Psychological torture of condo living Jomtien

[aussienam]

AH .... I'VE MADE IT TO PARADISE .........  CAN ANYONE HERE RELATE TO THIS ....?

 

Here I sit in my pool view condo bought off the plan three years ago, thinking that this would be the answer to my stressful living in Australia - to move here and live retirement bliss.  

The graphic representation of the condo off the plan looked totally amazing and in my mind I envisioned other like-minded farangs of similar age filling up the foreign-ownership condominiums and the other 51% with nice Thai families adhering to the respectful and thoughtful Thai Buddhist culture.

 

I visualised the waterfall features soothing my nerves and the beautiful pool outlook making me feel at peace with the world at last.  My due diligence on the construction and property developers I thought was something that would ensure I did my homework right.  I pictured sitting on my balcony taking in the ambience.  

 

Moving in initially it was just that, blissful and relaxing.  I thought I had made the best decision of my retirement life.  But as time went on and the years progressed, the place began to fill up with a different demographic to what I was expecting - families.  And lots and lots of them.  I realised soon that the peaceful environment was not to be.  Actually it has become a living hell of psychological torture - from 8am to almost 8pm there are the constant sounds of squeals, high pitched screams from toddlers and young children, shouts, yells, crying and other sounds only children can really make.  

The place has become a children's water park 7 days a week.  Gloating parents bounce around their kids stimulating them and over exciting them so that they erupt in vocal expressions much to the delight of their self-absorbed parents.  

 

I look down shaking my head and despondent.  Condominium laws stipulate for behaviour in the complex that does not interfere with the comfort of others - yeah right.  Not everyone is taken into account.  It is totally geared to families and their kids are 'apparently' exempt from this clause.  

 

The sliding doors and windows now keep shut all day despite wanting to get the occassional breeze outside.  I would rather pay the extra 2000 Baht a month in air conditioning.  

 

But even those measures do not stop the high pitched sounds penetrating through glass. The acoustic configuration of the buildings positioned opposite each other separated by the pool below means that it has created the ideal amplifier of sounds that bounce off the walls from the water and into the condos.  It actually sounds much worse higher up than from pool level.  

 

 It is like Chinese water torture - frequent water drops onto the forehead.  But in this case it is the constant irritation in my eardrums of high pitched soundwave spikes that just jab away at me all day.  To the uninitiated and casual visitor to this place, it may seem such a non-issue.  Ah, they're just being children.  Ah that's ok then.  Oh, I didn't think of that.  How silly of me.  Thanks for those words of wisdom.  

 

What is it that when there is water - it is like an open licence to make as much noise as possible?  Remove dry land and all of a sudden it causes kids to shriek and parents to jump up and down like idiots.  Want noise?  Just add water!  Oh - look there's some water.  I better jump in and holler and shriek because I am so excited I am wet! (beating head against wall now)

 

"Earplugs" you say?  I have tried them, plus headphones over the top - but still then the little darlings' sounds penetrate even through all those layers.  I have sought solace in the bathroom at times with fans running and music playing.  But eventually you need some light and air.  There's only so much music you can play - especially when trying to concentrate on day to day business.  

 

Come along the holiday seasons and Winter in Russia and all the Russian condo owners and rental guests come flocking to Jomtien - which I prefer to now call 'Little Russia'.  

That's when the fun really begins.  Now I have a combination of annoyances.  Slamming doors, loud talking that often seems on the brink of a fist fight - but is just they way they talk.  They don't appear to have any concept about noise disturbance - or if they do they figure that if it is not disturbing them then it does not matter about anyone else.  

 

And let's slam a door shut at 2am in the morning after going to the toilet.  I just need all my neighbours to know that me , a Russian citizen has just been to the toilet ... I will now beat my chest and walk like I have water melons between both arms in a display of how powerful we as a Russian race of people are ....

 

Being boisterous and aggressive when talking is just a normal trait it seems.  It isn't all their fault though - the pathetic construction quality of these cheaply made condominiums means that the sound proofing is shamefully absent.  

 

And it is not unusual for Russian and Thai families alike to jam in a one bedroom condo - 6 to 10 people.  So that's 6-10 trips to the bathroom and doors slamming open and shut.  But trying the gently gently requests for new Russian neighbours to please keep noise down is returned with gruff and disinterested looks followed by usually a door slam in a show of their superiority and not losing face by showing an apparent weakness in agreeing to be considerate.  I don't understand Russian culture but it is very much the norm here.  But I am sure the elite educated Russian population surely would not behave like this.

