Question About A Couple Of Apartments In Bkk

[Vaquero]

I was wondering if any of you might possibly be familiar with either of these two apartments in BKK. They are City Mansion and House by the Pond:

www DOT citymansion DOT com

www DOT housebythepond DOT com

(apparently I cant post URLs for some odd reason, anti-spammer tactic?)

If not the places specifically, could any of you comment on the general area that they are located? Any info at all would be helpful, thanks.

[CelticBhoy]

I lived in House by the Pond a good few years ago.

It was a bit run down then so I hope it has been done up.

Big problem was the mossies due to the 'pond' there.

And the rooms were very dark and dreary.

Cheap enough though - and I liked that my newspaper was

brought to my door each day!

[mauiguy90]

Friend of mine stays at House at the Pond. He loves it! Although it is an older looking place, it is very nice. The furniture has an old English look and the area is nicely landscaped. The rooms are a bit small so its probably best for singles. You have to see it to judge for yourself. The location itself is a bit deep in the soi, however, my friend said its just a 20 baht ride to Sukhumvit.

Edited November 11, 2009 by mauiguy90

[gvallee2]

Housebythepond is run by a nice asian man, who couldnt careless about his business. He lets his fat (***hole) american friend run it.

I recommand everyone to stay away from housebythepond

This fat man is a HUGE racists, he tells you right away. Jews, Arabs, Muslims, Blacks, Browns are not welcome and they are scums.

Second, He likes to overcharge electricity then he threatens you with his 'thai police friend' or his 'thai dangerous gang' friends when you find out he hiked the prices.

Everything is discustingly old, AC's(4 dif rooms) keep crapping out just to be fixed for 5hrs then u wake up at 3am burning up.

Ants ants ants.

They abuse their staff

Maids steal a LOT (from 3 different person + me)

Prices are terrible.

[stolidfeline]

Housebythepond is run by a nice asian man, who couldnt careless about his business. He lets his fat (***hole) american friend run it.

I recommand everyone to stay away from housebythepond

This fat man is a HUGE racists, he tells you right away. Jews, Arabs, Muslims, Blacks, Browns are not welcome and they are scums.

Second, He likes to overcharge electricity then he threatens you with his 'thai police friend' or his 'thai dangerous gang' friends when you find out he hiked the prices.

Everything is discustingly old, AC's(4 dif rooms) keep crapping out just to be fixed for 5hrs then u wake up at 3am burning up.

Ants ants ants.

They abuse their staff

Maids steal a LOT (from 3 different person + me)

Prices are terrible.

I can confirm all of this. The actual location, though in Klong Toey and near to slums, is best accessed by Ratchada, it's quite OK. The road up from there is not bad, some interesting places to eat, etc. There are swarms of mosquitos, hordes of ants, flocks of hookers, all vermin exactly as described - no extra charge. Returnable deposit usually stolen on leaving as is normal for Thailand. Any objections can land you in jail. Access from Soi 22 brings you through the slums. There are a lot of drug addicts and other unpleasant people in that area, and it's very unsafe for foreigners. Although there are several foreigners living up there, some friends have been attacked and knifed in the past. The motorcycle taxi gangs who run that area are very bad lot indeed, some of them are available for some very iffy "contract" work. If they decide you are rich, then you may not get the ride you were expecting.

Re the price, a 60 sq m place a little further out, similar distance to the skytrain - basic old but nice wooden furniture, aircon, small and reasonable markup on water and electricity, with decent owners who will treat you right, can be had for under 6000 baht a month. No satellite TV usually though. If you are staying long term on a budget, this is what you should look for. Sheets/blankets/some curtains and you're settled.

Edited November 11, 2009 by stolidfeline

[Vaquero]

Wow! Thanks you guys. I kinda thought that this might be an obscure place and I wouldnt get much info on it. Thanks again for filling me in.

Anyone know anything about the other place, City Mansion?

[stolidfeline]

City mansion is better. The area is not exactly high class, but at least it's busier and a bit safer. Rooms are nice. Lot of noisy objectionable drunks and hookers at times - it is in the middle of the Nana red light area, surrounded by places catering to african and middle eastern visitors, crawling with drug pushers and prostitutes, pimps, all the usual stuff. On safety, many people are blissfully unaware of how many people get murdered in this area. I have offices nearby - but I personally detest the place. Depends what you're looking for !

Edited November 11, 2009 by stolidfeline

[jalansanitwong]

Regardless of where you want to live remember one thing .The biggest scam in Thailand is thai managers ripping off foreigners on their electricity bill.You will never get a bill from the utility company.Its always a in -house bill. Thais pay 2 baht 25 satang per unit plus tax about 200 baht Thai apartment managers will try and cheat you for up to 7 to 10 baht per unit.They pocket the difference. Big money for them . They will also cheat you on water but water is cheap so it doesnt really matter. But it all adds up for the Thais. They love cheating farangs!!!!

