patongphil

I voted for less than 5,000 baht which is true but does no take into account what I get in return. We have a large house and farm on the outskirts of the village which we only visit for some 3 months or so over the Sonkraan holidays.

The rest of the year SIL cleans the house twice a month and FIL looks after our cows, rice fields, ducks, fish and everything else on our farm - (sorry Missus' farm for those who just don't get it). I am quite happy to bung them a few baht occassionally for their labours esp FIL as this is pretty much a full time job.

In fact we are cash flow positive for no effort on our behalf. A great deal for all involved I believe.

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The pics do not do justice to the size of the wedges or the entire meal.

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I think the plates are too big - they make the meals look small!

Last week I had the Swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes. Excellent!

This week I had the battered fish and French fries again. Yummy!

I thought I would give the place a try today for lunch as was in the area and what pleasure it was too. Had the battered fish and wedges and missus had fried rice. Never seen the missus so complimentary over a dish from a restaurant and my fish and wedges was great too.

What a lovely atmosphere too - defintely a place to return to.

By the way Large Leo at 60 baht will always bring out the compliments in me.

You must be a thrill seeker - renting a jet ski.

No, he said Kata. No problems whatsoever with jetski's on Kata Beach.

Ha ha there you are wrong my friend.

I had a friend over for a holiday staying at the Med and he had a pretty serious run in with the jetski "boys" about a year ago. I personally witnessed the end of the saga and was not exactly pleasant.

Buy the cheap 2 or 3K tablets and one drop on the floor and they are broken..

Not suitable for a 6 year old..

I just paid out 3K to my wife's niece cos my 3 year old dropped her tablet.

The better quality tablets like ipads and samsung tablets are more robust, combine this with a good protective case and you should be OK.

Couldn't agree more about Ipad and Samsung. Yes you pay more but they do last and they do work!!! My 2.5 year old uses my Ipad and even after numerous drops, flings, kicks and throws it still doesn't miss a beat.

Local girl married to an absentee English guy in our village has just opened up an internet cafe - business seems to be booming!

What documentation required for residence certificate?

It always amazes me how people talk about coming to Phuket for the surfing here.

Plenty of places in Indonesia leave Phuket for dead surf wise and price wise yet the "surfers" come to Phuket!!!

Makes one think.

In Maha Sarakham next to Chaiyaphum rent for paddy without access to water is 500 baht per rai. If a percentage then varies from 30 to 40 percent. At 30 percent you don't do anything just receive 30% of the crop but at 40% you are up for the ploughing, bund maintenance and the like.

Looking at your average Thai cow I can only think they cut all the meat off and left the ribs behind on the cow hoping they grow more meat.

I like Leo

"Firstly, a foreigner can own a car here - 100% in their name. This can not be said of a condo that sits on Thai owned land. So, no, it's not like buying/renting a car here."

Firstly, a foreigner can own a car here - 100% in their name. This can not be said of a condo that sits on Thai owned land. So, no, it's not like buying/renting a car here.

Secondly, just try to put your condo on the market to sell. See how you go. You simply will not be able to sell it. It will sit on the market for years, and that is not an exageration, years. Or, you sell it at a real rock bottom price, and then see how profitable it was.

If you were to pass away tomorrow, you would be leaving a rapidly depreciating asset that will be a problem for the next of kin to sell, even at a lower price. Many expats are leaving the condo to the wife, in the belief she will be taken care of with the money from the sale. They are simply not selling. They are leaving financial hardship, or, she sells it for nothing, further driving the property market down.

If you put the money you spent on your condo in a western bank at around 5% interest, the interest would have covered your rent and your capital is at call, at anytime. Sure, the capital has depreciated, due to inflation, over the years, but not a lot.

You did not mention the ridiculous management fees on condo's and apartments here. In some cases, thousands of baht a month. Then, there is maintainence and repairs, so, there are ongoing costs, when you own a condo.

Now, you have an asset that is depreciating, and is not liquid, and would be extremely hard to convert back to cash, and you are forced to live in an evironment that has changed around you.

I just don't see the reward for the risk, especially since they are building thousands of condos a year here which is driving the property market down.

