condo management refuse to repair dampness problem

[beaufoy]

We own a condo near airport plaza chiangmai and last year stains started ( late in rainy season)to appear on the wallpaper at the point where the condo faces the outside wall of the condo. It is obvious that the stains are cause by lack of insulation from dampness caused by rain. We pay a large amount of money to the condo management in order to keep the condo in good condition hence we showed the dampness problems to said management. At first they admitted it was caused by rain hitting the outside wall and seeping through to our bedroom wall. They suggested we should wait until the dry season and promised they would make the required repairs. It is now at the end of the dry season and nothing has been done so we contacted them again, and this time they told us to wait until it gets worse and then make a claim on our insurance. 

   Of course it is not storm damage problem it is lack of maintenance problem and therefore the repair should be paid for by way of the fees we pay the condo management

If the condo management company refuses to repair the outside wall is there a regulator we can report them to????? 

[PJ71]

Sorry this doesn't help but i have a condo ( not in CM ) and the fees are reasonably high ( 50k p.a ), i often wonder where this and all the other fees go....... seems a lot for an office girl, pool boy, maid and gardener.....

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

Are you working directly with the company that has been hired to maintain the building, or have you escalated this to the condo's juristic person manager?

[Bill97]

3 hours ago, beaufoy said:

It is obvious that the stains are cause by lack of insulation from dampness caused by rain

How is that obvious?

[VocalNeal]

3 hours ago, beaufoy said:

hence we showed the dampness problems to said management.

 

Have asked other owners if they have a problem. It maybe bigger than just you.

[beaufoy]

On 4/23/2024 at 11:17 AM, Bill97 said:

How is that obvious?

give me an alternative obvious reason then we can look objectively at each reason put forward to ascertain which one has the most visibility.....now I do know that the management company lie frequently, but if you read the post that i wrote you will find some evidence which make the word obvious a good word 

[beaufoy]

On 4/23/2024 at 11:21 AM, VocalNeal said:

 

Have asked other owners if they have a problem. It maybe bigger than just you.

I have had experience with management companies in England, Ireland , and now in Thailand and I can assure you that a person asking other owners if they have problems with the management will get said person in more trouble than just a dampness/mould problem

[beaufoy]

On 4/23/2024 at 8:40 AM, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

Are you working directly with the company that has been hired to maintain the building, or have you escalated this to the condo's juristic person manager?

AHH the only person who has given a logical answer although I have answered your points in my original posting I will re-iterate. 

We Live in a corner apt so we have 2 or our four walls open to the elements. The wall that is the only one which comes into play in corner apts has dampness stains which would be worse if we did not use dampness catchers. Last year during the wet season we reported the matter to the CONDO admin office. They admitted liability and said the outside wall which was seeping in the dampness would be repaired as soon as the dry season arrived. The dry season did arrive and nobody came to repair the outside of our apt . We went to an annual meeting and re=iterated our complaint and was told someone would deal with the matter. We returned to the Admin office and was told " we will not repair the wall you should wait until it gets very bad and then claim on your insurance" This answers shows incredible corruption and/or incompetence....ie it has been admitted that it is an outside wall causing the problem so the structural insurance should pay and the structural insurance  is paid for by the money paid to the management company. Also it is not storm damage it is damage caused by lack of investment during building and/or lack of regular maintenance

   We have not gone past the admin office with our complaints...That is why I wrote the original post ie to ascertain who should be contacted if the admin refuse to fix the problem 

[beaufoy]

22 minutes ago, beaufoy said:

I have had experience with management companies in England, Ireland , and now in Thailand and I can assure you that a person asking other owners if they have problems with the management will get said person in more trouble than just a dampness/mould problem

If you read the original post you should notice I did not mention the name of the condo ....I have had enough experience to know that calling a person a thief can get me in more trouble than the person will suffer by way of being a thief

[beaufoy]

On 4/23/2024 at 11:21 AM, VocalNeal said:

 

Have asked other owners if they have a problem. It maybe bigger than just you.

 if you read the original post you should notice I did not mention the name of the condo ....I have had enough experience to know that calling a person a thief can get me in more trouble than the person will suffer by way of being a thief

[beaufoy]

On 4/23/2024 at 8:13 AM, PJ71 said:

Sorry this doesn't help but i have a condo ( not in CM ) and the fees are reasonably high ( 50k p.a ), i often wonder where this and all the other fees go....... seems a lot for an office girl, pool boy, maid and gardener.....

