khunPer

21 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

Do you think it is realistic 20 years will go by without them doubling the amount again?

I had same thought for long time, and began to set aside in Thai savings for another 800k baht. I did the savings in Thai baht, so its no dependent of currency exchange rate fluctuations – happy for that when sadly looking at my more than 20% decrease in monthly income when converted to baht – and the outcome, either interest or investing in stocks, depending of the choice one make for the portfolio, is actually Okay; the dividends gives me enough for daily butter on my breakfast toasts, and little more...????

However, a few years ago I realized, thanks to Thaivisa's expert UbonJoe's post, that those starting their retirement extension under the old regulations, with 200k baht, and later 400k baht, in deposit, could continue on that level – "grandfathered" I think it is called – as long as they keep the original extension of stay valid; i.e. don't miss any annual extensions for whatever reason.

But on the other hand, for any eventuality it's better to be on the safe side, and furthermore its always advisable to have accessible extra cash when living as expat in Thailand...☝️

2 hours ago, MikeN said:

I did find something that says because foreigners cannot own land, any land purchased by a Thai woman married to a foreigner is sin suan tua (personal property) not joint marital property (sin somros) as it would be if married to a Thai husband.  Apparently, until about 20 years ago a Thai woman married to a foreigner could not buy land because half of it would be his so when the law was changed to allow them to own land it was specified that it was hers only and not to be split 50/50 in a divorce. BUT, I have also read that it is subject to the normal split.....

I have a friend from my home country that was married to a Thai. He got divorced after several years marriage a few years ago – the wife was living with another man – and their property, land and house obtained during marriage, were split 50/50, i.e. sold and the money shared in two equal parts. It however took a while to get the house sold, and the money paid out.

It has sometimes been posted that a foreign husband in a land office should sign a document that states the land is bought from the wife's money. However, various land offices handles cases little different, so it might not be a common enforced rule.

You need to check with a lawyer familiar with Thai family law.

On 2/28/2019 at 12:21 PM, MikeN said:

I would certainly want to get it sorted before we start thinking seriously about a house on the land. I have told her to see a lawyer but she seems to think there is nothing to worry about ....mai pen rai  No dear, this is serious !

Quoted from the book "Thai Law For Foreigners" written by two Thai lawyers, in chapter about Last Will, page 80:

Quote

Legally married spouses who are separated still have rights to the assets.

I however cannot find anything about separation and rights in the section about divorce, only "Grounds For Divorce".

As others have mentioned, you should check with a lawyer.

4 hours ago, musiclover said:

6 hours ago, khunPer said:

Your wife makes a Last Will; and so should you, actually make two, one for assets in Thailand, and another for assets in your home country.

 

If there is no Last Will the spouse – i.e. you, if its a registered marriage – will receive 50%, and children 50%. If there are no children or grand children, but parents, then the parents will receive 50%.

 

If there is a Last Will that order can be changed, however even all property goes to the foreign husband, he cannot own land, and will have a 12-month window to sell it.

????

Once again absolutely NOT true....the spouse ( you) will receive 50% and the remaining 50% will be divided between all relevant statutory heirs.  INCLUDING the spouse. ( you).  Thus the spouse will receive MORE then 50%!

 

again .........why post incorrect information ?????? Better say nothing....

Quoted from "Thai Law for Foreigners" written by two Thai lawyers, from the Chaptor "When There Is No Will Or No Valid Will", page 80:

Quote

If you are survived by your spouse and children, the spouse receives fifty percent and the children receive fifty percent of the assets divided equally between the children and grandchildren (if there no surviving children).

[ ... ]

If you are survived by your spouse and your parents, the spouse receives fifty percent of the assets and you parents receives fifty percent.

[ ... ]

If you are survived by your spouse and siblings of whole blood, the spouse receives fifty percent of the assets and the siblings receive fifty percent.

????

On 3/3/2019 at 7:04 AM, canerandagio said:

Is it worth switching to a foreign (Singapore-based?) platform? Anyone done anything like that?

You could for example check Saxo Bank at www.home.saxo.

40 minutes ago, wilcopops said:

This is an assumption and there is no reliable data to suggest what the effects might be.....recent road mods on thew tile between Nathon and Bophut for instance are likely to increase fatalities

"Likely" is an assumption, do you have any stats that the road work there has caused any increase in traffic accidents on that part of the Ring Road..?