[stolidfeline]

That's true. I would say, however, the biggest, most common scam, is to steal your refundable deposit. Thai or foreigner, the same. A Thai friend who is an accountant once put it like this. Assume rent of only 2000 baht and a deposit of 3 months = 6000 baht. Assume 8 million Thais working here living in rented rooms. Assume they move on average every 4 months, which he thought was a reasonable figure. That's 6000 baht every 4 months = 24,000 baht multiplied by 8 million = 192,000,000,000 baht stolen a year in Bangkok. I asked what about reducing it for those Thais who get their money refunded, and he laughed. Then he reduced it by 1% to keep me happy !

A last word - if you intend to stay here for a while, avoid living in or close to red light areas or slums. Bangkok is a very big place, there are several thousand apartment blocks which are located in nice, mainly Thai areas. They are cheap, safe, and often quite comfortable. You can mix with and make friends with the millions of decent, honest Thais. This is most unlikely in those places, which decent Thais studiously avoid !

Edited November 11, 2009 by stolidfeline

[Vaquero]

Thanks again for all the great info.

Stolid: Could you let em know what some of those areas are that you mention? Im looking for something in the 25-35k per month range.

[mmushr00m]

I have rented 2 places and both times have had my deposit return.

And the increase in utility price isnt a scam, its called a markup. They own the place they can markup whatever they want. After all they are the ones that installed all the dodgy electrics wiring.

PR Place in Pratunam is nice. Busy area though.

[gvallee2]

markups are expected. i was charged OVER the markups.. it turns out their broken A/C (they sent a guy over 31 time to fix it) was costing me money when it was off and i wasnt home for 3days.

Also i have been pointed a gun at twice on soi 22. (from people i had never seen)

stay far away from house by the pond, i hope google picks this up

[bkkdangerous]

A few years ago I stayed at somerset lake point on Suk 16, I was there around 6 weeks. I used the internet and phone in the room, mainly for international calls, sometimes prefixed with 6 and sometimes with 9.

Anyway when it come to check out the presented me with a rather large telephone bill so I decided to go through EVERY call, I quickly noticed the scam. I pointed out the different costs per calls and they told me that was due to the two different companies, I stumped them however when I pointed out I must have been on two calls at the same time. I noticed that a very large portion of the bill had calls that overlapped. As an example I would make a call at 9am and the bill said the call lasted 20 minutes, however when I checked the bill for the other provider that showed me as making a call at 9.05 the same day. When I asked how I can make a call 5 minutes after starting another call that was supposed to last 20 minutes they decided to call the police. Of course I refused to pay it and the manager was called in, the police sat in reception and David Attenborough looked on bemused. I told the manager it was a scam and his actions meant i missed my flight to malaysia, I told him if the bill is correct i will pay but it is obvious the bill is not correct, I wrote an agreement and asked him to sign it that I would only pay the bill if they can prove it is correct. i think he knew he was on a loser here so in the end arranged for a car to the airport for me and agreed to meet any extra costs for missing my flight. of course they never did prove the bill was correct so I never paid any of it.

[stolidfeline]

A lady (Australian, I believe) was recently murdered on Soi 22 walking up to the Scottish bar, past the big hooker plaza, on the left, I forget it's name. The owner will fill you in.

Never use the room phone, best to disconnect it. No hassle from anyone ringing at 3 a.m. to ask if you've seen his wife. Stick to mobiles - prepaid cards.

Re. apartments, the best thing is just to arrive here, book into a hotel for a few days, then go out looking. It's a waste of time looking on the web for stuff because the photos and descriptions don't have any relationship with reality.

Sometimes, motorcycle taxi guys know good places and can easily and quickly take you to see them, and wait for you if you wish, but the difficulty is in getting them to understand that a good place doesn't just mean one with a padlock hasp on the door and a pee-stained mattress in the corner. His idea of an apartment is not the same as ours. Taxi drivers do not have so much local knowledge.

There are some nice places near Pratunam, Pathumwan resort is very nice. Good apartments, security, shops, exercise rooms, hairdresser, playrooms, garden up on the roof, etc. Usually some residents trying to rent their apartments out in your price range. There are usually several on the web for a guide if you google it. There are some other blocks nearby that also look nice but it's a while since I looked and I've forgotten the names.

Out in the Sois along Sukhumvit to the west, around On Nut , the last skytrain station (next to Tescos). Up on Srinakarin Road. There are too many places ... 25,000 should get you a palace. You can rent a nice house for half that much in some areas. Be warned, new places will charge a premium. Many smallish condo blocks are charging up to 70,000 baht for a room as big as a broom closet - the reason being that many prostitutes don't care how much it is because some foreign sucker is paying for it. So avoid such places if you see anyone wearing revealing clothes and tattoos, with a buffalo in tow carrying a large wallet. Follow middle class Thais with cars, and you won't go far wrong, they know the best places. For cheaper places, go further down the sois a couple of km and again look for the middle of the range parked cars (not BMW's or Mercs) and few or no pickups or motorbikes. Some of the apartments will be quite large but older most likely. Stick to the bigger sois for safety reasons at night.

