AJBangkok

There is a HBO series called “Barry” about a hit man that stumbles into an acting class and decides to try to change his life while still being a hit man. It’s watchable black humor 

I have three of the Mr Ken 84 inch helicopter fans. They are super quiet and move a serious amount of air. Would recommend.

In some respect it doesn’t matter how many units are on the market. The more important number is actual days on the market. If you had data like that and published sale prices then the market would enjoy far more pricing clarity and would become more efficient. 

Reality is that a property is only worth the amount somebody is willing to pay for it. If your condo is on the market for 300 days and the average days on market is 120 days then you’ve probably got a price issue. 

I think your being way to harsh xylophone. Some of the things you mention as pitfalls would be highlighted by a simple google search. If googling something is too much trouble in doing due diligence when you are about to spend a huge amount of money then you are asking for trouble. Yes some lawyers mention 30+30+30 leases but there are probably 10 sites saying they’re not legal (enforceable ) for every one site that says they are. If a developer guarantees you a return, that’s a commercial contract and a person should understand with any contact there is a risk of nonperformance.

If a person wants to ignore all the red flags being thrown up and still make the investment then it’s on them. Sure there could be real instances of forged owenership but they would be the exception and not the norm.

I don’t know if Mysterion is in the property industry or not but what he is saying makes absolute sense to me and i’m not in the property industry although I do own multiple properties in Thailand.

Finally I really do enjoy all your posts but on this topic your outrage mystifies me, as I cannot reconcile the content of your posts on this subject with your board signature that you attach to all your posts which I assume reflects you credo or motto in life. I qoute:

”isn’t it amazing how many people tread through life carefully so that they can arrive at deaths door safely “

It maybe explains your sceptism over doing due diligence but it is bit ironic that you still feel the need to express the outrage you do rather than applauding Mysterion and others for taking the risks he does instead of settling for “ treading through life carefully so that they can arrive at deaths door safely “ 

On 1/16/2018 at 10:11 PM, Mysterion said:

At the end of the day, buying distressed property sales is the best strategy in thailand, as you tend to have a good margin of safety if things don't go as rosy as planned...and there are indeed quite a few distressed sellers here who paid far too much over the past years.

The second mouse gets the cheese.

1 hour ago, NamKangMan said:

 

They will do anything to get their money out of China, even buying a condo on Phuket. 

I guess there may be some truth to that as my wife was contacted by a real estate agent last week asking if we were interested in selling our condo as they had a Chinese buyer looking for a 4 bedroom unit.

On 12/18/2017 at 11:40 AM, Psimbo said:

Along similar lines I'd put S3 of Narcos up there as well- it seems to be a popular theme at the moment (haven't tried El Chapo yet).

 

Watched American Made last night about Barry Seal. Not a great fan of Tiny Tom but an interesting perspective on the whole thing and a decent film.

Season 3 of Narcos probably wins the best returning series award. 

So I would say the best new series this year are Snowfall, and Mindhunters, both mentioned a few times but they are standouts as far as new series go.

That first episode of counterpart was really good. I’m normally not a fan of parallel universe stuff but this first episode makes me want to watch more. 

Mindhunters is one of the best new fall TV shows. I didn’t think I’d like it but it was excellent TV.

Cha am is a pretty big area. If you are talking about the area between Cha Am town and Hua Hin town then there are lots of condos, and houses available. I would say the closer you are to Hua Hin the better as it has so many more options in terms of shopping, eating and entertainment. You may want to consider north Hua Hin as its is In Prachuap Kiri Kan Province  and Cha Am is in Petchaburi Province so your trips to immigration in Hua Hin are far closer and more convenient that the hike to Tha Yang.

I beg to differ. 3 weeks ago Changwattana immigration made me go the police station and file a report. When I came back they also wanted a copy of my passport to go with the report so i had to go downstairs and get one. They then went into the computer and wrote my old entry card number on the new card.

It's a stupid rule and the police are better off spending their time catching criminals rather than taking reports from careless farangs who lose their TM cards. I don't think the police will launch a task force or even investigate the loss of my TM card. 

Actually big chains don’t lease the hotel they either own it or just manage it. It’s a very profitable business model employed all over the world. I think Accor ( Sofitel, Novotel, ibis etc) owns less than half of their hotels, the rest are brand franchised and managed. The local owner of the hotel will pay between 8-12% of gross revenues to Accor and they will run your hotel for you under one of their brands.

You may need to update your URL resolver. Google “no stream on covenant Kodi” and there are a bunch of YouTube vids showing how to update the url resolver. 