WHO says:

»The implementation of random breath testing and sobriety checkpoints for drivers has been found to significantly reduce crashes.«
WHO source: "Facts, Road safety - Alcohol"

There are also scientific studies available on the impact of alcohol policies and thereby reduction of crash rates, so it seem to work well when enforced by the authorities (police).

????

176 meter, 3 meters wide, 400,000 baht (which should be a very friendly price).

Count approximately 1,000 baht per square meter – i.e. 4 meter wide road costs 4,000 baht per running meter –depending of ground preparation, water drainage, and cement (preferably use water proof mix to avoid cracks, its only a few hundred baht more per cubic meter).

Leave the road for at least 3 days without (heavy) traffic to let the concrete cure, preferably longer, and best if up to 28 days.

4 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

 

Which seem to be declining the past year or two, due to a significant number of reasons, so maybe Samui will calm down after all. This past peak season I had no problem finding a room at the last minute, for a very good deal. Most hotels had 70% occupancy, over the holidays. Unheard of, in years past.

However, seem to be still more Minibusses – also this season, but shall admit that I have not counted all...???? – hotel vacancy could well be caused the change in guests with more families arriving, so more guests are renting a villa, or fully serviced villa, than an ordinary hotel accommodation. In another local Samui thread about number of visitors, it was stated that up-end villa rentals were 100% booked from Xmas/New Year til end of April.

8 hours ago, wilcopops said:

You need to consider how stats are compiled, by who and more importantly how to interpret them.

For instance when a stat says alcohol was involved in an RTI how was this arrived at? By the international standard or by a local policeman.

Although the stats certainly give us a broad impression about alcohol, it isn't a single issue and as we all know even a small amount of alcohol affects your driving ability. This is the SINGLE  issue perspective..however what it ignores is the effect of the whole driving environment (e.g the 3Es) and how this exacerbates the situation.

BTW. the standard way to record and analyse RTIs is not carried out in Thailand which isa major part of the problem. Normally any incident would have 3 categories of injury.... minor, serious and death....... these stats are hardly ever collated.....even at Songkhran.

Stats are not just collected by police. In the case of an RTI you firstly need properly trained road incident analysts and then need to collate and interpret.....at present Thailand collects information from about half a dozen sources but this is still a hugely haphazard a fair.

Samui is a holiday island with a poor road system and to suggest that some vague drink drive laws on their own will have any significant effect on some unprofessionally collated statistics is pure speculation.

Samui suffers from the same attitudes as the rest of the country....people who think they know are totally ignoring the science of road safety, which is why Thailand is bucking the international trends of developed countries who are successfully reducing road casualties.

Thanks for your detailed reply.

I said, and still believe in, that alcohol checks, and speed checks, will have an effect on Samui's traffic safety, no matter how the stats are measured, and injuries divided in the non fatal group...????

13 hours ago, SamuiGeezer said:

It may do but it is more dangerous and creates chaos. I do note traffic is much worse when the Bophut traffic lights are policed (to help traffic flow).

 

It isn't an improvement on traffic lights. There is nothing wrong with the roundabout, just the people not understanding how to use it, what makes it the worst?

 

I always respect your opinion khunPer and you are right to a certain degree, but on Samui we have a particularly noxious cocktail. We have both Thai and Farang drunk riders/drivers. We have both Thai and Farang unlicensed riders/drivers (who have no concept of the 'highway code'). Like everywhere in Thailand we have people driving cars like they are motorbikes, we have the crazy drivers that want overtake when there isn't a gap, then indicate left and will push you off the road unless you brake. And we also have the drivers/riders that plod along at 20kph and P everyone off.

We also have poorly maintained and narrow roads which assist in making Samui one of the most dangerous places in the world to ride a motorbike/scooter ...............

Thanks...

