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Paying in advance for accommodation?

CrankyCarrot

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I'm negotiating a deal with a bemused Frenchman to rent a room that's technically owned by a 20yo Thai girl with pretty much no English whatsoever. He wants me to pay him 4200 in advance to cover the next 2 weeks. I've stayed in the room for a couple of nights already, paying 400 a night, and it seems ok. If I pay him up front for 2 weeks it ends up being 300 a day - If it were a month, I'd be able to pay 200 a day, but my visa expires in 3 weeks and I haven't figured out my next move yet. Locking this in saves me 1400thb, but I dunno...

Ordinarily I'd find the whole thing too dodgey for words, but TIT, so you know, bizarre deals are par for the course. What do you "normal" people think?

#1 Posted: 18/9/2010 - 15:38

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neosho

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If you pay in advance and then your plans change in a week, don't expect a refund on the difference as it probably won't happen. I've payed in advance before and never had a problem. It's hard to tell you what to do, because I'm not there to get a "gut" feeling on the deal.

#2 Posted: 19/9/2010 - 08:23
exacto

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sounds fishy to me. if this french guy just translating for you, or are you negotiating to pay him rent for a room that he doesn't own? the up side is that you'll save a bit of money, but on balance it isn't all that much. the down side, apart from what neosho mentioned about your plans changing, is that their plans could change, or you could get in an argument with them over something, or this could be a scam.

if this were a regular guest house or other accommodation situation, i think it would be normal. but if it is just some random person off the street wanting to rent a room, then it sounds like you have more to loose than to gain.

having said that, i'm not there either so i can't really offer you that gut feeling either. but since you asked, my guess is that you've got some concerns about the deal too. cheers.

#3 Posted: 19/9/2010 - 09:34
CrankyCarrot

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Well, as I say, under "normal" circumstances I would head for the hills. In Australia this kind of nonsense doesn't really go on very much, if at all. Since acclimatising to Thailand however, I've realised that like Neosho says, you really have to rely on your gut. Many, MANY people here are flat out weird. They usually mean no harm, and I think most of it comes down to cultural differences, but I mean, well let's just say I'd trust him more with my rent than with my sister... if I had one.

Anyhow, if I lose the money, it's about one days pay back home to me so... I can live with it.

#4 Posted: 19/9/2010 - 11:18

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CrankyCarrot

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By the way, the exact deal is as follows, and I think it's not too bad. If anyone out there can give me a basis for comparison in other parts of Phuket/Thailand, I'd love to hear it:

2 weeks rent, incl power, water etc - 4200 baht / 300 per day (If I stayed for a month, it would be about 200 a day incl bills)

The room is pretty large, with a double bed, air conditioning, largish fridge, hot water with good pressure and cable TV. The view is abominable, which is why I just leave the curtains drawn and go to the beach if I want to look at something beautiful. Sometimes the bathroom sink burbles in the bathroom.

It's about 3 mins drive to Rawai pier, conservatively guesstimating.

Motorbike rental at 100 baht a day

He runs a few dif villas and condos and says I can use the pools there for free, and also the wifi. There's no wi-fi in the room, which is EXTREMELY annoying, but he's given me a key to his room, which is in the next building, where I can go and plug straight into the LAN internet with about 3mbps. It's a pretty bizarre arrangement, but Nai Han beach is so pretty at sunset it's difficult to turn down.

#5 Posted: 19/9/2010 - 11:27

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exacto

mahout
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excellent. it sounds like your gut instinct says to go for it. more power to ya and sincerely hope it goes great. let us know. cheers.

#6 Posted: 21/9/2010 - 09:41
CrankyCarrot

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@Exacto - cheers matey. Sometimes it helps to run things by people who have at least some modicum of common sense/logic to their thinking.

I'm slowly learning that the old "better the devil you know" philosophy holds true here in Phuket. Pretty much everyone I meet seems eccentric and twisted in their behaviour to me. Once you learn their little quirks however, you learn how to work with them also. In my experience (of all of about 6 weeks, admittedly) it's easier just to stick with someone who's peculiarities you already know rather than start all over again with another ex-pat wacko.

#7 Posted: 21/9/2010 - 14:17

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