Srinakarin

On 5/6/2023 at 12:19 PM, Callmeishmael said:

You probably already know this, but you will need to scan all of your certificates and combine them as a single, multi-page PDF document that is no bigger than 2MB. 

 

I actually found this to be the most difficult part of the whole application procedure and finally bought a copy of Abobe Acrobat, as I couldn't get the correct size from the free PDF editors.

Thank you.  I didn't know that, but I'll see how far I can get using PDF Editor

12 minutes ago, aidenai said:

They have to be 3 different Personal Development activities.

 

I renewed mine in April 2022 for the second time. My PD activities were

- attended a seminar

- finished an online course on New Learning Principles

- having conducted an extra-curricular course

 

Best of luck.

Thank you,  Adenai.     That's really clear and far simpler than I expected.   

Really appreciate your reply!

Hello,

I have a 5 year teaching license and am looking ahead to requirements for renewal.

It looks like 3 pieces of evidence of personal development activities are needed to support the renewal.

Does anyone have any guidelines for whether there's a list of personal development course providers?  And has anyone had a licence renewal declined on the basis of their PD evidence being unsatisfactory.

Currently, I'm looking at doing a couple of short online teaching PD courses to fulfill this requirement.

I already have my first five year license.

Thanks for any useful advice anyone can give

Thanks for the useful replies

Hi everyone,

I recently decided it was about time  I had a routine eye check and asked someone to phone Rutnin hospital to find the cost of standard eye tests.  I asked someone to phone them on my behalf.  She was given a price for the test, and then my friend mentioned that I am not Thai.  The hospital then advised that the cost was now nearly double the price initially quoted.  When challenged as to why that was, the reason given was quite vague - it requires a different kind of service.  Perhaps the details were lost in translation or deliberately vague, I don't know.

Can anyone shed some light of this "different kind of service" or confirm that the double pricing structure quoted is actually incorrect.  If it's a simple miscommunication, then I needn't boycott the place.

Thanks

Thank you both.

It turns out that the online calculator for Krungsri auto finance factors in the sales tax whereas other institutions calculators don't.

I guess the reason for that could be to make the calculation look more attractive and then they can lure you in.

Anyhow, the 3.79% seems to be a good rate currently over a 6 year term

Hi all,

I've never bought a car before so I am very much in the dark on this.

I've been offered financing from a bank on a used car that is 4 years old.

The monthly payment calculations given to me don't match with those provided by online calculators inputted with the same figures.   It seems that the discrepancy is coming from the 7% sales tax added onto the loan calculation.

I have contacted the bank and said that I want to pay the sales tax upfront so that it is not added into the loan amount.

They've said that since it is a used car, by law the sales tax has to be paid over the duration of the loan term and not paid upfront. My only question is this:

Is this legal requirement, or is it company policy being used to increase the interest?

Many thanks for anyone who can clarify this

To all those who took the time to post something useful,especially Kittenkong, Smutcakes and Peterw42, thank you.

Hi,

Wondering if anyone else has experienced a similar situation to this, or knows whether there is a regulation regarding the responsibilities of vacant condo owners.

Recently,  the "key holder" (responsible person within the condominium staff)  for the condo below us reported of  water damage to the ceiling in the vacant condo unit below us and that we are responsible for repairs.   This came as a surprise because their was no evidence of any leaking pipes in our bathroom at all.  On close inspection from the room below,  it showed that the leaking pipe was one connecting to  outflow pipe from our bathroom sink that is behind the wall of our bathroom.  I'm not sure how clear that description is, but what I'm saying is that the leaking pipe was not  visible to us at all so we couldn't have known about the leak.

The room below has been vacant for over a year, and had it now been, then the occupiers would have been able to notice the wet patch sooner. Obviously, repairs would have been done immediately and would have been less costly.

The leak was so small that it was no more than a slow drip. It could have taken months to cause the damage it caused, I guess.

We've paid the repair bill, but was just left wondering if such a thing were to happen again with say a pipe in the kitchen, we could be in the same situation of having to pay for repairs for something we knew nothing about.

