Thinking of buying a condo...

[manarak]

Actually Pattaya is in the middle between Chonburi and Rayong, with many industries & Navy, and has industriel Si Racha and sea terminals of Chaem Labang (sp?) nearby, making the larger area (comprised between north Rayong and Chonburi) also a Thai residential area.

Eastern seaboard is where infrastructure density is highest in Thailand, after Bangkok. They keep building roads, railways, etc. in the area, and I expect it to continue to develop.

[f0xxee]

(manarak @ Jan. 19 2010,16:12)
Actually Pattaya is in the middle between Chonburi and Rayong, with many industries & Navy, and has industriel Si Racha and sea terminals of Chaem Labang (sp?) nearby, making the larger area (comprised between north Rayong and Chonburi) also a Thai residential area.

Eastern seaboard is where infrastructure density is highest in Thailand, after Bangkok. They keep building roads, railways, etc. in the area, and I expect it to continue to develop.

Hi Manarak,

I know where Pattaya is. However the industries you speak of (navy, industry etc.) are not the sorts of industries that support a large expat demographic. Yes they support Thais... but expats? Not so much. The condo market there is expat driven, be it as oweners or as holiday rentals to expats.
As I said, CBD's are where the long term expats (with incomes) are and where they might subscribe to a long term rental...
Sorry but I do know holiday real estate, and and its boom bust cycles. I have watched people buy condos with the hope of flicking them before completion for a profit as I think Mardhi mentioned. I have watched them fail to do so. I have seen their "Guaranteed 7% return" turn to shit.
IN the CBD there is an ever changing expat crew involved in finance, insurance, marketing, engineering etc. These are the guys who will pay a regular rent, as opposed to the rare holiday rental. It's steady-steady. Sure if you buy in Patts you are buying in a bust market now, and there are discounts to be had.... but where is the next boom? Given the huge amount of developments maturing this year and the last, I would suspect there will be an oversupply of condos in Patts for a while.

Other options: I used to live in a place called Noosa in the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, probably blue-chip and 5 star Real Estate if there ever was. Why? Scarcity and a shire imposed population and development cap. Also geographically it is surrounded by a National Park and a river. Therefore if you wanted a bit of heaven the scarcity made it very very expensive. The problem with Patts as I see it is that like the Gold Coast of Queensland is can expand north and south a long way, so the chances over oversupply are high. If I didn't want the BKK CBD my next choice would be Patong (Phuket) or Koh Samui.

[tropical]

Guys, thanks for the excellent feed back, unfortunately I cant fault any of you, its all sound logic and I appreciate your views.
Hi Bumpa, "RENT" I know, I know, but I hate renting, but I understand why many people smarter/ more experienced than me choose that option.cheers
Sparewheel , thanks for the offer, but at present I am only comfortable contemplating a Condo purchase due to the current laws.
Dixon Cox, I agree with you on the flexability issue,and if I was to inherit bad neighbours, it could make life difficult for sure.I tried the calculation method and on a purchase price of 3.5 mill baht i could probably rent for a period of 12- 15 years,(i didnt allow for a cumulative increase in rent though, so I may be wrong), but there is just something inherent in me about renting as opposed to owning.
TTChang, I understand the nightlife" finishing you off" part,(hopefully not the balcony,lol) as I think it would deaden anyones enthusiasm to carry on the party for life.
Manarak, excellent post mate, very thoughtful, point taken on the House/land vs Condo future values, but i just dont like the company approach to purchasing land in Thailand.
Foxxee, cheers mate, I understand there are probably better options for investing somewhere else,(BKK,Phuket)-Australia etc, but if I buy a place it will really only be for my use,(and probably mates to stay for short holidays, etc). I used to frequent Phuket all the time in the earlier years, but find I have outgrown it, and like what Pattaya has to offer. I understand what you are saying about the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast, but as economically unsound as it may seem, I would prefer Pattaya.(there is no way I would have said that 5 years ago).
Thanks for everyones comments, I will check out some places next week, come home and think further, I will not be signing anything up next week, but hope to have a better understanding of whats available to me.
Cheers

[Naang Faa]

(mardhi @ Jan. 17 2010,17:14) I would be sniffing around Northpoint if I were in the market - the whole project is about to finish and the rumours are that heaps of buyers are unable to close as they dont have the money (i.e buyers of multiple units, planning to 'flip' the property before it completed and make a excellent return) - the problem is that the market has really softened, the prices have not gone up and the 'flippers' cant move 'em -

That's a shame, if you'd bought into the project off-plan when the
GBP was 74 baht even with no rise in price of the property
you'd still have made near 35% profit (less taxes) should the buyers
be there..
x

[manarak]

f0xxee, excellent points there for people who have a condo in mind.
As I am thinking "pool villa", I am obviously biased.


tropical, if you are fairly sure you want to stay for a long time, there is another variant to renting.
you can outright buy the buildings, and get a lifelong usufruct on the land without paying rent. you can also put other family members on the land deed, that's very useful if you have children, just put them as usufruct beneficiaries and they'll be guaranteed to be able to live on that land.

the downside is that at your death or at the death of the last beneficiary, full ownership of the land returns to the heirs of the owner.

that property will also be more difficult to sell, because you would need to find the owner and get his approval for selling - he will probably want to see some money.

but the big advantage is that you and your children will have to pay no rent for as long as you or they live.

[azza33]

(Naang Faa @ Jan. 19 2010,18:33)

(mardhi @ Jan. 17 2010,17:14) I would be sniffing around Northpoint if I were in the market - the whole project is about to finish and the rumours are that heaps of buyers are unable to close as they dont have the money (i.e buyers of multiple units, planning to 'flip' the property before it completed and make a excellent return) - the problem is that the market has really softened, the prices have not gone up and the 'flippers' cant move 'em -

That's a shame, if you'd bought into the project off-plan when the
GBP was 74  baht  even with no rise in price of the property
you'd still have made near 35% profit (less taxes) should the buyers
be there..
                    x

hmmm for someone who loves finance as much as you NF i'm a little surprised you've indulged in that line of thought!!

Are you ok?

[janabiyah]

Hi Tropical,

If you plan to go ahead with a purchase in Pattaya, the most important thing to bear in mind is location.

Pattaya, like every city, will have desirable locations where there will always be a demand for good properties and where a good class of tenant will generally live, reducing the possibility of problems with neighbours.

You will for sure pay a bit of a premium to live in an upmarket location, but you will sell more easily when the time comes and for sure your property will appreciate in value.

I'm sorry I cannot advise on where are the good locations, but any one in the property business would be able to help.

Good luck

[bkkafterdark]

Anyone interested in northpoint let me know.... i have many contacts on that property.... there are people looking to sell and the title deeds are now ready to transfer.