Bulldozer Dawn

Stevenl is a very experienced diver.

There you go.

2 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Sorry, disagree.

 

BTB was positive, in bulldozer's posts is nothing positive at all. Plus I think he used to live in or close to Phuket Town.

Another ill informed post.  I recently posted that I underwent a procedure at the International hospital  and the cost was exactly half of what I paid for exactly the same procedure three years ago at Bangkok hospital.

2 hours ago, Old Croc said:

Some posters here are claiming expats are deserting Phuket in droves, based on them knowing some people who have decided to make a change. Not really a very scientific indicator, as it doesn't factor in new arrivals. I maintain movement is the nature of the expat beast.

Four or five years ago I bought a house in what I thought to be a quiet rural setting near the hills. I was recently comparing some pictures from then to how it has become now. I can count at least 8 new (Farang) houses built in my general area since I arrived. Two are still under construction. I'm fairly sure there are several more on a road that goes up into the jungle.

The rumblings of multiple concrete trucks passing my house yesterday indicated they were having a big pour at the latest large dwelling being constructed around the corner. I met the owner briefly, another Euro man and his Thai wife are moving in.  Also, a new well liner construction business has opened nearby, and a Thai builder is operating from his own new house just up the street..

I now find passing traffic is greatly increased, despite it being a no-through road. The various Burmese worker camps for the builds add to the general noise factor. The increased pressure on the aquafer by all these new houses, is of concern.

I actually wish the naysayers were correct in their bleating's. The Province is over crowded these days, I wouldn't mind if the Island lost much of the population associated with the tourism industry and the long term visa market. (I certainly wouldn't miss all the border runners). My funds are all based overseas, so, selfishly, I don't need to rely on industry here. 

Ahhh...over development,  the rumblings of multiple concrete trucks, nearby construction, deforestation, Burmese tin shed slums, collapsing water supply...PARADISE...

Just now, NamKangMan said:

I don't see property here as an investment.  I see it as a liability. 

It's all about the price for me.

All investments carry risk.

I have no aversion to buying property in Phuket...at the right price.

Just like I had no aversion to buying houses in Tennessee when entire streets were filled with foreclosure signs.  I made a good deal on those.

Just now, beechbum said:

The posts running a story at the moment, "Minor lavishes billions of baht on Phuket projects".

They forecast something a bit different for Phuket's future , but hey, what would the chairman and group chief executive of Minor International Plc know...

MINT currently has a P/E of 33, and the share price is down 25% YOY.  It is rated as a sell by my broker.  But one might expect that Mr Heinecke is well abreast of any potential casino developments.

Just now, friendofthai said:

I think Trump-vs-Media war could be finished only when one of them get support from 70-80% of Americans. American people should choose their side.

Interesting article here:

Donald Trump is Already at War

Oh.  And perhaps it is also worth mentioning that a young work colleague of my old girlfriend just bought a three bedroom two bathroom house with full chanote in Nai Harn for 1.1 million.  Foreigner is renting the place next door for 15K per month.

NKM here is a less obvious bellwether.

I also expect a financial collapse in Phuket.

But as I am a contrarian investor, I have over the last year or so started looking at Phuket property.

I have no intention of buying now but am doing some research in case future opportunities arise.

I only review Thai language sites, not interested in DDproperty, Bahtsold and the like.  Any property on Phuket that is already in the hands of a foreigner is usually significantly overpriced.

On Kaidee over the last few months I have noticed dozens of smaller land plots coming for sale on Phuket.

These are not million dollar blocks but the smaller blocks that a middle class Thai family might own.

In my 8 years in Phuket, I saw only a very small quantity of such listings.  Right now there is a flood of them.

The new land tax kicks off this year, that coupled with debt saturation and rising unemployment has to result in some sort of correction one would think.

1 minute ago, simoh1490 said:

Hmmm! No upfront payment I can understand but not monthly payments, after all, a lease holder would make a lease payment every month and that's not viewed as anything odd.

Any chance you can PM me with the contact details of your lawyer.  Thanks.

2 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

 

Yes indeed. We were advised to show a small monthly payment from myself to my girlfriend each month thus proving that the usufruct I had been given was not free - if it was seen to be free a case could be made potentially that she was my proxy or nominee. That really is a belt and braces measure but wasn't a problem for us  since I do transfer housekeeping money to my girlfriend each month to pay all our bills and a portion of those funds could easily take the appearance of payment for the usufruct. The final piece of the security picture is that my Thai Will AND my UK Will leaves all my assets to my girlfriend anyway hence the idea of her being my proxy is not supportable.

