* This is a recommendation by a satisfied client, not spam advertising by an agent. *

I've just spent four or five days hunting for a new apartment using ads, my contact networks, and good ol' walking around my target areas. Saw a lot of places, either overpriced, unsuitable or poorly located vs my requirements. I know PP very well having lived here 18 months already, so I was disappointed that by now I hadn't turned up anything suitable.

Today I changed tack and decided to have a chat to an agent, and the result for me was actually quite positive, as by the end of the day I'd signed a lease on a place fitting both my needs and my budget. I'm now renting a well appointed 2 bedroom apartment in the BKK1 area for $300 pcm, which is about right for the standard of place and location, not artificially inflated like many places I'd looked at already. Added bonus, it looks like I've also been gifted with a great landlord!

The main reasons I'm going to the effort of writing this thorough review is that this guy provided a great service and deserves a writeup, especially as the image given to PP RE agents on forums is generally very negative; but also as a pointer for other users who may prefer to use an agent vs other methods - they may as well use one with at least one good reference!

What I liked best was his approach - find out what I want, compare vs what he's got, narrow the field with some questions, then show me the most likely prospects. (Previously, I've had bad experiences with agents taking me all over town, showing me half a dozen crappy places that are severely overpriced, so that I'd be more likely to appreciate the "quality" of the "better" overpriced dumps and sign up for them in relief that they were at least liveable.) He didn't run me all over town - he narrowed it down to half a dozen places based on my criteria, and he'd actually been to them and could answer my questions about them, so we cut the list to only three to go out and see. It was a far more efficient and pleasant way to do things, particularly in this heat. (Note though that if you're less clear about your needs you'd probably need to go out and see more properties than this before you'd be happy that you're getting the best fit for you that's available on the market here.)

At the business end of things, he involved me in negotiations with the landlord very professionally (discussing with me aside about what I'd like changed/fixed/added to the house, whether I was happy with the price, terms of the lease etc) with him then negotiating with the landlord in the next room and coming back to me with clarifications and bargaining positions from the landlord. He has really good english so this was very easy without unnecessary confusion over what I meant, and he understands ambit vs fallback positions (ie he knows your maximum but will seek a better deal for you if he can get it).

All in all, it was made quite easy for me, so I was very pleased. It's not necessarily saying much, but this agent was far more professional than any real estate agent that I've dealt with in Australia over the years.

The agent is Palm Real Estate, at the corner of St57 & St278. His name is Mr Sao Sakhom. Ph 023 350 734 / Mobile 012 274 827. Email palm_realestate [at] yahoo [dot] com .

I've just read another recent post by ichtom mentioning Art the Homefinder and his website with all the necessary info to contact him. He also looks like a great option and definitely one to consider if you're new to PP and need help with setting up things beyond the lease - your mobile phone, internet, home help etc etc. Essentially he seems to be "the agent that isn't" and I'd take ichtom's recommendation as a strong thumbs up.

/This is longer than I meant to make it. Hope it helps someone, somewhere!

BC :roll: