Our Private Village Turned Over to the Municipality...a NIGHTMARE!

[fittobethaied]

Two years ago I purchased an upscale home in what I thought was a very private village with over 300 homes, and mine was one of the last two dozen homes to be sold by the developer. At the time it was a walled community with ample security at the front gate, a swimming pool/ clubhouse and a small lake in the center surrounded by a beautiful park and playground facility. After the developer sold his last home it was announced that he would no longer be maintaining the village and the property owners would be given the opportunity to form a Homeowner's Association (HOA) by which the village would be governed and maintained in lieu of turning the village over to the Tessaban (local municipality) for future maintenance. The estimated monthly maintenance fee to the HOA would be only 450 baht and a majority attendance at the voting would be required, then the majority vote of those in attendance would determine the outcome of the vote.

There is a substantial group of farangs that reside in the village, and of course every single one of us wanted to see a HOA formed because we were certain that the upkeep of the village would be doomed should it be turned over to the Tessaban. During the process is appeared that every effort was made to keep the farangs in the dark and ignorant to keep our voices from being heard. In the end the vote in favor of establishing a HOA was defeated and the village has since been turned over to the Tessaban for maintenance.

Since that time the pool has been drained and the clubhouse has been boarded up. The roads are now public, and although we pay a small monthly fee to maintain a limited security staff, they have not authority whatsoever in the village and are totally worthless. The grass in the park is cut only once per month and stays knee high length most of the year. The lake is polluted with rubbish and the grounds are an eyesore with trash scattered about. Sellers of good/services have come through the village and have cluttered the trees and electric poles with advertising signs. The villagers allow their dogs to roam the streets and poop in the park/children's playground without restrain. The Thais have moved their concrete picnic tables to the park and most every night there is a drinking party with garbage/bottles being scattered all about. My dream home is now in the midst of my biggest nightmare.

For those of you who are contemplating buying a home in what appears to be a pristine private village...please beware! Don't be fooled by the fancy websites and the beautiful photographs that are presented during the sales presentation. Ask a lot of questions and find out exactly what the future holds for the continued maintenance once the developer is out of the picture. And last but not least, don't assume that the Thais will be in favor of establishing a reliable HOA. It absolutely boggles my mind to think that our once beautiful village is beginning to resemble a ghetto, and all for the sake of not having to pay a meager 450 baht per month to safeguard an investment of 3M baht per household.

I failed to save any of the "before" photos and the developer's website with gorgeous photos has been dismantled. What follows are the "after" photos which really tell the story, so use your imagination when I tell you that the village was beautiful "before". I hope this never happens to you, but if it has, please share your experiences here so that others will not find themselves in this predicament.

[keith101]

looks like a normal village which can be found all over this country buyer beware

[96tehtarp]

This situation you are in is really sad. I've seen it happen to Thai people in 100% Thai owned town house developments as well.

I'm not sure if it is feasible or practical to consider forming a farang home owner's association and hire a Thai advocate (not necessarily a lawyer) to explore your options. Once a village is turned over to the Tessaban can it be reversed? If not try working with the Tessaban to explore reopening the pool and improving security.

I agree with the OP never buy a house or condo without attending a few HOA meetings first, and after the meetings... mingle.

[transam]

Sounds like the developer made his dosh and then stuffed you all.............

[casualbiker]

sad.. but typical.. I have over the years looked at different Moo Baans. Mainly Thai as they are up to 1.5 million.. all started out looking nice.. most look like Lebanon now!

So no buying for me.. rent only

[guzzi850m2]

I find this odd since OP says upscale village.

I also live in a nice (still) village with app. 100 houses and we have just taking over the maintenance ourselfes and it was never an issue being taking over by the local municipality.

We have app 60% Thai/Thai owned house and the rest are expat/Thai couples from all over the world.

We have a lot of Thai doctors in the village and I mean a lot, they are very nice people and they want it clean and private.

[trogers]

This situation you are in is really sad. I've seen it happen to Thai people in 100% Thai owned town house developments as well.

I'm not sure if it is feasible or practical to consider forming a farang home owner's association and hire a Thai advocate (not necessarily a lawyer) to explore your options. Once a village is turned over to the Tessaban can it be reversed? If not try working with the Tessaban to explore reopening the pool and improving security.

