mayflower

I bought one at Homepro last year. Had to be ordered and took about a week to arrive.

Beleive it or not but try the shop that sells lava block ,sandstone etc... on the left hand side not far past the turning just past San Sai market. Think theres also a temporary Australian consulate there as well.

Sorry for being so negative,but with a young baby i think you would be better of finding another means of transport(ie fly). I have travelled overland from BKto Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City before, and unless the roads have remarkably improved in the last four years i wouldn't even contemplate it again.AGAIN I admire your spirit but with a young un and your missus and you don't want to make her your ex-missus please re think.

Happy camping

Hi , Know a couple English speaking architechts who i can recommend. PM me as i think i can help you out.

My twopenth , well i know K-Tech was set up in Bk , and only this week i saw two adverts in the Bk post looking for non Thai construction managers in Thailand, both Thai regestered farang companies and doing multi million dollar projects .Both probably a lot more clued up with Thai law than the likes of me and Ajarn by the sounds of it. I don't want to be opening up a can of worms but surely if a company is vat reg, any farang employies have wp's and work within what is stated , then would ok for me.

Understand your concern over legalities , but even the most safest laws over here have clauses that could cause concern. I would be more worried about being ripped of or having a sub standard job done , farang or Thai.

Cheers

Sorry about my first attempt, anyway after reading what Ajarn said about the legal side with using a farang building company. It made me think , but wasn't K-Tech which was one of Thailands largest Construction comps run by the late Bob K who had a British passport. Also how does the likes of B Bensley, and the advisers from the likes of Sunbelt Asia get around this.

Please don't take this out of context , but Ajarn you seem to know a bit about the matter ,can you please enlighten me.

Cheers

I chose a development where the construction quality was good, the location of the development was where I wanted to live and made a deal with th developer to pay any expense above "standard". 

He payed the architect who finalized my floor plans and he did develope custom building costs that were about 250k above standard costs per sq. meter.

However, I didn't end up paying them as my sq. meter size was almost twice the "standard" size so I was entitled to credits for almost twice the number of fixtures, electric outlets, etc. which wiped out my overage.

You have clearly decided what you want to pay for your house so find a development where the builder's costs per sq. meter for his standard house approximates what you will pay.  House and Land is expensive because of the very finish detail you want.

I did most of my own finish detail including baseboards, mouldings, kitchen etc. so I could get the quality I wanted without paying the developer for his profit on the same work.

If you get a developer to build your shell, put in your windows, install rough plumbing and electic, you can have the rest of the job done by locals and save a bundle.

The advantage of going with the developer is that you have some assurance he will get the job done (include a penalty provision for late completion) that the streets, water and electric are in and to the lot.  Also include a telephone line and number in your deal.

If your "design" is not too radical, you should find a developer who will do the house providing you follow his overall exterior finish detail in conformance with his project. This is especially true if you approach it from a "few custom features" that expand until you get what you want.

If the developer is getting the same money per sq. meter that he gets for his standard house and you are willing to pick up any "extras" over and above his "standard", he should be protected, as from what I have learned, it is the land profit that they do it for, not the profit off the house.

You will note that most of the developments are located well off major roads with just their access road costing them any money.  The land they are developing is farm land without road access, so they get it real cheap and then make a bundle when they bring in the water, road and electric.  If you have alread bought your lot, then the foregoing is of no value to you specifically, but may help others.

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