Do vacant room owners have any responsibility to have their rooms checked periodically, at all?

Many thanks for any advice.

Yes Jonnybangkok, thanks for reminding me of that.  I had tried that a few years ago (tracking down managers) in an effort to find an escape route into something more challenging and with more opportunities for advancement and responsibility.

Contacting people out of the blue to inquire about  openings seemed too much like cold calling and I felt uncomfortable with it.    I'm now coming to the conclusion that you don't get anywhere in life without asking,  so I think it's about time I had another crack at that myself and my missus can do the same. 

Without much or any experience relevant to  offer a company, it feels inappropriate to even inquire.  However I guess that having the desire, wisdom, understanding of local culture and communication skills may just be enough to secure an entry level position in some cases.  From a western perspective at least, it's not all about academic qualifications and youth.

Blackcab, 

Those points are all spot on.  

Confidence is essential, but it naturally drops the longer you are out of work.  Add to that the unrealistic recruitment criteria listed for the majority of jobs these days, and it's hard to fake it.  I keep telling her that she needs to recognise her strengths and not be dragged down by the daunting job requirements that are  listed.  The fact that you've emphasised its importance, might make her take note more so I'll forward her your perspective.   You are a far more credible source of advice than me for sure on this.

The advice about getting to see an expat manager makes total sense.  I just need to find ways to find companies that can point me in the right direction in terms of finding where those expat managers are.  I'll see what google can come up with.  

I can see there is a lot of legwork involved now, and you are right again that mentioning the lengths she's gone to just to get an interview show a determination that is in short supply.    Many of the educated Thais I work with comment on the lack of determination in  younger employees generally.  For once, it might be an asset that she's the wrong side of 30 (from a Western perspective at least).

Finally, for what it's worth, Dragon's Den and The apprentice in the UK have given her a more Western understanding about good business decisions (at least in theory!) .  That may be wasted on Thai recruiters, but expat managers may at least see that she understands the point you are making about 

"somebody who actually gets it's not the 5 baht or whatever, it's the principle".  She may not have got there from her own experience, but at least she has seen the characteristics needed to build the right mindset.

I thank you again for your very valuable comments, blackcab. 

Blackcab,

Thank you for detailing your experience.  It's good to know that there is some hope that some executive level  expats out there value Thais that get our way of thinking.  The trouble I have is that my network of connections in Bangkok is very limited and that's something I need to work on, although our personal circumstances make that very difficult.  Your comments give me some hope, where before there was very little.  I appreciate that.

JohnnyBangkok,

I have replied to you directly, and I thank you again for offering me a nudge in the right direction.  

The agencies you list may be useful and I will  take a look at them.  Certainly it seems that although there are problems associated with lack of recent experience and degree, the bigger problem seems to be lack of a network, and lack of clarity over what she can / wants to do.  Putting herself out there is key, I agree.  Trouble is, reading JobsDb can snuff out any hope she has.  So many jobs list degree and under 35 that it's only natural that she's disheartened.  

Your comments like Blackcabs give us some hope.  It's a case of looking in the right places and having more focus.

Cheers

Hi everyone,

Just looking for any advice from people with first hand experience relevant to our situation, if anyone has any.

My wife never finished her degree in accounting as she left Thailand to live in the UK with me in 2000.  Having spent 7 years in England (3 working in retail) she's reached a high level of spoken and written English and did a little translation work too.

Now 39, without a degree and lacking recent work experience (except some e-commerce experience at home), she's up against it when applying for work. 

We're well aware that employers here put age, and degree above most else so she's considering taking a TOEIC course and test to provide evidence of her very strong English ability.  JobsDB shows that most positions are looking for under 30 year olds with degree.

Has anyone else's partner had any luck in landing a job on the basis of having a good TOEIC score despite academic qualifications and age not being on their side?

I know that one way to find out is just to do it then apply for jobs, but it would help to have some idea beforehand whether there's much use in doing so.

