In search of a condo rental

[Bruce Mangosteen]

OK, we're now just under a month until relocation to Thailand.  We'll be based in Thailand, returning to the US for a month or so once a year while my mother is still on this side of the veil.

We'll be looking for a condo to lease/rent a full year at a time.  Soliciting suggestions on where to look.

Desired specs:

- Condo/apartment, not a house.
- Location preference 1) Jomtien 2) Pratamnak 3) Pattaya
- One bedroom (not a studio).
- Rent ~12K - 20K/month.  Year's advance OK if the landlord is trustworthy.
- Sea views a big plus.
- 4th floor or higher preferred (wife worried about floods).
- Walk to beach 10 minutes or less if possible.
- On premise gym preferred but not mandatory.  Swimming pool also a plus.
- Shops and bars:  Ground floor of building optimum, short walk preferred.  Prefer nothing requiring transportation.
- Near baht bus route preferred (obviously this is at odds with most of Pratamnak but...).
- Farang ownership a plus, if already acquainted or friend a big plus.

We're in no rush, and have a dedicated place to stay in the Ayutthaya area.  

Please suggest specific buildings and even units if possible.  Contact info for owners/landlords would be appreciated.

Also, please reply if you've used an agency and have gotten a good result.  I realize these will be a bit more expensive but if they're good they cut down on the hassle.

Thanks in advance.  See you soon!  

[LordFlash]

Tudor Court on Pratumnak was the development i was selling at the time. Ticks most of your boxes.

I drove past it earlier this year and it still looks good.

Sorry I don't know the contact now as my old boss sold off all his interests in it a while ago.

[Bruce Mangosteen]

Cheers, I'll check it out mate.

[Bruce Mangosteen]

OK, sorry for the radio silence.  Been here for a couple of weeks, not spent much time on the internet.  

It looks like we have found a place.  It's actually two adjacent studio apartments on a low floor in VT2 with a locking door between, owned by a friend.  The plan is to modify one of the rooms into an office/TV room with a folding bed for visiting grandchildren.  15K/month complete, rent to buy option under discussion, which I thought was a good price.

It's currently unoccupied so needs some cleaning up, and there's also a problem with one of the bathrooms he's working on getting fixed.  We're hoping to be in there around or before October 1.  Fingers crossed.

I'll update this thread occasionally.

Thanks to all for your suggestions.  See yas around town!  😃

[Kev]

Hey Mr radio silence how is the new condo going?

Inquiring minds like to know 😁

[Bruce Mangosteen]

Ha, the clamor of the crowd has reached our ears!  😆

The condo was repaired and we moved in the 21st of last month.  Life has been a blur since.  Family visiting, prepped for and attended the wife's daughter's wedding in Kanchanaburi where I was honored to stand "father of the bride" and give the bride away, back to Ayutthaya for a few days featuring a couple of drunken nights at Cowboy Bar and a photo session in Thai formal garb at a couple of old temples, then 4 grandchildren accompanied us back to Pattaya.  They went home yesterday, groaning under stacks of new books and pastel pencils. 

Wife and I are now decompressing from all that with some well-deserved downtime. 

Just set up my computer for the first time since I got here.  Managed to keep my world turning until now with my S24Ultra and its "Dex" desktop feature and a portable monitor, but some things still need Windows unfortunately.

Next hurdle will be the visa.  Working with a Thai friend who has some experience with this to try to avoid the extortionate prices the services now charge due to the present visa situation.  Might have found a work-around, which I'll post if it works.  Otherwise, I might have to leave Thailand for a spell and apply for an O visa.

Negotiating with a customer for some remote work.  Might have sold him a monthly "subscription" for a few hours' work at a reasonable rate.  He's on holiday I think so waiting for him to break his radio silence.

To be continued...

