newnative

I agree there are 'condotel' type projects, which are set up differently from a project set up legally as a 'condominium'. A project set up as a 'condominium', and which is legally registered as such at the Land Office, abides by the rules and regulations of the Thailand Condominium Act. In order to legally rent for less than 30 days, a hotel license is required, which most legally registered condominiums do not have, and do not want to have.

Yes, and the goal should be to make that 'problem' as small as possible. This can be done by doing as much advance plannng as possible. For example, my parents bought their burial plots, headstones, and caskets so we didn't have to make, or pay for, those decisions. They also selected the funeral company, the type of services, and paid for their funerals. In Thailand, some of this can also be done in advance, such as choosing a cremation service and what you want done with your ashes, etc. It's important, of course, to have a good Will to start with, with detailed instructions that cover everything that might come up. If you want Aunt Edna to inherit your valuable stamp collection, put it in the Will. There should be an Executor and an alternate. Your Executor should know where to locate your Will and any other important papers that will be needed to execute the Will. Even though you have a Will, it's very important to sit down with the Executor and go over absolutely everything that the Executor will need to do. This can involve having up-to-date contact information for those people who will need to be contacted. Burial arrangements, including how they will be paid for, who you would like notified, etc. Sometimes, a final tax return will need to be filed; the Executor will need to know how to do this, the forms and paperwork involved, how to get everything needed, etc. Will a tax preparer be used and, if so, who? If there is a pension or pensions, these will need to be taken care of. If benefits will be transferred to a survivor, this needs to be handled. What exactly needs to be done with the stock portfolio? The mutual fund account? The credit cards? What bank accounts are there and what is to be done with them? And, how? If property is rented, how is the remainer of the lease to be handled? And, paid for? What about the contents? If property is owned, what is to be done with it while the Will is being executed? Be specific on what needs to be paid--pool guy, gardener, electric, water, etc., how they will be paid, and how much. What services need to be cancelled and how, such as internet, Netflix, cell phone, etc. If the property is to be sold, be specific on how that is to be done. Is there a home safe? What's in it and how is the Executor to access it? Where is the rental contract, the chanote, the car/motorcyce papers, the insurance papers, etc.? Health insurance account? These are just some of the things that come to mind. Obviously, every death is different and will involve its own set of tasks. Someone dying single in Thailand with no relatives here can be more of a challenge for an Executor than someone with a surviving spouse, who often is both the Executor and an inheritor. Often, a Will will state something but not be specific on how that is to be done. For example, "I leave all my money in Bangkok Bank to my son Frank, Jr. in the US. " Ok. When you sit down with your Executor you want to detail how exactly he or she is to get that money to your son, starting with his up-to-date bank account information. With the stamp collection for Aunt Edna, where is it located and how and where is it to be shipped, and insured for what amount? The more detailed and specific you can be, the easier a time your Executor will have.

Probably because it's a great place to live if one is in Thailand, for whatever reason. And, if you are a reputable Thai lawyer with good English you can make a decent living with just farang clients. It's getting to be sort of a broken record--one that really no longer plays with the Pattaya of today: why would someone live in Pattaya if they could live elsewhere? Sometime when you have a moment check out Siam Royal View on Hipflat. It's a large housing project on the Darkside. Cheapest single family home listed is 15MB and the most expensive is 200MB, with a few others in the 120 to 160MB range. More running 20MB to 65MB. Why would someone who can afford a home for 65MB or more choose Pattaya? Again, because it's a great place to live if one is in Thailand. Not all expats--or Thai lawyers, for that matter--live at Nirun.

Nice--I'd go maybe two floors higher.

I might be wrong but I don't think a project legally registered at the Land Office as a 'condominium' can also be registered as a hotel.

Totally agree. I think if you are oceanfront facing the ocean and nothing else, a lower floor is better so you can see the beach, some vegetation, and activity. If you are on a high floor, you'll likely just be seeing water and sky. In order to see the beach, you'll have to go out to your balcony and look down. Higher floor views can be nice, though, when you are looking at ocean, beach, shoreline, and city skyline, such as Northshore looking south and north. Higher floors are desirable if you are not oceanfront. We were on a high floor at Centric Sea, some distance from the ocean, and had nice views looking south, west, and north. Our favorite oceanfront condo remains the one I mentioned in an earlier post that was on floor 4. We had a view of the pool, gardens, some beach. and a fishing pier.

