Closing

We closed on the Soi 15 unit! And it wasn't the least bit painful. Rampant bureaucracy was kept in check, and everything went according to plan. We were new homeowners in an hour.

I'm lying, of course. :P The day started at the crack of dawn when we had to shlep over to the Land Department of Prakanong district, an area in which we never venture. The seller Dr. M. said he'd be there at eight, but he hobbled in (he ran the Bkk Marathon yesterday) an hour later. Turns out we had to wait around for the bank's rep anyway, to clear the seller's mortgage, releasing its claim on the property.

Despite the late start, a surreptitious monetary gift got the process rolling, and we were well on our way to transferring the deed before lunchtime. When we had to tender the transfer fee, the clerk rejected Dr. M's cashier's check because it wasn't dated. Duh!?! The requisite bitching ensued, but the clerk would not accept a written-in date without the initials of the two signers of the check. We had no choice but to cab it back to town to get a new check, and keep tabs on each other's whereabouts. Admittedly obsessive compulsive, Dr. M. would only ride in a new looking taxi, claiming the older ones smelled dirty.

Anyway, it took more than an hour to get a new check and return to the Land Department. By then it was past noon, and the clerks were nowhere to be seen, even though a sign proclaimed that the Department was operational throughout the lunch hour. We then went to lunch together, and returned at one. More waiting while the clerk sat around, and then went to brush her teeth. By two, we'd finally paid the fee, cleared the title with the bank, and transferred the deed.

Dr. M. leeched off us for a ride back into town so we had to endure more polite chatter (what we had been doing whilst waiting and lunching). He is actually a nice guy, so it could have been much worse. Buyers and sellers probably shouldn't bond this much though.