Problems With Renting Your Condos

[David H]

I am a first time poster here so I will do my best to explain my circumstances. I purchase three condos about two years ago. One for me and the wife and two for rental. Well it has not been easy. The problem that I am having now is with Fairproperties, they stopped putting the rental money into my Kasikorn bank account they owe me currently 54,000 baht and they told me that they don't have the money to pay me. So I had a close friend of mine go to get the keys and to close my account with them. I have been robbed by them, and I wwant to know if anyone else is having the same problem. They still have somone in one of my condos now! Instead of having him pay me or my friend directly they said that they will move him to another condo instead of him paying me directly. What kind of shit is that!

[David H]

I am a first time poster here so I will do my best to explain my circumstances. I purchase three condos about two years ago. One for me and the wife and two for rental. Well it has not been easy. The problem that I am having now is with Fairproperties, they stopped putting the rental money into my Kasikorn bank account they owe me currently 54,000 baht and they told me that they don't have the money to pay me. So I had a close friend of mine go to get the keys and to close my account with them. I have been robbed by them, and I wwant to know if anyone else is having the same problem. They still have somone in one of my condos now! Instead of having him pay me or my friend directly they said that they will move him to another condo instead of him paying me directly. What kind of shit is that!

I just wanted to add that I would like to hear from others that are using Fairproperties to rent their condos. I want to hear if they are having similar problems. I want ideas on what we can do to get money back that is owed to us. I also would like to warn them of the improper business practices of Fairproperties.

[thaimate]

i know their prices are always very high,i steer clear of them

[dave9988]

what would a Thai do in this situation? have someone else collect for them?

[patklang]

Go to the condo,show that you own property and evict them unless fairproperties give you the owed money.Do this with a police man.

[Tyke]

Go to the condo,show that you own property and evict them unless fairproperties give you the owed money.Do this with a police man.

Where would you find a cop willing to get off his arse?

If you involve any third parties make sure you have been declaring tax liabilities to the tax office on the rental income - may not be a problem, though. Also remember if you evict someone they may not like it, and may not like your interior decoration even more. Not that any of this should make a difference to your decision.

Why have your agents no money to pay you? What happened to the rent your punters gave them - where has it gone? There are also some new consumer laws to make it easier for consumers to get recompense from suppliers. If Fairproperties is a supplier and you the consumer then you may have a simple easy case.

[JetsetBkk]

what would a Thai do in this situation? ...

[mrukman]

Thaivisa is now a big player in thailand so I am sure Fairport properties are also aware of thaivisa ask them to contact to them on your behalf and let them know that they f/field will never have a farrang customer and the publicity they will recieve if they don't stump up your cash will certainly not do them any favours if they try and advertise on any site's.

[MAC10]

Ouch! Your lucky its only 54,000, could be much worse. One poster was correct in they may be smart enough to see a dismal future if they do not pay up and you post negative information about them in return. There is also the possibility they are in big trouble and desperate or they would have payed you as a responsible manager would.

A bigger question, Is this a isolated incidence? Is this the beginning of of big trouble in the condo markets as many on this forum have predicted?

While construction has been busy for the last couple years and I still see workers pouring concrete today, many of these property companies are heavily in debt and without the world economic crises had a questionable future. I suspect this thread will end up moved to the Property Forum so if it disappears go look over there, this will be most interesting to keep up with and see what happens.

[trogers]

These is a lesson here.

Never pass money through a third party, unless it is a licensed bank.

Why did you not rent out your condos like normal people like us? We engage property agents to secure a tenant, and sign a direct contract with the tenant, and money is paid directly to us.

You asked on the problem of outstanding rent. Was the security deposit (usually 2 months' rent) paid to you, or is this money also with Fairproperties?

