Why don't you buy the apartment as

--many westerners looking to burn their bridges

and start a new life in the Land Of Smiles--

cheap to live, nice honest locals who would

never cheat the white man, beautiful local girls

lining up to marry the first white man they see,

oouuuuuuuch, i just pinched myself, reality

setting in, oh it really does smell, pooo eeee

i'm getting out of here, can i get a refund.

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?

Possibly, if there was any money left after the agent took his/her commission and they paid the moobaan enough back fees to get the water turned on.

Why would anyone rent from a foreigner in Thailand?

​Foreigners understand the meaning of the word maintenance. Look at the buildings around you it is not hard to see the lack of maintenance. I rent from a Thai and do my own maintenance it is the best way to deal with the problem. 18 years living in Thailand I have learned how to live here.

The floor drains have a very small water reservoir that prevents air back flow and they can dry up easily if no water has been drained through them in a while.

The floor drains have a very small water reservoir that prevents air back flow and they can dry up easily if no water has been drained through them in a while.

Correct, and I mentioned that earlier...you need to have the strainer and the plastic cover piece attached to it, as well as some water in the ring.

I did read about this floor drain issue, we do have the open gate and water regularly goes down it however, it does smell like a torture chamber still.