I agree with the OP never buy a house or condo without attending a few HOA meetings first, and after the meetings... mingle.

What? Making a public declaration that foreigners are the actual owners of landed properties?

[transam]

Buy a bit of land and build a house. Don't get involved with these complexes cos you will never be in control.

[96tehtarp]

This situation you are in is really sad. I've seen it happen to Thai people in 100% Thai owned town house developments as well.

I'm not sure if it is feasible or practical to consider forming a farang home owner's association and hire a Thai advocate (not necessarily a lawyer) to explore your options. Once a village is turned over to the Tessaban can it be reversed? If not try working with the Tessaban to explore reopening the pool and improving security.

I agree with the OP never buy a house or condo without attending a few HOA meetings first, and after the meetings... mingle.

What? Making a public declaration that foreigners are the actual owners of landed properties?

Why not? Of course the new-association will definitely need to be open to Thai owners as well. All that is required are appropriate social skills, and schmooze skills with the Thai owners to convince them they as well as farnags will benefit from a better managed village and the potential increased resale value. 450 baht per month, what a joke. Somebody need to schmooze and get the clubhouse and pool reopened. How much could that cost per month in Udon Thani province. Where there is a will there is a way.

The OP is truly in deep poop if most of the Thai owned properties are owned by non resident Thai speculators.

[guzzi850m2]

Buy a bit of land and build a house. Don't get involved with these complexes cos you will never be in control.

Not in my neck of the woods.

Why do you think all those Thai doctors move into a village in the first place?

Not nice to come home from work and find your new 60" TV is gone.

Since I am overseas working 6 month per year, I prefer my famliy lives in a village.

Please don't come with the condo solution, not for us thank you very much.

[fittobethaied]

I find this odd since OP says upscale village.

I also live in a nice (still) village with app. 100 houses and we have just taking over the maintenance ourselfes and it was never an issue being taking over by the local municipality.

We have app 60% Thai/Thai owned house and the rest are expat/Thai couples from all over the world.

We have a lot of Thai doctors in the village and I mean a lot, they are very nice people and they want it clean and private.

Thanks for the response Guzzi! Then I'd say that you probably has a vote of some sort to set up a Juristic Persons Estate, or Homeowner's Association as we call it back in the States. Had you not done that then it would have been turned over to the municipality. I can't see what would make your village any different than ours. The problem is with the Thais in that they don't want to spend the money for monthly maintenance, and they think that if an association is established and funds collected, then those in charge of the money will steal it. Pretty incredulous, but they have that mindset and no degree of persuasion could convince them otherwise. They are so apathetic that hardly anyone showed up for the voting. They just don't have a sense of community here and it's every man for himself. They could give a flip less about the concerns of their neighbors. Sad but true! Then again, we are not talking about residents who are educated and professionals like your doctor neighbors. Many of these homes were purchased by farangs for the families of their wives or gf's, so those that are living in many of the homes are basically rice farmers who have come in from the countryside to occupy them. That explains a lot right there! Need I say more?

[inzman]

Unfortunately, what has happened to your village is not uncommon here in Thailand. No consumer protection at all. Thais lack awareness of things like cleanliness and rules. But you probably knew this before. You're in their culture now, have to roll with it and be wary. Maybe better to sell and move on before it gets really ugly. Good luck.

[Skint]

Nightmare, won't be long until the fires in gardens burning waste.

Best grabbing as many people as possible and start cleaning up, keep doing it and flog your problem on.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[falkan]

don't be an old fart and sit here and whine do something about it, how about show the thais some manners and clean up whatever you guys can clean up!

next time don' buy from some small,cheap shitty developer..

[Naam]

Buy a bit of land and build a house. Don't get involved with these complexes cos you will never be in control.

exception prove the rule and it makes a big difference how many homes exist as well as the ratio Thai/Farang homeowners. i'm living since 8 years in a gated community consisting of 43 homes, majority Farang (Thai wife) owned. the committee meets once a month for an hour, discusses any business and decides without big palaver. the village is as pristine as it was when we bought the land 10 years ago.

