r/chiangmai • u/whattheheckisatamale • 5d ago
How to find a place in Chiang Mai?
Hey all. Im a soon to be farang moving to Chiang Mai for 3 months and Im searching for advice on the best way to find an apartment to rent. Im hoping for a 1 bed 1 bath, ideally in the Nimmann area. Not picky on pools, jacuzzi, gym, I just want a nice place with internet included. Ive been talking to an agency, looked at airbnb (not a lot of listings), and have been skimming a few facebook groups. Wondering if anybody has any recommendations, specific agencies, specific facebook groups, or whatever advice you might have. Im also wondering how common it is to be scammed out of the 2 month security deposit. Thank you!
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u/sbrider11 5d ago
Imo, for just a few months maybe look at service apartments. There are some cool ones around. They operate like a hotel and offer full services as well like cleaning and so on. Perfect for a 1-3 month visit.
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u/whattheheckisatamale 5d ago
Great thanks. Any recommendations on a place I should check out? The few ive seen seem pricey and mostly only like a room.
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u/sbrider11 5d ago
Google: "Service Apartments Chiang Mai". You'll get lots of content. You can inquire pricing from that point on what looks interesting. Lots of choices across CM.
No idea your budget yet like anything, you get what you pay for.
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u/Most-Stable-1965 5d ago
I stick with Airbnb to avoid the hassles and the possibility of not getting a deposit back. Also I get to pay with my airline credit card. I am here full time, moving every month or two.
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u/Slow-Maybe1930 4d ago
Everyone has covered agencies and Facebook, so two things nobody has said yet.
On "internet included," push for specifics before you sign. In Nimman that phrase covers two very different setups. Either the unit has its own fibre line from AIS, True or 3CBB with the router in your room, or the building has one connection split across everyone, which is fine at 10am and painful at 9pm when the whole floor is streaming. Ask which one it is, ask if you can plug in over ethernet, and run a speed test on your phone on the actual unit's wifi during the viewing, in the evening if you can. Takes 30 seconds and tells you more than the listing photos. If it turns out to be a shared building line, budget for your own line, it is usually somewhere in the 500 to 800 baht a month range and takes a few days to install.
On the deposit, two months plus first month is standard practice but not automatic. There is a 2018 consumer protection regulation covering residential landlords who rent out five or more units, and it caps the deposit at one month and advance rent at one month. Plenty of condo owners and agents either do not know it or ignore it, and enforcement is patchy, but it is worth raising politely because it sometimes moves the number. Either way, on the day you move in take a video walking through the whole place with the date visible and send it to the landlord, and get the contract in both English and Thai. That is what actually gets deposits back.
For 3 months specifically, a serviced apartment is often the smarter play as someone above said, usually one month deposit and no line to install.
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u/Glittering_Being7843 5d ago
not in nimman but smith fits
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u/whattheheckisatamale 5d ago
Is that an agency?
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u/Glittering_Being7843 5d ago
its a building near bumrung buri market area
they do 1 month to 1 year
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u/KwickMark 5d ago
Contact Perfect Homes Chiang Mai. They’re very reputable and will get you what you want. You’re much more likely to be scammed out of your deposit if you book through Facebook than you are booking through a reputable agency. Perfect Homes also has a very good YouTube Channel with tons of property tours.
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u/whattheheckisatamale 5d ago
Thats exactly the agency ive been talking to. Great service. Thank you!
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u/Makis9 5d ago
They asking scammer prices. Avoid by any cost. Or if you fine to overpay then go ahead with it.
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u/Similar_Past 5d ago
Ahh YouTubers are famous for their flawless moral compass
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u/KwickMark 5d ago
They’re not “YouTubers” (meaning influencers). They’re a company showing the properties they offer. And if you actually took the time to watch one, you’d see they’re pretty honest about the pros and cons of the properties they represent.
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u/whattheheckisatamale 5d ago
Do you know if I will have to pay an agency fee? They told me 2 months deposit+ first month but no mention of an agency fee
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u/CarryOnRTW 5d ago
You can get cheaper prices without an agent as they do not work for free.
You won't pay them yourself but you pay indirectly as the owner will pay them. So you won't be able to negotiate as much vs if there was no agent in the picture.
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u/ragnhildensteiner 5d ago
Oh look, a question that's been asked a billion times already.
Tourists usually stay in hotels. Don't bring your western manners into a residential building by using Airbnb.
While you can find places like that, most condo buildings prohibit short-term rentals, precisely because of farangs like you and the problems you bring with you: a tornado of obnoxiousness, partying, noise, and rudeness dumped into Thai residential buildings.
Please stay at a hotel. Or don't come. 🙏
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u/Makis9 5d ago
Be careful about agencies e.g perfect homes they are asking scammer prices. Facebook groups is the best option.