Steiner

The biggest issue is the hotel commission, they have been applying pressure to condominiums and threatening them with legal action if they don't make an effort to stamp it out.
Most condos will stop your guests as soon as they catch them.
LPN have been turning water off to rooms, blocking electronic access cards and calling the owners to insist the tenant be evicted.

Same with Aspire, Midst, Life Rhythm etc.

Across the river seems worse, some condos stop every person walking in with luggage and ask for details of room etc.

There are a few condos 'allowing' this to happen, simply because with the number of rooms rented to AirBnB hosts, if they were shut down overnight and 60-80 rooms went back on the market, they would take a year to clear.
Of course that would affect the rental and resale price of the condominium, so they let it fly...

I know one condo in Bkk with at least 140 rooms on AirBnB and rented by Chinese travel agencies.

On the whole the guests don't make much trouble, in Bkk anyway.

I've heard way more complaints from condos for long term stayers than I have for AirBnB hosted rooms and on inspection at the end of the contract they are in generally excellent condition, probably because there are maids in every few days and because the hosts run them as a business that depends on good reviews, so appearance is important.

The law is clear, no short time lets of less than 30 days in residential buildings, of course condominium committees can do as they wish, however being mostly comprised of older Thai people, for whom 'face' is top of their list, that doesn't bode well for short term renters in their condo building.

Attached image is typical of many found in condo lobby's and elevators.

Although your guests would simply get dumped on the street and your contract broken/deposit lost if you didn't be upfront with the owner and get sublets in your contract, you can see how hostile most condos are.
 

18 hours ago, steelepulse said:

I can't disagree with you on any points, but we both know that the tour groups won't report these people and nothing will be done.

Actually if you report them to the Hotel Commission they will be on it like rabid dogs. The hotels are losing a fortune to these private condo lets/airbnb/chinese tours and they don't like it.
Cops won't do a thing, hotels will.

On 9/26/2016 at 3:17 PM, williamgeorgeallen said:

try to go for 3 or 6 month leases and barter down to a lower deposit. assume  you are going to loose the deposit when you leave.  

Good luck with that, what agent would touch a 3 month lease, not worth leaving home for.
What owner would reduce their deposit unless they were desperate to rent the place, meaning they had a bad name or it was a bit of a dump.

The only people that get ripped of are dumb people who don't use real companies.  I've rented well into 4 figures of condos in this city and never had a deposit not returned without there being substantial damage to the property.
If you work with fools and amateurs what do you think will happen.
Mobile phone, no office, has 'other jobs'  Jesus would people actually rent from someone like that in the west and then be surprised when they were done over!

Quote

must have been a nice place to put down 50 000thb. quite a bit of money in thailand 

That would be a 25 k condo, that's a lot of money in Bkk!?!

On 9/24/2016 at 10:24 PM, blackcab said:

In Thailand lease contracts heavily favour the lessor. A standard Thai lease contract contains a clause that basically says the lessor can terminate the lease at any time, for any reason, and keep the deposit.

 

What a load!

I've never seen a contract like that, terminations for both sides must have a reason, if I ever encountered some old Thai Chinese with a contract like that (and I haven't even seen one of those old crows with such a ridiculous piece of paper) I would laugh at them.
 

You need to read that nonsense back to yourself out loud, you are actually saying that there are contracts that allow an owner to rent you a room on Monday and chuck you out on Tuesday with no deposit.

7 hours ago, madusa said:

Yes,that's right.  Sometimes you will find the guy who rent you the property is not the owner he is just an agent and make some profit from the owner. If you leave before the contract expire he will lose money.

The owners are rich people who just don't have time to deal with the tenants because there are always small little things that are annoying. Repairs, noise, next door neighbours giving problems, etc., 1001 problems to deal with. Middle of the lunch he receive a call about a water pipe burst, no, the owners rahter let the agent make some money for easy life for themselves.

What a load of BS, an agent can't authorise what is required for a condo tenancy, owner will use an agent to rent the place, that's it, what you describe is pure nonsense.

Quote

Now over two months later, he still hasn't returned the deposit and all of the sudden says that he handed over the whole thing to a lawyer, because the agent doesn't want to return part of his commission, which he supposedly have to, because I moved out earlier. He said he will just let a lawyer deal with it.. and I'm sensing that she's either just incredibly slow with everything or she's trying to keep the deposit.

