Peterw42

yes, I have bought and sold a couple of condos and houses, to and from Thai people, and a deposit/sales contract was part of all those transactions, even if minimal and really just a show of good faith. Otherwise, you go to the land office next Tuesday, and the other party doesn't turn up. Or if they do, there are arguments about the final price, taxes etc. What people call an agent in Thailand, is usually just someone you helps with the negotiations, does the leg work leading up to the sale, and helps both parties at the land office, and they are usually being paid by the seller. Otherwise, your average buyer/seller would have no idea of documents, land office procedure etc.

Who pays what taxes isnt set down in law, and can always be used as a bargaining chip. (if the seller dropped 50k off the price then added 50k taxes to pay, then he didnt drop the price) . There are 3-4 taxes, and depending on sellers circumstances, can be significant. The agent should be able to give an exact figure, then you can decide , make a counter offer etc. Not exactly normal, but doesn't matter that much. If there is anything like a mortgage, debt, the seller isn't the actual owner etc, the sale wont go ahead at the land office. Again, the agent should at least have a copy of chanote. A deposit is reasonably normal, but it would usually be paid when signing an initial sales contract, a contract stating price, who pays taxes, circumstances if/when the deposit would be refundable etc. (ie: only if seller fails to complete the sale). Its a buyers market, so make an offer, price, who pays taxes, on a written contract, deposit refundable etc etc. If the seller says no, find another condo,

Thai strawberries in season are 60-80 baht a kilo, trucks by the side of the road and driving around the sois, they come into season later this month. Interested to know what you consider is "proper western cooked food" ? Some western meals are expensive on Thai terms but still cheaper, or on par, with western prices.

People appear to be confusing visiting as a tourist 2 week millionaire and actually livening in Thailand. Besides imported goats cheese, wine and imported cars, everything is cheaper in Thailand.. Utilities, electricity, internet, water, condo fees etc. Any transport, including running a car/bike, taxes insurance etc, fuel, repairs ,etc. Any local food/produce, beer, most dining options. I live here, and have a very comfortable life, dine out most meals, travel, nights out, run the aircon, waste money on stupid lazada purchases. I own a house, car, bike and married. So not renting anything. My monthly spend is around 40-50k, for everything. That wouldnt even pay my rent back in Australia. So long as you are not buying hookers , or dining at ye old replica English pub everyday, its way cheaper than back home.

OP, its not clear if you mean visa/extension inside Thailand, presuming you mean a 1 year extension, the requirements can vary from immigration office to office, so its best to ask directly at the office you will be using. The basic requirements are usually, passport copies, bank statements etc, your marriage documents, some photos showing together as a couple at your house, Go to immigration as a couple, present documents, you will get an "under consideration" stamp, after a month return to office and get proper stamp

OP, maybe explain what you want a VPN for, to get some more relevant recommendations. If its just to watch TV programs from home, then the country you want to access would be relevant.

You shouldn't need anything to show immigration, if the hotel has entered you in the system then immigration will see you in the system. The email may make you feel comfortable that the hotel has entered you, but immigration will simply check the system to see if you are there. There is no requirement for a receipt of being entered, if you are not in the system, you are not in the system.

OP, why don't you simply call the person sending messages ? FB messenger does voice and video calls.

Without some specific criteria, its really asking how long is a piece of string. For tourism?, for expat living?, for cost of living?, lifestyle ?? I think Pattaya sits somewhere in the middle as it has a bit of everything. City, beach, rural, islands. top end options, low end options.

I imagine, the same as any taxi, you could arrange for the same taxi to come and pick you up.

Bolt app shows plenty of taxis that will take you there for around 800 baht

Yes, not everyone uses facebook, but its where most property is listed nowadays.

What use would just renewing the insurance be, that wont get the OP a new yearly sticker, which is clearly what he is talking about. (he appears to be referring to the sticker as insurance).

OP, what you are describing as "the rolled up proof of insurance" is the yearly tax/registration sticker. Renewing the compulsory insurance is a component of getting a new sticker, but only renewing the insurance wont get you a new sticker. To renew sticker/tax/insurance in one stop, go to a local inspection station (identified by a yellow cog symbol), but you will need the green book for the bike.

An obvious question here, is the mouse/keyboard wireless ? Also, when it freezes, what other devices are plugged into USB ports ?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_Thailand

Yes, there are buses on Theppasit rd, I got stuck behind one last night. In combination with the digging, it took me 20 mins from sukumvit down to jomtien

OP, some great "theoretical" numbers in your post. Maybe you can explain why these numbers are not reflected in the real world ? Thai wife owns a house in suburban Bangkok, 2 story, 4Br, 2 bath, moobaan etc. She has owned this house for 15 years, in those 15 years, the value hasn't gone up 4%pa (to realisticly sell it would be the same as original purchase price) , the yield hasn't increased (still around 2-3%), the house next door has had a "for sale" sign on it (and no tenant/yield) for 6 of those years (asking what it was purchased for 5 years prior). I can pull up an historical SET (thai stock market index) chart, and 10 years ago, the value was around 1500-1600, the same as today. Am I missing something

No, I did a couple of retire extensions (one via an agent), then switched to marriage extension. They did initially try to enforce the OA insurance but I was able to argue the point and they changed their mind.

OP, I originally arrived on an OA, and subsequently switched to marriage extensions. in jomtien

OP, its really comes down to the individual landlord, if they will remove furniture etc. Its probably a good idea to have some sort of inventory of what was in the condo when you moved in, otherwise, 2-3 years later, the landlord may claim the airfryer you bought was always there, or he didnt remove any furniture.

OP, I won an argument with Jomtien office. Back when the insurance came in for OA, I was doing my regular marriage extension and all of a sudden they wanted insurance because I had originally entered on an OA a couple of years prior. I came back home and printed out (in Thai and English) the relevant ruling that said insurance not required for marriage extn. Asked to see a supervisor, who then made a phone call, and they changed there mind. You need to approach it being conscious of the whole loss of face thing. Don't tell them they are wrong, say it appears the ruling is wrong.

There is nothing in this report that indicates neglect on the parents part, nothing to indicate the parents don't take their responsibilities seriously, don't care about there children. There is however a lot of wild speculation that the parents don't care, only happens in Thailand, should be ashamed, dont want anything to do with their children etc Last time I checked, kids miss the bus sometimes in western countries, get on the wrong bus, get themselves lost etc. Nobody comments that their parents are bad

I think a more appropriate story and headline would be "Bargirl doesn't dress up as slutty witch/nurse/zombie" Now that would be newsworthy

OP, where do you get the idea that markets are falling, trending downwards ? All the major indices have been back on the rise for most of October. If you go back to fundamentals, buy low and sell high, I wouldn't be buying anything. And given that markets are down from unrealistic highs, highs that basically came from governments printing money for covid, that made its way into the share market in the form of companies buying back there own stock. The way I see it, markets are not really down or trending down, and if they are trending down its from governments printing money, things are not going back up based on the same printing money.