House rental

[gerefan2]

Looking to rent a small house near Jomtien, preferably walking distance to the Complex.

Plenty available on line but for a minimum of 6 months rent. I only need 3 or maybe 4 months. starting late November/December.

I have been talking to a large letting company but they say their terms are fixed at 6 months, non negotiable. I’ve told them how silly this is but they say it’s the landlords choice. I just don’t get it. The landlords would rather they sit empty??

Anyway, anyone any ideas?

[Gaybutton]

I too would have thought under the present circumstances they would take what they can get, but even the houses for rent out where I live - on "The Dark Side" - are also six month minimum.

Have you considered renting a condo or staying in a guesthouse? Most of those can be had for as little as one month.

If it absolutely must be a house, the only option I can think of if the landlord won't be reasonable would be to pay for six months even though you are staying three or four months. With stubborn landlords, it's either that or you won't be staying in a house.

If you do go with a house, be careful. I would not recommend renting it without first seeing it with your own eyes, not photos. With all the flooding, many houses have been damaged and who knows what condition they are in. I wouldn't pay a deposit or part with any money at all before seeing it for myself.

[Dodger]

I have been talking to a large letting company but they say their terms are fixed at 6 months, non negotiable. I’ve told them how silly this is but they say it’s the landlords choice. I just don’t get it.??

Anyway, anyone any ideas?

Many home owners here avoid short term (monthly) rentals like the plague. Too many problems involving property damage, disruption to neighbors, unpaid utilities, etc. which is apparently more common with short-term rentals. For this reason, home owners would prefer just letting their property sit empty rather than take on this risk.

Condo's and villa's are a dime a dozen for weekly and monthly rentals as I'm sure you already know, but if your stuck on a house then your best bet is to continue working directly with the larger agents in the area. Maybe something will pop up.

Good luck!

[Manforallseasons]

What is your price range?

[gerefan2]

I have been staying in Condos moor about 17 years and thought it was time for a change. The rents are not that much more than a decent condo.

I have seen some nice small houses for rent from 20,000 up and would like one. I know that for short time the rent might be a bit more.

Agree with gaybuttons advice and will not be renting one off the net without seeing it first.

Any further help appreciated.

[Gaybutton]

Agree with gaybuttons advice and will not be renting one off the net without seeing it first.

Yes. I, for one, would not want to rent a house where I intend to stay for months without knowing what I'm walking into.

If your heart is set on a house, you might want to start out at a hotel and shop around for a house once you are in Thailand. I would have a solid Plan B though because your chances of finding what you're looking for unfortunately are quite remote - unless you are willing to pay the full 6 months whether you stay that long or not.

[Manforallseasons]

The closer you get to the beach the higher the rent for example; I have a friend who rents his house right in back of the beach in a housing estate in back of Pan Pan restaurant near the complex. My friend’s house is quite nice and has rented it out over the past 20 years, he has had both good and bad experiences so now he tells agents No Russians, No Chinese, No young children and obviously No pets, his rates are 70,000 a month for a year 80,000 for 6-11 months.
2 months security deposit.

[goji]

If your heart is set on a house, you might want to start out at a hotel and shop around for a house once you are in Thailand.

That's a given.

However, if trying something "new" for a holiday, it's often useful to do some research well in advance, gathering advice and putting together a shortlist.
It's much easier to put together shortlists etc with a PC and a nice big screen, rather than some Android/iOS device once on holiday.

[Manforallseasons]

That's a given.

However, if trying something "new" for a holiday, it's often useful to do some research well in advance, gathering advice and putting together a shortlist.
It's much easier to put together shortlists etc with a PC and a nice big screen, rather than some Android/iOS device once on holiday.
….

[gerefan2]

, his rates are 70,000 a month for a year 80,000 for 6-11 months.
2 months security deposit.

Too much for me.

This is what I’m looking at...if possible! It’s in the estate opposite Pan Pan

https://pattayarealty.com/property/residential/HSR3313/

[Manforallseasons]

Too much for me.

This is what I’m looking at...if possible! It’s in the estate opposite Pan Pan

https://pattayarealty.com/property/residential/HSR3313/

I am very familiar with this estate as I knew someone living there, it has communal pool and a rear exit to Thappraya road close to Foodmart and a short walk to the complex…..it is also a gated community with security.

