Renting, your advice please

[DermotC]

I have found a house to rent in Udon. Im not there at the moment so i have someone doing it for me(friend). Agreed a price with the realtor and when i got an email from them today there is an extra 800 baht a month fee for rubbish collection and maintenance etc. Is this standard practice in Udon or are they trying to pull a fast one on me? No money has exchanged hands yet and Im a bit peeved that this fee has only come up now when its time to sign contracts. No mention of it before at all

[Galee]

Their pulling a fast one. For refuse collection I pay 20 baht a month to a local council rep who calls at the house.

[DermotC]

Their official name for it is a Village Fee.

[BobHelm]

I do think some of the 'private villages' charge their own amounts for things like refuse collection, keeping the streets clean & tidy, street lighting etc. I think this happens when the local authorities have not agreed that they will take over responsibility for the up keep.
The 20 baht for refuse collection that Galee rightly mentions is paid directly to a city representative who calls every month & gives a receipt that was the only 'fee' when I was living in Romyen.
I think someone mentioned that the 'fees' at the 'millionaire village' was 3,000 baht a month.
I think whether 800 baht is a fair fee depends very much on what you are getting for it. If there are grass verges/flowers that are well maintained, a free club house/fitness centre, good & reliable security & the streets are well light then it is probably a snip. If all they do is collect the rubbish, then it is a rip off..

[DermotC]

Bob,

My main problem is they never told me about it. Just when it came to sign contracts this fee appeared out of nowhere. Never mentioned before. I agree a price and then they add another 800 per month out of the blue. Snip or not, shouldnt the realty company have told me about it up front? I just feel im getting screwed and this should have been made clear from the start. If i agree a price then thats the price!

[douglas]

Hi,
Bought my house in Udon in 2005. Glad I did. Six years ago, if I had been paying rent for this time, I would of nearly paid for my place, and still would have nothing. The only person that makes money from a rented place is the landlord. That is why they do it. Plus all the restrictions you have to put up with.
Every month I pay 100B for rubbish collection, security, street repair and lighting. I think the rubbish collection is only 20B a month. Paid to the estate owners. They also have a playing area for children inclided in this. They are taking the piss. Some people will pay it. My electricity bill has never been more than 200B a month MAX. that is for a three bedroom two bathboom house. Wife and two tenager daughters.
Cheers Doug.

[arjay]

Agree with Bob and the above. If the 800 is only for rubbish collection it's OTT.

You need to find out what "maintenance" constitutes or exactly what else it covers. If that incorporates: street lighting, maintenance of communal gardens, maintenance/sweeping the streets, and 24 hour manned security, that would seem reasonable, but not if solely for rubbish collection.

[stattointhailand]

Doug ....... can I "borrow" your wife and two teenage daughters please?

My elec bill varies between B1500 and B3300 per month depending on the time of year.

Come to think of it my WATER bill is more than your elec bill.

[BobHelm]

Have PM'd you Dermot.
Yes I understand your frustration at the charge being hidden until right at the last minute....welcome to Thailand & the Thai way of doing business I am afraid.
Agree with Statto on the electricity mine was between 1,200 & 1,600 a month depending on season.
Douglas you advice might be well intended but is plainly stupid for a person who is coming to Udon Thani for a year to go out & buy a property!! It takes about 300 months 25 years to pay the same in rent as you would have for buying the place. That ignores the fact that no large capital investment is required with the rent & that you can move at short notice with issue. Buying might, under very certain specific circumstances, be a good option for some. It is not the best option for all & certainly not those who are only just arriving in the area!!

[DermotC]

have pm'd you back Bob. I understand what the fee is for and had it been told to me up front I wouldnt have had a problem with it. It was just the way it was handled i.e when i read the paperwork. I know its Thailand and yes i make allowances but i just feel it was handled very badly by the realtor. In order to improve things, especially for Farangs, I feel my only recourse is to cancel the deal and explain to them exactly why im doing it. I have my mate going in tomorrow to speak with them. Depending what happens then, ill either have a new home or not. If it doesnt come out to my liking then I will name the company but everyone deserves a chace first to rectify what is obviously a very bad mistake (Or the thai way of doing business)

[douglas]

Hi stat.
Sorry about that. The electric bill I looked at was for next door.They live down south and wife looks after the house and bills for them. She's better at this than me. As you have found out. She just give me our last months electricity bill and it was 997.25B.
Sorry about wrong information. I've slapped my wrist.

[stattointhailand]

No probs Doug .......... you nearly got my Misses and little'un to stay for a couple of months ......... just to show how you can boost your bill

[ajsp9]

have pm'd you back Bob. I understand what the fee is for and had it been told to me up front I wouldnt have had a problem with it. It was just the way it was handled i.e when i read the paperwork. I know its Thailand and yes i make allowances but i just feel it was handled very badly by the realtor. In order to improve things, especially for Farangs, I feel my only recourse is to cancel the deal and explain to them exactly why im doing it. I have my mate going in tomorrow to speak with them. Depending what happens then, ill either have a new home or not. If it doesnt come out to my liking then I will name the company but everyone deserves a chace first to rectify what is obviously a very bad mistake (Or the thai way of doing business)

I can't work you out. You make some odd, quite angry and aggressive posts since joining this board and on this one you threaten that if the outcome is not to your liking you'll name (and shame I guess) the company. Threatening to beat a BM up and now trying to upset a Thai business. Weird way of doing things in a place you aim to settle in ??