I see exactly the same as you, but I don't see all at all times, so therefore I used the available local stats. And even they are a bit old now, as we have not been updated public for a decade, they might not be that outdated: 80% to 85% of accidents involved drunk driving, and around 15% of the accidents involved foreigners (the stats didn't specify if 85% of the foreigners were drunk). And looking at various photos, including those shared by @spidermike007, some degree of (high) speed is needed to cause the level of shown damage. As I said in an earlier post, its like the speed on the Ring Road has increased after the tarmac make-up came on top, and there are also more fast driving wanna-be motorbikes taking over now, so speed must indeed be a major factor. In the latest general Thai stats speed counts for more than 1/4 of the accidents. That's why I state that alcohol and speed are important issues to improve road safety.

And there might be a difference between what irritates us in the traffic – like 20 kph driver, and bad signalling – and what is actually the direct cause of accidents; it might not be the slow driving vehicle, but rather the one that takes over at high speed under wrong conditions.

????

18 hours ago, dode57k said:

As my new passport will have a different number to that on my driving license will I need to exchange the license for another and if so can someone please tell me the process?

Yes.

You'll need to go to the Land Office with your new passport, a signed photo copy of the passport, your Drivers License, and proof of address (Yellow Book or letter from Immigration). Best is to check with your local Land Office exactly what they require, but normally is common for all provinces, and if they only renew on certain days/times.

If the paperwork is in order it will take about 30 minutes and cost you around 200 baht to get a new DL.

Remember to change it everywhere you are registered with your passport number, i.e. banks, network access, loyalty cards (you might be able to use benefit points for cash, if you show ID with another number than registered), etc.

????

22 hours ago, doggie1955 said:

So how do you protect yourself, what do you need to do?

Your wife makes a Last Will; and so should you, actually make two, one for assets in Thailand, and another for assets in your home country.

If there is no Last Will the spouse – i.e. you, if its a registered marriage – will receive 50%, and children 50%. If there are no children or grand children, but parents, then the parents will receive 50%.

If there is a Last Will that order can be changed, however even all property goes to the foreign husband, he cannot own land, and will have a 12-month window to sell it.

????

1 hour ago, toolpush said:

'The Koh Samui land office could, however, confirm that the land either side of the tunnel, was properly titled and owned by the same entity – the Ban Thai Beach Company based in the British Virgin Islands."????

So a foreign domiciled company can own land in Thailand? Do tell.

If you read the other articles about "the mysterious Samui tunnel", it was revealed that the the tax-heaven company was part owner (shareholder) together with two others in a Thai company limited that is the registered land-owner, nothing suspect.

As I posted in the original tread about the tunnel, by the time of construction – its not that mysterious, because it seemed like some people knew well about it then – all documents for the construction was in order and legal...????

1 hour ago, wilcopops said:

As ever identifying single issues re road safety contributes absolutely nothing to a true understanding of what is actually going on and why. 

Statistically are alcohol the cause of 40% to 43% of traffic accidents in Thailand, and high speed 26% to 28%, measured both totally over a number of years, and for the individual "seven dangerous days" twice a year at the new year celebrations.

When we had the two printed newspapers on the island, the monthly police stats for traffic accidents were published. It was stated that between 80% and 85% of the accidents involved alcohol (i.e. drunk driving), only around 15% of the total number of accidents involved foreigners. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, we haven't seen any public stats since the printed papers ceased about a decade ago. There a group called ROKS (Roads of Koh Samu) that try to keep track of the accidents, you should be able to find them on Facebook.

Furthermore Samui has the most fatal traffic in Thailand measured after EEC standand, where Thailand is already number one in the World.

So cutting alcohol – and speed – cases could statistically improve Samui's traffic safety, it's not just a few single issues, but rather a major problem, and furthermore "a true understanding for what is actually going on and why".

????

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

I lived on Samui for 9 years, starting almost 15 years ago. Back then, it was a lovely island, with a modest amount of traffic. Once Yingluck came up with the car loan scheme, nearly everyone went out and bought vehicles. Combine that with the minivans, the constant parade of cement trucks, taxis, and other trucks and cars, plying one main road, and you have alot of traffic. Now, something it takes me five minutes to cross the Ring Road, as a pedestrian. It is definitely not the island it once was. Still a beautiful island, if you get away from the horrendously ugly Ring Road. But, it is becoming very highly developed, more expensive all the time, and does not have the charm it once had. 

 

It is also one of the most dangerous roads on the planet. If you are driving on Samui, be extremely careful.

