Finding a Condo/Apartment in Bangkok

Finding a condo/apartment in Bangkok can be a real ordeal for expats, as my husband and I discovered shortly after we commenced our accommodation hunt. There are, of course, many ways to go about looking for your perfect pad...different strokes for different folks! In this post, I will talk about what worked for us and what didn't.

To begin with, we got in touch with a number of brokers. Our budget was THB 30,000-35,000 (approx. USD 920-1070) and we were looking for a fully-furnished two-bedroom & two-bathroom condo in Central Bangkok (Ratchadambri, Lang Suan, Ploenchit) or the lower Sukhumvit Sois (1-15). One of our biggest priorities was proximity to a BTS station -- we wanted to be within a 5-7 minute walk to the skytrain since we don't plan on buying a car.

We were shown many properties by many brokers, but most of them were far from ideal. The majority were too far from the BTS line. Others were in the zones we wanted but WAY out of our budget (above THB 45,000 in some cases). Still others were perfect in terms of budget and location but had only one bedroom or one bathroom. We were extremely keen on the two-bedroom & two-bathroom clause because family and friends visit us quite often.

Eventually, after two fruitless weeks of driving around the city with brokers in tow, we decided to take matters into our own hands. We started walking around the areas we had shortlisted as suitable, and approached the apartment buildings on our own. That's when we found out that you don't really need to hire a real-estate broker in Bangkok at all! Nearly every apartment building has two great ways of finding out about condos for rent: a juristic/sales office plus a noticeboard in the lobby. The building management or guards often know which condos are for rent/sale and are more than happy to show you around. The noticeboards have numerous "For Rent" announcements and provide contact details for you to reach out directly to the owner/point person.

So we spent a week wandering around the condos of Central Bangkok....and it paid off! We found the perfect place in the perfect location. The rent was a couple of thousand baht over our budget but the condo's proximity to our workplaces meant we would save far more in travel costs. The best part? We dealt directly with the owners, right from negotiating the price and asking for a few additions & repairs, to ironing out contract details and signing off on the paperwork.

My husband's employer's lawyer took a look at the contract before we signed to be on the safe side. The landlords took two months rent as deposit and one month's rent in advance -- this is fairly standard. The contract included a list of items in the apartment, which we cross-checked along with the owners before finalising the contract.

We also did find a number of promising listings online. However, many of these were already off the market when we called to check, which leads me to believe the listing are often not up to date. In other cases, we got in touch with the real-estate brokers whose numbers were listed but they kept trying to show us unsuitable properties instead of the ones we had identified online. However, I do know some people who found their condos through websites so it's definitely worth pursuing if you are internet-savvy.

To sum up, here are my top twelve tips if you're looking for a condo or apartment in Bangkok:

1. DON'T hire a broker right off the bat if you're not in a tearing hurry.
2. DO think carefully about the kind of area you would like to stay in. (quiet? residential? close to a school? close to your workplace? off the beaten path? city centre? lively? close to lots of restaurants? close to the metro line?). Decide which 2-3 points are top-priority for you.
3. DO your research about which neighbourhoods in Bangkok fit your criteria. Use the internet, check out expat discussion forums, talk to locals...get pro-active!
4. DO put on comfy walking shoes and start walking around in your chosen location, checking out promising apartment buildings. (Even if you think the area might be expensive, PLEASE take a look for yourself. We found a reasonable apartment in one of the classiest, safest areas in the city, even though brokers told us it was impossible!)
5. DO check with the juristic office if there are apartments for rent.
6. DO read the notice-board and reach out to prospective renters.
7. DON'T settle and take the first place you see if you're not 100% happy with it and if it doesn't meet your top 2-3 priorities.
8. DO remember to check if the building has facilities like a fitness centre, pool, sauna, etc. (Remember to factor these in when calculating budget. E.g., if you're going to save THB 3000 in gym fees because you'll have access to a great fitness centre then add THB 3000 to your budget.)
9. DO negotiate with the owners to add any essential gadgets/furniture you feel are missing. (Our landlords put in a new AC and washing machine for us. If you don't ask for it, you won't get it!)
10. DO check if the condo includes things like internet, cable, garbage disposal, phone line, etc. (Our condo had a phone but we had to set up our own internet and cable. Most apartment buildings will take a fee for the initial setup of such utilities -- this is over and above what you pay your internet and cable service providers.)
11. DO make a list of any and all questions that come to mind. (E.g., can you put up pictures on the walls? Can you keep a pet in the building? Who will be responsible for fixing the appliances/lights/etc.? How much notice is required before moving out? Is there a penalty clause if you move out before the contract term is completed?)
12. DO remember to check all the lights, appliances, taps and faucets before signing the contract. (We found one malfunctioning tap and a fused bulb, which the owner replaced before we moved in.)

Best of luck with your apartment/condo hunt!