Well I will help you in that I suggest you should look for the identity of a regulator.......There has to be some kind of regulation.....As it stands management companies are putting some of the money which is paid for repairs into their own pockets ....if there was no regulation the management companies would put all of the repair money into their pockets

[Thjames]

On 4/23/2024 at 9:13 AM, PJ71 said:

Sorry this doesn't help but i have a condo ( not in CM ) and the fees are reasonably high ( 50k p.a ), i often wonder where this and all the other fees go....... seems a lot for an office girl, pool boy, maid and gardener.....

you must know  at the AGM meeting they provide details  if not just ask for last years financials,    a shocking reply from any condo owner!

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

1 hour ago, beaufoy said:

AHH the only person who has given a logical answer although I have answered your points in my original posting I will re-iterate. 

We Live in a corner apt so we have 2 or our four walls open to the elements. The wall that is the only one which comes into play in corner apts has dampness stains which would be worse if we did not use dampness catchers. Last year during the wet season we reported the matter to the CONDO admin office. They admitted liability and said the outside wall which was seeping in the dampness would be repaired as soon as the dry season arrived. The dry season did arrive and nobody came to repair the outside of our apt . We went to an annual meeting and re=iterated our complaint and was told someone would deal with the matter. We returned to the Admin office and was told " we will not repair the wall you should wait until it gets very bad and then claim on your insurance" This answers shows incredible corruption and/or incompetence....ie it has been admitted that it is an outside wall causing the problem so the structural insurance should pay and the structural insurance  is paid for by the money paid to the management company. Also it is not storm damage it is damage caused by lack of investment during building and/or lack of regular maintenance

   We have not gone past the admin office with our complaints...That is why I wrote the original post ie to ascertain who should be contacted if the admin refuse to fix the problem 

 

Ok. I think in most cases the admin office is staffed by the employees of the company hired to manage the property by the juristic entity that owns the property. The property management company may not be motivated to help you.

 

While you have verbally brought this up at a general meeting, I think the next step is to write to the individuals who are the directors of the juristic entity and explain your problem and ask them to intercede with the building management company. Put it in writing and state that you want a written response with a timeframe to correct the problem and ask them to identify the person who will be responsible for carrying it out. 

 

 

 

[freeworld]

Deleted

[Rampant Rabbit]

keep pushing  and  pushing them, dont give up, theyll get bored and do something.

As an aside I had on the 5th floor  water backing up into my sink once, reckon all the other people in the building threw their  cooking oil down the drains blocking or restricting the main  pipe which all floors  feed  into. Office said it wasnt their problem, told em to go to the access  point and rod the main pipe.They did  nowt until we started to push them however I couldnt wait any longer, in the end I rerouted the sink waste into a washing machine wastepipe as  I have the  full plans for  the building and the two arent  linked  and as  such no one can chuck cooking fat into that separate  pipe. Both are grey water so its  no problem . Id rather  sort out problems  myself but as yours is an exterior  wall its THEIR problem, get a  lawyer to send them a letter, kick up a  fuss otherwise theyll just keep smiling away forever and a  day

[PJ71]

14 hours ago, beaufoy said:

Well I will help you in that I suggest you should look for the identity of a regulator.......There has to be some kind of regulation.....As it stands management companies are putting some of the money which is paid for repairs into their own pockets ....if there was no regulation the management companies would put all of the repair money into their pockets

The condo i'm in is run well, there's no doubting that but IMO they could reduce the fees and just have a lower balance on the books.

 

[PJ71]

14 hours ago, Thjames said:

you must know  at the AGM meeting they provide details  if not just ask for last years financials,    a shocking reply from any condo owner!

I went to 1 AGM several years ago, never again, it's just full of jobsworths, found it kinda sad tbh.

[Robert Paulson]

Good luck. These management companies are basically just shakedown artists. You’ll never get what you want. They will just stare at you as you talk with an occasional nod of the head. 

[beaufoy]

15 hours ago, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

 

Ok. I think in most cases the admin office is staffed by the employees of the company hired to manage the property by the juristic entity that owns the property. The property management company may not be motivated to help you.

 

While you have verbally brought this up at a general meeting, I think the next step is to write to the individuals who are the directors of the juristic entity and explain your problem and ask them to intercede with the building management company. Put it in writing and state that you want a written response with a timeframe to correct the problem and ask them to identify the person who will be responsible for carrying it out. 

 

 

 

It is quite a good reply only problem is I have taken said steps and the admin office have ignored my e mails, We lose some information because I do not speak thai and my thai wife does not follow my instructions, and when she receives important information from the office or other residents she fails to pass on said info to me

   this morning she informed me that that someone on the floor above us had the same problem and gave up waiting for the repairs hence paid for the repairs to be done himself

[Bill97]

Need one new condo and one new wife.

20 minutes ago, beaufoy said:

   this morning she informed me that that someone on the floor above us had the same problem and gave up waiting for the repairs hence paid for the repairs to be done himself

So now the water that was going into his unit is now going into yours.

