ThiAmo

All's well that ends well. I'm the proud owner of a brand new yellow house book now which served as proof of address needed for registering the new car in my name. G/f's role was crucial in the whole process as Puuyabaan is a uncle of hers and lady in charge at Amphoe one of her best friends :-)

Wishing all a successful day too and thanks again!

I'm staying at the baan of g/f, that's why I'm trying the tabien baan - thing at the Amphoe. First attempt fruitless today, as person in charge absent. Giving it another try tomorrow.Thanks to all for the good advice.

Many thanks to all, impressive the great number of replys!

Good friend is telling me now to get the yellow tabien baan at the Amphoe, after that everything would go very smoothly.

Do you agree?

Thanks to all!

Gf and family trustworthy beyond any doubt.

So what practical step(s) would you suggest me to undertake now?

Hi everyone

I'm again on a non-immigr.O for retirees, applying for 1 year extension of stay in due time. Want to buy a new car in my name, went to immigration with gf in order to get necessary residence certificate. lady there didn't comply with my request saying that I can't buy a car now, because I haven't stayed in the kingdom for the minimum of 1 year needed to be entitled to own a car. Her suggestion: buy the car in the name of gf now and transfer ownership to me later. nowhere I've read of this 1 year-waiting period.

Correct information received from immigration or not?

What were your experiences in this regard?

Many thanks in advance!

Thanks a lot UbonJoe. With your tip of Savannaket you've given me back some peace of mind...

I've seen that it should be possible there to ask for a double tourist visa entry (2x60+30) which should concede me enough time prior to my next flight home in March.

Anyway, as regards the missing document... I've not given up all the hope yet...

I'll keep you updated later.

By the way I'm widowed and not planning to marry again at 68 :-)

@Suradit69

Thanks, didn't think of UPS etc. The document is on the way now since 3 weeks from Switzerland to a Ban at the outskirts of Ubon. Unfortunately the Issuing Office isn't cooperative at all as regards a direct fax or email to the embassy.

@Ubonjoe

Thanks, you're always ready to help (True Vision has been rapidly installed to my full satisfaction).

What options for a new visa do I have now? In case must I do a "border run"? Do you know a suitable place to go from Ubon?

Sorry for my ignorance.

Hi All

I'm currently in Thailand on a Non-Immigrant O Single Entry - Visa for retirees.

Which are my options for staying longer than these three months should I miss the deadline for a 1-year extension application?

The problem is due to postal delay problems of the ORIGINAL pension-confirmation which the Consulate wants to see for issuing the "income letter". They decline documents sent by Fax or e-mail.

Thank you in advance for any constructive help!

@sandgroper

Could you please state contact details of CTH and/or dealer/installer?

Thank you!

Thank you ubonjoe, Michael Hare and transam for your useful tips too!

Thank you very much SantiSuk for your detailed and very useful post. As you point out truevision would probably be fine to satisfy my interest in international news channels.

What can you and maybe others say as regards the reliability and the service of truevision (quality of the image, blackouts, promptness by possible technical interventions)?

I would still be interested to get name/address of a trustworthy tv-dealer/installer in Ubon.

Hi all,

Would like to know name/address of an experienced and reliable satellite-tv dealer/installer for the Ubon area (out of town). Interested in watching mainly news channels in English and/or other European languages (e.g. CNN, BBC, SKY NEWS, France24...). Anyone having let installed a satellite-tv system recently and being happy with it?

Many thanks in advance!

Gold jewellery gift for Thai lady:

a) Bring it (from Europe)

or

acquire it in Thailand?

If a) Thai customs?

if advantages, if any?

Thanks for sharing any experiences.

What did you do last time?

It will be the first time.

Gold jewellery gift for Thai lady:

a) Bring it (from Europe)

or

acquire it in Thailand?

If a) Thai customs?

if advantages, if any?

Thanks for sharing any experiences.

@IMHO,

"in which case this is a perfect example of a house that will be
dilapidated in a decade or so - steer clear, unless you fell like
tearing it down and doing it all over again when you're in your 80's"

Thanks, with all the due respect, but isn't it rather hazardous to insinuate that indigenous Isaan Thai builders don't have but a house durability-horizon of merely a decade?

