After Topi got to Chiang Mai, we had a guesthouse booked for a week and a half, time we could use to find a more permanent address. First there was jet lag and exploring to take care of, so it wasn’t until a week in that we actually started looking.
Tuesday, October 11, we started looking at places listed on Perfect Homes’ website, a local real estate agency recommended by SEE TEFL. Recommended because they are reputable and experienced in dealing with foreigners (farang) here, and because only the properties pay them commission, not the renter. They have a really good mix of houses and apartments, furnished and unfurnished, across the spectrum of price and size (from seriously tiny, like 300-square-feet-tiny, to mansions), and all around Chiang Mai and its suburbs.
Note: Although the story that follows might sound like we wouldn’t recommend Perfect Homes, but actually despite some ridiculousness, our impression was positive. Sure, you’ll need a combination of patience, flexibility, and persistence, but if you’re living in Thailand you need that anyway. If you don’t want to approach apartment hunting on your own (si se puede!) Perfect Homes is a good option. Or at least, worth trying, and even if you don’t end up getting your apartment through them, maybe you’ll at least get a cool new nickname.
Wednesday, October 12, over some delicious Isaan food, a crazy dessert, and free wifi, we combed through the few dozen apartments and houses that looked interesting. We were looking for:
- One or two bedrooms
- Less than 20,000 baht per month, ideally a lot less
- In the northwestern area of the city
- A nice view of the mountains
After identifying some top contenders that fit what we were looking for, we called Perfect Homes. The man Topi spoke to asked about our requirements and for an example of a place we liked. So far so good. They actually arranged to show us that one that same day.
About an hour later, we met our new realtor buddy Kai in a shopping mall parking lot. Kai is a 30-something-year old Thai woman with a moderate English ability and seems mildly worried all the time. We follow her to the two-bedroom apartment near the center of town, her in her car and us on our motorbike. When we arrive…
Kai: “Why you want two bedroom? You just two.”
Us: “Well, yes, we’re two, but we want space for when people come to visit.”
Kai: “But you just two.”
Us: “Yes, actually we want either one bedroom or two bedrooms. Either is fine.”
Kai: “One bedroom?”
Us: “One or two bedrooms. Either one or two is fine.”
Kai: “Ok.”
So maybe we’re clear on the number of bedrooms now? (Spoiler alert: We weren’t.) Next hurdle: location. I tell her, we would like to be in the northwestern area of the city. She looks confused.
For context, Chiang Mai is the biggest city in Northern Thailand, and although the city-proper only has about 160,000 people, the metropolitan area reaches about a million people. In the city-proper, there is an area referred to as the Old City, a square surrounded by a wall (or what remains of the wall) and a moat.
So we wanted to be in the area to the northwest of the Old City. I draw a square with my finger on the wall, indicating the Old City for Kai, then point to the top left of the square. She looks confused. I get out my phone and show her on Google Maps. She says ok.
“I have a house, could be good,” she says. “You know Promenada shopping mall? It’s near there.”
Promenada shopping mall is southeast of the Old City. When I tell her this, again using whatever props available to really get my point across, she tells us…
There is a highway going to the northwest, it would only take us 10 or 15 minutes to get there.
alkjsdfkjads;lkfbutwestillwanttolivethereplease
That was enough for one day. We tell her we’ll email her some more properties that we were interested in from the website, and she says she’ll email us as well with some suggestions.
That night, we receive an email from our realtor friend Kai. It begins:
Dear Tokies This is the property i sending for you that available for now
And that right there is Realtor Friend Kai’s best gift to us. We are now The Tokies. Los Tokies. El Tokito y la Tokita. This made everything worth it.
Unfortunately, the list she sent us included 2 three-bedroom houses, a four-bedroom house, and a one-bedroom far to the south. I replied, carefully specifying the issue with each, and including our own list of places that did match our criteria.
When we meet the next day, Thursday, to see more places, she says 3 of the 7 from our list have been rented, but we can see the other 4. It was actually a pretty good day. We saw 7 or 8 places total (she had a few more to add that weren’t necessarily everything we wanted, but they were pretty good still) and at the end of the day, I think there were 3 we thought we could choose between. Nothing was perfect, but really good options.
That night, she texted me to see what we were thinking. I told her we were happy with what we saw, but wanted to see a few more options still. I about died at her response.
Kai: “you have to give me more information”
Los Tokies: “Sure, what kind of information?”
Kai: “i am not sure”
Kai: “you tell me what do you want”
AHHHHHH!
At this point, we’re also starting to think, maybe we can just go up to buildings that we like the look of, on our own, and ask if they have rooms. Turns out you totally can! It’s so simple! Friday, October 14, we spent the whole day doing just that. We even saw rooms in 2 of the buildings that Kai told us were rented.
Ultimately, the very first one we walked into Friday morning, in our foray into realty independence, fit pretty much everything we wanted. So Saturday we came and signed for our first month, and Sunday we moved in.
Y los Tokies vivieron felices para siempre.
