East Pattaya Gated Communities

[fopa 0]

Apologies if this one has been asked before. I am beginniong to lay the ground work for retiring in Thailand. I've spent alot of time on the realestate web sites and have noticed that there are many houses in the 160,000 to 220,000 USD range the equal of which would cost me over a million in the San Francisco Bay area. Most of them seem to be in East Pattaya. I know where that is on the map, but have never had a reason to go there on my visits, so I have no idea what it's like.

 

Does anyone on this board live in one of these ex-pat developements or know anything about them? I'll be setting up an export company on my next visit in December to purchase the house under. I'd love to hear from anyone that has already been through this experience , or to hear what East Pattaya is like, and how close to central Pattaya and the action it is.

Edited May 28, 2006 by fopa

[donny 1]

Fopa, note that yesterday the law was changed to stop foreign buyers using the company loophole to purchase houses. You can read about it on the Bangkok Post website.

 

Calling them "gated communities" is a bit of an overstatement - when I was checking loads of them out a month or so back, I was able to simply drive my motorbike straight in, wasn't stopped or checked out even once. Possibly if I was Thai I would have been but, even so, the security is nowhere near as tight as gated communities in your country.

 

Probably not wise to compare prices with SF and definitely don't base your calculations on the prices listed online by realtors. Better to rent somewhere for a few months and give yourself the time to explore the various areas and the real prices.

 

I like East Pattaya but would definitely rent for a while on my intended street/community before buying - if you make a mistake it is very hard to offload your property and start again.

 

Some people feel that East Pattaya is too dangerous, so, it's worth reading the newspapers too to work out which areas you're less likely to get shot in.

Edited May 31, 2006 by donny

[elef 0]

Actually the law was not changed - all land offices did not apply the law in the same way before, now it will be the same all over Thailand.

[Gary 4,119]

Even if you were legally allowed to own a home I would advise you to stay on the beach side of Sukhumvit. The highway is a congested nightmare and there is very little police presence. I went past the lake last week and it must have taken a half an hour to go one kilometer to get to Sukhumvit. Food carts, motorcycles and various idiot drivers had the small road all clogged up. Buy a nice condo near the beach and sleep well at night.

[for_ard 0]

QUOTE

Probably not wise to compare prices with SF and definitely don't base your calculations on the prices listed online by realtors.

 

 

Donny, how would you suggest we base our calculations? Is there a rule of thumb that says realtors mark up by an extra 10% for instance?

 

Good luck with your search.

Edited May 31, 2006 by for_ard

[donny 1]

Donny, how would you suggest we base our calculations? Is there a rule of thumb that says realtors mark up by an extra 10% for instance?

for_ard, I'm no expert, this is based only upon a couple of months earlier this year spent checking out the possibilities. Boardie Badtz, an expat who has looked into this quite extensively, showed me around and gave me a lot of great advice about how to route around the estate agents and sundry other parasites.

 

Sorry to say that there is no easy way to get an accurate idea of the actual market (as opposed to the illusion presented by the industry), you've got to actually get out there, preferably on a motorbike, and see the prices that owners stick in front of their houses. At the very least, there will be a mobile number, so, make sure you have a phone with you. Don't forget to also pay attention to signs advertising rental rates, that will give you a more realistic sense of what your rental income could be.

 

Driving around is great fun and massively expands your sense of what Pattaya has to offer. Simply realizing that there are more options than central Pattaya and Jomtien beach will give you many more options.

 

When you find an area you think you might like, don't be shy about talking to Farang's you see sitting outside their homes or drinking in the local watering holes. The best info you can get is from people who have recently sold a place and aren't currently trying to sell anything. The key here, as with the agency prices, is that the prices that matters aren't the ones they're asking for but, rather, the ones they're getting.

 

The impression I built up was that agency prices are in a completely different universe from real prices set by owners who actually want to sell. The 10% you suggest would not be an unreasonable surcharge to pay but, unfortunately, the agents prefer, instead, to almost double the price and sit on the property for years in the hope that a sucker in a hurry will eventually turn up.

 

Remember, the agents and condo builders have entirely rigged the supply and demand equation. It's a bit like de Beers management of the global diamond supply - all the vested interests have realized that, by banding together, by controlling supply and by presenting a consistent illusion, they all massively benefit. You can route around them and hook up with the individual sellers who are being screwed at the other end of the equation but, as I say, you have to get out there.

[for_ard 0]

Thanks Donny that seems sound advice.

[Saddic 31]

Thanks Donny for you insite...

 

I too will be making the move in a few years... Will definately rent fo the first year or so (to get the lay of the land...)

 

On my last trip, I motorbiked on the other side of Suk, just to see what was out there...

 

Lots of little developments popping up in the flatland areas (by the Elephant village area, the mosques, etc...). From what I saw, it looked like they were all targeted (western marketing) towards us Farangs... Lots of variety in styles, but all basically 1-2 story brick and morter places, community pool, "gate", etc...

