Looking to buy at Whitestone (near Red Mountain)

[MovetoHH]

I am considering retirement in Hua Hin. After viewing many properties the frontrunner is Whitestone development (which is apparently built by the Red Mountain Developer in conjunction with Century 21). I have a few questions I'm hoping viewers might be able to comment on...
1) Does anyone have any experience with Whitestone/Red Mountain or Century 21 ?
2) Are there any water issues at this development, or in this area (soi 88 on the mountain)
3) I am toying with planting some fruit trees - like banana, mango or perhaps pomelo - any issues
4) Are there any current gotcha's in the house buying process I should be aware of (have read the forum and searched the web and found a number of scams etc in Thailand, but many of these are quite old, so it may be that things have cleaned up and improved recently ?)
5) Apparently the title in this area is not Chanote, it is Nor Sor 3 Gor. Any thoughts on issues of not being Chanote (the land owner does not appear to be inclined to convert this to Chanote). I'm told that most of the developments in this area are also Nor Sor 3 Gor and there have not been any problems (this was the RE agent view - so some independant confirmation would be useful)

Thanking anyone in advance for any help/advice/guidance

[brianks]

You are certainly right to do some research on this (and any other) housing development you might be interested in. If you had more posts I would share some information I have on the project via PM.

[MovetoHH]

Thanks Brianks
But I'm agraid I did not understand the last line of your response ?
"If you had more posts I would share some information I have on the project via PM"
I've been looking for a few weeks now, but just discovered this forum, so last night was my first post. I do have a few more questions I could ask but I thought I'd see if I got any response before going further.
The last bit - you could share info you have on the projects via PM ? Not sure what PM refers to in this context ?
I suppose a chat might be the fastest way - my Thai mobile is 08 3637 7146 if it is OK for you to call ?

[barry720]

Nor Sor 3 Gor is not a problem. Water is a big problem up here. I've had to truck in water since Dec 2013. Very expensive and a major pain in the butt. Check that you get your electric bill directly from the electric company not through the management company. Check the rates carefully.

[buksida]

Have a read of this, it explains the workings of the forum for new users: viewtopic.php?f=26&t=10054

[MovetoHH]

Thanks all
Now I see there are certain functions available only after 10 posts - for example personal messages (PM). In that case I'll ask a few more questions on this post.
Thank you Barry for your input...
I have been told that the Whitestone development has it's own water well, I was also told they have also connected to some new water plant (Government water) in that area ? Barry - can you advise what it the cost to truck in water in the worst case ? Can anyone confirm that Whitestone does have a well and is also on Government water ?
Electricity bills - The story at Whitestone appears to be - that because Whitestone has underground cables from the local electricity provider, the electricity provider will only route the electricity services via a development Service Provider. Each owner must pay the Service Provider for their own individual use of electricity. There is a clause in the maintenance agreement that the service provider will not increase the charge per unit, unless it is increased by the electricity provider. The service Provider will pass on the increase at the same rate to the owners. Is this indeed standard practice - and is that adequate protection, or is there scope in there for some monkey business.

[crazy88]

I live in this area and have several land plots including my personal residence. All are connected to mains water. Very occasionally I have had to truck water in when there has been low supply, mainly due to roadworks. Recently the system has been upgraded but not yet connected to everybody. Too many public holidays I guess recently but all the mains pipes are in place so it won't be long before those developments that truck in water at the moment will be connected. Does not exactly break the bank anyway @ 600 bt a week with pool and garden to top up and water twice a day. I bought my plots on NS3 but the whole area was invited to submit the land deeds to change to chanote about 4 years ago. Many people did not bother or were uncontactable to be advised. Change of title cost 120 Bt per plot and the tabien baan, housebooks, were 20 Bt each admin fees. I know the Red Mountain developers personally for some years now and they fly straight in my experience. As for scams Just make sure, as with any purchase, that you perform due diligence. A land search and the other things involved in this costs a few thousand baht. There are people out there who will try to charge you 10 times or more what it costs for things you can do yourself quite easily if you know how but if you need piece of mind then get an independent party to check for you. It is a great area to live with a nice community of full time residents from all over the world. Yes it is standard practice on the electric for developments @ a couple of baht per unit higher than govt because they have to maintain the system. As long as they do not take the **** then I think that is fair enough.

Crazy 88

Crazy 88

[MovetoHH]

Thank you very much Crazy88
That is very helpful and gives me more confidence...
Being a newbie - you just don't know what you don't know...
Thanks again for sharing your experience...

[zeitgeist]

I bought my plots on NS3 but the whole area was invited to submit the land deeds to change to chanote about 4 years ago. Many people did not bother or were uncontactable to be advised. Change of title cost 120 Bt per plot and the tabien baan, housebooks, were 20 Bt each admin fees.

May I ask did you change yours? I assume you did as you quote prices but I would like to be nosey
What 'area' is that? Thap Tai?

[crazy88]

Zeitgeist

Yes we did. Area is Nong pran puk which comes under Tubtai.

Crazy 88

[J.J.B.]

Thank you very much Crazy88
That is very helpful and gives me more confidence...
Being a newbie - you just don't know what you don't know...
Thanks again for sharing your experience...

I bought/built a house here in 2011 and know the developer well, you need not worry and I'm confident they will be happy to answer any questions you might have. While they built Whitestone Villas, the owner of the land is different from Red Mountain but I don't know the precise legal details, instead relying on a reputable lawyer.

Both developments relied on the water from the two wells on the site and a significant investment in a water treatment plant was made at the start of last year; we have had no significant problems. In March, both developments were connected to the mains supply but I opted to maintain the tanks in the garden as well as my pump - just in case - and to gauge the reliability of supply over the summer months.

Hope that helps.

[MovetoHH]

Thank you JJB
Yes that does help. You read many horror stories on the web, but it sounds like the reality isn't generally like that - they seem to be quite isolated cases, definitely good to know...

[MovetoHH]

G'day Crazy88
Everyone seems to agree that NS3G will suffice to ensure no difficulties in renewing land leases, confirming ownership and specifying the actual plot and dimensions for the land office etc. However is t a fair statement to say that Chanote is the best form of land title with the least potential for future complications ? If yes then would it also be the case that converting to Chanote given the minimal expense is considered to be preferable ?

If you don't mind sharing, could you describe how the process to convert from NS3G to Chanote happened in your case ?
"bought my plots on NS3 but the whole area was invited to submit the land deeds to change to chanote about 4 years ago".
This invitation - did it come from the land office, or did a number of the owners get together and request the land owner to make the change to chanote ? Or some other way ?

There is another piece of information I'm a bit confused about - I'm told that there is something called the soldier line just west of HH city, and for whatever reason many developments west of that line are not currently Chanote but are NS3G. It isn't quite clear to me what the significant of this soldier line is, and why "most" development west of that are only NS3G (perhaps it is that the land dept can't keep up with all the developments ?) Anyone have any thoughts or information on this ?

[crazy88]

Never heard of a "Soldier line" and there are certainly chanote properties way west of mine.

To answer your question on how we got the title changed. The PYB, village mayor if you wish, contacted all the landowners in the area and called them to his place where you supplied the land deeds and contact details then the land office called everyone up to come and collect the new deeds at the land office once they were ready. I cannot say what prompted this as I simply received the information and a request to pass it on to other land owners who were not resident full time if I knew them. Which I did. NS3 is fine and I would happily buy further land on that title. As for converting an individual plot title you would have to consult the land office as there are certain restrictions.

Hope this helps

Crazy 88