< images intentionally deleted in quote >

Yes, traffic is chaotic and dangerous, mainly because of speed and alcohol, so here the authorities could make a difference –and fine-income – if they started to control it, including helmet check at night for motorbikes.

Agree that the Ring Road at some (many) points are very difficult to cross – again mainly due to speed – seemed like when the fairly uneven cheap cement roads got an even make-up surface by tarmac, the speed increased; mainly because it was possible to drive faster than before.

However, I don't think Yingluck's 100k baht car award finance program had much impact on Samui – whilst it had great impact in other areas like up Isaan – that program was for first time car buyers of smaller domestic made private cars only, not the increasing number of minibusses; cement trucks; delivery vans; taxis; and Mercedes, and like hi-end make-face, cars on Samui; they all came to the island due to increasing number of guests...????

7 hours ago, wilcopops said:

Roads on Samui are small, relatively narrow, and poorly maintained. They are also very poorly designed, signed and engineered - couple this with unrestricted access to motor vehicles from the mainland and the preponderance of holiday maker/foreign drivers especially on 2 wheeled transport you have a perfect storm for RTIs and traffic jams.

It  would help if vehicles were required to have a permit to be on the island in order to cut down the number of vehicles and a blanket island speed limit might help.

However, true to form, these measures in Thailand are virtually unenforceable.

the conclusion that the local authorities have given scant consideration to the real probes of traffic on the island is unavoidable. 

One just has to look at the conflicting and over-supplies of public transport on the island.....taxis, Song Teaws, minivans and tour buses have now been joined by a public bus service. More and more vehicles are being poured onto the roads without any consideration for need or function......add to this a rudimentary unplanned road system and you have a recipe for chaos and disaster.

The real problem is the number of tourists, limit and reducing that number will result in (much) less traffic, and the road design will fit the original lay out from the mid 1970'ies, when the first few cars hit Samui, and they began the work of a road around the island, today the Ring Road, which was never designed for mass tourism, or rows of fuel trucks bringing Jet A1 from a ferry to an airport that no one could imagine by that time.

If you wish to join the Samui community as of today, either as tourist or as expat, the road layout and traffic is part of the amazing Thailand adventure that brings you here; just enjoy it with a smile...????

1 hour ago, Jack19290 said:

I have a decent job for my age and a very good salary. I offered for her to go home to her mum and I send her 10,000 baht a month plus 20,000 extra every 6 months. This would not effect my salary or life the least hence why I came up with these figures.

 

Unfortunately she declined saying she doesn't want my money and wants to see if I have a good heart while we FaceTime and chat over messages.

 

????

In reply to your "????".

If you think of your post mentioning two men (only) and 6,000 baht – I presume it was 2 x 3,000 baht – you might realize that 10,000 baht a month is not much, that's what a low wage job pays in Thailand, cleaning in a hotel often pays little more, and normally giving you Social Security on top.

Most girls have for longer than a decade asked for not less than 20,000 baht a month plus some extra, which could be quite a bit for many (about £500), but understandable if you begin to calculate; today even 30,000 baht a month is more like "the going rate". A young attractive girl – she don't need to be sexy, charming and smiling means a lot more in this game – can perform up to 20+ services a month, which can equal 60,000 baht or more, plus extras for this drinks, and tips, and gifts; a 70,000 baht a monthly income is not impossible, rather the norm for many.

Would you stop working for your "good salary" if someone offered you 1/7th of that..?

You shall also take "face" into consideration, or rather "loosing face". She might not be able to return to her family and village with a 10,000 baht a month income, without loosing face; money is important, but face can be more important.

As I read your post, she might rather keep all her options open. Mind you, even she might be new i the bar-game, the girls talks a lot with each other, and get advises from the more experienced "love entrepreneurs". Some girls might accept a 10,000 baht a month donation, but won't stop working, as it's far from enough to cover her expenses (I know girls like that).

If she mean "good hearth" in bar-girl-English, she say "farang (foreigner) with much money". 

She seems like a cleaver girl.

????

4 hours ago, Maybole said:

144 on an Airbus A319 seems a bit crowded

10 hours ago, bangrak said:

Why are the traffic lights not kept working

All traffic lights except one (Ring Road to Laem Din) has been switched off, as traffic functions better without the stop-light. The former traffic light in Nathon has been has since been replaced with a big well functioning roundabout.

