Estate Agents in Isaan

[can123]

I am going to live in Isaan. I want to live in the Khon Kaen - Udon Thani- Nong Khai corridor. I have done extensive Googling in English and my wife has done the same in Thai. Trouble is we keep finding the same sites all the time and many do not seem to be updated very often if at all. When we have sent emails to some of the sites we have not had responses.

Please will people who have first hand knowledge of these cities provide links to estate agents who list houses which are currently for sale, please ?

[nigelandjan]

I don't know if you have Googled " Estate Agents in Udont thani " if you do you will get a block of about 7 come up ,, thats what I do about once a week , quite good sites.


FBI Udon dose'nt seem to get the business they used to

[can123]

^

We have exhausted the Google route and have tried literally dozens of combinations of search words. The site you mention doesn't appear to have been updated for nearly two years, possibly more. Properties are marked as "new" even though they have been there for months. We need estate agents who haven't done the necessary work to ensure that Google knows who they are.

[nigelandjan]

Well I'll be in Udon in about a weeks time so were gonna have a snout round then ,, albeit unless a mega bargain rears its ugly head at the right time , I think I will go down the build it route , time will tell

[isanmick]

Try this 1, I don't know how good they are. We have bought our properties off family or word of mouth.
udproperty.com

[can123]

Try this 1, I don't know how good they are. We have bought our properties off family or word of mouth.
udproperty.com

Thank you. We found this website and have looked at every house on it. It is certainly one of the best available and is well presented. Unfortunately, like all the others it gives no indication of how long the property has been on the market and whether or not it is still available. Having looked at it every few days over many months, I am able to say that this site is very rarely updated. I could be wrong but it doesn't seem that any new properties have been added, or properties sold deleted, for a long time.

It could be that the property market is extremely quiet and that very few property transactions occur in Udon. I have a feeling, however, that there are active estate agents doing property deals often and it is these I am trying to find.

I didn't mention it before but a nudge in the direction of any websites dealing with classified ads in Isaan would be of great help too.

Thanks.

[caller]

Not estate agents, but quite a few places on here:

bahtsold.com

[navydoubs1977]

Im in exactly the same boat but all the sites ive looked at and contacted seem to be pretty much up-to-date.

Udproperty seems the best but others have been helpful too.

udproperty.com

isaan-properties.com

udonrealestate.com

Try this guy, not sure what your budget is, but he has 2/3 beds in udon for between 4k and 10k. power_2me@hotmail.com thats his email, names Chris.

[nigelandjan]

Try this guy, not sure what your budget is, but he has 2/3 beds in udon for between 4k and 10k

I think at that money mate its rental , I think the OP is looking to buy

[Bangyai]

one of the biggest :

ddproperty.com

Your wife can help you navigate. A lot of the property on these sites sits there for a long time waiting for a buyer. It often happens here that property is sold by word of mouth only without any advertising. Therfore , you might find something by just driving around the area you are interested in and asking around a bit.

[peterpan]

there are few agents in udon with the longest established being FBI.
Most places here are sold by ward of mouth, most people go for New developments,
2 nd hand quite often sell at a big discount, most farang arrivals here are convinced by their new bride to buy a new place, its a face thing.
2nd hand places sell very slowly always a buyer at a good prices tho',
One place down the street from I, was on the market for 3 yrs, it eventually sold at a very good price, he started at 2.5 mil and sold for 1.3 mil. the (Thai) buyer renovated the house and put it back on the market at 2.5 mill where it has sat for the past yr.
Most Thai willl prefer to leave their house to rot rather than drop the asking price, their a few around here that are returning to the jungle and they deteriorate at a very fast rate.

[can123]

Thanks for the help provided so far. We had found all the websites listed above and we look in both Thai and English languages. Few of the sites show dates and it is likely that many houses shown are no longer for sale.

Many intentions would be to sell my property in the UK and live with wife's family until we get our own place. My budget will be up to 5 million baht. I want something like this - 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and 1 rai of land and full freehold with chanote. I want the land so that I will not be living on top of noisy neighbours. I have found two properties I really like and I know they are currently available. The thing is they have both been on the market for nearly two years and I am beginning to wonder what is wrong with them

The matter is further complicated by the recent floods. I asked for help on this forum so that I could identify areas which never flooded but, at that time, I had no sense from forum members. I asked before the floods started. Now, my original post seems to have been very sensible. There are huge areas of Bangkok which are now blighted. The same can be said of a lot of rural Thailand, areas like Ayuthaya and a lot of Korat are now out of bounds for me.

So, I know there is little flooding in Khon Kaen and Udon Thani and they are favourites. I love Nong Khai but the Mekong could wash it all away if the Chinese made a mess of controlling their dams.


I don't want a mansion, no need for a swimming pool, just enough room to accommodate a couple of guests, and my dogs to be able to exercise safely.

[nigelandjan]

For that kinda money you would well be able to buy 1 rai + build your own to your spec / roughly at a place that would be of your choice ,, I am in a very similar situation albeit I want a 2 bed bungalow + my wife already has a big thai house in Issan we can stay at whilst this is all going on ( if need be , if we go down this route )

[can123]

I decided a long time ago that I could not possibly deal with Thai builders building a home from scratch. I have very limited patience and cannot stand the prospect of anybody, least of all me, being ripped off, so the stress I would suffer because of a self build would probably put me in a white box decorated with fairy lights.

