Renting

[troyhaa]

Hey forumites

 

Just wondering if you can help with the intricacies of getting a rental property without being taken for a ride.

 

I have been told the following and am just wondering if people could share their experiences. 

 

Im looking at 6+ months rental in South Phuket starting low season for a 2 or 3 bed fully furnished villa/house/condo. Min 150sqm with pool (shared ok). Not too old. Budget 45k per month

 

1. Dont use realestate agents on the web they charge way overs and are dodgy and that tend to charge upto 50% more.

 

2. Dont trust realestate agents they will rip you off (apparently Thai ones are ok)

 

2. Book when you arrive. (Seems common sense)

 

3. Its easier to drive around the area you like, call the number on the gate of the house for rent  and deal directly with owners and then you can barter on price and inclusions.

 

4. Ask at local shops and restaurants if any of the locals know of any places for rent.

 

So..... how accurate is this summation

 

How hard can you barter in general for realestate are we talking 10% 20% 50% from the asking price.

 

Obviously dont want to offend people by offering 30k a month for a property listed/asked at 60k for example.

 

Are there that many properties for rent that its a renters market (especially in low season) and are people getting desperate to get their property rented.

 

Should electricity and water be included in an agreement. 

 

Thanks for reading and thanks for helping with info.

 

 

[Psimbo]

Summation is pretty much there.

 

No 3 is the key- get yourself up and down the Sois. If you have friends here already they may know people with properties for rent as well.

 

Why do you think offering people less is insulting- a lot of people over-price their properties so its expected that there will be give and take.

 

Its definitely a renter's market where I live- not sure about the South but i'd expect it to be the same now.

 

Electric is normally separate for a long term let, water depends on the contract

 

 

[Mysterion]

Longer term rental market prices through an agent may be 10% higher than what you would get if you deal directly with an owner.

 

Do your research on the various agancy websites first before signing anything.

[madmax2]

Agents usually charge at least one months rent as a rental fee

Get out and look around yourself in the area you want to rent in and deal directly with the landlord/owner, There are well priced rental properties but the owners are fussy about who they rent them to and they are not on the market for long

If you have a previous history of renting and paying your rent on time and looking after the property this will go a long way towards getting a discount on rental, most owners prefer and want a 1 year rental contract to start with and then will carry on renting to you on a monthly basis 

[phuketrichard]

Ur spot on, drive around and call the numbers listed

i'd say whatever the house is listed for if its thai owned thats the price they want.

even thou many homes go unrented for months if not years at a time.(Cause they want to much an dont really care if it rents or not)

 

4 years ago here in Kamala u couldn't find a house to rent after Oct till around may,

past high season lots of them for rent.and not one would lower there asking price.( i went looking for a friend)

Electric, cable, internet, water u usually pay   although sometimes u will see cable /water thrown in for free ( so they dont need disconnect if nobody there and its not much money)

 

here in Kamala a 2 bedroom homes goes for 15-25,000  35 if a pool

[Mover1]

Agree with others, by far the best way is driving around all the streets and speaking direct with owners. Its the way i found my place, nice big two bed detached house for 15k a month but no pool. Water is free from a well, have to pay electric, internet, cleaner and gardener. I'd never have found it if i didn't spend the time (3 weeks) driving around every little Soi in the area, most places to rent just have a tiny little A4 sign at the front with a number to call. It was also a really good way to get to know an area, i found loads of places that i never knew existed before. As already stated most owners will give you a price and won't budge at all, its not like haggling at the markets. 

 

There's a lot of places being advertised on local Facebook groups now, so might be worth a try. Just search for items for sale Phuket, or Phuket renting and some pages/groups will come up.

 

When i was looking i came into contact with these guys who seemed pretty genuine: http://wmalexander.com owned and run by a guy from UK so easy to talk to. Viewed a couple of places but eventually found a this one on my own. You can search their website and see whats on offer for your budget though.

