tangoll

I have some questions regarding the formation of the legal entity being the new owners of a newly constructed condominium. I purchased a unit in a new project called Baan Klang Krung Siam Patumwan in Ratchathewi area. New owners are taking over their units, each on a different date. When we transfer title, we pay one year's management fee in advance, and presumably the management fee begins the day of each unit's title being transferred to the new owner. My questions are:

1. When does the legal entity (juristic person?) being the new owners of the condominium begin? When the first owner takes title, or some specially created date?

2. Exactly when does the management fee obligation or payment of each unit begin? If it only begins when the unit's title is transferred, then who is responsible for the management fee of the unit during the time period if the date of the creation of the legal entity of the owners and title transfer date of each unit do not coincide?

Is there a Thai law that covers these aspects? Anybody know? Sunbelt Asia?

I've asked in other forums with Thais, as well as other owners in this project, and no one seems to have knowledge about this?

Yanhee Hospital, baht 800, open 7 days a week, 8 am - 7 pm, no appointment necessary - just walk in and register on ground floor, go up to 5th floor. Session takes about 45 minutes, clean and sterile, private room. In thai, it's called "Lang lum sai" meaning clean the colon.

On BTS, go to Victory Monument, then take a taxi.

I'm not their agent, just a satisfied customer.

I just had two Clarte electric units (Malaysian made) installed in my new BKK condo. One is multipoint -- for shower stall, bathtub, and wash basin -- which gets piping hot water and cost baht 6500 including installation at Homepro, and the other is a single point (which the installation guy called warm water unit) which is connected only to the shower in the 2nd bathroom and cost baht 4900 including installation. The units have to hang onto the wall somewhere near the water inflow tap, so some drilling is necessary.

My experience with gas heaters is from HK and the US, so I don't know if they are relevant to Thailand's situation. The HK unit works fine and I don't know if it has a carbon monoxide sensor, but in any case, whenever I take a shower, the exhaust fan is on as well. The gas unit needs sufficient water pressure flowing thru it or it won't fire up. I don't remember if the US units had a water tank or not. I have no experience with solar heaters.

One thing I've also meant to find out -- when is the regular credit balance used, and when does the bonus balance kick in and is used? Is there any way to use more of the bonus balance instead of the regular bonus, for both in Thailand and out of Thailand calls?

Is there anyway to convert this card's usage to permit roaming usage when outside of Thailand?

Thanks.

I have the same type of card, but I'm not in Bangkok right now, so can't check if my card has same problem. If in the year and a half, you hadn't topped up the card balance, then your credit balance has probably expired. I would check balance first, and if OK, call Customer Service and ask them what's going on. Used to be able to make int'l calls by dialing 009+country+local number. Will be back on 15 Sept and will certainly try calling int'l.

If you have a firm offer, sign the sales agreement, take the money and run if the offer price is halfway reasonable. The value of a property is only what a buyer is willing to pay for it; any other number as to what a property is worth is pure fiction.

I just went through a process of trying to come to terms with a prospective buyer of my purchase contract on a condo unit in Bangkok pre-title transfer. The negotiations took place entirely via the internet (I was in Hong Kong). All during this process;

1. The buyer never disclosed his name, identity or telephone number, despite my politely asking him/her several times.

2. When we finally agreed on a price, he kept coming up with reasons to delay signing a sales memorandum and putting up a holding deposit.

3. When I came to BKK, he/she wanted to see the condo unit, but kept putting that off, and finally withdrew from further discussion, saying he/she decided to buy a townhouse instead. All this was still thru email, even tho I had given him my local BKK number, which he/she never called for a phone discussion.

I suspected as much that this deal wasn't going to go thru, so I prepared my funds and documents, and took title of the unit this past weekend.

So the moral of this experience is that it's difficult to try to sell property via long distance, and if the buyer suspects that time is not on your side, the buyer will do whatever possible to pressure you into cutting your price with delaying tactics, making demands difficult for you to meet given your absence, etc.

So if you have an offer, take it, and move on. No regrets and don't look back to what you might have gotten. The price could drop.

In HK, I just purchased a unit for HK$500 (baht 2200) about the size of an external harddisk that's basically a TV receiver that allows you to plug in your computer monitor (via VGA connector), your computer speaker (via walkman-type plug), an antenna wire/plug, and any external DVD/VCR player via component plugs, and you now have a complete TV/video/audio system. Seems to work well. I'll be setting up this system in my BKK condo that I just took title on.

