Job Discussion Forums

[Geronimo]

I find the periodic carrying of heavy a/c units upstairs and downstairs in steamy hot local apartment buildings to be one of the more puzzling Omani traditions.

I can think of several disadvantages of this practice straightaway.....the extra expense and time incurred by individual a/c purchases; the hassles of locating technicians for installation on an individual basis; the extra effort in shifting these large items in buildings without elevators; the unsightly cardboard coverings with feathers sticking out after a/cs have been removed; the discomfort suffered whilst we await an a/c installation (or try to ecenomise by buying fewer a/cs than necessary!)

However, when I begin to consider the advantages of the present practice.....Well, ...er?...um!...we can choose our preferred colour for the a/c unit?! How about cream?

If landlords are afraid that departing tenants will flog a/cs that don't belong to them, one way to stop these rogues would be to close down the marjket in second hand a/cs.
Am I missing some factors here? If not, can we not strike tenancy deals with landlords that promote installation of a/cs prior to occupancy?

[veiledsentiments]

I am rather mystified at what you are talking about. Unfurnished flats in Muscat, which were the only thing I ever saw when I decided to move and started looking, didn't have ACs installed, so new tenants had to install them. It was inconvenient for many I suppose, but considering how many tenants treat things, I can understand why most landlords would choose to let you buy and abuse your own property. Few advantages for the tenant, of course, but no problem at all for the landlord.

In the two years that I was living in Al-Khuwair, I don't think I ever actually saw an AC being installed, so it was apparently done in the flats around me when I was at work. My employer provided furnished flats, and they moved their ACs to my new flat when I insisted on a move - while I was at the college so I didn't see a thing.

VS

[Duffy]

Why would a landlord install A/C in a letting unfurnished apartment/villa prior to occupation??

They know that if there is an Omani family moving in, if they have any systems, they will bring them with them.

If it is an expat family, at least one that has been living here for a while, they will move their own in as well.

Don't see the point of this thread!


Duffy (Well cooled with split A/Cs!!)!

[Geronimo]

My aim with the OP was to promote the demise of a/c transfers.

A number of English teachers will be moving out of accommodation in the New Year without the dubious benefit of being able to transfer their current apartments' a/cs into their new abode's holes in the walls. The housing market has cooled now and so there is an opportunity to negotiate for prior installation. The incentive for the prospective landlord would be that newly installed a/cs would be a selling point for their rental accommodation.

Last Ramadan I watched 2 muslims struggle down 6 flights of stairs with a heavy a/c unit cutting into their fingers. They had been fasting for about 10 hours at that point. I was so moved that I almost offered to assist them.

Their sweat and tears have long since evaporated in that hot stairwell. But their blood stains remain to mark that a/c unit's departure.

[Duffy]

Geronimo,