All my Addons not just covenant got more streams after I did this.

Technically you are liable to pay the rent remaining on the contract. If you walk away from your one month deposit you still may have to pay the remaing 11 months if she takes you to court.

If there is a leak under the sink advise her in writing and include pictures and a video. A record of this will help you in court.

I'm interested, Where are you located Jase?

15 hours ago, NamKangMan said:

 

I agree, but with the majority of tourist coming to Phuket these days being Chinese, I can't see the Chinese buying a bar / guest house / cafe / restaurant, or taking an Issan bride.  

 

That makes for a lot of empty establishments here in the future, that previously catered for westerners, and we are already seeing it happening now.

I agree with you that your average Mr Wang from Wuhan is far less likely to come to Phuket, fall in love with a bargirl, and move here to run a cafe etc than your average Bob from Bristol or Bruce from Brisbane.

However taking a bigger perspective if the clampdown on Zero Baht tourism actually works then it is possible that in order to claw back as much money as they can from Chinese tourism, the Chinese ( corporate or illegal interets - not individuals ) do acquire local businesses or have locals front businesses on their behalf.

They are doing it already We've already seen crackdowns on Chinese tour guides, Chinese tour companies, Chinese bus and boat owners and chances are these people are not just going to give up and go home. They'll just find a better way to keep doing it and get thier share of the pie. 

For that to happen then you'd need Chinese tourism to be sustainable and grow. Investment wouldn't happen overnight  but slowly they could acquire the venues and retask them so that maybe in 10 years time nightlife in Patong will be about popping out at night for a bowl of noodles and a cold Tsing Tao, followed by a foot massage , and some late night entertainment by cracking a bottle of Remy at the local Karaoke. Paradise.

1 hour ago, Mattd said:

You were advised by Ubonjoe to depart and return via Suvarnabhumi airport not via a land border, now Thai Elite are reiterating it, seems you have no choice but to go out again and return by air to Suvarnabhumhi to convert.

Please read the mail from Ubon Joe again. He said I could do it on a 30 day entry. Then he said I could do it by entering at Suvarnabhumi airport. 

They are 2 different statements. 

Interpret them how you want to but please dont put words into his mouth.,

The latest in this saga. I made a trip to Poi Pet and came back on a 30 day visa exempt entry. I then asked Thai elite to arrange the PE visa and this is what they came back with. It sounds ridiculous and I can't believe it's actually the case.

any advice ?

After we re-checked with Immigration Bureau again, the Immigration officer strongly insisted that a Thailand Elite member will be able to obtain or convert to Thailand Elite visa type “PE” at Immigration Chaengwattana if he/she enters to Thailand on tourist visa. However, Thailand Elite member must never have obtained a Thailand Elite visa type”SE” in the same passport even if it has expired under Immigration regulation. The Immigration officer kindly suggests you to do as 2 options as below;

 

1.      You can request to obtain a Thailand Elite visa type “PE” upon your arrival at Suvarnabhumi or Phuket international airport only if you don’t have a plan to get a new passport.  5 – 7 days advance notice is required to inform to our staff.

 

2.      You can obtain a Thailand Elite visa type”PE” at Immigration Chaengwattana if you have a new passport without Thailand Elite sticker visa.

 

Truly sorry for any inconvenience but highly hope to have your kind understanding under Immigration regulation.

My latest Thai Elite 5 year SE Visa has expired and I am still on a 3 month extension. I decided to convert my elite membership from the lifetime to the 20 year membership so I can get the PE 5 year visa which gives a 1 year extension of stay versus the 3 month given on the SE.

The Thai elite people said they contacted immigration and that they were told that I could not simply apply/convert for the PE visa at changwattana as I was on an extension of stay from a SE visa and that I had to leave the country and come in on a tourist visa then they would issue the PE visa.

That doesn't make sense to me.

Also if I have to leave and come back do I need an actual tourist visa or can I just apply for the PE visa while on a 30 day leave to remain.

thanks

For any Australians out there I just watched the first episode of Hoges the life story of Paul Hogan, it was pretty good but I don't know if my view was skewed from being able to remember living through some of the events and watching his TV show when I was a kid. It's on Kodi but you may be able to find it elsewhere.

Spinoff series Blacklist redemption is worth a watch if you are a fan of the blacklist 

Just finished watching shut eye, a tv series about a con man physic who after a beating starts having real visions. Lots of good actors so worth a watch.

Just saw the first episode of Travellers - worth watching a few more episodes to see how it shapes up