 

Keep going, getting better by the minute 

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

2 minutes ago, beaufoy said:

It is quite a good reply only problem is I have taken said steps and the admin office have ignored my e mails, We lose some information because I do not speak thai and my thai wife does not follow my instructions, and when she receives important information from the office or other residents she fails to pass on said info to me

   this morning she informed me that that someone on the floor above us had the same problem and gave up waiting for the repairs hence paid for the repairs to be done himself

 

At this point, I don't think you will have success dealing with the admin office. It also sounds like your wife is taking the Thai approach of avoiding any confrontation.

 

I think that the solution to your problem lies in dealing with the directors on the board of the juristic entity. Have you met face to face with any of the directors apart from during a general meeting? If not, then see if you can have a meeting with one or more of the directors to explain the problem and ask for resolution. Don't go through the admin office. Contact the directors directly and ask for a meeting. You can escalate to letter writing later if this fails.

 

By the way, what is the extent of the damage to your condo? Is it only soggy wallpaper or is the damage more significant?

 

Do you have insurance on your unit? If so, see about filing a claim. That may indirectly open discussions with the management company and the board about remedying the underlying issue.

 

 

[newnative]

16 hours ago, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

 

Ok. I think in most cases the admin office is staffed by the employees of the company hired to manage the property by the juristic entity that owns the property. The property management company may not be motivated to help you.

 

While you have verbally brought this up at a general meeting, I think the next step is to write to the individuals who are the directors of the juristic entity and explain your problem and ask them to intercede with the building management company. Put it in writing and state that you want a written response with a timeframe to correct the problem and ask them to identify the person who will be responsible for carrying it out. 

 

 

 

Agree.

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

I would also add that at all times in your discussions with the directors of the juristic entity that you remain polite. You want the directors on your side, so don't antagonize them. Give them time to formulate a solution and get back to you, but do set a timeframe for their response.

 

But if verbal discussions and perhaps emails don't result in action on their part, then formal letters addressed to each of the directors by name and sent by registered post to the juristic entity should be considered. You may want to ask a lawyer to draft and write the letter if it does get to this point. But I don't think you're quite at this point yet. 

[john donson]

rent rent rent, never buy, in the land of fake smile and lie

 

 

[Dante99]

On 4/23/2024 at 8:09 AM, beaufoy said:

the stains are cause by lack of insulation from dampness caused by rain.

What exactly is "insulation from dampness"?  Got me wondering and could be confusing the people you are talking with.

On 4/23/2024 at 8:09 AM, beaufoy said:

Of course it is not storm damage problem it is lack of maintenance problem

Exactly what maintenance was not done or needs to be done?  Window sealing?  Roof repairs? Porch issues?

 

 

[Njoku]

Forget the Thai managing company, go through the committee, at least here the committee is 90% farang who keep a handle on repairs, you won't get any sense from the Thai office, they will just keep fobbing you off.....

 

You haven't noticed the Thai homes around you or down the road? once built the house never sees a lick of paint again, mould or pollution dont get washed off fences, the place begins to look like a secondhand junk yard after there been living there a few years...

[johng]

Seeing as the "management" refuse

If you can do the repairs yourself  or hire someone else to do the repairs then do that..its probable that it can be fixed internally  even though the root cause is outside  where the management will not allow access.   sometimes you have to think outside the box  like @Rampant Rabbit  did above.

[beaufoy]

On 4/28/2024 at 10:17 AM, Dante99 said:

What exactly is "insulation from dampness"?  Got me wondering and could be confusing the people you are talking with.

Exactly what maintenance was not done or needs to be done?  Window sealing?  Roof repairs? Porch issues?

 

 

The maintenance / management at the condo told us the insulation from the dampness needs to be done again window ceiling i doubt roof repairs it is 10 floor above so i doubt porch issues there is no porch

did you read the post?? 

[beaufoy]

On 5/7/2024 at 4:19 PM, johng said:

Seeing as the "management" refuse

If you can do the repairs yourself  or hire someone else to do the repairs then do that..its probable that it can be fixed internally  even though the root cause is outside  where the management will not allow access.   sometimes you have to think outside the box  like @Rampant Rabbit  did above.

Other people in the condo have had the same problem and over 2 days there has been a cradle with 2 people adding insulation. This is definitely a catch 22 situation the condo people do not want to do the job ( until it gets very bad) but they do not like other people working on their condo 

[Henryford]

What about the Condo Committee. In my condo the Committe, which i am on, looks at all of these sort of problems. If they feel a repair is required they instruct the "management" to do it. It is not up to the office to refuse.

And in answer to the post by Etaoin the Juristic entity don't own the property. The co-owners do, represented by the Committee. If the JP refused instructions from the Committee we would terminate or not renew their management contract.