@mjcmjc

Thanks, here is quite a good general guidance: http://www.samuiforsale.com/knowledge/building-real-estate-thailand.html .

You know, for the time being I leave the majority of "my eggs" in my home country "basket", i.e. the dimension of my envisaged financial investment in Thailand as outlined in previous posts is kind of negligible.

@thaicbr:

"No point owning the house if all the Neighbors (family)hate you and want you out..especially at 70+"

Thanks, but why for God's sake should they hate a person who has already begun showing his genuine and practical interest in their general welfare and their community?

@Beardog

Thanks, I shall add your suggestions to those already received by all the other kind writers.

As indicated with my post #83, I intend to take a timeout from this thread now. I'll return when I decide that there are developments which are of general interest for the forum users.

Many thanks again, also to those of you I could not answer personally.

So long

Alf

Thank you all.

@krisb: Yes, with coolthaihouse.com you can become a veritable Thai builder!

@ lopburi3: How could I not listen to a man of your huge experience!

@thaicbr: I would only be a 20 minutes ride away from Ubon Town. This isn’t at the back of beyond regarding the various needs an elderly person is dependent
on. Thanks, but I wouldn’t like to close myself and the lady in a gated 24 hr secured baan near a 10 million people sinking metropole… No, I didn’t spend much time in Thailand yet; returning soon for some months during the rainy season will further enlighten me about the feasibility of my dream. Thanks again for budget thoughts, but let's says that these are a minor problem…

@ IMHO: The house you describe is exactly the one the lady would like to build. I can’t turn a deaf year to the 1st paragraph of what you write as well as to similar posts received before. Not sure whether my foto upload of the wishful object was successful, I am trying to repeat it.

Alf

Dear David48 et al

I am touched by the altruistic interest expressed in this forum. The world is not that cold! Thank you very much.

As stated in my last post I have suspended the start of this housing project in extremis. You all have brought me home too many variables, uncertainties and inconsistencies, only to be ignored.

However I can’t but be happy and proud as concerns the reaction of the lady to my decision: mature, understanding, calm, reasoned. No problem at all for her continuing living in her modest Thai home for the (hopefully) next 40 years of her life. But she is longing to spend a (hopefully) large number of them together with the farang she fell in love with. For this purpose she wishes to prepare him a dwelling in which he feels comfortable and really at home.

Being a practical thinking and acting woman she calculated the global cost of our plan of living together, in response to a correspondent original query of mine. In these 3-4 million (not 4-5 million) she thought of the first stone being teared down from the old mother’s house to be removed, to „the“ mango tree she will plant till the little teaspoon of the new cutlery she will have to acquire. In the original 4-5 million stated here there is also a new car included, a car for us, not a private one for her, she can’t drive (yet) …

As regards the type of home to be built I am growing warm towards a 2 storey building, a solution that many of the writers here have praised with convincing arguments. Why shouldn’t it be possibile for instance to install a banister-lift in case of need even in Thailand? I have attached a foto of the type of home the lady wishes to build for us.

What’s next?

Mid-June after the great Eastern-heat will have (hopefully) passed I’ll return to my Thai friends with a Non-Immigrant-Visa-O in the pocket, we’ll sit together and get the project on the way. On the table amongst other things will be all the useful notes which I’ve made on the basis of your excellent advice. For this purpose I’ll rent a recently built 1 storey house of the sister of her already mentioned cousin, so I’ll be physically near to find a solution to the problems of the latter girl as well.

Old you are only on the condition that you don’t have any plans for the future anymore …

If you give me the permission, there will be a continuation of my „case“ on ThaiVisa-forum in the near future.

Owing all of you a debt of gratitude.

Alf

so many questions you open up now.

SORRY TO BOTHER YOU, DAVID48, BUT…

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR EXCELLENT AND PRECISE ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION!

1/ Are you officially married ... or do you just have a ceremony at the Village?

THIS WAS JUST A “PROCESSION” AT THE MAGHA PUJA PUBLIC HOLIDAY WHEN BUDDHISTS (AND

ONE FARANG IN THIS CASE GO TO THE TEMPLE TO PERFORM MERIT-MAKING ACTIVITIES. NO OFFICIAL NOR MERELY
BUDDHIST MARRIAGE.

