Airalee

“It’s not the dog, it’s the owner”

Ok…I can live with that.

Dog bites someone….owner gets a bullet to the back of the head.

Still want that dog?

On 3/8/2022 at 8:23 AM, bang saen guy said:

 

18 years old and works like new.

Nice toaster.  But wow….฿9000 if bought from Kitchenaid direct.  I’d hate to see the markup here.

https://www.kitchenaid.com/countertop-appliances/toasters/two-slice/p.pro-line-series-2-slice-automatic-toaster.kmt2203ca.html

Facebook marketplace

Kaidee

11 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Maybe we should move this part to another section but let me ask: Where did you find those people to take away the rubbish and how much did they charge? One company quoted me 5,700THB for one trip with a pickup to take away rubbish and dispose it. I was not sure if I should laugh or get a heart attack when I read that number. And they quoted that they estimate 7 of those trips... 

So ฿5700 is four times what you consider a reasonable price for a full pickup load dumped?  Depending on the weight of the load and how long it would take to do it, I’d say it isn’t so bad.  Your back will thank you and so will your wallet if you’re considering buying a truck to save ฿40,000

4 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Thank you for your comment. I appreciate most of your comments so I am listening.

I have already a trolley, I have to pay that deposit anyhow for my renovation, and doing some things myself doesn't mean I (want to) do everything myself. But maybe sometimes I want the option to do things myself. And it's nice to be able to use a car or pickup whenever one needs one. I am also used to driving in Bangkok's traffic.

 

One of the most important issues is what you write in the last paragraph. I bought an apartment and the old furniture has to be removed, etc. I thought to get a better idea about the place it would be best to first remove all the furniture. I thought this should be a few days of work, and obviously whoever removes old furniture doesn't need much skills to do that. So I asked a few people and companies for prices. And I was gobsmacked, just like you. What they quoted was best case about 4 times higher than what I thought would be reasonable. And my idea of reasonable rates is more than double of the minimum wage - for unskilled work. So after I received those quotations I thought to myself: For that kind of money I can do it myself.

Will I do it myself? Maybe part of it, I am not sure until now. Will I pay astronomic prices for unskilled workers? I don't think so.

Doing some things for yourself is definitely a good thing.  That’s why I laid my own floors…but only after seeing the job they were doing and knowing that I could do a better job.  Grunt work?  Not a chance.

You haven’t said how much they quoted, but you have to understand that minimum wage (฿300ish) is for someone to just show up do easy work and then leave.  Moving out broken tiles and concrete is hard labor.  I know that the construction workers in my building were being paid between ฿400 and ฿1000 per day with the lower end being to people who were just doing easy touch ups on units before they were being delivered.  Painters (all either Burmese or Tai Yai) were all making ฿600 and the guy who was doing the cutting and installing of the Caesarstone counters made ฿1000.  Floor installers made ฿600 and their foreman (who oversaw multiple sites but didn’t have to lift a finger made ฿1000)

Now, add to that…

1.  You’re not offering a steady full time job so it’s akin to them working overtime.  That costs more.

2.  They will have to supply a truck and all the other things to dispose of the refuse.  The use of the truck isn’t free (fuel) and there is also time for them to take everything to the dump.  They might not be at your place at the time, but in reality, they’re still on the clock.

3.  Dump fees.

Finally, you’ve mentioned that you have a “friend” who has done numerous remodels and is supposedly going to be the person who is basically going to manage your renovation.  If she can’t get people to remove your rubble at a fair price then I wouldn’t trust her to do all the other stuff for a fair price either and will bet that there will be a substantial markup.

Buying a truck and doing it all yourself is still, in my mind, absolutely insane.  You’re gonna have enough of a headache with all the other things that will (guaranteed) go wrong.

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

You might end up buying a problem.

 

If you are hiring tradesman they can pick stuff up and take it away

This.  I can’t even imagine considering the alternative.  
 

Trying to find the right truck, dealing with the headache of transferring it, registering it, insuring it.  Hoping nothing breaks down over the course of a year.  And then going through all the headache and paperwork to sell it. 

Then, buying some sort of dolly/cart to get the refuse downstairs to the truck.  Reserving the elevator and properly protecting it with padding, paying the damage deposit at the juristic office (that’s what I would have to do in my condo)  Then, loading the refuse to be discarded (which will be quite heavy…how’s your back) bit by bit, drive through bangkok traffic, back and forth over and over and over to whatever dump is appropriate.  Potentially hours each time.  
 

