newnative

Follow the above. Excellent post.

I'm not seeing anything botched in the story. Should be thankful they saved his leg.

'Chonburi Coast'. Nice ring to it. The article is just putting into print what many of us living here already know. Greater Pattaya is a great place to live, offering many different areas and neighborhoods to choose from, with good climate, low crime, good medical care at a reasonable cost, excellent shopping and services, and a large variety of housing choices at all price points to rent or buy.

Fat, drunk farangs behaving badly. Got a nice lesson.

With all due respect, I'm not sure how we have progressed from your dissatisfaction with a comment about the reading abilities of Trump's supporters to Clinton's supporters refusing to accept that Trump won in 2016. Deflection? Let's review, shall we? I posted a very accurate, and I felt very thorough, list of the crimes Clinton committed, and should have been found guilty of, and locked up for. This was in response to a post asking what crime, singular, she had committed. You surely remember the list, ending with guilty of being too honest. In that post, I innocently gave a plug to an upcoming book 'by' Trump. I mistakenly called it The Art of Grifting. Shortly afterwards, the publisher called me, thanked me for the plug, and clarified that the book was actually titled The Art of the Grift. Setting the record straight, as I'm wont to do, I posted again with an apology about getting the title wrong in the first post; I also like to apologize when I make an error. After making the apology, I thought it might be interesting if I relayed some information and other tidbits the publisher had passed on to me in our phone conversation. For example, I found it fascinating that the publisher said Trump hadn't, of course, actually written the book but he might have imagined some of it in his head. I'm still quite taken (or is it shaken) by that. Since the publisher had been so nice and forthcoming, I ended the post by giving the news that the book would go on sale in the Fall, and concluded with the publisher's verbatim quote that the book would make 'a wonderful Christmas gift for all the Trump supporters possessing the ability to read.' Perhaps you're familiar with a certain saying, 'Don't shoot the messenger'. I feel you have unfairly associated me with the reading ability quote from the publisher. Just the messenger here. Another saying also springs to mind. 'No good deed goes unpunished.' I'm not sure what all the fuss is about, anyway. The publisher does publish books, with words and sentences, and it seems natural to me that they might mention that the book would make a nice gift for Trump's followers who can read. People are so quick to take offense about anything these days! The publisher did give me somewhat of an exclusive--I'll throw caution to the winds and pass it along now. Mind you, as the messenger only, nothing more. And, here it is. There will be an audio book read by Donald Trump, himself! Yes, he can read, according to the publisher, as long as the sentences are short, with no, I quote again, 'big' words. Expect it out in the Spring, hopefully to benefit from the publicity of likely one or more of his trials. So, all bases covered, for Trump readers and non-readers! Happy?

Send her medical bills to the club's owners--and force them to pay steep damages on top of that.

Sad, indeed. And the spiral began with Trump's elevation to the presidency , over the will of the voters, who preferred Clinton by over 2 million votes. Clinton, like Gore before her, accepted defeat and did not file 60 ridiculous lawsuits, did not spout countless lies about the election, did not try to force governors to 'find' votes, did not falsely and loudly trash the voting process, did not try to intimidate the vice-president at the time, Biden, to disregard the Constitution, and did not incite her supporters to overthrow the government. Yes, 'how sad'.

If I may, a small correction to my earlier post, in which I mentioned The Art of Grifting. I have since heard from Trump's publisher and they inform me that, while they appreciate the plug for his upcoming book, it is actually called The Art of the Grift, apparently to piggyback on the popularity of his last book, The Art of the Lie. Sorry for the mix-up. As with the previous opus, Trump did not actually write the book, rather, he has put his name on the cover, as he does with buildings and casinos. They assure me, however, that much of the writing might have been imagined in his head. I'm further told that Trump has relayed to the publisher that he considers the book to be 'beautiful' (this will be highlighted on the cover) and he fully expects to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, to join his other wins for Peace, Chemistry, Medicine, and Physics. Unlike The Art of the Lie, a lighthearted, often humorous look (according to the publisher) at some of Trump's most famous and biggest whoppers among his 30,000 lies, his latest book is in a much more serious vein, and begins with his early years, even before his college cheating, draft-dodging days. It also includes a detailed account of what Trump, himself, considers one of his very best grifts, among so many to choose from, of convincing his gullible, clueless, non-thinking, rabid supporters to send tons of their hard-earned, low-wage money to him to pay him for the crimes he has committed. Out this Fall, advanced orders now being taken by Amazon. Nationwide book tour by Trump, provided he is not incarcerated. The publisher tells me it will make a wonderful Christmas gift for all the Trump supporters possessing the ability to read.

