Pattaya Apartments - How to Find the Right Apartment

Get to know Pattaya before you rent an apartment in Pattaya for long term. Rent a Motorbike or scooter and explore Pattaya for a few days if you are new to Pattaya. Visit as many areas as you can. You will see which areas you like and which areas fit your budget if you are on a budget.

Most Apartment complexes won't rent to you for less than 3 - 6 months during high season. You want to make sure you like the area that you will be living in. There are as many apartments in Pattaya as there are grains of sand on the beaches in Pattaya.

Pattaya

You will find very large apartment complexes with hundreds of apartments and you will find smaller buildings with 10, 20 or 30 units. You will see so-called serviced apartments which mean nothing more than "ready to move in".

Bring a notepad along and take notes of the areas you like most. Stop by apartment complexes and find the owner, manager or management office. The manager will most likely speak some English.

Talk to tenants and find out if they like living there and if they know about issues, if any. Once you found and narrowed down on an apartment, visit the apartment and area during different times of the day and night. This is important! This is Thailand. You don't want to find out about bars that stay open all night right on your doorstep after you paid your rent and your deposit.

Standard deposit is usually one month rent, but it may be a little bit more than that if there will be a cleaning fee when you move out. Rents vary from as little as 3,500 Baht to 10's of thousands a month depending on size, location, furniture, whether it has a kitchen or not and much more.

Apartments for less than 3500 Baht a month may not be suitable for most westerners. I have seen very nice and clean apartments for 3,500 Baht and I have seen not so nice ones for 10,000 Baht. For 10,000 Baht a month you should be able to rent a very nice 1 room studio style Apartment with a good kitchen and nice furniture.

Understand how much you will be paying for water and electricity. I have heard of low rents but extremely high charges for water and power. Make sure you write down the water and power reading when you move in. Get a copy of the apartment rules if one is available.

Other Things To Consider :
Check that the power works including light fixtures Check there is water in kitchen, bath, and shower Do you need Air Conditioning? Do the windows have screens? Is there safe parking? Make your list...

Pattaya is not your normal kind of city. It is a party town in many areas and when you choose to rent an apartment you may want to check out the vicinity during daytime and nighttime. Are there any bars close by? Bars can be fun for someone coming to visit Pattaya for a short time. Bars may not be so much fun if you have one in your backyard. Bars in Pattaya oftentimes stay open 24/7.

Pattaya Apartments - How to Find the Right Apartment

A Thai Staycation in Edinburgh!

Although every person is laothed to mention the dreaded credit crunch lately it has highlighted a relatively new act...no, not a new entry in the Karma Sutra...no, I'm talking about the staycation! What is a 'staycation'? I hear you ask. Well, it's an American term combining 'stay' and 'vacation' i.e stay at home vacation. It's one of those annoying new words but the principles behind it is good. Rather than spending a fortune on a holiday to say, a nice hot beach Thailand you would bring Thailand to your home (or local area at least) and save some of that precious cash. So, I've put together a rough guide on having a staycation and using my example of Thailand so here goes; Chill 'oot - What best way to get into the relaxed way of life than to treat yourself to a Thai massage. With roots in Yoga, Ayurvedic medicine and Buddhism , a Thai massage involves stretching and massage on a mat and leaves you feeling relaxed both inside and out!

Bring on the heat - While tropical heat may not be the norm for the rest of the world you should be able to recreate the feeling by visiting somewhere tropical instead. Try butterfly world in Edinburgh for exotic insects and clammy heat. best yet, wear shorts and t-shirt whever the weather outside (well you wouldn't wear jeans and Ugg boots in Phuket would you!? Thai food - That main pull for a holiday location for me has got to be the food.

Phuket

I don't want to visit a country only to immediately hunt down bacon and eggs when I could be having tapas, authentic curries or even kangaroo! Why should your staycation be any different? For authentic Thai food, grab the house and head to the Thai Orchid restaurant just off the Royal Mile. With a huge Buddha at the door and Oriental waitresses you will be transported to Thailand from the occasion you walk through the door.

If after your massage you just want to unwind at home then why not learn to cook some Thai food for yourself? The Thai Orchid restaurant, Edinburgh has a set of authentic Thai recipes on its website for you to try at home. Each method has been cooked in the restaurant and includes some house favourites so you can be sure you are getting something 'real'. So that's it, some ideas for a staycation in Edinburgh. While it may not be quite the same as hot-footing it over to Thailand at least you save not only the hard earned pennies but you gain yourself the thirteen hours you would otherwise spend travelling - you can't lose!

A Thai Staycation in Edinburgh!

How to Buy a Condominium in Thailand

Buying a Condo is Safe

Buying a condominium unit has become the simplest and easiest alternative for foreigners who want to own a piece of real asset in Thailand. The foreigner can own the condo unit under their own name. Under Thailand law, it is not prohibited for a foreigner to own a condominium building in the country as long as his title therein does not exceed forty-nine percent (49%) of the whole condominium building.

Phuket

Thus, a foreigner may buy one or more condominium units, as long as it does not exceed forty-nine percent (49%) of the total whole of units in the condominium building.

Funds for acquisition of asset must come from abroad

In purchasing the property, the foreigner is required, under the law, to pay for the condominium unit in foreign currency with funds from abroad, and duly recorded as such in a Thai bank as evidenced by a "Foreign transfer Transaction Form," or the Tt3 Form. A Tt3 Form is required to be presented upon registration of the transfer of ownership.

To do this, the foreigner/buyer must: 1) open an inventory with a Thai bank; 2) after occasion an account, the buyer must transfer the funds in foreign currency to a Thai bank account; 3) make sure that there is a written announcement that the hypothesize for the transfer is for purposes of "purchasing a condominium; 4) ask for a Foreign transfer Transaction Form from the bank (Tt3 Form).

Procedure for Purchasing a Condo in Thailand

Step 1 Title search It is very essential for the foreigner desiring to get a condominium unit, or for that matter, a share in the proprietary of a condominium building, to determine whether title thereto is clean. The unit, or the building, and the land over which the condominium stands should not be mortgaged. It is also very imperative that the foreigner/buyer transacts with the legitimate owner of the asset or the duly authorized representative.

Step 2 Sale business agreement A Sale business agreement is the ageement in the middle of the distributor and the foreigner/buyer wherein the condominium unit branch of the sale is transferred from the proprietary of the distributor to that of the buyer for a fixed price agreed upon by both parties after a meeting of the minds in the middle of the two parties.

Step 3 cost The usual custom in Thailand is for the buyer to pay the price in full, in accordance with the Sale Agreement. At this point, proprietary of the asset shall be transferred to the foreigner buyer.

Step 4 Registration of proprietary Upon full cost of the condominium unit, the parties will jaunt to the Land Office to faultless the land title deed transfer.

Thailand condo purchases are most favorite in Bangkok, Phuket or other resort communities. Siam Legal offers a free legal guide for Thailand Real Estate purchases.

How to Buy a Condominium in Thailand