House in Koh Samui, Thailand. How to rent a house on Koh Samui yourself. Accommodation options on Koh Samui by area
This article is for those who want to find housing without “any realtors” and other friendly assistants. In the article I will describe an algorithm of actions that will greatly increase the likelihood of finding housing.
Your plan is as follows:
1) When outside of Thailand, collect information on the areas where you plan to live. For example, do you want to live in Maenam with a good beach and good infrastructure or live in Bophut with excellent infrastructure and an average beach?
2) Buy air tickets with a morning arrival, because... in this case, you don’t have to waste time; you can immediately look for housing.
3) Plan a budget for renting a house. You should have a rough idea of which houses cost how much. For example, if on the first day you find a 2-bedroom house near the sea for 20,000 baht, is that a good price or not? And if the same house costs not 20,000, but 30,000 baht, then should it be taken into account or not?
4) Consider a transfer. Here everyone decides for themselves how to get from the airport to their destination. You can take a taxi, or you can arrange a transfer online. It is important not to waste time, because if you have not found housing on your own in 3 days, then your independent search turned out to be not economically profitable and it would be easier for you to use realtors.
5) If you have a late arrival, or you doubt that you can find the right house in a day, look for a hotel through booking.com or agoda.com and book it for a day or two. There is no need to book longer, if anything you can always extend your rental.
6) After booking a hotel, collect information about where you can rent a bike. Now there are quite a lot of groups on social networks that offer bikes for rent. The best thing is to get the bike to the hotel of your choice (some companies deliver the bike to a previously agreed upon location). We can help in this matter. Prices for renting bikes can be viewed.
7) Before departure, install the following programs on your phone. Speed-test, I use 4gmark, google translate and upload 3 languages there (Russian, Thai, English) so as not to depend on the Internet when talking with locals
8) Upon arrival at the airport, your main task is to make yourself a SIM card and put at least 200 baht in it. There must be money on the phone because... You will be on the phone a lot with the owners. If you install a SIM card in the tablet, that’s also good, because... It will be easier for you to navigate the area and mark the accommodation that suits you.
9) You have figured out your mobile connection, installed a SIM card in your tablet, before getting into a taxi, take a map of the island. This card will be a plan B if your electronic devices run out of charge.
10) You arrived at the hotel, checked in, took a shower, rested a little, now it’s time to get to work. Your task at the first stage is to choose the sector that you will closely study. For this it is better to use googlemaps. Pay attention to groups of houses far from the sea, where the likelihood of finding free good housing at a reasonable price is much higher than near the sea.
11) Before you go searching, you need to do 3 things: buy water, buy dog food (not a huge bag, but a small bag of stick food) and put on a helmet. You will need water to quench your thirst, dog food to make friends with local dogs, of which there are a huge number on Samui, a helmet is needed so that you do not get fined again (a fine of 400 baht), to protect against sunstroke, to protect from rain ( therefore, choose not a helmet, but a helmet with a visor (so that in case of rain you can continue your search), for safety.
12) So, you left, keep in mind that in Thailand it gets dark early, so you have until 18.00 local time, from that moment it begins to get dark sharply, the air becomes cooler, the dogs are more active, and the terrain changes (a strange effect, but during the day and in the evening the same place can look different). Your task is not to get lost on the first day. During the day there are more people and the area is better visible.
13) When entering the selected sector, drive slowly, carefully studying the house for rent signs, as soon as you find one, stop and call the number indicated next to the sign and ask the question: “Is there a house for rent available, if so, then how many bedrooms and how much does it cost?
14) It happens that there is a sign, the owner comes out to meet you, but does not understand you. It's okay, there is a phrase that will make him understand why you are here - Ban Chaao - renting a house in Thai. After this phrase, they will either refuse you or show you the house.
15) Appraising a house requires certain knowledge, I wrote for this. If you are too lazy to read it, I advise you to pay attention to the interactive picture below.
16) After the house has been inspected and you like it, you must leave this place with the following information: the coordinates of the house, the owner’s phone number, the cost of the house for the desired period, the cost of the reservation deposit and the cost of the security deposit.
