Trouble with service charges

[redzonerocker]

the original post states that the threat of the electric being cut off was not implemented because it was independant.
the water though is owned & controlled by the developer, therefore giving him total control of charges & distribution.
its just another bit of info for potential buyers, check where your utilities come from & find out who controls them

[JimmyGreaves]

the original post states that the threat of the electric being cut off was not implemented because it was independant.
the water though is owned & controlled by the developer, therefore giving him total control of charges & distribution.
its just another bit of info for potential buyers, check where your utilities come from & find out who controls them

Exactly! HHS

[huahinsimon]

Surely HuaHInSimon if as I say you get as independant as possible with essential services such as Electric/Water i.e paying your bill to the National suppiers then at least that part of the equation is out of the way. If the house build is bad then that's another story and requires different tactics in the beginning.

Seems like everyone is trusting developers for ongoing support which is bloody stupid. They only get away with this shit because you as buyers let them in the first place by agreeing to unknown future charges!

Jimmy what world do you live in? the world of CONTRACTS? and where does that make shite? not here inLOS.

When you buy a meal in LOS, do you trust that the meal is safe to eat. :''is that bloody stupid?" only if you die.

"If the house build is bad then that....requires different tactics in the beginning. AND WHAT TACTICS DO YOU SUGGEST? this ota be good. Perhaps you are a lawyer who can make this copasetic here in LOS

HHS

Listen I'm talking about essential services and getting into a situation where a developer can cut these off because you are going through them to supply you, Buyers sign an agreement to pay a monthly fee that has unknown future charges, you are then bolloxed as the OP tells us. Not exactly the same as being supplied direct from the electricity company is it? My reference to house building is not part of this discussion and maybe I should not have mentioned it as it allowed you to go off on a tangent! My stance is go independant if you even bothered to read what I wrote.

Of course I read what you wrote JG. how else would i go off on the tangent YOU offered up. We all see you are so much smarter than the rest of us punters. so take us down of few pegs, thank you.
Buyers sign an agreement to pay a monthly fee that has unknown future charges,

How do you know what buyers sign? If there are 50 developers there are 50 different contracts. I've seen one page contracts put out by xxx, cant name the guilty, that said I'll build you a nice house you pay me 10 million baht. said nothin about services etc. Now who would sign such a thing. idiots you say!!! nah very successful people in their own world, who fell for a load of kii from a swift talking farang. others have 20 page contracts full of legalese. most dont address services- the punters take it for granted that the home will have water and electric. Are they stupid, JG? If you want to be a hard arse, sure they are.

But here's the real issue. In Europe where most of the crooked developers and scorched punters come from there is a rule of law, there are public ordanences that state developers have to do such and such regarding services. Most buyers here "trust" -naw that not the right word, take it for 'granted' that thing work the same way, especially when they have a developer that speakes their language or a European language they both know. You can trust me, we speak the same language, we're both eg. english or swedish. ADVICE When you hear that run and dont look back.
dont trust those Thais., they'll rip you off. And so it goes. you are all buddy buddy till all your payments are made. Right badbrat? Then all you can get out of them is a bill. Call for a fix on the warranty, you never hear or see from them. and f**kall you can do about it. Ask anyone who lives in Crystal View, "the most prestigious gated community in Hua Hin."'

But JG, I dont think you are a developer. so give the poor punters some slack. Read the threads over the years on property. Not just idiots get scammed. Am I right people? jump into this thread and tell your story. It will do your soul good and might help some other punter. Trouble is most find HHAD when it is tooooooo late. after they made payments and moved into a leaky sieve of a house, with electric that shocks you every time you throw a switch, toilets that back up and stink because of no goose necks, walls that crack because the fill wasnt compacted or the home wasnt finished at all.

I know there are hundreds out there who have been abused. Question is will people "come together, right now..." or just take it.

Even if you are a lucky one who got a good product from a 'concerned about his product and reputation' developer, you should not IMHO, throw stones and those not as lucky or smart as you. It only encourages the bad guys to keep on selling, selling, selling.

Peace, brother

HHS

[Jockey]

HHS - I'm with you all the way on this, but don't hold out much hope for a stampede of people coming forward based on your call to action. For starters, I think a lot of people overestimate the amount of people who actually use and read this forum and also overrate it's influence. (sorry HHAD!) HHAD is certainly successful, but there are many many more people who won't read your posts than do.

There is also another thing to consider that stops abused buyers from coming forward. Despite the fact you have 'X' punter very angry with 'Y' development, it is not in "X's' interest to expose the 'Y' development as it could in 'X's' judgment bring down the value of 'Y' which wouldn't suit 'X' if he wanted to sell 'Y'.

Also, there are many people living here in Hua Hin who are scared shitless of their developer. They may have been best mates before they paid their first deposit, but quickly become their living nightmare. They are too scared to speak up, because the very crooks and con men who are making peoples lives miseries are actually weeding their way into partnerships with the Thai power-corrupted officials. Others are just downright gangster bullies. I'm still amazed how some of them have never been run out of town already, but I'm sure most will get their come-uppance in the not-too-distant future.