Many say "rent is dead money." Buying a condo is dead money if you can never sell it, or sell it at a fire sale price, and then add managemen fees, repairs and maitainence.

So when you buy a car you own the roads it travels on? If I were Thai I wouldn't own the land beneath the condo either.

I have no intention of selling and if I did, whether or not I own the land 15 floors below my condo is not going to effect the ability to sell or the price. Anyway units in my building are selling and/or being rented out. They're not flying off the shelf, but buying & selling is taking place, prices asked are rising as are rents. Location and condition are obviously a factor, but again I'm not selling and I'm not paying rent either.

Buying a condo is not the best idea for everyone, but in my case it has already proved to be a good investment. If I live another 10 years here, it will prove to be an excellent investment. The building is well managed and it is undergoing reasonable levels of maintenance and improvements. Whatever my heir gets from it is a bonus and at that point I will be beyond caring one way or another.

Choosing to buy or rent is dependent on many things. If I were first coming to Thailand now, considering my age and other factors, I would probably choose to rent. I didn't say it was a no-brainer choice for everyone.

Considering the tone of your response, you apparently made poor decisions or were unlucky and are regretting what you did. Your points and experience are well worth thinking about for anyone trying to decide what to do. All I'm saying is that buying can be a good choice and that I have no regrets. If I were to die tomorrow, it was a good decision. If I manage to hang on much longer, it will have been an excellent decision. Certainly I'm happier about my situation than you seem to be about yours.

It seems you are happy only because you are "not paying rent." The old "rent is dead money" syndrome.

The true results of your "investment" will not be known until you sell, and many are simply not selling, and the more they build, the harder it will be for you to sell, and the further the property market will decline as there becomes an oversupply here. In my opinion, we are already at that point.

Tell me about your management fees.

Tell me about your condo block's decreasing 30 year land lease.

Tell me about the poor construction methods and materials here and what maintenance and repairs you have had to pay for.

Tell me about your new neighbours - you know, the ones that you MUST live next to.

Tell me about the other constructions that have been built around you, after you purchaed.

Tell me that you know for certain that yor condo sits on land that has a proper land tilte.

Tell me that you know for certain at least 51% of the condos are Thai owned - then tell me how they can out vote you at anytime for decisions about the block.

Tell me how a change to visa laws could see you unable to live in your condo.

ETC ETC ETC ETC ETC ETC

Each to their own. You are happy to buy something you never truly own, and I'm happy to leave that capital in western bank and let the interest pay my rent here, and some.

In relation to the roads here - the tuk-tuk drivers own the roads here - you know that.

In relation to myself: I am single, never had a business here, never sent money for sick buffalo, never purchased property and have no intention to "invest" in a 3rd World Country. I consider these to be wise decisions, rather than "poor decisions." My money and investments remain in western countries backed up by proper laws and judicial systems.

As they say, no reward without risk. I just don't need the risk Thailand presents to me when my money is already safely rewarded in western countries.

Wow your glass rally is half empty.

I view it as half full, actually.

I enjoy Phuket and Thailand for all the positives it has to offer, without any risk to my financial security. I make my money in the west, and spend little of here.

I gather you have purchased property here.

Yes I have

I got insured last year with BUPA.

I went to speak with the representatives in Phuket town a few times, so as to understand some of the intricacies.

The PLATINUM plan, the mid-range one, is the one I took, with INTERNATIONAL coverage, except USA.

Covers up to 2 million bahts.

Has to be taken before age 66, and then continued coverage after that age.

Costs me 79,000 bahts or so.

The CRYSTAL plan is for Thai people only, and cheaper because it is for medical care at the cheaper Thai hospitals ONLY.

The PLATINUM plan, is for farangs who can go at any hospitals, even abroad. (Again, except USA).

I was reading on this lady last month who got a motorbike accident at the Chalong circle. She was up to 1 million bahts costs at the hospital.

Did you sign a form for the exceptions and if so what are you left with for cover?

"Firstly, a foreigner can own a car here - 100% in their name. This can not be said of a condo that sits on Thai owned land. So, no, it's not like buying/renting a car here."

Firstly, a foreigner can own a car here - 100% in their name. This can not be said of a condo that sits on Thai owned land. So, no, it's not like buying/renting a car here.