17) Repeat steps 12-15 until you find the desired option.
How else can you look for a home? If you have arrived for a long time, and you already have housing for a month, but you need to find something more suitable, I advise you to get to know people more. Some of them will soon leave the island or simply change their location, and you are right there. There are resorts where the owner does not speak English, and people and ours stay there, but to get into it, you need connections.
Alternatively, you can look through the blogs of people who live on Koh Samui. Ask them if there are any available houses in their resort.
So, what do you need to find housing?
1. Knowledge of English (entry level is enough)
2. Tablet or smartphone with internet
4. Money (keep at least 5000 with you in order to immediately book a house that suits you)
5. Dog food
6. Bottle of water
7. Patience
8. Ability to drive a bike
Important information:
Dogs: If you arrive at the resort and a dog runs and barks at you, slow down and start talking to it, as if you were talking to your favorite dog that you haven’t seen for a long time, let it sniff you, when the getting to know you process is completed, you can treat the dog with food purchased in advance . If you stopped at the resort, the dogs were not visible, but when you started looking at the house, they appeared. It is important to get to know them, tell them something, feed them, because... Sometimes they become aggressive when you leave the resort. I pay a lot of attention to this point because I myself have been bitten by dogs twice while looking at different houses, so I now successfully stick to this strategy.
Agreement: Different places in Thailand have different conditions, I work on Samui, here there are often no contracts for renting a house, all you will have is a receipt for payment for the house with dates and the signature of the owner.
House reservation: A house is booked when the person who booked it has received at least some paper confirming the reservation. If someone tells you that the house is booked and it is not the owner of the resort or the resort staff, then you definitely need to check this information.
Sunday: On this day, Thais have a day off, they may simply disappear and not respond to your calls. This is especially true in the low season.
Probability of finding housing on your own depending on the season. I am sharing my personal experience.
- Peak season from December 15 to January 15: very low. During the peak season, it is almost impossible to find housing; what was left was rejected by dozens of people and they had reasons for this. Therefore, it is better to use agents to book accommodation.
- High season November 1-December 14, January 16-April 30, July 1-September 15 – average. During the high season, it is possible to find accommodation, but with difficulty. Allow at least 3 days.
- Low season: May 1 - June 30, September 16 - October 30. High. At this time, there is noticeably more available housing, so you can find something suitable for yourself. The search will take 1-2 days.
Housing found in the high season will be inferior in quality to housing found in the low season.
What kind of housing is always difficult to find:
- Houses with kitchen near the sea.
- 2 bedroom house within walking distance to the sea within 20-30 thousand baht. This is especially true for Lamai.
- House with a fenced area.
- House with high speed internet. Every year there are more and more housing with good Internet, so maybe in a few years it will be possible to remove this item.
- A house located far away from others.
- House with bath
- With sea views.
These requirements greatly reduce the likelihood of finding housing. If you need a house with a fenced area, with a view of the sea, next to the sea and standing separately from others, then perhaps it is still better for you to contact agents. Read the following article for the pros and cons of finding housing through agents.
In conclusion, I suggest small dictionary, it can help when searching for a home on your own:
Ban Chaao means "house rental" in Thai.
Do you have house for rent? – Do you have a house for rent?
Full – busy
Free- free
When will it be free? - When will you be free?
How many bedrooms? – how many bedrooms?
Kitchen
Sea view – sea view
How much for month/for week/for day? – How much does it cost per month/week/day
How many meters to the beach? – How many meters to the beach?
Luck with searching!
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Houses for rent on Samui are an excellent opportunity to spend your holidays in the most comfortable accommodation without overpaying for expensive hotels. With us you can rent a house for any period convenient for you. Whether your visit to the island is part of a tour of Thailand, or you specifically came to Koh Samui, our company offers you the convenience of renting a house for a day, a week, a month or another long period.
Also, the opportunity to rent a house will be an excellent alternative to buying a house for those who want to stay in the Kingdom for a long time. The fact is that the process of purchasing a house (not an apartment) by a foreigner in Thailand is complicated. More precisely, it is generally impossible to register a house and land plot in the name of a foreign person. The only purchase option involves registering it with a Thai company, but it is quite risky if you do not have reliable people in Thailand. That is why renting from us is convenient both for tourists staying on the island for a couple of days, and for people who come here for a long time.
