newnative

Agree. And crush the motorcycles and turn them into coffee tables.

FYI, 'most' Chinese are not here in group tours. Over 60% are traveling independently. Your experience living near a pool villa may not mirror what others are experiencing.

I don't necessarily think older condos are 'less strict'. I lived in one older condo project and they had a strict condo policy of requiring rentals of at least 6 months. I thiink it is more the case that many older condo projects don't lend themselves as easily to daily rentals as newer projects do and, in many cases, it is not as big a problem as a result. Older projects tend to have smaller numbers of units and the units, themselves, are often larger. Always exceptions, of course. That project I just mentioned above had less than 200 units and the smallest unit was 64sqm. These days, 64sqm would often be one of the largest units in a project. Many newer projects have 1000 units or more and many of the units are in the 25 to 35sqm range, ideal for use as 'hotel' rooms. There is a new condo project going up in Pattaya with the entire project being studios of less than 30sqm, except for a single one-bedroom unit on each floor. With new projects, an investor can more easily buy multiple units from the get-go and set up boutique 'hotels' within the condo project. That can be harder to do with older projects, with the units usually already sold. Should I ever chose to live in a condo again, I'd look for a condo in a likely older project with a smaller number of larger units.

Yes, two other negatives with these illegal renters.

Correction, Donald. You are the worst president in history. It's really pathetic when you try to offload it on to someone else. It's yours to keep. Learn to embrace your infamy. Wear it like a badge of dishonor, like you do everything else. You might get some cold comfort in that old saying, 'there's no bad publicity'. Goodness knows, you've had plenty of it--by now you should be handling it better.

I was more annoyed by having to move twice myself.

Fun for the OP to fantasize but I do love that Trump is stuck with his truly horrible pick as VP. Although, I guess he could order him bumped off and claim presidential immunity.

Watch the video. The rider either fell off or tried to jump off while the baht bus was moving at a normal rate of speed. Sorry, but an accident entirely the rider's fault.

I think the condo board should have approved the removal of the trees if this was, indeed, a large undertaking with a big impact on the look of the project. Management normally should never be undertaking anything unusual or beyond normal, everyday management tasks without the approval of the condo board, which is charged with operating the condo on behalf of all the owners. With something, apparently from your post, this significant, I think the condo owners should have also been notified for their input before the tree removal was done. You might check with a board member to see what the process was with the tree removal and the reason for the removal. Enhanced communication with the owners on important matters impacting the condo might be something to be discussed at the next annual meeting.

You have been lucky. For many others, that is not the case. My spouse and I lived at two different new projects of more than 1000 units. Hundreds of those units, not five, were being illegally rented short-term. The issue was not just hearing rowdy vacationers all the time. It was also the lobby always crowded with people and luggage everywhere while these illegal renters waited for the person to arrive to check them in. It was the elevator opening and you couldn't get on because it, too, was every day filled with the illegal renters and all their luggage taking all the space. It was lots of ill-behaved illegal renters at the pool disregarding the condo rules and doing things like drinking beers in glass bottles while in the pool. It was illegal renters overwhelming the condo staff with problems with their units or other concerns, expecting the condo staff to function like hotel staff. (I'm out of toilet paper! There's a light bulb burned out! How do I use the washing machine, internet, tv controls? Etc, etc.) It was illegal renters leaving their garbage in the hallway bcause they didn't know, or care, where the trash room was--and, surely, 'hotel' staff will be along to pick it up. It was seeing the wear and tear in the condo public spaces that were not designed for large numbers of people moving in and out every day, and not staffed by an army of 'hotel' maintenance workers to repair the damage and keep everything in tiptop shape. All of that, and more, each and every day with no break, created the very unpleasant experience of living in a too busy 'hotel', and a 'hotel' not designed well enough,and without enough 'hotel' staff to handle all of the guests. I like hotels but I don't want to live in one full-time. And, sometimes, neither do full-time renters. We owned a rental unit at a third large project, bought new when the project first opened. We had a great tenant the first year we owned, corporate rental, never a problem, rent paid like clockwork every month. Dream tenant. As the year was ending the tenant informed us he would be moving out. Reason? He, too, did not like living in a busy hotel. Seeing the writing on the wall, we sold the condo.

Second for southeast Asia, not the world.

Short-term rentals of less than 30 days are illegal in Thailand so you are breaking the law to start with. I don't see how you can make much money wth just one or two short-term rentals anyway. To make any kind of meaningful profit, you would have to do all of the work yourself--listing and renting the units, keeping the rental schedule and the books, checking the renters in and out, checking for inventory losses and damage, restocking the units as needed, paying the monthly water, electric, and internet charges, washing the linens and cleaning the units after each rental, and being on hand to deal with any renter problems that come up. Would I want to do all that? Absolutely not. I think illegal short-term rentals only make sense if you have enough units to justify hiring a staff to do all of the above for you. Otherwise, you might be better off just having a long-term rental. Long-term tenants insure that the unit is rented on a more stable basis, they are legal, and the tenant pays the electric, internet, and water charges. You might actually end up with about the same in your pocket each month, with far less work and hassle, and likely far less wear and tear on your rental unit.

Easy choice to vote for anyone who is not Trump, the worst president in US history.

I think 55 is way too young. Three of my Thai in-laws work in banking in Bangkok and they all have, or had, to retire at 60, which also seems very young to require retirement. None gets a pension. Instead, they get a lump sum payment that has to last them for the rest of their lives. That could be 30 years or more these days. I thank my stars that I don't have to live on a lump sum payment and try to stretch it till I die--and not knowing whenever that might be. Luckily, I have a traditional pension with COLAs and Social Security. To make their lump sum payments last longer, the in-laws have bought condos and a shophouse to rent out and bring in some income.

Here's a tissue for all of you crying crocodile tears. Meanwhile, Biden ends a long and distinguished career in public service knowing he saved America, and democracy, from another term of the worst president in history when he defeated Trump in 2020. Now, a younger generation to do the same in 2024.