Questions

Now that I have decided to live in the condominium, I have to think which one I am going to buy. Should it be a brand new or second-handed one? Where should it be located? How large is it? How much does it cost? What about the existing house? What am I going to do with it? A lot of questions came to mind.

Where should it be located?
I have lived in Sukhumvit area since I was born. My parent's house is in Soi 39 (Phrom Pong). My existing house is in Soi 65 (Chaiyapruek). Although the traffic is very bad, I am used to living here. I spend most of my life in Sukhunvit area. I go to see the doctors at Samittivej Hospital, go shopping at the Emporium or Central Chidlom, go to the movies at Major Cineplex-Ekamai or SFX-Emporium. My usual restaurants are in Soi Thonglor and Soi Ekamai. I usually buy groceries at Villa Supermarket-Thong Lor or Soi Klang (49), Fuji Supermarket in Soi 39, and Big C in Soi Ekamai. It is quite convenient for the transportation. When I drive, I can choose Sukhumvit, Rama 4, or Petchburi. I can also go to places via BTS Skytrains or MRT underground trains. I am too familiar with places around here to move anywhere. Therefore I've decided to live in Sukhumvit area.

How large?
We need three bedrooms and bathrooms, a large living room, a dining room, a kitchen, a room for maid(s), and a storage room. We also need a lot of shelves and cabinets because we have quite a lot of books, movies DVD, music disc, etc. In addition, Dear has a lot of computers and accessories. Approximately 220-270 square meters of spaces seem to be the most suitable size of condo that we need.

Brand new or a second-hand?
A new condominium in Sukhumvit area is very, very expensive. The prices range from Baht 60,000-over Baht 100,000 per square meter. Second-hand condos are much cheaper, at around Baht 35,000-Baht 50,000 per square meter. A new 250-sq.m.-condominium costs approximately Baht 15-30 million whereas a second-hand one costs Baht 10-12.50 million. If I buy a second-hand one which is still in good condition, I can save a lot of money. I then can use the saved money for decoration purposes. Yes, I think I will buy a second-hand condominium.

What am I going to do with the existing house?

My house is still in very good condition. It has just been repainted and refurnished two years ago. The best solution is to sell it. However, it is very difficult to sell the house at very good prices. If I cannot find the buyer, I may consider renting it. Somebody told me that I may be able to rent to foreigners who prefer a house to a tall building.

I conclude to myself that I will buy a second-hand condominium located in the Sukhumvit area, between Soi Asoke and Soi Ekamai. I will need a total usable area of approximately 220-270 sq.m. The total cost should not be over Baht 13 million.I will try to find the buyer for my existing house. If I can't or the price is not right, I may then consider renting it.

A Middle-Aged Retiree, A Senior Citizen and A Young Generation

If I buy a condominium, there will be three of us living together, myself, my mother and my son. I regard myself as a middle-aged retiree who has plenty of free time. Although I don't have to work, I still go out almost everyday to have lunch with friends, watch movies, have exercises, go shopping, etc. I also love to travel to other countries. In other words, I hardly stay at home and therefore need someone to take care of household things for me. Living in a condominium seems a good choice for me.















My mother is now 86 years old. She also likes to go out. She has the routine of going to the doctor for physical therapy on Monday and Friday, to the hairdresser on Tuesday, to have lunch with my sister or brother on Wednesday, and to various charities on Friday. She buys food and grocery twice a week and arranges the dinner. (I am very lucky she does it for me.) She is not the kind of senior citizen who stays at home and therefore I cannot depend on her for looking after the house. In addition, since she is old, walking upstairs to her bedroom on the second floor of the house is quite a burden for her. Living in the same floor in a condominium seems the right choice.















Dear, my son, is 22 years old and has justed started working in a production house. Due to the nature of his job and his own habits, he needs to have his own study room with a lot of computers and electronic equipment. Our house is quite small and does not have enough spaces. If I buy a condominium, I can rearrange the interior design to provide the working space for him. In addition, he spends most of his time reading books, playing computer games or watching movies, all of which are indoor activities. Living in a condominium should be convenient for him.

Arguments

After the burglary, I seriously reconsidered the alternative of living in a condominium. I took into account its disadvantages and arguments.

Disadvantages and Arguments:

1. You are no longer the single owner of the house. You must share your property with other owners. I don't mind as long as I am the single owner of my unit.
2. You cannot have pets. I don't mind.
3. You have a parking space for only 2 cars. We now have 2 cars but I plan to buy another one for my son. I will have to rent one more parking space from some unit owners.
4. You cannot have a barbeque party on the outdoor lawn. I will have a party inside or at a restaurant.
5. You don't have an outdoor Thai kitchen where you can cook anything. I will buy the food that cannot be cooked. Besides, I am not vrey keen at cooking.
6. You may sometimes smell curry, hot and spicy chicken, fried fish, etc. from your neighbourhood. I will close the windows. I like hot and spicy chicken though.
7. You have to tolerate some unbearable conducts or manners of your neighbourhood. I will try to understand people.
8. You have to pay maintenance fees for some services that you do not require. I will try to think of them as a charity donation.

