So let's see if I have this right. My condo will be full of cocroaches, pigeons will be nesting on my balcony, a thai family will be living in it and I might as well give my condo away as I'll never see it again ????

 

Edit: actually pigeons nesting behind my unused aircon units is a real problem even when I was only gone for 1-2 months. Balcony always covered in bird <deleted>.

 

On the plus side, an expat on here kindly offered to go to my condo complex and go up with reception staff to open my fridge door before turning power off. Nice to know expats will do that for people they don't know ????

 

2 hours ago, aussiexpat said:

So let's see if I have this right. My condo will be full of cocroaches, pigeons will be nesting on my balcony, a thai family will be living in it and I might as well give my condo away as I'll never see it again ????

I'd worry more about termites.

They've been eating my skirting boards (even though they're not wood)

And are now working on the fake wood planking over the concrete floor.

 

I've actually viewed neglected homes where the door frames were just lines of dust on the floor.

11 hours ago, jacko45k said:

I expect many water traps dry out when a condo is left empty for some time and bugs can crawl in from the drains. I actually make a once a week job of running water into the sink and floor drain of my spare bedroom.... holds back smells too.

A dash of bleach down the trap and then cover with tape.  Job done.  

7 hours ago, aussiexpat said:

So let's see if I have this right. My condo will be full of cocroaches, pigeons will be nesting on my balcony, a thai family will be living in it and I might as well give my condo away as I'll never see it again ????

You forgot about the room being flooded because the balcony drains were plugged and someone's used condom was made into a water balloon to plug the bathroom drain; your fans, couch and bed are now in the neighbor's condo; there's something scratching at the inside of your refrigerator wanting out; someone has been bringing over GoGo Girls to clean the <deleted> carpet; the condo people says they've never heard of you and never received any condo fees and sold the condo for non-payment. On the bright side, the same condo people have offered you a killer deal on an abandoned condo in the next building...

We left my wife's condo in early March thinking we would be away for 6 weeks.

Luckily turned off power, water and opened up the fridge on departure.

My wife won't leave a key with anyone, she says they'll nick the TV or let friends stay/have a party and trash the place....  happened to a friend of hers.

We don't normally suffer with bugs.

Car is parked up under cover with battery disconnected but I guess the tyres will have flat spots.  I think we will be away for at least another year - Thailand seems to be going for zero tolerance of Covid so that means vaccination (if we ever get one) or expensive quarantine on entry.

In the grand scheme of things buying a new fridge, set of tyres/battery or getting pest control to visit is no big deal.....

13 hours ago, Leaver said:

A dash of bleach down the trap and then cover with tape.  Job done.  

Sinks too of course.... or put the plug in.

On 7/25/2020 at 9:32 AM, chicowoodduck said:

Wishful thinking on your part.....you are stuck in OZ until dooms day....suck it up and kiss that condo good bye.....????????

...... what a STUPID comment ????

On 7/25/2020 at 9:32 AM, chicowoodduck said:

Wishful thinking on your part.....you are stuck in OZ until dooms day....suck it up and kiss that condo good bye.....????????

Yep, Oz has reverted to it's 'prison colony' past, and the prison doors are locked.

54 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Yep, Oz has reverted to it's 'prison colony' past, and the prison doors are locked.

Not true. All I have to do to see my empty condo again is:

 

(1) apply for an exemption to leave Australia with the only criteria I qualify for is saying I intend to leave Australia forever.

 

(2) apply for Thai Elite visa as I need that as evidence for (1)

 

(3) apply for Thai COE which requires leaping through so many hoops 

 

So I'm figuring about 600,000 baht will open that prison door lol

 

11 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Sinks too of course.... or put the plug in.

Yes, all traps.  If away for a long time, the water in the trap will eventually evaporate, allowing a bad smell to enter the property.  

 

 

 

Thanks for all the comments. My Mate went to condo today and turned off fridge and left door open. Also found lots of pigeon nest on balcony so tied some old CD's to the aircon rack to hopefully stop it.

 

Couldn't bring myself to ask him to fill a condom and leave on water traps ????

20 hours ago, aussiexpat said:

Couldn't bring myself to ask him to fill a condom and leave on water traps

Yes, that can take a lot of time and effort!

On 7/27/2020 at 10:04 AM, aussiexpat said:

Thanks for all the comments. My Mate went to condo today and turned off fridge and left door open. Also found lots of pigeon nest on balcony so tied some old CD's to the aircon rack to hopefully stop it.

 

Couldn't bring myself to ask him to fill a condom and leave on water traps ????

The traps are "charged" with water, which creates an air tight seal, blocking any bad smell, and preventing insects moving further along the drain, into your condo. 

 

With time, the water goes stagnant and smells, hence a dash of bleach, and if away for a very long time, the water evaporates, thus letting in the smell to your condo.  Not much you can do about the evaporation, but the tape over the drain still prevents insects entering.