Furniture Appraisal

[cneuy3]

Hello,

I'm in a nightmarish situation with my Thai landlord. Without getting into details could someone please recommend multiple experts in Furniture Appraisal along with their contact information and/or rates?

Pictures of disputed items are attached:

couch - no label. Suede couch, 2 years old. Dimensions were saved on my girlfriend's phone, I'll provide them later. Hopefully you can get an estimate of the size from the picture.

bed frame - Theraflex Sleeping solution on the label. I googled this brand name but was unable to find the appropriate model.

Thanks.

[cneuy3]

more pictures

[cneuy3]

Sorry, I cannot figure out why it is only showing one thumbnail. Here is a picture of the couch.

Thanks.

Edited December 27, 2012 by cneuy3

[Rancid]

Just to start the ball rolling never heard of such a thing here, although no doubt a few baht would see someone step up for you. The couch doesn't look suede in the photo, if material together coudn't have cost more than 20K.

[Greenside]

Pop over to Home Pro Hangdong branch (at Big C), Index or Koncept furniture (numerous branches) with your pictures - you'll get a good idea from that. You could ask him to produce the receipts if there's a dispute about damage.

[barefoot1988]

theraflex mattress is retailed at index. i am using one. suspect thats not a theraflex frame but index frame coupled with theraflex bed. you might check out at index but its been awhile since i been there so my info might be dated

cant stop being curious and nosy though, the furnitures look fine without damages, whats the dispute? if its damaged maybe a repairman?

[cneuy3]

Thanks. I've looked in magazines from Index and Koncept and comparable couches seem to fall within the 30,000 to 50,000 baht range. The bed frame is probably 10,000 baht at most. The owner of my house is already holding a 54,000 baht bond as guarantee, of which I paid before moving into the house.

Yesterday I was totally caught off guard when upon her inspection of the house she brought two police officers and is basically trying to extort me out of more money. She told my girlfriend that she doesn't know the exact cost of the couch but that she thought she remembered paying 100,000+ baht for it. LoL!!!

As for the bed frame, there is the smallest of scratches in the corner of the frame.

I was asked to replace both items with similar models within 15% to 20% of the original item's value. As far as I can tell the bond should cover the total cost. That's why I need to get a professional to appraise the value of this furniture.

Also, recommendations about repairing these items, I'm also into hearing about my options there. Thanks.

[cmsally]

I have a sofa pretty much identical . 17,000 BT new about 3 years ago at Koncept.

Whats the problem with the sofa? Actually mine not suede, but that doesn't look suede either.

You can find similar looking faux suede at shops in HomePro "foyer" Hang Dong branch

Edited December 27, 2012 by cmsally

[cneuy3]

^^^above picture shows the only damage on the frame. The couch has some discoloration.

[onthedarkside]

I would say the sofa cost 19,900 baht max. I have one very similar, plus a coffee table almost the same.

[worgeordie]

Hi Cneuy3, So how long have you rented the property ?, The problem

with Thai landlords is they expect the fittings to be in as good or not

better condition than when they rented them out,

Couple of examples, My daughter was renting a room outside MFU

university in Chiang Rai, she rented the room for 3 years,when we

went to collect her and her goods, the landlord tried to charge us

Bht 500 for every bit of cellotape that was on the walls,and a Bht

1000 bht to clean the room, My wife went ballistic with the landlord,

who of cause threatened to bring the police, bring them the wife

said, in the end the landlord backed down,the tape was already

on the wall, and we left the room cleaner than when she moved in.

I have a friend who was renting a condo in Pattaya, on the patio

was a couple of crap chairs and a table, which he disposed of

and spent i think it was 30k on top of the line patio furniture,

when his lease was up after a year,the landlord came to inspect

the condo,my friend explained that he had gotten rid of the crap

chairs and was leaving this new furniture, No the landlord wanted the

old stuff back it was imported from Italy worth 100k ,so everyone

must be aware when renting in Thailand,take photos when you move

in, go over everything with the landlord and write it down

Maybe the best one I know is a guy rented a house for 1 year,and

the landlord ,painted the whole house inside/out, redone the floors

and took it out of his security deposit. You are been scammed and not much you can do about it. regards Worgeordie

[onthedarkside]

I find this sort of behaviour by your landlord/landlady astonishing. No wonder farangs have such a poor opinion of Thai people. My wife (and myself) have been renting apartments for more than a decade. We just accept fair wear and tear as part of the contract. There has to be really obvious damage for us to claim any part of the deposit when a tenant leaves. Just this month we bought 2 new sofas when long stay tenants complained that the springs were sagging. The mind set of some owners is just astonishing

[elektrified]

I saw a very similar couch at Index recently for about 15K on sale.

Yup, I too am expecting a similar dispute over the sofa and matching chairs when I move which may be in about a year's time or thereabouts. The furniture had to be at least 5-7 years old when we moved in, we put 5 years use on it so far, with a baby, pets, etc. I've been careful to keep all of the teak furniture in the same condition as when we moved in, but the couch and chairs to be honest are ready for the trash now. Don't know how to approach the situation but the owner (a lawyer) counts every Satang. I would imagine from what I have seen that the set probably cost 30K THB new. He is holding 12K THB deposit. Anybody dealt with this situation before? I mean, come on, furniture does wear with normal use.

[trainman34014]

And people are quick to say rent, don't buy. With all the problems I've read and heard about rented property over the last few years the only real answer is live in a tent out on the hillside somewhere and hope the locals don't set fire to the field your in !

[theDukes]

Give me a call and we can get someone to give your landlord a call. Just to be clear, what we are talking about here is a deposit of 54,000 Baht that the landlord does not want to return for no damage to the unit. Call me. I hate these people and I have someone who can help you.

Dave