Globalist

Property investment, whether in Thailand or elsewhere on the planet, has one simple golden rule:

Location, location location.

Yet not all people grasp the meaning of it.

"Good enough" condo location in Thailand currently costs 150kTHB/m2 or more, both in Pattaya and Bangkok.

With 4 - 5 MTHB you'll get at most 27-33 m2, i.e. most likely a studio or small 1BR. Not bad, and many developments around 150kTHB/m2 do include studios and small 1BRs, but slightly larger 1BR or 2BR units typically show a better long-term rental yield.

Excellent OP, I'm also interested in precisely those questions.

Look forward to positive responses from community members with real experience.

Generally speaking, withholding tax is for a buyer/renter/licensee to pay on behalf of a seller/landlord/licensor.

For what it's worth, I was told the following by an official at the Thai tax office: A renter does not have to pay withholding tax on condo rental if the landlord and the renter are both private persons rather than companies.

If that statement is correct, it would suffice to pay all tax retrospectively with the tax return.

Yes it's common in Asia - not only in Thailand - to include walls and balcony in the area measurement.

This is opposite to European standards and obviously leads to an overstatement of the "livable area", since you can't live inside walls .. :-P

So to properly compare per m2 prices with European ones, you have adjust the value by something like 10-15% for most condos.

There's only one thing that needs to be excluded: sugar.

Unfortunately it means going off Thai food altogether, since it's a sugar-based cuisine...

It's surprising to me how some below-50 people prefer the pure COST option rather than the perfectly legal INVESTMENT option...

The investment extension is much more hassle to get and requires you to entrust 10 million baht to the thai economy. If in five years baht goes from 33 to 35 baht per usd, your investment just lost 600,000 baht -- more than the elite card would have cost you in the first place.

Plus, the PE visa itself is more convenient than business visa: 5 years validity instead of 1, multiple 1 year entries with no need for reentry permits, zero paperwork required to get the visa itself or extensions, airport assistance (you clear the immigration faster than 1st class passengers!) etc. etc.

True, if 0.5MTHB is not a big enough amount to bother about and absolutely zero hassle is sought, then I do agree TE is a good option. (You also get to ride a nice car to/from the airport.)

But if not, I'd say there's a strong case for the 10MTHB Investment Extension of Stay.

Choosing the THB Bond or Term Deposit option, the THB FX risk you mention is clearly there.

Choosing the option of a BKK prime location luxury-class condo (175kTHB+/m2), the THB FX risk is very small if not negligible, since that asset class is an internationally traded asset.

Such an asset will very likely do better than -5% over 5 years (which is the TE cost), as measured in your "home" currency.

The only issue is whether 10MTHB is enough to get you such an asset. I think it can still be possible.

I heard there were issues with renewing these investment visas, they're good for one year and then the problems start but this is all historical information and I believe it's been reinstated lately. How many times can you renew and extend the 10 Million Baht investment visa ?

Is it good for life, 1 year, 5 years, etc ?

Is the extension / renewal procedure a mere formality like going to immigration for a yearly extension ?

Legally there shouldn't be any issues, and no limitations of number of renewals.

As always, immigration is extremely picky on details of documentation, whether relevant or not.

At least provided that you have exactly the same papers as you had the first time and go to the same immigration office, it should be a formality. After all, it is in fact a yearly extension (of stay).

It's surprising to me how some below-50 people prefer the pure COST option rather than the perfectly legal INVESTMENT option...

The investment extension is much more hassle to get and requires you to entrust 10 million baht to the thai economy. If in five years baht goes from 33 to 35 baht per usd, your investment just lost 600,000 baht -- more than the elite card would have cost you in the first place.

Plus, the PE visa itself is more convenient than business visa: 5 years validity instead of 1, multiple 1 year entries with no need for reentry permits, zero paperwork required to get the visa itself or extensions, airport assistance (you clear the immigration faster than 1st class passengers!) etc. etc.

