In a condo with problems... and no 'landlord'

[Cheesekraft]

I was booking a condo through what I thought was the owner and his lovely thai wife. I signed a contract, and he said he would be happy to address the issues in the place, water/electricity were government rate, etc.

I find out later he is , I suppose, a middle man? I was passed on to another landlord, who came and addressed some of the most pressing issues (no shower, broken sink). This took about a month, and there are major problems that still need fixing, but he is MIA.

There is an absolutely unbearable smell coming from the toilet, it was like this before we booked (Assured it would be fixed immediately), and it is getting worse. I can smell it now, a fair distance away. I must pay for a plumber, I believe, but will I get in trouble for this? What am I expected to do? There are also no curtains in the house, so neighbors can see us any time we are naked and this is not addressed as well. (Two months into contract).

Also, the water bill is rigged by the building, each room is being charged upwards of 750 baht/month for water, and my bill is about 500 / month for a single person who doesn't use water for anything besides personal care.

What should I do? I feel like I should pay for a plumber, and deduct this from my payment amount (to a fourth party, someone's account who is abroad, that I have never seen). Perhaps even curtains, and the other things that were promised?

[MarketMig]

Stop paying and he will show up I'm certain...

[TheAppletons]

Personally, I'd move (well, I would have never moved into that situation but that's just me.)

If that's too drastic for you, quit paying the rent until everything is repaired to your satisfaction.

[Mousehound]

What is the name of the Condo?

Did you state the requirements on the lease?

Edited August 11, 2015 by Mousehound

[Asiantravel]

hi Cheesekraft

I am just curious if this middleman you refer to is a Caucasian and if your condominium is situated in an older building not far from Kad Suan Kaew shopping complex ? (on the opposite side of Huay Kaew road )

The reason I ask is perhaps I have dealt with this person also although in my case I walked away from the deal. I didn't feel comfortable dealing with someone who was offering the property on some kind of sublease arrangement simply because he couldn't even assure me he was doing so with the full consent and approval of the actual owner of the property.

[Cheesekraft]

The toilet is not clogged, it is some sort of sewage/drainage issue. I believe water is 28 baht/unit, for one of the two sources of water, the other is about 3 units. @AsianTravel sounds just like the place, but I was not aware he was not the owner, infact, I was strongly led to believe he was. I have no idea how, but the contract went 'missing' somewhere...

[elektrified]

Why would anyone rent from a foreigner in Thailand???

Seriously Cheesekraft, why didn't you make certain that these issues were addressed before you gave the money?

[Asiantravel]

The toilet is not clogged, it is some sort of sewage/drainage issue. I believe water is 28 baht/unit, for one of the two sources of water, the other is about 3 units. @AsianTravel sounds just like the place, but I was not aware he was not the owner, infact, I was strongly led to believe he was. I have no idea how, but the contract went 'missing' somewhere...

oh no ! if it is the same person I can't believe he is still doing this. And if it's the same person, did he also propose to you that you pay all the rent 12 months in advance?

I came across him about 2 or 3 years ago. I always remember he got quite nasty when I started raising questions about the sublease he proposed to enter into and particularly for written evidence that he had the authority of the owner to be issuing a sublease in the first place. I'm glad I stayed well clear

Edited August 11, 2015 by Asiantravel

[Asiantravel]

Why would anyone rent from a foreigner in Thailand???

Seriously Cheesekraft, why didn't you make certain that these issues were addressed before you gave the money?

I don't think it's the nationality of the person (and foreigners own condominiums)who you would be renting from that is so important as the TERMS OF THE LEASE and that you are 100% sure you are dealing with the actual owner.

You just have to make sure that everything is covered properly in the written contract.

Edited August 11, 2015 by Asiantravel

[Rancid]

Why would anyone rent from a foreigner in Thailand???

Seriously Cheesekraft, why didn't you make certain that these issues were addressed before you gave the money?

I rent my property and I am a foreigner, it is fully furnished and with high quality modern equipment, and yes, it even has curtains. If there is ever a problem I sort it out immediately. As far as I can see i am not a bad lardlord so I am confused by your all encompassing and ill informed comment.

As to the OP, you might want to start looking around and find a better alternative, you are being treated with disdain.

[PattayaPhom]

Why would anyone rent from a foreigner in Thailand???

Seriously Cheesekraft, why didn't you make certain that these issues were addressed before you gave the money?

Why not?