Hmm...even more interesting.  The advice I received is that there should be NO evidence of payment in return for the usufruct because that in itself would evidence a proxy arrangement.

4 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

Yep, the TB is in my girlfriends name.....we bought the house together three years ago, I paid for it, her name is on the channote, the usufruct was put in place at the time of purchase, all done by our trusted lawyer kuhn Sumalee. This is Chiang Mai Province, the purchase and usufruct done at Mae Rim Amphur.

Thanks.  I did the usufruct here myself.  It is on a rental property.  I may move into it in the future however, and thus was interested what you were doing for your extension.  

Was the usufruct put in place on the same day/time as the transfer of the property?

30 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

My name is on the back of the channote, because of the usufruct, I also attach a copy of the usufruct itself and Immigration is perfectly happy with that.

Interesting.  Never heard of anyone using that solution.

Is the tabien ban in your girl's name?

And what province are you in?

16 minutes ago, NamKangMan said:

 

Oh dear.

 

How any times does it have to be explained????

 

I'll make it simple for you. 

 

You have ten Chinese tourists spending 200 baht a day each.  (not including accommodation)  (10 X 200 = 2000 baht)

 

You have one European tourist spending 4000 baht a day. (not including accommodation)

 

Which tourist/s has injected more money into the Phuket economy?

 

I am sure you have heard the term, "zero baht tourists."  

 

Basically, they are called "zero baht tourists" because there's no money in catering for them, and you somehow think the Chinese are going to save Phuket's tourism industry. 

 

Also, the Thai Military / Government has cracked down on this tourist demographic.  Here's a random article.

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-tourism-goldenweek-thailand-idUSKCN1270Q3

 

"Normally, we would have 100,000 during this period," Ronnarong said, adding that 30 to 40 travel operators have gone out of business because of the crackdown."

 

"Chinese travel agents are not recommending Thailand because it suddenly became more expensive. It is easier for them to sell cheap package tours to South Korea or Vietnam," Ruengdet told Reuters.

 

Go figure. 

 

 

 

 

NKM the other thing that you better spell out of PhuketJock is that the traditional business models in Phuket...small restaurants, bars, beach vendors, massage shops,etc... saw the profits distributed to workaday Thais.  The only ones profiting from the Chinese are the Sino-Thais who own the bus companies and hotels.

I don't recall seeing many rich Sino-Thais commiting suicide.

7 minutes ago, Deli said:

So, the rest of the world is retarded but Thailand ? I personally would like to live above my business in a 3 story shophouse with part wise windowless rooms and steep stairs you need to walk up and down. I prefer to be a stupid farang in this case

 

No the rest of the world is forced to be retarded by their tax hungry governments and local councils who have zoning laws in place to make shop house development and occupations almost impossible.  There is no better example than Australia.

And let's not forget that Khon Kaen is a university town:

https://th-th.facebook.com/sideline.khonkaen

11 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

 

Foreigners cannot legally own land in Thailand, you know that so why even point it out, nobody was ever going to give you an answer that was useful saying you can!.

 

If the usufruct is with your wife then yes, there is risk at the time of divorce, not so if with your girlfriend.

 

Convince you! That's not my job, you simply asked how do people do it. That having been said, I have usufruct with my girlfriend as chanotte owner and I'm pretty certain it's rock solid since usufructs have been tested in the courts. The thing is, my will leaves everything to my girlfriend anyway so I certainly never loose sleep over it - if she dies before me I have one year to sell the property because I am the sole beneficiary of her will, even if I can't sell in that time, it doesn't change much at all. As they say in Thailand, up to you!

What do you do for proof of you address when you do your annual extension on you visa.  Do you have a lease from your girl friend?

1 hour ago, cyberfarang said:

This does not mean the Farlang buyer actually can own the land and property and I have heard of cases when during a divorce or Thai wife dies that a usufruct is not worth the paper it`s written on.

 

I am a retiree expat in Thailand and have been with my Thai girlfriend for many years. She wants us to officially marry and buy (with my money of course) her brother`s land and house. No way. I would never put my money into a project whereas others would benefit and I would always be vulnerable relying on the goodwill and trust of other people.

 

Convince me that my investment would be rock solid, no one could throw me off and I may consider it.

