123ace

It's just a historical account, there is no insight or social commentary etc. My observation is that the locals have made this ideology their own, and this in my view is slowly gravitating away from whatever was the essence and noble purpose of what was actually conceived by a man 2,500 years ago.

I was under the impression it was meant to be a 'faith code' for how conduct your life etc, that does not seem to be the case here as its more like going through the motions with a set formula of ceremony because that is what they are expected to do and it is how you gain luck or benefit, health, wealth etc. It seems to have little to do with a life code and doing good and not doing bad things to others. I like the original intention a lot.

good on them

shame on you

another red shirted bleeding heart who thinks lawlessness, murder and bully boy intimidation is acceptable

No shame on you for supporting a system that oppresses the majority so a selected minority can have a comfortable lifestyle.

hagler - ask yourself why the 'selected minority' seem totally unphased by what is going on? why aren't they selling assets and leaving? You will find out after the event that perhaps things are not what they seem.

2 - 3m will not go far. I would also be interested to know what up to 3m would get these days.

The best location is Saladaeng - one and two bed units. Sukhumvit is ok, but less focussed and heavily over-supplied in the mid / mid-high range.

Likley outcome: The OP does the work and still pays the contractor anyway. The work gets done properly, and no laws broken.

Often we see mid term expats that think they know the sytem, confidently stride in to a lousy deal. Then claim foul after the fact. I will watch this one unfold with amusement.

My last comment on this is to the OP is perhaps study the resort owner or operator's balance sheet, debts and liabilites with keen interest and to appraoch it looking for problems...... but I know he won't.

Daily rentals and short stays are totally different from lease agreements of 12 months etc. It may not be common knowledge that 1 day rentals can not be done, but simple logic would show that this is not allowed in a Juristic Condo unless the articles of association allow for it ,and a hotel licience has been issued.

Of course many get away with it, particulary in Hua Hin and to a lesser extent in Pattaya, but if it becomes an issue it is very easy to prevent. Nobody is looking for it, so it only becomes an issue if the 'guest' annoys a co-owner.

A condo is not a hotel. The laws governing both are complex.

The working enviroment was once described to me a being similar to a cross between a youth club and a chimp's tea party.

As I was in a serious accident last sonkran and enjoyed the senastion of sliding across the road at high speed whilst using my body as a brake, followed getting the 'mai pen rai' or 'its our holiday - you are rich - blah blah' lines from the locals whilst I am standing there coverd in blood, I suggest songran is banned and returned as a religious event within temple grounds only.

Raise alcohol prices in Pattaya? - good, it may weed out some of less desirable 'long stay' types. This would have a been a perfectly acceptable basis for rasing prices anyway.

Did 12 kilo in 15 weeks.

Easy, Vodka soda and loads of salads, veg, some boiled eggs, boiled fish.

and loads of sex with the air con off.

Poor girl - getting banged by an overweight & very sweaty farang....

Have to admit to adopting this approach myself though - huge calorie burn!!

I would hold the UK property vis a vis selling now and buying in Pattaya. As UK has bottomed out, and a flat is far far more renatable there than the majority in Pattaya in terms of a 12 month tenancy (very hard to do in Pattaya as demand is from long stay tourists for 3 - 6 months). Bangkok is a better buy to let market.

Pound vs Baht exchange is an oddity at present. I am expecting a slow shift as the UK may be expected to slowly recover and the THB may be expected to slowly decline. This is irrespective of the US or Euro, but a THB vs Pound comparison in isolation, and not short but medium term.

In summary - Hold the UK asset & rent in Pattaya; or sell the UK and buy to let Bangkok.

You need to do a lot more study before your proceed any further. based on the questions raised I would see you as a potentially a prime target for being led in to a very poor transaction.

Feel free to PM me if you need advice, or as suggested above specify the transaction with greater clarity. In the meantime do not pay any money, including depsoit.

The condominium building itself would need a hotel license in order to accommodate short stay guests. Licensing soon to be enforced by the government.

The Managers or Juristic Person could prevent access to non registered residents - in fact there are multiple ways of stopping this. Best to keep it low profile.

The owner of the units rented out on short time, would need in a hotel lisence which is easy to obtain. Not the whole building.

Preventing access for owners and their customers/tenants would be against thai law.

I think you are incorrect. In a Juristic Condominium it will require AGM approval to seek for a hotel liciense, individual owners could not seek this and the JP would have to be involved in this process, requiring at least 50% of co-owners to agree. In addition the articles of Association would need to cover this.

Preventing access to unauthorised persons is the responsibilty of the JP and their managers. Hotel guests are not the same as co-owner friends and it can easily become an issue if unregulated and complaints are made etc. This refers to 'over-night stays' not tenants with leases.

Comparisons with other regional markets is quite common but wholly irrelavant in this case. Hong Kong and Singpore for instance are both inherently open to foreign investors with financing and far fewer limitations on entry.