Edited February 28, 2009 by trogers

[DONEWITHIT]

When looking at properties in Pattaya,or anywhere for that matter,they're always high.If looking at other websites advertising rental properties(especially houses for rent)fair properties website is much lower.I've been looking at websites in Bangkok,Issan and Pattaya and from what I see fair properties has one of the better websites(I have no affiliation with them) and they respond to questions quickly,have offered to pick me up when I come and show me properties I'm interested in.That being said one thing they're terrible at is not taking properties off their site that have been rented or sold.In fact all Thai sites are bad at that.Has anyone noticed that there are studio condos flooding the rental market everywhere for 5,000-10,000 Baht,not just on craigslist but many websites(http://en.9apartment.com/?Apartments_in_Ba...luizcr0sssx2aqr )this just being 1 example.Also I've been noticing 1&2 bedroom condos coming down in price.Anyone following rentals and sales in these areas will notice the higher priced condos and homes keep getting posted over and over again,why?because they're way overpriced and no-ones buying--they're just not moving.The baht's beginning to weaken,people aren't able to travel as much.It is starting to affect Thailand just like everywhere.Does anyone think technology will slow down or stop for anyone or thing?In Denver,where I live our 150 year old newspaper just went belly up.People ,young people,just don't read newspapers anymore(this is happening everywhere and look for many newspapers to fold) with the technology that's available.All the college educated journalist at the paper have lost work,along with the remaining employees,the kitchen staff,the guards,the paperboys,the millworkers,the loggers,on and on.It's not going to stop(anyone seen terminator?)--while it may not ever be a war against machines,machines and technology are making workers unemployed.My Thai wife said,"why don't they just get rid of the computers?"Oh,the rich boss wants to pay 10-20 workers what one computer or machine can do.He wants to pay health benefits,retirement pensions,vacation pay,sick leave,unemployment insurance,bonuses,raises,breaks,training,per diem,moving expenses,on and on.It'll never happen,the rich get richer.You can't stop the future and technology is evolving so fast it outdates itself monthly if not sooner.Anyone who thinks not only has to look at the last few years and on websites promoting what is coming.This is the beginning of a depression,the greatest depression, that is never going to end,how can it when it is humans vs machines.Who will stop it?those in power?we have thousands worldwide entering the workforce daily.We have thousands losing their jobs daily.What's the plan?All of a sudden jobs will be plentiful?Without jobs who'll travel?The wealthy?Will they be renting studio condos?Prices everywhere will be dropping it's just a matter of time and how far.Crime everywhere will be rising,people have to do what they have to do to survive.It may not be this year or next but who'll stop technology from making matters worse worldwide.Read and listen to what's happening it doesn't take a college grad to understand what's coming.Who'll be effected first?Well we're seeing it--the industrialised countries.I volunteered at a church last week to feed the homeless,we ran out of food--completely.Families,like the families in your neighborhood were there.They didn't want to be there,you could tell by watching them but people are having major,major problems.Sorry to go off but prices on alot of things are coming down because it's getting back to the basics--FOOD,CLOTHING AND SHELTER.

[0Mix1up]

another sky/falling post^^^

and no paragraphs to boot!!!

[rixalex]

These is a lesson here.

Never pass money through a third party, unless it is a licensed bank.

Why did you not rent out your condos like normal people like us? We engage property agents to secure a tenant, and sign a direct contract with the tenant, and money is paid directly to us.

This is what i do, although i must admit i get quite tired of having to chase my tenants every month. Getting all the excuses, delaying tactics, avoiding answering the phone when i call them... it's really a drag. Would be happy to pass this responsibility over to a third party, although obviously not if they are going to screw me as per the OPs experience.

To the OP if i were you i would go their offices and refuse to leave until you started getting some answers. Unless they are on the brink of folding, they can't possibly say they don't have the money or intention to pay you and leave it at that. Not even the shodiest of businesses could operate that way.

[kaxper]

who has the two month deposit ?

[samuibeachcomber]

who has the two month deposit ?

good question,presumably the management co.it could be a case of the tenant has not paid the rent to them and they've been slack in chasing it up.

If it was me i'd be down to their office quick smart and from what their response is i would make a decision.

If a landlord collects direct you save some money and are able to keep an eye on the property but would face the same problem as the management co. in trying to collect the rent.have had mates who collect direct and of course even farang try the sam scam re not paying.