2/ Your partner already has 2 Rai land ... why not build there? 2 Rai is large land to build upon.

YOU’RE RIGHT, THIS IS ALSO WHAT I PROPOSED WHILST VISITING THE FIELD. BUT OBVIOUSLY LADY
WOULD LIKE TO FULFILL THE BIG DREAM OF HER LIFE OF A NICE BIG HOUSE WITH A
LARGE FRUIT TREE PLANTATION AROUND IT. ONCE AND FOR ALL EVERYTHING CLEARED AND
PUT ON THE TABLE I SHALL FULFILL HER THIS DREAM. NOT BEFORE!

3/ Do you know that unless you have an agreement to live at the property, you can out

on the street in one day after the last payment to the builder if your partner wants you to be?

NO, I DID NOT KNOW THAT! LIKE MANY OTHER THINGS NEITHER, WHICH HAVE BEEN SAID HERE.

4/ She want's to do landfill now! Say no, stop, be strong ... it's your money.

I’LL ACT ON YOUR ADVICE, DAVID, AND ON THAT OF ALL THE OTHERS. I’LL HEDGE MY BETS. DON’T WANT TO BE

AN „OLD FOOL“

Crazy member: Maybe try to convince her that you want to stay near the beach....at 4-5 plus 400 K=4.5-5.5 Million you should

get something nice there as well.

THANK YOU, SOMETHING I’M ALSO TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION.CLIMATE!!

rgs2001uk: I am willing to wager, neither the girl or her father have told him , the house can be in his name.

THAT’S A FACT. MAYBE ONE JUST DIDN’T THINK ABOUT IT AT THE OCCASION.

When applying for the planning permission (there will be planning permission wont there?) at the local planning
department who will issue the permit for the house to be built, Of course the father being a builder knows all about this.

If the OP isnt married it leaves him various options, usufruct or lease,

WIDOWED

I dont know which option is best for him, the real estate experts can answer that one.

THANK YOU, I’LL TRY TO FIND A GOOD LAWYER IN UBON TO HELP ME AND UNDERSTAND ALL THIS WHEN I’LL RETURN THERE

IN SUMMER AFTER THE HOT SEASON HAS PASSED AND RAIN WILL SOAK THE FAMOUS FIELD.

The reason everything is moving so quickly, they have to act now, before the OP finds out there are various options open to

him, I guarantee, if the OP parts with money, he will never see it again.

I HOPE YOU’RE NOT RIGHT.

David48: He really needs to be so careful here as he could end up with naught if the relationship falters.

THANK YOU, DEAR DAVID, I THINK I’VE LEARNED THE LESSON.

YOU’LL ALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO GET INFORMED IN DUE COURSE ABOUT THE REACTION OF THE LADY.

VERY GRATEFUL TO ALL OF YOU!

ALF

Thanks again!

Please allow me to come back to the question of the land I am asked to buy from the father. (I had a second thought about it today.)

In response to a question of David48: Miss has 6 brothers and sisters. No Sin Sot paid to Miss, no gold. (The acquaintance lasts since 2-3 months. )

All have already gotten land and/or dwellings in heritage from the (living) parents, Miss included, who not already got these 2 rais of said field but also her house inclusive farm land. In consideration of this fact, isn’it so that donating these other 2 rais of said field to her would be a favouring (a preferential treatment) of her
person, which in all probability would be contested by her siblings? Paying off the father, the value of these 2 rais remains with him and will (together with his other assets) probably be passed on to all his children at the event of his death (or otherwise distributed according to his last will).

From this point of view, doesn’t this payment make sense after all?

In response to a question of rgs2001uk: Her said cousin, who runs a shop together with her European boyfriend, spoke to me about her this winter in Phuket. I let the lady come twice from Isaan and went back with her to her moobaan where I staid 1 week. Met all her family, relatives and friends and was the only farang at the Makha Bucha festival where they wanted me to dance at the head of the procession! Thanks a lot, who knows whether I'll come back to your offer as regards interpreter services!

