Swiss1960

5% is pretty normal.

Buyer pays it

The sales commission is seller paid. Never heard of buyer willing to pay sellers cost for marketing of property.

Wow, that was a major slip up. Thanks for correcting it!

At then end of the day, the buyer does pay it, as the seller will just tell the agent to raise the sales price by 5% to cover the commission...

Received a WARNING e-mail from SCB today that their are scam e-mails going round and that SCB does NEVER send out mails and asking you to verify your identity...

So to the OP, yes this is spam, delete it and forget it.

How they got your e-mail address? Can be bought 1'000 for few $

Just underlines und confirms the "normal" generalizations about how and why Thai women and Farang men meet...

- he is lonely and finds nobody at home, therefore goes to the Internet and falls for the first glrl he sees..

- she is desperate and puts all her chips on the first Farang who writes and hopes to change the poverty life of herself and her family...

Besides all the tears one could have looking at that video... have we not heard that beginning of the story too often? where is part two when he learns what she does for living and she learns that he is only King in Thailand but not home? And part three when she leaves him broken (emotionally and financially)?

if eventually you have to marry, convert her to the religion of your choice before marrying her (except M'sia)

only if she is mainstream and non religious, and her belief in your worthy companionship is stronger than the religious belief

Does not work... Muslims CAN NOT convert from the Islamic believe point of view. There is no way out of being a muslima.

main question is: Does she live her religion, i.e. take it seriously?

Yes, you can buy a "second hand" condo, but make sure that it is within the Foreing Quota already => best buy one from a foreigner and not from a Thai. And no, there is no such thing as a price minimum... but finding one below 1 Mio might already be difficult, depending on the quality you are seeking. You don't lease a condo, you would have a lease on land/house, but the condo you buy indefinitely.

I'm writing up a general plot idea. It's nothing serious, just a zombie movie and obviously you need some kind of reason for all the zombies! All i'll be saying is it was a shadow group of the government or something to that effect that made the drug that made the zombies! I'm a videographer from Phuket and this is just a bit of a dream...

I'd propose you review your "general plot idea" once you quit from whatever you are taking...

Troll or just plain stupid falang asking for trouble?

Can confirm around 30,000 baht per month as my Thai wife worked at an Australian hotel in Brisbane used by Thai Airway and knew the flight attendants. They could not afford to go out as allowance was insufficient

This is wrong- speaking as someone who has dated a thai airhostess (did i mention this already?)- the average salary is 100K- and the hostesses often go out to party during their lay overs - think about it, how long do a group of thai air hostesses have to sit in a Euro/US,Aussie bar before guys start buying them drinks?

+1 ... I often see them in the Hilton / Mövenpick on ther free days... 5 mins max for the first free drink... and then out clubbing all night on some falang's expense...

Why don't Mods just close such threads...

Within Europe, many hotels charge you for Internet usage... lately at a conference in London in an expensive Business hotel, they charged £10 / day for Internet usage... in December in Jomtien Beach Penthouse, free Wifi Internet usage with high connectivity...

Shall wigh in again in a week.

But....today I had lost a tad over 7 kilo.

I was 85.5 kilo, now a little over 78.

I wanted to be and stay around 80, so I can put a little back on.

My pants are falling off...so have lost an inch or 2 around the waste and gut is significantly smaller....but not as much as hoped.

Starting to eat again, fruit, salads, fish and such.

Congratulations to that first result! But don't stop to early, your body needs at least 2 months on the lower weight to "really" get used to less and different food... your metabolism will adjust and then you have the chance to keep your weight where you are now!

The latest research shows that exercise doesn't help you lose weight. What it does is help the body maintain at whatever weight you are at. The body adjusts your metabolism and appetite levels to maintain a certain weight. What weight it sets to maintain at is what its used to and any perturbation the body will act to get back to the previous level.

The kind of things the body can do is very impressive, from changing the metabolic rate and changing body temperature, to changing enzyme levels in the digestive tract and fat cells, all the way to altering macro behaviour such as the amount of clothes you wear.

This is why most diets fail. If you're fighting against your own body, you're usually going to lose. You need to reset the body to want to maintain a lower weight

Sorry, but that is complete rubbish... of course, exercise helps you burn fat, but you must do the right things:

- you can do weights, then of course you can win more muscles than you burn fat...

