Why Does Everyone Who Rent Out Apartments And Houses Prefer Cash ?

[Yahooka]

This is the third time I rent an apartment/house and every time the company/person renting out can only accept cash payment.I`ve asked why they cannot accept money transfer by bank,but I haven`t got any good explanation for this backward practice.

Can anybody here give their experiences or shed some light to the reasons why?

[BlackPuddingBertha]

Some obvious reasons:

they want to hide the income from the taxman

they dont want a paper trail if they decide to screw you out of your deposit/contract

if it's an agent: they want to hide the rental from the owner

[JLCrab]

Another answer might be that, since you might be the only person in the building or property renter requesting such service, it is not cost efficient for them to set up such as system for just one tenant.

Edited January 27, 2013 by JLCrab

[Khun Jean]

And, no excuses when payment is too late.

No 'i already transfered it , i don't understand why it takes so long', and a million other excuses.

[Yahooka]

Thx for the replies....I had a suspicion about those reasons myself.It`s like a step back to the 80`s dealing with cash like this.Thank god they don`t use pagers too !!!

[PattayaPhom]

Bank transfer, credit card or PayPal are acceptable but the customer normally dosnt want to pay the charges which are upto 5%. Why don't you want to pay cash? Most times owners or agents are close by to the property?

[qdinthailand]

My landlord had me deposit into her account at SCB, with a lease written in advance spelling out the amounts - security deposit, first and last month - so there is paperwork.

At the time, I didn't do bank transfers, but this would have worked for her, so at least one landlord in Thailand doesn't require cash in hand. NOT EVERYONE is a broad brush to paint with.

[BlackPuddingBertha]

Bank transfer, credit card or PayPal are acceptable but the customer normally dosnt want to pay the charges which are upto 5%.

My main Thai bank makes no charge for sending/receiving ATM transfers. One of my other Thai banks charges 25B for sending and nothing for receiving. So nowhere near 5%.

[PattayaPhom]

CC is 5% and PayPal 3.9%, some also want their company to pay from a foreign account which can be over 500 Baht. I prefer customers to pay by DD but they expect us to swallow charges When you have upto 50 properties rented that becomes quite a substantial amount

[BrianCR]

It's much easier for landlords to accept cash then to find storage space for a sack of spuds and two dead chickens

[roiethome]

I am currently in my third apartment where the owner accepts monthly payment by Internet transfer. Very convenient for me as I am often out of the country for several months at a time. My current lease actually insists that rent is paid by a standing order from the bank.

[whybother]

Bank transfer, credit card or PayPal are acceptable but the customer normally dosnt want to pay the charges which are upto 5%.

My main Thai bank makes no charge for sending/receiving ATM transfers. One of my other Thai banks charges 25B for sending and nothing for receiving. So nowhere near 5%.

Some banks will charge for transfer to other banks or to their branches in other provinces. There is no charge for transfers within the same bank in the same region.

[davejones]

What kind of accommodation are you renting. I'm in my 3rd condo. First one I pad via credit card first few times, and then cash. Cashier was in the building so easier to pay by cash than to walk to the bank and make the transfer. BB wouldn't let me set up a DD to another bank. Next two condos I transferred money via internet banking.

I don't see what's wrong with anyone wanting cash though. Cash is king, especially in Asia. I pay nearly everything in cash nowadays - much easier. And easier to track your spending.

[Yahooka]

What kind of accommodation are you renting. I'm in my 3rd condo. First one I pad via credit card first few times, and then cash. Cashier was in the building so easier to pay by cash than to walk to the bank and make the transfer. BB wouldn't let me set up a DD to another bank. Next two condos I transferred money via internet banking.

I don't see what's wrong with anyone wanting cash though. Cash is king, especially in Asia. I pay nearly everything in cash nowadays - much easier. And easier to track your spending.

Im renting an apartment in a new condominium in Pattaya.The only problem with the cash thing is this coming summer.......I will not be using it then so last time I`ll be there will be in april before i return in september or october.So that means taking out a big bundle of cash to pay 3-4 months in advance.No big problem really,it`s a company with a good reputation............I guess Im not used to or comfortable around big bundles of cash !!

[BlackPuddingBertha]

I pay all my regular bills either via ATM or online via internet banking or, for utilities, via direct debit. All are secure and completely free of charge.

I see absolutely no reason to pay cash for regular bills, especially if one knows one isn't going to be around every month to do so.

As for a "company with a good reputation" that only takes cash, I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole.

[SantiSuk]

Thx for the replies....I had a suspicion about those reasons myself.It`s like a step back to the 80`s dealing with cash like this.Thank god they don`t use pagers too !!!

You mean its like a step back to the 60s when prices did not include an automatic 2-3% extra so that the businesses could pay the credit card company admin fees? I live in both systems and I'm quite happy to come back to a cash-based society here in Thailand/quite happy to get 45 days free credit in the other system on return to the UK (because there are bozos out there willing to pay huge interest rates to subsidise me).

[BlackPuddingBertha]

I dont see what credit card fees have to do with making payments via ATM/interbank transfer rather than in cash.