Just received another email from my lady. She wants to make the landfill now, now, now!! Of course like Derk she knows that afterwards you have to wait... Derk writes of 2015 as the year of construction... I'll be 70. I would like to do it for her and her offspring. Caretaker thoughts play a much miner role.

The number of postings in this thread pleading for a one storey or for a two storey house are roughly equal. I leave this point open for the moment and try, as Derk is putting it, to sort out all the other things before.

Thanks very much for today's other interesting postings too!

Alf

Dear forum writers, I am overhelmed by all your qualified and sound advice. Yes, I really
would be an „old fool“ (thanks for the compliment) turning a deaf ear to all your very interesting experiences but also to your
warnings and alerts.

Maybe you can comprehend my cold surprise and present gnawing uneasiness as regards my growing
suspicion that I could have fallen victim to a fraud attempt. How could it be
possible that an intelligent and bright person working temporarily in the
mooban bank, also making part of a commission deciding over the granting of loans
to mooban farmers and having a well known builder/constructor as father gets wrong by over 50% by
estimating the cost of a new house (2 to 3 mn. baht of difference) in said aera?
Why does Miss ask money for an estate transaction which to no other Thai family would even come in mind, all the more
so that every family member already has gotten it’s quota of heredity?

Even before „comserve“ made his #45 enlighening posting today (great!, thank you) I tried
to find and understand the mechanism which could lie behind this possible
scheme. And I didn’t have to search very long. Down in the south this winter by
means of a friend of mine I got to know a cousin of Miss, being up to her ears
in debt, total amount (have a guess) also 7 digits. In comparison to
Miss a completely different character of a person, I don’t want to say more in
a public forum, you understand. By means of Miss, who is extremely influenced by her cousin and who was used as a
dummy, already down there there was an attempt involving my money in an
investment. And of course it was her cousin who introduced Miss to me. Got it ? The big mistake I made down there
was having forgotten to suppress temporarily my natural characteristic of a marked generosity.

Now what? I don’t blame Miss. I know for sure that she suffers because of the very
difficult situation her cousin is and has always been in. I don’t know enough yet
about Thai family solidarity but I could imagine it is fundamental. By means of remarks and questions concerning my financial situation made from
time to time by Miss, I think she wanted to make sure that by helping her
beloved cousin on the one hand she would not trespass exceedingly upon my
property on the other hand. With which assumption, by the way, she is not wrong.

I shall inform you in due course if I’ll be in a position to cut this delicate Gordian
knot with which Miss and I are currently tied together. Very difficult task seen
the actual physical distance between us as well as language problems.

On this I do not ask you for help and suggestions. This is something to clear between
Miss, her cousin and myself personally.

No idea either concerning the consequences for the house building project. Who knows maybe I'll build with the reasonable 2 to 2,5 mn. and help cousin separately to start a new life.

Khop khun khap once again, amigos, great advice from all! And thanks ThaiVisa and the people behind it for providing this platform

Alf

Again many thanks to all of you who take the time to have a look at my „case“. And thumbs up for ThaiVisa!

In order to exclude a priori possible misunderstandings or erroneous assumptions here some more facts:

• Partner and her family members are
  respected people, playing an important and supporting role in MooBaan social life.

• Partner lives in a very modest (but completely built in concrete) Isaan farmer-house, built and donated to her by her father. If
  I offer her a new home (surely, built by her father, of course) she would „give“ her hitherto Baan to her other
  18-year old son, to whom she already transferred the responsability of the farm work and of whom (without me) she would be dependent financially in an insecure future.

• The place where the new house would come to stand lies in the Amphoe LaoSuaKok, near the border to Amphoe Mueang
  Ubon Ratchathani, about 20-30 minutes of car ride to Ubon City. Direct and good road access, electricity, existing private drinking water „catchment“ in the field as well in the former mother’s house, which on it’s part would be teared down,very quiet, beautiful, green and natural environment, no plans for workshops etc., two or three other farang homes not far away. Idyllic, calm and peaceful. Partner would like to realize a fruit tree plantation around the house.

My intention: Provide security and

fulfilling the great and irrepressibleJ
wish of a new home in favour of a wonderful, unspoiled, cooperative,
responsable and hard working woman (and her offspring) whom I had the great
privilege getting to know in my old days. Trying to participate in MooBaan life and contributing to the
various projects of reasonable life improvement there. Possible but frightening
alternative for me (sooner or later): Moving
to a retirement home in Europe.