 

Good luck!

[beechbum]

Airbnb.com may be worth a look.

[JHolmesJr]

Isn't one of those rules:

 

Once you pay a deposit on a rental, you will never get it back.

[phuketrichard]

14 hours ago, JHolmesJr said:

Isn't one of those rules:

 

Once you pay a deposit on a rental, you will never get it back.

NO

have always gotten deposits back

[LivinginKata]

17 hours ago, JHolmesJr said:

Isn't one of those rules:

 

Once you pay a deposit on a rental, you will never get it back.

 

In 19 years of being  landlords we have always given deposits back subject to the contract conditions.  I think that is the rental normal.

[YaiJung]

Depends on who you rent from.  I have rented from approximately 7 different landlords over the years - one was a foreigner, the rest Thai.  Foreigner gave the deposit back right away, with no problems.  Two Thai landlords gave back between 50-70% after much hassle, chasing them around, excuses, disappearing act, etc.   Three others (Thais) outright refused, saying it was never meant to be refunded in the first place and "this is Thailand", despite saying they would when I initially moved in.  Currently renting from a foreigner, who I would like to think will give me my deposit back when I move. 

 

Lesson learned:  if possible only rent from foreigners. 

 

If situation is such that only Thai owned places are available,  keep any deposits to a minimum and don't pay the final months rent, bills, etc,...Thai style.  (can even move out/disappear the in middle of night in some cases, as they will surely be unreachable should you attempt to recover your deposit.)  Keep it fair though, if you damage anything, pay up. 

Edited April 24, 2017 by YaiJung

[Tapster]

We rented in Rawai for seven months in 2014.

 

We paid a substantial deposit of almost 100,000.00 THB through a well-respected local agency.....can I mention it?......yes, because I have nothing to gain by it:

 

https://www.houseinphuket.com/

 

The lady's name is Wellta.

 

We got our entire deposit back, with no deductions at all.

 

We had a large house with pool, for 50k THB a month.

 

Incidentally, I would never pay that much now, knowing more about what's available and what it's worth. Definitely drive round to find the sort of area you like, then drive/walk/look around. There may well be somewhere nice for much less than your budget.

 

Good luck

 

[troyhaa]

Thanks everyone for your responses. We have heard good things about Welta. We are thinking we will spend some time looking around ourselves and spend a  day or two with an agent just to compare what is on offer. 

 

 @phuketrichard Are you posting on TA forum too?

 

Im sure we will find something we like. Just didnt want to be ripped off. We only want to pay whats fair (If that's even possible)

 

Any other thoughts would be appreciated 

[phuketjock]

19 hours ago, troyhaa said:

Thanks everyone for your responses. We have heard good things about Welta. We are thinking we will spend some time looking around ourselves and spend a  day or two with an agent just to compare what is on offer. 

 

 @phuketrichard Are you posting on TA forum too?

 

Im sure we will find something we like. Just didnt want to be ripped off. We only want to pay whats fair (If that's even possible)

 

Any other thoughts would be appreciated 

You need to read the recent thread in this forum " Loud Neighbours What to do? "

before you rent. 

Edited April 28, 2017 by phuketjock
correction

[merijn]

On 4/26/2017 at 2:19 PM, Tapster said:

We rented in Rawai for seven months in 2014.

 

We paid a substantial deposit of almost 100,000.00 THB through a well-respected local agency.....can I mention it?......yes, because I have nothing to gain by it:

 

https://www.houseinphuket.com/

 

The lady's name is Wellta.

 

We got our entire deposit back, with no deductions at all.

 

We had a large house with pool, for 50k THB a month.

 

Incidentally, I would never pay that much now, knowing more about what's available and what it's worth. Definitely drive round to find the sort of area you like, then drive/walk/look around. There may well be somewhere nice for much less than your budget.

 

Good luck

 

I can second that but from a landlord perspective.

I rent a few of my houses via them and never had any issue with them.