[torrenova]

who has the two month deposit ?

It is my experience that the 2 month deposit is taken in addition to a month's rent in advance. The agent's commission is taken from this amount and the landlord may receive the remainder. Certainly this is standard with small companies. Now FP are much bigger but if they haven't got the money then the answer is that they have spent it, the landlord is unable to return it or the tenant has not paid the rent.

[David H]

who has the two month deposit ?

Fairproperties has all the money from the tenant. They list the property and receive a deposit from the person who wants to rent your condo. When the customer comes to pattaya they take him or her to the room and hand over the keys. Money from the rental is supposed to be deposited in my thai bank account. I am in th u.s. so I check my account balance once a week. I have not received payment for the month of January yet, and the owe me for February as well. They told my wifes family that lives in thailand (I had them call to find out what the proplem was) that they did not have sufficient funds to pay me. The tenants have paid Fairproperties all the money they were supposed to. Fairproperties is entitled to 10%, so upon receiving money from a tenant they shoud put 10% in their account and the other 90% into my account. Evidently they put all the money in their account to pay their other bills and expense, wich are not my problem its theirs. They have until this Tuesday to pay up or I will have to get lawyers on the matter. This sucks, I'm an honest person just tying to survive in these hard times. I am unemployed because of all thats going on across the globe. So I really need my money. Thank you, to all of you that are listening and contributing ideas and your thoughts. I really felt that if they can do this to me I should warn others. I know that in the office of Fairpoperties there were others complaining and very mad, asking why they were not paid also. I was hoping some of them were on this forum, so i could speak with them. Maybe, get together if we need to file a class action lawsuit. I'm just trying to get MY money back. They have nothing without our condos, for there livelyhood.

[samuibeachcomber]

one problem you have of course is that your not in thailand,but it sounds from your reply the management co. are in difficulties.

the problem with thailand is that unlike back in our home countries,we dont have a good legal system to back wrong doing.

[David H]

one problem you have of course is that your not in thailand,but it sounds from your reply the management co. are in difficulties.

the problem with thailand is that unlike back in our home countries,we dont have a good legal system to back wrong doing.

Yes that is part of the problem, less law and who will enforce what law there is, The boys in brown? they are not trustworthy either.

[trogers]

When looking at properties in Pattaya,or anywhere for that matter,they're always high.If looking at other websites advertising rental properties(especially houses for rent)fair properties website is much lower.I've been looking at websites in Bangkok,Issan and Pattaya and from what I see fair properties has one of the better websites(I have no affiliation with them) and they respond to questions quickly,have offered to pick me up when I come and show me properties I'm interested in.

This statement reminds me of a similar incident in 1999. Many finance companies were advertising interest rates for deposits above 20% per annum while banks were giving less then 7%. Came 2000 and the Tom Yum Kung crisis, 56 out of 58 of these finance companies were closed.

Edited February 28, 2009 by trogers

[samuibeachcomber]

one problem you have of course is that your not in thailand,but it sounds from your reply the management co. are in difficulties.

the problem with thailand is that unlike back in our home countries,we dont have a good legal system to back wrong doing.

Yes that is part of the problem, less law and who will enforce what law there is, The boys in brown? they are not trustworthy either.

I think you need someone here to sort it out for you if you cant come here yourself.take the property out of their hands and asign it to someone else.

[David H]

one problem you have of course is that your not in thailand,but it sounds from your reply the management co. are in difficulties.

the problem with thailand is that unlike back in our home countries,we dont have a good legal system to back wrong doing.

Yes that is part of the problem, less law and who will enforce what law there is, The boys in brown? they are not trustworthy either.

I think you need someone here to sort it out for you if you cant come here yourself.take the property out of their hands and asign it to someone else.

Samui, yes I have done that, one is out of their hands the other will be or should be on 3-7-09. There is a tenant that is going to move on that date, if all go well.