What I see in this thread is that you've identified a nice place to live and agreed a price which you were happy to pay and then at the last minute its risen in price by 800bht pcm (maybe 10% of overall monthly cost ?). I share your inital shock and dismay at thinking you'd got it only to be asked for some more cash. Rather than post on here why didn't you ask for a breakdown of what it was for and then use your negotiating skills to explain that you felt it was unreasonable and try and get a deal. From other posters it seems that a reasonable monthly chargeis normal here and I would have at least swallowed some of the proposed 800bht. Lets say you have to pay an addittional 500bht which is equal to a tenner !!!

It does seem a tad premature to be talking of outing this company as being poor if this is a usual practice and secondly if you haven't actually tried to negotiate some sort of discounted deal. I wouldnt be making threats to anyone in your situation as if its really not to your liking just walk away. If you like the place, will a few more baht each month actually break the bank.

I'm sure there is a deal to be had there somewhere and good luck with it.

[nkstan]

I empathize with your feelings,Doug!I hate it when it seems people I am doing business with,are less than up front.

But,But,this is Thailand an in order to get comfortable with living here,you will have to learn to accept that what you are experiencing is the norm and roll with it!

For me,it is difficult to find a ''good'' place to live!A place that is comfortable to live in w/o noisy,trashy,smelly or bothersome neighbors.I have such a place now,but I have to put up with a lousy ,weazeling,conniving landlord!

I have lived here 7 years and a few years ago,I blew my lid about the ''weazeling cheat'',decided that I had about 3-4 months left on my yearly lease and would spend the time finding another residence,The truth is ,I could not duplicate all the positive things that I had,although I found a couple of potentials ,in case he wouldn't renew my lease.

Turned out that he renewed w/o comment,and I was happy about it.I accept that he is not a man of principle and that the rooms have seemed to get smaller over the years,but the positives out way the couple of negatives and I let my wife do all the interaction with him.

I don't know the particulars about your rental or how important it is to you,but getting to know the differnces between our expectations and how things are here,then how to deal with them is the secret to finding peace of mind ,IMO!

Venting your feelings to us ,as we sometimes will do,is therapuetic,making it easier to get feedback,understanding and allowing you to find the ability to accept,so you can enjoy the other moments!

Good luck!
My suggestion would be to mildly confront the situation and if you are not satisfied with the result,decide whether the 800 baht is worth the disruption in your plans,forget the principle of their actions for the moment,make your move and decide later,unless you are not pressed for time and can find another place easily.Because you will not know about to much ,until you live there for a little time!

[kopkei]

i think this one is easy..., to much...., max 200bath ok ( according to me at least....) , garbage , lights, grass, all maintenance together.......,they always profit from this in all these villages( i call them chicken farms, most of the homes to close together without any privacy, not my thing at all....), if all these homes pay 800 bath , nice extra income for the landlord ( thief)...........

[DermotC]

have pm'd you back Bob. I understand what the fee is for and had it been told to me up front I wouldnt have had a problem with it. It was just the way it was handled i.e when i read the paperwork. I know its Thailand and yes i make allowances but i just feel it was handled very badly by the realtor. In order to improve things, especially for Farangs, I feel my only recourse is to cancel the deal and explain to them exactly why im doing it. I have my mate going in tomorrow to speak with them. Depending what happens then, ill either have a new home or not. If it doesnt come out to my liking then I will name the company but everyone deserves a chace first to rectify what is obviously a very bad mistake (Or the thai way of doing business)

I can't work you out. You make some odd, quite angry and aggressive posts since joining this board and on this one you threaten that if the outcome is not to your liking you'll name (and shame I guess) the company. Threatening to beat a BM up and now trying to upset a Thai business. Weird way of doing things in a place you aim to settle in ??

What I see in this thread is that you've identified a nice place to live and agreed a price which you were happy to pay and then at the last minute its risen in price by 800bht pcm (maybe 10% of overall monthly cost ?). I share your inital shock and dismay at thinking you'd got it only to be asked for some more cash. Rather than post on here why didn't you ask for a breakdown of what it was for and then use your negotiating skills to explain that you felt it was unreasonable and try and get a deal. From other posters it seems that a reasonable monthly chargeis normal here and I would have at least swallowed some of the proposed 800bht. Lets say you have to pay an addittional 500bht which is equal to a tenner !!!

It does seem a tad premature to be talking of outing this company as being poor if this is a usual practice and secondly if you haven't actually tried to negotiate some sort of discounted deal. I wouldnt be making threats to anyone in your situation as if its really not to your liking just walk away. If you like the place, will a few more baht each month actually break the bank.

I'm sure there is a deal to be had there somewhere and good luck with it.

Ok Firstly, I am not here for you to work me out, that is not my Job in life! Secondly you sound like many of my ex's, always dragging up the past, thirdly it was not my intention to upset a thai business, however it seems it was their intention to upset me by doing business in a shoddy way and last but not least if you had read through the post you will see that I do know what the extra charge is for.

This post is most unhelpful and unfortunately is not the only time I have come across people on here that seem to think their only Job in life is to antagonise and upset. There is a word on the net for that, its called a troll!

For everyone else, thanks for your help! I ended up doing a deal with the people. They were very apologetic and explained how the error occured. The landlord only told them at the last minute that he would not pay the Village fee. So the realtor, if you will, is left swinging in the breeze. The Landlord has now agreed to pay half and I have agreed to pay the other 400.