True, if 0.5MTHB is not a big enough amount to bother about and absolutely zero hassle is sought, then I do agree TE is a good option. (You also get to ride a nice car to/from the airport.)

But if not, I'd say there's a strong case for the 10MTHB Investment Extension of Stay.

Choosing the THB Bond or Term Deposit option, the THB FX risk you mention is clearly there.

Choosing the option of a BKK prime location luxury-class condo (175kTHB+/m2), the THB FX risk is very small if not negligible, since that asset class is an internationally traded asset.

Such an asset will very likely do better than -5% over 5 years (which is the TE cost), as measured in your "home" currency.

The only issue is whether 10MTHB is enough to get you such an asset. I think it can still be possible.

The most common problems in Thailand are the 4"pipe outside diameter isn't a true 4" or 3" what ever they used to put the toilet together. I do my own toilets for that reason making sure that the pipe fitting the toilet flange has oil based silicone around the pipe to make damn sure it is sealed tight as a welded joint. The second part that you may have noticed is the holes that bolt down the toilet are not sealed afterwords & methane odors will come up through the open holes. & third that Thai's are infamous for is not paying attention to the gasket & installing the toilet with the gasket cockeyed & crushed 1/2 of the gasket & the other half seats in properly. I like overkill so I always put extra gasket sealer(black auto silicone-oil based on the gasket if it is rubber. Out of 11 toilets no odors to date. Except the learning curve when the contractor did the job & his help was drinking all night & playing cards. Crushed gasket no pipes had good seals glued the toilet in with grout & no bolts holding the 2 toilets down. So the school of hard knocks. Re did everything to western standards & problem went away. U traps are essential to your shower drain & in condos they hardly ever put them in so you are force to use aftermarket ways to keep the odors out.

Thanks for this input!

I had a guy re-install my toilet, to no avail..

Because the toilet (Cotto) is intergrated (you can't see the horn unless from underneath), very heavy, and that particular bathroom space very narrow, it became very difficult to guarantee a good seal between the horn and the pipe.

A non-wax gasket was tried but the height became to great due to toilet bowl design. Ended up using only wax gasket, which I suspected might only have a limited effect.

So I put my hopes to the Thai "remedy" of "white cement" around the toilet base and this time sealed & covered the bolts with wax.

Still the periodic odour is there. Most likely coming through wax and/or "cement"...

Clearly I need to re-do, and get the drain connection completely sealed, since it's the root-cause.

Considering buying a 2-piece toilet, where you have some control over the drain connection. If something goes wrong, no need to re-installt the entire toilet bowl.

Any ideas/thoughts?

LAVA is an Indian mobile phone brand.

The vendors will hardly tell you this, given the Thai's dislike for India and Indians...

The phones are essentially made for LAVA by Chinese white label manufacturers.

LAVA has operations in Hong Kong also nowadays, but it's an Indian company.

It's surprising to me how some below-50 people prefer the pure COST option rather than the perfectly legal INVESTMENT option...

"Bread Talk" makes a European style dark and slightly sour bread at some of their branches. Very good and not sweet. Don't know about gluten, wheat etc.

European prices too, at THB 128 a loaf.

Razada is a South-East Asian joint venture by some strong investors in E-commerce, especially Rocket Internet (Germany) and Kinnevik (Sweden).

The certainly know what they're doing.

"If a farang lives in Thailand for more than 180 days in a tax year, he or she becomes tax resident in Thailand. Now the question is what if he wants to buy a thai condo and use money from overseas ? According to Thai Revenue website, overseas income is not tax in thailand unless it is brought into Thailand. I assume personal income tax need to be paid on this money or there is some kind of exception?"

Interesting question actually.

This is my assumption, would be intersting to hear other views on this:

A: If you - in spite of the 180 days in Thailand - are also "domeciled" in another country (e.g. your country of citizenship), then one might assume that you have already paid tax on the money you talk about in that country, and through double taxation agreements, although you would be tax-liable in Thailand you would not have to pay any tax in Thailand on it in practice, assuming that the tax rate in your (other) country of domecile would be higher than that in Thailand. (This would be true for e.g most European countries.) . If you have not paid tax in your (other) country of domecile on that money, then you are likely tax-evading w.r.t. your (other) country of domecile, and you would need to pay in Thailand.

