funandsuninbangkok

Pretty bad when even the Thais can't do business in Thailand

Stock market collapsed when it became apparent Obama would win. Market was correct in anticipating he was an idiot economically. 

Market is booming now that Trump won. See him as understanding business. 

On 10/4/2017 at 7:17 PM, anto said:

 

Bad and good everywhere .

A lot more bad here in property than anywhere else I've seen

Bruuuhhaahahaha!

welcome! Welcome!  

Would you like something to drink?

sign here, and here, and here, here, here

OK give me your money

maybe this guy will help you

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30324755

Another pile of money gone to money heaven never to come back

rent in Thailand. Buy US stocks

2 hours ago, robblok said:

Do you think that tourists should always prevail over the locals their sensitivities ? I don't think so besides a dry day is not a real problem for most normal people. Might be annoying for bar flies but most people wont be bothered if they can't drink for a day.

Hey bonehead,

I'm booked on a vacation to Hua Hin with my 80 year old mom and 70 yo cousin.  They are visiting Thailand and would like to drink wine with dinner. One day fine but I heard they were planning 9. 

Good enough for you?

 Back to the old files. 

Guess not much new found

boring

Thanks for all the guessing and puritanical opinions but

anyone actually know anything?

Just read on another board no alcohol sales in Hua Hin for 9 days late October. True?????

Someone who works at Bunmrungand once told me foreigners cannot get organ transplants in Thailand. 

cant imagine the chaos at Don Muang

12 hours ago, hugh mckee said:

I don't care to be honest about this, you whinging guys who don't have a good thing to say about thailand are not the type of people I wish to meet, sure you love Thailand and you love to bad mouth it too.

Hugh,

this might come in handy

On 9/30/2017 at 1:30 PM, AdrianBerry said:

Since it has been nearly a year when I began my fight with the developer, I thought that I would update everyone (and posterity as Thai Visa always comes up on some relevant searches when I am looking for information) as I had promised to do.

Getting the lawyer at Pattaya City Hall to do anything effective for me was a massive waste of my personal time – he did attempt to put both parties in the same room together in order to negotiate but in no way was he an arbitrator – especially if the developer sends someone that is not authorised to speak on their behalf and has no financial / decision making authority to sit at the table.

 

Each time that I wanted to speak with him, I had to ‘pop-in’ to his office and hope that he was there and hope he had time to speak to me – the staff there soon got to know me in the coming weeks as I visited 2-3 times each week with only a 20% success rate.  In the end, after 2 meetings with the developer (one with me present and one without) he said that he could do nothing for me further and that I should just engage a lawyer and take them to Civil Court (I am glad that I did not as then the Office for Consumer Protection Board (OCPB) would not deal with me as I had legal representation already.

 

While the two parties were meeting in late October (maybe I was given the wrong location) I took advantage and took a photo / video record of the units and the common areas for proof that they have still not complied with the terms of the Contracts.  The units were in better shape this time – previously I had complained that they had used the cheapest lighting they could find – the showrooms (long since demolished) had a much better finish.  I had referred to my photos and copies of the sales brochures (which form part of the contract as well) to get them to make changes (they called them extras later).  They never even kept any on the photos and had asked me for mine!

 

My first inspection found a couple of small easy-to-fix electrical faults in my units but my last inspection found some major issues that would take the builder/developer some serious money to rectify and were indeed life-threatening – the building does not meet the Thai Electrical Code!.  As well, they were building some external stairs that day for the Juristic office out of some undersized / too-thin tube steel (it will not last too long that close to the sea).  OK, Thailand does not have a standard for stair design, but I have designed hundreds of them in my days as a Structural Designer, I do know a few things…

 

After being given the brush-off by the Pattaya official, I redoubled my efforts with getting the Bangkok office of the OCPB to take on my case… Emails did not work, faxes did not work – letters, properly translated into Thai (I used Google and that started to get some action.  I found one lady there that I could talk to when I phone to follow-up and she was very helpful in bringing my case to the top of the pile for attention.

 

I finally got a preliminary meeting with a case officer in mid-February to discuss my case and to see if it was worthy of bringing it to the sub-committee – I presented them with copies of the Contracts, the cancellation letter and the relevant information for consideration.

At the end of June, both myself and the developer were summoned to the sub-committee hearing to present our cases and to try and arbitrate a resolution.  I was brought in front of 3 uniformed OCPB officers to make my presentation – the developer never even bothered to show up.  They took my evidence as presented with nothing refuted to the Negotiation Committee and fined the developer 10,000 Baht.

 

Just yesterday, I returned to Bangkok with both parties called to present to the Negotiation Committee – this time there were 15 people facing me including the Chairman of the OCPB, the President of the Thai Lawyers Association and Fraud Police as well as a host of others (including the photographer of course).  I made my presentation (I was much better prepared this time with all of the relevant facts at hand tabled and a copy for the translator) – I had assumed that the developer had not showed up again – but they had sent one of the more junior staff members to take the meeting (no doubt so they would not get fined again).  I don’t think that the Committee even spoke to her as she had no Power of Attorney or remit to negotiate anything – certainly I did not want to try and go down this path again!

