I am here for already 32 years !! And I pray to Buddha for another 32 !

Once again, I like the night life,I like the sex life , I don't think its that much less then 10 years ago, I like the infrastructure ( I can still go around in my car) I like the delicious food available at every corner of the street for (30 baht)The great new airport...and the six lane highway to reach it. Bangkok city, one of the greatest cities in the world.

I do not see reasons to be that negative about Pattaya.

[DOLLY]

I also see that Pattaya isn't perfect but for the money most of us spend in this area ( farangs) you cannot expect golden roads. If you look around and see what your dollar can buy I would think think that you are quite fine in Thailand.

Tell that to someone who's just arriving to find out that a brand new studio apartment with less than 50 m2 may cost more than a similar unit in Ft. Lauderdale or Las Vegas. What worries me is whether the balloon that going bust in the condo market in the USA will find its way here. They said the Asian stock markets would not fall if the US did. Look what's happened ! It could be the same for the real estate market. If prices start to fall in the US, UK, Ireland and Spain, as they have been, how long will it be before it comes here ? All of this building going on right now in Thailand reminds me of the Asian miracle in 1997 - just before the crash !

[Birch]

Now, I find myself largely priced out of all these new condo buildings which are just as expensive as what I can buy back home.

I agree with you if you are talking the new stuff that's being priced at 150,000 sqm +. But I have done a lot of looking in Bangkok and Pattaya within the past six months and I think you can actually find better deals now in good quality pre-owned condos that are 4 stars and no more than 10 years old. I don't know what your budget is but I would look more before I bought a "fixer-upper" in what you call a 2 star building.

[loeploh]

quote:Tell that to someone who's just arriving to find out that a brand new studio apartment with less than 50 m2 may cost more than a similar unit in Ft. Lauderdale or Las Vegas.

No there are plenty of 40.000 baht m2 condo's available. Its only the new and the old first class condo's who charge over 100.000 baht a m2.

Please also do not forget that you do not pay tax.
I would buy a condo in Fort Lauderdale if I didn't have to pay tax.
I am sure that Thailand/Pattaya is one of the best countries/city to live special for gays over 50 plus.
But not only for gays. Pattaya is also OK for family and kids.

Yes Pattaya is not perfect and I also worry about the future of Thailand, but I also worry about the future of America.

Lets cross fingers and hope for the best..
Happy to be in Thailand/Happy to be in Pattaya and Happy to be GAY !! ( but only in Pattaya/Bangkok !!)