As an aside, I'll tell you how one Hong Kong bank (major UK bank) dealt with my request to have bank verify my ID and signature. A branch manager said there was no internal bank policy/procedure to do this, but this manager said he/she was willing to stamp the bank seal on whatever piece of paper I wanted to stamp but unsigned, and it was up to me to write whatever I wanted anywhere on that piece of paper.

So, bingo, the bank seal which said "For and on behalf of Bank Name Ltd, signed......." was stamped on my document, and I took care of the rest.

No charge for that service.

I went to Central Chidlom and Homepro Ploenchit and Homepro Prachachuen. For one 12,000 and two 9,000 BTU units, Central's best price was 57,000 baht including standard installation for a Panasonic, Sharp, and Hitachi unit; Homepro Ploenchit's price was 49,000 for 3 Panasonic units, and HP Prachachuen's price was 39,000 baht for a Panasonic and two LG (9,000 BTU) units. Amongst Homepro, prices were same for same unit, but Ploenchit did not have the LG units on display. These were split units.

All were willing to have units installed two days after ordering; Saturday placed the order at HP Prachachuen Road, and Monday units were installed. Worked fine the first time started up.

Extra installation charges totalled 5,100 baht for condenser racks, extra wiring/hose, etc but I'm not sure how these were itemized.

All in all, a pleasureable experience, and I doubt if one could find such quick deliver/installation service even in Hong Kong or certainly not in Western countries. Of course, I ordered other items so total bill came to over 90,000 baht -- water heaters and curtain rods (also installed on Monday), and custom shelves/cabinet units to be made by the Wood Centre at HP Prachachuen (to be delivered 16 Sept when I return to BKK).

I guess the moral of this tale is that if you know exactly what you want, when you want it, you can get quality products with quick delivery/installation in Bangkok.

Thanks for the responses. I've checked online and saw examples of the portable units. I think I will do a proper split unit installation as suggested.

Thank you.

I will be taking over a new built condo in next few days. Is there any room air conditioner which is a standalone unit that doesn't require any wall installation (like a split unit or window unit)? I'm looking for an A/C that basically one buys, brings into the room, plug it in, and turn it on. I guess there has to be a hose where the water drains off.

Are there any units like that, and would I be able to find such a unit at like Homepro or Paragon? The reason I want such a unit is that I wish to be able to use the room as soon as I take it over, and take my time on doing the proper installations. I'm not in Thailand now, so that's why I'm asking the question about availability.

Thanks.

Sorry - posted this in wrong section, but don't know how to delete the thread. Reposted in Real Estate section.

I've never had problems catching a taxi on the upstairs departures level drop off area and all are willing to use the meter. Fare from Suwanna to Sukhumvit soi 15 is about baht 200 plus highway tolls of 65.

Another thing I do right after getting into the taxi is to copy the taxi number into my phone's phonebook. For the thai characters, I just use whichever alphabet looks closest to the thai character (usually something like a n, u, or w) - into the name slot - and then the 4 numeric digits - into the phone number slot. The taxi license number is on the yellow plate affixed on the interior of the rear door sill. That way, I would have the license number of the last taxi I rode in BKK in my phone, in case I left something in the taxi or need to report the taxi to the police. With each new taxi, I just edit the old name and number with the new one.

I am a HK resident, so can speak about HK Adventist hospital, which is one of most expensive private hospitals in HK. You can do a search on "adventist hospital hongkong" and go to their website and on the "services" menu you can download a pdf file of their room rates, which I see for ICU is HK$6,000 per night (abt baht 26,000) and that's just for the room, without food, medicine, consummables, physician care, etc, and the doctors who practice there probably charge top rates. I see also for non-residents of HK, there is an advance payment of HK$80,000 for ICU care (baht 350,000). Did your mother not have to pay this advance payment?

On the other hand, if one is a HK resident (with HK ID card), public health care is very inexpensive; going for treatment in a govt funded hospital is only HK$100 (baht 430) all in for any kind of treatment, including doctor fee, medicine, and a stay in a ward room at a govt hospital is only about HK$200 per day (baht 860) for doctor/nursing service, and something nominal like $10 (43 baht) for medicine. Non-HK residents at a govt hospital have a completely separate set of charges, but not as high as the Adventist Hospital's.