[bangmai]

The smell could be coming from your shower drain "strainer." When working properly, that upside down cap underneath the metal part prevents the gas coming through the ring of water. Sewer gas can't come up through a toilet, as long as there is water in it, as it has a trap built in. It could come from the connection to the floor, but then you would get water leakage, when you flushed. If the line is clogged, you will get back-ups.

[thrilled]

None of these problems sound like big money issues.I believe even though it's against my principle I would bite the bullet and go and purchase what I needed to remedy the problems.

[masuk]

The smell could be coming from your shower drain "strainer." When working properly, that upside down cap underneath the metal part prevents the gas coming through the ring of water. Sewer gas can't come up through a toilet, as long as there is water in it, as it has a trap built in. It could come from the connection to the floor, but then you would get water leakage, when you flushed. If the line is clogged, you will get back-ups.

I was getting nasty smells from my toilet, and when I put a blue cleaning tablet into the cistern, blue water came running out onto the floor.

Not much of a seal between toilet seat and pipe it seems.

.

I used a silicone rubber gun and sealed around the base of the seat, and that fixed the problem.

As regards leases and some sort of protection, I moved to a house 14 months ago, and when the rains started, it just came through the roof and the ceiling started dripping onto bedding, furniture..

The owner couldn't have cared less, and I had legal advice that there was nothing I could do. I moved out, lost 2 month's rent.

[huawei]

There probably is no seal. The silicon has eroded..as above seal the base.

[ukrules]

The smell could be coming from your shower drain "strainer." When working properly, that upside down cap underneath the metal part prevents the gas coming through the ring of water. Sewer gas can't come up through a toilet, as long as there is water in it, as it has a trap built in. It could come from the connection to the floor, but then you would get water leakage, when you flushed. If the line is clogged, you will get back-ups.

I had a smell issue in an apartment once, there was a Thai style toilet in one of those 'maids rooms' which had never been used. Pouring water down it every now and again prevented the smell from coming into the building. I believe all the water will evaporate in just a few weeks when it's hot which of course is all the time.

Probably not connected with your issue but it's worth considering anyway.

Edited August 11, 2015 by ukrules

[jacko45k]

Why did you move in in the first place?

[WinnieTheKhwai]

If you didn't pay rent in advance but paid a deposit then you know you won't be getting that deposit back.

So I would fix all issues and stop paying rent before your contract is up, for however many months covers your deposit. Landlord is free to come check that everything is in good order, and actually better (likely) than it was before.

[fred Kubasa]

I am at the end of year 1 of a 3-year lease on a " Luxury condo " that turned out to be a heavily lipsticked pig !

The agency, EX Pats Condos of Jomtien promised, and appeared to be ready to provide after-sales service but their firm,

representing a very latge number of condos, upfront. promises much but delivers almost none oof their promises. I have spent

over 6,000 B on replacementsservices/repairs that should have been cared for by them.

No evening/weekend/holiday/vacation/emergency services available, none. nada, zero. Their technicians, when, ( rarely), available are un-uniformed, come with no tools, and usually take 2 to 3 calls to make aI repair which is usually improperly done.

I have neen given the " Person to call " with problems 4 times changed in one year and none really have a clue how to get the job done. As I have invested so much time and money and know they will retain my 40,000 security I am hesitent to move but must do so to retain any sanity.

[NoshowJones]

Another of the 'initials instead of words' brigade. What is MIA?

Edited August 12, 2015 by possum1931

[TheAppletons]

Another of the 'initials instead of words' brigade. What is MIA?

Missing in Action.

[NoshowJones]

Another of the 'initials instead of words' brigade. What is MIA?

Missing in Action.

That's what I thought, but where was the action? I thought that referred to the military.

[Jimlove]

Why would anyone rent from a foreigner in Thailand???

Seriously Cheesekraft, why didn't you make certain that these issues were addressed before you gave the money?

What a weird comment .... My thaiwife refuse to rent from thaiman as she just dont trust them - BTW we never had problems with our "foreign" landlords (Belgium and US) !!!

[elektrified]

Why would anyone rent from a foreigner in Thailand???

Seriously Cheesekraft, why didn't you make certain that these issues were addressed before you gave the money?

Why not?

Too much risk involved; i.e. see OP.

[Shaunduhpostman]

When it gets really hot outside (about 38+), we get a bad smell in our bathroom. I too thought it was coming from the toilet at first, but it is coming from the drain in the floor for all of the bathroom water runoff.

