newnative

Yes. After owning a number of sea view condos facing west (we only buy sea view), we finally wised up and our final two condos in Pattaya had sea views facing north. Much better--we could use the balconies from morning through evening.

Your safest option if you want to own property would be to buy a condo in foreign quota. Your name would be on the title deed and you would be the sole owner of the condo, with all that entails. Foreign quota condos are often easier to sell, as they are seen as more desirable for a foreign buyer. This is especially true if foreign quota becomes full in a project, which can happen with some projects popular with foreign buyers. I would in most cases not buy a condo in Thai or Company name. Several posters have said only rent but if you think you will be here for the long haul, buying can have some advantages. I always like paying myself each month, rather than the landlord. As we have seen with a recent thread of a buyer complaining about airport noise after he bought his condo, it's important to take your time before any condo purchase. Do your homework and find out as much as you can about the project you are interested in, including condo fee, foreign quota availability, project financials, observations of project maintenance, condition of pool, gym and other amenities, ratio of owner-residents to renters, any problems with illegal daily renters, abundance of, or lack of, parking. If possible, talk with some residents and make a number of visits to the project at different times of the day. Buying property is a big purchase, at least it is for me. Select the area you want to live in and then see as much property available for sale as you possibly can. Again, go slow and gather all the information you need before purchase--it's too late to check on airport noise after you have bought the property. As the buyer, you are in the driver's seat. Don't be rushed by agents into making a purchase, whether condo or house. I would not even consider buying a house on leased land. Leasing is renting and I'm not a renter--but that's me. If you are only interested in a house purchase, buying in company name is an option.

Totally agree. Thank goodness my spouse and I didn't follow the 'don't buy, rent' mantra when we moved to Thailand. We started by buying a studio condo in 2010 and now, 14 years later, have worked our way up to a new 4-bedroom pool villa in Pattaya, on the Darkside, which we own mortgage-free. This type of house rents for about 70,000 baht a month. So, to live in this type of property, that's what we'd be shelling out each month to a landlord, with nothing to show for it except keeping a roof over our heads. Monthly expenses would be 70,000 baht rent plus around 4,500 electric plus 1,500 pool guy plus around 2,000 for water, internet, Netflix, trash pickup Total around 78,000 baht. By owning, our monthly expense is only around 8,000 baht, leaving 70,000 baht each month to do something else with. Nice. I'll be the first to say that renting can have some advantages, especially if one is only in a place for a short time or, perhaps, is not certain where exactly they want to be, or want to move frequently and try different areas or projects, etc. Some have the rental mentality, while others have the owner mentality. Whatever floats your boat. There is no one size fits all. For me, I learned early on that I had the owner mentality. I also learned early on that, with my low salary for most of my career, the only money I had available for investment was the chunk of money that was going for rent each month, enriching the landlord but doing absolutely nothing for my financials. With little in savings and only that monthly chunk of rent money to invest, and not wanting to live on the street, that left real estate as my one avenue of investment available. So, that's what I did in the US during my working years there; buying a condo, living in it while I fixed it up, and then selling it. Taking the profit and buying another slightly better condo the next time. Mortgage/taxes/condo fee on the condo were about the same as what I had been paying in rent and there were also some tax advantages. I chuckle when posters often say, instead of buying, rent and invest that $100,000, $200,000, or whatever you would spend on buying a property. That was not an option for me--no $100,000 in my pocket to invest during my Wonder Years. (Wonder if I'll have any money left at the end of the month.) What I had was a minimum down payment--I think $10,000 for the first condo I bought, half borrowed from Dad. What I had was a low-paying but steady job and a steady budget of around $1500 a month for a roof over my head. I could pay the landlord with it, or myself. I chose me.

Normally, he manages both at the same time.

Throw the book at that maid for serving drinks. That's a waitress job. The utter nerve!

After hacking my way through the first page--I got no further--I was reminded of the William Goldman quote, regarding Hollywood, but quite apt here, as well: “Nobody knows anything...... Not one person in the entire motion picture field knows for a certainty what's going to work. Every time out it's a guess and, if you're lucky, an educated one.”

Total claptrap. Yet another reason why I don't like or support any organized religion.

As with so many other things, that would be Pattaya.

He's right about the super importance of getting out the vote, especially in the swing states. Hope maximum effort is done between now and the election with no letup.

Got my ballot in the mail the other day for Harris.

If it's still in business, there's a good frame shop as you turn into Big C from South Pattaya Road. It's in a little row of shops on the right just before you turn the corner to the left to go to the Big C parking lot. We had some mirrors custom made several years ago and they turned out really nice, at a very reasonable price.

