Choosing a new Chiang Mai condo: floor, aspect and view

A high floor, a particular aspect or an attractive view describes only part of a condo. The right choice also depends on what faces the windows, when you are at home and how much extra each option costs. Use the same observations to compare two or three shortlisted units.

Locate the unit on the site plan

Read the floor plan alongside the development's site plan. Identify the direction of the living room, bedrooms and balcony, then locate neighbouring blocks, roads, the pool, entrances and equipment areas. Identical layouts can offer different privacy and noise conditions in different positions.

If the outlook includes land outside the development, investigate what can currently be verified. An open view today does not establish that it will remain unobstructed. Record the present view separately from assumptions about the future.

Check daylight against your own timetable

If you work from home, consider glare at the desk and the practical options for shading. If you spend afternoons in the living room, focus on the light at that time. Aspect needs to be considered together with window size, balconies, nearby obstructions and furniture positions.

For a completed property, try to view the actual unit at a relevant time. For an off-plan unit, use the location, design information and verifiable site conditions. Lighting and styling in a show unit cannot demonstrate daylight in the home you are choosing.

Experience privacy and sound from inside

Near a pool or shared walkway, check operating hours, use rules and the relationship between windows and passing activity. Where access is available and permitted, listen with windows open and closed. Look at sightlines between neighbouring windows too.

Check for equipment or other sound sources even on higher floors. A quiet viewing establishes conditions at that moment only. If evenings, commuting hours or weekends concern you, arrange another visit.

Set your limits before comparing premiums

• Does light suit the rooms you use every day?
• Are the window and balcony sightlines acceptable?
• Could sound disrupt work or sleep at relevant times?
• Which parts of the outlook are visible facts, and which remain uncertain?
• How much more would your preferred unit cost?

First address conditions that would repeatedly interfere with daily life. Then compare the remaining units on view, floor and price. The aim is a home that works for you, with a clear reason for any additional spending.

Related reading

• Checking furniture layouts
• Assessing project size