10 years with no contact from my landlady

[seancbk]

So I've been living in a condo in Bangkok  for 10 years.  I signed a one year lease in 2011 and since then I've not seen or heard from the woman who owns it. 
Even when I had cash flow issues and missed the rent by up to 2 months she didn't bother me.    I've just been paying into her bank all this time.

Then a few days ago I received some official documents from the district court and it turns out she has disappeared and hasn't been paying her mortgage. 

The bank have received a judgement against her and will seize the property (in two weeks).   

I spoke to the Juristic office and she hasn't paid her management fees for a long time either (not sure how long as I don't speak enough Thai to get that info).  

Neither the bank nor the juristic office can reach her by mail or phone!!

So I guess I have to move out of this unit.    My lease with the woman expired 9 years ago so I don't seem to have any legal claim to be here.

Does anyone know what possibility there is to negotiate with the bank to stay living in the unit, or maybe even buying it off the bank? 

Cheers

[sammieuk1]

In all probability the bank will sell it off to cover the debt at a bargain double the price its worth in a pandemic in 10 years prepare to move if I were you and forget the negotiation though you could ask ???? 

[The Hammer2021]

It will be sold off cheap  by the bank just to cover debts. Or by sealed by interested parties.

[seancbk]

1 minute ago, The Hammer2021 said:

It will be sold off cheap  by the bank just to cover debts. Or by sealed by interested parties.

 

One of my friends is interested in buying it, so I could keep living here.   Will try calling the bank tomorrow.

[scubascuba3]

I bet you couldn't believe your luck not having any rent increases.

 

Keep an eye on your committee, someone might buy it if sold cheap

[seancbk]

Just now, scubascuba3 said:

I bet you couldn't believe your luck not having any rent increases.

 

Keep an eye on your committee, someone might buy it if sold cheap

 

 

I had a look round some other units in the building and the rents haven't changed much in 10 years. 

It's a great building, only 2 mins walk to a Sukhumvit line BTS and with a nice pool and gym.  My current unit is on the same floor as the pool and gym which is nice and convenient.  

If I have to move, I will just move to a different unit in the same building.  Which will mean no longer being so close to the pool and I'll have to pay a new deposit.   

Obviously not getting the original deposit back off her, although after 10 years that is no big deal. 

 

[GrandPapillon]

what about the rent you have been paying? maybe it's still in the bank and she never used it

 

so you could have stopped paying your rent about 5 years ago, and it would have been the same ????

 

how much was the deposit ? how much was the monthly rent out of curiosity?

[OneMoreFarang]

That reminds me about a bar in Clinton Plaza many years ago.

The story is they paid the rent every month with a check. And for whatever reason the landlord never gave those checks to the bank.

The guy who rented the place could claim he paid every month. But in reality he never paid. ???? 

[seancbk]

14 minutes ago, GrandPapillon said:

what about the rent you have been paying? maybe it's still in the bank and she never used it

 

so you could have stopped paying your rent about 5 years ago, and it would have been the same ????

 

how much was the deposit ? how much was the monthly rent out of curiosity?

 

Yes, over the years my friends have joked that she must be dead or she would complain when I paid the rent late.  
They suggested not paying and seeing how long before she turned up, but I would just rather not see her. 

Deposit was 16,000 THB and rent is 8000.   35 sq/m studio room.  

[seancbk]

13 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

That reminds me about a bar in Clinton Plaza many years ago.

The story is they paid the rent every month with a check. And for whatever reason the landlord never gave those checks to the bank.

The guy who rented the place could claim he paid every month. But in reality he never paid. ???? 

 

I've got bank records to show I've paid direct to her account.

I kind of wish I hadn't paid the rent already this month.

[Caldera]

Considering that banks are dealing with quite a number of foreclosures nowadays, I think the bank will be more than happy to have a chat with a potential buyer.

[Harry Black]

Or carry on renting, whoever buys it has a great tenant.

[nkg]

If you just stop paying the rent, you will soon find out who the new owners are ????

