condo running costs

[wannabeexpat 0]

Does anyone know or can direct me to a site about the ongoing costs of owning a condo. Is it mostly expats in condos. What about fire safety? And how do you get a title search done? thanks.

[Rex7777 0]

Remember, in Thailand a foreigner cannot own land. So in a condo there's no land title, as such. You're just buying a piece of a building, I think. There's a land office where such sales are registered. They keep track of the foregn ownership percentage. Of course, one would assume that whoever built the thing in the first place had good title, either as a Thai person or as a Thai corporation. As for fire saftey? I'd get a long long rope.

 

Rex

[lemons 0]

wannabeexpat,

 

Condo Fees: Vary greatly dependant on the quality of the building, quality of management and the facilities; ie: lifts, pool, tennis court, size of gorunds etc etc.

I'd suggest you PM one of the boardies with a condo to get a guide; eg: Gabor, Hilly

 

Ownership: Under Thai law, 51% of any condo must be Thai owned. While your neighbours may be farangs, some will be tenants.

 

Fire Safety: It's Thailand so it varies widely. Also depends on when the building was constructed. I've seen everything from world class to death traps. This bloke: Carl Patfield is an ex fire fighter who has a good knowledge of Thailand. He could probably give you some advice: http://www.hazwopersolutions.com/pages/1/index.htm

 

Here's an info page re condos in Thailand: http://www.thaiwebsites.com/buying_property.asp

 

Here's a thread on Thai Visa re condo fees: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...c=46772&hl=fees

[bangkapiboy 5]

Upkeep of the condo building and communal areas should be a main consideration. Also the type of people you will be living with in the building should matter to you. Some low end condo buildings might have undesirable people living there. So -- just take your time and look around plenty.

 

Luckily in Thailand we have very low maintinence fees, compared to what I'm used to in New York. My friends in New York are shocked how low the maininence fees are here. Anyway I find prices in Thailand don't really compare well -- not good to compare what you get here prices with in a western country in my opinion.

 

 

good luck.

[wannabeexpat 0]

Thanks guys. I read the links. Since part of the reason for moving to Pattaya is for an easy life, I think I will shelve the idea of buying.