I can’t
oversee your unanimous opinion as regards the rather elevated budget framework
which is presented to me. I shall try to get some input from the partner as to
why their calculation is situated at nearly the double of a similar baan
project in the Isaan. Should the reason lie mainly in
excellent and safe building quality I would not object to go along with it.

Your very appreciated postings have created what
Goethe would have called “Two souls alas! are dwelling in my breast”J.

Among other useful advice from other writers, cycloneJ
wrote for example:

My vote for 2-storey

Added privacy - have 2 bedrooms/study upstairs; leave
the windows open all have bug mesh fitted, nice airflow

The views -
we're in a fruitgrowing area, house is on built-up land, upstairs rooms
have a view over the few nearby houses and trees, balconies either side of
house off bedrooms

An 'escape', not keen on the open-plan single floor
lifestyle, can get away from kitchen noise, tv, daughter/friends etc if I want
to rather than have to shut myself into a room downstairs; equally daughter/her
friends can head upstairs to get away from us.

And an added bonus - Exercise - compulsory if having a
forgetful day.

A convincing
opposite view came from villagefarang:

We went for single story, high ceiling, open floor
plan. The house feels bigger because all
the space is visible and accessible on the same level. Without extended family to deal with we did
not need or want cubed off spaces for privacy.
Upstairs always seems to be dead space most of the day. It is usually hotter than the downstairs and
seldom visited during the day. With four rai you have plenty of
space, so no need to go for two stories.

We built on
five rai by digging a one rai pond and using the dirt to buildup a two rai area
for the house and garden. That
still left us with space for future development on the remaining land.

Undeniably, both versions score with convincing
arguments.

I am asking myself: If I were a native person from the
Isaan, to which version would I probably give the preference and why?

My partner would like to make the ground buildup NOW
before the rainy season starts.

• 
  Making a landfill now without knowing
  which type of baan to build later???

• 
  Best season to start a buildup?

• 
  How much time should you concede to
  the buildup to settle before starting to build the baan?

Khop khun mak to everybody!

Alf

Thanks a lot to all, I'm lucky to get good advise from experienced "Isaaners".

David48: the "abandoned rice field" does indicate water ..

Sorry for this inexact expression. The field belongs to the partner's family,
it has not been cultivated for some time. The water (flooding) problem
is not greater than elsewhere in the region, although it would be
indispensable to build a ground elevation for the house.

David48: Are you just housing

yourself and partner?

• yourself and partner and your children?

• yourself and partner and the extended family?

Just the partner, her 11-year old son and myself. The rest of the (inner
circle of the) family lives about 10 km away. So it seems there is no
need for a 2nd floor for the purpose of gaining additional privacy only.
But one never knows!

rgs2001uk:

The 2 storey will be about double the price of a single storey,

Double storey in a paddy field, sounds like a farang mansion, make sure its being done for practical reasons and not for face.

Whats the rush?

Dont be like many and purchase land the family already own.

Partner speaks of a possible budget for the house building of 4-5 mn baht.

2 of the 4 rai belong to the partner. The other two to her father, who
asks 0,4 mn. from me. This equals a transfer of property within the
family from father to daughter. I realize that this modus operandi is
diametrically opposed to what you advise me.

What's the rush from her part? I don't know, but very interestingly, you are right! It can't
go quickly enough! By the way, partner's father is THE moobaan-builder,
just built the new moobaan-wat. Also realizing projects in Ubon Town.

ThommoPhysicist: We need to know who is paying for everything?

Farang.

PS

I'm 68, partner 40. Both widowed.

Did not succeed to upload foto of field in question

Hi all,

we are taking into consideration the building of a middle sized house in the Ubon Ratchathani region, in an abandoned rice field of about 4 rai. Gf would like a 2 storey house, downstairs all in concrete, upstairs partly in wood, whilst the few new farang houses which I have seen there are practically all 1 storey houses.

Could possibily anyone give me some advice concerning general advantages and disadvantages of the two different architectural styles as they are applied in the Isaan?

Thanks a lot in advance.

Alf