And thinking that the renovations will run on time like a Swiss clock so waiting an extra day for disposal is a big deal at all?
 

Or… “hey…Somchai…can you get all this stuff out of here”
 

I mean….really.  I’m gobsmacked.  Doing heavy labor yourself to attempt to save a few baht with labor rates here as low as they are?  Insanity.

11 minutes ago, Paradise Pete said:

He's asking for help. It might motivate someone to answer if there's a good reason for not being vaxxed.

Feel free to give me a sad or confused emoticon for my post and then request that the OP post a note from their doctor with all supporting evidence so that they may be worthy of your assistance.

19 minutes ago, bendejo said:

In Oregon, prior to recreational being legal, it was $200 for the gov't permit plus $200 for the prescription and paperwork (per year, both of them).  The turning point was when they expanded the conditions for the permit: for a long time it was only glaucoma and for cancer patients coping with radiation treatments (verify if this is important to you).  Then they started including other things, and within a few years there were app. 600,000 medical permits: that's a lot of revenue! 

 

Currently in Oregon.  Bought this on-line the other day:

1 × Cheetah P_iss: (Back 40) - (1/4oz)      $10.50
1 × Alien ET - (1/4oz)                                   $14.00
Cannabis Tax: $4.08
Order Total: $24.50

 

The day before I went into the same shop, without a pre-order, and bought a quarter oz. for $10, no tax.  I haven't figured how this tax is calculated yet.

The very cheapest I've seen is $40 per oz. + tax.  But at this price expect it may be small buds or old stuff; sometimes it's worth a few bucks more, but these $200+ oz. prices are ridiculous.  (BTW, the labs will admit (in whispers) that the strains are never of the same phenotype).

I'm concerned that if the law becomes Federal the tax enforcement will become that much stricter and we'll have Elliot Ness IV to worry about.  With this cash-only nonsense and the ease with which stolen product can be moved, I am certainly glad I'm not in that business.

Don't know if you heard, but John Boehner is in the employ of the cannabis lobby.  He has an in-depth understanding of how $$$ works in US Congress https://bulletin.represent.us/boehner-tobacco-lobby-checks/

 

On the other hand ol' Jeff Sessions wanted to turn the clock back on legalization altogether.

 

 

Wow.  That’s incredibly cheap up there.  1/8s are still running up to $45 for the top grades in Los Angeles from what I see online (Medmen).  I can’t imagine the revenue that California is raking in off taxes.

If Thailand thinks tourists are going to come for a shade leaf placed on a pizza, they are in for a big disappointment.  I don’t think that they really understand the connoisseur quality of the buds available these days and are waxing nostalgic about their “Thai Stick” of yesteryear which would qualify as schwag at best.

I don’t even smoke anymore but think that from a strictly economic standpoint that they are foolish to take such baby steps towards legalization and should just fully legalize (and tax) it.

6 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

What could a visa agent do? 

An agent eg TVC can assist you paperwork wise for TP etc that's all.

They could most likely get a correct answer and assist with the paperwork as you state.  Could help make the necessary arrangements (reservations) with quarantine hotel etc.

Basically…hand holding.  But for some, it’s worth it.  I wasn’t referring to an agent who circumvents the rules such as those who help people bypass the income requirements for an extension based on retirement.

Perhaps some sort of visa agent would be able to answer the question and/or make the necessary arrangements?

56 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

? Perhaps they are but I'm not going to get in a discussion with them about how they really feel while waiting to pick up our kids from a school that has over 40 nationalities in it including Ukraine.

But you did get into a discussion with them.  And not just one, but a few.

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

Appreciate the input. 

Yes rent the condo out.

IMO with such a crowded rental market you need to make the condo overall to "pop".

New appliances and furniture etc is first step.

As for the kitchen the hob will be replaced with a glass one.

The splashback which is a porcelain beige colour can be tiled over with glass etc etc.

In Oz I would have the doors 2 pac coated plenty of places do that.

In Bangkok I don't know about these trade services being readily available. 

 

Gonna be hard to make a bog standard condo (white tile floors, etc etc) “pop” without gutting the whole things down to the bones and starting over.  It is what it is.  Putting a glass top in and a new backsplash is akin to re-chroming the bumpers on a rusted out Ford Escort with torn upholstery.