 

I'm obviously aware that it's a common issue in Thailand. What's the best way to handle it? Threaten with a lawyer? Hire a lawyer? Not worth it and just accept the loss? Deposit is roughly 50.000 Baht.

Why did your agent not deal with this? If you have a real agent from a real company then they should have been the go between in this. 
If you rented from 'some guy/girl freelancer, then you can't expect much help.

If you went directly to the owner, why would you do that if you had an agent? I see more trouble from people doing this, owners will try to mess tenants around in a way they wouldn't do with a company.

A company would have had an agreement on paper and both parties would have signed it, not some mythical agreement, that is as much use as the 'rolling contract' which people seem to believe is actually a thing.

Contracts have a start and end date, it's really pretty black and white.

The agent wouldn't have to return anything after the 3rd month anyway, owner is lying to you and in typical Thai style, they are trying to blame someone else.
Whether it's with a lawyer or not, and even if there was to be a percentage returned it would be tiny: 25k / 12 x 2 =4,167 baht.  Tell the owner you will cover that and he can return the rest to you, that will expose his BS.

Eating with her mouth closed would be a good start...

Would have been over in seconds if the smart cops with their blue pvc poles had been there...

I manage a number of properties in the city and although most are in modern buildings with good pest control, there are a few in older buildings.
For modern we would cling film the toilet bowl, shower and drains in the bathroom, cling film the sink by covering the hole plus a generous margin with film, then set a small bag of sand on top, creates an air and bug seal.
Don't forget the overflow.

For older buildings it's basically the same except that we may apply a roach cream. Powders and sprays are useless after a short term, glue boards are used by pest controllers to confirm the presence of bugs, they won't catch 1% of what is there.

There is a long lasting cream available in a small white toothpaste-like tube from Home Pro etc.
Can't remember the name but it's the only thing in that format in the bug section. It works by poisoning the roaches with a slow acting poison, they go back to the nest, die and are eaten by the other roaches passing on the effect.

Obviously check the place for ANY food or disregarded snacks.

In the west I would have normally advised people to not turn water supplies off because it causes leaks of dried out expanding/contracting washers, however this is Thailand and the quality of fittings compared to the west is terrible, burst fittings are a big problem here, so turn the water off as well.

If a few hundred baht difference in your electricity bill is really going to make a difference to your lifestyle or plans to live here, then perhaps you don't have the funds to be making the trip.

2 minutes ago, Sparkles said:

Using logic is not advisable here,will only lead to ongoing frustration

True, what was I thinking...

Are those poles going to be retractable / folding, spring loaded perhaps?
Are they going to be full size and carried vertically on motorcycles like the conductors for a bumper car?

I'm thinking they have been watching too many marvel movies and gone a bit 'Asgard gate keeper' with this idea.

Expect them to have a glowing Tesseract style light at the tip and be painted gold.

Oh please let this happen...

On a serious note, this is highly relevant policing, the number of times I've come across man eating snakes on the way back from the 7/11!

If I had a baht for every time that's happened...

Why do they burn the fields? Is it just the easiest laziest way?
I imagine that cutting, then ploughing the organic matter back into the soil would be more beneficial and better for the environment?

Out of interest I compared some crop yields per hectare for root vegetables like potatoes, to western farming crop yields per hectare and some are in the range in of 10-28%, looks like they are doing something wrong.
Corn and cereals aren't just as bad but pretty poor.

Cereal production in UK: 7.7 metric tones / hectare

Cereal production in USA: 7.63 metric tones / hectare

Cereal production in Thailand: 3.1 metric tones / hectare

If Israel can become world leaders in supplying some vegetables from a desert where they measure water in cubic centimeters, how can the locals be so inept at this with a plentiful water supply and lots of sunshine and heat?

13 hours ago, drtreelove said:

Not sure, but possible Phytophthora spp (watermold) infection, with the black exudation being the tree's natural reaction to the invasion. The turkey tail fungus is saprophytic (invades dead wood) and probably the more advanced stage of this disorder.  Is there sprinkler water continuously wetting the tree trunk?  If so that could be a causal factor. The nails into the tree trunk can contribute to pathogen invasion.   

Thanks for that, you were pretty close.

