pepsi666

Somehow I thought the missles would be bigger....

What a joke !!!!

Those aren't surface-to-air missiles ! They are mortar rounds. Very old mortar rounds, 81 or 82mm.

Based on my experience, I'd say that many years ago, these were fired during a military training exercise, and failed to detonate after hitting the water.

These are fired against surface targets, not air targets.

I've participated in range clean-ups, and we always find unexploded mortar and rocket rounds. Sometimes they fail to explode because they are duds. Sometimes they just don't land quite right (i.e. they hit a tree on the way down and land on their sides instead of their nose).

Hard to believe a fisherman could have picked these up in his nets, unless he was scouring the ocean floor.

Sheesh. Who ever wrote the original article should find a new job.

Bog standard 82mm morter rounds, (H.E) if they were phospurus they would be flat at the end, as was said they just failed to explode, they COULD be used to hit a helicopter, but the pilot would have to be very low and stupid and the mortar man VERY lucky

If they were fired into the water that would explain why they never went off (not a hard target)

Only ways the fisherman could have got them was scouring the seabed or he found them on a beach somewhere (maybe he thought he could sell them for scrap, they weigh about 3-4 pounds each)

They may even be training rounds (no expolsive) just propellant, and they use them over and over again

A SAM (Surface to Air Missile, A Stinger) is about 4 feet long, and can be handheld or fired from a launcher (depending on range of airdraft)

A Stinger (infa red, it seeks a heat source, weight about 30 pounds) has a range of 3-5 kilometes , altitude 6 kms anything over that it just runs out of 'go juice' and they self detonate if a target is not found, cant really see how these could be mixed up with these, different shape, size and weight

I never knew theyhad a radio station in Pattaya, I thought the only English speaking one was Bangkok radio, and that was terrible for music, fine if you want to chat though

I was using my laptop to get music from the UK while I was there

How about advertising it a bit more, if its worthwhile I'd listen to it

I prefer the radio to the TV (seems to be a lot of stuff I'm not really into (I think the Pattaya people on channel 6 is pretty good for keeping up to date with what's happening around Pattaya)

But thats just my opinion

I added a bit of my own humour there as well, donkey's are'nt just for Christmas

Hi guys.

We've all been putting in long hours recently but we've really come together as a group and I love that!

However, while we are fighting a jihad, we can't forget to take care of the cave, and frankly I have a few concerns.

First of all:

While it's good to be concerned about cruise missiles and the infidel soldiers, we should be even more concerned about the dust in our cave.

We want to avoid excessive dust inhalation, (a health and safety issue) - so we need to sweep the cave daily.

I've done my bit on the cleaning roster...

Have you?

I've posted a sign-up sheet near the cave reception area (next to the Halal toaster/griller).

Second:

It's not often I make a video address but when I do,

I'm trying to scare the hel_l out of most of the world's population, okay?

That means that while we're taping,

please do not ride your scooter in the background or keep doing the 'Wasssuuup' thing.

Thanks.

Third:

Food.

I bought a box of Cathedral City cheese and a bottle of milk and a loaf of bread recently, clearly wrote "Ossy" on the front, and put it on the top shelf of the fridge.

Today, two of my cheese slices were gone and someone drank all my milk.and all that was left of my bread was two crusts.

AND who eat all my frosted flakes ?

Consideration.

That's all I'm saying.

Fourth:

I'm not against team spirit and all that, but we must distance ourselves from the Infidel's bat and ball games.

So no more baseball or cricket,

Lets just stick with the Jihad

And please -

do not chant "Ossy, Ossy, Ossy. Oii Oii Oii" when I ride past on the donkey.

Thanks.

Fifth:

Graffiti.

Whoever wrote "OSAMA F**** DONKEYS" on the group toilet wall, it's a lie.

The donkey backed into me, whilst I was relieving myself at the edge of the mountain.

Sixth:

The use of chickens is strictly for food.

Assam !

The old excuse that the 'chicken backed into me, whilst I was relieving myself at the edge of the mountain' will not be accepted in future.

(With donkeys there is a grey area).

The donkey must be used to RIDE INTO town and is not to be considered as camp entertainment

Seventh

We've heard that there may be Western soldiers in disguise trying to infiltrate our ranks.

I want to set up patrols to look for them.

