Grahame Beecham and Eakkarat Suppagarn are both well know figures in Hua Hin’s Real Estate scene. Eakkarat is the developer of the highly successful Smart House developments, building 8 separate developments in Hua Hin. Grahame Beecham was the sales manager for another highly successful Hua Hin developer for years before leaving 18 months ago to start his own property marketing firm called TCH where he oversaw the sales at Eakkarat’s Smart House Village Development. After much sales success, Eakkarat and Grahame have decided to partner together on a brand new development called Baan Phu Thara located near Black Mountain. HOT Magazine recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Grahame to discuss their new project.
HM – How did you decide on the concept and designs for the Baan Phu Thara development.
GB – Quite simply by listening to buyers and to build a development around their preferences and not ours.
I was always told when buying a house, make a list of your top 10 priorities and if you find a property that ticks 7 of those boxes then seriously consider it and if you can tick 8 boxes then buy it.
The problem for us is that everyone has different priorities but I believe that with this development and by listening to buyers we have created something special and I believe it will tick more boxes for more people.
HM – Baan Phu Thara is one of the first developments to use solar power and to be ECO friendly.
GB – This has to be the way forward worldwide and especially in Thailand with 365 days of sunshine and drought issues. We all want to pay less for our utilities, especially when retired and this is so easy to do with a little thought and a willingness to achieve it. Like most buyers coming to Thailand, I have children and grandchildren and I believe it is our responsibility to start to make things change as to how we build properties for a better sustainable future.
HM – Does the cost of being an ECO development make the property sales price higher?
GB – In the short term yes, but not as much as most people think and in the long term buyers will make big savings, not just on the cost of electric and water but in resale values. I have spoken with many expats who live in Hua Hin, who love being here and the lifestyle it affords but wished that they had bought a higher standard property when they first moved here. They were drawn by lower prices and now realize that the resale value of these properties have suffered badly. If you buy well at the beginning, you won’t live to regret it and it negates the need to sell and move to a higher standard of property in the future.
HM – You seem to have included many extra features not seen in developments here in Hua Hin before.
GB – Again we have tried to think from a buyer’s point of view, especially as our target market are people who like me are not getting any younger and all of us have to consider how our lifestyle will change as we get older.
HM – How did your partnership with Khun Eakkarat Suppagarn come to be?
GB – I met Eakkarat when my wife and I bought our first property in Thailand on his Smart House 2 development and we have remained friends ever since. My company TCH started to do the Sales & Marketing for the Thailand Property Award winning Smart House Valley development around 18 months ago and sales have been strong with only a few plots remaining for sale and so it was during this time that the idea of a partnership was formed.
HM – What do you see as the main strengths of this partnership?
GB – Allowing people to do what they do best. Eakkarat is a well-established builder with a proven track record of honesty and professionalism. He has built 8 developments totaling over 300 properties and he has the connections within the building industry, he knows how to run a building site and to complete properties that are built to a very high standard on time, time and time again. My strength is in sales and taking clients through the buying and building process from the first meeting to the handover of the property. Customer service and good communication is an essential part of this business and by both myself and Eakkarat working to our own personal strengths I feel that we can give buyers the highest level of confidence to purchase.
HM – You have launched this development early, even before the show-house has been completed why is that?
GB – For market awareness, I want people to know what we and this development is all about and not everybody wants to buy a property immediately. I hope that with the history of Eakkarat and myself that we can generate reservations for preferred plots even at this early stage and of course any reservation fee would be totally refundable at this point.
HM – How confident are you that the property market in Hua Hin will continue to grow?
GB – Vey confident as I honestly believe that Hua Hin is the best place for an expat to live in Thailand. I have also seen an enormous change in the quality of property being sold in Hua Hin over the last 5 years. The quality and finishing on more and more developments are to European standards and I believe that the standard of our development Baan Phu Thara will raise the standards for all developments in Hua Hin to follow, which can only be a good thing for the buyer and for property sales in Hua Hin in the future.
HM – You are obviously very passionate about this development.
GB – Very passionate, how can you sell something that you don’t believe in? Our goal is to build the best development in Hua Hin, to the highest standard of design, quality and finishing, with the lowest maintenance and running costs. We are asking people to pay us money to build them a home that in many instances will be for their retirement after many years of hard work, so we feel they deserve to have the best property that we can build for them and we are very aware that at the end of the day it is the potential buyer who will decide if we have achieved this or not.
HM – Thank you Grahame for taking the time to speak with us.
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