Mrs sent the pics to a local gardening company who said it was a reaction to the nails in the supports and to remove them and clean it off then spray it and it should be all good.
So pathogen from nails it was.

8 hours ago, ClutchClark said:

 

I think you are making much ado about nothing. 

 

I would rather he charge $100 to keep some Thai from getting this dog and releasing it to the Soi.

 

You are now the one doing a disservice to the pup. You are now the one making this into something bad.  Its a $100--its not like he is trying to make a profit, he is still taking a considerable loss and someone is still getting a considerable deal.

 

Your opinion is held highly on TVF and you are now hurting this pup by your wrong headedness.

I have to agree with Wayned. The post was misleading, it looked like the pup was free to a good home.
If the OP cared about the dog losing a few thousand baht when he is moving country shouldn't figure.

If it was me I'd be happy to find a good home, money would never come into it.

The OP originally bought the dog, he has a responsibility to rehouse it to the best of his abilities.

People are giving grief to someone who made an offer to care for the dog that the rest of you didn't.

If people feel so strongly, how about some of you step up with more than insults and trying to make the man look stupid and offer the dog a home.

Anyone know what this funky happening is?  (The black stuff not the fungus growth).

Giving this one a bump.
Anyone interested in this little dog please PM me.

Really affectionate and always super happy to see you come home.

Easy to feed and a short walk is like Christmas every day.

This works for me.
I go for a Permethrin / Cypermetherin mix and spray that around the garden and house (you can find them both relatively easily) **metherins are toxic for cats

Then Frontline once a month on the dogs, never see a tick unless I forget the frontline.
This year at the start of the season I saw a few try to make their way in, did the above and boom, 3 days haven't seen one in 2 months.

I once owned a pest control company and this was a mix that we would use in homes, completely safe unless you're catwoman...

Regrettably we need to try to re home one of our dogs.
She is under 2, neutered and vaccinated of course, good temperament, loving and no hassle at all.
However we have fallen foul of the hatred that some bitches have for each other and that simply can't be undone.

Used to play with our other bitch endlessly, then one day it spilled over and now they would happily fight to the death (that's no exaggeration).

Appears to be fine with other dogs though, it's simply the 2 in my house that have declared war on each other.

We have a male as well and she is cool with him.
Tried everything but after 6 months of this, scouring the net and consulting with a number of (western) vets and trainers, we realise that nature won't be beaten on this one and we have to admit defeat.

At the minute we have to do a sort of 38th parallel sliding doors thing to keep them apart, and they stand there like guards on the Korean border staring each other down, but that just can't continue.

So Foxy (farang name) or Dang (Thai name) is looking for a new home.

Foxy is a 4 footed Sagittarian who speaks basic Thai and English, she has a love of rib bones, short walks on the lead, people (with food), sleeping at your feet while you're on the computer, bald heads and pina coladas.
Foxy dislikes: postmen, cats, thunder (pretty sure she has a thunder song) and Coco (our other bitch).

If anyone can help please PM me, happy to drop her anywhere within reason to good people.

I use this road twice, sometimes four times a week, 95% of drivers are ok, but the dangerous 5% are a problem.

Seriously? I think you have those figures backwards, 95% are the problem and 5% are OK.

how many Thai people could pass a driving test in the UK even if they had been driving for decades.

I'll wait...

Steiner

I completed my house almost 3 years ago, did all the plumbing myself and did install a grease trap, as all waste water, black and grey, goes to the septic system.

The trap really only catches soap from bathrooms and kitchen......I clean it out twice a year, it's a blackish sludge which would likely float in the tank and may disturb the bacteria

Probably not all that necessary nowadays, as we all use minimal oils and fats.....while our mums used heaps of lard.

Also, I don't think Thais do actually notice bad smells......as well as barking dogs, noisy motor bikes and garbage everywhere!

I live in Bkk so no septic tank.

I spoke to 2 mates who are plumbers yesterday, one in the UK and one in the states, they both agreed that a grease trap was completely unnecessary and had only seen them fitted in restaurants where the grease load was heavy.

Completely amazed at the poor design in every Thai house: drainage was so poor, waste pipes too narrow, smells and this grease trap issue, blocking the inlet from the kitchen relatively quickly even though I oven cook or barbecue and fry very little.

Barely a square bend in the house, appears to be no DPC, no drain outside the house, people pour water in the street but paid 7 mill for the houses!?!