[fittobethaied]

don't be an old fart and sit here and whine do something about it, how about show the thais some manners and clean up whatever you guys can clean up!

next time don' buy from some small,cheap shitty developer..

Thanks for the reply falkan! Actually, the developer is quite reputable and has moved on to another huge development. These are 3M baht homes and with 300 of them it's quite a large village. The problem is only his fault to the extent that we were not informed at the time of purchase that we would be faced with this problem after he had moved on. He actually was quite active in trying to get the property owner's to agree to establish the HOA, but to no avail.

I do an evening walk around the lake and pick up trash in the process just to set a good example, but it does absolutely no good. The Thais only look at me like I've lost my mind and snicker under their breath as if to say "look at that stupid farang"! I have been the keeper of my soi for the past two years in order to set a proper example, and thus far I have never seen one Thai neighbor bend over to pick up one piece of trash. It's simply an exercise in futility!

We were informed during the voting process that once the village is turned over to the Tessaban there is no turning back. It doesn't do any good to consider selling and moving to a new village because the odds are the same thing is going to happen there as well when the developer moves on. It's just a fact of life in Thailand so I'll just have to learn to live with it.

[Noi657]

Feel for you.. I fear you will struggle to sell your property even if you wanted to now! And unfortunately sometimes you just can't educate stupid!!

[ozziepete]

300 in the estate of course it is going to go to the dogs. small estates or in my case no estate. It boggles me that the thai's have little money or struggle to pay for things how they don't look after things.

[trogers]

Feel for you.. I fear you will struggle to sell your property even if you wanted to now! And unfortunately sometimes you just can't educate stupid!!

There is a difference between stupidity and a lack of civic-mindedness.

This proverb may be appropriate - "Birds of a feather flock together". Time to move on if you feel you cannot be one of them.

[Pinot]

Here is the bottom line for me...Never buy real estate in Thailand.

You're never going to own the place. Property deteriorates quickly and is rarely well built. Neighbor horror stories are everywhere. You can never trust a management company. Property rarely appreciates. The country is a political mess. I can go on and on.

I'm currently renting at a high end condo project in Phuket. The HOA is in a war with the owner of the property all over who gets to handle the monthly fees. The Thai owner wants that money back in her pocket (where it belongs according to her). The HOA wants it spent on upkeep of the property and grounds. Water, electricity, Internet, pool maintenance are all being used as pawns in this war. The property values have been cut in half and sales are non existent because everyone knows about this and there is no end it sight.

There is plenty of places to rent. Anyone coming here and planning on buying a place is out of their mind. I have a friend who runs one of the largest Realtor on Phuket. I asked him one time if he would buy something here. He just looked at me like I was crazy...."Yeah, right".

[trogers]

Here is the bottom line for me...Never buy real estate in Thailand.

You're never going to own the place. Property deteriorates quickly and is rarely well built. Neighbor horror stories are everywhere. You can never trust a management company. Property rarely appreciates. The country is a political mess. I can go on and on.

I'm currently renting at a high end condo project in Phuket. The HOA is in a war with the owner of the property all over who gets to handle the monthly fees. The Thai owner wants that money back in her pocket (where it belongs according to her). The HOA wants it spent on upkeep of the property and grounds. Water, electricity, Internet, pool maintenance are all being used as pawns in this war. The property values have been cut in half and sales are non existent because everyone knows about this and there is no end it sight.

There is plenty of places to rent. Anyone coming here and planning on buying a place is out of their mind. I have a friend who runs one of the largest Realtor on Phuket. I asked him one time if he would buy something here. He just looked at me like I was crazy...."Yeah, right".

There is no one suit that fits all.

Those who is planning a family here will want to build a nest called "Home" and not wander about like a gypsy living in a travelling show.

[DDuval]

Noise seems to be the main issue for us living in Moo Baan. We are currently living in a wealthy Moo Baan but still having issues with dogs etc.

I share the pain with the OP but that's why I would never, never buy a house or Condo here.

[DDuval]

Here is the bottom line for me...Never buy real estate in Thailand.

You're never going to own the place. Property deteriorates quickly and is rarely well built. Neighbor horror stories are everywhere. You can never trust a management company. Property rarely appreciates. The country is a political mess. I can go on and on.

