williamgeorgeallen

still surprises me that so many americans are not asking more questions. the saudi link appears to be very strong. the coincidence there was a drill going on the day of the attacks for airliners being hijacked seems hard to believe. building 7 fell down for no reason. thats the one that really gets me,

just got 3bb 4G as we are to far away from an exchange in burri ram to get ADSL. the little box has a battery backup, is usb or wall socket charged and generates wifi for the whole house. router was 2000thb but i could probably have got away with a 3G one. just pay month by mont with no contract. i am very impressed with the speed. i didnt want a dongle sticking out of the computer.

Well so much for return to happiness eh?

well put, taking happiness away from punters and from the poor girls who are just trying to make a living. is a crime with no victims really a crime?

Of course. No relevance whatsoever between employment and owning property for investment.

Same relevance as foreign money buying local shares and receiving dividends...

lots of different ways to look at it. maybe if you have an agency doing the actual management then you are not taking a job from a thai person. another way to look at it is a thai person is being derived of income by a foreigner renting out their condo as they are not renting off a thai person. the definition for 'work' in thailand covers pretty much everything. anyway the law will just be applied how the official on the spot interprets it. this announcement means nothing anyway. infact the whole discussion is pointless as it is not possible to get a work permit to rent out condos anyway.

dont see how this can work but it is worth a try. what a mess.

Are two lesbians getting 'married' still newsworthy?

we both clicked on the story so i suppose it is. i certainly get more warm and fuzzies over lesbians getting married than i do over gay guys getting married. does this make me some sort of closet homophobe or just a ha-sip ha-sip homophobe?

i think the biggest problem is people apply western logic and values to their lives in thailand. you want to start a business or a relation ship here and go about it in a western way you will be fighting an uphill battle. getting involved in property in thailand would be the third way to screw up your life here. the happiest people i know in thailand, are single, dont work here and rent somewhere to live. 3 simple rules to follow. of course i broke all 3.

I unfortunately know too many foreigners who had to steal their own kids and flee the country with them to escape horrible mothers.

That said, knock up a bar girl and what do you expect?

Really? No it's the filthy western man who travels abroad for sex with foreign women. Are you one?

yes, i am. suspect most of us here are. in fact i have 2 kids with a girl i met in a bar. for all you haters she is one of the best mothers i have ever seen.

be nice if they started giving them out free in the schools like they did with the milk when they wanted kids to drink more milk. that was a winner in my household unlike the free tablets that never arrived.

Thanks for further info.

Are you aware of anything official about a resale condo qualifying for the investment visa extension?

Are the extensions renewed easily if you continue to own the condo?

• No I'm not, but I don't see any reason why it has to be a new property. As far as I'm aware it's the purchase price that counts.
• Yes, but you effectively apply for a new extension of stay every year and would be required to show evidence of your investment each year.

Are you over 50?

I am a few years less than 50, so cannot get retirement visa.

Some folks have said condo must be brand new, but others say it doesnt matter if new or resale. How could i get clarity on this?

How can you show proof/evidence of continued condo ownership when going to renew the extension each subsequent year?

from what i have heard this is a difficult visa to get but most of the information i have is second hand so it would be interesting to hear from people who actually have this visa. i am along way off 50 and so are many of my friends and while i can get a family visa from my kids many of my friends would be interested in the investment visa. i am anti keeping any money or assets in thailand and i am in the process of selling up in anticipation for moving my kids back to go to school in nz. really i still believe the elite visa is the best option if you are still at least a few years away from a retirement visa.

I believe China has also claimed Australia is part of thier territory.

australi has been bought out fair and square, at least the more productive parts of it like the mines. plenty of iron ore to build up chinas military machine. not that they really need it as they can just buy up anything they want.

Why would anyone else come forward when they have also committed an offence by offering the money in the first place?

it is common practice to buy a job in the police force, i assume it would be normal to buy your way up the food chain as well. think this guy just assumed he was buying his way up and reported he did not get what he paid for. doubt he even believes he was doing anything wrong, hence he reported it.

Getting them to stop for zebra crossings, red lights and car crashes might be a start.

If the powers decide to trace this guy, he better hope he didn't make it all up, the current climate isn't really set up for poking fun at with forged Royal Thai Police documents and one's computer.

its not set up for telling the truth about them either.

