Scott123

....Should not be too difficult, as they are rundowns.

You concluded your arguement with your own subjective opinion. We all wish you make tons of money from your property investment. So good luck to you.

That's where investment in real estate differs from the stock market. I do not invest in the short term. My time horizon will stretch 2 property cycles which would be 15-20 years. By then, I would recover my initial capital outlay from rental income. Ask me this question in 12 year's time.

you recover your initial capital investment with your rental income for 15-20 years, and you are left with a rubbish property that nobody wants. (Anyone is free to explain how impossible it is to sell a 10+ year old property in Thailand).

But if you put your initial capital in a bank, you not only have the principle, but you get the gaurantee bank interest.

What is the price of residential land in soi 24, 200m from the BTS station? My condo is sitting on 2 rai and my share of it is 1%. Extend this 15 years into the future.

1% of a 2 rai land worth nothing. your fate depends on the other 99% holders. Look at how many rundown old condos in sathorn or sukhumvit, and you will know why.

That's where investment in real estate differs from the stock market. I do not invest in the short term. My time horizon will stretch 2 property cycles which would be 15-20 years. By then, I would recover my initial capital outlay from rental income. Ask me this question in 12 year's time.

you recover your initial capital investment with your rental income for 15-20 years (if you are so lucky there is no interruption of rent and no major damage), and after 15-20 years you are left with a rubbish property that nobody wants. (Anyone is free to explain how impossible it is to sell a 10+ year old property in Thailand).

But if you put your initial capital in a bank, you not only have the principle, but you also get the gaurantee bank interest.

Fantastic...now if only they would finish The Regent, that would clean up the the whole area around soi 13

What if the street vendors don't want to leave? Look at the Master Centrium Asoke condo. The project is completed, and the noodle vendor in the front is there to stay. Steet vendors do not invade private properties, they are on public sidewalk.

Do you ever see street vendors at the front of any of the big hotels? This is The Regent remember.

There will be NO vendors outside if they ever get to finishing it

The disgusting Miami Hotel facing "the Regent in fantasy" sure will be there forever. And don't forget its famous outdoor pee cornor ....

lol

I see The Sofitel at soi 15 is nearly completed. When is id due for opening?

you can make a reservation to stay at that Sofitel starting August 1st.....I suspect they will start clearing out the vendors right in front of the hotel around July......

Fantastic...now if only they would finish The Regent, that would clean up the the whole area around soi 13

What if the street vendors don't want to leave? Look at the Master Centrium Asoke condo. The project is completed, and the noodle vendor in the front is there to stay. Steet vendors do not invade private properties, they are on public sidewalk.

Restaylene, Aquamid etc are fillers, not Botox. There is a huge difference, in what they do/should be used for, their cost and how painful.....

Firstly, I believe anaesthesia is unnecessary for procedures such as injection of Botox. Sheryl states, (as I understand it, with reference to Botox): "the pain involved is minimal and very fleeting -- whole thing takes 5-10 minutes, it's basically like a bunch of small bee stings. I've been having it done regularly for years." I have no personal experience of Botox, but that seems to the usual description from those who have used it.

Secondly, you imply that the "redness" and "swelling" were the result of the lack of anaesthesia. I don't understand the logic there, at all.....

spectrum and sheryl,

My post regardig Yoskarn clinic was based on my personal experience. You can interpretate it in anyway from your own perspective. And my post was about Restyline/aquamid, not about botox. My conclusion on saline water being used was based on several professional opinions afterwards. They may or may not be correct. But I do wonder what qualified you to say sudden injection of saline water does not caused swellness.

As far as redness and swelling because of lack of anaesthesia, I do want to apologize for making such statement, as they should not be directly related.

But my experience with anaesthesia is that, the clinics I went in the U.S. always asked me if I wanted numbing cream applied to the area (for extra fee) while they prepared for botox injection. One clinic I went in BKK for Juvederm applied numbing cream without asking me and without extra charge.

My advice to people who seek cosmetic procedures in Thailand is, never trust any doctor, make sure to witness what substance they put in the syringe and how much they put in. When you ask for price estimate, always avoid the doctors who tell you they don't know the total cost (or how much of the substance is needed) before they do the procedure.

