avalon homes

Post by da » Tue May 29, 2007 12:49 pm

I was a looker before thay had even broken ground. Would also like to hear from a buyer or visit a completed model.

Post by **suej** » Tue May 29, 2007 6:54 pm

Well you have found a buyer. We were one of the first to move into our 3 bed villa last August, all be it was still a large building site. We are very pleased with our villa as with most new builds there were a few problems , mainly air conditioning and a couple of leaks which were sorted straight away. As with most things in Thailand it takes a while to get things done . When we bought our villa there was no mention of communal areas, pool, shop, bar and 24/ 7 security. These were all bonuses to us. Yes the villa is Spanish stlye but we like it and to each their own. The rooms are big and spaceous. We thought about buying in Spain but after visiting a friend who lives there we were put off by the sheer size of the projects. It was like living in legoland all you see are houses and miles and miles of urbanisations. I know that some of the charges for extras are pricy but I know that other buyers have used outside contractors for some of the work done. I also know that some damage has been done by the recent weather which has delayed some of the services being completed but hey it is Thailand! Will be out in 7 weeks cant wait.

Post by da » Tue May 29, 2007 7:00 pm

Cool and we have another satisfied customer!

Post by **Norseman** » Tue May 29, 2007 7:54 pm

I've heard that one of the big problems with Avalon is the water leakages from the roofs.
The houses looks very nice but if you get soaking wet inside your house I would say that's a major problem.
Have no idea if the statement is false or true though.
Also heard to-day that the recent rainfall created a collapse of a roof in Avalon.
Maybe you know if this are all but false rumors suej?

Post by **westmoor04** » Tue May 29, 2007 10:57 pm

Hi i have also bought a villa on Avalon, When we were looking lot's of villa's were advertised with the land costs as extra, Avalon wasn't at the time. we have had some teething problems but overall we are thrilled with our villa, it has spacious room sizes and the finish is really good. We rented a villa that cost 2 and a half times what ours cost and the finish wasn't half as good, the kitchen wasn't a patch on ours, the showers in ours are more powerful the doors are much better qualityand the pool wasn't extra. Of course it wasn't all plain sailing, it was finished later than we expected but when we eventually got in we were very pleasantly suprised with everything. Our villa would cost a fortune in spain or even the UK.

Post by **Big Boy** » Tue May 29, 2007 11:57 pm

westmoor,

Please don't take this as criticsm, it is far from it.

When the design of those Avalon villas first hit the web sites my wife fell in love with them, and I must admit, I was interested. However, when the drawings started to accompany the photos there was no kitchen, and the living area looked very small.

I was considering the option of converting one of the bedrooms in to a kitchen, and maybe another in to another living room. I would be interested in how you overcame the problem, or was it a case of typical Thailand? Selling themselves short?

Post by **Rob W** » Wed May 30, 2007 8:19 am

Bigboy
Ive just had a look at the site and the house you are talking about is the smallest on the site and the one orignally talked about is the largest.
I've just done a quick in the head calc ( could be wrong) but i get it to be around 220m2 floor area two lkitchens and two lounges almost 6m X 7M.
quite a big house I think.
I to am buying on Avalon and yes there is some ongoing problems with the build that i am getting sorted, but ingeneral terms I found the building to be no better or worse than anyother other site I looked at thats why I bought there.
I found nothing to compare in size at that price ( nov 05) ive not pushed for completion as I dont need the place just yet as Im now in Singapore.
Im not saying they are the best but certainly not the worst.
Rob

Post by **JimmyGreaves** » Wed May 30, 2007 9:39 am

There was a news story on HH radio about a week ago (In Thai) stating that a falang house had a roof cave in during the storms. Asked the missus where it was and she didn't know.

Post by **Big Boy** » Wed May 30, 2007 6:40 pm

Rob,

Thanks for the additional information. When you say,

Ive just had a look at the site and the house you are talking about is the smallest on the site and the one orignally talked about is the largest.

Do you know if plans for the larger version is available on-line? If so, could you please PM the URL to me?