10 hours ago, bangrak said:

But what is, to me, really irritating are the traffic jams, from about 2.30 to 9 p.m. or later, caused by those 'walking streets', ki-lo-me-ters long cues, thousands of vehicles, ...and tens of thousands of people of all kind, time after time, blocked for an hour or two, for whose sake may I ask? A couple of hunderd 'visiting' tourists (spending very little), the keepers of a hunderd stalls or so...? 

Fisherman Village's Walking Street on mainly Fridays, but also Mondays, is a great success, and business, so you will likely count a lot more than "a couple of hundred tourists", and they do spend more than little – restaurants there has many customers on Fridays and Mondays, and their menus don't have "little" prices...????

Today Friday I passed there at 4:15 by car from Maenam towards southern Bo Phut, smooth traffic and no queue at all, passed again at 5:30 when returning, also smooth traffic, but some Fridays can have been problematic between 4 pm and 8 pm...????

On 2/28/2019 at 11:38 AM, Jlop said:

My questions for this forum: (1) Recent experiences with option 1 or 2, and recommendations? 

Moderator @Arkady gives you a very good explanation.

The Thai company limited-method is still used, but far more complex than before. I would consult an experienced real estate solicitor to obtain best updated information about using this model for proxy ownership of land.

Before 2006 you could use nominee shareholders – 7 shareholders in total were needed, and 51 % of the shares should be owned by Thais – but today the shareholders could be asked to show proof of funds, which limits the options for using nominees (often staff in a law firm or by an accountant). However now only 3 shareholders are needed, but if forming a 2 million baht company limited, which is often the norm, it could mean proof of 1,020,000 baht for one or two shareholders. Read more about "Anti Nominee Regulations".

Preferred shares are today used rather than proxy letters, i.e. you might for example have 49 % foreign share-ownership, and 51 % Thai share-ownership of which the 48 % are normal shares, whilst the 3 % are preferred shares without voting rights in return of a guaranteed annual dividend of for example 4 percent of the nominal share value.

Business activity, other than leasing one landplot to one of the shareholders, seems to be a key point in the model. The company limited should preferably have other sources of income, and Thai employees with paid for social security, to avoid potential scrutiny. However, it seems like the authorities are mainly interested in larger projects and business, rather than small "private ownership" for longer term residence (not a guarantee that it cannot change in the future).

The 3.3 % so-called business tax should be of least concern – the business tax also apply for private owners depending of how long time a property has been owned before sale – your company shall furthermore pay 1 % tax of the sales price (or appraised price if higher), whilst a private owner pays a stamp duty, and withheld income tax based of length of ownership. Read more about "Real Property Transfer Taxes and Fees", or try examples yourself with a simple tax-calculator.

The benefit of using a company limited for real estate ownership is that when trading property, you might sell shares in a company limited, instead of transferring land to a new owner, so no transfer tax applies.

As a foreigner you can own a house via a combination of lease and superficies, but not the land under the house, which can also be used if leasing from "your own company". An experienced real estate solicitor might be able to form an agreement that could give you some level of protection.

????

In another news-thread today about the mysterious tunnel, a former resident of the area posted a photo with the text...

"What I do not understand is why a tourist tells the authorities that he has found a tunnel at the end of a private road. I lived on the private road when the tunnel was built in 2005, meant to build houses facing the water but was abandoned, but it gave me a shortcut to the beach."

See the full Thaivisa news-thread here...

On 2/28/2019 at 7:38 AM, giddyup said:

...I get so sick of throwing good money after bad here that I just wanted the job done right.

So 3,500 baht was a fair price then, as he did the job, and you knew the price in advance and accepted it, so no overcharging.

On 2/28/2019 at 7:11 AM, Badb0y said:

Yeah talked, she is like dumb.

Is there anybody know where is the rules written? They suggested me to report to police, I think I'll report every day until the company doesn't pay my deposit.

I'm afraid that will not work – this is Thailand, and you are an alien – if you wish to save yourself, and your family, for a lot of headache, then just forget the deposit, count your loss, and move on.

That might not be the kind of advice you wish to hear – and I know 50k baht can be relative "a lot of money" – but it might well be your best option.