Renting housing on Koh Samui at Island House For Rent
- We professionally specialize in renting houses without intermediaries. Without trying to embrace the immensity, we prefer to concentrate on one thing, providing the highest quality service.
- We have a wide selection of houses in different areas of the island. Whether you need a “party” place or a quiet beach for relaxation under palm trees, we will offer you a home that is suitable in all respects.
- Everything is reliable. With us you can book a house in Koh Samui without worrying about anything. We do not edit photos in our favor (everything on the site is “as is”) and we never change the rental price at the last moment, unexpectedly for the client. Everything will be exactly as it looks in the photographs, and upon arrival you will pay exactly the amount that was indicated at the time of booking. Keep calm!
- We will always help you with your choice. If you don't know which home to choose and in which area, just let us know! We will definitely advise you on which house to rent.
- We will advise you on issues of recreation and accommodation. Any questions you may have regarding vacation, accommodation and solving everyday issues will be answered by our employee, who has lived on the island for many years and thoroughly knows what, where, how and how much on the island. How to rent a bike, where to eat, where to go for a massage - he will give valuable advice that will make your vacation as quality as possible.
- We'll meet you and bring you to your place - free of charge. This is a significant saving on transfers and taxis, given the fairly high local prices for such services.
We work honestly and do everything to ensure that while our clients are on the island, they live in a house that suits their requirements, where they will not be worried about any everyday issues. The rental process will be as simple and convenient as possible. We will help you enjoy all the splendor of the island and an unforgettable vacation!
Our working conditions.
.... Further
Our working conditions.
Few of those who come on vacation through a tour operator know that renting a villa, a separate house, or an apartment is often cheaper than taking a trip from a tour operator .
Our company specializes in budget houses , for which there is usually no landlord commission, so for such houses we charge a one-time commission for finding a house and booking. Payment of the commission occurs after booking the house. We also specialize in luxury real estate . Show houses for free, but you need to have your own transport, or we are ready to provide you with transport.
When ordering rental housing through us, we will try to find the most interesting and suitable options for you. In addition if you rent housing “on the spot” then prices may be more expensive than through us, which is why people often waste a lot of time and money looking for housing. This is exactly why we created Ali housing base on the island of Koh Samui. There are two types of housing in our catalog:
1. Budget houses
Some companies give an inflated price for rent, having agreed with the owner on an allegedly higher rental price, and it turns out that every month you pay a commission to the agent, while we charge for our work in finding and showing housing one-time commission depending on the cost of housing:
- from 3000 to 10000 baht - 3000 baht
- from 10,000 to 25,000 baht - 4000 baht
- over 25000 – 5000 baht
If you are already in Koh Samui and would like to view the available houses you have selected, a payment of 500 baht is due at the time of signing the contract. We prefer honesty towards our clients.
2. Elite real estate.
If you want to relax in Koh Samui in comfort, we also book luxury accommodation. Often coming with a group or family, many prefer to rent their villa for the holiday period. When booking such accommodation, we always strive to obtain the lowest prices from the ownersfor our clients (in Thailand you can often get better conditions if you have your own company, this applies to almost everything) Practice existing in many countries of the world
How can you book your accommodation on Koh Samui through us?
1. Select several options for the housing you like, adding it to your cart and submitting a request.
2. After waiting for our managers to contact you, get information about the availability of housing.
3.
Pay the owner's deposit (refundable) + company services. Upon arrival, pay rent to the property owners.
4. Receive confirmation of your accommodation reservation.
5. Rejoice and tell your friends :)
What are your guarantees?
Our company operates on Koh Samui legally, under a license from the Ministry of Tourism of Thailand. In case of failure to comply with the terms of the agreement on the part of our company, the deposit is returned to you in full, as stated in our agreement. After booking, we can send the coordinates of your home, all the contact information of the owners and a scanned copy of the deposit payment receipt with the seal of our company.