Crimes not 'crime'. And, 'lock her up' because she was guilty, nothing alleged about it. To refresh your memory: Guilty of being a woman Guilty of not being hot enough for Trump to even consider sexually assaulting Guilty of being smarter than Trump (99.9% of us are also guilty of this) Guilty of being far more articulate than Trump on any subject other than The Art of Grifting Guilty of being far more experienced and prepared to be President than Trump Guilty of being more popular than Trump (this was proven beyond a reasonable doubt when 2 million more voters selected her for President over Trump. The nerve!) Guilty of thinking too small--a couple of low-level secret documents on her email account when she could have had boxes and boxes of top secret highly-classified, very sensitive documents in her bathroom for guests to read while they were pooping And, finally, her worst crime: Being 'way too honest' (hello, Pence!) in calling the deplorables supporting Trump deplorables

He still alive?

Not.

Apologies for the length--short is not my forte. No, I'm not assuming property values always go up. I've never said that, nor do I believe that. With many projects in Thailand, you'll be happy if they maintain their value, or don't decrease much. We've had a poster on this thread mention that with his rental condo in Phuket, that he has owned for 5 years, he would be lucky to get back what he paid for it. But, note he didn't say he would be lucky to get back half of what he paid for it--and he's, hopefully, had some rental income from it. I've relayed some of my experiences and said that buying wisely is important, doing your homework is important, finding a good deal is important, and taking your time is important. Most of the condos my partner and I have bought have been to live in, and I think buying to live in long-term makes the most sense with condo buying in Thailand, if one prefers to own their space rather than rent. I've also said that timing can be important, as well. In a number of cases, we sold at the right time. For example, from 2011 to around 2014, we bought (not at the same time) 6 empty 48 sqm foreign quota studio shells at VT3, 5C, 5D, and 7. We finished and furnished them, lived in some of them, and sold each at a profit. At that time period, VT was a big player in Pattaya, with competition just starting to develop. (small pun) VT condos were easy to sell then at a profit. Not long ago, I saw one of our VT seaview studios back up for sale on Hipflat. We had sold it for around 3.25MB-3.5MB and it was now for sale for 2.85MB. Our buyer had been a Russian investor so he had about 10 years of rental income during a period when VTs rented easily. So, he made some money with the condo but he was now selling for less than what he paid for it. Hipflat still has higher floor VT5 seaview studios listed for 3 to 3.5MB so perhaps the Russian needed a quick sale. The last condo I bought as a residence in the US was a foreclosure in 2008. Paid $170,000 for a condo that had last sold for over $300,000 in the real estate frenzy. Thought I had gotten a bargain. Yaa me. Little did I know that the condo would drop a further $10,000 in value, to $160,000, after I bought it. Boo me. In 2010, I decided to move to Thailand. The market had not improved much, so if I had sold the condo then, I would have lost money. Instead of selling, I rented it out, sometimes a good option instead of selling at a loss. In 2014, I needed some money and the market had recovered enough for me to sell the condo at a $10,000 profit. Pat on the back, good job, dodged a bullet. Timing. Fast-forward to 2023, Zillow tells me the condo is now worth $257,400. Smack on the head, idiot for selling. Also timing, bad. Just some illustrations that real estate has ups and downs. Like most investments, there are risks involved in buying. I know and accept that going in, that I might lose money. I like to own, not rent, so I take the risk--life is short. If one is happy living in a rental property, with no property worries, with the freedom to move around and not be tied down, rent, instead--bargains abound here. Certainly renting is a good option if you are likely to be here for just a short time or your length of stay is uncertain. Owning pays off more long-term--with both the rent savings and the accumulated joys of owning your space and putting your stamp on it. I'll circle back to the original VT studio that we bought in 2011. Paid about 2.2MB for the empty shell, if I recall, and spent about 400,000 baht to fix it up. Investment of about 2.6MB. Had we not sold it, and lived there instead since 2011, we would have saved about 12 years of rent payments. 12 years of saved rent payments at 20,000 baht a month for rent ( I think about average for nice VT3 and 5 seaview studios during most of that period) equals a rent savings of 2,880,000 baht. The rent savings would have more than paid for the condo. So, essentially a free condo rather than 12 years of rent money thrown out the window--and a roof over your head that you still own. Not a bad deal, in my opinion, although many would rather rent in Thailand and invest that 2.6MB in other investments--also good. Different strokes. . .

VT3 used to have that system when we first owned there--I think it was a flat rate of 6000 baht a year per unit. Then it switched to a baht per sqm system, I believe 12 baht when we were there years ago. I think some of the other newer VTs also switched.