First patrol will be Omar, Muhammad, Abdul, Akbar and Dave.

AND lastly

Hard hats MUST be worn during ANY bombardments, either cruise missiles or shells,

if you do suffer any head injury during any bombardment and you werent wearing your hard hat we wont be able to claim compensation from the US/UK governments

Love you lots,

Group Hug.

Os.

PS - I'm sick of having "Osama's Bed Linen" scribbled on my laundry bag.

Cut it out,

it's not funny anymore

And stop waving at the satalites when they pass overhead

Whatever happened to good ole battery acid, or a good squirt of ammonia from a fairy liquid bottle. No finness these days.

I find Mr Browning 9mm, or his 2 mates, Smith and Wesson do a pretty fair job shame I have to keep em in France, so its up to the ole baseball bat at home

###### ! I was saving those for Songkran !

I got a deal on them from a little old lady that has a vending cart on soi 17. She thought they were just big fireworks.

I thought about using them on APRIL FOOLS, but figured most people wouldn't even notice

The blue touch paper would have been too soggy to light and where are you going to find a bottle big enough to fire them from ?

Rather than store them in the sea, they should have been in the box, so they wouldnt get damp

welcome back Mobi, looking forward to your words of wisdom

Where you been ? enforced holiday ?

my apologies for this, BUT what has he actually done wrong ?

I know he sold some shares in some company, but apert from that, has anything been proven ?

Why didnt anyone put up more candidates so people could vote for them, rather than abstain, that is a wasted vote (I think)

I reckon I will rent a place while I am looking around for something permanent, either leasing or buying

I just thought leasing would be a good idea (save setting up the Thai company) lets face it, I doubt if I would be worrying about what happens after 30 years (I'd be too old to worry about it, assuming I'm still alive)

Also if the law did change and farangs were allowed to buy property without the 51/49% thing I'd be in a good position to purchase the lease

You do know assumption is the mother of all <deleted> ups.

Never assume any thing in Thailand.

Have a nice day.

Just being optimistic, with things in Thailand you never know what surprises it will bring

you pull a bird, you get a bloke,

You buy a Gucci at the airport shop, only to find its an expensive copy

So nothing surprises me there

Anyone tried DynaSat?

http://www.dynasat.com

Tried that website, unfortunately doest say what channels there are (if it does its in Thai)

Hi,

I moved and am helping my ex-landlord rent his house. It is a big 2 br, living room, american bath, and thai bath outside. Detached home, garden lanscaping, gate, room for 2 cars. Pretty large house, fridge, air con.

6 month min. 9-10,000 baht per month.

sorry no pictures.

Thanks,

Art,

Not going to get many takers if you aint got any pictures and the description is a bit slim as well

Has it got a pool, beds, furniture, phone, internet connection ?

What about bills ? are they included in the rent ?

I know this is not quite on topic, BUT what channels are availible on Satalite TV in Thailand/Pattaya

Who are the providers ? (in the UK its Sky TV)

I reckon I will rent a place while I am looking around for something permanent, either leasing or buying

I just thought leasing would be a good idea (save setting up the Thai company) lets face it, I doubt if I would be worrying about what happens after 30 years (I'd be too old to worry about it, assuming I'm still alive)

Also if the law did change and farangs were allowed to buy property without the 51/49% thing I'd be in a good position to purchase the lease

I won't be taking train to Phuket, that for sure.

Certainly not this one, anyway

I worked with the Royal Thai army, during the 70's on a UK/Thai government exchange program (SF)

The Thai Army ws badly under funded then, but the troops we worked with were professional enough (and we used a Thai interpreter) admidtedly we never had the terrost problems there are today, we were doing border patrols up north, mainly in the 'golden triagle area looking for drug smugglers

I never saw any of the soldiers/troops bullied or picked on, but these were seasoned soldiers with a good few years expeirience behind them, the officers seemed to consider themselves above everyone though and would only speak through the interpreter

I joined the UK army when I was 15, and I enjoyed my time in the army, but I did get a trade out of it, does the Royal Thai army prepare any one for civilian life (or are they destined to be security guards)

It will make him grow up very quickly and you do learn to stick up for yourself (I dont think the Royal Thai Army goes anywhere though, so it might be 'home' postings all the time )

I'd like to know how the lad gets on if he does join up, though

I have found the following agents to be reasonably good - but see my comments afterwards:

KCR Homefinder - accurate and up to date website, keep to appointment times, follow through pretty good, are not from what I can ascertain directly/financially involved in their own 'developments' - i.e they are an agent, not a developer on the side. Been around long time.

