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Category - before I start looking:
1. Our view of the current
Property Rental Market in Bangkok:
The expatriate housing property market varies in different
parts of Bangkok within the usual expatriate
residential areas below:
In our view, it will remain a 'Tenants' market' in most areas of Bangkok
for the first half of 2008 at least. Discounts on house rentals are possible, you can get a better deal
at the moment as most Thai owners understand with the stronger Baht
your housing allowances may buy less currently. For newly
arrived expatriates with a US$ dollar housing allowance we
will also try to negotiate a package for you that will give you a
better deal by asking for discounts from owners on the asking prices
shown in this website by up to 20 per cent to offset against
the current stronger Baht. Ultimately though it is for you to make
an offer on a property as is the norm in Bangkok to the level you
think that the rental property might be worth per month and in
relation to the current circumstances, a situation that with
the weaker US dollar and other factors such as high oil prices,
might well make a good compromise between the renter and the person
or family renting the property. Properties have to be
seen of course no photos on line will show the whole picture of any
rental house, you need to view the property, the location and
also meet the owner, good working relationships work much better in
Thailand it is very much a question of how you both get along that
will determine the final price, by meeting and letting the owner see
you and your family - you might well be very surprised at the deal
you can both make in having that final meeting once you have decided
on the property of your choice.
Chaengwattana Road around ISB and Harrow:
This area within the International School of Bangkok (ISB) has more vacancies
than normal right now. There also seems to be a trend developing where
some families now
living in this area are considering making the move to the Bang Na
area
for the new airport location this may require a change of school. There are still some nice single houses outside the
compound in Chaengwattana Road and other nearby villages from Baht 50,000 a month to Baht
150,000 a month available right now but there are not so many good 3-4
bed houses available near to The Harrow International School itself,
you need to look further along Chaengwattana Road or North of Don
Muang Airport at the moment.
In Bang Na Road:
At the top end of the scale there are a number of good older stock houses, some with pools, available in the range Baht
100,000.- to Baht 200,000.- in some of the hi-end villages within a
short drive of Bangkok Patana School, even RIS School is only 30 minutes from
this location, there are other houses up to the Baht 100,000 level to
show clients right now. The road infrastructure
along Bang Na Trat has now been completed, on most days it has become
a pleasure to drive into Bangkok from the South now some
days though for some reason without any logic there is the usual traffic
congestion caused by the collection of the toll fare at the start of
the Bangkok grid. There are some townhouses, children friendly
places and smaller houses available in this area from Baht40,000- a
month. This area is best for the new Bangkok airport now
opened near to Bang Na. There are brand new villages
developed in the past year within this area with but with limited houses for
rent from Baht50,000.- to Baht120,000.-, they are modern with a Thai
oriental flavor to them.
Ramkamhaeng Road Minburi:
Near to RIS School there are many houses for rent
within the monthly budget range of Baht40,000- to Baht85,000- . In our view, it is very much a
tenants' market for this
area during this period and the situation will remain so for the time
being. Larger houses 4-5 beds with pools
at Baht100,000 to Baht150,000- plus are not available in this
area, you will have to look in other nearby areas, Bang Na as one
example. This area is also good for the new airport.
Pattanakarn Road for RIS-Pattana: Villages in
this area have few vacancies,
Panya Village for example is split into
three types of housing, the older stock and mainly smaller
housing near to the main gate and other areas at Baht60,000 to Bah 90,000.- monthly.
Then there are the New modern 4 bedroom houses some with pools, where owners
have demolished the older housing stock in order to build a modern up
to date new house, however,
as the older house was not such an up market type of property the land
area was fairly small up to 150 sqwah, the new modern house that replaced it also
therefore have small land areas, most owners have had to make full use of
the land area, all this adds up to much smaller garden areas, or just
the house and the pool taking up the whole area - even so these new 4 bed
houses are renting for Baht150,000-160,000- a month; they are
popular and in short
supply and are usually rented as soon as they have been completed.
Finally, there are the grander houses at the rear of the compound
which rent for as much as Baht 275,000- a month with a pool,
these are substantial Senior Executives houses, with larger 250 to 400 sqwah gardens, larger swimming pools, 4-5 bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, good
maid's & utility areas, parking for your own and also guests cars and with pleasant entrances and
driveways. There are few of these houses that come onto the
market, usually such a house is rented by a multi-national
Company and successive Senior Executives / CEO's take on the same
house.
