11 replies to this topic

[JimLA]

I recently arrived back in Pattaya after a long absence. I always stay with an old friend of mine from Santa Monica who bought a place here 5 years ago.

At the time my friend bought his place, it was a new development of very attractive town houses with open garage spaces on the ground level, with the living quarters in two floors above. The design was simple, elegant and uncluttered and everything was painted uniformly in a fresh vanilla tropical tone.

My friend told me in an email a few months ago that he had sold his place and moved to a condo. When I arrived in Pattaya, he drove me over to the old place.

You should see it now, only three years since I last saw it !!! It could have been 30 by the look of it.

All but a few of the townhouses have enclosed their garage space on the first floor to open various businesses in what has become converted shophouses. Those first floor spaces now feature an Indian tailor, a fabric store, a motorbike repair shop, a wet laundry with clothes hanging along the sidewalks, a make-shift convenience store with unwashed windows that's half empty, and a combination barber shop and karaoke with outdoor music speakers AT NIGHT !

Two adjoining houses have been converted to small rooming houses with ugly commercial signs and the tenants' motorbikes parked all over the sidewalks. The vanillas paint on most places is dark and streaked with dirt.

It's hard to believe how this new and attractive residential complex has been trashed in less than 5 years.

According to my friend, it's all legal too - because there are no zoning restrictions requiring it to be kept residential.

Luckily, my friend didn't lose money on the sale, but no prift was made either.He's just glad to be out of a great looking house that turned into a commercial slum in less than three years. It certainly made me wonder about buying residential property here.

[Trongpai]

Another story that that keeps me renting every year.

Yet, I don't know if this is true or just bar talk, this guy was telling me he baught a condo in Bangkok for 5M three years ago. He had a three year job assignment. He now sold it for 7M.

[Jersey]

he bought a condo in Bangkok for 5M three years ago. He now sold it for 7M.

Believe it, and don't be surprised if it sells for 10M in two more years. There has been an enormous run-up in condo prices in the past 3 years, and it continues in part because of the uncertainty about home ownership.

The only thing that can hurt prices is the kind of trashing that the author of this thread talks about and that the Thais seem to delight in.

[Village Idiot]

I was recently in one of the Jomtien high rises condo towers and was surprised by the number of
signs posted on the terraces offering the place for sale.. It seems that many farangs only want to buy
new condos and the resale market is not easy if one has to sell in a hurry..
I imagine the sellers are trying to avoid paying a broker's commission or perhaps they list with a broker
and can still sell themselves..
It looks tacky to me to see so many signs and it is definitely a buyer's market..
I think the speculators that are buying at the new projects that haven't broken ground yet may be in
for a big surprise as the boom creates much more supply than the demand and this farang will
continue to enjoy renting and having the freedom to pick up and move if a new kareoke opens next door
or some new monstrosity rises to block my views... Caveat emptor.......

[Naughty but Nice]

Yet, I don't know if this is true or just bar talk, this guy was telling me he baught a condo in Bangkok for 5M three years ago. He had a three year job assignment. He now sold it for 7M.

Property values in Bangkok have risen many time over during the past 10 years.

I have a house in Silom which when I bought it 15 years ago cost 2.7m Baht, a lot of money at that time compared with general property prices in the area.

Having spent over the years appx. 1m Baht on a few refurbishments the house is now valued at appx
26m Baht.

Condos in the same area of Bangkok have not increased % wise anywhere near as dramatically although they hold their prices better than those in Pattaya

[Gaybutton]

As far as buying a house is concerned, the thing to do is to be sure you are buying in an area that is either zoned or the houses are not conducive to being turned into shop houses. It amazes me that anyone would even think about opening a karaoke in a residential neighborhood, much less installing outdoor speakers. It also amazes me that the neighbors within hearing range don't raise holy hell about it, but this is Thailand.

[Jersey]

the thing to do is to be sure you are buying in an area that is either zoned or the houses are not conducive to being turned into shop houses.

I'm not sure there are any areas of Pattaya that are zoned for only residential uses. There are no zoning maps and no requirement for posting properties, so you usually don't even know the massage parlour is moving next door until it opens and the girls are out front your balcony inviting you in.

I'm not sure there is anything remotely resembling "zoning" in Pattaya other than height limits or proximity to the ocean, which several recent projects demonstrate are not worth the paper they were printed on. Who you know remains the key to building anything in Pattaya. Money talks here louder than anything and most people are afraid to object to anything that "big money" does.

[Dick]

I think I know the place you are talking about, which is in the Jomtien/ Pratamnak area if it's the same one. It's was shocking to see what the locals did to that development.

I would never buy in an area that has predominantly Thai/chinese absentee owners, who buy to rent out, and who don't care about anything but getting a monthly rent payment.

Some of the newer developments of this type, which have substantial foreign ownership, have smartened up and put a "residential only" clause in all the deeds in the complex. Then you don't need zoning to keep commercial clutter out. Look for that if you go hunting for a new place.

[DollyLamma]

I don't think it's racist at all to say that buying in an area where the people are mostly Thais and tenants paying rent is very iffy for property values.

Tenants don't care for property as well as owners, no matter what country you are in, and when you have very wealthy absentee landlords in Bangkok, who own more units than they can keep track of, you are looking at real estate that can get run down very quickly. Even small items like hanging laundry out of windows and balconies can affect property values when it comes to trying to sell a place.

[Trongpai]

I seem to recall some zoning master or offical in Pattaya not showing up for work because he was dead under suspicious circumstances?

From were I sit now in Bangkok, just out my window, I count 12 large cranes putting up large buildings. Is BKK on the way of being over built?

[Hedda]

It's boom and bust.

Floods and droughts.

Elections and coups.

Palaces and Slums

Only one thing remains constant for all the people.



Somtam !

[ fooled you, didn't I ?]