Premier Homes - good website, kept reasonably up to date, keep to appointment times, follow through pretty good. Also been around a long time.

Northern Thai - crap website, not up to date, generally keep to appointments, follow through not bad - but not as good as the others. Also been around a long time. Northern Thai have a high staff turnover - seems that anyone who is any good ends up opening their own - from what I can tell, most of the other agents have at some point worked for Northern Thai. Northern Thai do though have lots of listings and are developers in their own or associated right - therefore you may be 'sold' onto one of their projects.

East Coast - good website, but never up to date, keep to appointments, follow through fairly poor, again been around a long time. Now focused on the new build condo markets.

Pattaya Realty - no website of any value, keep to appointments, good follow through, well established.

These agents are all focused on the English speaking market i.e British, American, Australian buyers - I have no knowledge on other's e.g the agents that focus on German market for example.

However you have to consider these points very carefully:

1. These guys are paid by the SELLER - they do not WORK for you primarily regardless of what they tell you. However for the most part, they realise that one day you will be a seller and treat you well.

2. They do little if any due dilligence - they do not routinely check ownership papers, house permissions, condo problems etc - thats down to you - remember they are working for the seller and they have no obligation to point out that your fantastic little house in the country is about to have a 6 lane motorway built next to it.

3. They have little or know control over any developer - from what I can see, many of the problems that occur are down to the builder/developer failing to build something exactly like what the 'buyer' had visualised. The developer may have never said that it would look like that, but many buyers are not good at 'buying off plan' and do not know what to ask - therefore they create their own impression of what something is going look like - dangerous if your not actually telling anyone or even directly controlling it.

4. They tend to promote their own in-house legal team - again issues can arise with conflict of interest, although its not as common as people make it out to be in my experience.

5. There is no accurate way to 'value' a property - most agents just guess - and then many of are off - typically some builder will 'value' something at XXX baht and suddenly thats the real price - again its down to the buyer to determine if you think its good value.

6. Estate agents are not surveyors - why would you expect them to be able to see a quality build versus a quality finish and poor structural build. Again they work for the SELLER - its up to you to due your own due dilligence.

7. You have no consumer protection in Thailand that is worth anything - remember that, double check everything yourself and ask around about property your interested in - reminds me of the time I was considering buying a condo, I asked a couple of the neighbours how they liked it and they all said, that yes it was cheap enough for service fee's but too many short term rentals in the building, the tenants did not care, noisy etc - put me of but again only my opinion.

An excellent post Digger and very informative.

Thank you for the clarification Jai Dee.

I feel suitably humbled, and take back all that I said.

May the thread have a long life and prosper.

At last, just the information I ws after, THANK YOU very much

This is the type of reply I was after, took a lot of getting there, but it did (If there are estate agents that are NOT reliable and you feel you have been robbed, duped or ripped off, thats what PM's are for)

I fully appreciate tht estate agents ARE NOT surveyors and wouldnt know a qaulity finish from a qaulity build, but can you get a place surveyed BEFORE you go ahead and purchase or do you have to do that yourself ?

Of course estate agents are working for the seller, they are the people paying him (same in the UK) and I fully appreciate that they can and will be ecominical with the truth (if they DONT sell they DONT get paid)

But thanks to EVERYONE who posted usefull information and those who didnt, why did you waste time posting ???

To sum it up:

As long as there are no laws & regulations governing their practices, it's going to difficult to find "A GOOD AGENT"!

Sure some may be quite happy with their chosen agent, most of the times because the agent were nice to them during transactions.....but as far as prices go, are they happy with their agent still?

How do you define " A GOOD REAL ESTATE AGENT" ....is up to each person goals & objectives

That is quite a good point, I never thought of that

Maybe I should redefine it,

Who has had a good to fair result with a estate agent ?

Did he/she come up to your expectations ?

Would you consider you got value for money and ws their services up to what you would expect ?

anyone prepared to put a name/company down in 'print' ?