Renting a villa on Samui without intermediaries is a fairly popular practice among Russian tourists, as well as travelers from all over the world. It’s worth renting a house on the island if you plan to travel for a long time.
For those who go to Thailand for 2 weeks, a hotel room may be a more convenient option, since hotels are cleaned daily, linen is changed, and the price of the room already includes basic amenities, Internet and telephone communications. Living in a house on Samui on your own, you will need to pay for electricity, water and other additional services separately. But, if you go to the island for 3 weeks or even a month, renting a house will be much more profitable than staying in an expensive hotel.
The most profitable way is to rent a cheap house on Samui for a month on our website. To begin with, you should look through all the real estate offers for rent that are in this section, and then the option you like.
Rent upon arrival
First you need to understand in which area of Samui you want to live, and then find housing for the first time. Real estate prices here vary greatly, depending on the availability of amenities in the house (air conditioning, Wi-Fi, etc.)
We recommend renting a bungalow on Choeng Mon, where there is entertainment for both young people and families with children. This place has a wonderful sea and a beautiful sandy beach with soft sand. And lovers of active club life, entertainment for every taste and shopping can be advised to stay in the Chaweng area.
There is also a more inexpensive accommodation option: the areas of Maenam or Bo Phut, where you can save a lot on rent and rent a house for 500 rubles per day on the seashore. If you are traveling with children or do not speak the language at the proper level, it is best to rent a house on Samui without intermediaries in advance on our website or on.
Vehicle
Since supermarkets, as well as large shopping centers, cafes and restaurants on the island are not always within walking distance, it will be more comfortable to rent a bike upon arrival, since there are many rent a car offices here, and finding an inexpensive moped will not be difficult. You can rent a vehicle for a month or more at once, it will be much cheaper than renting it daily or for a week. Prices for mopeds start at $70 per month.
If you come with a family or a large group, it will be much more convenient to move around the island by car, although it will cost an order of magnitude more than a bike (from $400 per month rental, depending on the brand). You can rent a car or moped online in advance.
Without intermediaries
Now that you have rented a house for the first time and rented a bike, you can start looking for more suitable accommodation on Ko Samui.
Now you can ride a bike or car along all the streets branching off from the main ring road of the island (Ring Road) and ask local residents about renting out a bungalow or apartment. As a rule, houses in the interior of the island are a little cheaper, since they are further away from the sea. The final amount will depend on your preferences and financial capabilities.
You can rent a house on Samui monthly for $250-300, or you can find a luxury villa with a pool for $1,000 a month.
After you have driven around the island looking for housing with a “House For Rent” sign, found your dream home on Koh Samui and agreed on the price, you need to enter into a rental agreement with the owner. But before signing the contract, be sure to discuss the following questions with the owner:
- Prices for electricity and water (the cost of 1 kilowatt can vary from 5 to 10 baht; water is usually charged a flat fee of 300-400 baht or more). Also check the availability of a gas cylinder if you plan to cook at home.
- Availability of Wi-Fi and its cost (most likely, the Internet will be included in the rental price, but its speed leaves much to be desired).
- Deposit amount (hosts can take from 50 to 100% of the rental amount).
- The need for final cleaning after departure and its price.
When viewing a home, pay attention to the following points:
- The serviceability of all electrical appliances, including air conditioning, water heater, as well as a refrigerator, kettle and more.
- Presence of mosquito nets on all windows.
- The presence of a river or lake nearby (it’s better not to have them, otherwise there will be a lot of mosquitoes and other insects).
- The ventilation system is working properly and there are no unpleasant odors.
- Sufficient number of outlets or extension cords in the house.
- The condition of the road or path leading to the house.
- Drain in the bathtub or shower (it is important that the water does not stagnate).
- Pay attention to your neighbors - this is also an important factor on which your peace of mind on vacation will depend.
- Yes, it’s not difficult! Especially on an island like Koh Samui, where there are a lot of houses for rent.
How to rent a house on Koh Samui?
Firstly, you must understand exactly what you want to live in. home, not in hotel.