 

I am sorry, but what the %$#@?  How is staying in a condo jam packed with people going to be enjoyable?  Is that a holiday?  If Russians fly halfway across the world to stay in a one bedroom or studio with half a dozen others - are you kidding me?  I just cannot imagine then how bloody awful it must be where they live if that's all they can afford.  Not being a hotel there is no guest restrictions so it is carte blanche for how many you want to fit inside.  

 

Russian kids here run amok running up and down corridors screaming and yelling and generally being destructive and badly behaved.  Management here threw up their hands a long time ago conceding defeat and saying there was basically nothing they could do.  Oh, okay then.  Well, I suppose I'll just have to grin and bear it and keep on paying my yearly maintenance fees for a job well done.  Now the place is slowly deteriorating and falling apart and management come up with all sorts of excuses and are masters in obfuscating.  Angry owners at yearly AGMS are left bewildered and confused as we are told why things are just not getting maintained, repaired or improved.  

 

Add insult to injury there are large numbers of owners who have not paid maintenance fees - around 40%.  And with an impotent management team those funds are not being collected.  So five years from now there will be no funds left.  Anything that needs fixing that you bring to their attention takes around 6 months to get done - if at all - usually never.  Staff do very little.   Shirking work and responsibility seems to be the norm here.  Mai pen rai with a smile.  Don't worry.  Everything will be okay.  

 

I have suddenly come to the realisation that condominiums in Pattaya and probably in Thailand is just an open licence to rip off people, take money, not work and just go along for the free ride that farangs and rich Thais pay for.  There is no incentive for management or other employees, etc do anything really.  It is a jealousy thing?  They know that historically these condos are eventually in such a state of disrepair and lacking in funds that owners give up and walk away.  The complexes are eventually left as abandoned shells and one day demolished - so that another property developer with grand plans will come along with fancy CGI can lure 'investors' (more like "suckers") into parting with their cash.  And so the Thai condo cycle continues.  

 

This then regenerates a salary and cash cow system for Thai people who will be employed yet once again to suck the owners dry of their cash, commit all the various acts of fraud and other corrupt practices to skim money off contracts and purchases and let the places fall apart - to then start again.  

 

The property market has taken a dive and not only is there an oversupply of condos for sale, but there is an extremely deficient buyer's market.  

 

So now here I sit realising my mistakes and feeling quite stupid in my decision making.  The kids are outside squeal away as I type and my blood pressure extreme ...... 

[shady86]

I would always look for a condo not facing main road, high floor and clear from future constructions. Anything other than these is recipe for disaster.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[Halfaboy]

Hahaha ... I read your whole story. It would be good information for potential buyers (buyers beware).

 

Thanks for taking the time....

[thaibeachlovers]

Should be mandatory reading for every potential property buyer in Thailand, along with all the other hundreds of similar stories.

[grollies]

Drop a huge turd in the pool, that should keep the kids out for a while?

[nickmanchester2]

38 minutes ago, shady86 said:

I would always look for a condo not facing main road, high floor and clear from future constructions. Anything other than these is recipe for disaster.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
 

but he is complaining about facing the pool area where all the kids are... I think I am in the same building in Jomtien, but i am facing the road and it is fine, this is my 3rd year of renting it for 8000b a month for a 1 bed condo... yes, im glad I dont face the pool.

 

the walls are thin, so it is a lottery on your neighbors - I remember about a year or 2 ago, I had a russian man next door who would leave his door open every day and used to make cottage cheese all day... the noise of the fork banging against the bowl was sending me crazy.

 

I have the money to buy, but ive always been happier renting wherever I am in thailand

[aussienam]

Drop a huge turd in the pool, that should keep the kids out for a while?

555. Unfortunately the kids beat me to that a few times. I came 'face to face' with one few months ago bobbing in water. Combo of Russian boys defecating in pool on purpose and toddlers with no waterproof nappies (I mean ... come on there's always a 50/50 chance they are going to dump if you do that).

Sent from my SM-G9287 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[bigtrouble]

Complete nonsense. I have stayed in dozens of studios in jomtien, Pattaya, Bangkok, all over thailand actually and never hid in a toilet lol.

OP is big drama queen.

Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk

[pgrahmm]

Personally, I don't think I could ever live in a hive environment - never have lived in anything close & never will - some hotel rooms have more living space; no thanks....

 

Condos here along with the 30 year leases seems like nothing but a suckers bet.....Couple that with the fact that forward planning & safety/earthquake standards are close to non existent you've just reaffirmed my thoughts.....

 

I personally like the sound of active children to an extent - but you're trapped in a no win situation....