I learned my lesson and simply want to share it.

You should take a pic of the label n post it so we can read it in Thai. Then we can tell you what they call it, and possibly a better name to google. Or otherwise, switch code n type it in Thai on your keyboard so we can have a good look at it. It will be preceded by the word 'pla' ปลา for fish, and then the name. Whatever word you see after pla is it. When I read 'Hoor' I can only think of the dancers at the Badabing on the Sopranos.

.... I've already had my unit painted twice at my expense so that shouldn't be a problem.

I hope you painted the same color as the original, otherwise the landlord may ask you to pay for the cost of painting back to the original color by his painter. The cost then can be any amount he wants.

Scott, chances are the construction company went belly up when the raw material costs went through the roof and they couldn't deliver to SC at the agreed price. see Steveoman or quicksilva if you require further thoughts.

the cost of raw material may be one of the reasons, but I doubt. During the the price hike period in the last couple years, plenty of other construction project were successfully completed, and even now, there are many construction actively in progress. Just a few steps away, the Sofitel construction is finishing up nicely.

In additonal, ever since the subprime and economy recession last year, the material cost has come down quite a bit.

I wonder why there is no official explaination of the delay from Regent itself. Buyers are left to speculate the reason. Did the construction company went belly up because of the raw material cost or because of some other reasons? was there any fraudulent conduct involved? anybody is free to guess. In Thailand, transperency is not a high priority issue.

I visited a friend in that soi yesterday.

The Regent building is so quiet and dead....nothing is happening.

I always wonder why the builder would stop or pause the construction project. Don't they want to finish the project asap so they can collect the rest of the money from buyers and make their projected earnings? After all, they started construction after they have collected enough fund/payment from the buyers, so where did the money go? Unless.....they spent the money on something else and lost it all.

No banks will lend to any real estate development project now, that's for sure.

I feel sorry for the Regent buyers now.

When you think about it....the system here is actually heavily in favor of landlord.

Most of the places provide furniture and appliance (TV, refrig, aircon, stove, microwave, water heater...etc). And more often than not, these things are USED. If anything is out of service during your tenancy, you are out of luck, the landlord blames on you and keeps the deposit. You live in this place for one year or more, your chance of some old machines going out of service is quite high. I read somewhere that landlords even say air con is too dirty, so you have to pay to clean it, but was it clean before you move in? who knows.

Also, when the tenant comes to sign a contract, who makes the contract? either the landlord or the agent, never the tenant. All the clauses are for the purpose of protecting landlord. They ask you for a copy of passport? hey, why don't they give you a copy of their passport?

One can argue that in the U.S., you also sign landlord's contract, not tenant's contract. But there is standard contract that you can buy from the bookstore, and this type of contracts are usually quite fair. I was a landlord in the U.S. (california) before, my tenant moved out with only one day advance notice (contract required 30 day notice), he dared to send certified mail to me for security deposit refund. My lawyer actually suggested that I refund the deposit, he said the tenant's rights are heavily protected in california.

I guess the difference is not only the culture, but also legal system and people's concept/perception of it.

I now realize we should always ask for at least 10% discount when buying anything. People here know better, in the rental world, the deposit is to fill in that 10% differece. In other merchandise, the 10% is to get to what the real price is. This is the game that everybody (or most people) plays here.

And I was just too naive.

Agord: your landlord have your deposit. He can say anything is broken or scratched or dirty or whatever, and it would cost xyz baht to fix it, so you won't get your deposit back. What can your lawyer do? Sure I would hire a lawyer to harrass the landlord too, but I am afraid that is all we can do.

This is what I did. I negotiated a six month contract. I paid all 6 month up front because I know for sure I will be here for at least six month, I only paid one month security deposit. And it was written in the contract that the deposit is fully refundable unless there is damage due to tenant's negligence. I have the owner's phone number, address, a copies of her Thai ID card. And I will definitely have a lawyer to deal with her if the deposit is not refunded at the end of my contract (actually one month after the end of the contract). In the meantime, I know I will make my best effort to maintain her property.

Are these protien made in Thailand or imported from China?