Post by **big jimmy** » Wed May 30, 2007 11:24 pm

Good to see that a few buyers have replied and are satisfied with their purchase...it would be nice to hear the other side of the coin..has anybody had a bad experience ?.....just curious...

Post by **Big Boy** » Thu May 31, 2007 12:33 am

HHTel has kindly provided me with details of the website. Just one more question (and I have to say that I am not a serious buyer on my next visit - just looking. Its no secret, I hope to retire in 2 years, and will be looking seriously then), on these new developments do they have show houses in the same way as the UK?

If they do, how do I go about viewing a series of various styles? Is it a case of contacting somebody like JW and ask them to show me about?

Post by **STEVE G** » Thu May 31, 2007 2:11 am

BB, a couple of months ago I simply drove into Avalon (2 I think) in the late afternoon as the building contractors were packing up shop and with a bit of chat from my partner, we were able to walk around several houses in various stages of construction.
I realize this isnâ€™t the proper way to go about viewing houses, but itâ€™s a good way of finding out what things are really like. Iâ€™ve found that a lot of the people actually building around Hua Hin are from Issan and if your partner, like mine, knows the local languages they will pretty much tell you anything you want to know about these developments, including the faults.
Personally I found the estate to be pleasant in general aspect, and although I didnâ€™t agree with the way some of the houses are laid out, that was more a question of personal preference.
One thing that would concern me was the amount of flat roof that some of the designs have; I know from personal experience that during a full on monsoon down-pour you need a lot of drainage to handle that. I once had a town house that used to have a three storey waterfall down the stairs from bad drainage of a roof top terrace.

Post by **westmoor04** » Thu May 31, 2007 3:37 am

Hi, in reply in how to view one of these houses on Avalon, they did have a show house on Avalon 1 i think it is now being lived in, though i am sure someone would be willing to show you one under construction. I personally would have a wander around site and have a look, then try to get developer to knock agents commision off price which i believe was about fifteen hundred quid, i could be wrong but i think thats what i remember. I would also recommend when you are ready to seriously start looking, find a developer where you can look at previous builds, if satisfied, get in when they are still off plan, you can get a really good discount.

Post by **caller** » Thu May 31, 2007 4:04 am

BB, JW is the only agent I dealt with who took me around himself apart from one other a few months earlier who was from the same company (then). Others I made appts with (not last time I went, I didn't bother), shunted me on to someone else and I ended up looking at places I didn't want to.

But just as Steve says, go and look for yourself. Showhouses aren't often locked in my experience and on small places you can have the freedom to wander around on your own. It cracks me up when I see showhouses that are badly put up (Laguna was like that) and when I went back a 2nd time a few months later I just drove on to the site and looked at the construction as the buildings were going up. Now my only experience of building work is from school. But I would have flunked the test had I produced the stuff I saw there.

I thought Avalon was okay, turned out better than I thought, the Spanish styles is not for me though, but the walls didn't seem very thick? There, that proves I'm not a builder! I'm amazed to read its not finished yet as its two years ago this month that I inspected the buidling of the very first one going up. When I was there a year ago, there was still only a handful of places ready.

JW took me to one of Burgers places with a showhouse (at my request, I liked the look of it and the price), I went there at least twice more on my own and gained access okay (sorry JW) and also wandered around the back to look at the places still being built (good).

Otherwise, you might just find an elderly guy looking after the showroom, or some Thai ladies. Its worth taking the wife (I assume you would), I've been surprised how often there are no English speakers at site offices (I know that seems British arrogance). But if they're aiming for a western market...

Post by **Big Boy** » Thu May 31, 2007 4:25 am

Thanks for all of the help guys. I'll drop JW a PM tomorrow to see if he thinks its too soon (2 years before I retire) to start having a serious look around to get some idea what we think we would like.

Its worth taking the wife (I assume you would)

I wouldn't dare to look without her. I chose our current house alone (before we were married - she was still in Thailand). I've never been forgiven for buying a house with such a small kitchen.