Just lower the price from 6k to 3k (or less) and save yourself the headache and cost.  You’ll probably come out better financially in the end.  Or just sell the place.  Is it really worth being a landlord with such small returns on a condo like that?

So this is a condo you own and are renting out?  
 

How about just a good cleaning with some TSP or something like that?  

If that won’t work, accept that it’s just a dumpy old kitchen and adjust the rent accordingly.  Sometimes, you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.

On 2/21/2022 at 2:23 AM, timendres said:

Posters often comment that "the bars are dead - everyone will meet online".

These photos are a perfect example of why that reasoning has flaws.

Yup.  I’ve definitely learned to never believe the photos.

https://www.boredpanda.com/asian-makeup-transformations/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

I am talking about something very specific. HUD senior housing. Yes you do need to be 62 or older.

 

Example.

 

https://www.phgainc.org/locations/decatur-ga/

 

 

As far as general section 8 housing the units actually need to be available. Conveniently in Pollyanna USA the trend of landlords leaving the program ignored.

 

You have an irrationally sugar coated rebuttal for everything. I don't think you're posting in good faith. More like a blood sport. 

 

This is a very serious issue not a game. I'd rather play wordle. Thus I wish to exit engaging with you about it.

 

Enjoy the carnival.

If Decatur is your place, get a roommate.  $400

Or focus on midwestern cities and you’ll find cheap rent without having to live in a “backwater” as you call it.

https://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/roo/d/decatur-bedroom-available-near-100/7442171288.html

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Well over 99 percent of Americans that are suffering from the severe lack of affordable housing are not expats.

Truth.

I find it quite disingenuous of people who talk about sky high interest rates in the early 80s.  A mortgage from those days was most likely refinanced to lower rates.  People overpaying now can’t renegotiate their principal not to mention they are competing with outfits such as Blackrock.  People paid 2.5x income for a house back then.  Now it’s closer to 6x (or more)

In the mid 60s a 2000sf co-op on Central Park West was 25k.  Mortgage rates were 6%

In the early 70s interest rates were still 6% and a house that I lived in in Los Angeles at the time was $300/month to rent and $30k to buy.  Now, a similar house would be close to $2,000,000.  Annual Prop 13 taxes for a house like that would be less than the new owners will pay for a month.

That being said, there are still affordable places to live in the US 

23 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

 

https://rod.kaidee.com/product-364868341

https://img.kaidee.com/prd/20220218/364868341/m/f6525a7b-a7c5-437f-9317-6915d980828a.jpg

 

229K

That’s a 2006.  OP has a 2004

https://rod.kaidee.com/product-364704171
 

Asking 149k

14 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

This might help you understand:-

 

There are four types of yield that make up the foundation of all robust earnings in DeFi:

1. Staking Rewards: compensation for helping secure the blockchain
2. Lending Rates: interest earned for providing funds other people can borrow
3. Exchange Rewards: fees earned for helped decentralized exchanges fill trades
4. Fee Distributions: fees charged by platforms that are distributed to their token holders

 

https://every.to/almanack/defi-yields

If they are as profitable as you claim (200% annual returns to their customers), why doesn’t Vanguard or Blackrock buy them?

1 minute ago, ukrules said:

Once they have your funds what do you think they do with them?

19 minutes ago, ukrules said:

On some exchanges you can provide liquidity for traders who pay interest to use either your coins or your fiat to leverage their trades in both directions by many multiples.

 

I believe it's not cheap to do this type of trade but it is very widespread and this is where the short term borrowing at higher interest rates begins - that's just a part of it though.

 

Nope…still not getting it.  Here is a cut and paste of the post I was referring to.

“No, this 1 year period is only for the Maiar exchange as it is a new one. You can stake for 200% and wait a year or 14%, which you can sell any time. 

The 12% for Polkadot on Kraken has no holding period.  Kraken is a US bank and you can also get 2% on USD, 23% for Kava, 18% for Kusama, and many other that also don't have any tied up time. Only 0.25% for Bitcoin. 

The 47% for Solana/Raydium on Raydium exchange is also redeemable any time.”

Still can’t wrap my head around 200% APR (with a 1 year holding period) or why anybody would offer that.  And the same “exchange” is 14% with the ability to “sell at any time”.

A cash advance on a credit card would cost less.  Much less.