I assume that this article refers exclusively to the local market (local developer to local buyer), therefore with almost no relevance to Pattaya, Phuket etc, or even the premium level in Bangkok.

If as suggested the the local market faces an oversupply by mid-year and this may lead to a slow down etc, then this would be a very serious issue as local developers are currently reporting very strong numbers, unlike Pattaya, Phuket and the premium level in Bangkok.

Without any doubt though these incentives have stimulated sales transfers in 2010. Sad to see them go, some sort of phasing back to full rates would have helped as well, rather than a full return.

The problem with management companies - even those actually recommended by other condos as straight arrows! - is that they have a modus operandum. A few tricks are:

- Place a clever scoundrel as manager who with the aid of the company's experts takes your condo for the ride of its life

- Put an efficient, personable manager in charge. After a month or so, return him/her to the "stable" and place an incompetent or a goon instead-

- Begin replacing your original staff - office, reception, cleaning, engineering, etc. - with their own people - usually of poorer quality

- Represent themselves to be providing legal counsel, which claim and counsel turns out to be entirely bogus and misleading

In other words, set themselves up firmly in control so that everything they do is cleverly covered up and they pretty much "own" your bldg.

I wonder which is the better way to go. All ways are fraught.

I chose to own a condo because I hated hitting town and doing the rounds every single year to get a good location, security and decent amenities at an affordable price. I found that the adverts for cheap places were non-starters. Also, the prices of condo ownership were very much cheaper in Thailand than elsewhere.

Unlike a house, one is permitted to own the property outright and a maintenance fee is meant to cover all upkeep except furnishings. The presence of other tenants, security guards and systems makes me feel safer. Houses have many hidden costs - I think more so than condos.

If I had the dough my first choice would be to check in to a 5-star hotel or residence situation. But I don't....so I don't.

In PM you pay for what you get. Fees are way to low relative to the level of performance expected in foreign dominated buildings. Many owners have condo's that cost well in the region of 1m$US and they pay peanuts for the managers - the problems you identify are easliy solved, and are a sympton of low end local PM companies with less accountability.

The condominium building itself would need a hotel license in order to accommodate short stay guests. Licensing soon to be enforced by the government.

The Managers or Juristic Person could prevent access to non registered residents - in fact there are multiple ways of stopping this. Best to keep it low profile.

Appoint an international management company - pay the higher fees and a lot of these issues are solved. By going cheap with a local set up these problems seem inevitable.

Short term leases are classed as 'overnight stays' etc and are not technically allowed. You may not find definitive wording to this affect on this forum, but logically the building would require a hotel licience in order to perform this activity i.e. the business of a hotel.

Irrespective, the co-owners could vote to prohibit the practice if necessary. Longer leases of 12 months are ok, possibly even 6 months.

This is another important issue. No you don't get automatic access to your land and yes you can then be slugged for the land for a driveway etc.

I bought two places in 1987 in Patong which are now behind the bloody Otop market next to the water treatment plant. On the plan it said there would be gardens, a pool, tennis courts etc, but the guy building it all went under and sold the project to a slimy Chinese Haw who lived in Phuket town.

He refused to even consider our contracts and would not even give the deposits back. He claimed we had to sue the first guy who was also a Chinese guy named Phisarn. We had to fight through three appeals by him until we won and then he tried to block access by refusing to build an access road. So we sued him and won again. He died from suspected poisoning, his brother flew in from offshore to take over and he got shot dead virtually the day he arrived in Phuket. His son then returned from London where he was studying. He got shot dead soon after so there were no more males left to fight and his wife gave up and signed over the properties.

When Phisarn turned up at court he was terrified and in a panic he was going to be next. There were a few of us as litigants but I still dunno who was behind all the killing. Some say it was his Chinese partners trying to take over all his other businesses as he had a hotel in Karon and a lot of other properties. I had dinner with his daughter and she was terrified and trying to do the right thing and smooth things out. I just asked her straight out if her fathers greed was worth it. She cried and said he would not listen to anybody. (Sound like someone we all know)

I had the choice between these and Soi Paradise which were 1.3 million baht. Mine only cost 600,000 baht each but it was hardly worth the battle as that area is now a slum until we hopefully get bought out by somebody wanting to develop the whole area. Soi Paradise would obviously have been a better choice but we only paid a small deposit while the more expensive projects wanted more upfront money.

You just need to be very careful, have a long hard look around, preferable to rent for a long while first and check out the area you want to live in.

I just remembered another thing, we had to put up a 50,000 baht bond to the judge in case we lost. We won and a fellow litigant put our 50,000 in an account in a bank in Patong. We were absent from Patong for a while and when we returned the 50,000 had gone, stolen by a bank worker. We arranged a meeting and the bank manager said he had a prime suspect and the bank was duty bound to return the money. We got it back.