[samuibeachcomber]

one problem you have of course is that your not in thailand,but it sounds from your reply the management co. are in difficulties.

the problem with thailand is that unlike back in our home countries,we dont have a good legal system to back wrong doing.

Yes that is part of the problem, less law and who will enforce what law there is, The boys in brown? they are not trustworthy either.

I think you need someone here to sort it out for you if you cant come here yourself.take the property out of their hands and asign it to someone else.

Samui, yes I have done that, one is out of their hands the other will be or should be on 3-7-09. There is a tenant that is going to move on that date, if all go well.

good to hear although you may have to write the 54000 baht off,as it may cost more to recover it,good luck anyway.

[bkkflyer]

Why dont you (or anyone) send off an e-mail to Fair Properties, linking this post.

Any business owner with a brain larger than a pea would take this quite serious and answer at least the OP.... A bad reputation spreads fast....

If they dont answer OP and/or directly here on Thaivisa, they are most probably going out of business soon.....

[midas]

Despite being ridiculed for posting anything which suggests buying and owning property

in Thailand is too risky, your story is a perfect example unfortunately of why sooner or later you'll be

taken for a ride in this country.

In Australia where I come from, any money paid to an agent this way is called trust money

and must be deposited into a trust account. The penalties for infringing this requirement in the smallest

possible way will lead to the real estate agent losing his/her license and could even

result in a jail term.

In an environment in which real estate developers want your money to build condominium development's

and to fulfill their own entrepreneurial goals again with no protection to the consumer, may be one day

people will realize just how uneven the playing field is in Thailand and you are much better off

investing your hard earned money in real estate in your own country.

Edited March 1, 2009 by midas

[henryalleman]

When looking at properties in Pattaya,or anywhere for that matter,they're always high.If looking at other websites advertising rental properties(especially houses for rent)fair properties website is much lower.I've been looking at websites in Bangkok,Issan and Pattaya and from what I see fair properties has one of the better websites(I have no affiliation with them) and they respond to questions quickly,have offered to pick me up when I come and show me properties I'm interested in.That being said one thing they're terrible at is not taking properties off their site that have been rented or sold.In fact all Thai sites are bad at that.Has anyone noticed that there are studio condos flooding the rental market everywhere for 5,000-10,000 Baht,not just on craigslist but many websites(http://en.9apartment.com/?Apartments_in_Ba...luizcr0sssx2aqr )this just being 1 example.Also I've been noticing 1&2 bedroom condos coming down in price.Anyone following rentals and sales in these areas will notice the higher priced condos and homes keep getting posted over and over again,why?because they're way overpriced and no-ones buying--they're just not moving.The baht's beginning to weaken,people aren't able to travel as much.It is starting to affect Thailand just like everywhere.Does anyone think technology will slow down or stop for anyone or thing?In Denver,where I live our 150 year old newspaper just went belly up.People ,young people,just don't read newspapers anymore(this is happening everywhere and look for many newspapers to fold) with the technology that's available.All the college educated journalist at the paper have lost work,along with the remaining employees,the kitchen staff,the guards,the paperboys,the millworkers,the loggers,on and on.It's not going to stop(anyone seen terminator?)--while it may not ever be a war against machines,machines and technology are making workers unemployed.My Thai wife said,"why don't they just get rid of the computers?"Oh,the rich boss wants to pay 10-20 workers what one computer or machine can do.He wants to pay health benefits,retirement pensions,vacation pay,sick leave,unemployment insurance,bonuses,raises,breaks,training,per diem,moving expenses,on and on.It'll never happen,the rich get richer.You can't stop the future and technology is evolving so fast it outdates itself monthly if not sooner.Anyone who thinks not only has to look at the last few years and on websites promoting what is coming.This is the beginning of a depression,the greatest depression, that is never going to end,how can it when it is humans vs machines.Who will stop it?those in power?we have thousands worldwide entering the workforce daily.We have thousands losing their jobs daily.What's the plan?All of a sudden jobs will be plentiful?Without jobs who'll travel?The wealthy?Will they be renting studio condos?Prices everywhere will be dropping it's just a matter of time and how far.Crime everywhere will be rising,people have to do what they have to do to survive.It may not be this year or next but who'll stop technology from making matters worse worldwide.Read and listen to what's happening it doesn't take a college grad to understand what's coming.Who'll be effected first?Well we're seeing it--the industrialised countries.I volunteered at a church last week to feed the homeless,we ran out of food--completely.Families,like the families in your neighborhood were there.They didn't want to be there,you could tell by watching them but people are having major,major problems.Sorry to go off but prices on alot of things are coming down because it's getting back to the basics--FOOD,CLOTHING AND SHELTER.

