SGD

You didn't own the ground floor as a foreigner though !

Do you think there is a marked difference between VT2A and VT2B these days then ? Back in my day, all mine were in VT2B except one in VT2A and I had far less to do with VT2A than VT2B.

So if we had 20m x 10m (for an example) that would be 200sqm and at Bt20k per sqm that comes to Bt4m. That is a decently big number which would need a breakdown from a flat Bt20k per sqm.

There are of course lots of ways you could approach this but most require some confrontation. However, from living on estates in Pattaya, you might find that the laws of the estate preclude short term rentals and as such, it can even end up with forfeiture of the property. Reporting this to booking.com might also yield some results. In one place, we used to have lots of aggressive soi dogs annoying people. Then there were none and none ever came back.

I was looking at a house the other week which had a 20m pool and I thought yeah, that is about the minimum I'd want as pretty much anything less is a glorified bathtub if you're a swimmer as I used to be. Donkeys years ago I asked for the cost of a freeform pool and was quoted mega millions, more than the house would have cost to build, so all those ideas got parked. Today, I can't find a house in the right place with a pool I consider big enough and so I'm back at the "how much if I build it myself" stage. I don't really mean by myself of course ! Freeform is nice but rectangular could work but at anything over 12m you're out of the fibreglass sizes and into whatever the other options are. So where can I find a reputable potential supplier to get the ball rolling and what are the options I would have for a circa 20m pool ?

VT2 is probably the best bang for buck in Pattaya IMHO. You'll never get that much land spent on a condo block again and the pools are not over shadowed by too near and too high accommodation blocks like the modern places. It is only 20 years old so lots of life left in it yet and it is going to age way better than the 1980s stuff like Diana Estates which although popular and now hugely overpriced, feels old and low rent.

Yeah, it should of had but never materialised. Smaller development of course but some compensation with Foodmart and some restaurants out front.

I tried an Airbnb type there and even had them send a video and still got shafted by some kid middle goon - but got my deposit back and never paid for the place as it was nothing lke advertised. But sure, on a walk up, perhaps. The trouble is with VT5 and 7 there were so many bought on speculation that 1000s are / were empty permanently.

I used to have a few condos in VT2 and lived there for some years after it opened. It has aged better than many and the space is nice but I don't know the demographic these days. VT1 is shocking, with <deleted>ty bars all around.

That condo development was the last chance saloon 20+ years ago because I looked at it ! Shockingly bad aesthetics, it reminded me of 1960s concrete developments in the UK or a prison.

Yes, I'm not on about the hotel style pool bar (or toilet as you accurately describe it) but poolside, like VT2 etc.

I used to live in View Talay 2 and I just got used to there being a more than half decent poolside bar and restaurant with other eating places in the development as well as the minimart, laundry and some massage places. Now I accept that a development needs to be a critical size to support these facilities but I also can't find a resource which lists them, hence the question. I'm considering the following developments to get a new condo but I'd welcome any information about other places which have onsite food facilities. View Talay 2 - I already know A and B have these. Chateau Dale ? View Talay 3 ? View Talay 5 ? Grand Condotel ? Any help adding to the list would be much appreciated.

This is the last car in Europe and yes, I now the old rules and the not so recent but presumably still current rules but I'm older now and mor in the "don't give a <deleted>" category and having had to lose (sell) a much cherished car, I don't want to lose this last one. It isn't valuable, less that £20k but it is the only total spec BMW X3 F25 35d. It is also mine from new with 85k after 10 years and it will last another 10+ years easy, probably 20+ yearsa with some TLC and the engine is the rock solid straight six 3.0L diesel. Chop into parts ? Drive in ? Give me some realistic and even not so realistic options. I am very adaptable and could drop this into Asia within my budget. But I'd love to drive legally in Thailand.

Sounds great if driving but we're at the behest of public transport so multi destinations are a bit difficult. Perhaps one trip north and one south then !

Price is marginally important but better to have a company who would prepare their car to go on such a journey rather than just book a Bolt and find a driver who has been up all night driving an ancient car which has 3 bald tyres, no spare and who is only motivated by the thought of the money he could earn. Preferably either a decent SUV or a Camry and up size vehicle. Any recommendations welcome.

I'm looking for somewhere that can do full spa treatments and packages for male and female rather than a run of the mill Thai massage place which offers oil massages. We're based in Patong and reliant on public transport so either in this area or within a 15 minute taxi ride.

I wandered around the food market off Bangla Rd last night and my daughter was interested in having some seafood but I want something a bit better than huge lobster that are held captive on ice day after day in a sweaty hell hole. Thai food please, seafood either a speciality or that they do well, doesn't have to be in Patong where we are as we can get a taxi.

Ok, so we're staying in Patong but we want to get out to see some other beach areas. Ideally, something nice, laid back, perhaps like Lamai or Ao Nang in early evening where you can grab some seafood along the beach and have a couple of drinks at laid back bars. Not looking for late night stuff, possibly to go in the afternoon and spend the evening there. Places that come up are Kamala, Surin, Kata, Karon, etc. but I've never been to any of those places. We possibly have time to go to two different places on different days so which are the best ?

Sorry but that is the case all over Thailand, not just Phuket and clinically, it is somewhat true. I do not have a link for the proof you deem necessary but it is often published around Songkran because this is one of the ways which Thailand massages the deaths from Songkran downwards to improve the public perception of the country.

This exactly sums up how I feel about Pattaya, where I've lived or stayed for the last 20+ years. I used to invest there but not now. I am relocating back to Thailand full time but I'm not buying there again. Despite huge over expansion and endless housing projects available, the lunatics are running the asylum and asking mega money for pretty <deleted> property and yields, which were once in the decent 1% a month and higher category, are now below 3% net which means that after inflation, you actually lose money on your investment and are losing perhaps 10% a year over time against the market. I'm in Phuket right now evaluating alternatives and frankly, it is worse here than Pattaya but not by much !

I've had <deleted> from all the banks over the years about having to go back to the branch where I opened the account or perhaps going to Bangkok but I am fairly cxertain it is all nonsense and just another face saving lie.

I'm just relating the crap given by the SCB staff. Daughter is Thai citizen with blue Tabien Bahn and ID cad and Thai passport, i.e. a full house of documents.

Agreed, they were less than useless and the old "tell a lie to save face" nonsense came into effect.

I came up against this very problem myself years ago and I'm faced with it today in a sort of way because I am now semi retired and will be spending somewhere between 4 to 8 months a year in Thailand which could increase to near full time within a couple of years. I'm fully aware of all the illegal company shenanigans which might come crashing down in the future but I also have a Thai daughter who could own or inherit without issue. Nevertheless, whilst I might not want to spend £1m on a property, I might have considered somewhere between Bt10m to Bt20m so up to around £500k. But I won't, because I have no desire to simply throw that money down the drain which is what it could be even in an expat heavy area and which it would certainly be if I built a mansion in the jungle where it would have near zero value after I died. I guess if you had £100m then wasting £1m on a place you really wanted could be justified. I don't have that much so throwing up to £500k down the drain just to have a nice place to live in seems stupid to me. I'll rent in Bangkok and travel where I want, staying in 5* hotels, which is a compromise between buying and living permanently in a 5* hotel, which was a serious option and one which I have done around the world previously.

A SWIFT transfer can be for any amount, even billions of USD. It is what we used to settle bank to bank payments for billions daily and there is no €12k limit.