Buying a home is a big decision in life. For a super luxurious condominium worth more than THB 50 million per unit in a prime location, it is hard to know which building or unit will suit you the best without a real test of actually living in the building.
I suggest that, for some high-end purchasers, choosing to rent a condominium unit in a building they are interested in for at least a year, will allow them to get real experiences of living in it, before making a purchasing decision and paying a huge amount of money to actually own a unit in the building.
Once purchased, there is no going back unless you resell it. To avoid such headaches of buying a condominium unit that you may regret later, the purchasers may want to make sure which condominium building and unit will meet their minimum requirements.
Simply inspecting the property at the site or show unit is not enough to really tell what the real living experience will be.
By renting a unit in the condominium building you are eyeing for at least a year, you can get a sense of whether it will meet your requirements; in terms of your preferred location, facilities in the building, unit layout and functionality, the quality of building management, and the neighbourhood.
When people want to buy super cars, they usually take a test drive. Super luxury condominiums are more expensive than super cars, so some purchasers might want to rent to test what it’s like to live in the building.
I start to see some discerning purchasers decide that it is a better option for them to rent before they buy. They are choosing the condominium building and unit that suit their preferences and rent it for a year.
When they actually live in that chosen building, they can get to understand the location; they can get to know the neighbourhood; where to eat and shop; how the traffic will be like, day and night; how long it will take to and from their kids’ schools; and where is the closest healthcare.
Test living in the chosen unit can let you feel if you really like that unit layout, amenities of the project, unit size, and the floor plan of that building. Moreover, you can decide if you really like the building facilities such as lobby, swimming pool, common area, or even the elevators.
All this experience from actually living in a property will not be available from just visiting the bare shell unit or judging from the paper brochures. Even better, once you are a tenant, you can easily go and check all the units that are put on sale in the building you rent.
Taking in to account a cost of an exclusive condominium unit, it is better thinking carefully; and better trying before buying.