There has been many replies but only 1 actually named (I think)

There must be more out there or there wouldnt be anything sold or bought

I've used "East Coast Real Estate" to buy a condo, and was very pleased with their service.

who was it you worked for?

I wasn't around when this thread was closed, (and deleted) so I don't know what was said that was so bad.

However, it strikes me that if we're not allowed to slag off bad agents - and lets face it, there's plenty of bad'ns out there - there's not much point to this thread.

It is a bit strange, though, that we can slag off hospitals, restaurants, bars, our beloved PM and goodness knows what/who else, but we're not allowed to say bad things about estate agents.

They must be special people indeed. Maybe some are even sponsors?

Just wondering.

There is every point to this thread, I asked for recommendations of GOOD estate agents, I'm not asking for anyone to slag off any trade or agents, if you want to slag off and flame anyone do it in another thread, the reason the other one ws deleted was every one just used it to slag off agents, RECOMMENDATIONS of good estate agents

The girls along Beach road asking for your details are from View Talay Condominiums, they are flogging time share (they will be building a timeshare complex on beach road, they got a huge sign telling everyone) They also have Condo's on Jomtiem beach and the have villas in the same area

They are NOT cheap either, £15000 upwards, (you are ONLY buying 1 week per year) we went to a presentation, started fine, but we only went cos we won a free week , but when we didnt buy, they had a new tack and wanted us to buy points, rather than a week, there were quite a few Germans and Russians there, when anyone DID buy, they rang a bell to show how 'lucky' these people were (I found it rather embarrassing, every clapped and cheered, when we said we only came in for the 'free' holiday the whole attitude changed, and they couldnt get rid of us quick enough, some people really did get the HARD sell from them and they had beeen there 6 hours or more and couldnt get away from the sales person

Now timeshare can be a good thing, but there are things YOU must be aware of....

1 YOU are only buying 1 weeks accomadation pear YEAR

2 YOU will have a maintainence charge to pay EVERY year

3 YOU will have a membership to pay EVERY year

4 YOUR apartment will be sold another 51 times (along with ALL the other apartments

5 YOU cant pull out when you get home, there are NO laws in Thailand regarding this (unlike the EU, no cooling off period)

6 You will be given a loan to buy your apartment, but the rate will be VERY high)

the good side is.......

1You can exchange with any other time share complex in the world (at a cost)

2 You can leave it to your descendants when you die (it will form part of your inheritance)

3 All the accomadation is 5 star (reputed)

4 YOU will get a glossy magazine showing ALL the other timeshare throughout the world

5 YOU can bank your week so the following year you CAN have two weeks in your apartment

TIME SHARE is ok, it works for some people and NOT for others, its up to you if you DO go to a presentation, BUT you WILL get the HARD sell, and I really mean HARD, it has to seen to be beleived (THESE are 100% commision driven, no sale no wages, but when a sale is made the rewards are VERY good

I know ALL this because I had a neighbor who sold time share, funnilty enough he is a estate agent in Peterborough now

Last public warning... if it happens again, holidays will be awarded and the thread deleted.

What kind of holiday are we talking about, I fancy coming back to Pattaya for a bit longer, then I could get this all sorted out and live happily ever after

(but point noted)

What happened to this topic ?

It's been deleted, I was hoping for a few trusted and recommended estate agents to be listed

Dont want to get into a slagging match about the bad un's, though (it was getting a bit liveley last time out ) lets try and keep it civilized this time eh ?

If you dont have a good opinion of estate agents, dont get into slagging each person who has had some good from them (I KNOW they are all comission driven, but so are the agents world wide)<if they want to make a decent wage>

But there MUST be some decent one's out there, same goes for builders and other contractors

What about the rating system that was spoken about, I thought that was a pretty good idea (could do the same for hotels, resturants, beer bars, builders, banks, the list could go on and would help people who are either in Pattaya or considering visiting Pattaya, with estate agents and builders and other promoters, it would help anyone who is considering using any of them

Come on moderators, its an idea

Hey if you want to learn about Christianity YOU WILL, please let people decide for themselves, don't jam it down their throats for Goodness sake!

These Bible pushers really are a ucking nuisance and should all be put on an island somewhere and left to rant to each other.

