Mestizo

Mestizo, thank you very much for the quick and sound response!!!

Oh, yes, I know the Galare Thong has brilliant options, but, unfortunately, I will have to walk to the center ones in the morning and once in the evening (when it's dark) every day... I only wish I could ride a bike but it is too late to think about that now...Eh And taking tuk-tuk at least 4 times a day every day will make me bankrupt quite soon

Can I ask you how good the staff of Life in Town if anything breaks in one's room, or shower is not working, or something else happens? Are they helpful or not so? What should I expect?

Could you please, also, explain a little bit about bad wifi in Life in Town? It is very important for me as I do definitely need decent internet connection for reading purposes and using Skype for conversations.

Thanking you kindly again

vagabond48, on 2012-05-22 17:21:14, said:

That's an interesting question, and I've just been thinking about that and discussing with my wife from a landlord's perspective, as we're about to rent out a small house in town. (Well, she is renting it out as her family owns it; I've provided some opinions on what stuff to put in to make it attractive for someone to rent.)

I think 'my' position as a landlord would be that anything that can be expected to break (consumables like light bulbs) are the responsibility of the renter.  If anything breaks that can be considered more like infrastructure then the landlord is responsible.  And actually, if I rent out a house with a water pump, hot water shower and an air conditioner then I (landlord) also need to fix it when it breaks; that after all is part of what the renter pays for.   Then of course there are things that really aren't supposed to break, but can break through an accident or carelessness on the part of the renter, like breaking a window, or managing to rip a ceiling fan off the ceiling..  In that case I may take care of repairing it, but would expect the renter to pay for the cost.

It also depends on the agreement / understanding you have, and the price level.  I think if you rent something fully furnished to someone who clearly needs help arranging things (TV, internet, etc.) and the renter pays a somewhat higher rent for a higher level of service then you have a relationship where the landlord should provide that higher level of attention and service. Compare this with renting an empty unfurnished house for a low price to someone with a lot of Thailand experience and who can take care of things himself then yeah, let the renter find a guy to fix a window or repair a toilet when it stops flushing.

Personally I'm leaning towards the former: provide furniture and a higher level of service; but that's also because the house is downtown, which I think is attractive to people who are new in Chiang Mai.  (Single person or a couple/young family). Those people would likely appreciate it if they didn't have the headache of arranging all the little stuff.

So that was the long version.  The short version: Your mileage will vary.

It's hard to find a good landlord.  Though I also get the feeling that as a landlord it's hard to find a good renter.

Isn't buying pre cooked food just laziness.Very few people I would suggest don't have kitchen. Buying mashed potaoes and  casserole packs when you can cook up more than you need at home, and leave what you dont use, in the fridge for another day. Maybe a poll on who uses the fresh food markets and saves heaps of money against buying at Rimping/Tops would confirm that the take away mentality is alive and well in CM.