blackcab

I applied for a UK passport about a month ago. They told me 4 weeks, but the passport was in my hand 10 days later. It took 2 days to arrive in the UK and 2 days to get back to Bangkok, so the passport office turned the application around in less than 1 week, which I think is commendable.

The lifts used to be different. All lifts used to be available to anyone going to any floor. This was a much worse system because your lift could get stopped many, many times before reaching the top floor. What they have done now is better because it turns one lift into an express service that stops on 2 floors only. If you want to you can always get in one of the other lifts and see how long it takes you. It will probably be swings and roundabouts.

It would of course be nice to have a private lift dedicated to UK citizens only and activated by your passport, but I'm not sure that's going to happen any time soon.

Don't forget that if the owner registers a lease for x years and the lessee defaults because their business fails (and many do fail) the owner is left with a potentially difficult situation. For example, what happens if they want to raise funds by mortgaging or selling the property?

If the property has a lease for another x years and no tenant  (because they defaulted) the situation gets much more complicated for the owner.

It's not all about tax evasion.

The company I work for owns quite a lot of commercial property. One of our tenants is a large, well known convenience store. They have a 3+3+3 lease.

15 minutes ago, Oxx said:

With the second 3 years not legally binding.

Yes and no, but more no than yes :)

It's legally binding as a contract right, but not as a real property right. The key consideration, however, is how are you going to enforce your rights, how long will it take and how much will it cost.

In reality, most commercial landlords simply want a good tenant who pays on time. There are bad landlords however, just the same as there are bad tenants.

The majority of leases are not registered here, because it costs money to do so and it encumbers the owners asset.

Expect, instead, to be offered a 3+3 year lease.

It is rare to find an owner who will register a 6 year lease.

2 hours ago, ChouDoufu said:

you have income.

you are earning interest on your 400/880k.

the interest is taxed at 15% if in a fixed account.

you may apply for a refund of withholding tax.

you need a TIN for that.

there's your reason.

That.

Your best bet is to go with a Thai speaker to the Social Fund office yourself and ask what the problem is.

They are helpful people and they can often advise you on the best way forward.

12 minutes ago, isnakebite said:

What browser are you using and are you accessing from phone or computer? Thanks

Edge on a computer and Chrome on a phone.

3 minutes ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

No, it doesn't.

https://news.wsu.edu/2016/10/24/rabies-vaccine-effective-warm/

I think it's dangerous to make blanket statements such as that.

The manufacturers state that refrigeration is necessary.

The research you provided states that at temperatures typical to Thailand the one vaccine they tested lasted between 3 to 6 months.

This is excellent news, however the use before date of the vaccine is based on the vaccine being refrigerated and is longer than 6 months.

I'm sure you can imagine a situation where people believe refrigeration is not necessary and then keeping stocks on the shelf at ambient temperatures longer than 6 months.

This situation wouldn't be good for anyone.

fgn-pur-fee

Natwest?

"We will charge a Foreign Purchase Fee of 2.75% of the value of the transaction (minimum £1)"

I can see free slots on 17th and 19th April. You need to book pronto, and keep trying until you get a slot.

As stated, no you don't.

Carefully check the translation of your son's Thai birth certificate and house book entry is 100 per cent accurate (and using the same correct spelling for all names) or you will have problems.

20 minutes ago, inThailand said:

Yes and No. Yes possible if the condo was owned by a company and the sale was a company. If owned by a Thai or Falang the Land Dept requires a debt free letter before doing the transfer. 

Yes, the condo JP doesn't care who incurred the fees just that they must be paid.

The condos are sold at auction. The problems start when the purchaser realises they need a debt free letter and find out the size of the arrears.

Condos at auction are sold "as is". It's up to the buyer to understand about the common fees and do their own investigations.

3 hours ago, inThailand said:

So if the bank  owns condos they must pay fees before they can sell/transfer to the new owner. 

Banks have been known to sell at auction, and unwary buyers have bought condos with outstanding common fees.

