watcharacters Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 I've rented a house for several years and have been totally happy with it and everything in general. Circumstances have compelled me to move fairly abruptly. I figured no big deal. I just make sure I give a 30 day notice to the owner of the house and pay the rent accordingly. Therein lies the problem. I'm not able to contact the owner. He's a good guy and I like him. I've tried to connect with him at his email which is a France (Fr.) Yahoo email address. NO reply and checking today I find there is no more Yahoo Fr. He leaves Thailand for several months at a time so his phone is not working. I suspect he's out of the country but as far as I know he may not be alive. I know the general area where he lives but have no idea as to which particular place it is. In all the years I've lived here I naturally took care of all maintainence and dutifully paid the rent on time. Over the years the owner has shared with his Yahoo Fr. email address what he finds as especially beautiful photos which I enjoyed. Our relationship has been conflict free and positive. I'll be out of this house very soon and I wonder what I should do? Should I leave the keys with a friend and put a note on the door with my friends phone number? The moban has security but they speak nary a word of English so I don't see them as much of an option. What would you do? I really didn't need this curve ball at this juncture in my life but it is just circumstances. I cringe at the thought of leaving the house unlocked and leave the keys on a table. My next step? Added: Just to clarify, the site I used to check on his email address said Yahoo Fr. is not a valid address. Maybe there is a Yahoo Fr but sadly my landlord has not notified me if he's changed his address or phone number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kannot Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 Lock the place up, turn off the water and electric, pay all bills up to date write a note and stick on the front door but get it laminated so it wont wash away, leave your e mail address etc so u can explain why you left. Leave the keys with someone you know here??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackcab Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 Are you leaving Thailand? If not, keep the keys. You can EMS them to him when the time comes. I would also leave a copy of the same notice inside the building - perhaps on the inside of the front door - just in case the outside notice goes missing. Before you leave, photograph everything very well (smartphone images with a time and date stamp are good). Email the pictures to yourself for safe keeping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trogers Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 When you stop paying the rent, he would come knocking pretty fast, if he is still around... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geisha Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 Hi, are you really sure that you have keyed in the exact email address , Like using all small letters ? Have you tried just replying to one of his emails to you ? I would also go with a Thai person to the water and electricity board to get his particulars, name , phone Number ? If you have his full name then you can find him in France. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedsada3 Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 Did you google his name? Did you check on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram ans all other social networks? Did you check with officials if he is really the owner of the house? If there is an other owner (Thai) they could help you to find her/him/it. I wouldn't let a notice on the front door. It could be an invitation for robbers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sirbergan Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 What information do you have about the guy? I assume you don't have his French Phone number? If you have any other information, like in which area in France he lives (or even his French address, is that in the contract), perhaps a Google search for his name and some other information you might have would lead to finding his French phone number or other contact details? Do you know if he has a Facebook account? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven100 Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 leave a bottle of whisky and the keys on the table .... and then get the hell otta dodge city !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12DrinkMore Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 fr.yahoo.com works for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suradit69 Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 How long has it been since you last had contact with him? Even if he died in the last month or two it seems odd that his email account would be closed. Were you making monthly payments into his Thai bank account? Unlikely as a foreigner that he would have owned the house solely in his name. Did he own it through a business he ran here or with a Thai "partner?" Maybe the bank manager would have information ... although he probably wouldn't share it with a third party. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiWai Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 Start subleasing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bujan Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 yahoo.fr is a valid address (not Fr) I have a valid email address using it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOLDBUGGY Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 I wouldn't worry about this too much. As someone said, once you stop with the payments he will find you quick enough. But I question if you will get back your damage deposit, so it would have been better if you could have used that for rent money, and now he would not owe you anything. I am not a believer of leaving a note on an outside door advertising that nobody lives there anymore. Better to put your Notice on the kitchen table as he will have another set of keys to get in. Better to keep these keys until you have a sure way to give them back. They don't cost much money to make and I am sure he will have more made. He should find your contact details on the kitchen table so you have done all you could under the circumstances. If the Landlord lives in a different country, without providing contact details to his tenants, then he is the cause of this and not you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kabula Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 I would go to the Police Dept.and explain the situation and file a report. Perhaps they can give you advice. They can check if he is deceased or contact a relative. If they can't help I would consult with a competent, licensed lawyer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazza73 Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 4 hours ago, Suradit69 said: How long has it been since you last had contact with him? Even if he died in the last month or two it seems odd that his email account would be closed. Were you making monthly payments into his Thai bank account? Unlikely as a foreigner that he would have owned the house solely in his name. Did he own it through a business he ran here or with a Thai "partner?" Maybe the bank manager would have information ... although he probably wouldn't share it with a third party. If one is paying for an ISP with the associated email address, when monthly payments to the ISP stop so does the email service. Not much grace period in my experience, when I switched to free gmail. Perhaps if the OP notifies the bank he makes rental payments to he is leaving, the bank MAY then notify the landlord. Unusual situation. I have an absentee landlord; however, his agent turns up every time a rent payment is due. