Tofer

Power and delusions of grandeur, that's what's wrong with her, or maybe she's just not a nice person, and / or has no idea how to treat staff / people.

Obviously too late now, but I would never let anyone into my business until they had bought it. I would simply include a handover period of say 1 month to show the new owners the ropes after payment in full.

4 hours ago, sandyf said:

Not so sure that would be a problem with a letting agent, it would be adviseable to shop around. When I rented my flat before coming over here they did not ask for any references. It was done through one of the main estate agents in Barnsley  and they asked for 6 months rent up front, after the 6 months they just took the rent on a monthly basis.

Nobody is going to be denied utilities, even those that don't pay are just put on a meter.

Glad I never used that agent.

I would want my tenants fully vetted even if they are paying the whole sum in advance. Furthermore it is now a legal requirement to obtain right of residency proof for all tenants.

Another piece of advice if renting, I found a very good portal for advertising my vacant properties called 'Openrent'. Properties advertised through this agent are not allowed to charge agency fees aside from a £20 max. referencing charge. You will find them on all the main portals, Right move, Zoopla, gumtree and a few others along with their own site. This could save many hundreds of pounds not using a high street letting agent, but may of course limit your choice.

4 hours ago, simoh1490 said:

On the subject of renting:

 

are there issues that the returning expat faces by not having been UK resident for some years, presumably agents and utility suppliers will check the credit history and there wont be any, that kind of thing?

Yes potentially. If he has no recent credit history or proof of residence / electoral roll registration, no previous landlord references he will struggle.

I had the same problem back in the late 90's returning from an extended period overseas. Simple open a local bank account and get a credit card to start building credit score, even take out a small loan and repay it early.

The immediate solution is to pay the contract period (6-12mths) in advance plus bond. I sometimes accept an uplift in bond of double rate plus first 6 months on a 12 month contract. Also a guarantor would be acceptable, all providing he can show adequate income to qualify under the referencing rules, which in my properties cases is an annual income of more than 30 X the monthly rent, i.e. Rent @ £500 pcm x 30 = £15,000 / ann.

From what you said earlier about his income / cash status I would imagine this will not be a problem for him, I presume.

13 hours ago, partington said:

I've just returned to  the UK and am renting while I look for a place to buy.

 

I 'm younger than 70 (62) and am going to buy because I don't want to be in the situation of always being able to be turfed out at a landlord's whim with two months notice, and could benefit from capital gains on a purchase (even though I am living in London). Also London rents are so huge that renting would feel too much like throwing vast sums down the toilet for the rest of your life.  However it is certainly true that renting would free up far more capital.

 

I am lucky in that I was aware from a very young age that a UK State Pension represents basic poverty line living and so took out every other pension I could afford. My US private one withdrawn as a lump sum is helping me to buy a 2 bed flat, and I have a UK private, UK state and US State coming on line within the next 5 years, which together with investments will come to over 30,000GBP so I don't have a problem thank goodness.

 

My outgoings last month in London :

1300  rent

internet/phone/tv package 30

water 30

gas/electric 31  (gas is three times cheaper than electricity so always choose gas heating)

council tax 95

tv license 12.25

travel 0  (London 60+ card bus rail tube all free)

food/entertainment/booze/ coffees eating out etc 480  (no attempt to economise at all)

 

If you exclude rent which will disappear soon it's around 700 per month.

 

I would agree with your choice to buy considering the high rents and appreciation potential in London. But for Simoh's friend the North, I believe, is not so buoyant in terms of property values, although I confess I know little about the Lancaster area. My area is West Yorkshire and it's fairly stagnant there, or was when I last left 2 years ago.

He also needs to factor in the costs of buying, and eventually selling, furnishing, upgrading / improving to his tastes, carpets, curtains, kitchen equipment, washing machines, tv's etc, etc.

I would definitely suggest a 6 month rental contract somewhere until he finds his feet and is convinced it's still his desire.

12 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

Based on what Vogie said earlier I've revisited the cost of renting versus buying and it does indeed make sense at his age, especially given his desire to preserve capital to pass along to others.

 

At £450 month rental per month for a one bed (per Rightmove) the annual net cost is only around £2,500 per year since interest income on the bulk of his capital will make up the difference - all his other costs are the same in both scenarios.

 

I believe I will try again to convince him on this point, many thanks Vogie, I'm grateful.

 

I still wouldn't mind though getting closer on the supermarket costs, if anyone can provide input.

 

Many thanks

Not quite, renting he will not have the expense of building insurance and maintenance, and even less outlay if he rents a furnished property.

An added bonus being peace of mind, less hassle / stress / effort assuming he gets a genuine, decent and responsible landlord.