- you can do exercise like crosstrainer with low Watt figures and heart beat within the 130-140 area, then you REALLY burn fat when you do 30-60 minutes

- you can do exercise like bycicles or spinning with high Watt or high heart beat rates, then you don't burn too much fat but gain on endurance only...

Exercise together with a healthy nutrition (which does not mean dieting and being hungry) will DEFINITELY help you burn fat and loose weight without gaining muscles => I have lost almost 20kg in less than 3 months this way.

You said it,rubbish. I see hundreds ,thousands exercising and no results in the fat losing game. Exercise for loss of weight is a total waste,diet is the way 100%. Exercise in moderation especially for the middle aged is the best way it was calculated you have to hard run 35 miles to get a pound of weight off and at the end of the run all you wanted to do is gorge on food. A couch potato can lose weight,just diet

Even more rubbish... and I am almost sure you just want to believe it, because it is your excuse for not doing any sports. Beside all the side-effects that robblok mentioned above, excercise burns calories... I do 50 minutes on a cross-trainer in the evening with heart rate around 135-140 and average Watt of 100 and I burn 400-500 additional Kcal and I see the effect of around 1/2kg less weight in the morning. Of course it has to do that I am not such a sissy who eats cheese and bred after excercise but take a non-fat yoghurt and and an apple or orange after training, and that is called discipline...

I said it before, I have lost 20kg with the combination of healthy food, no more daily beers and excercise. I have never in that time been hungry (well... first two weeks till the stomach got used to no more big dinners...) and I can control my weigth down to 1/2kg on a daily basis and don't need to fear any yo-yo effect like you will see in all those eat-half diets out there.

But again... if you want to use whatever "scientific" internet articles as an excuse to NOT do sports together with your healthy diet... up to you.

Nigerian Scam by Congolese with fake Portuguese passports out of Thailand... veeeeery international

I think the discussion above about the usage of the word "acceptable" is going the wrong way...

I think the reason for this massive overload of cars, pick-up's, motorcycles etc. is necessity coming from the fact that you only have one car (monetary issue) but 10 people to transport... so what do you do now?

Wanted to stay thank you for all the thoughts and information...The figures i planed on would have been for august of this year...You all have filled my head with alot of usefull views and information....I will try to stick it out longer past that date.....It seems that alot of people were ok with the 2k a month but everyone wanted me to have better cash reserves......I will set my new goal for 75k in reserves and the 2k a month in income....But if things get worse i will move over earlier and make the best with what i got....So much is based about living within your means and being a realist........

I think that is a very sensible decision you have taken and I wish you can find another job outside the prison sector that will ease your pressure from your current work. Good luck for you and your plans

I am not British, this is from an Australian perspective. Firstly, my sympathies to this poor chap and his family.

Secondly, I for one would always register with the Australian Embassy if I planned to live in a foreign country for some time. I have no doubt that the Australian Embassy, and the UK Embassy, would do their best to assist their nationals in difficult or dangerous circumstances, but I certainly would not expect them to assist in situations of personal hardship that could have been mitigated by sensible use of health and/or travel insurance.

Taxpayers pay for the services that Governments offer, and most, probably the vast majority, of taxpayers would not approve of their Governments providing services that should be paid for by the individual when they travel to foreign countries, particularly when the purpose is to work there.

I know its a reality of life but it saddens me to read this and many other posts about the costs to the british tax payer. surely a life trumps any amount of money. i know i am not being realistic but it really upsets me that money is the be all and end of all. it really makes me want to cry sometimes.

I agree that it sounds sad... but fact of life is that in any society (not only the British), there are too many people who see the government and all of it's offices (social welfare, unemployment, health etc.) as "self-servicing" organisations where they can go and ask for money when they have yourself f** up and / or are just to lazy to get themselves out of trouble...

Of course, the case here is different, however government organisations have huge troubles to differentiate such cases from their "standard" self-serviciing clients and the rules that they have to follow and the resources they have available don't give them much leeway for such a differentiation. This is true not only for British but every government worldwide... and the worse the economy, the more the government needs to safe money, the less flexibility they have.