I prefer to live in a hotel. I'll explain why. At the hotel, the room is cleaned daily, bed linen and towels are changed, soap and toilet paper are brought. In a hotel, you don’t pay anything except for renting a room. That is, light, water, internet, electricity are already included in the room price. Most often I rent a hotel room not far from the beach or even on the beach itself. If you are traveling to short term, less than a month, it is better to stay in a hotel.
But if you are traveling for a long time, then living in a hotel is expensive.
Hotels in Thailand can be booked on the following websites:
You can also find and book accommodation. If you register using this link, you will receive gift - $20, which can be used to pay for housing.
If you want to cook something at the same time (minimal, we are not talking about cooking borscht), then you can buy an electric kettle (500 baht) and an electric saucepan (500 - 1000 baht). Or buy a small gas stove like we bought. The stove is 299 baht and the gas for it is about 40 baht per cylinder. A bottle lasts us a week. But we don't cook much.
If you still decide that you need house, then you can remove it like this.
Option 1: Rent a house on Koh Samui through intermediaries
There are several agents on Samui who can help you find a home. The well-known “Russian group” or “Lamai group” 😎 helps in finding houses, but they do not immediately respond to letters and in general there are more and more negative reviews about their work. And they don’t like to take on cheap houses (cheaper than 10 thousand baht) and for a short period of time. They like to escalate the situation, saying that there are no houses at all, although we were convinced of the opposite. Their advantage is a good website and a large database of houses. They do not charge a commission from the Client.
In many groups about Samui in contact there are also house rental assistants. The cost of their services is from 5 thousand baht and above. If you are looking for a cheap house and for a short period of time, then contacting them is not profitable at all.
There are advantages to booking in advance, especially when you come with a small child or don't know English at all.
There are also disadvantages: you can choose a house only from photographs, which do not always reflect reality. You can’t know what’s in the area, exactly how far it is to the sea (since the description is 1 km, 500 meters, etc. for some reason it’s different for everyone 😎)
Therefore, if you are traveling for more than a month and have at least some knowledge of English, it is better to look for a house yourself.
Option 2. Search for a house on Koh Samui on your own
Search for a home on your own. What we do for this:
- Come to the island
- Check into a hotel for 2-3 days. It is better to book the hotel in advance
- Relax, look around
- Rent a bike or car
- Buy a local SIM card for calls
- You drive along the ring road, turn onto small roads, but keep in mind that the closer to the sea, the more expensive the houses. Look at the “House for Rent” signs and call the phone number indicated on them. Trying to understand Thai English, which is not always easy. If the house is available, arrange a viewing, take a look
- If you like everything, sign the contract and rent the house
- Are you moving?
What to discuss when renting a house
- House price per month
- Cost of electricity (electricity in Samui is expensive, the price can vary from 4 baht per kilowatt to 11 baht. Usually 6-7 baht)
- Cost of water. Usually they charge a fixed fee per person - 100 or 100 baht, sometimes the cost is per cubic meter of water, sometimes the water is free
- Internet cost. Free or average 500 baht per month
- Final cleaning costs are required. We don’t have it, but in many houses they require 1000 baht for final cleaning
- Gas cost. Typically a gas cylinder will cost 300-500 baht
- Security deposit (usually they take half the monthly cost of the house, but they can also ask for the full cost).
What to look for when renting a house
- Are there mosquito nets on the windows (required, otherwise you will either have to close the windows all the time or be bitten by mosquitoes)
- Is the refrigerator, air conditioner, water heater working?
- Are there enough sockets? We brought extension cords
- Does the toilet stink, is there ventilation?
- Does the shower drain well? A standard shower in Thailand is water pouring onto the floor and flowing into a pipe and onto the street. If the floor in the shower is laid with a slight slope or without it at all, the water will stagnate and there will be a swamp in the bathtub
- Is the house located next to a public trash bin? The smells are very strong in the heat
- Is the road leading to the house good? Will it wash away if it starts to rain?
- It is also advisable to see what kind of people live in the neighboring houses. We're lucky so far, we don't have noisy neighbors or small screaming children.
- Is there a swamp or river near the house? If so, be prepared for mosquitoes.
I hope these tips are useful and you rent a nice and comfortable home 😎