In Hong Kong, one can buy a Hyundai DVD+R dvd recorder for about HK$650 (baht 2800) that does an OK job of recording onto DVD+R discs. This unit has no hard disk, so you have to copy directly from your VHS player to this disc recorder. It's light enough and small enough so that you can hand carry it onto the plane and bring it back with you to Bangkok on your next trip through HK. Tai Lam Electronics with branches in most major shopping centers have this unit. I've used this method to copy VHS tapes of old movies which are available only on VHS and not yet on DVD from the local movie rental house called Movieland.

A packet of 25 DVD+R blank discs will cost HK$100 (baht 430) so if a commercial shop will do 1 hour of VHS to dvd copying for baht 350, then the cost of the Hyundai unit plus a packet of blank discs will be equivalent to about 10 hours of commercial copying. The Hyundai recorder can also be used as a dvd/vcd/cd player.

In Hong Kong, a shop will charge HK$150 for a 2 hour dvd disc conversion/recording, or HK$75 for about 1 hour of vcd recording.

The most effective rat remover/killer is still the old fashioned spring trap that snaps the U shaped bar onto the rat when it tries to remove the piece of cheese or bait from the trigger. That way you know you've got one kill, one rat. Make sure you the trap is tied securely with rope or string so that a wounded rat can't drag the trap away before the rat expires. After the kill, removing the dead rat is not for the queasy (there's blood as well) but doable with gloves. Make sure you get a big, sturdy trap because I've seen some monster sized rats on Sukhumvit. Of course, you need to get into the attic each morning after hearing the lovely "twang" the night before.

Using poisons is OK, but if the rat doesn't die right away, finding his death bed may be a bit difficult, and if you don't find the dead rat, it begins to decompose unless the other rats use it for food.

Don't know whether these traps are available in Homepro, but I made sure to bring the trap I bought in Switzerland of all places, with me to Bangkok. Looking forward to using it when I move into my new condo (which doesn't have an attic), but I'm sure rats will find a way into the condo. I'll offer the trap as a community service to the other residents in the project.

Here's that link <Map and schematic

Hello. I have a new construction condo on which by end of August I will have title transferred to my name or some buyer (now under negotiation) will have taken over the purchase contract from me. It's a brand new condo project called Baan Klang Krung Siam Patumwan, a 500 unit project in two towers, developed by Asian Property Development PLC. I have a 2 bed/2 bath with balcony unit on 9th floor of Tower B of 81 sq metres. Location is on Petchburi Road, 2.5 minute walk (repeat, two and a half minute walk) from BTS Ratchedewi Station. Project has full clubhouse facilities like two swimming pools, squash court, fitness, etc. One fixed car park space is included. Very convenient to Siam Paragon, Mahboonkrong, Pantip Plaza, Patumwan Princess Hotel, Asia Hotel.

If I take title by end of August, I could consider renting to you for your use. It is unfurnished, but I would install some basic equipment such as A/C's, refrigerator, kitchen cabinets with sink, washing machine, etc.

If this is of interest to you, please reply here and let me know how to contact you, or you can email me direct to <[email protected]> or if email address doesn't show then (pcmar at netvigator dot com). I have schematic, map of location, and photos of interior to show you. You can see a schematic by clicking on this link:

<http://www.tangoll.com.hk/BKKSP-Map-Plan.jpg>

I'm not in Bangkok, but in Hong Kong, and will come to Bangkok later this month to either conclude the sale or take title if sale is unsuccessful.

Has any farang ever tried to do this? Seems like such a straightforward thing to do -- borrow against value of a paid for condo. Has anyone ever applied and been rejected by a bank, and if so, what reason did the bank give you?

Thanks

However much one may complain, it is precisely the "This is Thailand", mai pen rai, etc attitude, that allows some of us, upon arrival, to head up to the departures level, to catch a taxi, who is happy to use the meter, to head back into town. The one good thing about Suwanna over DM is that the traffic into Sukhumvit/CBD is not nearly as bad as from DM. Traffic to and from DM could be frustratingly bad at times.

Suwanna > DM: traffic to and from, lighter more spacious feeling, much fewer instances of planes parking on apron and having to use buses for loading/off-loading, fewer instances of flights delayed

Suwanna < DM: long walks, I've never experienced the Suw to DM transfer - must be a nightmare

Both equally bad: getting thru immigration upon arrival, surly attitude of immigration officials, don't care attitude for long lines at immigration, despite complaints rarely see any improvements made to correct defects

Overall, I think Suwanna is an improvement over DM, but it's nowhere near as good as HK, Sing, or KL.