I don't know if I can trust the quality of products from unknown source.

I just moved in to this apartment. The bed matress supplied by the landloard is too hard for my back. Does anyone know where I can buy a thick but soft foam pad to make the matress soft? Is it effective?

Thanks.

.....

Any other sources would be appreciated in advance.

www.craigslist.com

www.prakard.com

You can also just walk up to a condo building management office and ask if they have any vacant unit for rent, or see if there is a bulleton board in the lobby area. This way you can cut out the agent fee and you can bargain even harder.

In my opinion, anything more than 5 minute walking distance from BTS/MRT is too far, unless you plan to stay in the apartment all day. Otherwise, you may find yourself planning everything and make one trip per day to the outside world. There is nothing wrong with this, many Thais do it.

When you finally find the apartment you want, make sure you negotiate to pay only ONE month security deposit. Check out this thread: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Rental-Depos...nd-t222857.html

Your 25K baht budget should be quite easy to find a reasonable 1 bed room unit in sukhumvit area, although no luxury. Good luck.

Drayon, don't pay 25K baht, bargain hard. rental market and real estate market is at a standstill level now. Many landlords have problems finding tenants.

I gave my landloard notice to move out about 2 months ago, so far nobody came to see this apartment. This is a high rise 1 bedroom unit on 28th floor across from Sate Tower in Sathorn, corner unit, pano views, so it's not like this is not a desirable building or location. But, no, absolutely nobody comes to view this apartment.

The new apartment I will move to has been vacant with no offers for 4 months and the landlord decided to drop the price dramatically. This Thai lady said she needed to pay her mortage.

Disclaimer: I know many people will argue, so I am just stating my personal experience. As we all know, there is no trustworthy, unbiased statistics in Thailand. So we all just go with who says what.

Friday Jan 2 will be public holiday

BANGKOK: -- The caretaker Cabinet Tuesday approved Friday January 2 as an extra New Year holiday, a government spokeswoman said.

Wirinthira Nathongborcharas, a deputy spokeswoman, said the Cabinet would like to boost tourism with the long New Year holidays from December 31 to January 2.

-- The Nation 2008-12-09

Isn't it a bit of a late for anyone to start planning for a trip somewhere in Thailand now for new year holiday?

Simple answer is to set up a virtual office with one of the multitude of law firms in Thailand. Register you company and you will need a Thai partner in this. If you are selling online, then you should apply for an ecommerce license. If you are making money from you content and advertising then it's just a matter of meeting the minimum income requirements for your nationality. You will have to pay tax on that income. It's not really that hard to do.

Some lucky individuals have even managed to get themselves set up on Media Visas and work permits for publishing on their blogs.

If your web server is located in a foreign country, your revenue comes from that country, and you pay tax in that country, why would you want to register the company in Thailand and pay tax in Thailand?

Correct, but it has worked for me for a number of years now, and continues to do so thankyou very much!!

Just look at how much free advertising you get on this site....every time somebody posts saying they want to BUY a house or condo, hundreds of posters come out saying RENT RENT RENT!!! Magic!!!!...

success in the past does not gaurantee future gain.

Your rental property gives you good income because your cost was based on the value from a fews years back and you can afford lowering or not raising the rent just to keep the property occupied.

Again, my point is your success was based on many factors that may or may not hold true now or in the future.

Many posters here are concerned about what is happening to the property market NOW, and its future trend, not what it has been. We all know the property market has been a good investment in Thailand in the past 10 years or so, just like in many other parts of the world.

If you are brave, why don't you go out and buy a 10 million baht condo NOW, and tell us how optimistic you are?

The longer you can collect a rent on your asset the better!!

Lets say - you have a 5 M Bt asset rented out at 35,000 Bt / month, over a 5 year (long period) term you will have written down your asset to 2.9 M Bt, so even if you sell at the same price it cost 5 M Bt, (highly unlikely on a property), you will still have made a profit of 2.1M Bt.

Thats 8.4% ROI per annum, better than you will get with any bank meantime!

your statement is under these BIG assumptions:

1. you have tenants to rent your asset without interrution thoroughout the 5 year period.

