Any experience renting out CM property from overseas?

[seesip]

Any referrals for a rental agent or good or bad experiences renting on your own? Wondering if it's worth the hassle vs. selling.

[worgeordie]

I would just go with renting and finding tenant on your own,

thats what we do,just advertise on here,BhatSold,flyers in

RimPing notice board,sign on the gate.

That way you can vet the tenants and choose the one you

want,if you use agent they will bring anyone.

It depends on the location of the property,and type,and the

rent you are looking for,if you can rent it quickly.

Your biggest problem is that you will be an absent landlord,

and if a problem like a broken appliance,burst pipe,etc,etc

occurs how will you be able to rectify it for the tenant.

Receiving rental payments,(as long as tenant pays) will not

be a problem,just have tenant to pay into your bank account

here,and arrange for the bank to send you SMS .

The only tenants we have ever had problems with are Thai's,

never pay rent on time or at all,the last ones made off owing

rent,3 teak doors,all the curtains,and left the property in a

terrible condition.

Hope this helps you decide what is your best option,rent or sell.

regards Worgeordie

[KhonKaenKowboy]

I think a combination of finding your own tenant, and having management in place is a good way to go. And, yes, I've had a similar problem in the US, with it being all about the commission, and not about good tenants. When I sold my house here, I had a lot more people, who wanted to rent, than wanted to buy. One of them even offered 1 year advance rent. Since Thais will tell you not to rent to Thais, I think that is well covered...or maybe just make them show 800K in the bank.....If you look at the Facebook RE pages, you will notice how many farang are looking for sub-letters...IOW, they can't keep their commitment....and even if you keep their deposit, you likely spent half on commission, and will pay another quarter on utility bills...and then repairs. I wouldn't rent long term to anyone without a credit report. It doesn't matter what they wear or what car they rented...deadbeats come in all shapes and sizes. I think one viable solution is solid management with a furnished vacation rental....that way, if something goes wrong, it is a lot less of an emergency, and every time it becomes vacant; it gets cleaned at their expense, and management gets a chance to inspect....If you could rent it out at a premium price for four months a year; you would be better off than renting to a couple of people looking for cheap rent, who won't take care of your stuff, and may sneak in an extra pet or two. Provide high speed internet, and charge them electric by the unit...like 6 THB, otherwise they will go really hard on the a/c units. The vacation rental market model will also be more conducive to selling, because of vacancies and regular cleanings. The thing about Chiang Mai is that there is much more to it than just the high season. You might easily find someone who stays several months i the low season, working here, or going to school...or just checking it out...and they just want to take it a month at a time.

[Rancid]

Been there, done that. Had a tenant break his lease and exit. We just had the wife's mom go to the house, clean it up and sent the property to every agent. Not long later had a new tenant. Then of course the old tenant wanted to come back!

So yes, it's doable. Regarding problems had the tenant pay for it and cut from the rent.

[luther]

I pay our rent twice a year. My landlord who has two other properties was amazed I was willing to do this. I said we'll be here for years and I don't want the hassle of month-to-month. She had advertised the house through a real estate agent. She subsequently told that agent to stipulate the same thing for her other houses. The agent rolled her eyes and said, "That's going to eliminate most of the people who contact me." The landlord insisted on the stipulation but lowered her price considerably and has been happy with the results.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

I think you do need a trusted party reasonably nearby to take care of any issues, OR a really good tenant who can be trusted to accurately report reasonable maintenance requests and then take care of that maintenance for you.

If that's better than selling also depends on how much you like the property yourself, and if you can see it appreciating in value in a couple years. (Yes if in/near town, no if way out of town.)

[streetsweeper]

To the Op:

I have years of experience as both tenant and landlord.

I know which real restate agents to work with and which ones to avoid.

A locally based property manager looking after your interests and handling emergency repairs is critically important and in so many ways.

PM me if you wish.

Hopefully you have considered drawing up a lease/rent contract and have determined the "best" method of rent payment.

* some property managers are excellent at getting the rent from the tenant but not so good at getting the money to you. - there are ways to avoid all of this

[anto]

>Provide high speed internet, and charge them electric by the unit...like 6 THB, otherwise they will go really hard on the a/c units. <<

Another greedy Land Lord .I have rented out Condos and house and always charged the Government rate for electric .Treat others as you would want to be treated yourself .

