Property News

What Is EIA Approval?

Aug 15, 2017

You may have seen that new developments around the Pattaya area advertise when they are ‘EIA Approved’ but you may not quite understand what it means.EIA stands for The Environmental Impact Assessment, which is a process that has been applied in Thailand as a tool for environmental planning and management on development projects since 1981. The EIA has been used to recognise the effects of the projects as well as to establish the appropriate mitigation measures so that Thailand’s natural resources will be used efficiently to the economic benefit and continued development of Thailand.The EIA is fundamentally an evaluation of the significance of both potentially positive and negative impacts of a development project. These potential environmental impacts are measured, and precautionary steps are taken accordingly. The EIA is often referred to as an “analysis of the potential impacts, both positive and negative, of different types of projects or activities on the environment, conditions or circumstances that may affect those projects or activities, and in light thereof – measures for prevention, control and refinement before commencement of the projects or activities.” The topics that are covered in the EIA include; waste-water treatment, energy efficiency, solid waste management, traffic, air quality, soil and groundwater pollution, noise pollution, nature conservation, landscape, public health, visual aspects and social economic factors. This usually involves the collection and organisation of information to establish a starting point against which the potential impacts can be measured.The environmental consultant will evaluate the scheme with regard to the above criteria and draft a report which clearly identifies the direct and indirect, short and long term, environmental impacts related to the project that is under assessment.The EIA report will then make recommendations on how any identified opposing effects of the project can be prevented, reduced or managed. For projects with a significant negative environmental impact, it is required by the environmental consultant to consider alternative ways of delivering the project, more often than not these include design modifications to lessen the negative impacts, but in extreme cases can also include a recommendation to abandon the project and locate it elsewhere.The EIA report will also include a monitoring plan which details the measures that will be taken to validate the efficiency of the environmental control and management commitments that are made in the EIA report for both the construction and operational phases of the project. For example, this could include a list of water quality parameters that will be measured in the emission of the project’s waste water treatment, including the method and frequency of the monitoring and associated reporting.We at Coastal Real Estate understand the importance of the EIA and why it’s important to you as buyer of a property. For more information contact us at one of our offices.

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Welcome to Coastal Real Estate

Aug 15, 2017

For those of you who have not heard of us, let me introduce you to our company. Coastal Real Estate was founded in 2010. We have just one goal, which is to make buying, selling and renting property here in a Pattaya, a simple and hassle free process for all the people involved. With over 22 years’ experience in real estate markets in both the US and Thailand, we are able to fulfil that goal. We started out with a small office on Soi Diana and a minimal number of staff.We have since built up a good rapport with our clients and have an extensive database of property listings as well as people looking for that specific property.We recently opened a second office, located on Siam Country Club Road. Our team has steadily grown to twelve staff, including native Chinese and Thai as well as English. The Chinese market is doing particularly well at the moment. There is an increased interest in Thailand as a holiday destination and Chinese investors are looking to its property market for investment opportunities, particular in popular resort areas, such as Pattaya. We are currently seeing a continuous flow of Chinese tourists to Pattaya, which will lead to more sales of houses, condos and various businesses. We have everything in place to take care of this influx of Chinese investors.At Coastal Real Estate, we don’t look at you as just another customer. We will listen to your needs and tailor a plan to fit them.Whether you’re in the market for a place to call home, an investment property, or are looking for a responsible and very competent company to manage your existing property, we will exceed your needs and expectations. The same care is given to those clients who are looking for that perfect place to enjoy a dream vacation or simply an extended stay here in Pattaya.All our clients are our number one asset and are treated accordingly. We realise that your time is valuable and we will only show you properties that meet your requirements. You can rest assured that if we are managing your property that it will be well-maintained, both physically and financially. For those clients renting one of our spectacular Pattaya properties, you can be assured that we have taken the time to make sure that they are of the highest quality to ensure that your stay is pleasant and problem free.This article was written by Angie Turton, the development and administration manager of Coastal Real Estate

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Coastal Real Estate Keeping Up With Evolution

