Smart is the key word well chosen by Apus Condominium’s developers, Vareesap & Vareejinda, their Euro-Thai management team and their creative in-house marketing department, to aptly describe the project in the truly central location of Soi Yumae (Paneadchang), just off Central Pattaya Road opposite Carrefour; at the apex of accessibility to all Pattaya’s amenities.
The three smart aspects emphasised in Apus’ marketing campaign are Smart Location, Design and Facilities, which seemingly says it all, but they are modestly understated.
True smartness, to take the dictionary definition, is a concept encompassing five key characteristics: clean, tidy and stylish; bright and fresh in appearance; fashionable and upmarket; brisk; and having quick intelligence; all of which thoroughly exemplify one of Pattaya’s manifestly most successful condo projects.
To examine each characteristic in turn, firstly, you’d be hard pressed to find a more stylish, contemporary architectural design than the landscaped, lagoon-style development i.e. two sides with a large, central swimming pool; saltwater, in this case. The ‘bright, fresh in appearance’ aspect is typified by the clean lines and wide, open-fronted, ‘Loft-style’ balcony apartments; literally a breath of fresh air in a city not always known for such lavishly spacious condos.
The ‘fashionable and upmarket’ appeal is again demonstrated by the ultra-modern design chosen and also by the fact that discerning buyers will be getting five-star luxury at a three-star price. Note the ‘discerning’ bit, evidently those who have already invested in an apartment have no doubt done their due diligence and can be assured that their returns-on-investment will appreciate as the location and design standards alone are sufficient to maintain an almost universal appeal for quite some time to come.

Brisk sales
This leads us on to the ‘brisk’ aspect, which aptly describes both the 18-month construction schedule and the 60 per cent off-plan sales achieved already, 40 per cent even before they had launched their advertising campaign in July, and that in a generally almost ‘flat-line’ property market, nationwide, where ‘off-plan’ has lost much of its original appeal.
Tower A main structure has already been completed and Tower B is well underway, currently having reached the 3rd Floor. This has been achieved, REm was informed, by working a 24-hour-a-day schedule, with two construction teams working in two 12-hour shifts; true dedication for you!
This has obviously paid off; to quote Jason Payne, Apus’ marketing director: “July and August have been very good months for us, with 73 visitors to our showrooms, 19 email enquiries and just over Bt42 million in sales.”
The developers, Vareesap & Vareejinda, and their team are obviously doing more than a little something right, and can be seen to be so doing.
Vareesap & Vareejinda also had sufficient acumen (the intelligent aspect) to direct their primary marketing effort at the Thai market that normally takes a great deal of persuading, only trusts developers that are well established (they also own the highly reputable local companies Home and Pool and Ban Ampur Trading [Homemart]) and that they can confidently expect to deliver on their promises to not only actually finish the project, but to do so on time.
In Apus’ case, we are assured that construction is already ahead of schedule and, all going well, the project should actually be completed before the projected finish date of August 2010, namely by June of next year. Incidentally, by initially concentrating on the Thai quota, it means that the remaining units are available to be purchased freehold in a foreign name; a major plus point, especially as Apus “offers a Chanute title – the most secure land title in Thailand”; a point made by REm’s John Davids in our original showcase coverage of Apus Condominium in our May, 2009 issue.
Again, by doing things this way round rather than vice-versa, as many Western developers have done (to their cost!), Vareesap & Vareejinda have demonstrated thorough market sensitivity and insight.
The well above standard features supplied in all the apartments also demonstrates a savvy grasp of what customers are demanding in this currently buyer’s market.
This major selling point stands in stark contrast to the policy of some of the developers in Pattaya, who think that by trading on their name alone, they can get away with fobbing buyers off with bare shells, with minimal fixtures, concrete floors and whitewashed walls; hardly the most appealing of features!
In comparison, the Apus Condominium’s standard fixtures and fittings include fully-fitted kitchens, uPVC windows, smart key entry, 60x60 porcelain tiles everywhere except for the bedrooms, which have high quality wood laminate floors, semi-private elevators, built-in wardrobes, side tables, feature headboards, TV stands, silk glass and mirror wall coverings and concealed ceiling-vented central air-conditioning.
Ground Floor Pool units even come with a private terrace jacuzzi! I personally found the ‘smart living’, hi-tech features of trendy interiors with mood lighting, convenient centralised ‘smart’ control’ panels for the electrics in the bedroom, with an automated, unitary control, lighting switch at the front door, and wi-ri high speed internet, particularly appealing when I visited the Apus showrooms.
The apartments, housed in two low-rise buildings, comprise 158 studios, 1, 2 and 3 bedroom units, ranging in size from 30-119 sqm. All rooms overlook the large, saltwater, freeform swimming pool, tropical gardens, barbecue area and ‘chill out’ zones.

Fully fitted gym
Both buildings have a luxurious lobby area and fully fitted gymnasium. The apartments are priced from Bt62-68,000 sqm, which works out to a range from Bt2 to Bt11.1 million; most assuredly value for money in this often over-priced market.
Payment terms are also very competitive, with a total of just 40 per cent payable over a 14 week period, the 60 per cent balance payable on completion.
Finally, the developers pride themselves in their updating service to keep clients abreast of the latest progress and allow them to sleep soundly at night in the confidence that their investments are secure.
Jason Payne says: “We keep in touch with our clients via regular website updates, a monthly ‘construction update newsletter’, various website blogs and Twitter. Our clients can receive updates direct to their I-Phone or Blackberry with Twitter; we refresh this every couple days.
“This type of technology allows our customers wherever they are in the world to see the construction process. I think this gives our clients total peace of mind that our project is on schedule and will be completed, which in this current climate is very reassuring for them.”
You can see the progress personally by going along to the development, which is just up on the right hand side of Soi Paniad Chang, which runs alongside Carrefour Supermarket. There you will also find the showrooms to give you a taste of what to expect, with personable, helpful, and knowledgeable sales people to answer your every enquiry.
You can also see the full details of the Apus project on their excellently constructed and very informative website (see below), and get a foretaste by studying the three pages of Apus advertising in this issue.

Apus Condominium,
Soi Yumae (Paneadchang),
Central Pattaya Road,
Pattaya.
T: 038 412504/412496/412497
W: www.apuscondo.com
E: marketing@apuscondo.com