[WinnieTheKhwai]

>Provide high speed internet, and charge them electric by the unit...like 6 THB, otherwise they will go really hard on the a/c units. <<

Another greedy Land Lord .I have rented out Condos and house and always charged the Government rate for electric .Treat others as you would want to be treated yourself .

Exactly.

".... or they will go really hared on the a/c units." Good grief.

Ok, so when you find a landlord with those kinds of shenanigans: run like F#$ck. There's no shortage of good houses rented by reasonable people.

[bazza40]

Your best bet is to find an agent who is also a competent handyman. Agents who only charge a commission on rentals they collect will be trying to shave the dice any way they can.

[seesip]

Thanks for all the comments. I'm not due to start renting until next year earliest, so I've got time to work out the details. Most likely will get someone local to "manage" the rental and have service lined up in case repairs need to be done. Cheers.

[KhonKaenKowboy]

>Provide high speed internet, and charge them electric by the unit...like 6 THB, otherwise they will go really hard on the a/c units. <<

Another greedy Land Lord .I have rented out Condos and house and always charged the Government rate for electric .Treat others as you would want to be treated yourself .

Exactly.

".... or they will go really hared on the a/c units." Good grief.

Ok, so when you find a landlord with those kinds of shenanigans: run like F#$ck. There's no shortage of good houses rented by reasonable people.

Perhaps you could name one serviced apartment in CM that gives PEA rate on electric.....or even one that charges less than 6. I was also talking about short term rentals; not long term leases.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

>Provide high speed internet, and charge them electric by the unit...like 6 THB, otherwise they will go really hard on the a/c units. <<

Another greedy Land Lord .I have rented out Condos and house and always charged the Government rate for electric .Treat others as you would want to be treated yourself .

Exactly.

".... or they will go really hared on the a/c units." Good grief.

Ok, so when you find a landlord with those kinds of shenanigans: run like F#$ck. There's no shortage of good houses rented by reasonable people.

Perhaps you could name one serviced apartment in CM that gives PEA rate on electric.....or even one that charges less than 6. I was also talking about short term rentals; not long term leases.

Ah sorry, I missed that. Yeah for short term rentals it does happen that an elevated rate is charged; more often than not, indeed.

Although personally I go the other way and just don't bother: I include everything in one price that covers everything including electricity. Some people use more, some use less, some seasons are more expensive, some less. But overall it balances out and is a lot less hassle than having to go there, check the meter and then charge money.

I basically don't charge for anything, trying to be even more convenient than hotels are (in Thailand), who still manage to nickle and dime people for things like minibar stuff and go count every ashtray on check out. (These things too balance out.. I ask people that if they break something then they replace it with a similar item, and that works very well.) Over time I actually end up with more stuff, as people tend to leave things behind that are sometimes quite useful.

In holiday rentals you're actually competing with hotels in a way, so the more you be like a 5 star hotel, the happier your guests are. I now prefer holiday rentals over hotels too for my own holidays: you often get a lot more space for the same money, and added convenience of having a kitchen, etc.

Edited April 26, 2016 by WinnieTheKhwai

[KhonKaenKowboy]

A few months ago, a friend was netting 20K per week for a 200 sm house in HH. He charged 8 for electric...Some Russians had a 9000 thb electric bill for 2 weeks. The house has five Panasonic air/cons that are about 8 yo. One of them was blowing warm air...he was in town, and would have gladly fixed it, but instead, the renters just turned it on high and let it run, and run, and run....I can't really blame him, because when the properties change hands, the window is maybe three hours. I doubt ant manager in LOS is going to test every A/C, every time. Not a disaster, and he made money on the bill, but he would have much rather fixed it right away, because they put about a years wear and tear on the compressor in two weeks. OTOH, a lot of the Thai places that are service apartments seem to always have an old, under charged unit. Perhaps a good compromise, would be to include electric, but put a generous limit on it, and if they go over....they pay a marked up rate....that way, they just won't get in the habit of leaving stuff running all the time, yet they will still get value and comfort. It would also keep the account in your hands, Otherwise, if they do a runner....they probably won't pay the last one, and have another half month unpaid, and that could easily be a months rent....and while PEA isn't immigration, they have their own rule books that can vary like the wind.