B: If you are not domeciled in any other country, then I guess you would be tax-liable in Thailand for that money.

On the other hand, theory is often far removed from practice, and in particular from enforcement possibilities.

(Note also that it is generally very difficult to "break away" from "home"-domecile for most European citizens, and of course for US citizens it is impossible. So I guess most TV members would fall into category A ... )

Yes running is very definitely good for you, generally speaking!

But with asthma, I guess there might well be issues with the air, as some others alsocommented.

Outdoors is polluted and indoors may be too dry...(?)

Perhaps you could try another type of cardio exercise such as long-distance swimming or even some forms of yoga as mentioned?

In hot climates, MCV is actually at least as likely to be the cause as HPV.

Both types of warts are harmless though, and treatment (if needed), is the same.

OK thanks! So the gas did push through the cement, that's what I suspect is happening in my case too.

Were you able to confirm this?

I have experienced sewage smells most of the places that I have stayed in Thailand, and as I am looking into doing an en suite bathroom layout (without a door), I would like to get a little wiser about what the problem is with thai plumbing that seem to exacerbate this problem (so I can hopefully avoid it).

Previously I thought the issue was with the floor drain’s U-lock drying out, which I would expect is also an issue. Do people regularly fill water into their floor drain to avoid this? Or do I overestimate how short it takes for the water to evaporate (I am btw in CM where the humidity isn’t high)?

I haven't confirmed it yet. My suspicion is now on one of the bolts, since it looks as if sewage gas is leaking through the bolt hole. That is of course also more likely than leakage through cement.... :-P

I intend to re-install the toilet within one week to try to fix the root-case, using a proper pan collar seal. Hope to report the result soon.

In my case, I don't suspect the floor drain. Note that this can mean either that the in-lid-U-drain actually works or that the floor drains are connected to a separate main drain from the toilet drain. I don't regularly fill water in it, although the regular weekly cleaning obviously results in water in the lock.

We had that problem in our condo.

No seals ( they had been stolen by the subcontractor !) the toilets had just been cemented in and in some no u pipe or not fitted correctly.

The smell came and went.

No problems since.

Thanks, you wrote "no problems since", but you didn't say since what...? :-P

(Also, "no u-pipe" can not be an issue for a toilet bowl since a toilet bowl is in itself an S- or U-trap by design. "Not fitted correctly" can be a problem though.)

Once we fitted the correct toilet seal by cotto the problem of smells coming from the bathroom stopped completely.Since we put in the new seal.

Ok. I got a bit jumbled up there.

OK thanks! So the gas did push through the cement, that's what I suspect is happening in my case too.

We had that problem in our condo.

No seals ( they had been stolen by the subcontractor !) the toilets had just been cemented in and in some no u pipe or not fitted correctly.

The smell came and went.

No problems since.

Thanks, you wrote "no problems since", but you didn't say since what...? :-P

(Also, "no u-pipe" can not be an issue for a toilet bowl since a toilet bowl is in itself an S- or U-trap by design. "Not fitted correctly" can be a problem though.)

Do you notice the extraction fan slowing down or laboring when the bathroom door is closed vs open? if so, it could be sucking intake air from drains rather than under the door - in which case the fix is simple - cut the door shorter

Thanks, tried that already. Smell is worse with fan off, regardless of if door is open or closed.

Another question:

One more issue came up during the meeting today and now that I think of it, maybe it's relevant:

Another document I presented today was the Foreign Exchange Transaction form. The point of this document, is to prove that the funds for the condominium purchase originated offshore. I got the document from Bangkok Bank and it was stamped and signed at the bank. The document shows the "Sender" and the "Recipient". I am the recipient, of course. But the sender is my (personal) corporate entity in the USA -- which does not bear my name. The lawyers said this was unacceptable, and it needed to show my name -- despite the fact that the forms were clearly signed and stamped by the bank to confirm that the funds had in fact originated offshore.