 

Good luck, hope you don't have high blood pressure....Those folks aren't going to stop having more kids any time soon....

 

 

[Briggsy]

My condo is nothing like that. You need to move to Sri Racha.

[impulse]

I love the sound of kids having fun, with the added bonus that they're usually inside and quiet even before my early bedtime.

 

[Kwasaki]

33 minutes ago, pgrahmm said:

Personally, I don't think I could ever live in a hive environment 

Me too,  never understood why retires buy condo's.  

[ukrules]

5 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Me too,  never understood why retires buy condo's.  

Well you can't buy a house in your own name so that's a good place to start.

 

 

[reenatinnakor]

Well you do get what you pay for. If you're buying a pre-built unit for less than the price of the top model SUV then what do you expect?

Spend 10m up on a condo then you won't have this problem.

Sent from my LG-H990 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[aussienam]

7 minutes ago, reenatinnakor said:

Well you do get what you pay for. If you're buying a pre-built unit for less than the price of the top model SUV then what do you expect?

Spend 10m up on a condo then you won't have this problem.

Sent from my LG-H990 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

You are right 'on the money' with that comment.  But this is Thailand.  I would not spend 10 Million Baht here (unless I was in a much better financial position which unfortunately I am not).  It's just too risky for me.  

Almost 5M is what I spent as it was relatively low risk for my situation.  10M Baht is approx $400k back in Oz where I would outlay that sort of cash into a property that would give me capital gains.  You won't get CGs in Jomtien IMO.  

 

At entry price I went in, if I was to lose a few hundred grand in Thai Baht when I sell up it would equate to almost what I would have paid in rent anyway whilst I was here.  So it was an acceptable risk.  

 

Saying that I would most certainly enjoy a high standard penthouse condo somewhere and therefore attracted an educated wealthy clientele with manners and etiquette to match.  I am hearing you! 

 

The condo here attracted a load of Russian investors when their rouble was very high so low income earners flocked here buying up condos that seemed very affordable to them (with their 'birds of a feather' mentality as well); whereas normally it would have been out of reach.  So I am guessing a lower socio-economic class of people, being lower educated, and hence less refined standards of acceptable behaviour and social norms.  

 

This is definitely reflected in what I have seen over the years with peak season guests and owners looking more like Russian versions of the 'Walmart bogans' that are bandied about the internet making fun of the 'trailer trash' US citizens who frequent their shopping centres.   

[tonray]

So you moved into a condo with Russian neighbors with enlarged prostates ?

[saakura]

I think you are going to be very unhappy wherever you live in thailand. If not the sounds of playing children or your deep hatred for the russians, you are giing to be offended by thai food smells or motorcycles or pollution or smoke haze or songkran or chinese tourists or thai immigration or ..... why put yourself under such severe stress? By the way, did you ever play with friends as a child?

[55Jay]

3 hours ago, aussienam said:

So now here I sit realising my mistakes and feeling quite stupid in my decision making.

If this is the place I'm thinking of, I looked at one to rent short term not long ago.  Saw the photos, condition of the rooms, it looked like a tourist / kid magnet.  The reviews on it by past guests were horrendous and almost word for word to your OP!   Realize it wasn't like this when you got there, but right, the slow decline of condos and moo baans is a common story in idyllic Thailand.

 

                

Edited May 12, 2017 by 55Jay

[aussienam]

I think you are going to be very unhappy wherever you live in thailand. If not the sounds of playing children or your deep hatred for the russians, you are giing to be offended by thai food smells or motorcycles or pollution or smoke haze or songkran or chinese tourists or thai immigration or ..... why put yourself under such severe stress? By the way, did you ever play with friends as a child?

Thanks for your comments but not quite right there. The playing kids scenario is like a kindergarten on steroids multiplied by 7 days a week. I tolerate kids to a certain extent but this is ridiculous. Mates who have come over to stay on holidays have also commented during their short stays. Other people have complained. Deep hatred of Russians .. wouldn't go that far. Had Russian mate in Oz but he was a doctor before and decent bloke. It would be the same as some pockets of Oz and bad behaved Aussies in Bali etc. Just mentioned Russians because that is the demographic here. But yes their bad attitude has rubbed off on me and I have developed a dislike despite my usual kind nature and attitude of giving people a fair go. I have tried very hard to not develop bias.
I love Thailand and have lived in Sth East Asia in places that only had locals and loved it for years. Pollution no cares, Songkran I loved and got involved, Chinese tourists - their pushing and shoving in queues is annoying but is a cultural thing to 'be first', immigration not a problem so far.
Playing with other kids when I was a child? Ah so that explains my current psychopathology regarding my intolerance to screaming kids! (Just visualised putting crocodiles into the pool as a child deterrent :)


Sent from my SM-G9287 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[rhodie]

OP, why so much restraint! Don't hold back. Tell us how you really feel. ?