No even charged yet !, they must be waiting until the statute of limitations runs out.

an utter disgrace.

regards worgeordie

standard procedure as you know, family has been paid off so is just a waiting game now. what is the statue of limitations on this offence, anyone know?

i want to know how many tourist arrivals that will be. has gone up steadily by about 1 million a year for the last 10 years but seems to be increasing faster now tourism appears to be declining. i am one of the many helping tourist arrivals as my new visa requires i cross the boarder every 90 days instead of reporting to jomtien. i am now counted as 4 tourists every year, note however my spending is about the same however.

respect to the families. gonna cost him alot more to buy his way out of this now.

thailand is doing you a favor buy not allowing you to own a business. you should be thanking them. 9 years in business in thailand making a fair living but doing some long hours and i have had enough of it. i am the only one i know who has made any money at all. most loosing everything they invested. if thais were smart they would let foreigners own businesses in thailand, i believe thailand would make even more of foreigners investing in business here than they would off foreigners buying houses for their wives.

if you read write thai and english i think any realestate company would jump at the chance to grab you, especially if you can relate to foreigners. you could even start in a car show room. think you have a good shot in thailand. if you have your own accommodation in a good spot you can live here for almost nothing, until you have kids that is. good luck.

not many people really understand property. like one poster said land and buildings need to be considered separately.

first land generally appreciates as it is a limited resource. desirability of location is important on this. major center, close to the ocean, employment opportunit etc.

second buildings and houses depreciate over time. often the may actually go up in value as the cost of replacing them generally goes up, cost of labor and materials etc. the increase in the cost of replacement generally outpaces the depreciation up until the point where the building comes closer towards the end of its useful life.

now these are generalizations of course but they generally hold true. overall property normally has to double approximately every 10 years just to keep pace with inflation. the spending power of 2.5million now would be far less than 1.1 million 25 years ago, if fact the case quoted in bangkok showed a loss. the expression 'safe as houses' does not hold very true here. 10 years investing in australia and i am pretty much retired. 10 years of investing in thailand and i am barely breaking even. any one looking for a cheap condo?

i am in the same boat. non im O from my half thai kids, issued in nz. i heard i could go to laos to get my next O visa. i could use some info on this but i still have 7 months to my current visa runs out. was thinking about using a visa run company to do the trip.

Savannakhet was doing the multiple non-o visa for being the parent of a Thai if your child and their mother was with you when you applied. But I have received recent message from people that tried to get one and were only issued a single entry visa.

does single entry mean 3 months? the one i get in nz is for a year. i have to do 90 boarder trips which is not a problem as i live near cambodia.

A single entry visa only allows one 90 day entry and is valid for 3 months.

alot of hassle to get a 3 month visa. wonder how many people do that. i generally go back to nz for xmas so that is the best option for 1 year visa for now. would just like local options if i go back to work here.

i am in the same boat. non im O from my half thai kids, issued in nz. i heard i could go to laos to get my next O visa. i could use some info on this but i still have 7 months to my current visa runs out. was thinking about using a visa run company to do the trip.

Savannakhet was doing the multiple non-o visa for being the parent of a Thai if your child and their mother was with you when you applied. But I have received recent message from people that tried to get one and were only issued a single entry visa.

does single entry mean 3 months? the one i get in nz is for a year. i have to do 90 boarder trips which is not a problem as i live near cambodia.

apparently there is a hotline you dial if you see a pile of garbage and they come out with a tarp to cover it. want to say the phone number is 555 but i know thats the number they use in the movies that is always bogus.

i am in the same boat. non im O from my half thai kids, issued in nz. i heard i could go to laos to get my next O visa. i could use some info on this but i still have 7 months to my current visa runs out. was thinking about using a visa run company to do the trip.

i have had 2 houses in pattaya. decided to sell them. one in pratumnak sold immediately for a good profit. other one na jomtien took about 2.5 years with a reduction in price every 6 months. made a loss from the na jomtien house that wiped out the profit i made on the other one. both sold through baht sold website. cant say enough about that website. just sold a condo using that website last week as well. i am now very anti owning property in thailand.difficulty of sales is just is one of the reasons why. there are many more.

Thailand was once a great place to live but sadly not anymore. The freedoms that used to be are no longer. I personally am just waiting to sell some assets here cant wait to leave after 15 years very sad about the way the country has gone and is going.

i have been in pattaya 9 years and was getting tired of it. i am now living in esan and cant believe how good it is up here. you might just need a change of venue. thailand is still a great country to live.

you are correct that it is better out of the tourist areas. Personally I have just got tired of the stupid rules that keep being brought in and the threats each time of imprisonment and big fines ie e cigarettes 3 year prison sentences threatened seems every new law here comes with stupid threats the country and most people are lovely but I just dont like the general direction its going I will probably try Cambodia many of my friends have already gone there and they say its more foreigner friendly and more how Thailand used to be. This is only my personal view.

i have been in burri ram 3 months with my girl and kids. really good. no worries about the cops or any tourist ripoffs. people seem to be a better class. great to see most are decent family types. several friends go to cambodia each year, mostly to snookyville. last year one canadian mate got cracked over the head with the back of a machette and his motorbike stolen. dont think Cambodia is the answer, better to relocate within thailand.