My understanding is that the sole requirement under the Condominium Act is that the funds originated offshore. I have never heard of a requirement that says the funds originated from one's own personal account bearing the same name offshore. Is this right?

Thanks again everyone for the great advice.

I seem to remember this precise question asked at this forum, at the "Ask the lawyer" section. I believe the response was that provided that the money originates abroad and is sent in foreign currency to you as a recipient in Thailand, then the originator does not matter. You could search the forum for that one.

Looking for someone experienced with plumbing who can help shed some light on this:

New high rise condo, unit on high floor. Strong and very bad smell in toilet on work-days mornings and evenings ("peaks" around 8 AM and 8 PM). No smell at other times, and no such smell in any other rooms, including the adjoining shower/bathroom, nor in the kitchen. No bubbles coming up through the water in the toilet bowl. The toilet bowl, a new Cotto model, functions properly.

Given the times this occurs, I assume the smell is related to sewage.

There are three drains in the toilet area:

- Toilet bowl drain.

- Floor drain with standard simplified U trap under the lid.

- Hand basin (sink) drain with U trap.

To investigate the origin, I did the following:

1) Sealed off the floor drain by filling water in the simplified U trap + using several layers of quality cling film on the drain opening as well as on both sides of the lid + taped liberally with gaffa tape on the top of that + placed additional covering items on top of the lid.

In my mind, it would be hard for gas to get trough in any significant quantities.

2) Plugged the sink and filled it with water. No bubbles. This should be gas-tight.

I left it like that for many days. The smell still prevails.

This to me points to the toilet bowl drain, but I'm still not completely sure.

I noticed that in Thailand they use completely integrated toilet bowls, i.e. the connection between bowl and drain is invisible. It beats me how they can ensure a tight seal with that design, but they then seal all around the bottom against the toilet floor by putting cement/plaster to the floor. It seems like the idea is that in case the toilet bowl seal would not be tight, it doesn't matter since the outer cement/plaster seal will hold.

I added two layers of silicon on the cement/plaster seal of the toilet bowl to see if there'd be any difference.

No difference.

So my question is, can the toilet bowl seal be leaky and sewage gas come up "within/under" the toilet bowl and push out through the plaster/cement floor seal (and also through the additional silicone) ?

Or am I on the wrong track? Are the other drains still possible culprits, was my floor drain cover insufficient? Can it be something else, like the extractor fan vent (the smell is worse when the fan is off, but that seems quite natural to me)?

Any ideas would be very much appreciated..

Can't comment on beauty. But as a former MultiNational Corporation (MNC) expat I know that Bangkok has historically not been chosen as a regional hub for most MNCs. This is why the foreign professionals in Bangkok have been very few and of a "lower level" if you like.

I do think this is slowly changing though as Bangkok improves its infrastructure, health care and international schooling. Some smaller MNCs are already starting to go for Bangkok instead of KL or even Singapore. A stable comeback of Myanmar could accelerate this trend.

"Why? Because many genuinely believe that local administration elections are nothing but an excuse for local mafia and influential groups to enter politics only to pursue personal interests and material gains, while the community remains "too weak" to regulate against bad candidates."

If this is a correct statement, the next question is; why is the community "too weak"?

I've come to believe that the low quality of the education system nationwide is the root cause of almost all of Thailand's problems. Is it perhaps a long term intentional plan by the "Bangkok elite" to keep "the masses" unenlightened...?

Whilst low educational standards is a small factor, I believe the main factor is that local politics here is very violent. Read the local press and you will find "canvassers" are always being shot all over the country.

True, there are a number of immediate factors. But I believe that the root cause is still the lack of proper education. This is not only limited to Thailand of course. I think you need a critical mass of sufficiently educated people (i.e. who can think critically and creatively) in order to uphold a modern civil society such as the Western and some east Asian ones. There is no such critical mass yet in e.g. Thailand.