See if I had to sort this myself I'd go mad, I had my wife who was born in Phuket, my nephew who was until recently the head of the Or Bor Tor and my brother in law who went to court while we weren't around. My niece collects the rent and we had a really awesome lawyer with a never die attitude.

We only paid him 150,000 baht between us and he fought until he won. That was his deal, 150,000 baht no matter how long it took and it took ten years!! Would sell the places in Patong today if a fair offer came. Patong is now a <deleted> hole. I heard the upstairs bars built over Soi Katoey went for 24 million baht for a 3 year lease. Still don't believe it but anything is possible when it comes to Bangla.

But if my grandma had balls she'd have been my grandpa blah blah blah............................

Such a classic expat story, I actually found parts of it quite amusing and familair from my own experiences. You will scare the newbies!

Its five years not three.

Although a helmet would not have prevented a broken neck I am suprised that he was not wearing a helmet. That a fortuner is involved in an accident does not suprise me.

why should anyone be bothered of what happens in Thailand?

are people concerned what happens in Benin, Zanzibar, Girgaun, Iran or Haiti?

Who in the world "cares"about Thailand unless someone decides to make holidays here.

The difference is that Thailand is a major international tourist destination when compared to your examples. It is also a country that has substantial foreign manufacturing facilities and is a huge exporter of key foodstuffs.

Lots of fellas wife's and girlfirends hail from here as well, err....

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As to the real estate firms you can use their "research" as initial due diligence but take it with a huge grain of salt. Research is not a revenue driver for them. Probably very little time or money is spent on the data collection and you have very little idea about their methodology. They have a vested interest in a more bullish outlook as increased optimism leads to transaction volume. Further, they compete for listings and painting a negative outlook will not secure new business.

This is certainly valid for 'off the shelf' research, however any reseach tailor made and paid for should reflect the real situation, with no bias towards ultimate sales. All the intl firms provide these for a fee and these reports are often highly critical of the market with almost no similarity with what is quoted in the press etc.

What bothers me is the sight of an adult and a child walking side by side in the road, with the child on the outside and most exposed to passing cars. No matter how many times I explain that this is dangerous I just get the blank face in return...

This would be inconceivable in the UK and the parent / adult would get such an ear bashing from any passing motorists.

You may have said it but apparently you did not bother to read their website and methodology. According to their website they use the newspaper and internet and they use asking prices with apparently little to no consideration for vacancy and therefore existing and future inventory.

Probably should have put that in quotes but here it is again below. Also here is the web address:

http://www.globalpropertyguide.com/faq/squ...and-yields#ans5

Here is paragraph copied and pasted if you do not want to look for yourself.

"What are the sources of the Guide´s price data? Can these sources be trusted?

We draw our figures from our own, in-house analysis. Our research is based on a simple yet effective method - we systematically scan web advertisements for residential property, looking at offers for sale, and offers for rent, of good (but not new) apartments.

Despite its simplicity, with care and commitment to consistency this method can produce quality results. We begin by defining key upper-end rental districts in the capital city. We take care to keep a database of where the properties are located, so as to ensure consistency in subsequent years. We carefully select appropriate price ranges. We take average prices, rejecting deviant outliers. Buyers of the full data set have access to these comparability specifications.

The data measures up well to data provided by national statistical organizations, where these are available for comparison, and usually performs better than multi-housing organization data."

With all due respect, but that method is not how you research real estate. On the basis described your results will be incorrect by a margin of 10 to 30% on the assumption that most sales and lease rates are negotiable, no factor for rent free etc is made.

To provide this data accurately you need access to actual transaction evidence. By forming an opinion based on advertised rates only you are establishing a market value in excess of actual performance.

Advertised rates for unsold property can not form the basis of a valuation or market benchmark and as such is inherently misleading. The value can only be determined upon sale and an unsold property may arguably be over priced, and hence remains unsold.

Frankly this is best left to the professional international firms that understand the market place, have access to recent sales data and have a greater knowledge of how to differentiate between actual property grades. It is quite easy for the untrained eye to misread a buildings grade and place it in the wrong category, I see this quite frequently with apples being compared with oranges.

I think there is a bit of confusion going on here.

The method that mjohnson282 is talking about is not his/her method. It is the Global Property Guide's method. mjohnson282 is simply quoting what they say on their own website.

Apolologies to mjohnson282.

I remember that dirt stretch on the way to Hua Hin...could never figure out why it took so long to complete, but it was a mess for sure.

I think I read somewhere they are having problems negotiating prices from various property owners to gain some required land. My guess, it's right where gmac indicated. Looks like that hotel there, or some of those small businesses, don't want to part with the land cheaply. Holding out for more cash.

Even so, they could have finished the existing part MUCH quicker. What a mess...and sad so many lives have been lost there.

I recall that stretch of road as well, it seemed to be in a pernament state of repair! It still impacts my thoughts now whenever I have to travel to Hua Hin - It used to take at least an hour at times just from the Rama 9 bridge just to where Central Rama 2 is now!