mikekim1219

I am in the same boat as the OP. Still too young to collect SS and IRA (without penalty). I was looking through Bangkok Bank (my bank) mutual fund performances. They looked very impressive. Anybody have experience with them? I have modest fund (250k usd) that I want to stretch till my IRA and , later, SS kicks in.

Would appreciate constructive advice

Somebody is offering me 45 sqm at Condotel (next to Mae Koh) for 700,000 plus commission. Since I am still new here I would like to know if anybody have any idea on the true value

I have no idea of the specific price information you need but I would say this.....

The power structure in the building is all-important.

Ideally a good working residents' committee with helpful staff and finances posted every month on an offical noticeboard with committee minutes, proposals, etc. Check the past minutes to judge the committee competence, they should be easily available in the right block.

A benevolent dictatorship is just occasionally OK but needs some history.

There should be strictly enforced rules about noise, renovation hours, and so on. Ask about that, and smell the rubbish chute areas.

Be sure the building has been fully sold and is well looked after.

Without any of these I wouldn't buy.

Thanks for the pointers. If I decide to buy it, I will do some research and hire a real estate lawyer. This is only type of its kind in downtown. I think many guys are familiar with this building. The building is 20 years old but well maintained. There was another one available earlier, 35 sqm, but sold to a farang.

What are the current monthly association fees at condotel?

I haven't got detail info yet. I am traveling in China. I will be back in couple of weeks. I will check at that time

This is what you could expect back, if you're eligible.

Do you have chart for pickups?

I will do some research and hire a real estate lawyer.

There's little a lawyer can do to help apart from lighten your pocket and perhaps make you feel better.

The Land Dept people will check everything and will more or less tell you when it's OK to pay.....which is when they are in the process of irreversibly changing it to your name. Pay by cashier's cheque crossed to the name on the chanot so everything's pukka. Don't forget when you import the money have them write in the additional information section of the TT "For the purpose of buying a condominium". Copy it all for future use in exporting the money if you want to.

Cheeryble

Don't you need real estate lawyer or expert to check to make sure the building is at least 51% owned by Thai and the seller doesn't owe any unpaid taxes. etc?

No you don't.

An essential requirement from the Land Dept is a letter from the condominium management stating it is under 50% farang and also that all back fees and debts have been paid up to date. The manager will likely have written several of these before. Without this the Land Dept will not allow the transaction to take place.

What I might do is go to the condo in the evening before I bought to listen for any noise from neighbours.

Also important! Check the water pressure both in kitchen area and bathroom.....the pipes may have furred up badly and even rusted to leaking point it's not uncommon and a first job in a proper renovation is replacement of piping from galvanised to plastic.

After the meter these pipes belong to you and if the pressure's bad it may be a bargaining point for the price as replacement will need tiles stripping out of the bathroom......maybe all as the old ones won't match new.....and if you're changing the tiles well it might as well be new sanitaryware and suddenly you've got a real expense (occasionally a pump will do the job but it's not optimal because of rusting).

That's a good advice.

I met a gentlemen who bought 35 sqm room. He is the one recommending me the 45sqm. He is not making any commission. The security guard is as he is watching the place for the owner. One concern I have is the age of the building. As I mentioned the building is 20 years old. How long does average condo last in Thailand?

Eventually I planned to build a house in .a year or two if all things work out in my personal matter. Before that I thought about buying the condo for short term living and rent or sell once me and my wife to be move into new house.

I will do some research and hire a real estate lawyer.

There's little a lawyer can do to help apart from lighten your pocket and perhaps make you feel better.

The Land Dept people will check everything and will more or less tell you when it's OK to pay.....which is when they are in the process of irreversibly changing it to your name. Pay by cashier's cheque crossed to the name on the chanot so everything's pukka. Don't forget when you import the money have them write in the additional information section of the TT "For the purpose of buying a condominium". Copy it all for future use in exporting the money if you want to.

Cheeryble

Don't you need real estate lawyer or expert to check to make sure the building is at least 51% owned by Thai and the seller doesn't owe any unpaid taxes. etc?

Somebody is offering me 45 sqm at Condotel (next to Mae Koh) for 700,000 plus commission. Since I am still new here I would like to know if anybody have any idea on the true value

I have no idea of the specific price information you need but I would say this.....

The power structure in the building is all-important.

Ideally a good working residents' committee with helpful staff and finances posted every month on an offical noticeboard with committee minutes, proposals, etc. Check the past minutes to judge the committee competence, they should be easily available in the right block.

A benevolent dictatorship is just occasionally OK but needs some history.

There should be strictly enforced rules about noise, renovation hours, and so on. Ask about that, and smell the rubbish chute areas.

Be sure the building has been fully sold and is well looked after.

Without any of these I wouldn't buy.

Thanks for the pointers. If I decide to buy it, I will do some research and hire a real estate lawyer. This is only type of its kind in downtown. I think many guys are familiar with this building. The building is 20 years old but well maintained. There was another one available earlier, 35 sqm, but sold to a farang.