Mar 01, 2016

Growth strategies for small businesses is never an easy task, and being willing to change course in response to feedback from the market is as important as implementing a strategy in a single-minded way.Too often, companies take a year to develop a strategy and, by the time they're ready to implement it, the market has changed on them.Sometimes the best approach is to take it one step at a time. The real estate market here in Pattaya is no different. Some of you may have already realised a shift from an influx of Russian buyers to them becoming sellers. However, we should not forget that there are buyers of other nationalities, not to mention the increasing interests of the Thai consumer.  We, at Coastal Real Estate have recently expanded our  company to suit the changing market. We understood  that if we were to keep up with these changes, then we needed to evolve too. You may already be aware that we opened a second office on Siam Country Club Road. It was not an easy decision and it took several weeks just to ensure that we chose the right location. A lot has been invested into the preparation of the office, not just money, but time and thought. Things such as the signage, desks and work stations were all needed to meet the company’s requirements. We had to have brand new computer systems to help support the staff in their jobs. Our new office is now open and fully functional. During the New Year holidays, our other office which is our first and foremost, located on Soi Diana, underwent a complete renovation, from new ceilings to brand-new air-conditioning. The Coastal Real Estate team are firm believers in maintaining a good impression, as well as understanding that a good working atmosphere helps to promote a positive working attitude.For those of you who frequently browse through our website, you will have noticed a dramatic change it that too! We have been working in the background, for quite some time now, building a new website which is more informational, up-to-date as well as efficient. The other change that we felt was essential was to translate the entire website into natural Thai language, after all, we are in Thailand. The hefty task of transferring all the property listings from the old site to the new one is almost complete. We launched our new website just a couple of weeks ago and we are still adding the final touches. If you have looked at our new website and you have not been able to find your property, please contact us to Confirm that we have all the correct details and we will do our best to get your property listed on the new website as soon as possible. Finally, I would like to introduce you to my colleague, Khun Tarm. She is a sales consultant and began working with our company in July 2010. She graduated at university in food science and nutrition. She came to Pattaya  to work in a travel agency that also dealt with the property market. This involvement helped her to realise her desire to work in the real estate business and  after one and a half years, she applied for a job with Coastal Real Estate. During the last 5 years, her knowledge has developed and she has learnt a lot  from the managing director, Kevin Mattson. She has gained experience in not only property sales and rentals, but also in the fields to support this, such as  setting up a company and transferring title deeds. Khun Tarm gained the confidence to invest in some Pattaya property herself. If you would like any help in  this area, please feel free to contact her directly at tarm@coastalrealestatepattaya.com. Or call her on 086-571-4737. Khun Tarm says, “Every investment  has a risk but if you follow in the footsteps of a professional with experience then you have more chance to win.” This article was written by Angie Turton, the development and administration manager of Coastal Real Estate

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Reasons Why I Got Into Real Estate

Aug 15, 2017

In the last article, I introduced you to our company, Coastal Real Estate. So, now I would like to tell you a little bit about myself and how I came to be working with them.I first visited Pattaya about twelve years ago. It was my first trip to Thailand and I was amazed at what the property market had to offer at such low prices. Of course, the options were a little different in those days and properties didn’t have all the modern facilities that we see in the developments being built today. My husband and I had always wanted to purchase a holiday home in Europe, but the high prices made it rather difficult. We visited just two real estate companies. Our encounter with the first one was not particularly helpful; I think we were looked upon as just another couple of tourists who were dreaming! However, we went a little further and found another agency, we bought our first house from them.  I have to say that putting a deposit down on a property abroad, during your first holiday to a country, was a little spontaneous and naïve; especially with so little knowledge of Pattaya or Thai culture. I actually took so much for granted and consequently got a shock when I jumped into the shower and discovered the absence of hot water! After some time, I returned to my friendly agent and bought a second house, one designed and built by an English developer with his Thai wife. It was at this time when the baht was particularly weak against the British pound, which made it a perfect time to bring money into the country. I bought the neighboring house to mine as an investment. I used my own house as a show home and my investment purchase was sold before completion.  The same developer bought more land and planned to build a further small project, with an invitation to invest. As I had used my own home as a show house, it had already been viewed many times and was easy to sell. I found myself moving again and investing into a further three houses. They were three-bedroomed villas with private pools which were very easy to sell.Eventually, this small development was completely sold out and I decided to move in a different direction.  We bought a very large house, set on a rai of land in Huay Yai. This was a private sale and needed renovation. We lived  there for two years and decided to sell it on to buy something smaller and more practical. By this time, I had worked briefly  for a Russian real estate magazine and after being in the business of property investment and selling my own property, I had  managed to make a few connections in the business. However, trying to find my ideal home was not an easy task. Almost  twelve years of living in Pattaya, offered me enough experiences for me to know exactly what kind of place I wanted to live  in. After scouring the internet and searching through the copious amounts of houses on the market, I finally found a  real estate company was advertising my dream home. I contacted Coastal Real Estate and I was able to view the house the  next day. I was very impressed by their professionalism and a request for a second viewing was not a problem. The  managing director, Kevin Mattson, was prompt and courteous. I purchased the house and he ensured that the whole process  was smooth and hassle free. It was almost a year later that I learnt of an opportunity to work with Kevin and the team at  Coastal Real Estate. I am very proud to be working with them as I can validate them from my own personal experience as a  client. In my experience in both selling and buying, every client is different. They all have individual needs and requests. What may be a priority to us could well be at the bottom of their list of  importance. We, as the agent understand and realise that, and so are here to offer guidance, recommendations and assist in  any way we can to ensure that the client is satisfied to the best of our ability. After all, the customers don’t care how much we  know until they know how much we care. This article was written by Angie Turton, the development and administration manager of Coastal Real Estate.  