I don't know what project is being referred to but, yes, we did sometimes hear the waves at some of the projects we lived at.

Sorry to see him exit. He was the only one standing up to Trump. The remaining choices are all awful--which I suppose is good since I am a Democrat.

Certainly, it's always whatever floats your boat. Some like a mountain view, some the bright lights of a city, etc. My favorite view is both of the ocean and the beach shoreline.

Agreeing to be an Executor is not something to be taken lightly, as there is work involved, even if an estate is not 'complicated'. A person should never be named as Executor unless they have agreed to it and there should be an alternate named in the Will. Unless an Executor, such as a family member, specifically states he or she dos not want compensation for the work involved with being an Executor, I think it's a good idea to discuss this with the Executor and have monetary compensation written into the Will.

My spouse and I have loved our ocean views at all the condos we owned and, no, the views did not get old--quickly or otherwise. I think sea view condos are easier to sell and hold their value well--at least that has been our experience. If you have seaview it automatically sets you apart from all the condos for sale that don't have a seaview so a lot of the competition is eliminated. If you have an oceanfront condo you really don't need to be very high up. When we owned at an oceanfront condo project in Wong Amat we were on floor 4 of a 6 story condo and had a beautiful view of the ocean as the building sat on a rise of about 2 stories above the beach.

Totally useless and unworkable. Big ticket items excluded, newspapers and magazines (HUH?) included. Who thinks up such nonsence. Zero tax on any expat money brought into the country would make more of an impact, with the new tax mess.

I am in Pattaya but my spouse and I have sold a number of properties, both condos and houses, in Pattaya, Bangkok, and Rayong. Thailand does not have an MLS (multiple listing service) for real estate. This is what works for us: Since there is no MLS, we list with as many agencies as we possibly can, starting with the biggest and the closest to the property we are selling. Commissions can be negotiated, especially with unique and higher priced properties, but 5% is standard for established agencies with websites. We always start with 5% because we want agents to show our property, rather than the one next door with a 3% commission. It's important to list with as many agencies as you can because you don't know which agency a buyer perfect for your property might turn up at. You also don't know which agency realty site a buyer might search. Exposure with multiple agencies is key. We've sold properties with both big and small agencies. We get the email addresses of the agencies and we send an email to the agencies that has both detailed information and good photos. Some agencies will want to take their own photos for their websites and some in Pattaya will also do videos. We are as accommodating as we possibly can be with any agency requests and any property we have on the market for sale has been decluttered, is neat and clean, everything is in working order, and the property can be ready to be shown with 10 minutes advance notice. There was a recent thread on agencies and it garnered a number of negative comments. None from us--we value agencies. We always try to sell our proprties ourselves, and we have sold some, but the majority have been sold by agencies bringing buyers to us. You certainly can use things like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace, as we also do, but, to date, we have not sold a single property using either--but we still try because, you never know where the buyer will come from. Good luck with your sale.

Your negative comments regarding Chinese and Indian tourists aren't supported by actual statistics. From 2015 to 2019, years in which Chinese and Indian tourists were increasing rapidly in Thailand, your so-called 'high spending tourists' did not decrease. European countries that are tracked were all up, not down, during those years. Tourists from the USA, another higher spending demographic, were up 34%. If you do some observation yourself, in places other than 7-11 and Big C, you will find Chinese and Indian families staying at some of the nicer resorts. A majority of the Chinese tourists in 2019, by the way, were independent travelers, not in tour groups. My spouse and I go to the gym twice a week at a very nice resort in Wong Amat. We see Chinese and Indian families staying there all the time. A few months ago we were at Dusit in north Pattaya for dinner and there was a big group of Indian dentists and their families staying there. Of course, tourists from these countries can also be found at cheaper hotels but that's exactly what you want, a diverse tourist demographic that fills the rooms at 5 star resorts and also 1 and 2 star places.

