Tofer

2 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

buying at the right time

Of course you were lucky.

Oh yes of course I was lucky, for all of the 20 odd years slogging away, risking my shirt to get ahead of the game, and working full time to pay for the privilege as there were no buy-to-let mortgages when I started out.

My first and second mortgages  were obtained by being creative and getting a forward valuation on the property once renovated with funds withheld until works complete and bank loans / overdrafts / credit cards  to cover the shortfall in the meantime. My sweat equity covered the deposit eventually.

It's called commitment, hard work and guts, not luck! But then not many out there are prepared to break a sweat or stick their necks out.... And to them I will always appear lucky as they cannot comprehend otherwise.

2 hours ago, Samuel Smith said:

Back in 2001 or so, we were driving dirt roads north of Samoeng & not sure where the road went.  Wife asked the locals.  They didn't know!

Couldn't you read a map, and didn't you know which way North was?

If the answer is yes, why were you asking the locals?

2 hours ago, sfokevin said:

I have yet to meet a Thai who could tell you which way is north 

You should get out more and meet more Thais.

7 hours ago, CNXBKKMAN said:

The over riding constant about property ownership in Thailand is that foreigners can't  own land/ houses. Evertbody knows that except young children. If you then go ahead and buy a property in the knowledge you cant legally own land/property you cant really complain when it later goes tits up! Only invest in what you are happy to walk away from. 

How has that blinkered opinion got anything to do with people being illegally sold a developer property or the land to build on.....

This smug attitude towards foreigners who buy property is absolutely uncalled for. There are many foreigners married to decent Thai ladies, not everyone marries gutter trash.

It's got absolutely nothing to do with who actually bought it or by what means, quite simply that they were defrauded. You cannot buy a piece of land without a land office registered title deed and transfer agreement, unless it hasn't got one, then it's not a purchase as anything without a title deed is not owned and as such cannot be sold, only passed on to someone else with possibly a financial consideration. I can't believe all these investors were stupid enough to buy without at least a Nor Sor 3 Cor title deed.

Sue the land office officials / developer / sales agent etc. as all must have been complicit in this scam. End of!

2 hours ago, cyberfarang said:

Agreed. I know because I used to rent out properties in London. In the end these scum bag tenants got so many laws in their favour with always the odds going against the landlords that I gave it up, renting was no longer a viable business.

 

But the odds are also against decent people trying to find accommodation because there are many unscrupulous landlords too. As I said, the whole system is rotten to the core on all sides. 

 

 

London is a microcosm of property markets and is not a good example by which to make a general opinion.

I own property in the North and, yes buying at the right time and contributing heaps of cash and effort into producing quality properties for rent has paid off to some degree. I started with nothing and got what I have through very hard work, not being rich or lucky. All simply to provide a decent pension for my family. Even though I now have an agent looking after them it's still work and worry, so retirement on a residual income is a myth. At least I have never sat back and relied on the government to provide for me!

A lot of our tenants are very decent, thorough vetting is a major factor, however we also get our share of the dross. If all tenants were honest, respected the properties they rent and paid their dues rents would not need to be so high!

I also feel for the younger generation of today as it is relatively more difficult in the current market than when I started in terms of mortgages, but some are not prepared to get out there and make their own way, preferring instead to sit around complaining and oozing envy, living for today instead of planning / working toward their futures.

There are plenty of cheaper properties out there, maybe not so pretty but that's where the hard work comes in, it doesn't get handed to you on a platter!

5 hours ago, Deli said:

Obviously... You don't ride anything better than a plastic scooter. Enjoy :)

Correct, Honda PCX for local pottering around. I drive a car for longer journeys which is far more comfortable and probably more economic than some of the 'big plastic bikes'. More expensive also, but I don't fret over what the attendants in petrol stations are doing when they fill up my tank.

21 hours ago, sandrabbit said:

never been there and shut down for most of the year but on your hated west coast lol. 

 

http://www.inspirephuketkrabi.com/phuket-krabi/grand-opening-party-harrys-steakhouse-sportsbar-koh-lanta-saturday-2nd-september-2017/

 

we were invited to fly down from Rayong but couldn't because of resort business, if you meet Chan you will see why she fronts a business well. 

Got it, thanks. I know now exactly where, in fact we were at the bank there the other week and I commented a bar had opened. We will call in one day and mention Butterball.

I only dislike the West coast North from Klong Kong as it's a bit ramshackle and commercial, South of there is very beautiful, great beaches and sparsely / sympathetically developed.

We have friends in Mae Ram Peung, so when we visit again we might look you up.

25 minutes ago, MadMuhammad said:

Entirely believable. I once lost 30kg in 6 weeks, and kept it off mind you. Starting weight of 146kg. 

I ended up at 105 before returning to a fit 120kg.

At my heaviest I was 179kg (160 in first pic)

Watch out. Tropo might finally destroy his pc over that one!! :)

1 minute ago, tropo said:

"you can't safely lose more than 4kg in a month" was the qualifier. You lost yours due to sickness. 