 

I also drove up and around the "lake", country club, and polo fields where much more expensive places were popping up. Don't know about living near that "lake" though as it probably is just one big mosquito's nest in the evening.

 

I'm sure it will all be more of the same when/if I get around to buying a place.

 

I got the impression that the market was entirely created and was being propped up for us Farangs. I definitely didn't feel the need to rush in as there was a HUGE supply.

 

A couple more droughts or downtick in the economy and I'm sure the oversupply will come back to bite them...

 

At the prices they were quoting, I recon that a Thai agent would only have to sell a place every 1 or 2 years to make a good living...

 

Cheers....

[kolobos 0]

Posted on another thread....

 

 

I have lived on the 'wrong side' of the sukhumvit as one poster puts it, in an area 7 klms up siam country road near Mapbrachan for nearly 18 months.

 

I have no problem with transportation when I am not using my own, as baht buses and bikes are always readily available.

 

I have had no problem with 'gangs' and I travel around the area at all times of the day especially between 3-5am, I have heard stories of gangs but never experienced. I would have thought gangs would be better targeting area's where there is an abundance of farang ie. 'the right side' of the sukhumvit.

 

I have experienced no problems with ownership of my home or security around it.

 

I love the peace and quiet of the country and that the beach and party times are only a stone's throw away. There is also a great ex-pat community over this side shared with many bars (drinking and ST) and many good eating houses and as a bonus no tourists who have lost the plot.

 

I would however advise to rent in the first instance until you know you'll be happy.

 

Best of luck in your endeavours

[fopa 0]

Thanks for alot of good advice. Oh well, although I'm not retiring for four more years, I had planned to buy much sooner,....and I would much rather have a house then a condo. I'll just have to wait for now and see what happens with the new law, (or the enforcing of the current one), ......or I just might have to get married, something I was hoping to avoid.

[donny 1]

......or I just might have to get married, something I was hoping to avoid.

Whatever you do, don't get married in order to simplify your life!

 

Putting the house into your wife's name is also an extremely poor idea - if you value your relationship, don't do it, it's as simple as that.

 

If your concern is to "lock-in" your place to live, use the money you were thinking of spending on a Thai house to, instead, buy a rentable property in your home country and choose a management company who will handle everything for a percentage. Instruct the management company not to deduct tax at source as you will be a non-resident (tax regulations vary from country to country but the principal of non-resident exemptions should apply pretty much everywhere). Have the rent deposited into your home country bank account and withdraw it via ATM to pay the rent on a nice place in Thailand.

 

The advantages of this approach are that your investment gets to appreciate in a stable legal/political setting and, if everything goes tits up in Thailand, you will have somewhere to go - simply knowing that option is there will make you feel better when the homesickness periodically kicks in.

 

The disadvantages are that rents may rise faster in Thailand than in your home country or the Baht could strengthen too much. I reckon the stability advantage outweighs the disadvantages and, anyway, despite the recent boom, the fundatmental flaws and corruption in the Thai set-up will keep dragging their economy and currency back below Western economies.

 

Of course, your investment doesn't have to be in property; braver souls than I would suggest just throwing the lot into stocks or whatever and drawing your rent from that but, personally, I think having at least one actual property is an important safety net. Once you've got that in place, you can play the market to your heart's content.

Edited June 1, 2006 by donny

[Emil 0]

Be aware that there has been talk (rumor) of a new motorway to be built that will connect to route 36 that could pass through this area. You could purchase a house that today is in a quite area only to find out that in a few years you could have big rigs buzzing by your house.

[jacko 8,822]

I think renting is an easier option at the moment, there are loads of places with 'for rent' or 'for sale' signs. When I was out searching people were coming out of their homes suggesting I take a look at their place. Another obvious thing was that the prices for purchase were way down on what you see in agents windows. Places that are a several years old are becoming dilapidated and sitting empty. Purchase and refurbish would produce a nice home.

 

I have rented on the wrong side of Sukhumvit, I do miss the proximty of the fun, riding over Sukhumvit is a drag, and the roads to get there are slow during travel to/from work times in a car. I have learned that my current place is not so idylic as it first appeared. There are businesses operating out of nearby houses that produce a lot of street traffic in your little soi! Neighbours are a factor, I have a Thai neighbour who seems to enjoy disturbing farangs and goes out of his way to shine his headlights into my bedroom at 1am as he reverses into his car port, while his 3 dogs have a good bark. They cannot get into their car in the morning without setting off the alarm. And the favourite pastime of Thai ladies married to working falangs is to keep yappy little dogs. Glad I rented not purchased.

[MrMango 672]

Do not forget about transportation. An earlier poster said that transportation (Baht bus) was available, but this would only be if you hire one downtown to take you home. Getting one from your house would be another matter, as I don't believe that their is a Baht bus route anywhere near the properties east of town - I could not even find one on 3rd road.

 

I have noticed that there are a few places in Jomtien that are a short walk to beach road where busses are available.