Sad to say, this is probably actually true. He borrowed his Big Lie regarding the 2020 election directly from the Nazi Germany play book, with his preposterous Big Lie that the election was 'stolen' from him. (Well, the lie does need to be BIG--that's the whole point.) Even sadder, using the Big Lie can apparently still work with the brain dead. In a recent poll, over 30% of Americans still believe Trump's Big Lie. Also sad, as an American, that there are that many idiot Americans. Lotta sad with anything to do with Trump.

Yes. As he lost the last two times he ran for President--in both elections the majority of the voters rejected him. The majority of the voters wanted the other candidate. Did. Not. Want. Trump. Was given the presidency, against the will of the voters, by the cursed Electoral College in 2016. Will be rejected again by the majority of the voters in 2024, if he is the GOP nominee. He's going down hill with voters. In 2016 he lost by 2 million votes. In 2020 he lost by 7 million votes, as Americans got to know him for the lying, cheating, delusional grifter he is. Loser.

Thank you!

They need to continue north with the overpasses that they have done in the south on Sukhumvit, to start. Then look at removing parking, starting with North Pattaya Road.

'Thailand's tourism opertors' should be corrected to the opinions of just 2.

Have fun and and don't sweat the small stuff--and, in the end, almost everything is small stuff.

The cheapest studio on Hipflat is a floor 8 unit for 18,000 baht. Some others are listed from 22,000 to 26,000 baht a month. An 8th floor unit is listed for sale at 3.7MB. I did not see any VT6 studios on Facebook for 10,000 baht, either. There was one listed for 28,000 baht.

Except, that thread was discussing short-term rentals. I believe the OP is planning to do long-term rentals--something different. I would say a hard no to short-term rentals, from a financial point, especially with just one or two condos. And, also because they are illegal. Long-term rentals I find a much more viable proposition, and have done them myself.

This may be a dumb question and might have already been answered somewhere back in the 200+ pages but I can't remember. The question came up this morning. I have a Thai brother-in-law working abroad who is planning to return to Thailand in April or early May 2024. He might be transferring a large sum of money to Thailand due to a condo sale in 2024, before he returns. The question, if he stays out of Thailand for more than 180 days in 2024 will he be considered a 'non-tax resident' for tax purposes even though he is a Thai citizen? Or, does that designation just apply to foreigners? Thank you!

You will get negative posts telling you to rent, not buy, in Thailand because it will be a terrible investment and you will lose your shirt, and likely your pants, as well. This has not been the experience of my spouse and me through a number of property purchases and sales, mostly condos. Your plan is actually what a number of Thais do, including two of my Thai spouse's relatives, both in banking. When they retire, required at age 60 where they work, they receive a lump sum payment, rather than a pension, that has to last them for the rest of their lives, whether they live to 70 or 100. In order to make that lump sum last longer, they have bought rental condos to provide some income. If they can get, say, 30,000 baht a month in rental income, that's 30,000 baht that they don't need to withdraw from that lump sum each month. They have been buying the condos while they are still employed and they each own one or two. We actually owned three Pattaya rental one-bedroom condos at various times, at Lumpini Park Beach, The Base, and Centric Sea. Had I not had a pension and SS, we might still own them. Ultimately, we opted for a quick profit selling them, after renting each for a year, rather than a slower, monthly return. I can't remember the LPB rental but with the Base, we got 25,000 baht a month and Centric Sea was 22,000--this was when both projects first opened, a number of years ago. The Base cost us 3MB and Centric Sea was 2.5MB. No advice on specific projects to buy but all our Pattaya condos were seaview units, which were not difficult to sell at a profit, when we decided to sell. I would say always buy in foreign quota, don't be in a hurry, and do your homework. Hipflat is an easy to use website that can give you useful information on condo rental and sale prices for Pattaya condo projects, with units listed for sale and rent, so you can get some idea regarding pricing for both sales and rentals. I think the north Pattaya beach area is getting very desirable and there are only a handful of seaview condo projects--Northshore, Centric Sea, and Markland come to mind, so not much competition for seaview rentals in that area. Good luck.

Ok. Simple and brief. Spouse and I had dinner the other evening with three Pattaya bank branch managers. They were aware of the proposed tax change but were just as clueless as all of us. So, at this point, the banks still seem to be in the dark regarding any banking changes they would be required to do. They said they would keep us posted.