 

From here, it gets bumped up a level.  For those who do not know, the courts are multi-levelled with the lowest-level ones simply negotiation bodies, they are there to attempt to get a suitable resolution before it gets to a ‘trial’.  That means for me, the next level is that my case goes before the Selection Committee to see if the OCPB will represent my case in a Civil action – I have been put on the docket for the March hearing, some 6 months from now.

 

In the meantime, I will put to the readers a couple of questions:

 

1.            I have made it clear that I wish to cancel the units nearly a year ago.  They (in theory and as they had threatened a year ago) could have put my units back on the market and sold them out from under me.  Could I place a Caveat on the units pending an outcome of the trial?  Is this easily done by myself?

 

2.            One of the things that the Selection Committee is looking at is ‘wrongful fraud’ (i.e. Civil fraud) and they would be representing my case for me without cost but they will not be forthcoming in pursuing a legal case in charging them with ‘criminal fraud’ – that is something that I could start now (concurrently) with the Civil case.  I do have emails that show that they have purposely withheld late fees and interest on investors and (through inaction) refused to pay my money back – is that enough?  Maybe it is something that I could address to put more pressure on them… Thoughts?

On 10/22/2016 at 3:29 PM, Asiantravel said:

I can sympathise with you fully Adrian. Let me tell you an equally horrifying tale.

A few years ago where I was living at the time in Pattaya my European neighbour had contracted (through a company that he had owned for about 12 years) to buy a house here.. Fortunately for him he was extremely methodical and kept every piece of paper, summary of all discussions he had with the developer and even calculations all neatly and chronologically stored  in two or three files.

But like you he also was very unhappy with the finished house and over a period of  four or five years engaged in litigation to sue for compensation and  breach of contract using a Bangkok lawyer.

There were several phases to this litigation and several court appearances and many had occurred before I had even arrived in Thailand myself. There were some vague attempts at settlement but   my neighbour thought they were grossly inadequate. When it got closer to the end of the 4 or 5 year litigation saga, he invited me and another European that lived in the same building to accompany him to the court case at the court building on Pratamnak Hill in Pattaya.

The defendant (developer) didn’t attend the court case and initially I don’t think any of us attributed much importance to that.

But the thing that was astonishing was that after hearing the Bangkok lawyer present his case on behalf of my neighbour, the judge asked the lawyers if everybody could assemble in an adjoining room outside. None of us really understood the significance of moving but when we got into the room the judge spoke to the lawyers in Thai and advised them that the developer was known to be a dangerous man if he was pushed too far and that off the record it would be far better for my neighbour (the plaintiff) to settle the matter out of court! Naturally I was gobsmacked that a judge could be saying all  this. And it is always left an indelible impression on me never ever to rely on the so-called justice system in this country.

It is illegal to buy landed property using a company in Thailand. Your friend is lucky he did not lose everything 

On 10/22/2016 at 3:29 PM, Asiantravel said:

I can sympathise with you fully Adrian. Let me tell you an equally horrifying tale.

A few years ago where I was living at the time in Pattaya my European neighbour had contracted (through a company that he had owned for about 12 years) to buy a house here.. Fortunately for him he was extremely methodical and kept every piece of paper, summary of all discussions he had with the developer and even calculations all neatly and chronologically stored  in two or three files.

But like you he also was very unhappy with the finished house and over a period of  four or five years engaged in litigation to sue for compensation and  breach of contract using a Bangkok lawyer.

There were several phases to this litigation and several court appearances and many had occurred before I had even arrived in Thailand myself. There were some vague attempts at settlement but   my neighbour thought they were grossly inadequate. When it got closer to the end of the 4 or 5 year litigation saga, he invited me and another European that lived in the same building to accompany him to the court case at the court building on Pratamnak Hill in Pattaya.

The defendant (developer) didn’t attend the court case and initially I don’t think any of us attributed much importance to that.

But the thing that was astonishing was that after hearing the Bangkok lawyer present his case on behalf of my neighbour, the judge asked the lawyers if everybody could assemble in an adjoining room outside. None of us really understood the significance of moving but when we got into the room the judge spoke to the lawyers in Thai and advised them that the developer was known to be a dangerous man if he was pushed too far and that off the record it would be far better for my neighbour (the plaintiff) to settle the matter out of court! Naturally I was gobsmacked that a judge could be saying all  this. And it is always left an indelible impression on me never ever to rely on the so-called justice system in this country.

I wonder why the property market on the islands has collapsed?

https://www.reddit.com/r/Thailand/comments/6gs0lz/is_a_property_crash_on_the_horizon/

3 hours ago, lkn said:

Hugh McKee is correct that there is a lot of negativity on this board, often directed at others, either directly or indirectly, like you’re a fool if you buy property, want to start a business, Thais are bad people who wants to scam you, not to forget all the personal insults that are thrown your way if you make the mistake to try an argue with some of the ludicrous statements that are so often uttered on this forum.