I'm quite happy to allow them to modify a house by putting in western style bathrooms, etc but no more. I will be buying a house that has stood for at least three years with no obvious signs of major construction faults. I will learn more about the essentials of electrical wiring before I go there. I have already learned about foundations and footings but, hopefully, will not be using that knowledge.

I have set a limit of 5 million baht as it seems to me that this is a critical level. Anything above it seems to be a little ostentatious. Yes, I know that there are some beautiful houses/estates but I don't want one. I want a property which is similar to the one I live in now. The only difference is that it will not be above the snow line. Yes, any snow going, I get it. I've seen four flakes this morning. Bloody freezing here today.

[Spin]

My budget will be up to 5 million baht

ok

3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and 1 rai of land and full freehold with chanote. I want the land so that I will not be living on top of noisy neighbours

If you want to be near the city centre, in Khon Kaen for example, you don't have enough money. Maybe you could find a rai of land within the ring road of Khon Kaen for 8 million, if you were lucky

No new devopments build on 1 rai plots in KK, most are tiny, 65-80 tw.

[nigelandjan]

I decided a long time ago that I could not possibly deal with Thai builders building a home from scratch.

Well you might not have to ,, check out NKD Nong Khai Design and build ,, I think you will find the boss there Alec is from North Staffs area of the UK ,, his work looks very good quality and finish to the kinda standard we would be looking for.

[can123]

My budget will be up to 5 million baht

ok

3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and 1 rai of land and full freehold with chanote. I want the land so that I will not be living on top of noisy neighbours

If you want to be near the city centre, in Khon Kaen for example, you don't have enough money.
.

I certainly do not want to live in the city at any price. My figure of 5 million is more than realistic for what I want and where I want it. I appreciate that 1 Rai plots would be extortionate within the city limits as Mickey Mouse builders seek to get inflated profits by building little boxes for people to live in.

Money is not the overriding consideration. I could afford to spend a lot more but I am not going to. The two houses I fancy at the moment are 3 million and 4.5 million, the first needing a bit of work to be as I would like it, the second being just about perfect.

[can123]

I decided a long time ago that I could not possibly deal with Thai builders building a home from scratch.

Well you might not have to ,, check out NKD Nong Khai Design and build ,, I think you will find the boss there Alec is from North Staffs area of the UK ,, his work looks very good quality and finish to the kinda standard we would be looking for.

Thanks, I will check it out. However good the builder is, it will take a good few months before land would be prepared and the building constructed. I don't fancy living for months with my wife's family, a few weeks is OK but no longer.

[navydoubs1977]

I think at that money mate its rental , I think the OP is looking to buy

Ahhh, my mistake apologies!

[nidhogg]

I have found two properties I really like and I know they are currently available. The thing is they have both been on the market for nearly two years and I am beginning to wonder what is wrong with them
.

probably nothing. As you were told in an earlier post, most Thais would rather not buy "second hand" if they can avoid it (bad luck, ghosts, superstition, quality concerns, who knows).

This coupled with a general refusal by someone selling a house* to drop even a baht in the asking price means that houses can stay on the market a long, long, long time.


*the occasional place will be subject to negotiation as some one said in an earlier post - but its not that common.


Similar things are seen in th renta market -places sit for years because the asking rental is too high, and the owner refuses to settle for anything less.

[peterpan]

^ the developer in the village that we live in 10 k out of udon has about 15 houses unsold on her developments, at least 7 of these have been unsold for 5 yrs.
Instead of dropping the price to meet whatever the current market is, she puts the price up every year.

[nidhogg]

^ the developer in the village that we live in 10 k out of udon has about 15 houses unsold on her developments, at least 7 of these have been unsold for 5 yrs.
Instead of dropping the price to meet whatever the current market is, she puts the price up every year.

Amazing isn't it?

The house next to me has been unrented for years. The monthly is just too high - the owner gets loads of enquiries, but won't negotiate on the price. So it sits, empty, year after year.

Fair play, the owner maintains it, gardeners etc, and just done a big renovation - bet the owner will be asking even more now......

[Spin]

I appreciate that 1 Rai plots would be extortionate within the city limits as Mickey Mouse builders seek to get inflated profits by building little boxes for people to live in.

Not extortionate, just the going rate. Farangs have to accept that the money they arrive with won't always buy them what they want. The cheap land is gone. Get used to that idea!

As for the "mickey mouse" builder comment, they are all "mickey mouse" so you need to adjust your thinking on that too. If you want it done properly, first time of asking, do it yourself.

[sjeng]

try FBI thailand a range of land homes and so on, for sale or rent is reliable and run by a scandinavian guy when i remember well. another option is baht & sold (classified) wide range all over thailand and direct from owner
good luck

I am going to live in Isaan. I want to live in the Khon Kaen - Udon Thani- Nong Khai corridor. I have done extensive Googling in English and my wife has done the same in Thai. Trouble is we keep finding the same sites all the time and many do not seem to be updated very often if at all. When we have sent emails to some of the sites we have not had responses.

Please will people who have first hand knowledge of these cities provide links to estate agents who list houses which are currently for sale, please ?

[can123]

This coupled with a general refusal by someone selling a house* to drop even a baht in the asking price means that houses can stay on the market a long, long, long time.

Thank you for confirming my suspicions. My wife's family would not drop the price of their Toyota pickup in the incredibly stupid desire to recover their own purchase costs and it is easy to see how Thais could be just as daft with property prices.