Naughty neighbours

[djlest]

Recently purchased an old house to renovate. The house was empty for a few years and during that time both neighbours on either side thought it would be fun to build structures that not only break building regs & laws, but really affect my property during rains, which im Noticing a lot today.

 

Such as flooding, water damaged walls, cracked walls,blocked drains, concrete drive collapsing, moss growing on everything blocking drains etc.

 

not to mention windows being built against my boundary and over, and a roof run off with no drains going directly onto my patio.????

surely a double win in court? 

 

fun fact, one side is a family of lawyers, the other side is retired police?

 

any advice, i know i could file a court case but what are my odds of winning?

any other alternative? Ideas?

 

much appreciated

 

here are their clever designs

1st set are the lawyers house

2nd retired police

[OneMoreFarang]

15 minutes ago, djlest said:

Recently purchased an old house to renovate.

I hope you bought it for a very good price. Because somehow it sounds like you will have a lot of fun with your neighbors.

 

Personally I would try to find a Thai person who is on a social level or higher with your neighbors and look what you/he can negotiate.

Because even if you would win a court case, maybe after many years, that still doesn't mean that you will be able to live happily ever after in that building.

 

Good luck! You need it.

 

 

 

[Crossy]

Yeah, definitely try the "friendly" route first. Angry neighbours are definitely not what you want.

 

At least nobody will be climbing in from the second side ???? 

[Peterw42]

Its sounds like you bought a house next to the airport and you are now complaining about the planes.

[rumak]

suggest new title :  naughty neighbors .......... crazy buyer

[djlest]

6 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

Its sounds like you bought a house next to the airport and you are now complaining about the planes.

Your absolutely right it is next to the airport.

I know my options are somewhat limited and i am aware of these so called law abiding citizens (opportunistic) ways.

 

if i can put forth some construction ideas to each side to consider so my side does not take all their rain water, i think it could be a peaceful proposition.

 

if however it gets ignored, technically it should be a clear win. But tit…

 

 

[spidermike007]

I wouldn't want to have a lawyer and a retired cop as enemies. Both are potentially toxic souls. Both are likely to not know moral boundaries. 

 

A legal battle would likely be treated as fun sport by your lawyer next door. And there is no way to know what it would end up costing you. And the retired cop is a wild card. 

 

This kind of diligence work is best done in advance. If it were me, I would sell and move on. Find more suitable neighbors, or better yet, no neighbors. 

[HappyExpat57]

This is why I only rent, and that includes women.

[Pmbkk]

 

You actually bought it knowing the state - very,  very risky(stupid). Looking at those pics it's going to be very expensive for them to undo what has been done and a big inconvenience.

 

You may have issues as the neighbours could say it was agreed with the previous owner.

 

I assume you have a good copy of the deeds re plot size etc, who owns the walls & exact measurements as without I don't see any sort of favourable outcome for you.

 

If it's too good to be true - it probably is.... 

[RafPinto]

If it was really such a good deal, why didn't the lawyer or cop buy it?

[LarrySR]

It's mind over matter.

They don't mind and you don't matter.

 

 

[Elkski]

Another misleading title, unless you can see naughty through that window.  If so perhaps you can open a business for peepers. I would not like such close neighbors and especially windows.  Plant a tree in front of that window pronto.

Both neighbors solved their rain water problems.   You could tell them your installing sump pumps and ask where do they want the 6" pipe to dump?   Buyer beware.   

[simon43]

No way will they change their built structures.  You need to find a way of resolving the problems on your side, such as fitting guttering on the wall to allow the rain water to drain off.

[Lacessit]

This is Thailand, building regulations are not on the table.

Sell out, and swallow any loss. It's a can't win situation, and shows the initial due diligence was faulty.

[FriendlyFarang]

Do you think just because you talk nice to them they will agree to tear down their buildings?

This small structure with blue roof ... there might be a 1% chance for this to happen. But the newish looking two story building ... never ever.

 

You either take them to court, live with it, or sell it.

Taking them to court will be costly, nobody can predict how long it will take, and don't forget that some people are quite vengeful, especially Thais. You take a retired cop to court? Maybe some day at 2am in the night his buddies come to raid your house, they say they got a tip that you were having drugs there,

[it is what it is]

3 minutes ago, FriendlyFarang said:

Do you think just because you talk nice to them they will agree to tear down their buildings?

This small structure with blue roof ... there might be a 1% chance for this to happen. But the newish looking two story building ... never ever.

 

You either take them to court, live with it, or sell it.

Taking them to court will be costly, nobody can predict how long it will take, and don't forget that some people are quite vengeful, especially Thais. You take a retired cop to court? Maybe some day at 2am in the night his buddies come to raid your house, they say they got a tip that you were having drugs there,

 

yup, don't see how the OP gets a win out of this situation regardless of what he does...

[SAFETY FIRST]

1 hour ago, djlest said:

1st set are the lawyers house

2nd retired police

Good luck but I reckon

You're screwed 

 

[bkk6060]

A lady friend of mine bought a house in Chiang Mai.  The neighbors put up a huge sun cover over their patio facing the front of her house that says the logo KFC.  All day just looking at it.  Low class could careless about others attitudes.  As with the OP, nothing can be done.