I live mostly in Hong Kong now, but will be spending more time in Bangkok next year. In HK, the heat is on average one or two degrees C less than Bangkok on the hottest days, tho yesterday was 35 C in HK, so far hottest day of year. HK humidity is 5 - 10 % higher than BKK. One way some friends and I combat HK heat and humidity is to play tennis in mid-day for two hours or so under sun, sweat it all out, shower then have a drink (I drink hot tea) in cool A/C snack bar. Nothing beats the heat like that.

Another idea, contrary to what many people believe, is that I wear light or white coloured polo shirts of cotton, thicker and heavier than normal polo shirts, so that the shirt absorbs the sweat off your body. Or try some of the new fabrics that wicks the sweat off your body, through and out the shirt. If sweat, as another poster has said, is your body's defense against overheating, then what you want to do is get the sweat off your body, so that you can sweat more and cool your body down more.

If you do use A/C in your home, make sure that it does a good job of removing humidity in air. You can help the A/C unit by having a separate dehumidier working to remove humidity. You want cool dry air with less humidity.

Another mental thing I learned in Japan years ago: when taking a bath or shower when the weather's hot and humid, use water as hot as you can bear, like in a Japanese hot springs (onsen). When you're done, it feels great and cooling and even better, you can calm and cool your mind. I guess it's all mental.

Ended up buying a LG made in Korea 19 inch LCD TV for HK$2940 (baht 12,600), with HDMI, VGA, resolution 1440 x 900, etc and a separate Rogers dvd player for HK$250 (baht 1100). What sold me on the LG unit was the size of the panel 18 in x 14 in (unmounted) which would fit in hand carry on luggage, it's lighter weight than other models, the made in Korea sticker, plus the fact that it had the HDMI, whatever that does. The Rogers dvd player was a store display model and closeout and was probably half price of a normal unit.

PB: the built in feature of a dvd player wasn't of a great concern to me, as most computers come with built in dvd players and seem to work well. I just prefer separate units so that problems can be isolated, repaired, or exchanged more easily.

Just for info, there are many brands of LCD TV's with special deals available in HK now, most made in China. A 19 inch Levia brand, with HDMI, 1440x900 resolution, VGA connector, is now on sale at HK$1790 (baht 7,700) The panel's size is 18 in x 14 in with the base screwed off, so it fits into carry on luggage on plane. A comparable model on the sinsiamelectronics site is baht 12,000 for a Samsung unit, so there's quite a difference in price. Don't know where the Samsung unit is made.

I am a farang and buying a condo in Bangkok, doing the title transfer in my own name at end of August. I know that local Thai banks cannot lend money for mortgages to farangs (except for the Bangkok Bank deals done via Singapore). What about after the title transfer (with the proper and sufficient Foreign Exchange Certificates to cover total cost of condo), has any farang taken out a loan from a local bank against the value of the condo (say up to 50%)? Has anyone done this? And if so, are there any obstacles, like having to register the mortgage with the Lands Department? What if the bank is willing to loan the money without registering the mortgage, but keeping the title document in their possession?

Any suggestion and experiences welcome. I realize that many readers here advise against buying property in Bangkok, but some of us who purchase have our own reasons for wishing to purchase here, and defending our reason is not the primary focus of this thread.

Thanks.

FireFoxx: thanks for your post. Of all the LCD TV's I saw in HK, only this one brand (don't remember name, but domestic brand, made in China) had built in DVD player, plus a slew of connectors; don't really remember whether USB was actually one of the connectors, but certainly VGA was one, so could be used as computer monitor.

An Xcard is the 1 gbyte card now used for digital cameras in the 7 - 10 megapixels range. Even if Thailand uses PAL-B/M and HK is PAL-I then it would seem multiformat TV's (PAL/NTSC/Secam) should work fine in Thailand. Even though I am not fluent in Thai, some TV shows are still enjoyable even though listener may not understand all that is spoken; for example, most sports programs, some news or human interest stories, etc. And thank you for the link to sinsiamelectric; some of their LCD TV's are in the 12,000 baht range, which is within range of the prices in HK. But in looking at the prices of air conditioners from that site, they seem quite a bit more expensive than comparable units that I saw in Siam Paragon, for example. Perhaps difference is in whether installation is included or not; not sure.

Thanks again.