Secondly, just try to put your condo on the market to sell. See how you go. You simply will not be able to sell it. It will sit on the market for years, and that is not an exageration, years. Or, you sell it at a real rock bottom price, and then see how profitable it was.

If you were to pass away tomorrow, you would be leaving a rapidly depreciating asset that will be a problem for the next of kin to sell, even at a lower price. Many expats are leaving the condo to the wife, in the belief she will be taken care of with the money from the sale. They are simply not selling. They are leaving financial hardship, or, she sells it for nothing, further driving the property market down.

If you put the money you spent on your condo in a western bank at around 5% interest, the interest would have covered your rent and your capital is at call, at anytime. Sure, the capital has depreciated, due to inflation, over the years, but not a lot.

You did not mention the ridiculous management fees on condo's and apartments here. In some cases, thousands of baht a month. Then, there is maintainence and repairs, so, there are ongoing costs, when you own a condo.

Now, you have an asset that is depreciating, and is not liquid, and would be extremely hard to convert back to cash, and you are forced to live in an evironment that has changed around you.

I just don't see the reward for the risk, especially since they are building thousands of condos a year here which is driving the property market down.

Many say "rent is dead money." Buying a condo is dead money if you can never sell it, or sell it at a fire sale price, and then add managemen fees, repairs and maitainence.

So when you buy a car you own the roads it travels on? If I were Thai I wouldn't own the land beneath the condo either.

I have no intention of selling and if I did, whether or not I own the land 15 floors below my condo is not going to effect the ability to sell or the price. Anyway units in my building are selling and/or being rented out. They're not flying off the shelf, but buying & selling is taking place, prices asked are rising as are rents. Location and condition are obviously a factor, but again I'm not selling and I'm not paying rent either.

Buying a condo is not the best idea for everyone, but in my case it has already proved to be a good investment. If I live another 10 years here, it will prove to be an excellent investment. The building is well managed and it is undergoing reasonable levels of maintenance and improvements. Whatever my heir gets from it is a bonus and at that point I will be beyond caring one way or another.

Choosing to buy or rent is dependent on many things. If I were first coming to Thailand now, considering my age and other factors, I would probably choose to rent. I didn't say it was a no-brainer choice for everyone.

Considering the tone of your response, you apparently made poor decisions or were unlucky and are regretting what you did. Your points and experience are well worth thinking about for anyone trying to decide what to do. All I'm saying is that buying can be a good choice and that I have no regrets. If I were to die tomorrow, it was a good decision. If I manage to hang on much longer, it will have been an excellent decision. Certainly I'm happier about my situation than you seem to be about yours.

It seems you are happy only because you are "not paying rent." The old "rent is dead money" syndrome.

The true results of your "investment" will not be known until you sell, and many are simply not selling, and the more they build, the harder it will be for you to sell, and the further the property market will decline as there becomes an oversupply here. In my opinion, we are already at that point.

Tell me about your management fees.

Tell me about your condo block's decreasing 30 year land lease.

Tell me about the poor construction methods and materials here and what maintenance and repairs you have had to pay for.

Tell me about your new neighbours - you know, the ones that you MUST live next to.

Tell me about the other constructions that have been built around you, after you purchaed.

Tell me that you know for certain that yor condo sits on land that has a proper land tilte.

Tell me that you know for certain at least 51% of the condos are Thai owned - then tell me how they can out vote you at anytime for decisions about the block.

Tell me how a change to visa laws could see you unable to live in your condo.

ETC ETC ETC ETC ETC ETC

Each to their own. You are happy to buy something you never truly own, and I'm happy to leave that capital in western bank and let the interest pay my rent here, and some.

In relation to the roads here - the tuk-tuk drivers own the roads here - you know that.

In relation to myself: I am single, never had a business here, never sent money for sick buffalo, never purchased property and have no intention to "invest" in a 3rd World Country. I consider these to be wise decisions, rather than "poor decisions." My money and investments remain in western countries backed up by proper laws and judicial systems.

As they say, no reward without risk. I just don't need the risk Thailand presents to me when my money is already safely rewarded in western countries.