Somebody is offering me 45 sqm at Condotel (next to Mae Koh) for 700,000 plus commission. Since I am still new here I would like to know if anybody have any idea on the true value

That's a good point. None of them spoke any English.

I visited Absolute condo office. 80% of their condos were sold according to their chart. The price seemed quite high for the size and location. They are calling my g/f everybody about purchasing even after she told them I am not interested.

Here is the situation. II am having my friend transfer fund from China to my bank account in Chiang Rai for purpose of purchasing a condo. First I will have the fund sitting in the bank 60 days so I can apply for retirement visa. After I get my visa, I plan to purchase a condo using this fund.

Is this legal? Can I still use the fund to buy the condo even thought it was sent by somebody other than myself?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

That first part transfer timing will not work. You must have at least 11 days remaining on current entry to make a conversion and if it takes 20 days to transfer funds you will not have that. But very easy to make a border crossing for a new 15 day stay and you could then do it. Or just get a tourist visa prior to leaving China (refundable return flight).

Border crossing sounds like a way to go. I need to fly all the way to Beijing (2.5 hour flight) and wait 4 days for the tourist visa.

Thanks for the advice.

Mike

You cannot obtain a Non Imm O-A Visa in Thailand.

Only in your country of residence.

You apply for a Non Imm O Visa based on exploring retirement.

Providing you are allowed on the flight you will receive a 30 day Visa Exempt Entry.

You then apply for an upgrade to a Non Imm O Visa at Immigration providing you have the money in the bank or proof of salary required. (2,000 Baht fee) Takes an hour or two. You might have to do this in Bangkok.

60 days later you apply for a 12 Month Extension of stay for retirement (1,900 Baht fee) Takes an hour or two.

You do not need an expensive agent. It is really easy to do yourself. You do not need a medical or police report.

Ok, got you. I understand that O-A is not provided in Thailand. The Thai lady I spoke to in Thai Embassy in China told me that it is easier to prepare documents in Thailand and return to China and gather rest of documents (could take forever) to apply for O-A. Tthis was my final option if there is no other way.

So here is my game plan. Please correct me if I am wrong

- Arrive on 30 visa

- transfer 800,000 to my account (this will take 20 days)

- After 20 days apply for Non-O (may have to do it in BKK) and take following documents

- Bank statement

- Letter from bank ( do I need this?)

- Passport

- Photos

- After 60 days, apply for 12 month retirement extension

- same documents as Non-O

Thanks

Thank you everybody for your help with information. I will be shipping my essentials next week and will depart for CR couple of days later.

I finally gave up trying to attain Non-O or Non OA. Even trying to attain 60 day tourist is a problem. I have work and resident permit in China but they asked for return flight ticket for 60 day tourist. They will not provide Non-O since I have no relative in Thailand. They will provide me Non-OA but I would have to fly to Thailand and return with Thailand bank statement with 800,000 bath, bank letter and medical exam.

It seems my best option is enter Thailand on 30 day exempt and apply for Non-O.

Question:

- How long does it take to convert 30 to Non-O.

- Since I have no relative, how is it possible to apply for Non-O?

- How long is Non-O, 90 days or one year (with 90 day visa run during the year). If one year, I may hold off on applying for Non- OA until later because there is chance I may get married within a year.

- How difficult is the converting process? I have been asking around the Visa agents and the fee is anywhere from 30,000 to 45,000 baht depending on how fast I want Non- OA. If the process is not so complicated, I would like to do it on my own.

Thanks again in advance for your all your input

I am newbie here. What is Hash and Potluck?

Does anyone or their wives generate income? You guys are too young to be hanging around and waiting for the boat to arrive..

I inquired some visa service agencies. They claim they can convert 30 day to retirement in few days if sufficient fund is in the bank along with other basic documents. If so, couldn't anybody do this or is this exclusive only to those agencies? The fee is between 30,000 to 45,000 baht depending on the agency.

As stated you can convert a visa exempt entry to a Non-O and extend it for retirement purposes once you enter Thailand. If you are unable to get a proper visa, you can purchase and onward ticket out of Thailand during the 30 day visa exempt period to insure that the airline will let you board the flight. It does not have to be a return ticket to your point of origin. Currently Air Asia has flights from Hat Yai to KL for around $50 USD depending on time of day and date.

Can you clarify that? You mean during the conversion process if my 30 day is up, I can go out and come back? How long does it take for conversion process? After application for conversion is submitted, do they keep my passport?

Where are you located, as many consulates allow applying by mail?

Traveling to Thailand without a visa requires you to show a ticket out of Thailand within 30 days of arrival or the airline can refuse you. Some airlines check very strict! While others hardly check at all.

I am in Chongqing China. They have website with email address. When I emailed them I got a reply from USA consulate !. I have checked and doubled checked the address. They listed US email address on their Thai consulate contact info!!!. Unbelievable. US consulate have no idea how this happened. I tried calling them many times only to have answering machine telling me to punch in extension. No listing of extension. I tried many different combination of extensions hoping to get lucky. No luck. I have given up hope of getting in touch with them. My other option is to fly to Beijing or Shanghai on 2 and half hour flight. Book a hotel, apply and wait a week and fly back.