My advice:

BE SAFE! save the money and build up emergency funds, you never know what happens. Do it for 2 years till you have a good stock of cash and then think about increasing the lease payments. Of course, downside is if your car breaks, you would still be stuck with the lease payments, but at least have money for repairs if needed.

RIP for the poor man and sympathy for the family

But... it should also be a reminder for all people thinking about migrating to a foreign country that they shall NOT put all their money on a single horse... their is currently another thread of an American, 65K US$ savings, no pension for 3 years to come... and their are members here who tell him "do the move, if you are so desperate in your current job"...

such stories - as sad as they are - should remind people that they NEED to keep a safety net, at least for emergency treatments and a flight back home...

My television is too small... and I don't have an iPad like my friends... and my 3GS needs replacement, because of the battery...

And most of all: I would be proud of her, tell her every day how perfect she is and how much I love her and I would tell her same same if she would earn less...

so... I could not care less...

yes, Tucom on Pattaya Tai is your best chance to find everything, otherwise you probably need to see the shops where you could buy the individual devices (TV etc.) that now lack transformers.

$65000 is not a lot of money - It's only two million baht.

At the age of 48 he will have no cash reserves at all. He will, though, have 30 years life ahead of him. To be in that position would terrify me, but I admit I'm more risk averse than others.

Completely agree with you! One single incident (accident, sickness, wife, more kids, theft...) and he will be completely broke... I could make my move now with around 15 Mio Baht after taxes, but I won't as I think it's just worth waiting three to five more years and be able to afford to buy a more decent condo (where I will spend most of my time) and not ever have to think about whether I can spend 600-800 Baht on a daily two hour massage... or go to eat in Central Festival places... or have my two pints at Mulligans... I KNOW that I will need around 100K per month for the next 40 years (if ever I survive that long...)

But if the OP knows and accepts all those risks (which have been outlined in various posts here) and can live that frugal and live with no reserves at all... then up to him...

I think it depends on who is the actual leasing party in the contract:

If it is your company who is on the contract, then they will give you the car for business use (and maybe have a provision for private use in the contract between you and them) and thus, they will deduct their expenses from your salary before tax and you would have same tax relieve.

If however, the lease is in your name and the company mainly acts as guarantoor for your lease towards the leasing company (which might give you preferential leasing terms), then they (your company) will deduct their expenses (assuming they pay the lease in your name) from your salary after tax and you don't profit from tax relieve

So basic question is WHO is taking the lease?

It would be the company taking the lease and paying with monies that would have otherwise been paid to me as gross salary but of course would only have been realised personally as net salary. Issue then becomes who owns the car at lease end.. if its traded in and renewed fro another leased vehicle then moot point however in event of total windup company would have on paper a certain residual value invested in the car which I have effectively paid for .. thought s??

Sounds like a bad deal for you this way... the give you less salary, let you use the car but at the end you have nothing...

So you will need an additional contract. As I don't know the Thai law whether benefits for the employees (i.e. free use of a car) would be taxable (they are here in Switzerland...), I can't really comment on how to best do this... but I would set up a contract with your company that states

- they give you a car for business use that you are allowed to freely use for private also

- you pay let's say 50% of the lease and insurance throught salary reduction (might be a problem with tax if that shows on your salary slip)

- you have the right at the end of the lease to take over the car by re-paying the 50% borne by your company and paying the residual amount to the leasing company

seems the best option, as at the end of the lease, you might decide NOT to take over the car.

Alternative would be to pay the full amount of lease and insurance, not have a contract with your company about taking it over, but ask them for a renumeration of expenses for using the car (i.e. xx cent per kilometer used for business reasons).

Well, I do agree with you that changing eating and drinking habits are prime to loose weight (I just lost 20kg in 3 months). And I also agree and feel with you that it is hard to keep up with the "diet", so I allow myself one free day every week where I eat all I want to (like cheese fondue, chocolate, risotto, goulash etc etc.). But since I keep a healthy lifestyle for the reminder of the week (with meat and vegetable but no pasta, bread, cheese, beer...), I do still loose weight in the long term.

But without sports... I don't think my weight would have gone down so fast - and with sports (I only do crosstrainers / walking / swimming, no weight), I feel much more energy, I don't sweat walking up the stairs or do some body work, thus for me, the combination of the two is the ideal for everybody who does want to loose weight permanently and improve the general health.