I'm currently renting at a high end condo project in Phuket. The HOA is in a war with the owner of the property all over who gets to handle the monthly fees. The Thai owner wants that money back in her pocket (where it belongs according to her). The HOA wants it spent on upkeep of the property and grounds. Water, electricity, Internet, pool maintenance are all being used as pawns in this war. The property values have been cut in half and sales are non existent because everyone knows about this and there is no end it sight.

There is plenty of places to rent. Anyone coming here and planning on buying a place is out of their mind. I have a friend who runs one of the largest Realtor on Phuket. I asked him one time if he would buy something here. He just looked at me like I was crazy...."Yeah, right".

Concur, concur, concur.

Currently renting in high end moo Baan where all the Thais drive round in Benz and BMW but still behave like council estate peasants in the UK.

Dogs left out day and night in garden which bark at nothing , maids talk loudly in garden and just plain rude manors. Not to mention in January they seem to go construction crazy

[KittenKong]

I'm currently renting at a high end condo project in Phuket. The HOA is in a war with the owner of the property all over who gets to handle the monthly fees. The Thai owner wants that money back in her pocket (where it belongs according to her). The HOA wants it spent on upkeep of the property and grounds.

I dont follow this. If you are living in a condo then normally the building (and hence the co-owners) would own the land on which it is built. There should be a management committee (not an HOA) and they should control the budget and finances and fees.

Any other arrangement seems doomed to failure and I wonder why anyone would buy a unit in a building that doesnt own the land it sits on.

[TexasRanger]

Here is the bottom line for me...Never buy real estate in Thailand.

You're never going to own the place. Property deteriorates quickly and is rarely well built. Neighbor horror stories are everywhere. You can never trust a management company. Property rarely appreciates. The country is a political mess. I can go on and on.

I'm currently renting at a high end condo project in Phuket. The HOA is in a war with the owner of the property all over who gets to handle the monthly fees. The Thai owner wants that money back in her pocket (where it belongs according to her). The HOA wants it spent on upkeep of the property and grounds. Water, electricity, Internet, pool maintenance are all being used as pawns in this war. The property values have been cut in half and sales are non existent because everyone knows about this and there is no end it sight.

There is plenty of places to rent. Anyone coming here and planning on buying a place is out of their mind. I have a friend who runs one of the largest Realtor on Phuket. I asked him one time if he would buy something here. He just looked at me like I was crazy...."Yeah, right".

Concur, concur, concur.

Currently renting in high end moo Baan where all the Thais drive round in Benz and BMW but still behave like council estate peasants in the UK.

Dogs left out day and night in garden which bark at nothing , maids talk loudly in garden and just plain rude manors. Not to mention in January they seem to go construction crazy

That's sad, but they aren't all like that.

[KittenKong]

Noise seems to be the main issue for us living in Moo Baan. We are currently living in a wealthy Moo Baan but still having issues with dogs etc.

I dont think it matters where you live in Thailand; there is always some idiot making a pointless noise nearby. It seems they just cant exist without making a din. Other SE Asian countries are every bit as bad.

[givenall]

looks like a normal village which can be found all over this country buyer beware

as usual, things are too good to be true.

I am not sure why anyone buy a home over here. Unlike west the homes always go down the crapper in time

[wineman]

Rotten luck. I feel very sorry for you.

I would be obliged if you would tell me where it is please.

[Cloggie]

Just for my information: is the developer responsible for this yes / no?

[marko kok prong]

Mate, i do feel sorry for you too,but i as i have said in other threads,once thai's drop a piece of litter for them it ceases to exist,litterally they do not see it,every couple of days i go round the grounds of my wife's house picking up litter,i have told her again and again about it,i even put a bucket near the concrete table for bottle tops,no one used it,i have given up and anyway it gives me something to do,the one thing i did have success with was her son cleaning his ears and throwing the ear buds on the ground,i told her if i found another i would make him eat it,she looked worried and i have spotted no more,also nice surroundings views etc do not matter to the majority of thai's,food and sanuk are more important,also i can well understand their hesitation in paying the 450 b,as it would not directly benefit them as individuals,i would try to sell and move it will only get worse and probably end up looking like the typical thai village i live in.