Gerard Walsh is a man who lives, eats and breathes all things to do with property and construction. Indeed, it’s pleasantly difficult to try to get him off the subject, writes John Davids.
He is, among other things, a qualified chartered building surveyor and project manager and you could say that he is a man on a mission here in Pattaya as, to the best of his knowledge, he is the only one in the city.
It’s is fair to say that chartered surveying is in its infancy in Thailand. There are only 80 qualified CS practitioners in the entire country (mainly based in Bangkok) with 300 more studying at Thai universities at present.
So the concept of employing a chartered surveyor when contemplating a house purchase has not caught on here to the extent it has in other parts of the world – like the UK where Gerry hails from.
“People here are prepared to part with many millions of baht for a house or condo. It’s a big investment – for some it’s the biggest. But they might skimp on carrying out a survey which will cost them a small fraction of their overall outlay,” said Gerard.

Longer guarantee
“Many developers offer quite short guarantee periods compared to, say, the UK where 10 years is the norm on a new build,” he added. “Here it might be as little as a year.
“If buyers use my services they can, in effect, extend that guarantee to six years because I must carry insurance for that period.”
This means that, if the survey misses something and the problem comes to light within that six year period, he could be sued. “It have never been sued and I don’t intend to start now,” he said. “If I were to retire tomorrow the insurance would continue.”
From my own experience back in the UK I can report that having a survey carried out actually saved me money as it uncovered a problem which led to an eventual lowering of the overall house price.
Gerard was previously based here for five years before he returned home to Ireland to get married. Now he is looking to make his stay in Pattaya more permanent.
“I had talks here in Thailand with a top group of real estate brokers with a view to possibly joining them,” he said. “But in the end I thought it might be an idea to start my own practice.”
Gerard, who is a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and a fellow of the Association of Building Engineers, says he has had a warm welcome from all the brokers he has approached.
“REBA-ES (Real Estate Broker Association – Eastern Seaboard) members seem especially happy to recommend my services,” he said. “I think they view what I do as helping to add to the professionalism they are keen to promote.”
Indeed, I have visited a couple of broker offices recently and seen Gerard’s brochure readily available.
Gerard is keen to point out that his surveys will make recommendations and observations based on what is a “good and reasonable standard” for Thailand. “It’s simply not practical or perhaps even desirable to try to apply standards you might find in the British Isles,” he said.

Homebuyer’s report
His practice offers many types of surveys and design and build services. One of them is a 15-page Homebuyer’s report.
As well as looking at the actual structure and services the report includes useful information such as the property’s freehold or leasehold status. It will include comments to help buyers understand the area around the dwelling and outline what the new owner can expect to pay for utilities and management fees etc.
There can be little doubt that Gerard is an accomplished Construction and Property expert and he’s not one given to displays of false modesty. “My experience is second to none,” he says.
Not only is he a chartered building surveyor he is also a chartered environmentalist which means he can advise from planning on how a project can reduce its carbon footprint.
He and Walsh & Associates also list among their attributes: Corporate building engineers, project managers, design and build consultants. They carry out building surveys, homebuyer surveys and site inspections, quality control, and provide compliance certificates and architectural services.
In future issues we hope Gerard will write on all matters relating to property for us. If you have a question you would like him to answer please email dave@thailandpropertymagazine.com and we will forward it to him. Ω
l To find out more about Gerard and Walsh & Associates ring 0811 606 804 or email gerard-walsh@hotmail.com.