You didn't say if you are familiar with Thailand and its ways. Forgive me if you are, but if not then you need to know this is very much a third world country. In general, most people here will cheat their own grandmothers if they get half a chance. Be careful. Don't trust ANYONE you meet here, especially friendly foreigners and any grinning Thais who are keen to help you. Any females who want to get to know you are likely to be up to no good. Do your research on the forum here is a good idea, don't think what you hear is over the top and must be untrue. Whatever you read, it won't even come close to the reality :-)

Edited November 11, 2009 by stolidfeline

[trogers]

Wonder why you do not look to rent a condo unit instead of an apartment.

[Vaquero]

Wonder why you do not look to rent a condo unit instead of an apartment.

Looking for either one actually, guess I should have stated that specifically.

[trogers]

Try sifting through this sub-section of our forum:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Thailand-Acc...g-Foru-f73.html

[nick2k]

back around 1998-2000, I lived at the house by the pond. and I liked it. they have 3 different buildings. and I lived in all 3. the old complex with the pond had character. the building next to it with the offices was cute. but I liked the new complex in the back the best. it had a pool on the top floor where you could swim and look over the city at the same time.

at the time, I was paying from 9k baht to 12k baht per month depending on the unit.

don't know what it is like now. but evidently, there are some people who don't like it.

I don't live there now because I am comfortable living in a place that rents for 6k baht a month. bangkok is full of them.

[t.s]

back around 1998-2000, I lived at the house by the pond. and I liked it. they have 3 different buildings. and I lived in all 3. the old complex with the pond had character. the building next to it with the offices was cute. but I liked the new complex in the back the best. it had a pool on the top floor where you could swim and look over the city at the same time.

at the time, I was paying from 9k baht to 12k baht per month depending on the unit.

don't know what it is like now. but evidently, there are some people who don't like it.

I don't live there now because I am comfortable living in a place that rents for 6k baht a month. bangkok is full of them.

i had a freind who had 2 "flats" on the roof of house by the pond, surrounded by gardens. it was an unusual living arrangement as you had to move between his sleeping and living areas from outside. he had a huge amount of outdoor living space though. unfortunately they were illegal apartments and had to be removed from the roof.

[leftcross]

25,000 a month is a ridiculous amount to pay in bangkok. only suckers pay that much.

i have a two bedroom apartment (with living room) in bang kho laem just south of sathorn for 9,000 a month. the area is thai working class and everything is very cheap. the locals are also very friendly and wont rip you off as there are very few foreigners here. they are good, decent people. there are all kinds of restuarants nearby, plenty of bars and all the services you need.

i would tell anyone thinking of living in bangkok to stay away from sukhumvit, it's an overpriced cesspit geared towards fools who dont know better. if you like the nightlife then get a taxi there and then go home later. no need to live among the lowlifes.

[RAZZELL]

25,000 a month is a ridiculous amount to pay in bangkok. only suckers pay that much.

Or people who can pay it

RAZZ

[Jimjim]

If I paid 25,000 baht for a 5 bedroom condo with a private pool, would I be a sucker or just smart?

Anyway, electricity markups ARE a scam no matter what anyone says. They have no right to charge more for electricity than it costs. I swear I have read that it's completely illegal to do this. Huge pain in the ass in Thailand, that is. Paying more for electricity in a studio than I would pay in the U.S. because the owner wants to rip people off is nuts (although I know electricity in the U.S. is some of the cheapest in the western world, I believe).

Despite this, I have always had my deposit returned. Always. No problemo with this one and lived in a few different apartments.

[leftcross]

25,000 a month is a ridiculous amount to pay in bangkok. only suckers pay that much.

Or people who can pay it

RAZZ

if you want to be gouged more than everyone else then obviously that's up to you

i suppose if you live in a tourist area then you must be prepared to pay tourist rates for everything as though you had just stepped off the plane that day.

[gvallee2]

25,000 a month is a ridiculous amount to pay in bangkok. only suckers pay that much.

Or people who can pay it

RAZZ

if you want to be gouged more than everyone else then obviously that's up to you

i suppose if you live in a tourist area then you must be prepared to pay tourist rates for everything as though you had just stepped off the plane that day.

Although that is part true, if you cross the 'soi' to the other soi in front. at the end of it theres a white condoish building.

The price are the same as housebythepond but everything: Works, Is brand new, Clean, No ants, Real LCD tv, real internet that actually works, Real pool(and clean), Real tv(cable with 1mil channel) and real security.

[trogers]

Anyway, electricity markups ARE a scam no matter what anyone says. They have no right to charge more for electricity than it costs. I swear I have read that it's completely illegal to do this. Huge pain in the ass in Thailand, that is. Paying more for electricity in a studio than I would pay in the U.S. because the owner wants to rip people off is nuts (although I know electricity in the U.S. is some of the cheapest in the western world, I believe).

That's why I have mentioned renting a condo unit instead of an apartment. You pay the electricity bill directly to MEA, usually at a 7-11 store.

[trogers]

if you want to be gouged more than everyone else then obviously that's up to you

i suppose if you live in a tourist area then you must be prepared to pay tourist rates for everything as though you had just stepped off the plane that day.

I wonder whether we should call those foreigners with a tourist visa, tourists...

They are the ones most likely to change accommodation every few months, thus, find apartments a suitable lodging place.