The flip side is that properties in some areas are so cheap that it negates the risk.  Last year I bought a house and land for circa 410K all in and then spent about 180K to tidy it up.  I currently rent it for 6K per month.  You do the math on the ROI.

It is in my girlfriend's name with a usufruct in my name on the deed.  Is there some risk.  Sure.  But most investments with a yield of above 10% usually come with risk.

I always ensure that I have a house and a separate place of business.  Many years ago I owned a 36 room hotel and a 86 seat restaurant.  I lived onsite.  I would never live where I work again.  Unless it is working from home, such as online, where the customers have no direct access to you.

On 5/8/2017 at 10:27 AM, Gary A said:

Salt water beaches really do nothing for me except they do look beautiful. I can do without things rusting and electronic devices corroding. I had enough salt water when I was in the navy. Rivers and freshwater lakes are much better, at least for me. You can't water your garden with salt water. Living in the boonies is what I prefer. With super centers within 20 or 30 kilometers is fine. I like trees, mountains and waterfalls. Even the rice paddies are beautiful. To each his own. I think the biggest problem about any city is the congestion, the insane traffic, not to mention the crazy drivers.

 

I have a nice condo in Jomtien less than a kilometer from the Gulf. I now rarely use it but it is there if I want a change of scenery, fighting traffic, see the surf and bright lights of the city. After more than five years of living in Bangkok, I hate the thought of having to go to any large city for any reason. Different strokes for different folks.

A dear uncle of mine, long since departed, used to say:

"The only thing that spoils the beach is sand".

NKM and myself correctly predicted a rise in crime and violence in the wake of growing unemployment in Phuket.

Something that I did not foresee was and increase in attempted suicides.

Suicide was on the rise a while back in the farming provinces due to rock bottom rice prices and debt saturation.

But now it would seem to be on the rise in Phuket?

The video below is one of four similar incidents I have seen in the local news just this month.

13 hours ago, Thongkorn said:

It's not just Korea, Bahrain is full of Thai prostitutes. they do the same go work for 6 months come home then party and gamble it all away, then back for more, Typically they never think about the future, and before anyone asks how i know , I know a few that do it. while there is an imbalance of living standards and wealth, you will always have Economic migrants. look at Europe at the present so its not just Thais doing it.

Another ill informed post.  

My girl has 6 brothers.  One is in the monkhood and has been most of his life.  He runs a fireworks factory located inside his temple and they make the big  rockets used in the Ban Fai festivals. He works hard everyday and the factory is flat out.  They have just started exporting rockets to both Laos and Myanmar.  As I have already posted above, four other brothers are working abroad.  Two in South Korea, one in Israel, and one in Taiwan.  The youngest brother is a hammock swinger.   When prostitutes go abroad yes, they will often act the same as they do back here in Thailand.  However, there are lots of Thais, like my girl's brothers, who are responsible hard working family oriented people.  They work hard, and save every cent they can to provide both for their parents, and for their young families.  The brother who went to Taiwan borrowed 40,000 baht off my girl to get there.  I assumed she could kiss that money good bye.  However the brother, in the first three months abroad, paid the sum back in two lump sums...with interest.

The brother in the overseer job in Korea sends 20,000 baht back to the parents every month.  And last year he bought his mother a new honda motorbike.

The brother in Israel is farming tomatoes out in the desert, but I have seen his working conditions and accommodation and it is very comfortable by Thai standards.  He has been sending every cent home to his wife (and two toddlers) and they are building a new house.  I saw some photos yesterday it is about 80% complete.

Back in Australia years ago the government made it free to study nursing at university because there was an 80% turnover in nurses in their first 3 years of employment.  That is, they showed up for their job and after a short time realised how much it sucked and then moved on to another job.

Anyone (Sheryl) able to report on the staff turnover level for new nurses here in Thailand?

Just now, Time Traveller said:

Although I have no direct knowledge myself of the situation in Korea, I would be surprised Thai illegals in legal occupations (ie. not sex work)  in Korea get paid close to the amount this article (and you ) claim. The 1,600,000 won per month is more than many legal workers in America get paid.  Yes I realize that America probably now does qualify as 3rd world nation, but if illegals really were being paid $9 per hour + free board + free food as the ad claims, then why isn't Korea flooded with Mexicans or Chinese or Vietnamese or Africans or Indians or Phillipinos or Indonesians or <insert any 3rd world country > ???

There would be 10s of millions of workers that would work in Korea for half that amount these Thais claim to earn.

But maybe I'm wrong?

Yes.  You are wrong.