[gerefan2]

Yep, that’s it. Would be ideal! Sigh...

[Dodger]

Yep, that’s it. Would be ideal! Sigh...

I'm familiar with the homes in this area as well.

Terrific location, and being so close to The Complex is a BIG PLUS. Also, if you like cooking, being that close to Food Mart and the Thrapraya morning market are also great advantages.

The house looks nice too...great find...if the price is right.

Good luck.

[goji]

The house looks nice too...great find...if the price is right.

As a recap, Gerefan2 declared the price is OK, but they have a minimum let of 6 months -which is the problem area where advice is sought.

I had a look at houses on Booking.com. There are numerous houses for rent at 30 days MAX, but these are bigger properties at 5~25x the price. So not very helpful at all, other than establishing that there are people renting houses short term.

[cdnmatt]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet, and not sure if this is even true in places like Pattaya so am only speaking of up in Khon Kaen, but...

Being there in person to go house shopping makes a MASSIVE difference. At least up in places in Khon Kaen, when the locals have a house for rent, they don't advertise it on the internet.

They post some flyers using cardboard or whatever on varius street signs / corners / shops around the local neighborhood. I'm blind so I can't write in Thai anymore, but they'd simply say "baan chao" (house for rent), plus have a phone number.

Now those places are where you're going to get your best deal by far. A place that would be ~30k/month on the internet magically goes down to say 8k/month when you go local like this. Again, not sure how it works in Pattaya, but it might be best to pay a boy to scout out the various neighborhoods for you looking for local "house for rent" signs. If you go local in this manner, you'll get a far better deal than you'd ever get over the internet.

Too bad most of you geriatrics have me on ignore, because this is actually some solid advice.

[francois]

Too bad most of you geriatrics have me on ignore, because this is actually some solid advice.

As you refer to other posters as "geriatrics" can you fault them for ignoring you?

[cdnmatt]

As you refer to other posters as "geriatrics" can you fault them for ignoring you?


Never used to, and normally never would, but everyone has me on ignore now so figured they're not going to read it anyway

[Jellybean]

. . . Too bad most of you geriatrics have me on ignore, because this is actually some solid advice.

Geriatrics? How very dare you! Senior citizens, if you please. ;)

Back on topic, I was surprised to learn from gerefan2 that house owners or their agents in Pattaya were insisting on a minimum of six month rentals. When I owned a house in Hua Hin, a popular tourist destination, of course a long-term rental would be preferable to a short-term rental. But, in the absence of long-term rentals, I instructed my agents to let out my house for two weeks, four weeks, three months or, basically, anything more than two weeks. I took the view that some rental income was better than no rental income, especially when I had swimming pool and garden maintenance bills to be paid for, whether someone was there or not.

And, importantly, given the current absence of tourists, I would have thought that house owners in Pattaya would be more than happy to accept short-term rentals, especially if a potential renter was offering to rent for three months.

And lastly, all joking aside, I thought cdnmatt offered some sound advice regarding walking around and looking for rental signs etc.

[cdnmatt]

Geriatrics? How very dare you! Senior citizens, if you please. ;)

Ok, I'm sorry you salt and pepper stallions in your golden years. How's that, is that better? :)

As for the 6 month thing, be happy you're not looking for a place in Laos, because it's customary there to pay the full 6 months upfront and not on a month-by-month basis.

I'll stick with what I said though. Get a boy you trust to scout the telephone polls around the neighborhoods you want to live in, looking for "house for rent" signs. Going solely off what's on the internet is probably going to cost you about 300% more for the same quality.

heh, reminds me of the last house I rented in Khon Kaen. Sure enough they required a lease agreement, which I was fine with. I don't even know why I did this, I guess because I was an illegal immigrant at the time, but I signed the lease as Henry Ford. They didn't care, as all they cared about was that wad of 1000 baht notes I pulled out of my pocket.

[Gaybutton]

Get a boy you trust to scout the telephone polls around the neighborhoods you want to live in, looking for "house for rent" signs.

