This week I would like to talk about an experience a client had while looking for a condo for rent in Jomtien.
I think this is a fairly typical experience and I think anyone who has property to rent in Pattaya be it a house or condo can learn from. It certainly des not apply to all of the property owners out there in the rental business but sadly I think these types of experiences happen a lot.
First a bit of background; the prospective tenant and his girlfriend were looking for a long term lease on condo in the Jomtien area priced from 25 to 35,000 Baht with a size of 70 square meters or larger with one or two bedrooms. A high floor with a view would be nice but was not a requirement.
Now I know what you are thinking, but yes there are condo out there like that, especially in some of the buildings built before the developers in Pattaya thought everyone was comfortable living in a 27 square meter (or smaller) one bedroom condo.
They started by looking at our site and those of some of the other well-known agents in Pattaya and perusing the ads on Baht & Sold then made a list of the properties they wanted to view.
As an aside here, they told us that several times they contact advertisers on Baht & Sold they were told the properties had been rented and then found the same properties relisted at the same price a week later. Clearly a bait and switch tactic that no agency in town should be doing but unfortunately it happens.
Once they had the list of what they wanted to see they started looking at the condos to decide which one to take. They looked at some with us and some with other agents and this is where I want to make my point of this article. Most of them were in bad shape.
I am not talking about falling apart and unlivable, although one did have water coming in from the recent rain, they were just dated and there were things clearly in need or repair or replacement.
Repair and Replace Instead of Reducing
My point is, if your house or condo is empty and has been so for a while maybe it is time to spruce it up a bit instead of reducing the rent to try and attract a tenant. I am not talking about a complete renovation but a fresh coat of paint can go a long way.
Take some time and walk through the unit as if you were a prospective tenant and ask yourself if you would want to live there. Are the appliances old and outdated? Is the television as deep as it is wide? If you are answering yes to these questions maybe it is time you invested some money into making your place more appealing.
There are a lot of condos and houses for rent in the Pattaya area and the competition for tenants is stiff making your place look its best can help put you ahead of the competition.
Invest some money in the unit and it will more than pay for itself with happy, long-term tenants.
Clean the curtains and replace blinds that don’t work, service the air conditioners and test the appliances to be sure they work. Doing this ahead of time makes the place look better and will help avoid calls from the tenant letting you know that something does not work after they have moved in.
If your house or condo looks like it has not been well maintained it will not instill confidence in a tenants mind that you will fix something if it goes wrong.
Satisfied Tenant and Owner
Our client ended up taking a 100+ square meter, one bedroom condo at one of the View Talay Residence buildings in Jomtien.
They asked the owner to put in a washing machine and service the air conditioners, which they agreed to do and the deal was finished. The owner even installed a new ceramic cooktop after the second week because the older one took a long time to heat up. Again, everyone is happy, the current tenant has a new cooktop and the unit will be more appealing to the next prospective tenant when and if the current one leaves.
Conclusion
We know there are a lot of owners out there who don’t want to put any money into repairs or maintaining their house or condo, especially if it has been empty for a while, but it can be well worth the expense to make it more appealing.
So do yourself and your future tenants a favor and update your property if it needs it.
It is money well spent.