One day i had the unfortunate experience of being on KhoSan Road and if that wasn't bad enough there were 2 Bible pushers ranting away, God ###### it! why dont they get the message, people are NOT interested. Please, please bugger off home

I'm not religious but these guy's dont give the Bible a good name.

Why don't they try going to Burma, then they will realise they are completely wasting their time!

I agree, religeon is a crutch that some people need to get by, but they got religeon on their own, they didnt need it shoving down their throats (ask yourself though, how can these people spout about god and they dont actuall 'work' is god paying them ? are they on a price for souls saved?, NOT likely, they are Mormons who just happen to own best part of the US and quite a few of the God spot TV channels) and these people are more than likely get walking street and the bars shut down, they may seem figures of fun, but they are dangerous people, not in the terrorist sense, but in the changing things they dont like sense (dont beleive me, try a google on mormons, you might get a shock)

Never actually stayed there, but went in for a shufti a few times, looks fine, I think you want to ask one of the ex pats, they have their weekly meetings there, (so it cant be that bad

Just down the road from there is 2 english resturants (Sunshine bar and Gregs kitchen ) they both are owned by Greg and serve a pretty good english breakfast and a good roast dinner

We stayed at the Sawadee Sea View Wing B and got a suite for 1400 a night, nice room, but the breakfast was awfull i POSTED A COUPLE OF PICTURES OF THE ROOM ON ANOTHER THREAD (http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=61630) hava a look, I thought it was pretty good

(it bought down 'No Name City' in paint your wagon)

No Name (er, correction) Pattaya City !

You wanna see sin of the wickedest kind?

Here it is!

You wanna see virtue left behind?

Here it is!

Sodom was vice

And visa-versa

You wanna see where the vice is worser?

Here it is!

I mean, here it is!

You wanna live life in the rottenest way?

Here it is!

Women and whiskey, night and day?

Here it is!

You wanna embrace the golden calf?

Ankle, and thigh, and upper half?

Here it is!

I mean, here it is!

Pattaya City

Pattaya City

The Lord don't like it here

Pattaya City

Pattaya City

Your reckoning day is near

Pattaya City

Pattaya City

Here's what he's gonna do

Gobble up this town

And swallow it down

And goodbye to you

Will you go to heaven?

Will you go to hel_l?

go to hel_l !

Either repent, or fare thee well ?

Fare thee well !

Gotta take care of Pattaya City

Comes the end, and it won't be pretty

Here it is!

I mean, here it is!

Here it is!

I mean, here it is!

Here it is!

I mean, here - it - is!

Amen!

that's pretty good, didnt hear anyone join in with the chorus though

These blokes might be okay, just DONT do any cartoons of them, that caused a few outbursts last time there were religeous cartoons

If a religeon cant stand critsism it shouldnt be around too long,

Religeon is fine if thats the crutch you need to get through life, thats fine by me, I just dont really like having anyone trying to convert me to their beleifs, I got enough problems in this life without worrying about the next life

Hello All

As you can see I have returned from Pattaya and had a great time

I need some advice from all you good people out there AGAIN

I want to get a propery over there now, but buying a place means setting up this Thai company lark and signing over 51% to someone I dont know and am supposed to trust (I dont have a Thai wife, just a scouse one)

So I'm considering this 30 year lease thing

Now do I have to sort out land and get a house built or can I lease a house and land (Who can I contact about this ?)

Can I approach a estate agent out there ?

What are the costs of it ?

What are the average running costs of a villa over there ? you know, electric, A/C, satalite/cableTV, refuse collection, water/waste.

As before any advice would be greatly appreciated, you can either post it here or PM me (but others might find your help useful as well

So come on people, you all love helping people out here

You appreciate of course that you will, strictly speaking, just be paying an up front sum for a 30 year rental of the property. So if you pay 5 million it will be the equivalent of about 14, 000 baht a month plus the interest you will forfeit on your 5 million. At the end of the 30 years it is most likely that the house will not be yours and you will have to leave. Most owners would like this deal, I would To make leasing sensible you really need a thai wife or a very good thai friend.

Hi Pepsi,

I wasn't intending to be dismissive. I honestly think that if you go to the 'Property' forum and spend a few hours poring through the myriad topics on this subject, you would learn a great deal , and probably a lot more than we could tell you starting from scratch.