That might work. It can't hurt to try, but be careful about how the boy is going to earn his money. I don't know where gerefan is going to find a boy he can trust or even if the boy will be available for that. You don't want a boy who is going to tell you he spent the whole day looking, but came up with nothing - or if he's clever, one or two - but he really spent the day sound asleep in his room. You have no way of knowing how much time, if at all, he actually spent looking, but you would still have to pay him. It's not that I wouldn't trust him, it's just that I wouldn't trust him . . .

Another problem about hiring a boy to do the looking: Many of the places where the boy should look are in security guarded neighborhoods. The security guard at the entrance gate would have to believe the boy's explanation as to why he wants to go in. Even if the guard believes him, it is likely his orders are not to let people enter without contact between the guard and the homeowner. The boy might be reluctant to even ask a security guard. With luck, the guard would know of any houses within the neighborhood that are for rent.

Since gerefan has made it clear he wants to be near the Jomtien Complex area, he might be better off hiring a motorbike taxi to take him around the area and do his own looking.

I don't see "For Rent" signs on houses very often. I do see them, but as I said, not often. It is actually much more common in Pattaya to see "For Sale" signs on houses rather than "For Rent" signs.

Another possibility, several shopping centers and grocery stores have public bulletin boards. There is a good chance of several house for rent ads on those, but gerefan would need to be flexible about where the house is located. Again, it can't hurt to look. Maybe he'll get lucky.

[goji]

Suggesting walking around looking for property advertising signs must surely be another form of trolling ?
There is no shortage of properties to rent advertised on the internet.
The problem specified by gerefan2 is that all the houses are for rental terms of 6 month or more, but a 3~4 month let is desired (recognizing that a slight increase in rent might be needed).

How the hell would walking around change the minimum rental term ?

[gerefan2]

I’m going to write to the agent about the 20,000 baht house I showed, and offer 25,000 for 4 months..subject to inspection.

I’m in the UK now. The problem with looking myself is that the time spent doing that, agreeing terms and moving in etc all reduces the term of the let even more!

Some good advice however, some things I hadn’t thought of.

[Old git]

With all these things you need to bear in mind the two rules of Thai business:

1) If business is slack you need to raise your prices.

> The fact that a house has stood empty for the past 18 months is unlikely to persuade a Thai owner to rent it to you at a bargain price. Many will be primarily minded to seek top dollar to recoup their losses.

2) If your business has a regular customer, you're not charging them enough.

> If you find a place that looks perfect, don't let the owner clock that. Think up six reasons why it's less than ideal and say you'll let him know if you can't find anywhere better, and he'll knock a lump off the price..

[christianpfc]

When I was looking for a room to rent in Bangkok, I found that only half of the available room in my area of interest were on the internet in English, and of those who were on the internet in English, half of the information was wrong or outdated (i.e. not available any more). Once I figured that out, I did all my room search by walking around and reading the Thai signs "for rent" and follow up. Details here: https://christianpfc.blogspot.com/2014/05/looking-for-room-in-sathorn.html

I recommend you go with a friend who can translate and look at houses (or better, do some research on internet to make a list of some houses, and on the way to those houses you will pass more with "for rent/sale" signs and can check them). So you see if there are any maintenance issues and see what vibe management/owner gives. 3 or 4 months instead of 6 should not be a problem. It's important to speak to someone who has an interest in filling the place; for staff in real estate office it makes no difference if the house is rented out or not, just additional work to mediate between you and owner about minimum rental time.

[pong]

Yes, same rules apply about anywhere in TH. I think-as is usual with that-there might also be tax-issues for the owner/landlord. Also dont forget that the other charges, esp. the electric, can spun up quite high in the heat and all AC hard working. If the former renter has left unpaid, you may very well be required to cough it up before you can get connected again
BTW: whats so essential the difference between a house and a villa? Also check sites like airb&b and the like.

[christianpfc]

Yes indeed, charged for electricity can range from as low as 3.5 THB/kWh (the rate of electricity company) to 8 THB/kWh. Makes a difference when you have aircon running all day. Speaking of aircon, when you are in the house check all aircon, there are few things worse than a scratching or noisy aircon. Poor water pressure can be an issue as well. And general construction/maintenance problems: squeaking, leaking, scratching, flooding...