Same with my Thai spouse and myself, also with 30 years together.

Not maybe, he is right. We have them in Pattaya, too. As for the thread, it doesn't bother me in the least. As dear old Dad used to say, don't sweat the small stuff, and lots, like this, is small stuff.

Horrible, selfish, lying, thin-skinned, mean, deceitful human being. But, it explains why he gravitates to Trump.

Spouse and I came to the same conclusion when we were debating a new CR-V purchase or a BYD Sealion. The numbers greatly favored the Sealion, even if the depreciation is steeper, and we have ordered a Sealion.

They might have held on to more of those shares. Not sure which they have/had but BYDDY has gone from around $43 a share to around $83 a share in the last 52 weeks and is currently trading at $75.70 a share.

No surprise there. German luxury cars typically have some of the steepest declines in value.

my spouse and I know of several errors with land surveys. One of our neighbors had his land plot remeasured and he found that the developer had erected his boundary wall about 50 cm wrong along the whole front of his property. It made the road that much wider but he lost land that would have given him a little more space between his swimming pool and the wall. 50 cm might not seem like much but it can be when space is tight, and can be the difference between being able to navigate a space or not. We also know of people having their land resurveyed by the government, only to find its either larger or smaller than on their documents. No advice for the OP but anyone considering buying property with no visible land markers, and even those with markers, might consider having a new survey done before a purchase to verify what they are buying.

Off hand, I can't think of anything that I'd 'expect back home' that I don't have here. All the things I needed in America for my normal, everyday life I've found here--good shopping with all the different things I shop for--from food, to cars, to clothing, to housewares, to art and crafts, to furniture, etc., good dental and optical care, good housing choices (better than the US), good hospital care, good safety where I live, good restaurants with a wide variety, good friends, good airports and flight choices, good roads when I travel around Thailand, movies and bookstores in English, etc. Plus, better year-round weather for someone who hates winter. After a lot of thought, the only thing that came to mind was Reduced Fat Cheez-it. Saw only regular Cheez-it at Villa Market. Then I checked Shopee and saw it available there. So . . . nothing for me.

1994!!! You've got to be kidding! That's some fresh, helpful info. In any case, an application to the Just Can't Quit Pattaya Fan Club is on its way. For the OP, Nong Nooch Gardens is well worth seeing. Spouse and I have been there a number of times and there always seems to be something new.

Arrest the drivers, heavily fine them, ban them from driving for a year, confiscate the cars and crush them into lovely, one-of-a-kind coffee tables for the owners to enjoy and to boast about to their neighbors while they wait to regain their driver's licenses.

I think the hurricane was the October surprise, at the expense of the Harris campaign. No matter how great the response to a natural disaster, efforts are usually judged by large numbers to be lacking, whether they actually are or not. I think this will also be the case with the hurricane. It's a win-win for Trump as he's not in charge of the cleanup and can just sit back and lie and criticize--about the only things he is good at. Hopefully, there's not another bad surprise waiting in the wings . . .

Yes, we were very impressed, too.

Thanks. I don't consider 67.9% to indicate 'most'. In America, it seems to be even less. From the article you referenced: How much an owned home contributes to wealth varies across homeowners. Among U.S. homeowners overall – that is, households that own their primary residence – home equity accounted for a median of 45% of their net worth in 2021. (Half of U.S. homeowners derived more than 45% of their wealth from home equity alone, the other half derived less.) That's pretty much what I thought in regard to US millionaires, as I said in my previous post. Roughly half in real estate and the other half in other investments, 401ks, personal property, cash, etc.

Strange comment, 'if everyone thought their vote mattered...'. Everyone's vote should matter, and be of equal value. It is indeed sad that the Electoral College results in so many votes not mattering at all, with the votes rendered in some states mattering so much more than those in other states. Bad system, which 63% of Americans want to get rid of. America was 'humming along', as you say, largely due to Obama, not Trump. Wages were on a steady upward trend under Obama. Jobs were on a steady upward trend, since 2010 under Obama. Unemployment was on a steady downward trend, since 2010 under Obama. All of these trends continued under Trump, but they began with the Obama administration. Since Trump lost in a landslide in 2020, it seems American voters didn't give him too much credit for the economy, or anything else. The graphs below clearly show what I am talking about. Note 2017, when Trump jumps into the pilot's seat. The steady trajectories continue, with nary a blip. The US economy, like a large super tanker, does not turn on a dime. Of course, the same is true for 2021, when Biden took over the pilot's seat from Trump. For better or worse, Biden would be dealing with the economy he inherited from Trump.