# Counterfeit Condos



## A90 (Sep 20, 2009)

Real Estate in Thailand ? The Counterfeit Condo | EFAM | Escape From America Magazine

Interesting article I found. Anybody here ever hear of this?


----------



## Guest (Mar 5, 2010)

A90 said:


> Real Estate in Thailand ? The Counterfeit Condo | EFAM | Escape From America Magazine
> 
> Interesting article I found. Anybody here ever hear of this?


Not that particular case no, but it sounds very familiar all the same!

When I get around to buying in Thailand it'll be a house. The idea that a majority of other voters will decide how much to spend on renovating the exterior walls, fixing the elevator, how often to clean the pool, is not my idea of property ownership.

I've a bad experience of this in France. The owners got together and decided a new lift was needed. So I had to cough up my share. It takes control of your budget out of your hands - and in aging, and/or poorly constructed buildings, you can find yourself saddled with a lot of costs.


----------



## KhwaamLap (Feb 29, 2008)

Ouch!

My sister fell fail of this in the UK. She leased a house that was part of a group of houses (a few roads) that were owned by a management company. The house she leased was one of the nicest in the lot as the previous owned had spent a lot on it. Many of the houses though had been leased by the council to house the elderly etc. The area was quite a wealthy one and council properties was very low, so they leased private ones.

The problem came when the council decided that all the properties in the area should have double galzing and central heating; they included those they leased. My sister's house already had both, the double glazing just a year old. As the council owned most, it went ahead. They offered to pull out her double glazing and replace it with a mucj cheaper and less stylish one and replace the 3 year old boiler (that worked perfectly), but she still had to pay her share of everyone elses improvements. It cost her a pretty penny. She also had to pay her share to replace some roofs in a neighbouring street!

Maintanence agrrement can be costly!


----------