[Pmbkk]

58 minutes ago, HappyExpat57 said:

This is why I only rent

 

As someone that does rent out some of my personal condos I totally agree in Bangkok.

 

I have promised my wife I will not buy any more houses or Condos - anywhere.

 

Move the responsibility to the owner and give yourself freedom to roam - especially if not tied down.

Noisy neighbours etc - just move. Just make sure you have a clause in the contract that you can give x months notice.

 

Owning & renting Condos is a pain and you have better things to do.

[Dmaxdan]

30 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

This is Thailand, building regulations are not on the table.

Sell out, and swallow any loss. It's a can't win situation, and shows the initial due diligence was faulty.

There are building regulations here. 

Around where we live the walls of a new building have to be a minimum of 2.5 metres in

from the boundary of the land. 

And the roof of your property are not allowed to over hang your neighbor's land. 

 

[Lacessit]

2 minutes ago, Dmaxdan said:

There are building regulations here. 

Around where we live the walls of a new building have to be a minimum of 2.5 metres in

from the boundary of the land. 

And the roof of your property are not aloud to over hang your neighbor's land. 

 

Having regulations and having them observed are two different things.

I have a friend here who was blocked from building on his property, because he omitted to pay the necessary bribes at the local planning office. Took him five years to get the mess sorted out.

I'd assume the OP's neighbors already have the fix in with the relevant authorities. To repeat, this is Thailand.

[Orinoco]

Years of pain to come.

What were you thinking .

[ezzra]

When buying a property anywhere in the world and specially in places like Thailand it pays to do you due diligence and find out all you can about the property the surroundings facilities and of course your neighbours...

[billd766]

8 minutes ago, Dmaxdan said:

There are building regulations here. 

Around where we live the walls of a new building have to be a minimum of 2.5 metres in

from the boundary of the land. 

And the roof of your property are not aloud to over hang your neighbor's land. 

 

With neighbours like that I wouldn't have bought ot rented the property in the first place.

 

Just suppose that you take them to court. With lawyers on one side they could tie up the case for years, and even if you win, it will cost more than the place is worth. 

 

Just suppose that you do win, how will you get them to remove their overhangs etc. You would have to take them to court, again and pour even more money down the drain. You could appeal to the police but with the other neighbour as a retired cop, I don't think that you will get much help from them either without a whole stack of brown envelopes.

 

Your best bet is to sell it asap for the best price you can get, preferably to one or the other neighbours.

[SAFETY FIRST]

1 hour ago, HappyExpat57 said:

This is why I only rent

It's swings and roundabouts. 

 

I'm not against renting but I am pro buying. 

 

I bought my first house in Pattaya 2001, still got it. 

The housing estate runs at around 25k baht per month for a rental similar size. I've spent several million baht on renovations over the years and the property has probably doubled in price (location, location, location) so I'm well ahead. Saved a fortune and have no concerns about landlord evictions etc. 

 

I'm happy to hear that you enjoy renting if it's worked well for you. 

 

 

 

[formanth]

1 hour ago, Elkski said:

Another misleading title, unless you can see naughty through that window.  If so perhaps you can open a business for peepers. I would not like such close neighbors and especially windows.  Plant a tree in front of that window pronto.

Both neighbors solved their rain water problems.   You could tell them your installing sump pumps and ask where do they want the 6" pipe to dump?   Buyer beware.   

I thought the same when reading the title and then the story. Agreed something that affords more privacy by enhancing your view instead of theirs is a good idea.

 

That reminds me of a funny friend.  One time he told me he had naughty neighbors.

So I asked "  How so?"

 

He replied:  " Yeah, my neighbors made an adult video.....

" They just don't know it yet."

                   

 

[FriendlyFarang]

39 minutes ago, Dmaxdan said:

There are building regulations here. 

Around where we live the walls of a new building have to be a minimum of 2.5 metres in

from the boundary of the land. 

And the roof of your property are not allowed to over hang your neighbor's land. 

 

Yes, there are, but getting them enforced can take years, even in our home countries.

The advantage in most of our home countries is, that if somebody is clearly breaking the regulation, you can be quite certain that after a few years the situation will be resolved ins your favor. But here in Thailand you can't be certain about the outcome, even if you are clearly right...

[BritManToo]

2 hours ago, djlest said:

any advice, i know i could file a court case but what are my odds of winning?

any other alternative? Ideas?

Erect corrugated sheet walls higher than either of their extensions, it'll block their windows and throw the rain back onto their walls and flood them out. No limits on the height of your walls in Thailand, and you're entitled to build them right against the boundary.

 

My neighbour just did the same thing, built right up to the boundary, then hung his gutter on my side. I told him to move the gutter or else I would ....... he moved it.

[FriendlyFarang]

4 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Erect corrugated sheet walls higher than either of their extensions, it'll block their windows and throw the rain back onto their walls and flood them out. No limits on the height of your walls in Thailand, and you're entitled to build them right against the boundary.

And you think they will then suddenly be like "ok, i tear down my building"? It will probably just start a war.

[BritManToo]

1 minute ago, FriendlyFarang said:

And you think they will then suddenly be like "ok, i tear down my building"? It will probably just start a war.

I'm retired, a 'neighbour war' gives me something to do.

What do you do? Turn the other cheek?