36 minutes ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

 

Because only psychopaths always put the best face for the crowd...especially on social media these days.  My dad was beating mom silly, but when they were together in public, everything was always so perfect.

 

 

Sad to hear that.

Yep he must be that and / or simply lacking a brain, considering the evidence he laid out for the police.

Having said that, all credit to the RTP for apprehending him so quickly.

2 hours ago, Rc2702 said:

Nikolay you brute, don't forget to update your instagram lad.

https://www.instagram.com/mikola_828/

 

 

Having looked at this Instagram link, I am at a total loss as to why a guy with, what looks like, a comfortable enjoyable life and family would throw it all away for a totally mindless small time robbery and brutal assault....

Horrific! A disgusting animal who should be caged like one.

I sincerely hope this lady recovers fully.

The company she works for are also complicit, by not providing suitable security for a lone female carrying a large bag of cash to open the booth.

1 hour ago, simoh1490 said:

I've been through all of that with him several times and his mind is made up, in part he's hankering to revisit some of the many things he's missed for a long time, architecture, the change in seasons, the countryside, an English pub for a pint, conversation beyond just banal, those sorts of things....he's actually quite level-headed and intelligent so this is not a whim. One thing he said to me recently when we were driving past the temple where they burn bodies......he said, have you ever seen that process, three or four chaps stood there pouring bottles of petrol onto the corpse and afterwards, taking a shovel to sift the big bone fragments from the dust, it's disgusting and degrading - I couldn't disagree. EDIT TO ADD: sorry I missed your question....he's lived here for the past twenty two years.

Considering he's been away for 22 years with no family back there and friends, if any, living different lives, he could end up quite a lonely chap.

Surely he could satisfy all those desires with a 6 month visit, including re-establishing his residency to get his pension updated. Get his free health checks / treatments, dental, optical etc.

I would also consider a property investment in selected areas of Thailand to be far more capital protective than the stagnant North of England. Considering he intends bequeathing his wealth to the Thai family, I presume he is happy with them and trusts them, but can anyway have a lease to cover his interest whilst alive.

I'm sure there must be some opportunities to meet like minded intelligent people to have meaningful conversations with, unless he lives in the middle of buffalo wallowing country. In which case maybe consider a move to a more populated area.

Whatever he decides, best of luck. Maybe not burn any bridges or make permanent commitments on his first exploration though.

1 hour ago, possum1931 said:

You do not need a tv license over the age of 75 I think.

If someone could tell the OP about how easy or hard it is to get temporary accommodation, say a bedsit, and get help from the local authority with

the rent.

He could use this to allow him to stay until he finds a suitable one bedroom flat to buy.

He won't get any social security assistance if he has more than £16,000 (?) in the bank, which if he's planning to buy a flat will presumably be the case.

50 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Also depends on your fluid losses. Are you sweating much?

Not a great deal whilst house bound with this virus. Although I'm urinating nearly every hour or so with the excessive fluids I'm consuming, about 4-5 litres a day.

If I'm out on site I sweat a lot, all my work T shirts are discoloured form the salt / sweat staining. I usually only have one sachet in a glass of water (half litre) when I return in the evening, sometimes an extra one at lunchtime if I feel really drained.

1 hour ago, Swimman said:

How much fluid is the "Neo Lyte" being dissolved in and how many litres of fluid are you drinking? Normally oral re-hydration salts are safe --IF the manufacturers' instructions are followed

2 sachets in approx. 1 ltr of water.

I'm getting through about 4-5 litres a day whilst suffering the dengue. Usually I consume between 2-3 litres under normal circumstances.

Just as a bit of an aside whilst you medical experts are on board, my wife is pumping fluids down me and likes to add the 'Neo-Lyte' electrolyte powder (Glucose-4.4 gram, sodium-4.0 mEq, chloride-3.1 mEq, citrate-1.3 mEq, potassium-0.5 mEq). What would you advise as a limit to the number of these to be consumed in a day?

6 minutes ago, Oxx said:

 

Early 50s.  They took the 45 years old limit seriously.

In that case I guess I would ruled out also.

2 minutes ago, johng said:

I'm always tripping up the stairs, riser heights all over the place.

It is a particularly regular failing in Thailand, especially the first and last steps where no allowance has been made for the floor finish in the staircase design / construction. 

5 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

No, I meant pigs themselves - they serve as a resevoir for the virus. But as there are none, you're OK on that front.

 

Indeed try to move before the  rainy season if possible.

We had planned to be there already, but we are still hanging out to find good tradesmen, an extremely uphill struggle.

It's impossible to plan / schedule in this country unless you are prepared to accept very poor quality construction.

