Bangkok Apartments -bijoux perles eau douce

Bangkok Apartments By: Roberto Garabell

Over the years Bangkok has developed into one of the most cosmopolitan far east asian cities. This has enabled Bangkok to offer one of the most diverse ranges of properties in the world. With a price range to suit all pockets and tastes. Bangkok property prices have remained stable over the last ten years, and while massive returns of buying and selling are few and far between, yields of between 8-10% can be found with the right guidance on the rental side.

When selecting somewhere to live or stay it is important to determine what type of property you would like to live in, which area is the best for you (proa€?s - cona€?s) and your budget requirements. Another key element when finding a property is how long you want to rent for. Short term, the choices are normally limited to guest houses, hotels and serviced apartments, and as such rental prices would be higher, although they normally do deals for monthly rental. Most landlords or agents prefer rental periods exceeding 3 months, with most wanting 6 or 12 month contracts. Now that you have an idea about how long you want to stay in Bangkok, you need to start searching for a suitable property. Some of the keys things you should ask or know about are:

1. LOCATION - It is very important that you know what types of transportation (bus/taxi/motorcycle) are available to you. It is also an idea to check the location of nearby stores, restaurants.

2. ENTRANCES - When selecting a house, make sure there are two entrance ways. There should be a way to enter the house from the front and the back in addition to any patio doors. One reason for this is air circulation, by opening both front and back doors, a nice breeze can be had.

3. BACK UP WATER SUPPLY - Most homes will have a large water reserve system (tank - pump) in case the main water supply from the city's own water reserve fails. This is of great importance since the city's water supply can be cut off at times! Note: This is most often for short periods of time, but can be very annoying if you do not have a reserve water system.

4. WINDOWS AND SCREENS - Check all windows for opening, closing and locking. Doors and windows should either lock or be able to have good quality locks fitted to them.Make sure that there are enough windows and doors with good quality mosquito screens as the little bastards can make life a pain.

5. OUTSIDE WATER SUPPLY - A house should have at least one outside water supply (tap/faucet).

6. CABLE OR SATELLITE TV RECEPTION - The local television reception is almost entirely in the Thai language and the Thai soap operas are enough to drive you wild. You will want to look for another option (cable and/or satellite) for TV viewing.
7. HOT WATER SHOWER - You will find that many houses and condominiums will have a small water heater in the bathrooms for hot water showers. You may not find hot water in the kitchen, so make sure you look for a water heater! (Usually under the kitchen sink!). Also, check to see if a shower curtain is included. Bath tubs are a bit of a rarity also, so do not expect to always see one in a house or condominium.

8. GAS STOVE - Most of the time, you will see gas stoves in the kitchens of better quality condos or houses. Some places will have a micro wave oven which can be very handy to use, as Thailand has a great selection of ready meals.

9. REFRIGERATOR - The refrigerator should be at least medium size if not a large one. Many homes and condos will have one of the small refrigerators and they usually are just not enough. You can often rent one for about 500 baht a month but check the quality first. To be honest if you can buy one for about 6000-7000 baht. You can always sell it later.

10. UTILITIES AND APPLIANCES - It is very important that all of the homes utilities hardware, appliances and air conditioning equipment is in good working order. It is standard procedure with most quality Real Estate Agents to ensure that the properties Landlord/Owner does check and service all appliances, electrical outlets and switches, plumbing fixtures and air conditioning units before you move into your new home. ONE VERY IMPORTANT POINT, sockets are not the standard of the west, so be careful when plugging in and unplugging, as sparks often fly.

11. WASHING MACHINES - Not all of the houses and condos will feature a washing machine. There are laundry services everywhere and usually offer cheap services, try to take a look at there machines, as many use just cold water, which is not really enough for getting out stains. As for drying, if you do wash something yourself, just hang it out to dry for a few hours.

12. AIR CONDITIONING - It would be best to have at least the bedrooms air conditioned. It takes most expats a quite a while to get used to Thailanda€?s hot and humid air.

13. TELEPHONES - You will most likely want to have a telephone (IDD-International Direct Dial). Normally they are in the homes and are most often assigned to the home ownera€?s account. Be sure and ask what sort of service their phone has and what is necessary to get IDD if it doesn't already have it.

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