Thank you

"That sort of problem could happen in any older building anywhere in the world and is really not a big deal at all. Someone needs to scrape out whatever was used to seal the joint on the outside and replace it with mastic. The problem will arise if there is no easy access, especially if you are on a high floor."

That makes perfect sense, but unfortunately I'm on the 17th floor of a high rise building so you're right that there's a problem there.

I believe that the number of rooms affected is low, but since attendance at committee meeting is less than 25% and I cant get to discuss it with others, I think you're right that I'm on my own. I've tried to discuss it with Management, but the only one who used to speak excellent English has been removed (and since disappeared) and there have been rumors of improper goings on.. This is why I'm seeking a second opinion. Luckily, you seem to definitely know what you're talking about and have been a great help once again.

I'm most grateful for you taking the time to give me a clearer picture of my situation.

Kind regards,

Jessie

"Most concrete facades of buildings have pre caste joints. When the seals of these joints start to degrade after a number of years then it is common for water to enter though the joints. Hence many buildings with this type of construction need to reseal their building after a number of years"

Thanks again for the replies. There's no sign of any cracks in the walls at all, but it seems like water is seeping through at the point where the window frame meets the concrete wall. I may well have chosen my words badly, but that's the best I can do because I know nothing of construction techniques. I don't know whether that fits in with what you're describing, or not.

For the seals of pre-caste joints, would that fall under the responsibility of co-owners to fund re-sealing? If co-owners are having to pay sinking fund top ups to pay for replacements of the water pipes for the entire building, would it make sense that if multiple owners had water leaking in, then the sinking fund should be used to re-seal the whole building?

Thanks again

Hi again everyone,

Having taken on board a lot of the advice and comments posted in response to my original posting, I was all set to make payment of the service charge and the additional sinking fund charge.

However, the rains have just started and water has started coming in through one of the walls of our apartment as happened last year. At the time, I took a look at the Condominium Act to find out who was responsible for covering the cost of repair. It seemed to me that external wall surfaces are classified as common property and internal wall as property of individuals owners. Following the logic that painting external walls is covered by service charge, and damage done by burst pipes in an individual owners room is paid for by the individual owners, the following seems to make sense. Since the water is able to penetrate the external wall surface, this is where the problem originates from. Additionally, my efforts to halt the leaking by applying silicone to the internal wall have failed. I raised this point last year to Management who responded to my wife in Thai that individual owners have usually handled this issue themselves in the past.

At the time, I didn't have the time on my hands to push the issue, but made it clear I would do my best to solve it. I clearly haven't been able to. My concern now is that from past experience, when there's a problem and your solution to that problem has failed, it tends not to resolve itself. It's more likely to get worse. I would rather not leave this to chance and want to get it stopped before it comes too costly.

Can anyone confirm whether the repair of this is my own responsibility, or should be covered by sinking fund or service charge?

I'm also unaware of how damaging it could be too the wall structure if only the internal wall is patched up with silicone. I'm ignorant on this matter.

Thanks for any help you can give

Kittenkong,

It seems like some sensitive people have taken your / my comments a little too personally. I opened up a topic where I needed a broader perspective on the situation and in doing so received some insight based on personal experiences, thank you.

As to why I don't want to take on the role of committee member, I choose to allocate my time to working, playing sports and spending time with family (And I lack the patience). Everyone is different. Others like to spend their time picking holes in people's comments on a forum. Your comments are based on your personal experience, so I don't know why they would automatically be wrong.

I find it quite amusing that some people choose to get involved in discussion on these forums, and rather than ask for details as to why others feel they way they do, they start criticizing other people's assessment of the situation. Such as:

"There seems to be a them and us attitude from the OP (and other contributors to this post)"

This couldn't be further from the truth. I just want to be clear on the facts of the situation before I accept it. Thankfully, some of the comments have helped with this, yours in particular.

I'm sure, like me, you have more important things to do than respond to comments intended to provoke a reaction.

Thanks again

"One advantage of not increasing the common fee automatically every year is that it does limit the amount of money that the management company has available to squander or steal, and that can only be a good thing. They cannot be trusted."

I love that. It makes me feel a whole lot better about the situation.