Burglary

Then came an important incident, which is the main reason I've decided to live in a condominium. In August 2004 my son and I travelled to the United States. My son rented an apartment in Troy, New York and I planned to help him with the moving and the furnishing. My mother went to visit my brother and stayed at his house in Bangplee. On the first night that nobody was present, a burglar had broken and entered my bedroom on the second floor. He took my mother's money and jewelry, and some of my money. The value of the stolen assets was approximately Baht 1.50 million, not to mention some old valuable jewelries which belonged to the family for a very long time. The police was informed and came to inspect the house. Until now I heard no development.

First Thought

Having confronted with different kinds of problems with the maids, I was bored and tired. I began to think of living without them. I have a sister who lives in a condominium in Soi Sukhumvit 61, which is close to my house. She has lived there for about 10 years with her husband. She can go anywhere any time she wants, without having to worry about the condo. Security guards are on duty 24 hours a day. Condo management looks after the mails, the maintenance and repairs, the pest controls, etc. I want to live like her. I want to let go of all the burdens with the maids. I want to live alone with my family and without them. This is my thought at that time. However, I was very busy with my work and hardly had time to study more details.

Security Guard

The reason why I have to hire maids is not because they can clean, cook or wait. I can find these services anywhere. I can bring my clothes to the laundry, hire day maid to clean my house. I can cook myself or buy the food anywhere. The main reason of hiring maids is to protect or guard the house. Somebody has to answer the door at day time and apparently guarding the house at night time. Especially when you have to spend the nights somewhere else, somebody has to be at the house, just to show that the house is occupied. In other words, the maid is the Security Guard of the house.

Kill Bill Vol. 3

About two years ago I found that one of the maids, "Jane", had let her boyfriend sneak into my house to spend the nights with her. After releasing her, I had to urgently find a replacement maid. Prasert, my mother's driver, recommended his wife, "Wan" for this position. I thought it would be convenient if both of them moved in to stay with me because I would have both the maid and the driver, which would be available at my call. Therefore I let them stay at my house. Everything went on quite well in the first year until they began to fight with each other. Sometimes the noises were so loud that the neighbours can hear. One day Wan may have thought she was Black Mamba and Prasert was Bill, because she beat Prasert with a stick and used a knive to stab his leg. The wound was so big that the blood was everywhere. That was the day I let her go. Prasert continued to stay for about two months and then left for another job.

Money and Telephones

I have hired some maids since Puk was gone. Some were good, some were bad, some were very bad. Everybody borrowed money from me and promised to return it at the end of the month, which they didn't (or they did, but borrowed again). Everybody asked to use my home phone to call their relatives in the upcountry. Later they didn't ask but they used it almost everyday. Soon the telephones became theirs and I had to use other phones. I had to keep track of everybody's usage so that they could repay me correctly.

Two Maids Are Required

I had to find a new maid to replace Puk. To take care of the house, I probably needed only one maid. However, since it was essential to have at lease one maid at all times to be on guard when everybody was away, I needed to have two maids. It was very difficult to find good maids in Bangkok. When I say "good maid", I mean they must be honest, neat and clean. Other qualifications such as cooking, cleaning, washing and ironing, etc. are second priority. Finding a maid is difficult. Finding two maids is more difficult.

Maid Is the First Reason

I have never thought of living in a condominium until this thing happened. In 1994, if I remember correctly, I found out that my long-time maid turned to be dishonest. Her name was "Puk" and she had worked for us for over 15 years. She was my son's nanny, chef, waitress, maid, all-in-one. She took care of everything in the house and I could trust her completely. Puk was a lively and popular girl in the neighborhood. Everybody in the soi knew her. I guess it was this popularity that caused her a misfortune. One day she decided to become a "Tao Chair", whose duty was to collect money from members and lend it to the one who offered to pay the biggest interest. The benefit of the "Tao Chair" is that she gets the money first, without having to pay the interest. Her members were her friends who lived in the soi, including my mother's driver and my other maid. After collecting money for a couple of months, she had a money problem so she spent the money collected from other members. When due date came, she had no choice but to steal my mother's charity money. It went on like this for some time until my mother suspected that her charity money had disappeared. After questioning, Puk confessed and I asked her to leave.

Why a Condominium?

Everybody I know wonders why I decide to move to a condominium. Spending your life in a house seems more comfortable and private. You have freedom to do anything you like. You can raise dogs and cats, have the wildest barbeque party, turn on the loudest music, walk or sleep on your own lawn, etc. You can even refurnish or repaint your home, build a swimming pool, expand the garage. These things cannot be done if you live in a condominium.

I absolutely agree with the above argument. In fact I am very, very happy living in my house with my son and my mother. We have lived here for almost 20 years.


My house