Suburbs of Bangkok: for
New French School area. This area is becoming more
popular for French families who wish to live near the new school in Ekamai - Ladprao Road, housing is very limited in this area and it is
much more difficult to find good 3-4 bedroom houses at the upper end of the scale
here, as a result French families with higher budgets have chosen Ekamai Soi 63, Soonijai and or Pattanakarn for a home, that is for those
families that wish to
move out of their familiar Sathorn Road area.
Another
popular area is in Phahonyothin Road, the Soi Aree, near to Ari BTS area although there are very few good houses for
rent within the range Baht50,000- to Baht100,000- a month, good
houses are in high demand and are not on secured compounds
in this location it is an older more conservative Thai area.
Apartments are available within this area 2-3 bedrooms from Bah
50,000- a month.
In Central Bangkok:
Houses at any level within easy reach of the BTS (Skytrain) are always harder
to locate. Thai owners know that the demand
for housing has outstripped supply and prices have risen
accordingly. However, there are some older houses on the market
now with some new housing developments
that came on stream in 2007 giving some choice of some new
contemporary style minimalistic housing and modern Thai style concepts of
housing. As usual there are numerous apartments within all
price ranges for rent in the Sukhumvit, Silom and Sathorn areas, the
trend seems to be for people to go for the newer more modern up to
date buildings of course with good facilities, pools, gyms, garden and
play areas for young children.
Sathorn Road
near to Shrewsbury International School, a new popular
school near to Central Bangkok has many 4-5 private houses for rent,
some with pools, there are some new hi end villages in the area
with rents above Baht250,000.- per month otherwise there are older more traditional Thai houses of quality,
some in traditional Thai style.
Bangkok Homes welcomes more contact with private Thai owners in this area who
are thinking about
renting their house for families considering the Shrewsbury School; also
any property along the Chaopraya River location would be a popular residential
location for expatriates who like to be near the river with its cool
breezes and lots of activity on the river itself.
For
families with children: Please let us know your preferred residential area so we can prepare a proper viewing
schedule for you and check on up to date vacancies in your preferred
area. If you have already settled on a particular school then
this would be the best time to start the house search in the areas
near to the school of your choice so as to keep the journey times on
the school bus for your children to the absolute minimum.
Note: one talan wah is four square metres
BTS
Skytrain:
The New BTS (Skytrain) from Bangkok City Center to the New Airport
should be opened sometime in 2008 and another new line extension to Samutprakan
is now under construction scheduled to be finished in 2008 or thereabouts !
DON MUANG AIRPORT
in the north of Bangkok is open and running as normal mainly for
domestic and low budget flights.
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2.
Timescale for renting a property in Bangkok:
You should allow one to two months as a good average time frame to
find a suitably good quality house or apartment, settle the lease
agreement agree to redecorations. Thai owners also
prefer this lead time from looking to securing a property.
Thai owners will wait for a month or two before a lease commences
but not much longer than this. 'Look-see' visits six months before
lease commencement are considered counter productive as the property
you view will most certainly not be around for rent in six months
time and we do not encourage these long periods before your arrival
as it will not give you the best view of the market, a market that
is constantly adjusting to local and also international trends.
3. English speaking in
Bangkok:
Thai people are proud of their own language, and, unlike in Malaysia,
where English is commonly spoken, few Thais can speak English fluently.
In all the four and five star hotels the hotel staff can communicate
effectively enough, as well as people who are doing business with
foreign firms and organizations. Other local Thais would find it
difficult to hold a good conversation in English, especially in a busy
place. It pays to learn some basic Thai for general
purposes such as shopping and going around by taxis, that is once you have had
the opportunity to settle down.
There are Thai language schools in Bangkok to cater to newcomers.
Thais will be shy at starting a conversation with a foreigner in
public places. Even if a Thai person can speak good English, they
will be reluctant to enter into a conversation in a public place where other Thais can overhear their level of English standard, an exception might be a
Thai, who has spent some time abroad or has an occupation where they
are in constant contact with foreigners.
