Apartment Rental Problems

[SCARLETIBIS1]

I recently moved in to a new apartment and am having nothing but problems with no resolutions from management. When I first moved in I was told there were only two units left. Later I found out that this was a blatant lie when I started checking the electric meters. Management apparently is shepharding renters to certain floors and lying about how filled up they are.

My initial problems were that:

a) the room was not cleaned as agreed so I had to clean it.

the internet did not work which is typical throughout Thailand I understand. But in this case I paid for LAN and it did not work properly for 18 straight days. Every day I complained to the management in the building and they refused to do anything. One nite a Thai came down and started to complain as well. They had told me that I was the only one complaining. Finally, they got the cable company out and they measured the signal to the building and told me and management that it was the system in the building that sucked.

Keep in mind the first question I asked before I signed the lease was how good is the internet? I was told it was great. Just another typical Thai lie.

They finally contacted the company that installed the system and someone came out three days later after having not shown up for three earlier appointments which wasted my time for three days. He spent all day fixing the problem. After he left it worked quite well for one day and since then it still works but goes out constantly and the download speed is anywhere from 1kb (believe it or not) to 25kb/sec.

I had to make a scene at the front desk with the manager to get her to contact these people. The question I have of course is why did I have to lose my temper and embarass the manager in front of other Thais in order to get her to simply contact the internet company to come out?

On a more serious note I have sewer gas coming up thru the drains in the bathroom. There is no venting anywhere. I have complained every day for over a month. It smells like s... in there. The office sent someone out once and they flushed some system outside and it was okay for one day but now they just act like they don't understand me. They say I am the only one complaining. I actually asked the manager to take a shower with me ( a joke) so she could enjoy the smell. She of course just laughed.

The question I have for all those Thais out there on this site that bitch about us farongs who complain is, "how the f... do I get these morons and crooks to fix my problem?' Because that is what they are and nothing less. These people take your money and complain about minutia but when you have a problem they disappear. I have been to the hospital twice for congestion. I don't have a problem with uneducated Thais that don't know any better but the guy who owns this building owns two others. One would think he knows or should know what he is doing in construction by now.

Another idiotic thing they did was paint lines for the motorbikes which you have to keep within the lines or a security guard moves your bike for you. The only problem is the bikes are all a foot wider than the lines they painted. So all the bikes get scratched and dinged up. I mean how many brain cells does it take to think about what the proper width should be before you paint the lines???

This is how I obtained my first burn on my leg. I could not get my leg out of the way after I parked my bike and brushed against the muffler. If anyone wants to notice almost anyone who has a motorbike has several burn marks. It is really terrible to see on the girls. Why, because these idiots either choose to or have to park their bikes on top of each other.

Does anyone know if there are any building code requirements in Thailand or do they just pay someone off to get the buildings up?

And, oh by the way when it rains the water pours in thru the venting in the stairways and the water travels down the stairs and sits in a big puddle in front of my room.

Is this what you people call Thai hospitality? There is no way in hel_l this crap would go on in a civilized country. But seriously, what are my options??? Thanks. And I would mention the building but I still live here for now as I cannot move for 3 months according to my contract or I lose my deposit.

I will mention two other apartment buildings that I would not recommend either. One is a luxury apt calleld the Dome on Huey Keow rd which has no screens in the rooms thus inviting all the mosquitos with Dengue fever to visit and the other is a somwhat newer building down the block from them called Chiangmai Lodge. This place has absolutely no one who speaks English well enough to understand your problems. They have incredibly poor internet service, sewer problems as well and the doors are so thin that they are almost all warped and the walls are so thin that when someone closes their door the whole building shakes.

In addition, there is a karoke bar on the west side of the building which is quite noisy until around 1 or 2 am and then the employees out there are talking it up until 5 am. It is incredibly noisy there.

In addition, they do not have enough parking and most of the motorcycles have to park unprotected from the rain last time I lived there. Management again generally does not care about your problems in my experience. Oh,l almost forgot. They have one 14 watt bulb in the ceiling for you. Barely enough light to see anything at nite and forget trying to read anything. Plus they have no electrical outlets next to either side of your bed. This place is a nightmare.

Service in Thailand seems to be non-existent to me. I really don't mind paying for service but so far I pay but don't get it.

I know that I am probably just blowing wind up my a.. with the post but it feels better to do it. LOL I wondered for three years why people on Thai visa bother to waste their energy with negetive posts but now I understand. It gets to you. The sad part is the uneducated and poor Thais seem to be the nicest. It's the government bureaucrats and wealthy that stick it to the farongs as well as their own people.

I'm not going to even bother with the police corruption ref the helmut stickups done by the cops. That is just a joke beyond belief. Yesterday, I stopped at a light next to a cop and I had no helmut on and asked him for directions. No problem. Earlier I saw a cop on a motorbike with his little kid driving home. The kid had no helmut on. Hypocrisy here seems to be the norm.

Edited July 16, 2009 by SCARLETIBIS1

[slapout]

I gather you are not going for the record of longevity as a resident of CM?

[Chunkton]

Sounds like you hunted down a cheapie and got exactly what you paid for. Next time pay a bit more to rent in a decent building.

[cmjantje]

Ziss iss Thailand Man,

Ease up, stay calm and smile...

And if that does not work, take your loss and move to another place, preferably a normal house which you can rent for the same price, but then... you have to take care of everything yourself... which is not So difficult.

Happy stay!

[ericthai]

Dude,

if you are that unhappy, then move.. most likely you are not going to get your deposit back anyway, even if you are how much is it 1000 baht? Cant be much for the way it sounds like you are staying at cheap place.

I was surprised you didn't complain about all the rain we get or how hot it is.. cool off man.

[NancyL]

It's interesting that the OP specifically mentioned The Dome and Chiang Mai Lodge in his post, but not his current building, which sounds like the worst one of the lot.

Yes, all this is frustrating and I hope the OP felt better after typing his posting. He's getting good advice here. It's time to move again.

[ThaiPauly]

^Agreed.

The OP should tell us the name of the Condo, otherwise it serves as no warning for others.

BTW...if it was me I would move, stuff the deposit, quality of life is far more important than money

[elektrified]

I'd watch out if I were you! The next time you lose your temper and embarrass a Thai in front of other Thais (thus causing them to lose face), could be your last.

Pay more money and live in a better quality building. You get what you pay for...

Edited July 17, 2009 by elektrified

[NancyL]

Before he moves again, the OP should check out the new location with other residents and perhaps on this forum. We didn't take the building management's word about internet connection when deciding on our current location. We talked with other computer-savvy residents. Other issues, like covered parking are easier to check with an initial visit, but the internet isn't and can be a very frustrating problem.