Expats Looking for a Home in Bangkok
For their employers, getting the employee settled is critical to performance and one of the most important issues is finding a home.
Mr. Theerathorn Prapunpong heads the Residential Leasing Services ( http://www.cbre.co.th/CBRECONTENT/BANGKOK/TRANSACTION_SERVICES/RESIDENTIAL_LEASING.HTM?WT.mc_id=50007 ) team at CB Richard Ellis. He has worked for the Company for 13 years, managing a team of 11 negotiators who found homes for over 250 expatriates last year.
“We see ourselves not as salesmen but as information providers; our role is to provide incoming expatriate employees with information about living in Thailand to make their transition as easy as possible. A significant element of this process is finding a home,” said Mr. Theerathorn.
Bangkok has a wide variety of accommodation for different budgets. The most critical task of the homefinding agency is to understand what the client wants and their priorities and then to show those properties that best match these requirements.
The critical factors are the location of the client’s work place and preferences in terms of schools for their children. The homefinder also needs to know if a spouse who is not working has access to a car and, if not, access to the skytrain or subway will be important.
The agent needs to know the client’s preferences for the number of bedrooms and type of property. Other factors are the desire for facilities such as tennis courts, a swimming pool and playground.
There are now about 800 condominium and apartment buildings in the centre of Bangkok but few gated housing communities.
It is important that tenants understand the difference between an apartment and condominium. In Thailand, an apartment is a building with a single owner, while a condominium has multiple owners.
In an apartment building, the owner will be responsible for all aspects of the management and maintenance. In a condominium the common areas outside the unit itself will be managed by a team controlled by a committee of co-owners. The maintenance inside the rented unit will be the responsibility of the individual owner.
In the US, UK and Australia, it is normal practice for an owner to appoint a managing agent to look after maintenance and answer a tenant’s questions.
This is still rare in Bangkok and so tenants renting units from individual owners should check that maintenance contracts are in place for air-conditioners and how they should contact the owner in case repairs are needed inside the unit.
It is not the responsibility of the common area managers to carry out repairs inside the condominium units.
As Bangkok becomes more developed, there are fewer individual detached houses for rent in the city centre, especially those with modern decoration and appliances located within gated communities.
For that reason, many expatriates finally select an apartment or a condominium in the central areas while those preferring a house tend to choose suburban housing estates popular with expatriate families, such as Nichada Thani in the north of Bangkok next to the International School Bangkok and Lakeside Villa or Moo Baan Laddawan in the east of Bangkok near the Bangkok Pattana School.
Most apartments and houses in Bangkok are furnished but, unless the property is a serviced apartment, bed linen, crockery and cutlery will not be included.
In some cases, it can be complicated to ask the owner to remove items of furniture because they have nowhere to store it. It is also unusual to get a lower rent if the tenant asks for the furniture to be removed.
Areas quoted by landlords include balconies but, unlike Hong Kong, do not include common corridors. Rents are quoted as a lump sum per month rather than on a per square metre basis.
Most residential rental contracts are split into two or three agreements; one for the rental of space, one for the rental of furniture, and possibly one more for the provision of service.
The length of a lease is normally for one or two years and the deposit is the equivalent to two month’s rent. Most landlords prefer to sign a lease with an individual rather than a company.
Additional charges to be borne by a tenant and based on consumption will include water, electricity, telephone, and Internet costs.
In some buildings, cable TV is inclusive in the rental while in others tenants must pay their own subscriptions.
Most landlords insist on some form of penalty if the lease is terminated before the end of the first year.
Local property taxes are paid by the landlord and, in a condominium, the common area management fees are paid by the landlord rather than the tenant.
“Compared to other countries, lease terms are relatively straight forward but the challenge is being able to best match tenant’s requirements.”
Mr. Theerathorn believes that there are two key elements to being a successful homefinder. Firstly, knowledge of the stock of properties is critical. New members of the CB Richard Ellis team have to pass a test that is similar to “the knowledge” test that must be completed by London taxi drivers.
All Black Cab drivers in London must pass a written and oral exam that covers everything needed to be able to take passengers to their destinations by the most direct routes.
CB Richard Ellis has created a similar test for Bangkok residential buildings.
“Our new staff have to visit more than 200 buildings and remember details about the number of bedrooms, facilities, accessibility and special conditions including for example which buildings accept pets.
Clear communications skills are also essential, since most incoming expatriates are not clear about what types of properties are available and our team, through a series of questions and inspections, needs to find out tenants’ requirements and then find the best property matches.”
Incoming expatriates in many cases need information about schools, health care, shopping and a wide range of other issues. It is the homefinder’s job to understand expatriate requirements and to be able to answer these questions.
The growth in the number of properties and the numbers of incoming expatriates means that homefinders must now be much more knowledgeable than ten years ago.
There are currently 55,906 expatriates in Bangkok with work permits. As the economy grows, that number is expected to increase, along with the demand for well qualified homefinders.
About CB Richard Ellis
CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG), a FORTUNE 1000 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world's largest commercial real estate services firm (in terms of 2005 revenue). The Company serves real estate owners, investors and occupiers through more than 350 offices (including affiliate and partner offices) worldwide.
CB Richard Ellis established an office in Bangkok in 1988 and in Phuket in 2004. CB Richard Ellis (Thailand) Co., Ltd. has grown to be a leading real estate services provider, offering a full range of services including sales and leasing for all types of property, property and facilities management, valuation and advisory, and research and consulting. For more information, visit the company's website at http://cbrethailand.inetasiapreview.com/cbrecontent/homepage.htm?WT.mc_id=50007
Author Information
Ngamjai Jearrajarat
CB Richard Ellis (Thailand)