It would help if I didn't keep getting debilitated by this horrible infection, but thankfully my wife is an angel, looks after me and manages the site works in my absence.

This current bout is far less unpleasant than the first, I'm feeling quite a bit better today, only 6 days since the start. I was surprised when I read on wiki that it lasts 2-7 days, as my first bout had me in hospital for 4 days and laid up for about a month.

15 hours ago, Oxx said:

 

Actually, there have been (to the best of my knowledge) no trials with people remotely approaching that age.  The phase three trials only included individuals aged from 2 to 16 years.  This is confirmed by the link to the WHO you posted in post #4.

 

However, the age limit is pretty arbitrary and you're right there's no reason to think there's no benefit in immunising older people (a) provided you've previously had dengue, and (b) you can find a physician willing to give it.  (Samitivej wouldn't give it to me based upon my age.)

Could I be rude and ask what age that is?

15 hours ago, Sheryl said:

The 45 year bit is because they have only tested it in people up that age, does not mean no benefit to immunizing older folk.

 

But you should prioritize trying to avoid daytime bites.

 

If you are in a rural area, given that you have now had dengue twice, I would definitely urge you to get the Japanese B encephalitis vaccine. It too is mosquito borne, but due to the need for a pig reservoir not a problem in urban areas.

When I spend the day on our building site I rarely get bitten unless I venture close to the adjacent jungle. We often joke about our neighbour 200m away who frequently recites his favourite mantra, "there's no mosquitos on my land". Of course there are, but with the sea breezes they don't tend to be very evident.

Unfortunately where we are renting temporarily overlooks some shabby seafront local residences. They have nearly all of the mosquito breeding environments you mentioned in a previous post, and there's little I can do about it. We are subjected to a constant barrage of mosquitos in this property, we have an electric zapper in every room, burn coils and use the plug in repellents, sit with fans trained on us, but still they persist. Our only respite is on strong windy days. We hope to be moving onto our site within the next couple of months or so, then hopefully the situation will improve.

We live on the East coast of Koh Lanta Yai, no pig breeding around here. I presume by pig reservoir you mean a water reservoir serving a pig farm.

Many thanks again for all your advice.

14 hours ago, smotherb said:

Yes, I am quite aware of such poor workmanship. I was a construction inspector in Washington DC and Northern Virginia, saw many poor quality builds, usually inferior materials; but nothing as obvious as drastic irregularities in rise and run, windows and doors which would not seat properly, or far too narrow garages.  

Our Poo Yai Baan invited us to look around his new house last year, it was abismal. His staircase could only be described as an obstacle course, I struggled to keep my mouth shut. So if he gets stiffed there's little hope for us.

8 hours ago, Oxx said:

In short, if you haven't had dengue already, don't get it - it makes a subsequent dengue attack worse and possibly fatal.

 

http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/26/18/fda-sanofi-knew-of-dengvaxia-risks-in-2015

 

It's also not licensed for use in people over 45.

 

http://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0005179

Thank you Oxx for your detailed reply. 

So that's me ruled out at 61. Drat!

16 hours ago, Sheryl said:

It is available in Thailand at some private hospitals and MedConsult Asia in Bangkok also has it.

It protects against 4 strains. It is not known if there will be any cross-over immunity to the 5th.

New data has shown it is not advisable for people who have never had dengue of any type before but in people who have had at least one strain it is beneficial.


Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Many thanks sheryl for your concise and informative reply.

My first bout was hemorragic dengue, but I don't know what strain. Would the hospital have that info in the blood test results?

18 hours ago, smotherb said:

It was partially his fault; he trusted them and gave them a bundle of money and went back home awaiting the build. 

Quite, I just didn't want to rub anyone's nose. I also appreciate that not everyone can apply their full time attention to such builds.

Even if you are not fortunate enough to have any experience, the very least anyone should be prepared to do is visit / be on site every day, or you're taking a huge risk. Not only in Thailand, the construction industry the world over will cut corners to save money and effort.

I've seen and heard lots of unsatisfactory builds, even when projects have been left in the hands of, so called, foreign professionals.

I wonder if your friends architect has any professional indemnity insurance to compensate / pay for rectification of the defects.

I'm aware there is a vaccine for dengue fever, developed in the Philippines, and just wondered if anyone has come across it in Thailand and if they have tried it.

Also does it cover all 5 versions of the infection, as I understand malaria tablets / treatment (?) are species specific.

Just now nursing my second bout for the second year running, so getting a bit sick of it, no pun intended.

3 hours ago, smotherb said:

Perhaps, but the management of the construction misfits was supposed to be from this professional architectural firm.

Yes I understood that.

Sorry to hear your friend got so badly stitched up.