[Manforallseasons]

You are looking for a 4 month rental ignore the technical advice as you are not buying the house, the electric bill comes to the house directly from the electric company and most of the rest of the advice for a rental is mot very relevant for a short term rental what you should be sure of is pics of the inside of the house so to be sure it’s not a shit house. If you get the house make sire the lease is in English if the rent is 20,000 offer 20,000 if the owner is wavering then offer 25,000.

[cdnmatt]

You are looking for a 4 month rental ignore the technical advice as you are not buying the house, the electric bill comes to the house directly from the electric company.

Right, but the advice in this thread is correct regarding electric and water bills. In Thailand, the electric and water companies bill the house address, not the current resident. Who's residing in the house at any given time makes no difference to them. They bill the house address, so if there's funds owed on that house when you take residence, you're going to need to pay those funds if you want your electric / water turned back on.

They don't screw around in Thailand either. If you don't pay, they just come over to your house and rip the meter right out of the ground.

[Patanawet]

make sire the lease is in English if the rent is 20,000 offer 20,000 if the owner is wavering then offer 25,000.
NO. That is absolutely NOT the way to do it in Thailand.
Never accept the asking price.
Renters will almost always come down in price.
Make sure there is a tight clause in the contract for the return of deposit.

[christianpfc]

Unpaid electricity bill. In 2010 I stayed a few days at a boy's place. He mentioned several times that he has to pay for electricity. At that time I was naive an dismissed this as general information, like talking about the weather. Then one day electricity was cut. It was winter, no need for aircon (I don't remember where I charged my phone), and can shower with cold water, so I didn't take action. The only problem was no window in bathroom, so for shaving I went into the elevator (the only place accessible to me that had light and a mirror). After some days the boy asked me directly for money for electricity bill and 500 THB fee for late payment, and I coughed up the money.

[Manforallseasons]

NO. That is absolutely NOT the way to do it in Thailand.
Never accept the asking price.
Renters will almost always come down in price.
Make sure there is a tight clause in the contract for the return of deposit.\

Considering this is far less time of a usual lease you loose the advantage of negotiation, as for return of the deposit there is a standard lease currently in use that covers the return of the security deposit.

[cdnmatt]

I didn't know people gave deposits in Thailand with the hopes of actually getting the deposit back. That's news to me.

[latintopxxx]

...for a change i agree with matt

[Manforallseasons]

I didn't know people gave deposits in Thailand with the hopes of actually getting the deposit back. That's news to me.

Strange! After all the years living in Pattaya knowing so many expats who rent and myself now renting for the past 4 years I have never heard of a failure to return monies due after initially agreeing to the terms of the lease. As I recall you did a runner from the immigration police after you overstayed your visa so if you ran before the end of the lease did you really imagine getting back your initial deposit?

[dinagam]

MFAS you can be quite funny at times, but this is not the way to treat a blind person.

[cdnmatt]

MFAS you can be quite funny at times, but this is not the way to treat a blind person.


MFAS seems to be constantly pissed off about the fact he happens to be alive, so just let him be.

[Dodger]

Strange! After all the years living in Pattaya knowing so many expats who rent and myself now renting for the past 4 years I have never heard of a failure to return monies due after initially agreeing to the terms of the lease.

I've rented 5 properties (condo's/apartments) over a 17 year period before buying my own place and always had my security deposit returned.

What's more common than people getting ripped off of their deposit money - are renters who stop paying their monthly rent until they're forced out - putting the property owner at a loss.

Like you, I have never heard of a farang getting ripped off of his deposit money.

[christianpfc]

I have rented from 3 different landlords and never a problem to get deposit back.

[Patanawet]

I didn't know people gave deposits in Thailand with the hopes of actually getting the deposit back. That's news to me.
I have 4 long term rents in Thailand over 22 years living here.
Three of them returned deposit in full and the fourth made a deduction, quite rightly, for the cat damaging the settee.

[Manforallseasons]

I have 4 long term rents in Thailand over 22 years living here.
Three of them returned deposit in full and the fourth made a deduction, quite rightly, for the cat damaging the settee.

No nice to challenge a blind man!

[bkkguy]

No nice to challenge a blind man!

perhaps Patanawet is one eyed and therefore king?

[Patanawet]

No nice to challenge a blind man!

????