[Susco]

23 minutes ago, josthomz said:

 

If the bank sells it at a nice price, and your friend for some reason doesn't buy it in the end....

 

I might probably be interested in buying another property. You can DM me if that's the case ????

 

As if the OP has any say in who can buy it.

 

Silly bragging post anyway, since the OP hasn't even mentioned building name or location

[Susco]

1 hour ago, The Hammer2021 said:

It will be sold off cheap  by the bank just to cover debts. Or by sealed by interested parties.

 

That would be the first time in history that the bank sells it on the cheap.

[samtam]

1 hour ago, seancbk said:

 

One of my friends is interested in buying it, so I could keep living here.   Will try calling the bank tomorrow.

...or you could buy it.

[wordchild]

normal practice for most (Thai) owners ,or at least it used to be: dont increase the rent if you have a good tenant.

Before we bought our condo here, my wife and I rented a unit for 5 years , we always paid 1 year in advance (because we got a great discount initially) , owner was perfectly happy ,obviously! In fact he told us once, that  the rent would NEVER go up as long as we were tenants and we could stay for as long as we wanted.

2 friends of mine also  had really long term rentals in Bangkok, without any rent increases; one of them  rented a really nice unit in Waterford , the one on Sukhumvit near Emporium.  He rented the same  unit for many many years (12/14 i think) ; the rent never changed. He even got the owner to redo the kitchen and freshen up the painting at one stage. He loved living there and , In the end, he only moved out because he got transferred outside Thailand.

Obviously you can be unlucky with Thai owners who get greedy , but many seem to (rightly) value the stability and predictability that goes with having a good long term tenant and where the yield, to them, on their original investment, is reasonable.

 

[impulse]

57 minutes ago, Susco said:

2 hours ago, The Hammer2021 said:

It will be sold off cheap  by the bank just to cover debts. Or by sealed by interested parties.

 

That would be the first time in history that the bank sells it on the cheap.

 

No it wouldn't.  Depends on whether the bank gets to keep the entire price, or only gets to recoup their debt, and has to refund the excess to the borrower.  If the latter, they don't really give a rat if they sell it at 1/2 the market value.

 

[seancbk]

1 hour ago, samtam said:

...or you could buy it.

 

I don't have the money to buy it otherwise I would.

[seancbk]

18 minutes ago, impulse said:

1 hour ago, Susco said:

2 hours ago, The Hammer2021 said:

It will be sold off cheap  by the bank just to cover debts. Or by sealed by interested parties.

 

That would be the first time in history that the bank sells it on the cheap.

 

No it wouldn't.  Depends on whether the bank gets to keep the entire price, or only gets to recoup their debt, and has to refund the excess to the borrower.  If the latter, they don't really give a rat if they sell it at 1/2 the market value.

 

 

Seeing as neither the building management, nor the bank can locate her and haven't been able to locate her apparently for at least a few years, my guess is she's died.  

Depending how much of the mortgage she paid and therefore how much is left, the bank may just be looking for a relatively small amount. 

I will report back when I find out what they say.

 

[Thomas J]

If you get to the right person at the bank you might have luck but finding that person might be an adventure.  As a former banker I can tell you that most banks would love the fact that they have someone who wanted to continue to rent and or purchase.  However this is Thailand.  In my own village there are 5 properties out of 29 homes that the bank foreclosed on, some well over 5 years ago.  They refuse to sell at distressed prices despite the fact that the properties have long gone into disrepair.  A totally different mindset here when it comes to selling what in the USA were called " non performing assets"   We took the approach, get rid of them and the carrying expense as fast as possible and put the money back to work.  Here it seems to be, wait until inflation creates the illusion that the price I finally got for the property does not look like I took a loss. 

[impulse]

4 minutes ago, Thomas J said:

Here it seems to be, wait until inflation creates the illusion that the price I finally got for the property does not look like I took a loss. 

 

It's a race between inflation and entropy.  Entropy usually wins in the short and medium term.  After a few decades, the land value alone catches up. 