[redzonerocker]

How do you know what buyers sign? If there are 50 developers there are 50 different contracts. I've seen one page contracts put out by xxx, cant name the guilty, that said I'll build you a nice house you pay me 10 million baht. said nothin about services etc. Now who would sign such a thing. idiots you say!!! nah very successful people in their own world, who fell for a load of kii from a swift talking farang. others have 20 page contracts full of legalese. most dont address services- the punters take it for granted that the home will have water and electric. Are they stupid, JG? If you want to be a hard arse, sure they are.
HHS

i agree with your overall assessment

would i cough up my hard earned cash for a dream house in paradise, that doesn't quite exist yet, but is the promise of the swift talking farang?
& would i assume or take it for granted that it will have electric & water as standard practice?
in a word , no!!
i wouldnt do that in the uk never mind thailand!!
i would be more inclined to say to the said swift farang, build me a house & then i'll give you 10 million baht, providing its up to scratch!!

i certainly wouldn't condemn or villify anyone who has & encountered problems along the way, in fact, quite the opposite.
like you said, hhad has become a real good source of information for perspective buyers & for some it was discovered to late unfortunately

the sharks will keep circling in the property development market waiting for the next easy target & there are plenty more of them out there.
the more the sharks are exposed, the better

[buksida]

I think a lot of people overestimate the amount of people who actually use and read this forum and also overrate it's influence. (sorry HHAD!) HHAD is certainly successful, but there are many many more people who won't read your posts than do.

Not to jump to the defense of this rabid shoutbox forum but I think you'll find the ratio of silent readers to active posters quite shocking, especially when you know the "official" figures for how many expats live in Hua Hin.

[Francois]

especially when you know the "official" figures for how many expats live in Hua Hin.

And, just for my knowledge, what are the figures ?

[buksida]

According to the local tessabahn and various authorities that claim to have superior knowledge of these vital statistics and other useless figures its 3,000.

[JimmyGreaves]

Jimmy what world do you live in? the world of CONTRACTS? and where does that make shite? not here inLOS.

When you buy a meal in LOS, do you trust that the meal is safe to eat. :''is that bloody stupid?" only if you die.

"If the house build is bad then that....requires different tactics in the beginning. AND WHAT TACTICS DO YOU SUGGEST? this ota be good. Perhaps you are a lawyer who can make this copasetic here in LOS

HHS

Listen I'm talking about essential services and getting into a situation where a developer can cut these off because you are going through them to supply you, Buyers sign an agreement to pay a monthly fee that has unknown future charges, you are then bolloxed as the OP tells us. Not exactly the same as being supplied direct from the electricity company is it? My reference to house building is not part of this discussion and maybe I should not have mentioned it as it allowed you to go off on a tangent! My stance is go independant if you even bothered to read what I wrote.

We all see you are so much smarter than the rest of us punters. so take us down of few pegs, thank you.


Peace, brother

HHS

HHS Whose 'We all see you are so much smarter' So you have promoted yourself to speak for the everyone have you?

Yes so many people do stupid things here like buying there gf houses etc something they would never do back home. I know that and so do alot of other foreigners. The only comment I made was f**k the developers and go independant if you can or try and get the essential services independantly not through the developer. For your information I am not as smart as you. So I'll let you keep the floor. I bow out. Chock dee!

[chelsea]

HHS, does not matter what sort of commodity that you are buying, people who do not read the contracts fully or take them to a reputable lawyer to be fully checked deserve all they get.

If all worked ok and there was no problem, eveyone is happy. It is only when a problem arises and then is pointed out to the buyer that they signed a contract that actually stated exactly what the seller is saying, that all this kind of thing arises.

Is the same with most home insurances here in Australia, most of them clearly state that they do not cover flood damage. So what happens, as soon as there is a flood, all the home owners hang crap on the insurance companies for not paying out. But the policies clearly state that they do not cover flood damage.
Seems to be a world wide problem with people not reading contracts and policies fully, not just in Thailand.

HHS, as you seem to be the most vocal on the subject and agrrieved on all subjects real estate, why not get on with the organising of said protests etc.

By doing that, you may then be able to get a truer picture of the number of people who are affected by these suppsoedly ongoing problems.
You may be suprised and only find you are in a minority group amongst a town full of satisfied home owners

[huahindolly]

All of this discussion about contracts, reading your contracts, reviewing them with a lawyer, etc. is essentially irrelevant when your developer simply stops working and says, "Sue me!"

We had a long, well-written, comprehensive contract. It covered all of the things we could think of. We had a lawyer review it. Then, the work started. That was over three years ago. Now, we've paid 70% and have 30% of the work done and the developer refuses to do any more. He says, "Sue me (I'm untouchable)."

I'm not totally blameless, but he's the one who's the crook. A contract is not a contract when its signed by a crook.

Hey - I read that Cambodia's booming. Maybe all of these yahoos will set off for the land boom in Cambodia and step on a land mine in their rush to steal more money...

HHD

[johnnyk]

Protest to who?

[icebear]

here I am Huahinsimon. I'am not shying away from what I wrote even I'am a novice writer. That guy deserves what he gets if the previous owner already paid 6 Baht per sq.mt. He should have ask the relevant question beforehand. By the way I know of another 'hopeful complainer' who bought the house for x-million in just under 10 minutes.....
Regarding the translation I mean that somebody has veted through to find a discrepany with the english version. By the way when I met my wife over 12 years ago, the first thing I did is to assist her in learning English and it paid handsomely over the years.

On an other note, no I am not a developer, but I am an investor.

[Jockey]

especially when you know the "official" figures for how many expats live in Hua Hin.

And, just for my knowledge, what are the figures ?

I'm confused? When did I write that?

[ozuncle]

Jockey you didn't write it , Buksida did.

I am one of those "not so smart" buyers mentioned above!

The final inspection on the day of settlement. Electric lights worked, water taps worked, everything else OK.
It wasnt till three months later that I found out we only had water supplied by the developer. I saw we had a meter on the property so just presumed we had town water.
All OK now.

A new pipe was laid from Petchakasem Rd to the house (about 100 mtrs) and a meter installed. I forget how much but it was very cheap. Less than 15,000 Baht.
By the way, the workers advised us to concrete the meter in as they often get stolen.