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seancbk Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 22 hours ago, trogers said: When you stop paying the rent, he would come knocking pretty fast, if he is still around... I didn't pay rent on my condo for 3 months. My landlady didn't notice. I've lived in this unit for almost 5 years, only seen her twice. Once when I rented it and once a few month later when I asked if I could pay annually instead of monthly. She said yes and offered me a 1 month discount for annual payment, but I chose to stick to monthly. I'm currently one month behind because I missed the payment in December. She hasn't said anything this time either. Oh and my contract was one year, hasn't been renewed and rent hasn't changed. I have the best Landlady I know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hdkane Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 There is a very nice home near me...well, it's no longer nice after the years...the owner was from Germany I've been told...he died and was returned to him homeland...no one in his family was notified about his ownership of the home, through a company...I was told that the fellow died about a decade ago...no info about his next of kin available...no meaningful relationships in Thailand...so the property has been abandoned for many years...what happens to such properties, because I'm sure there are very expensive properties "out there" in limbo... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trogers Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 13 minutes ago, hdkane said: There is a very nice home near me...well, it's no longer nice after the years...the owner was from Germany I've been told...he died and was returned to him homeland...no one in his family was notified about his ownership of the home, through a company...I was told that the fellow died about a decade ago...no info about his next of kin available...no meaningful relationships in Thailand...so the property has been abandoned for many years...what happens to such properties, because I'm sure there are very expensive properties "out there" in limbo... When property tax becomes in effect, such properties would be identified and returned to nearest next of kin, failing that, would fall to the State. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Langsuan Man Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 I would try to Text Message (SMS) his Thai phone If like most of us, he needs to have SMS roaming on to get banking messages from Thailand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watcharacters Posted March 7, 2017 Author Share Posted March 7, 2017 Thanks one and all for the thoughts and suggestions. I can't address the cause of the matter but can say it appeared to be basically a comedy of errors. Neither his nor his wife's phone was working and I didn't receive a reply he said he sent. Yes I checked junk mail as well. He called me from in front of the house and I invited him in. He really is a great guy and I believe he's fully sincere in his friendship attitude. He was completely understanding and cooperative regarding my situation. There is a severe language problem between us in that while he speaks according to the Missus outstanding Thai, his English is not quite up to par. Consequently, I really don't know exactly what happened. I'm leaving a pretty decent Sony TV and a larger refrigerator along with a dozen or so pieces of assorted furniture. I'll also have no need for the 5K THB pressure washer I've only used a few times. But to his disadvantage, the washing machine has essentially given up the ghost. And while the microwave works fine, the interior is starting to deteriorate. I told him he can keep the security deposit ( a month and a half rent) to replace whatever he needs to replace. All's well that ends well and I'm satisfied with the direction things are taking now. P.S. If things had come to it, I would have opted for what's behind door #3 which was to leave a note on the door with the phone number of a friend with whom I would have left the keys. I would never just skip out. Skipping out would be akin to the American ( fellow countryman) bastard I knew of who upon finding an iPhone a few years ago was exploding with glee and said he'd never even consider trying to find the owner and return it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seancbk Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 8 hours ago, hdkane said: There is a very nice home near me...well, it's no longer nice after the years...the owner was from Germany I've been told...he died and was returned to him homeland...no one in his family was notified about his ownership of the home, through a company...I was told that the fellow died about a decade ago...no info about his next of kin available...no meaningful relationships in Thailand...so the property has been abandoned for many years...what happens to such properties, because I'm sure there are very expensive properties "out there" in limbo... I wonder what squatters rights there are here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackcab Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 19 minutes ago, seancbk said: I wonder what squatters rights there are here? Adverse possession is covered by Section 1382 of the Civil and Commercial Code. You need to occupy the land for a minimum of 10 years, which is why you see some illegal encampments moved on at the 8-9 year mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seancbk Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 Just now, blackcab said: Adverse possession is covered by Section 1382 of the Civil and Commercial Code. You need to occupy the land for a minimum of 10 years, which is why you see some illegal encampments moved on at the 8-9 year mark. Thanks. That precludes going and trying to take over an McMansions laying empty around Thailadn then ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenchair Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 You could contact his embassy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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