The buyer has had to clear the fees before the sale was completed, and I can assure you they were not expecting that.

1 hour ago, stud858 said:

I'm very interested in this topic. My condo had unsold units from a bankrupt developer.  I thought they become property of the courts.do you want to chat via PM?

Why not start a new thread in the real estate forum?

21 minutes ago, mogandave said:

Unless you charge the actual rate.

 

Are utilities included in the rent?

The actual cost price of electricity varies month to month depending on the FT rate. The cost of water varies according to volume used through each meter. We issue invoices to our tenants on the 25th of the month and we expect payment by the 5th of the month. (The law states that we have to issue at least 7 days before the 5th).

Our invoices for water and electricity do not arrive until after we have issued the invoices, so it is impossible for us to charge the actual rate unless we delay issuing the invoices. If we do that, some of the tenants will have spent the money by the time we ask for payment. That situation isn't good for anyone.

Utilities are not included in the rent. We mainly rent low cost Thai-style apartments, not serviced condos.

We have averaged the cost of our electricity against our occupancy rated for the last 3 years, and the closest we can get is 5 baht per unit including VAT. At this rate we would receive 4.67 baht per unit and we would pay 0.33 baht per unit VAT to the Revenue Office.

9 minutes ago, mogandave said:

I think the utilities charges are only a concern if the landlord is marking them up. 

The electricity cost is a concern to us because the FT rate can vary from month to month. If we offer long contracts and the rate jumps we would lose a considerable amount of money.

7 hours ago, Mac98 said:

So the landlord can't raise rates. Has to keep rent and fees at agreed level until end of contract.

But the landlord is the person who offers the contract. The landlord doesn't have to offer a 6 month or 12 month contract - anything in excess of 30 days is perfectly legal to offer. After the law takes effect, there is actually no point in offering a long contract as you cannot enforce anything other than the tenant giving you a 30 day notice period, and any long contract means you cannot pass on legitimate raises in utility fees.

We are seriously thinking about offering a 2 month contract, with automatic extensions of 1 month if either us or the tenant does not give notice. That way if the electricity FT charge shoots up due to unforeseen circumstances we won't get hit with a charge we can't pass on.

We have a lot of tenants. They are almost 100 per cent Thai citizens who work in places such as 7-Eleven, factories and local hospitals - hence our monthly rates are low and the tenant's security deposit is low.

Thai banks will only open a corporate account for companies that are incorporated in Thailand.

Some banks will also insist on any non-Thai signatory also having a work permit.

Thailand is definitely not an offshore banking haven.

2 hours ago, Trevor1809 said:

As I said I trust neither UKVI or the Government...

I understand your point of view, but to be fair to both the UKVI and the Government they have succeeded in doing their bit to get your wife as far as FLR.

2 hours ago, SunsetT said:

Yes I was wondering the same; will it be more than 5 apartments or 5 apartment blocks? And yes it will be great if the rip off 8thb to 10thb per unit apartment rates are reduced to the rate that people pay when billed direct from the electricity company.

Five individual units (whether room, condo, flat, etc) as long as they are all rented to individuals.

3 hours ago, swoods58 said:

I live in a condo complex in Hua Hin with maybe 20 rooms rented on longer term contracts to Farangs and many others on hotel like arrangements. Is the owner of the building considered to own more than 5 properties as he has more than 5 leases or is the building one property? I too pay about 50% higher than the PEA rate for electricity and would like it to be reduced.

The owner of the building is considered to own more than 5 properties if they lease or sublease:

• Five units of property or more
• Regardless of whether or not the units are in the same building
• To individual lessees
• For residential purposes
• In exchange for a fee collected by the business operator

So to answer your question, yes, they are bound by this law. Of course if they don't comply then someone will have to complain and see what effect it has.

19 minutes ago, jumbo said:

1) I wasn't talking about Thai citizens and you might be correct

2) Google

I apologise - I read your post wrong! I'm going to get a cup of coffee now so I can wake up properly.