 

One more reason Thailand needs a better real estate tax system.  If you're paying tax every year on an idle asset, that's a great incentive to put it back to work.

 

 

[digbeth]

If you have rental contract, they can't evict you so easily if you had something in the clause of the original contract about renewing each year automatically, but the lease should be registered at the land office, even without the contract, if they decide to evict you legally, they'd have to post notice and take you to court, long time, if you have trouble finding new place or willing to negotiate, they probably won't mind giving you a few months 

 

Whoever bought it will also be on the hook for the management fees too

[seancbk]

16 minutes ago, Thomas J said:

If you get to the right person at the bank you might have luck but finding that person might be an adventure.  As a former banker I can tell you that most banks would love the fact that they have someone who wanted to continue to rent and or purchase.  However this is Thailand.  In my own village there are 5 properties out of 29 homes that the bank foreclosed on, some well over 5 years ago.  They refuse to sell at distressed prices despite the fact that the properties have long gone into disrepair.  A totally different mindset here when it comes to selling what in the USA were called " non performing assets"   We took the approach, get rid of them and the carrying expense as fast as possible and put the money back to work.  Here it seems to be, wait until inflation creates the illusion that the price I finally got for the property does not look like I took a loss. 

 

There is a name and contact number on the documents.  We will start there.  

Not expecting it to be easy but we'll see.

 

 

[dddave]

I've lived in my Phra Khanong rented condo since 2004. I never met the condo owner (she inherited it from relatives) and my rent has never increased.

Four years ago, I received notification from a trustee group that she had died and the condo was now held by several family members who had formed a real estate trust. It turned out she also owned 2 other condos in my building.  They informed me that it was their wish that I continue my tenancy as long as I wished with no change in terms so now nearly 18 years with no increase in rent.  I notify them of any major maintenance issues and it is always taken care of in a timely manner.  In turn, I don't bother them with minor issues I can take care of myself.

Nice arrangement.  

[seancbk]

1 minute ago, dddave said:

I've lived in my Phra Khanong rented condo since 2004. I never met the condo owner (she inherited it from relatives) and my rent has never increased.

Four years ago, I received notification from a trustee group that she had died and the condo was now held by several family members who had formed a real estate trust. It turned out she also owned 2 other condos in my building.  They informed me that it was their wish that I continue my tenancy as long as I wished with no change in terms so now nearly 18 years with no increase in rent.  I notify them of any major maintenance issues and it is always taken care of in a timely manner.  In turn, I don't bother them with minor issues I can take care of myself.

Nice arrangement.  

 

That is excellent.  

[EricTh]

2 hours ago, seancbk said:

 

 

I had a look round some other units in the building and the rents haven't changed much in 10 years. 

It's a great building, only 2 mins walk to a Sukhumvit line BTS and with a nice pool and gym.  My current unit is on the same floor as the pool and gym which is nice and convenient.  

If I have to move, I will just move to a different unit in the same building.  Which will mean no longer being so close to the pool and I'll have to pay a new deposit.   

Obviously not getting the original deposit back off her, although after 10 years that is no big deal. 

 

 

 

You're lucky your landlady didn't raise the rent considering that everything has gone up.

 

 

[from the home of CC]

2 hours ago, Caldera said:

Considering that banks are dealing with quite a number of foreclosures nowadays, I think the bank will be more than happy to have a chat with a potential buyer.

you would think so but I believe the layers of  bureaucracy would tie that decision up(on their end) for months..

[soi3eddie]

It's a shame that the OP will lose his home and a place that he must like. Also, he will lose his deposit too as nobody will refund that to him. If OP really likes the place (and has the means and will to buy) then he could try to negotiate with the bank. Try to keep it private from any others in your building or they may decide to try and buy it if they sense a bargain. I don't see the bank giving it away at under "market" value but you could always try to work out a deal.  Worth a try.

 

[scubascuba3]

Are you sure the bank took her to court and not the juristic office?