A bucket of strong soap and water poured down the drain gets things smelling clean again. Maybe that will work.

As far as buying things or renting them when they clearly aren't 100 percent, any promise to do things later from most Thais is probably going to be just face saving P.R. fluff, they aren't saying those things, in most cases, with any intention of actually doing what they say they'll do. They probably reckon you know that already as well and will be a bit taken aback that you try and hold them to what they never felt were promises in the first place. Of course it is not considered very good business style in the country you came from and you often are able to do something about dodgy landlords such as deduct repair expenses later, but you will have a very difficult time doing that here if can pull it off at all.

The thinking seems to be, if you pay, it is no longer mine, so you deal with it. There's nothing wrong with that in most people's thinking here, so you won't get too far complaining or trying get things as you want them. You could have learned that lesson a lot more painfully with a lot bigger loss, so hopefully, you won't have to take it in the pocketbook again with bad goods, apartments, etc. in the future, so maybe there is some cause to be a bit more optimistic about it all.

If they haven't taken care of things before they try and sell it, most Thai sellers/renters etc won't do it later. Anyone like the agent you signed a contract with is already demonstrating some degree of negligence by trying to rent out problematic apartments, better to pass on anyone like that next time. Someone like your agent is probably hoping to rent to someone who wouldn't even notice the problems that you have noticed. He just wants the money and to be able to skip away with even a thought or care. So, the second you point out this and that, they are already getting pretty unhappy with the situation and wishing they had someone who wouldn't be so difficult. I'm not saying you' re being difficult in terms of what is due to you, a place to rent that doesn't smell bad, but a lot of Thais wouldn't see it that way. If you give them money that means you are 100% satisfied, so many will probably find your post payment quibbles to be nothing more than ridiculous, which of course they are not.

Sorry to bang on if I have carried on a bit much, just that to me, all this is important in my own life, to not let people get away with these kinds of things. Good luck to us all!

Edited August 12, 2015 by Shaunduhpostman

[bangmai]

Why would anyone rent from a foreigner in Thailand???

Seriously Cheesekraft, why didn't you make certain that these issues were addressed before you gave the money?

What a weird comment .... My thaiwife refuse to rent from thaiman as she just dont trust them - BTW we never had problems with our "foreign" landlords (Belgium and US) !!!

I agree. They will even have apartments, and the manager will say: "these are for Thai people (she is Thai)." They are lower priced, but it is nothing to do with dual pricing, it has to do with them having exposed wiring, leaky faucets, and not being painted in 20 years during which time the walls were used for 'boogie' target practice. They don't expect to put 1 THB into them in repairs. I allow 40% of monthly rent for overhead, on rentals, when I calculate yields. I'm surprised at how many use zero, here. I was helping a student from Cambodia a couple of months ago find an apartment. "Thai Apartments" started at 3500 THB per month, others were 6000 THB......but for an expat on a budget, you could spend about 4000 THB on the Thai one, and have a pretty good place...(with you doing your own painting, etc..). But, to think you could rent the cheap one, and start barking repair orders the Thai landlord...you would be barking up the wrong tree. You almost never hear me say, "you get what you pay for," but in renting in CM; it does have some truth, along with "what did you expect?".

[sammygood]

never move in a place that is not in order... what was the rush ? you are paying for it now

[bazza40]

OP has not said how much the bond was, or how much was paid in advance. The choice is to either tough it out or move. Getting a plumber of your own choice and payment shouldn't be too expensive. Get cheap curtains yourself, then take them with you when you leave. It's a pity the names of these pricks can't be published on TV, risk of libel lawsuits.

Unfortunately, one can have very good landlords and absolute villians in the same condo. Nationality doesn't enter into the equation.

[bangmai]

But if you walk into a place that is 20 years behind on routine maintenance, why on earth would you think they would do anything, especially, after you moved in.

[NancyL]

If, in initial discussions, there were promises that things would be fixed (like the toilet and curtains), then my response would have been "fine. I like the place. Call me when those items are done and I'll come back to sign the contract and make the desposit."

When we were straight off the boat, we were shown a place that had a few "issues" that we otherwise liked. The agent was pushing us to sign the contract, make the deposit and "everything would be fixed before you moved in". We had the strong suspicion that our deposit money would be used to make the necessary repairs (if they were made at all.) Gee, I wonder how difficult it would have been to get our deposit returned when the time came for us to move out at the end of our lease period?