[Kev]

Good to hear yes the Thai family reunions do take it out of you 😂

Enjoy the down time

Thanks for the update and to be continued lol

[Bruce Mangosteen]

On 10/20/2026 at 4:51 PM, Bruce Mangosteen said:

Next hurdle will be the visa.  Working with a Thai friend who has some experience with this to try to avoid the extortionate prices the services now charge due to the present visa situation.  Might have found a work-around, which I'll post if it works.

Went down in a massive tower of flames!  LOL!  Oh well, worth the try.

Now researching visa services.  Maneerat on Soi Post Office best so far.

[Bruce Mangosteen]

Maneerat got the job.  At 50,500 baht they were about 10K under my next best offer.  Bank account, non-O visa, retirement extension, multiple reentry permit.

[awesum4]

23 hours ago, Bruce Mangosteen said:

Maneerat got the job.  At 50,500 baht they were about 10K under my next best offer.  Bank account, non-O visa, retirement extension, multiple reentry permit.

Did you enter Thailand on a visitors visa then change to a non-o visa after you arrived.  Because according to the Thai Embassy here you must apply for the non-o 90 day from outside the country. that then allows you to open the bank account, deposit the money and then get the 1 year extension.

I've applied for it online here and it was a major pain in the arse, supposedly processed in 10 days, but its been 14 and they havent taken the money let alone processed it. 

[helloitsme]

17 hours ago, awesum4 said:

Did you enter Thailand on a visitors visa then change to a non-o visa after you arrived.  Because according to the Thai Embassy here you must apply for the non-o 90 day from outside the country. that then allows you to open the bank account, deposit the money and then get the 1 year extension.

I've applied for it online here and it was a major pain in the arse, supposedly processed in 10 days, but its been 14 and they havent taken the money let alone processed it. 

Mr mangledbrains ignored all advice and entered on a 60 day visa exempt stamp. All the advice he got from seasoned veterans was to get a non-o before he travelled, but, no, he knew best.

Of course, if he had got the non-o from the States then opening a bank account would have been easy (ish -just got to find the right branch -the bkk bank opposite soi 6 is regularly mentioned) to do, and getting the retirement extension would have been cheaper and quicker (like 15,000 (or 8,000 if you have the money already seasoned in your bank and use an agent, or 2,000 if you do it all yourself) as opposed to 50,000 and 3 days as opposed to 30). Now of course he's complaining about rules and why it takes so long and costs so much to bend them and why immigration doesn't accept US official documents and make an exception for him and and and

As I understand the rules say a non-o has to be applied for from outside the country. Agents, however, can circumnavigate the rules and for a fee (35,000ish) can organise one without you leaving.

 

 

Incoming..........................................................................................

[awesum4]

I was wondering about the cost. I will pay (when they finally take the money) 13,300 baht for the non-0  90 day visa and then some more for the extension to 1 year.

But the extension should be a lot easier as I will do it at the local immigration office in Thailand.  It was the getting the right format and uploading all the stuff that was the hassle.  

Edited yesterday at 08:36 AM by awesum4

[jacko]

17 hours ago, helloitsme said:

As I understand the rules say a non-o has to be applied for from outside the country. Agents, however, can circumnavigate the rules and for a fee (35,000ish) can organise one without you leaving

Not exactly..... but sort of correct. 

A tourist or exempt entry/permission can be converted in country to a Non-Imm-O entry, and that facility has been around for a long time. It is there to help people onto the path of an extension. Used to be only possible in Bangkok, but now available more provincially. Not sure what it costs, agents usually include it in a package with the extension. 

Edited 17 hours ago by jacko

[mike_asia]

4 hours ago, jacko said:

Not exactly..... but sort of correct. 

A tourist or exempt entry/permission can be converted in country to a Non-Imm-O entry, and that facility has been around for a long time. It is there to help people onto the path of an extension. Used to be only possible in Bangkok, but now available more provincially. Not sure what it costs, agents usually include it in a package with the extension. 

It’s ฿2000 for an in country O. You are correct it doesn’t have to be done in Bangkok but goes for approval (you keep your passport. 
 

Most aren’t eligible because it requires a Thai bank account with money 

[helloitsme]

4 hours ago, jacko said:

Not exactly..... but sort of correct. 