[tazly]

1 hour ago, impulse said:

I love the sound of kids having fun, with the added bonus that they're usually inside and quiet even before my early bedtime.

 

Have to agree....OP sounds to be anti-social and would be better off living as a hermit in a cave!

[55Jay]

2 hours ago, impulse said:

I love the sound of kids having fun, with the added bonus that they're usually inside and quiet even before my early bedtime.

 

Don't forget about those paper thin walls. 

 

And the pitter patter of little feet on the floor above you (your ceiling), followed by THUMP THUMP THUMP when Mom chases them around the room. 

Edited May 12, 2017 by 55Jay

[impulse]

34 minutes ago, 55Jay said:

Don't forget about those paper thin walls.  

 

And the pitter patter of little feet on the floor above you (your ceiling), followed by THUMP THUMP THUMP when Mom chases them around the room. 

 

When I was a kid, we moved from a busy street in Chicago to a quiet suburb on the south side.  It took months before we could sleep through the quiet.

 

I once rented a house at college that turned out to be 50 meters from some train tracks.  For a few weeks, the daily train woke me up at 06:05- which was handy for making those 08:00 classes.  Within a month, the train didn't wake me up.

 

I can get accustomed to just about anything except that pit in my stomach that comes from harboring a resentment.  That'll kill me.  Fortunately, it's one factor that's always completely within my power to change.  Or, I can be miserable.  My choice.

 

Edited May 12, 2017 by impulse

[55Jay]

2 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

When I was a kid, we moved from a busy street in Chicago to a quiet suburb on the south side.  It took months before we could sleep through the quiet.

 

I once rented a house at college that turned out to be 50 meters from some train tracks.  For a few weeks, the daily train woke me up at 06:05- which was handy for making those 08:00 classes.  Within a month, the train didn't wake me up.

 

You can get accustomed to just about anything except that pit in your stomach that comes from harboring a resentment.  That'll kill you.

Yes, I'm aware of all that, and have my own experiences.  But Condo/Apartment living?  Been there done that too, never again. 

[KittenKong]

3 hours ago, aussienam said:

I have suddenly come to the realisation that condominiums in Pattaya and probably in Thailand is just an open licence to rip off people, take money, not work and just go along for the free ride that farangs and rich Thais pay for.  There is no incentive for management or other employees, etc do anything really.

 

Cant argue with that. I dont think I have come across a more uniformly dishonest selection of people than those involved in condo management in Pattaya.This includes people of all nationalities, and also committee members. Scum is about the nicest thing one can say about them.

 

As for the noise aspect, I think you made a bad choice selecting a building with water park features. I specifically chose a building that would not appeal to people with children and even so we have far more of them than I would like. Unfortunately these people are self-replicating in that they are on a small budget and when they move in prices drop, thus making it even more attractive to other people like them. So the good owners and tenants progressively move out, to be replaced by the dregs. It isnt helped by Thailand's apparently endless drive to attract lowest common denominator tourists.

 

 

[Rhys]

cut your loses...buy a house up country... close to a major city...

[Canceraid]

Never never buy condos or even townhouses in thailand...always opt for single homes. Mind you, you are living in a country that was never civilized plus its also a country that attract a lot of foreign rejects.

[swissie]

Above comments mostly miss the point. Under these circumstances, OP has only 2 options left: Tolerate the situation or move out. (sell out). By selling out and moving out, he is likely to suffer a financial loss, given the circumstances.

To remember: 15 years ago, a Farang, buying a condo was a "quality Tourist" or a "quality Investor", surrounded by equals.
But the "demographics" have changed dramatically over the years.
Cheers.

[balo]

7 hours ago, aussienam said:

Here I sit in my pool view condo

Why can't you name the condo ?  Is it located in Soi Watboon ?  Waterpark ? 

 

 

 

[Damrongsak]

2 hours ago, Rhys said:

cut your loses...buy a house up country... close to a major city...

The front porch/deck on our house in "suburban" Loei.  My wife was sitting out there the other day drinking a beer and eating chicken feet.  We don't own the swamp, just a little pond, but it will probably remain as is forever.

 

Pretty quiet except for the occasional extravaganza at the Wat just up the street.  It is right next to an unpaved alley, but there's very little traffic.  My wife's sister lives directly across the alley, so we can tell them to shut the hell up if need be.  The house next door belongs to the family. :)