Tracyb

I’m not sure why you would hesitate to call Kasikorn and spend some dinero to get an answer.  $700.00 is a fairly substantial sum.

I filed mine via Turbo Tax during the last week of January.  I just got my direct deposit refund at my Stateside bank last week.  I too was checking the IRS “Track My Refund” site right up to the time I got the money.  I was getting the same message.....and no forecasted deposit date.  Hang in there!

OP. If all you have to complain about is a measurement discrepancy of <= 1 sq m.  You should consider yourself well placed in the transaction.  Now go and enjoy your new home!  Cheers,

Consider San Kamphaeng.  Close enough to the city for shopping....far enough away to avoid major crowds.  

I wish to ask if anyone has current knowledge about how far in advance I can apply for an Extension of Stay - Retirement in Chiang Mai.  Is it 45 days in advance here or do they only allow up to 30 days in advance.  Thanks.

17 hours ago, NancyL said:

I did an 800,000 baht retirement extension in Chiang Mai yesterday, February 5 and was told by the CM immigration officer it was OK to spend that 800,000 baht now -- that the new rule about not touching it for three months and not ever letting it go below 400,000 doesn't go into effect until March 1.  Whew!  Got in under the wire this year.  

 

I turned age 65 a couple weeks ago and my pension starts at the end of February, so next year I'll have a year's worth of monthly deposits into a Thai bank in excess of 65,000 baht/month and I can start to spend that 800,000 baht now on a condo remodeling project.  Sometimes you get lucky.  

 

The immigration officer made sure I understood exactly what was needed to prove monthly deposits and then we had a nice chat about the remodeling project when I told her I was going to spend the 800,000 baht right away.

Would you be willing to tell us what the IO said would be required to prove the monthly deposits??  I’ll be using that method and want to understand what they are saying is needed.  Thanks!

I have one suggestion for you.  If you decide to wire transfer your funds back to the USA you might want to stick around in Thailand until you can verify that the funds are deposited into your USA account.  If the transfer gets gacked up for any reason you’ll be better situated to fix things if you’re still able to get to your Thai bank!  

I found information from 3M regarding respirator mask standards.  They state that P2 masks meet the N95 standard.  The info is worth reading in order to help folks find masks.  The P2 masks by 3M are available here in Chiang Mai.  I bought some yesterday in prep for “smoke season”.  Folks In Bangkok may be able to find them there, too.  If your store has no N95 masks, you might try asking for the P2.  Up to you!

Here is the link to that info.....

http://www.cleanroom.com.au/pdfs/Masks/P2_N95_comparisons.pdf

See  a doctor.  ASAP.

There is nothing more frightening than ignorance in action.

Be afraid.  Be VERY afraid.  Don't go!

Bangkok Bank now offers MasterCard debit cards in addition to Union Pay. Just ask for the MasterCard.  It’s more widely accepted than Union Pay.

2 hours ago, TheMysteriousMrTesla said:

Great stuff chaps, given me loads to think about.

 

To assist I've done a quick-and-dirty (roughly to scale) drawing of the room in question. All walls are external and single thickness red brick. They are well shaded by a 1.5m roof overhang, and many plants and trees. All the windows and the folding door have curtains which tend to remain closed although they are not heavy weight things. There's another door at the bottom of the stairs but downstairs area is just that covered by the stairs, there's no massive room down there.

 

I'm quite happy at my desk with a stand fan along with the right hand and centre top windows open as well as the door. But I've been here a while and am reasonably well acclimatised.

 

The aircon will probably only be used in the evening when we retreat upstairs and close the windows and doors due to the arrival of Mr Mozzie.

 

 

 

I was thinking of starting off with an 18,000 BTU inverter unit over the TV (red rectangle) with possibly a second smaller unit at the yellow rectangle. The grey rectangle is the ledge intended for the outdoor unit.

 

By the way, north is to the left of the drawing.

 

Any and all input welcomed.

If your stairway down is blocked by a door at the bottom that will the reduce the amount of cold air produced by the air con flowing down the staircase.  My hunch is that two units is overkill and that a single 18k btu inverter should suffice.

21 hours ago, Rawairat said:

All I can add is don't listen to the Daikin shop salesman, we put 2 x 24000 split ceiling units in our L shaped lounge, roughly 68m2 on his advice and one unit keeps the whole area cool in the hottest months. The formula he used must have been around 700BTU per m2. I guess we have a backup which we have not needed in 7 years.

I see there is supposedly a 30-40% saving when I googled Inverter airconditioners, is it worth replacing my older airconditioners? Anyone experience a worthwhile saving doing this?

I replaced two aging York ac units with two Daikin inverter units of the same btu rating as those replaced.  My electric bill went down by 25%!

3 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

and what is that to do with the topic? 

Refer to post #2

I went to BKK Bank this week to get a new debit card.  My Visa debit card is expiring.  The offered me a Union Pay card BUT......they also told me that beginning on Nov 1 they will start issuing MasterCard debit cards.  They told me to come back on or after Nov 1 if I want the MasterCard debit card.  I chose to wait.  I’ll go back this weekend to get the MasterCard debit card.  Bangkok Bank has provided me with excellent service for the past five years both in Chiang Mai and in Bangkok.  I’m retired on extension of stay, hence no work permit.  The BKK Bank Did not ask for and does not need to see a work permit from me.  

I suggest the OP check again now that we’re into November!

I would say that Trump is a First Rate clown.  Nothing mediocre about his stupidity.

Gather the kindling, stack up the timber.  Now, where’s that stake?

I never, EVER fly on Thai Airways. Poor service.  Badly maintained aircraft.  End of story.  

deleted

I am a US citizen.  I renewed my extension of stay (retirement) in Chiang Mai in early September this year using an agent.  I was required to present the income affidavit from the US Consulate AND further verification of the income.  I had heard rumblings of this requirement about a month before I needed to  go for the renewal so I contacted my pension provider in the USA and asked them to mail to me at my CM address a statement of my monthly income.  When it arrived I used it as the verification that IMM required in addition to the affidavit.  I was careful to assure that the amount on the affidavit would be exactly the same as the amount shown  on the statement letter.  The letter also contained my CM address as the inside address on the letter.  I also sent along the actual envelope with postmarks with my paperwork.  Later, I went in to the IMM office, (then at Promenada), had my picture taken and my passport stamped with the ext. of stay.  

The US Embassy/Consulate affidavit contains a statement that notices everyone that the Embassy/Consulate does not certify that the states facts are accurate but that the citizen makes the statement under penalty of perjury.