A tourist or exempt entry/permission can be converted in country to a Non-Imm-O entry, and that facility has been around for a long time. It is there to help people onto the path of an extension. Used to be only possible in Bangkok, but now available more provincially. Not sure what it costs, agents usually include it in a package with the extension. 

 

2 minutes ago, mike_asia said:

It’s ฿2000 for an in country O. You are correct it doesn’t have to be done in Bangkok but goes for approval (you keep your passport. 
 

Most aren’t eligible because it requires a Thai bank account with money 

Thanks for the correction.  I wonder if the Jomtien office is aware of this?!

Presumably it was the lack of bank account that scuppered Bruised Mangledbrains' chances, as his package with manerat included one.

[Bruce Mangosteen]

5 hours ago, mike_asia said:

It’s ฿2000 for an in country O. You are correct it doesn’t have to be done in Bangkok but goes for approval (you keep your passport. 

The immigration officer mostly focused on the income verification during the interview.  Without the bank account, the only thing she said she could accept was a letter from the embassy.  The US Embassy stopped that in 2019 because they refused to comply with the Thai requirement for a statement vouching for the specific income amount.  Before the interview, we specifically asked the information desk outside if the documentation I brought was sufficient (a form letter from the Social Security Administration documenting my monthly payment, and a screenshot of the deposits from the account they are deposited in), and they said it was.

The form to use to convert an airport stamp to a non-O is TM.87.  I had one of those and she wasn't bothered to look at it, likely because of the above.

On 10/31/2026 at 11:45 AM, helloitsme said:

Mr mangledbrains ignored all advice and entered on a 60 day visa exempt stamp. All the advice he got from seasoned veterans was to get a non-o before he travelled, but, no, he knew best.

 

5 hours ago, helloitsme said:

Thanks for the correction.

Pretty funny, eh hilloshitsme? 

BTW, p'raps you could point me to all this advice I supposedly got from "seasoned veterans" (most of whom have been coming here for half the time I have, and whose entire Thailand experience consists of paying for blowjobs and getting treated for STDs), as well as you?  Reading board posts from random alcoholics and whoremongers about Thai immigration isn't particularly persuasive I'm afraid.

Edited 8 hours ago by Bruce Mangosteen

[Bruce Mangosteen]

Anyway, this seems as good of a place as any to state clearly that I harbor no ill will toward anyone on this board regardless of the tenor of past exchanges (specifically including teelak and hiiloshitsme), and would have no issue drinking in company with anyone on here.  The board is the board, real life is real.

[awesum4]

accirding to the Thai embassy here a basic requirement of the non-o 1 year visa is money in a Thai bank account. As you cannot open a Thai bank account from overseas nor on a visitors permit, you must have a non-o 90 day visa to enter the country and open the bank account.

Obviously as with everything in Thailand you can find the right person to give money to get around this restriction,  but that is more expensive than doing things the correct way. 

[Bruce Mangosteen]

On 10/30/2026 at 5:42 PM, awesum4 said:

Did you enter Thailand on a visitors visa then change to a non-o visa after you arrived.

To be quite honest, and notwithstanding some of the commentary on this thread, I had always figured on using a service when I got here.  This was partially because I underestimated the increase in cost of the corruption involved, and partially because I don't want to tie up $25,000 or so in a Thai bank, preferring to leave it where it will earn a better return and be safe from the waves of bank account closures and freezes that sweep through the country occasionally.  

I got the exact outcome I wanted:  A non-O, retirement extension, and a bank account, and $23,500 of my retirement money still safely in the US.  My next step will be to ascertain what it will take to document monthly transfers in a way that will be acceptable to Thai immigration.  I will document that on here.

[Bruce Mangosteen]

31 minutes ago, awesum4 said:

Obviously as with everything in Thailand you can find the right person to give money to get around this restriction,  but that is more expensive than doing things the correct way. 

