You’ve landed your dream job, now all you need to is track down the perfect home. But don’t worry, finding the right condo, apartment or house in the capital is a fairly simple process...
Moving to Bangkok to take up a new job is a challenging experience and one of the most important tasks is to find somewhere to live. This is a reasonably straightforward process with a wide range of choices that match a range of budgets, but it is important to understand the range of options.
The first decision is going to be where to live.
This will be determined by where you are going to work, if you have children and
where they go to school, and your need for access to public transport,
especially the BTS skytrain.
The most popular expatriate residential area is
Sukhumvit Road between sois 1 and 63 (odd-numbered sois on the north side and
sois 2 to 42 on the south side). This is followed by the Lumpini area between
Ratchadamri and Soi Ruam Rudi, and the streets off Sathon Road north of the
Narathiwat Ratchanakarin intersection.
There are a few suburban locations favoured by
some expatriate families because of proximity to schools. These include Nitchada
Thani next to the International school of Bangkok (ISB), and some developments
near Bangkok Patana school on Soi La Salle in the eastern part of Bangkok.
Most expatriates coming to Bangkok will choose to
rent rather than purchase. There is a wide choice of accommodation types for
rent including serviced and unserviced apartments, condominiums, single detached
houses and townhouses.
Serviced Apartments are
single-ownership buildings that provide units for rent that are fully furnished
and equipped with all the appliances, cutlery, crockery, linen and amenities one
would need. Effectively you can move in with just your toothbrush. Most serviced
apartments provide a regular cleaning service, so it feels like living in a
hotel except you have more space and a kitchen. The most common unit types are
studios and one-bedroom apartments with a range of sizes.
Tenants can rent serviced apartments on a monthly
basis or for longer periods. These are ideal for expatriates on short-term
assignments or for singles or couples who want the convenience of everything
being provided and the service. The rents per square metre are higher than for
other types of rental accommodation with a range of between 700 and 1,200 baht
per square metre per month.
Apartments are single-ownership
multi-unit buildings and condominiums are multi-ownership multi-unit buildings
where units have been bought by individual owners. Physically there is little
difference between apartments and condominiums. Generally, both are offered on a
furnished basis with major appliances but without linen, cutlery, crockery and
so on. Most condominiums and apartments have facilities such as swimming
pools.
The main difference is in the way these buildings
are managed. In an apartment building, one company owns all of the units and is
responsible for maintenance and repairs inside the unit and the common areas. In
a condominium, the property managers of the building are only responsible for
the management of the common areas and the individual owner is responsible for
maintenance and repairs inside the unit.
The length of a residential lease is generally
one year with the tenant paying a deposit the equivalent to three months’ rent
and paying rent monthly in advance. Tenants are responsible for paying utilities
such as electricity, water, telephone, internet and cable TV, except for
serviced apartments where generally they are included in the cost.
Contracts are generally short and
straightforward. However, it is important that anything agreed orally between
the landlord and the tenant should be included in writing in the agreement to
avoid any future misunderstandings.
It is also important to have a proper handover
where any existing defects are listed and agreed upon in writing by the landlord
and tenant. This way, when it comes to handing the unit back at the end of the
lease, there is no confusion about who was responsible for any damage, which
could result in deductions from the deposit.
CR: Bangkok Post, 28 July 2013 by James Pitchon