Assuming you are not in Thailand at the moment you need a Visa before leaving if you do not have a ticket leaving Thailand within 30 days.

A Non Imm O Visa would be preferable but a Tourist Visa will do.

With a Non Imm O Visa you pop along to Immigration and get your 12 month extension within a few hours providing you qualify.

With a Tourist Visa you need to convert to a Non imm O Visa first then apply for the 12 month extension.

They might do it all in one day or you may have to go back after 60 days to apply for the extension.

The conversion might mean a visit to Bangkok.

The problem is nearest Thai consulate is 5 hours from where I am. I have been trying to contact them without any success. I hate to go there and get turned around for reasons not foreseen. This led me to conclude converting visa at the arrival to Non-O then to retirement visa. I know it can be done. The issue is timing because of my moving items.

You can easily do the conversion yourself, it won't take long. (Or they tell you to come back in two weeks or so).

But you cannot import your goods duty free, that you can only do if you work in Thailand or are a Thai national returning to Thailand after having lived abroad for more then 1 year.

Get a good import agent that can negotiate a good deal with you with Thai customs.

Thanks for the info.

Regarding the duty on moving items, I read thai embassy and thai legal agency there is no tax if the retirement visa is for 6 month or more. If under 6 month, there will be 20% tax. If the items are received 6 month after obtaining visa, they have to notified 2 month prior. Having said, I know policies can be very "fllexible" on the whims of the officials.

I would like to convert 30 day visa to retirement visa. Anyone know how long it will take for the process? I am shipping my things to Thailand same time I am leaving for Thailand. I want to avoid paying tax on my moving items. They are mostly clothe, 47inc TV, Audio w/speakers and three guitars. I also don't want them sitting at the warehouse and collecting storage fee while I wait for my Non-OA.

In case someone is wondering, it is too much trouble to apply for Non-O or Non-OA from where I am now. Another topic.

I would like to obtain visa service agency to avoid hassle. I would prefer local agency to avoid god fore-shaken fee International firms charge

I prefer to get as much info and decide which one is relevant. I guess I have too much free time on my hand..

Ok, good luck on your trp. I will share any info I have as my contribution to the forum. Can't guarantee it will be correct

From my understanding, for retirement visa, you need 800,000 in the bank or 65,000 a month or combination. IIf married, 400,000 or 40,000/month or combination. This is not a problem for me. I am just trying to explore other options that I haven't heard yet. Always looking for a loophole. Keep things interesting..

Mikekim, if you want to play golf twice a week, you can say you will spend around 3000 Bt. That will probably include fuel, greenfees, tips for caddies and usual golf ex,s.

That will get you a round at Waterford and Santiburi. The two best course we have here.

Cheaper if you play with 2nd hand balls like me LOL. Or more, if you are as bad a golfer as me, as I normally end up on the losing teams.

Overall, I think you should start to think of around 40,000/ month minimum.

You may need to show that anyway if you are planning on a Non O visa plus I believe 400,000 in the bank.

I,m not up to date on the financial requirements, as I obtain my Non O visas from outside of Thailand at the moment, being married to a Thai national.

C35B.

In May, I met a missionary couple in Rahjabhat. They took me to Waterford on Tuesday. They only paid caddy fee for their 18 hole while I paid 1080 including caddy fee. They paid a membership fee of 1500 which allowed them to play free green on Tuesdays. I planned to do the same when I get back in July. Another gentleman told me that if you pay 5000 annual fee, weekday green is free. I posted this info in the forum and one gentleman called Waterford and told they are only offering this membership to 100 customers and 70 has been given out and they are not giving out anymore... It looks they have preferential treatment depending on who you know. Mae Koh is offering flat green fee 350. That's 700 including caddy fee and tip.

This is different topic but since you mentioned it what kind of visa are you on now. My understanding was if you are married to Thai, you need 400,000 in the bank. I also planned to marry my g/f once everything is settled down and we are still friends

I played in Waterford, Happy city, old airport and Mae Koh. Waterford is very nice course with beautiful scenery. Happy city is not scenery but beautiful course. Don't expect too much from the caddies at the Happy city. If you hit the ball, you better be able to located cuz caddies won't help. Mae Koh is not as good as either of them but since it's located in downtown, you can take tuk tuk. About 2.5km from Night Bazaar. Old airport is also near night bazaar. If you go there alone, they will charge you 350 or 400 for 18 hole (nine hole repeat). But you can buy yearly membership for very cheap and it will cost you 150 or 200. Depends on who you talk to. You can bypass caddy if you wish. I heard great things about Santiburi but did't get chance to play. I am looking for regular golf buddy once a week when I move there in July. If you are interested, please send me a message. I plan to purchase a pickup as soon as I can get my permanent visa so transportation is not a problem.