Wow your glass rally is half empty.

Somebody is bored me thinks.

I used to be with BUPA Thailand but the list of exceptions they require you to sign make it worthless so am now "self insured" if you can call it that.

As I understand, the 800,000 in bank account needs to be in an account which you have immediate access to (i.e can withdraw funds at any time); you could pick up a problem with immigration (when re-applying in the future), if the funds are in a fixed or term deposit account and you do not have immediate access to the funds.

The income option is perhaps better, as it is acceptable that the income can be paid into a foreign account; as long as it is a regular (preferably monthly) income that you receive. (As I understand, you could have 50 million in stocks and bonds which you could utilize for income, as you require, but it would not be acceptable because it doesn't qualify as a regular income that you receive)! Therefore you would need a sum of money in an annuity from which which you draw/derive a regular income.

I think all funds in fix accounts are open to immediate access you just lose your interest

I have no trouble on my renewal of my extension with a fix rate account but I always take my regular bank book with me incase they want to see how I live

Excatly what I do too, and presume many others as well.

And also some of the most frank and straightforward people.

Having lived in Thailand now for seven years, I could count the fingers in one hand the amount of Thais that have been rude to me.

Do you speak Thai well enough to understand?

How much.?

Why was it crap?

Mass produced poor quality food in my opinion. Couldn't really say that anything I ate in the entire buffet was memorable in any way or worth going back for.

Sounds like my local Moo Ka Taa but at least that is only 149 baht.

Thanks for the replies so far and PM's. I have had a look at both 88 and the original L&H park Found 88 to be over the 8 million mark if I remember correctly but also far too WHITE for me. Everything is white - surprised the grass isn't painted white too. As for the original L&H most houses definitely showing signs of lack of maintenance.

Anyway am still looking and any leads etc much appreciated.

Had one done in Kamala 2 weeks ago for work permit. 350 inc blood test, results and cert issued within 15 minutes.

While I do not doubt a cert was issued in 15 minutes, I would say that is BS by the doc/clinic. I don't know anywhere that can process a blood test in 15 minutes.

Ha ha can get one here in patong in 5 mins - even got one for my mate as well and he stayed in the bar while I went off to get them.

Time for me to up sticks and move from Patong - kids schooling prompting the move.

Anyway I have spent a few days driving around Rawai and Chalong and thought I may ask a bit of help from any Rawai or Chalong locals. I am seeking to buy a 3 bedroom detached house with a small garden for around the 6 to 7 million mark. Especially interested in new developments ( missus has the usual Thai problem with ghosts ) but secondhand also possible. No specifics as not too sure ourselves and are prepared to look at all possibilities.

I am sure some of you will know of houses for sale or developments in progress and would much appeciate a bit of help either by post or PM.

Cheers.

You do not have to look as far as the aunt or the ex(?) husband to see who is scamming you. It is your wife.

thank you....i will investigate on my arrival and possible departure.

Listen Boss, it's up to her to protect you, and so far she has shown that she is useless at it.

You are offering her a fabulous new start in Australia for her and her daughter and she is either

1. Ripping the p*ss out of you or

2. Allowing the p*ss to be ripped out of you.

It's time for you treat this family with the same brutality they are treating you with.

Over to you.

thanks buddy...thats the type of reply i want to hear not some of the s**t people are saying like 15,000 net with all else paid and a good future etc etc is nothing and suggesting that i am being tight etc etc.

really appreciate your advice as in my brain thats what i feel but i am a good hearted man and feel guilt to leave a baby and a little girl back to a s++t hole life.

and besides a good future in australia we have a lovely apartment in southern spain on the beach and i am semi retired and run my own show so its not even a life like i see when ladies come to farang land and then have to work.

life for all of us is all planned to be enjoyed while we can as thats why i have worked hard,have no debt, am young at heart and not so old and well travelled.

but if people are going to be as you put it...then obviously something isnt right and it will be up to my fiance to correct things.

thanks champ.

Hope your new BGF/Fiance can enjoy the delights of southern Spain with you - should be a blast eating fish and chips and evenings at Charlie Chaplin bar etc etc during the southern Winter - sounds idyllic!!!