Never Trust A Real Estate Agent! (At Least Not This One!)

[rjhklein]

If you are tempted to rent a condo out in Hua Hin, or for that matter.. anywhere in Thailand, DO NOT choose this company They promised a lot and delivered even worse than nothing.

The guy who took care of us was really nice. His name is. He promised a check-in/check-out + cleaning services and loads of rosy stories about how he places great importance on owner's wishes; how he kicks one tenant out because the guy made so much mess; how he takes great care of the condo as if it's his own; and so on. Well, we fell for it.

The only request we had was that we 'prefer' not to have single party guys since they tend to be slightly more careless with the room. He promised that as well. A month later, he brought in a guest and guaranteed that the man was totally no party guy; was very neat; and he had known him for so many years. And even if the guy made a mess, he would certainly clean the room up to make it pristine again. "Don't worry. I take care of your room as if it's mine." Sucker as we were, we fell for it.

Check out day comes. The man was nowhere to be found. We called and called to see if the guest had checked out. Absolutely no feedback, until we changed the number and called him with our other phone. 2 rings and he picked up! "Oh.... I'm in BKK now. Don't worry. The man is very neat. There won't be any problem. I'll arrange for cleaning tomorrow". Guess what, we fell for it again.

Two weeks after, we found time to drive down and see the condo.

IT WAS A MESS. Blinds were literally broken and torn apart. Bedsheets & blankets were extremely dirty and lied crumple on the floor. Slimy egg stain (at least that's what we're trying to think it was) were everywhere, even in the kitchen drawer! Sugars, salts, and god-knows-what other white substance spilled all over the countertop, and worst of all... our hand-woven cotton blanket was missing! (Later on, we were informed by the management that the guest partied all night in the room, with many different bar girls on almost daily basis.)

We called him again to clear this up. After several attempts and a few numbers tried, he picked up and just denied it flatly. "I can't possibly know what the guest will do to/in your room. Tough luck, but it's not my responsibility." Then when we got angry and pushed on, he just simply said the conversation was over and turned the phone off. <deleted>!

I actually didn't mind cleaning the room up or fixing the blinds ourselves. It's the deception and total lack of accountability that frustrates me. I believe there's a reason we all want an agent/middleman. These people are bound to give us the service we hire them for, not just taking more than 10% cut then take no responsibility and chuck it up in our faces.

So, just to save you all from our sucker experience. If you want to rent your place out, DO NOT trust this company or this guy. He simply will screw you over.

BTW, does anyone know a good rental agency in Hua Hin? We are shopping around again...

Rob

Edited January 8, 2011 by Rimmer
Company and personal names removed

[trogers]

Sorry! You did not use a real estate agent. You used a middle man and entrusted the keys to him.

I always makes the final decision as to whether to lease the property out only after meeting with the prospective tenant. I will communicate with the prospective tenant thereafter, send him the draft lease agreement, and if all is in order, collect the security deposit and advance rent with receipts on the day the agreement is signed.

The estate agent signed as witness. The agent will then be paid his commission, returning me back a written receipt.

[asiawatcher]

Welcome to the rental market here and internationally. You are best advertising the property yourself and rent to families and be there both in and out or get a condo in BKK that you can control. Your investment will rapidly decline if you don't. Even holiday rentals down there usually through companies is 4 days for you and 3 for me. They pocket a few overnighters as well. I got out of HH for that reason.

[Doc50]

Welcome to the rental market here and internationally. You are best advertising the property yourself and rent to families and be there both in and out or get a condo in BKK that you can control. Your investment will rapidly decline if you don't. Even holiday rentals down there usually through companies is 4 days for you and 3 for me. They pocket a few overnighters as well. I got out of HH for that reason.

Real Estate agents are unlicensed in Thailand.

You have to be very careful, there is no recourse if you pick a bad one.

Many people advertise units themselves.

[stander]

You will not easily find a good, trustworthy real estate agent in Hua Hin, in general real estate agents have a poor service reputation here and I would imagine the ones which also act as rental agents are the worst of the bunch.

If you or your girl friend can speak Thai then I recommend you go for a local.

[rjhklein]

Dear All.

Thank you for all your replies. I am currently handling it myself and got a solid contract format from my previous condos in Singapore covering everything.

The other thing I would like to mention is that Thaivia has removed the name of the agent in the piece that was written. I still feel I want to mentioned it because these shit Farangs mess it up for the good Farangs. Most of the well educated Thais are looking down on the Farangs here because of those silly actions of those losers.

I want to make sure that the good Farangs who do put a little effort in learning the language and other activities to adapt to the local culture also get a little respect, so if somebody can recommend a forum or organization that does not want to protect the rotten apples then I hope you be so kind to let me know.

Rumble

[Crossy]

The other thing I would like to mention is that Thaivia has removed the name of the agent in the piece that was written. I still feel I want to mentioned it because these shit Farangs mess it up for the good Farangs. Most of the well educated Thais are looking down on the Farangs here because of those silly actions of those losers.

We fully understand your feelings and that you want to ensure that others are warned.

BUT

Please do NOT mention the name on the forum, Thailand has draconian defamation laws and for this reason we do not permit name-and-shame threads in order to protect both Thaivisa and our members from potential legal issues.

Also, I suggest you read the rules regarding the discussion of moderation on the open forum.

[stander]

The OP has sent me a PM with the details and I believe this individual is a major scammer, so I would advise anyone considering doing any sort of business in HH to contact the OP.

Over the last 10 years or so Hua Hin has seen the influx of wide boys, crooks and even gangsters and unfortunately in most cases the Thai community see these scams as being victimless crimes, as it is farang on farang.