Not if the 800K disappears from my account with no explanation, as happens occasionally, including to Thais.  And yes, I do personally know someone it happened to.

 

Edited 6 hours ago by Bruce Mangosteen

[helloitsme]

5 hours ago, Bruce Mangosteen said:

 

BTW, p'raps you could point me to all this advice I supposedly got from "seasoned veterans" (most of whom have been coming here for half the time I have, and whose entire Thailand experience consists of paying for blowjobs and getting treated for STDs), as well as you?  Reading board posts from random alcoholics and whoremongers about Thai immigration isn't particularly persuasive I'm afraid.

 

On 2/5/2024 at 12:32 AM, Bruce Mangosteen said:

I got to this thread by noticing a post by @LocalYokul (to my surprise), then checking his posting history to see whether he had been posting here all along or started back recently.  (It was the latter.)  LY and I are friends on Facebook, good guy, although we haven't been in each other's company in maybe a decade.

The above is correct in its historical context.  As current posters will know, I'm presently living in the southeastern US, working at a steel plant, and have my long-term missus with me.  We did indeed get married and, again as posters here will know, she is here with me.  Things on that score are going well, and she keeps our home joyfully full of Thai cooking smells and the sounds of the Thai language and music.

I originally blew off the boards because I was tired of the political discussions.  They're like groundhog day, covering the exact same ground over and over, due to people believing things without thinking or doing any research into them, and just repeating what they unquestioningly and unthinkingly believe, over and over, one after another, forming a gigantic ignoramus conga line without end.  Boring-ass bullshit, not remotely worth wasting the little time I have to spend with Lady Mangosteen when not at work.

The old Mangosteen has been retired.  This one is not interested in arguing, for the reason cited above.

I started back posting on a few of the boards recently, a bit before a trip to Thailand last August.  I'm now of retirement age, and, after a few more years of stuffing money into my 401K, planning to live out my remaining years, which I hope are many, in Thailand.  So, I wanted to resume contact with Pattaya, which will be someplace I will spend at least part of my time.

While searching for something Thai related, I ran across a post on Addicts, and decided to see if my credentials still worked.  To my surprise, they did.  I then tried 24/7, and they worked there too.

I was very pleased to find that many of my good friends were posting on 24/7, and thought I'd make that my regular spot.  However, the comments above concerning left-wing censorship and viewpoint discrimination are spot on, and I was dismayed to find that "no politics except in the designated area" apparently meant that left-wing lies and other bullshit were not considered "politics".  Also, any information related to COVID that varied from the official government narrative caused me to be swarmed by the left-wing government blowjob-givers there.

So, rather than stand against another ignoramus conga line, I took my final, permanent leave of 24/7, scrambled my password then my email address so I can't reset it.  Shame, I could have enjoyed posting there.

Addicts is a pleasant pastime, active and busy, lots of good information on current conditions.  They have permanently banned all politics and, unlike the other boards, they mean ALL of it, even incidental mentions of governments.  I agree with that, and it keeps the board friendly, as does their rather attentive modding.  The propensity for people to post explicit descriptions of their encounters with the chicks causes me to wince occasionally, but it apparently appeals to a significant part of their core audience, so I just click elsewhere when I run into it.  Overall, a reasonable experience, if a bit noob-oriented.

This board I find to be, let's call it, sedate.  I enjoy reading it and contributing occasionally, and I may start a thread now and then, but I'll need more time to adjust to the vibe on here, and I don't know most of the regular posters well.

Break, then another post.

Oh, Mr Mangledbrains - the advice given, and your rants, don't necessarily have to be here. Remember the forum that you scrambled your password and email address (obviously badly) never to return? You know, the one where the government blowjob givers apparently live? Plenty was given and ignored on there.

Anyway, enough from me. I'll let you have the last word. I apparently need to go and pay someone to get a blowjob, then visit a clinic.

Love and kisses (but I'll draw the line at blowjobs)

Hiiloshitsme

 

[keyman]

@helloitsme - keep it on track without the baiting please.