A kitchen that came with 2 power points (I know a Thai kitchen is wok and rice cooker but still), it has 10 now.

Construction and design is so poor from top to bottom.

I must admit the logic in grease traps eludes me, disgusting things that appear to trap minimal amounts of grease eventually turning them into sizable chunks that cause a problem.

I am constantly amazed at the inability to deal with water, sewage and gas here.

Had a lot of issues with the drainage at the house (new build) until I removed all the small pipe from sink etc and replaced it with a usable size for a kitchen sink.

Had to install traps on all of the drains to stop sewer smells coming back into the house, seriously; how are Thai's never bothered by heinous smells?

Thinking of completely removing the large grease trap buried outside my house as I removed the 'trap' part 6 weeks ago and zero issues to date, everything draining faster as well.

i thought they were only required for restaurants or where there is a high grease output.

Any plumbers with experience of this?

Why would the OP not read the contract!!!

Been renting properties in the city for years, our process is: tell the tenant to keep their last 3 months electricity bills so we can estimate pro rata the amount due, check for water bills at the juristic office, stipulate the cancellation letter from their internet provider and thoroughly check the room and appliances (seriously that takes 5 minutes for the average condo: open/close doors, check electrical appliances, done).
When you present an owner with all of that they have no recourse about holding deposits, however our contract stipulates instant return anyway.

It really is that simple and we won't work with owners who want to wait for 30 days.
For non resident landlords we hold the deposits in escrow (how it should be done for all rentals).

Please buy a bike where the engine isn't under your seat, like a scooter.

This is a bizarre statement, a scooter with larger or chunky wheels is far safer than a traditional motorcycle. When he has the inevitable close call or collision from the side then with a step-through design his legs wouldn't suffer as much damage as they would if they were sandwiched between an engine and a car.

Also a scooter is a workhorse, he can hang shopping from a hook in the step-through part when collecting essentials on the way home and he can lock a decent quality helmet under the seat as opposed to hanging or locking it on the bike, better in rainy season as well. On a motorcycle he would have to carry any shopping on his back, with a few glass bottles in the rucksack, that won't end well.

I wouldn't recommend a PCX, they don't have a clear step-through and its difficult to use the rear pegs to take your weight off the seat by standing when passing over the many potholes or really rough roads here. On a PCX you feel all the shunts from potholes straight up your back and the seating position is, I found, not good posture, also unless you're Thai the ridged seat is too small and your ass sits between the seat spaces.
Scoobi, Click, both good and suspension isn't as hard as the similar Yamahas.

Posted 2015-01-03 15:53:43

I posted this a year ago. Police at the time said they could do nothing !!!!

POPULAR

My daughter was attached on White Sand beach at Koh Chang Lagoon Resort on Tuesday morning whilst we were having breakfeast.

She was biiten in the face by a beach mongrel and the staff at the hotel were no help. We rushed her to Bangkok Hospital in Koh Chang and then had to take her to Bangkok Hospital in Chantaburi because the was no surgeon at the Koh Chang hospital but she also needed an eye surgeon and Plastic surgeon.

We were terrfified of the outcome. 4 hours of surgery and a lot of stitching and it looks like things will work out as well as can be expected. Needless to say the Bangkok Hopspital bill was huge.

Two days later back in Koh Chang we had to retrieve our belongings and informed the Royal Thai Police what happened. We were taken back to the scene of the crime and the owners of Koh Chang Lagooon entered the discussions about the incident with the Police and us.

At the end of the day I dont think much will happen. We had photos of the dog that the police did not seem interested in but the hotel owners requested a copy so they could inform the staff to keep an eye on the malafactor. The next day the dog was back on the steps of the restaurant.

The reason for this post is to warn people about the risks of beach dogs not just at Koh Chang but everywhere. In my experiance once a dog bits a person he will do it again. In my country a court order would be issued and the dog taken away.

I made this known to the hotel owners and if it happened again and the outcome was worse they would be in serious trouble. I hope I am wrong but if the dog is not removed odds are it will happen again. No matter how vigilant you are as parents these freak things can happen.

You need to go on trip adviser and every other review site you can find and post separate reviews, name of the restaurant and the hotel allowed a dangerous dog onto the beach.

Only thing people understand here is money, zero compassion for other human beings.