Cheers

Jessie

Kittenkong,

What you've written seems to describe the situation perfectly and cleared things up in my mind. Thanks.

When I've attended meetings and heard the reasoning for things, there are questions that come to my mind continuously, and I raise them there and then. What surprises me is that I seem to be the only one who is asking these questions. These questions to my mind seem obvious. I should add that it's not that I'm interrupting the flow of the information being given. A point is made and then the Management move on to another topic. At that point, I stop them and raise my questions. It surprises me that the question I ask wasn't addressed before they decide to move on. On top of this, irrelevances often get thrown in randomly, such as an incident that happened in the car park 15 years ago that has no relevance to the current topic of replacing lift cables. I don't know whether I could stand as a member. I think I lack the necessary patience to do that here.

Thanks again for taking the time to put across your logical take on things.

Ballbreaker, I think that at least 25% are attending. That said, typically each year a meeting is announced and insufficient people attend to vote. Then a second meeting is announced which is the last chance to vote. Because of this pattern, some don't attend the first one because they know that there wont be enough people. Consequently, a second meeting is inevitable.

Unfortunately, no written communication is given in English and I can't confirm exact details of attendance.

I agree smutcakes, B20 is crazily low. This is why I'd rather vote for an increase. My concern with using a sinking fund for the purpose described is that some non-resident owners who don't give a <deleted> about the building and have other properties elsewhere just dont pay it. Then, there is no action taken against them and those that paid get mugged off.

Ripley, that's exactly what I thought it was for. My point to Management is that if it was to be used to repair structural damage resulting from an earthquake, I wouldn't question it for a minute. Building a room for staff? Repairing lift cables? These are not sudden emergencies. The latter, being important is a foreseeable expense and could have been planned for. There should be a system in place whereby an increase in service charge can be forced every 6,8, or 10 years by a set amount, in my opinion.

Thank you both for your replies. It helps me put things in perspective now that I don't feel like we're being shafted. Over time, this will lead to me voting against a service charge increase of course because the sinking fund is effectively doubling the service charge for the next two years. If others feel the same way, then I can never see the service charge increase being approved and the management will forever be needing to introduce sinking fund charges.

Surely, there must be something written into the condominium act that would lead to people who never vote, or never attend the meeting losing their vote so that others can push for an increase?

Hi,

I have a few questions about the specific usage of the condo sinking fund and the extent to which the condominium can force payment of it.

I'll try to be as brief as possible.

I attended the condo annual meeting for 2014 and 2015 and have been in support of an increase in service charge for maintenance. However, due to low attendance and non-occupancy, there are never enough people to vote in favour of an increase. Currently the service charge is B20.

At the meeting this year that I couldn't attend, but I was told by other residents that a proposal was made to add a sinking fund fee of B16 sq.m for each resident for two years. This is to cover the cost of repairing or replacing water pipes outside the rooms in the entire building, and a room for staff. My understanding is that the repair of this should be covered by the service charge. In the meeting, it appears that few or no residents opposed the proposal of the sinking fund because the details of it were not explained and were glossed over. There was a lot of talking and nothing appeared to be finalized. However, since then the condo issued a bill on top of the service charge including a sinking fund fee to be paid within 2 years. Myself and other residents are opposed to this and wrote a letter agreeing to cover the cost of this over a 5 year period.

Our letters were not replied to, and the condo have once again issued a bill requesting payment of the sinking fund over the next 2 years with interest to be added for late payment.

Firstly, can the condo management issue an additional bill like this to cover the costs of water pipe repair and new rooms for staff?

Secondly , can they insist on payment over a 2 year period?

Finally, if residents refused to pay over that period, would it affect their ability to sell the condo in the same way that non-payment of service charge would?

Many thanks for any help you can give

Jessie

"We paid the mortgage off in 2011, so that was the last year I claimed for mortgage interest. I don't believe the rules have changed."

Thank you, Fletchsmile.

Hi Fletchsmile,

I'm sorry about the previous post - spelt your name wrong. Coffee hadn't kicked in yet.