[davejones]

What kind of accommodation are you renting. I'm in my 3rd condo. First one I pad via credit card first few times, and then cash. Cashier was in the building so easier to pay by cash than to walk to the bank and make the transfer. BB wouldn't let me set up a DD to another bank. Next two condos I transferred money via internet banking.

I don't see what's wrong with anyone wanting cash though. Cash is king, especially in Asia. I pay nearly everything in cash nowadays - much easier. And easier to track your spending.

Im renting an apartment in a new condominium in Pattaya.The only problem with the cash thing is this coming summer.......I will not be using it then so last time I`ll be there will be in april before i return in september or october.So that means taking out a big bundle of cash to pay 3-4 months in advance.No big problem really,it`s a company with a good reputation............I guess Im not used to or comfortable around big bundles of cash !!

Why are you paying rent if you're not going to be there? Why don't you rent until April and then rent a different condo when you get back in September? Seems a huge waste of money to be paying 4-5 months rent when you're not using the condo. You'd probably even get to rent the same condo.

I hope you're getting receipts for all your cash payments. Without receipts, you have no proof that you've paid.

[BlackPuddingBertha]

Why are you paying rent if you're not going to be there? Why don't you rent until April and then rent a different condo when you get back in September? Seems a huge waste of money to be paying 4-5 months rent when you're not using the condo. You'd probably even get to rent the same condo.

I can easily see some advantages in keeping an empty condo: leaving your stuff, convenience of being able to come and go whenever you like, getting your post delivered.

I hope you're getting receipts for all your cash payments. Without receipts, you have no proof that you've paid.

And a receipt can be forged also. I like ATM payments because they are proof that the money went to a particular named account.

[Yahooka]

Why are you paying rent if you're not going to be there? Why don't you rent until April and then rent a different condo when you get back in September? Seems a huge waste of money to be paying 4-5 months rent when you're not using the condo. You'd probably even get to rent the same condo.

I can easily see some advantages in keeping an empty condo: leaving your stuff, convenience of being able to come and go whenever you like, getting your post delivered.

I hope you're getting receipts for all your cash payments. Without receipts, you have no proof that you've paid.

And a receipt can be forged also. I like ATM payments because they are proof that the money went to a particular named account.

Yes,the big advantage is to be able to keep personal items while Im here.I work rotation so I stay in Thailand almost half the year.But staying in a hotelroom I feel restless and ends up everynight in a bar or resturant because I get bored.

I will of course get a receipt.And like BlackPuddingBertha says I like money to be handled electronical.Where I come from you`re almost never able to use cash nowadays,so the only place I`ll do it now is in LOS !!!

[xen]

To answer the op's question

i get my gf to pay the rent via electronic transfer but when she started the landlord did not like it because it is too much trouble and too hard to check the bank statement and it is worse if she pays two months in advance ....... well their poor brain hurts doesn't it. . But now they have got used to it and it is no problem and because there are quiet a few falungs living there they advice that that they can pay that way and the Thais still probably pay in cash so they get enough to satisfy the taxman and enough to spend.

I also like my gf to learn how to budget our money and rent being the major expense is always paid first . Maybe i am old fashioned but it just makes life easier to budget and pay the ongoings first.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Two things...

1. As for paying cash being preferred by landlords, I do suspect the main reason is to underreport income to the tax system. I've even seen situations of two different lease documents, a real one that is the basis for the agreement between the landlord and the tenant, and then an entirely bogus one, used only for documentation of the lower (fake) rental amount.

2. I can't imagine any Thai property owner who doesn't have a Thai bank account. And, AFAIK, there's NEVER any fee charged to the RECIPIENT for domestic bank to bank transfers here. The sender always pays the fee, if there is one by the sending bank. So I can't see much reason for landlords to not want to accept payment via bank transfers to them -- unless they have a large number of units and it might be hard for them to track/relate the incoming transfers back to particular units.

One of the local TV cable companies here in BKK is like that. They will allow you, reluctantly, to pay your bill via bank transfer into their account. But then they require you to fax them a copy of the bank's deposit or transfer receipt.

[wpcoe]

The townhouse I rent is B10,000/month. On the last renewal, the landlady (an intermediary between me and the owner) asked if it were okay to put B7,000/month on the lease agreement to save on taxes for the owner. No skin off my back, and I've met the owner and she's pleasant and agreeable (and seems to appreciate the care I take of her ex-home, including a few improvements/upgrades), so I didn't object.

For her, a cash transaction definitely works.

[BlackPuddingBertha]

The townhouse I rent is B10,000/month. On the last renewal, the landlady (an intermediary between me and the owner) asked if it were okay to put B7,000/month on the lease agreement to save on taxes for the owner. No skin off my back, and I've met the owner and she's pleasant and agreeable (and seems to appreciate the care I take of her ex-home, including a few improvements/upgrades), so I didn't object.

In situations like this it is quite common for the owner to be getting 7K with the other 3K going to the third party. And the third party may also be getting commission from the owner.

YMMV.

[wpcoe]

In my case, I know that the agent only gets B1,000/month, but I can see your (BPB's) scenario easily playing out in other situations, though. Like with a less-than-reputable rental agent. My case is more of a friend doing a friend a favor -- the owner doesn't speak English, but prefers farang tenants, so the gal up the street earns B1,000 pin money for being the English-speaking go between.