2. you did not account for the agent commission or maintenance/repair cost for your rental property.

3. when you want to sale the property in 5 years, you can find a buyer.

4. the buyer will pay 5 M baht for that property that is already 5 years old. Keep in mind that rental properties get worn out fast. Also, if the real estate market takes a dive, who knows what the comparable market values of a 5 year old property is.

I'm on my 5th rental place now, most were as good as gold but one in Phuket Town did try to rip me off. I'd seen it coming and told them I wouldn't pay the last months rent, but I'd paid 2 months deposit so they still owed me a month and they tried to keep that.

I went to see them and threatened legal action, at which point they offered half of what they owed me. I refused to take the cash out of her hand and told her that I'd sue for the full amount. I calmly pointed out that I would do this even if it cost me more to sue her than she owed me. At this point (to my surprise!) she gave the full amount back.

If I was you I wouldn't let it lie, it will annoy you too much. It won't cost much to get a decent lawyer to write them a threatening letter and I'd be surpised if you didn't get the money back at this stage. If you still don't get it back then you can decide whether to proceed. Personally I would go all the way through the courts and I'd expect to win. Don't believe you will automatically lose because you are farang this just isn't the case and if you do lose at least you can say you didn't roll over.

Best of luck, I hate rip-off landlords but they'll rip off Thai just as quick as they'll rip off farang so don't get all bitter and paranoid!

Thanks for your post . So far I have only 3,000 in fees for the letter threatening legal action and for the lawyer to file a report with the local tax board. As another member was kind enough to point out they must pay 15% tax on the monthly rent and it doesn't look like they have done that so this will set them back 30,600 plus whatever penalties. Maybe next time they return the deposit?

Amen.

That is also exactly what any New Yorker (NYC) would do. It's a given there that landlords will otherwsie find ways not to pay the deposit back (easily enough done by finding exagerated fault with normal wear and tear and then inflating the value of the supposed "damage) or at a minimum take their sweet time and require aggressive follow up by you to do it.

Granted real estate life in NYC is especially cut-throat, but still...this is not anything unique to Asia or Thailand.

.....

Did you pay one month or two month security deposit in NYC??

.....Meds are another matter, unless you require something unavailable in pharmacies, buy outide the hospital, the mark up is considerable.

But how is it possible to buy prescription medicines outside of hospital. Can you ask the doctor to write a prescription paper for you to bring to the outside pharmacy? Also, you don't really know how reliable the outside pharmacy is, they might give you fake medicines.

btw, there is only ONE doctor at Yoskarn.

Dr. Somyos Kunachak

I checked my email and log again. The substance he recommanded was "Aquamid", not Juverderm.

And the quote was 1 c.c., not 1 syringe. He ended up saying he used more than 1 c.c. on me. So I should pay for 2 c.c.

I am going to Bangkok soon and will be getting some Botox done, I have norrowed it down to 2 places, has anyone used the following and can advise of the experieces please

www.sp-cosmeticsurgery.com

or

www.laser-surgery-bangkok.com/

www.laser-surgery-bangkok.com/ = Yoskarn clinic

DO NOT go to Yoskarn clinic.

2 years ago, I consulted a doctor in the U.S. and was recommanded 1 syringe of Restylane.

I then emailed Yoskarn clinic and got a quote for Restylane injection, then went to get it on my holiday. On my visit to Yoskarn, the doctor at Yoskarn said Juverderm would last longer, but I insist on getting Restylane. I wanted to get one syringe, but he said he needed to do it before he knew how much is needed. I was stupid enough to think that he would tell me 1 syringe is enough at the end. I agreed to get Restylane there. Sure enough, at the end he claimed he use more than 1 syringe. So he asked me to pay for 2. The injection was painful without any anesthesia, so the injected skin area were red and swallen. To make things worse, 3 days later when redness and swallen is gone, the smile lines and wrinkles all came back. Appearently, what the doctor gave me was just saline water. I believe he did not have Restylane in his office at all, that is why he recommanded Juverderm, and when I refused he went ahead, gave me saline water.

So, DO NOT go to Yoskarn clinic.

btw, there is only ONE doctor at Yoskarn.