 

Thailand does indeed have some real issues (corruption, lack of democracy/free speech, poorly educated workforce, ambiguous laws with lax/random enforcement, little consumer protection, and of course human trafficking) and the sustainability of the current real estate developer’s business model is also questionable.

 

But if you’re an affluent educated white guy, chances are good that you’ll have a great time in Thailand and many of the things written on this forum is just so far from the reality that I experience in Thailand.

 

In general I do like to be subjected to opinions that are different from my own, but I have found that some people on this forum just repeat the same negative stuff over and over again (or tell us all to invest in gold bitcoin), and it’s pointless to start to argue with them, so when I spot a pattern, I just block them.

 

In fact, the person who started this thread is currently on my ignore list, because he was popping up in most threads about real estate just to tell us all how stupid it is to buy in Thailand.

 

Meanwhile I am really enjoying the condo that I paid eight figures for, even though I had to join the board and basically take over the duties of the JPM because he was incompetent, but now I am in charge of the building’s finances, and I talk with our building manager regularly, so how our staff or even JPM would be able to steal from us (unnoticed and without consequences), as you so often read here, is a mystery to me.

 

Will I be able to sell my condo for what I paid? This is not at all a concern for me, as I bought the condo to use in the foreseeable future and actually just bought the 20 year PE visa, implying that I will be coming here for a long time.

 

What worries me much more than condo prices is the faith of the Thai democracy, this is what makes me have second thoughts about having bought a condo in Thailand.

 

But currently, I just don’t know of any other country that offers the same as Thailand: Great food, climate, nature, infrastructure, friendly people, high living standards (if you have money) with access to most Western products.

Spain, Portugal, Italy,Greece,Cyprus,Turkey,Malaysia

to name a few

but since you ignore me you will never know

5 hours ago, hugh mckee said:

why do you ask me this? in hope that it fails? life's a gamble, I like to gamble, gambling paid for my condo,

I paid 100% upfront, yes have a good laugh, it's my gambling nature, condo will be finished early next year,

all floors complete and windows mostly fitted now in all apartments, condo is beautiful and right next to beach,

it will not fail and if i wanted to sell then being in such a great location with great sea view will mean I'd sell no problem,

my wish is I have it 'til I die.

 

now guys sorry but must leave you, got a flight to las vegas, leaves in 3 hours....see ya

Las Vegas huh?

lighting strikes twice?

The Juice!

great running back

fantastic smile

to bad about the murderious streak 

3 hours ago, klauskunkel said:

"dark influential figures" - can't get anymore specific that that

Hey!  What about white influential figures? Yellow?

5 hours ago, hugh mckee said:

yes the question mark is appropriate from you as you have absoluely no clue what could go wrong or what could go right?

for that matter, you've been waiting years for your "crash" and people with way more knowledge than you can't predict

such things.............yet we're supposed to read this from you, a guy who claimed sansiri made a profit only because they

raised maintenance fees for condo owners, you proved then beyond any shadow of a doubt that you cannot be taken seriously and that your posts are out of desperation from a guy who is totally clueless on the subject he posts about.

Or maybe you bought this one ?

5 hours ago, hugh mckee said:

yes the question mark is appropriate from you as you have absoluely no clue what could go wrong or what could go right?

for that matter, you've been waiting years for your "crash" and people with way more knowledge than you can't predict

such things.............yet we're supposed to read this from you, a guy who claimed sansiri made a profit only because they

raised maintenance fees for condo owners, you proved then beyond any shadow of a doubt that you cannot be taken seriously and that your posts are out of desperation from a guy who is totally clueless on the subject he posts about.

Hey Hugh

is this your condo?

On 9/29/2017 at 8:53 AM, webfact said:

Police chief shows off his new "bargain" toy as 150,000 guns set to flood Thailand

 

Picture: TNews

 

National police chief Jakthip Chaijinda was pictured holding a new US gun that is set to become standard for police in Thailand.

 

The Sig Sauer P320SP will be issued to 150,000 officers nationwide.

 

The first consignment of 5,000 arrived yesterday with the chief saying that their quality, efficiency and capability will help his men do their job to the standard we all expect.

 

Picture: TNews

 

He also said he got a bargain - the 23,000 baht for each one is below the usual market price, he told Tnews.

 

Some 22,000 more will arrive in October then each month subsequently more will come into Thailand until the 150,000 order is complete.

 

The chief also spoke of upgrading police with better body armor, especially in the three insurgent provinces in the far south of the country.

 

Source: TNews

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2017-09-29

Christmas comes early

boys will be boys

bang bang your dead

Trump is still President 

Record number of condos under construction 

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/Real_Estate/30326306

What could go wrong ?