Its already the second time you post a comment like this. Its undoubtedly very interresting, but you give me a headache not pharagraphe it. So I stop reading after the second line.

And I have the feeling that I'm not allone to think like that.

[bojo]

I am a first time poster here so I will do my best to explain my circumstances. I purchase three condos about two years ago. One for me and the wife and two for rental. Well it has not been easy. The problem that I am having now is with Fairproperties, they stopped putting the rental money into my Kasikorn bank account they owe me currently 54,000 baht and they told me that they don't have the money to pay me. So I had a close friend of mine go to get the keys and to close my account with them. I have been robbed by them, and I wwant to know if anyone else is having the same problem. They still have somone in one of my condos now! Instead of having him pay me or my friend directly they said that they will move him to another condo instead of him paying me directly. What kind of shit is that!

If the owner of the agency is foreign, take a policeman with you to the office and give him 20% say of all money recovered and get him to help you kick the tenants out or then collect directly every month from them.

If the owners are Thai, take a lawyer with you to the office and cancel any contract you have with the agency, negotiate the removal of tenant or agree to collect cash from the tenant as they have probably been paying the agency in good faith.

Worst way, wipe your mouth, you've only lost the 54K, a fee for the lawyer and you get the condo(s) back.

Many have lost alot more, call it a small lesson.

Good luck

Bojo

[donx]

Its already the second time you post a comment like this. Its undoubtedly very interresting, but you give me a headache not pharagraphe it. So I stop reading after the second line.

And I have the feeling that I'm not allone to think like that.

You are absolutely correct. It is the only post on this thread that I didn't read all the way through. It may or may not have some useful information, but I just don't have the desire to wade through such a poorly written post.

[bkkjames]

Its already the second time you post a comment like this. Its undoubtedly very interresting, but you give me a headache not pharagraphe it. So I stop reading after the second line.

And I have the feeling that I'm not allone to think like that.

You are absolutely correct. It is the only post on this thread that I didn't read all the way through. It may or may not have some useful information, but I just don't have the desire to wade through such a poorly written post.

agreed, can some poor bastard who actually read the post do us a favor and bullet point anything of use.

[David H]

Despite being ridiculed for posting anything which suggests buying and owning property

in Thailand is too risky, your story is a perfect example unfortunately of why sooner or later you'll be

taken for a ride in this country.

In Australia where I come from, any money paid to an agent this way is called trust money

and must be deposited into a trust account. The penalties for infringing this requirement in the smallest

possible way will lead to the real estate agent losing his/her license and could even

result in a jail term.

In an environment in which real estate developers want your money to build condominium development's

and to fulfill their own entrepreneurial goals again with no protection to the consumer, may be one day

people will realize just how uneven the playing field is in Thailand and you are much better off

investing your hard earned money in real estate in your own country.

Well I said that I would report back on this forum as to wether (UN) Fairproperties would stand by their statement that they are not trying to steal my money from the rentals of two of my condos, and that all money owed to me would be in my account by 3-3-09. Well I am here to say that they have NOT paid me my money. To anyone and every one I am warning you DO NOT USE FAIRPROPERTIES FOR ANY OF YOUR NEEDS. i HAVE LOST 60,000 BAHT. i HAVE HAD TO LITTERALLY BEG FOR MY OWN MONEY. fOR THE MONTHS THAT I HAVE USED THEM. TAKE HEED MY FRIENDS