The first time we saw our Thailand house we were in awe. 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, double level. It was not so long before that we found the thought of a home with two toilets as luxury.
We were chuffed and amazed at how lucky we could be living in such a grand home.
That was 425 days ago.
It has not been a bed of roses.
In that time:
- Our air conditioners have broken down 19 times.
- A burst pipe flooded our front garden and inflated our water bill x4
- Our toilets have blocked, a few times.
- Our sewerage system has filled and overflowed
- Water has poured from a hole in the roof and over our lounge suite
- Water has come through a hole in the roof and onto the daughter whilst she slept
- Every single freaking smoke alarm in the house has needed batteries replaced so many times that we put them all in a box and threw them in a cupboard.
- Water ran down the inside of the walls in the dining room leaving marks and soggy holes on the floor
- We have had 4 dead rats. One stayed in the roof above my computer for two days until the maintenance people finished arguing over who should have the unfortunate task of removing it.
- There is a snake in the letter box column that won't be removed. Sometimes it pokes it head out as we go to reach for the mail.
- The washing machine provided literally blew up...not just a short circuit but sparks and a big kaboom. They never replaced it and just left it in our laundry. We asked them when it would be replace...that was just one of many, many, most messages ignored.
- Water started leaking through an air-conditioning vent in a room and it was discovered our ceiling was full of water due to a hole in the roof. There are still days where water puddles on the floor of this room, regardless off the three return visits to fix it.
- Three of our air conditioners have totally kicked the bucket and been replaced...with equally old second hand units.
- Our front door could not lock securely and although the landlord knew our two year old son was opening the door and running onto the outside road she ummmed and ahhhed about spending the 300 baht ($10) it cost to replace it for a few weeks.
- The gardeners accidentally stabbed a hole in another pipe, causing a flood in the side of the yard and a water bill x4
- The oven stopped working
- Half our wall was removed in the dining room because of damage from ants
Last week whilst the husband worked and the son played next to him in the study he heard a buzzing noise. He thought it was a toy the son was playing with. He looked up from his work to see bees.
Bees!
In the house!
He ran out with our son and shut the door. By the time a gardener arrived the room was so full of them he screamed (the gardener, not the husband) sprayed a full can of insect repellant and ran out.
Out of the house, on his scooter and away, without so much as a Sawatdee Krap as he fled.
Bees were then filling up into other rooms. The husband grabbed the son and waited outside.
He rang the landlord who cared as much as she has with all other issues...nil, nada, zero, zil, zip, zilch!
Its Chinese New Year said she. Too busy! You will have to wait and we will come by and look in a few days!
We ended up having to evacuate and live in a hotel for a few days. Whilst we were away my housekeeper who knew none of this situation was contacted without our knowledge and told she had to come in on her day off and open our house without us being there.
They sent people in to kills the bees. Hundreds of them (bees, not people). We had already counted over 70 killed when the gardener finished spraying and there were more afterwards.
No idea where they came from. No-one knows, no-one cares.
We have recovered and are okay. That was 3 days ago and since then two more air-conditioners have broken and there is another dead rat in the daughters room.
We once contacted our land agent and asked about breaking our lease. She told us that most houses here are just as bad because they are fixed cheaply and in a hurry as each tenant vacates so we would be best to stay where we are. Wonderful - 125,000 baht a month for this. That is almost $4200 a month!
Oh my, what a nightmare! That sounds like a movie plot. Hoping And praying that you can find somewhere else to move very soon!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jenny, I hope our next house is totally dull and boring after this experience so far ;)
DeleteOMG Sharon!! Really the building standards are shocking and so are the lack of services provided for a property of that value! I agree, it's time to move. Good luck, hope you find something cheaper and better.
ReplyDeleteOur experience has been and some people who are planning on moving here have asked if it's the usual but I really don't think it could be...not to this extent. Time and a new location will tell us if it's normal or not :)
DeleteOMG it is SOOOOOOOO time to move! I'm so sorry you've had to go through all of this!
ReplyDeleteThank you, now that we are leaving we have a little giggle at it...they just pulled a huge dead rat out of my daughter bedroom!
DeleteInteresting stories to tell your grandchildren in years to come, at which time they will have turned into fond memories of times survived together as a family :)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely - thanks for commenting on my blog mum xxx
DeleteWow! That's a lot of problems - I'd be looking to move too!
ReplyDeleteI had a similar experience to your bees. We own a very old house in the US (almost 100 years old) On two separate occasions, it became infested with flies. The first year, I killed one fly and then I saw another, and then another, and then another. I was swatting them like crazy. It was like they came out of nowhere! I swear there were at least 100. I finally fled the house because my daughter was only 2 at the time and was freaked out. My husband came home form work and finished the job. We only saw the occasional fly after that until two years later, the same thing happened again! It was really weird! I never did figure out why it happened. But at least we didn't have your long list of problems to go with the flies - and at least flies don;t sting like bees!
That is bizarre!! We found two bees in the house again yesterday - I hope that is not a sign that it's happening again here.
DeleteThe mass of flies may have been blow flies - a mass of them emerging from eggs laid in the body of a dead animal, usually a rat.
DeleteThe flies may have been from maggot eggs laid the in the body of a dead rat. They are born en masse and fly around and soon die. But you usually get lots at one time -- a whole swarm.
DeleteThat is crazy! I can't think of any expat experience I've had that can equal that one. Bees! Bees! Are you kidding me? We'll come by in a few days? Huh? What?
ReplyDeleteIts time to go!
LOL My husband was dumbfounded by that comment but they changed their mind quickly when he said we were moving into a hotel and I think the worry of them having to pay forced things to done quicker ;)
DeleteHoly cow. That's a lot to contend with. Hope you find somewhere less problematic to live and maybe one day be able to laugh about all of it, except maybe the snake in the letter box!
ReplyDeleteThat snake is kind of cute :)
DeleteWhat a nightmare! We've had a few frustrations with the apartment that we are currently in, but this reminded me that we really don't have it too bad. Sounds like we could certainly do worse in the landlord department!
ReplyDeleteWe have lived in 3 countries and 3 states back home and never encountered a landlord or land agent this bad :(
DeleteWhat a complete nightmare! The snake in the post box sounds hideous as well! Maybe, as you say, it is time to move... Or perhaps it's a case of better the devil you know?!?!? :D
ReplyDeleteI have a good feeling about the next house...although I am sure I felt that way when moving here too!
DeleteWow! Never heard about so many problems with one property in Bangkok! And what a lousy landlord!!! You should have moved earlier. So many choices, and moving is not expensive. Good luck with the new choice!
ReplyDeleteWe were talked into a 2 year lease and when we told the Land agent that we would like to vacate early she actually said that most houses in Bangkok are like this! I think that might have been one of many fibs
DeleteThat is so wrong. It is really troubling that the landlord thinks that's okay. But cultural differences perhaps explain this? I'm glad your little one didn't get traumatized or hurt by the bees!
ReplyDeleteThank you, he thought the bees were funny! Lucky. I think Cultural difference might have something to do with it too
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