Thai
homeowners, landlords are friendly and hospitable people who lease out
their homes to foreigners generally all
nationalities are welcome. Thai
homeowners, who wish to rent out their properties, prefer to rent to
foreign families.
Most
owners, mostly owner-occupiers, will be flattered that you have
selected their property and will
endeavor to ensure your every comfort. Thai owners, who are investors
or overseas residents that have many properties can be much more
casual about it. We try to encourage initial meetings re final
negotiations etc., then after this you may never see them,
many will deal only through the local on site office, agents
or representatives, for all matters
including maintenance.
4. Location:
Whether to select a rental property
near to an
International School or in a wholly expatriate community or in a mixed Thai/'Farang'
community:
The
general rule is, that, if you have young children, it is best to be as
near to the school as possible and to let your husband do the
travelling. There are three principal international schools -
I.S.B.
International School Bangkok
in Chaengwattana, which follows the American curriculum, the
Bangkok
Pattana School
in Bang Na, which follows a British curriculum, and the
Ruamrudee
International School
- The Swiss-German School in Minburi. The Swiss-German School section
itself teaches Swiss German or High German, but there is a
substantially large International Section with over 1,500 students,
where English is the medium for instruction.
The majority of expatriate families prefer to live in villages like the expatriate
community near to ISB School in Chaengwattana Road
or on other nearby villages where there are a large number of expatriate
families. There are exceptions, though: Some families would like to try the Thai
experience and go a little more native, learning the language and
mixing more with Thai people. The mix on outside villages is 90% Thai
and 10% foreign, so you may not have an expatriate owner living next door
in these kind of villages.
5. Best periods for House hunting:
School terms permitting, the
principal periods for renting in Bangkok are: mid-January through
to April and July through September.
New expatriates arrive and look for properties all times of the year
of course, the above periods connect with the start of the school terms. It is
best to start looking for a home one or two months beforehand. The quiet period is the height of the raining season - October and
November - and also the period a week or so before Christmas/New Year
and after the New Year in January of each year. Chinese New Year
is also a quiet period for a week or two. We wish you good house hunting.
6. Living costs in Bangkok:
Some
current basic price guidelines:
Gas/petrol prices for Bangkok are
fluctuating all the time, for all types of gas the pump prices now
are between Baht32.50- to the Baht33.00.- a litre level give or take
few fractions of the Baht or so, slightly higher outside of Bangkok.
(Note: Thai petrol or gas
stations now market a new petrol gas called Gasohol 95, made from
methane which is slightly cheaper, however, this new fuel works
better on newer car models, for older European cars it is best to
use Premium 95 as usual that is while it is still available in
Thailand as other types of fuel are now being marketed)
Other price
guidelines:
Large loaf of
Bread: Baht30- per loaf
Can of
Coke: Baht 14 at 7-11 Baht 14 per small bottle
McDonalds hamburger: Baht 20 to Baht 29 with cheese
- click here
An imported Women's Day magazine: Baht 175.- per copy
A Toyota Corolla: Baht900,000.- plus - Made in Thailand
Minimum motorway toll: Baht 20 to 55
Airport exit tax: Baht500 per person
Minimum taxi fare: Baht35 for the first 2 kilos a journey
from the new airport to city center costs approximately Baht400-600 using
the expressways, some taxi drivers are not using the meters as they
should from the new airport. There is a surcharge of Baht 50 for a
taxi from the airport in addition to the cost of the tollway.
The Bangkok Post and
The Nation English language newspapers are now Baht25.-
a copy
Some minimum
Bangkok salary levels:
Secretaries: Baht12,500.- plus. Engineers: Baht35,000.- to 50,000.-
Shop clerks: Baht8,000.- Maids: Baht7,500.- to
Baht15,000.- New maids from up-country and non-English
speaking, with more experience, an older lady speaking good English up to Baht15,000.-
a
month. Drivers: Baht 8,000.- to Baht20,000.-
New & inexperienced drivers Baht10,000.- a month.
Should he have a family, he
will want a minimum of Baht15,000.- plus overtime at Baht 50 plus per
hour.
Any questions
or suggestions re content please to: enquiry@bangkok-homes.com
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