As with everything in Thailand - nothing is straight forward, so all the more reason to get to know all the 'ins and outs' and ramifications of: leases vs buying condos; vs 49% owned companies, etc etc.

As kerryd told you, 49% companies are not that scary. Even if you had a Thai wife, many would advise you against letting her have 51 %. The safest route is to get a good, HONEST laywer to provide the required 51 % shareholders, with the company so constructed that you have effective control, and you also retain signed , undated share transfer forms from all the 51 % shareholders.

The 30 year lease thing will depend on how old you are. If you are 60 plus, a 30 year should be fine and see you through. There is an alternative, known as the '30 plus 30' There are varying opinions on how legally valid this may be, as there is yet to be one that has reached the end of its first 30 year period. Basically, Thai Law only allows a maximum of a 30 year lease, so lawyers have come up with the idea of a 30 year lease, with an option to renew for another 30. You will find all about this on the property forum - look for topics such as 30+30 Leases. Much expert opinion there. Many also advocate having the Thai wife buy the house and then lease the house to the farang for 30 years. This way, she is happy, and so are you, becuse she can never throw you out - not until the lease expires anyway.

I have recently discovered that it is possible for a farang to own a house but not the land. (similar I suppose to owning a condo) In this scenario the Thai owns the land and leases it to you and you build the house and enjoy full ownership of the building and moveable property.

There are many ways to own or lease a house here. You can buy the land and then get a builder to build you a house, or you can buy a 'ready built' house from a house developer.

Which ever way you go - some words of warning. DO NOT TRUST ANY REAL ESTATE COMPANY. There are absolutely no regulations controilling the operations of such companies, and many are not to be trusted and will lie to you whenever it suits their purpose. Many real estate companies have farang front men/directors/ owners. It doesn't make any difference - many of these farangs are more dishonest than the Thais. If you think the agents in the UK are a bunch of low lifes, multiply by ten and you might be getting close to the ethical standards out here. I heard of a farang agent the other week who demanded a fee just to tell a potential customer the price of a plot of land!

There is still a lot of land around that is sold directly by the Thai owners - if you drive around you will see signs in Thai on the land with phone numbers. Get a Thai to check this out for you, as it will undoubtedly be the best way to go.

At end of the day, you will probably have to use agents, but be careful, and shop around and around and around until you have a good knowledge of what is available and the market prices.

Finally, everything I have said about agents equally applies to builders and developers - both Thai and farang. Be very careful.

Good luck

PS I doubt the utility and other running costs would be a significant factor - all will be less than you pay in the UK, with the possible exception of Inernet and cable TV. Elecricity bills can rack up a bit if you run a lot of A/c's - otherwise no probs.

No offence was intended to your reply, but I trawled the various topics and they tended to go off topic quite a lot (but I have read the account of your building your home and some of the pitfalls)

I did drop in to a few estate agent and enquire about a few properties, but they all seemed to have meetings to go to or another appointment or they just never turned up

I had a look at that Mike estate they are buiding, it looked okay (well the show house did) but I'm not sure I want to live on an estate, but it does have advantages I suppose(security, neighbours, communal charges)but then again I read WHAT could happen in your other thread (worse case scenario, also read about the plumbing problems , but I'm a plumber anyway )

I get all my private work by recommendation and I was kinda hoping that it would work that way over there with builders and estate agents, lawyers, places to live, style and type of house (I do have a regular job, PJ's are extra bunce)

I have got the local paper (Pattaya People) and various websites and email addressess, so I'm not expecting everyone here to do all the footwork, I have fired off emails with various qeustions and asking for details

I dont fancy living in a 'condo' (or a tower block as we call em) even though it is probably a lot sompler

DRAGONMAN, I would considera Thai wife, but I'm sure my present wife will object (maybe I should join the mormons down walking street, they can have LOTS of wives, just dont know I could cope with more than one ) I dont have any Thai 'friends, cant make that many while on leave for a few weeks

With setting up a Thai company, just how do you find someone you can trust ? It sounds okay (and a lot of people have done it) but how can you be sure that whoever owns the 51% isnt going to selll the place from under you or disappear with any deposits you have paid

Maybe I could PM one of you and give you an outline of what we actually want to do and when

But again thanks for ALL advice