Legitimate property developers continue to build condos in Pattaya because they are able to find buyers for their product. It's really just that simple. I've used this example before. Riviera Group built Riviera Wong Amat and found buyers for its product. From Riviera Wong Amat they progressed to Riviera Jomtien, Riviera Monaco, Riviera Ocean Drive, and Copacabana. Had there been no buyers at Riviera Wong Amat, I doubt the other projects would have been built. You can see similar examples with other developers building multiple projects, such as Sansiri, Lumpini, and Raimon Land. Developers study the market and will sometimes switch gears. Supalai built, I believe, just one highrise condo project in Pattaya, Supalai Mare, and then segued to building houses on the Darkside. Pattaya continues to grow but I think the number of large, new condo projects has slackened a bit. Question. If you believe, as you state, that condos bought for investment will have, in your words, 'no resale value really', why are you thinking about such an investment? If that's your thinking, you might be better off just renting and investing your money in something else. Despite the occasional posters who proclaim that their condo has lost half its value, has lost ALL its value, cannot be given away, cannot find a buyer at any price, etc. , etc., I think you know that is not actually the reality in most cases. Suppose you spend 1.5 million for a Pattaya condo. That's about $43,000 at today's exchange rate. About the average price of a new car. Suppose, in 10 years, that it has, worse case, actually lost half its value. If you've been able to steadily rent it out, you'll have 10 years of rent to help offset the loss in value. If you've lived in it, you've saved 10 years of rent. Even if it is now valued at only half--unlikely--you still have a roof over your head that you own free and clear, come what may. What's that now 10-year old car worth and would you be happy living in it, come what may? My partner and I have bought and sold 2 condos in Rayong and 16 in Pattaya, some studios, some 1 to 3 bedrooms. None lost any value, all sold at a profit, although some of the profits on the studios were small. All were condos with a seaview, a key point, I think. In your shoes, I would also look for a seaview condo. I believe they hold their value and are easier to sell--right off the bat you've eliminated all the condos competing on the market that don't have a seaview. If you bump your budget up a bit, you could possibly get a 32 sqm seaview condo at Lumpini Park Beach for under 2MB. Not very big, but a good use of space with a nice-size balcony, reasonable condo fee, beachfront, and on the baht bus line. Up the beach, I think you could get into a 48 sqm studio with a bit of a seaview at VT5D, possibly 5C, for around 2.5MB. We renovated 4 of these on higher floors with better seaviews and sold them about 9 or 10 years ago for around 3.25-3.5MB. If condos lose half their value, as some pundits say, these seaview VT5 condos should now be around 1.6MB but that doesn't seem to be the case, although there are a couple low floor units listed on Hipflat for around 2.2MB. Short on amenities--just a pool--but good, popular location and low condo fee. My partner and I lived in 48 sqm units at VT3, 5, and 7 for various periods and found we had enough space. The very large balconies are an extra, outdoor room. If you go with one of the 'theme park' projects, I would look around and find the one that suits you best with location, price, and condo size variety. Arcadia seems to be limited with 1 bedroom condo sizes--most just around 25-27sqm. Atlantis, on the other hand, has 1 bedrooms in the 35 to 42sqm range. A number of these resorts to choose from in Jomtien. If a lot of short-term, noisy, tourist-type renters bother you--as they do me--you might look for a project that has more long-term type renters. One thing my partner and I always kept in mind, even when we were strictly buying a condo as an investment to rent out, we never bought anything we would not personally be ok living in, if we had to. If 26 sqm is too small for you, it's likely going to be too small for most long-term renters, as well. And, I think your aim would be long-term renters rather than all the hassle and work of dealing with short-term tenants. Maybe consider looking for something a bit bigger that gives you flexibility to live in it, yourself, at some points, and rent it out at other points. The great thing about Pattaya is the terrific choice of housing at all price points and in a number of neighborhoods--from south Jomtien to Wong Amat. I would urge you to take your time, not rush into anything, and do lots of looking--it's a good way to educate yourself on pricing and all that is available. Good luck!

The typical studios at VT3, VT5C, VT5D, VT6, and VT7, which are mostly 48sqm, would not have condo fees of 45,000 baht a year. Faz Waz gives the VT6 fee as 40 baht a sqm. I think some of the other VT projects have cheaper fees; Faz Waz has VT5's fee at 15 baht a sqm. So, for VT6, 48sqm x 40 baht equals 1,920 baht a month. Times 12 months equals 23,040 baht a year.

So, you understand the concept of Chinese influencing a Canadian election but Russians influencing an American election apparently eludes you.

Srettha's turn.

Yes, come immediately, if not sooner. Total no-brainer. As BigStar used to say, Next.

Hmm. Time to focus your attention on the lazy police and the corrupt officials. Don't always take the easy way out by blaming the ex-pats. You do that and you're no better than your lazy underlings. Set an example and do some work for a change, instead.

There were no positive stories available 'benefitting' Trump. He's a sex offender, draft-dodging, tax dodging, serial lying, grifter. How do you put a positive spin on that? Of course, even harder now to come up with something. His spray tan seems less ghastly orange? There you go.

Pattaya draws huge numbers from Bangkok, an easy drive on a 4-lane motorway.

Put him out to pasture already, along with all the other old goats.

Absolutely not needed if the other two are doing their jobs properly.

Nice to see Pattaya pop up at #15.

Agree. I love a pool--especially in Thailand with year-round warm weather. I wouldn't buy a condo in a complex without a big pool, or pools. The pools were definitely used in the condo projects I owned at and lived in at Pattaya condos.