When
I first visited Chiang Mai, cir. 1989, my Thai buddy and
I mused over a construction project underway on the "canal
road",
which at the time was on the outskirts of Chiang Mai. I believe
it was the first Condominium in Chiang Mai. He lamented whether
Chiang Mai needed condos because of the abundance of open
land.
Since then, condos have sprung up in prodigious numbers.
Places where you would never expect to see a condominium
now seem to have them in abundance. For expats, that's good
news .. mostly.
Condos are one domicile that expats can feel relatively
comfortable owning, assuming the have done their homework
and due diligence. That assumes they have bought the condominium
as a living space rather than speculation. Basically, a minority
percentage of condominium units can be held by foreigners
so long as other conditions are met .. the
Condominium
Act
It actually doesn't do too much good the regurgitate information
from government websites and competent property or legal.
I do recommend that you do lots of research, vette what you
are reading, and get competent legal advice. This PDF from
the U.S. Embassy has a list of
Thai
law firms.
Sometimes, going to look at an apartment, house or condo is a
blur that tells you far less than you need to know. After all,
you may be spending some serious change on the place.
Go live
there before you buy. It is very difficult to evaluate
a property on one visit .. even a number of visits. Try
to find a unit you can rent for a few months. That gives
you an opportunity to appraise the tenant base, services,
management, noise level and maintenance.
If you can't find a rental rent in the development, rent
a place as nearby as possible. Hang out in the target property's
restaurant. If they have a mini mart inside, shop there.
Try to get acquainted with the property manager. Talk to
as many people as possible. That's a good way to discover
skeletons.
One great benefit is that you may discover a much
better bargain than you thought would be available. Don't forget your due
diligence. If necessary, hire someone to do a detailed
evaluation of the property. More thoughts on
buying a condominium in Thailand
