Real estate agents in Bangkok--any recommendations

I will probably retire soon, and might retire to Thailand.

Although I have visited Thailand many times in the last 30 years, I have never stayed for more than about 5 weeks.

To explore possibilities, I would like to rent an apartment in Bangkok for 2 or 3 months and see whether I would like to live in Bangkok for a longer period.

I also might eventually buy an apartment in Bangkok, especially if I sell some of my property in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Can anyone recommend a good real estate agent or agency in Bangkok to provide advice about renting and buying apartments.

Since I do NOT speak Thai, I would want an agent that is fluent in English or the other languages I speak (French, German, etc.).

If I retire to Thailand, I would definitely want to live in Bangkok, not Pattaya and would probably spend 4 months a year there.
I would want a quiet one-bedroom apartment on a higher floor, hopefully with a great view of the city.
Since I am trained in civil engineering and as an architect, I would definitely want to see details about the structural properties of the building, especially if I were to buy the apartment.

Thanks for suggestions!

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Originally Posted by werner

I would definitely want to see details about the structural properties of the building, especially if I were to buy the apartment.

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Good luck with that!!!

I can only suggest you look at the two main aggregator sites, DD Property and Hipflat. Finding a reliable, English-speaking, ethical real estate agent will be a challenge. You're better off asking that sort of question over on ThaiVisa, but you'll run the whole gamut of opinions from those who'll tell you never ever to buy a condo to those who swear by it. As for engineering drawings, the mind boggles

werner, I have sent you a PM with the email and telephone details of an estate agent I know in Bangkok. He is French, but also speaks English. Hope he can be of some help. Good luck!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by werner

I will probably retire soon, and might retire to Thailand.

Although I have visited Thailand many times in the last 30 years, I have never stayed for more than about 5 weeks.

To explore possibilities, I would like to rent an apartment in Bangkok for 2 or 3 months and see whether I would like to live in Bangkok for a longer period.

I also might eventually buy an apartment in Bangkok, especially if I sell some of my property in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Can anyone recommend a good real estate agent or agency in Bangkok to provide advice about renting and buying apartments.

Since I do NOT speak Thai, I would want an agent that is fluent in English or the other languages I speak (French, German, etc.).

If I retire to Thailand, I would definitely want to live in Bangkok, not Pattaya and would probably spend 4 months a year there.
I would want a quiet one-bedroom apartment on a higher floor, hopefully with a great view of the city.
Since I am trained in civil engineering and as an architect, I would definitely want to see details about the structural properties of the building, especially if I were to buy the apartment.

Thanks for suggestions!

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Hey - I would encourage you to keep the board updated about your progress on finding an apartment.
I suspect some of the more frequent posters here will offer up snarky comments about not being interested or wasting posting space etc.
I am interested in your experiences and would appreciate hearing your story. I suspect it will be an adventure..of the good and bad kind.

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Originally Posted by frequent

Finding a reliable, English-speaking, ethical real estate agent will be a challenge.

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Not true at all. If you've lived in Bangkok for thirty years as you say, you'd know that there are plenty of reliable English-speaking property agents and in Bangkok particularly in the higher-end market. Developers even run exhibitions and roadshows overseas. In Singapore, they conduct joint soft launches in partnership with local banks who offer some kind of financing.

When I was taking supplementary Thai lessons in Bangkok three years ago, there were a couple of Australian guys working for a rather big property agency in Bangkok studying at the same school. They seemed to be doing very well. I didn't save their business cards as property investment was way beyond my pay bracket at that time and still is!

Once you have a development in mind, you can contact their sales office directly after doing your homework and research. You don't even have to go through a property agent. If it's a development targetting foreigners they would have English and other foreign-language-speaking staff.

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Originally Posted by Jellybean

werner, I have sent you a PM with the email and telephone details of an estate agent I know in Bangkok. He is French, but also speaks English. Hope he can be of some help. Good luck!

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Jellybean, Thanks for your PM and the great information.

I would like to thank forum members for your great comments.

I also received some personal messages with useful information. But for some reason -- technical? software problem? computer problem? -- I was not able to send personal messages to those who communicated with me. Let me convey my gratitude here...

Yes, I will definitely convey my experiences as I explore the possibilities of buying a condo in Bangkok.

I heard from several sources, that it would be very difficult for me to get access to the technical/structural/ engineering features of buildings in Bangkok. Since I am a civil engineer and architect, I would NOT buy a condo in a building unless I could examine such data.

I will be involved as an adviser to an engineering project until late summer, after that I will probably live in Bangkok for a couple months, and further explore whether or not to spend more time in Thailand and whether to buy a condo.

I do not, know, perhaps I should just occasionally visit Thailand -- but spend most of my time in the mountains of Switzerland. But this would be too boring, and after living around the world, I would find Switzerland TOO BORING..

Thanks again to all forum members. This is a great place for useful information!