 

 

Surely it depends on your starting weight.

When I started using a gym in UK I lost 8kg in 2 weeks (103-95), and felt great.

My daily weight could easily fluctuate 1-2kg / DAY...

4 hours ago, soistalker said:

If you lost 15kg in one month, then you have AIDS.

You can't safely lose more than 4kg in a month.

Catch dengue fever and you'll eat your words. I lost about 10kg in 3 weeks. Looked better but felt bloody awful! 

20 hours ago, Naam said:

if you think this comment will make us demand less beer when visiting you then....

 

 

 

you are very wrong!

Drat, I've been rumbled!

I think I can stretch to a beer or two even, and you would be most welcome to drop in and visit if you're in the area. Just don't forget your tool kit, as you seem to be fairly handy.....

Pm if you ever want to call in, I can't promise the ritz, like what you appear to be used to, but the location and views are to die for.

I recall when I first came to Thailand that farang were considered uncivilised because they were aggressive and confrontational! Oh how the table has turned.....

In a civilised society these thugs would be jailed, the police would be investigated and the parents would be arrested for attempted bribery.

Indeed, let's wait and see.

10 minutes ago, sandrabbit said:

If you're on Koh Lanta go visit some very good friends at Harry's Steakhouse & Sportsbar, say to Chantana that Butterball recommended you (my wife and she  used to work for her). Luckily we live in the driest part of Thailand just onshore from Koh Samet (not going to enter pissing games with anyone over this) and we've heard it's a short season down there. After living in India for 4 yrs the Indian Ocean monsoon is way worse than being on the gulf but more picturesque I presume. There is another point to auto settings in that they are generally more gentle on the units than compressor and fan(s) running constantly at full tilt thus giving a longer lifespan and less breakdowns. If there's not enough airflow have a floor fan running as it will be cheaper to replace that than the AC evaporator fan in the unit. 

 

Boost is as Naam said, the unit running at 100% fan speed and the compressor running constantly on a timer.

 

 

You're quite right a stand fan would be more economic but our rented property has a bedroom that you can barely walk around the bed, certainly no room for a fan.

We're only in it because it's reasonably well appointed and is near to our site. Not much choice in this delightful backwater. Yes the season is very short, but that's not altogether a bad thing on a tourist island when you want peace and tranquility, hence our East coast location away from the tourist beaches on the sunset coast.

Our house will have ceiling fans and insect mesh at the windows so we can enjoy the fresh air, hopefully with little need for a/c.

Where is Harry's, not sure I've seen it?

13 minutes ago, tutsiwarrior said:

I believe the 'boost' mode is meant to be used on machine start up inna hot room to quickly lower the air temp. with increased evaporator air flow and associated compressor activity to quickly reach the temp control set point...this is a control option as the design performance/efficiency is temporarily compromised for this purpose...

 

we got that feature on our inverter but not on our conventional units...seems like it should be the other way around as the inverter operation should auto adjust to handle a hot transient interior air temp whereas the conventional units would simply plod along until the temperature set point was reached, shut off and etc, thus requiring a control 'kick up the backside' feature to improve comfort...

 

('whew!...the ice in my vodka is already melted, someone turn on the AC...' 'it's been on fer 20mins now, ye eedjit...')

 

 

That's exactly what I meant by my earlier comment 'kick up a gear', as I'm too impatient to wait for it to plod along. Seems I am doing the right thing after all.

No a/c for us tonight, and my dinner wine stayed at a pleasant temperature throughout dinner. The frogs chant was a bit intrusive though.

3 minutes ago, sandrabbit said:

I was ill recently and had the heating on in the car on cool days and will do the same in December and January when the temperature drops, we live in Rayong and I've become a lizard now preferring the heat to the cool. I'm not northern European anymore plus my wife likes the AC setpoint at about 24c when I would set it to 27c. Also my advice was aimed at saving you money ........

Sorry to hear of your ailment, but heating really....  You must have been here a very long time to get so acclimatised. Having said that I love the heat, not the direct sun, but the humidity is a pain. We've had heavy monsoon rains today in Koh Lanta and it's quite cool, but I'm still sat in shorts and t-shirt on the balcony eating dinner with the house wide open to cool breezes.

I really appreciate your advice and concern about our expenditure but, hopefully without sounding arrogant, the day I worry about an electricity bill is the day I nail the lid down.

I ran an office in Oman some years ago and used to send the secretary out to start the car for me 10 mins before I needed it, forget any thought of it getting stolen there was no way I was getting into a steaming hot car until the a/c had got up to speed. I know I know, pitiful, but there were days when dashing between sites and meetings I would end up having as many as 5 showers, and I didn't have the time as I was already working 16 hrs a day 6.5 days a week to keep on top of the work load. 

Hope you are back in rude health now.

This forum is a godsend wherein you can access knowledge and expert / user opinion, and I thank you all for your contributions and good natured banter.

17 minutes ago, amvet said:

You can control your ac from a smart phone so it starts when you get near home. 

Whooosh....

Only joking, I do actually have a smart phone, but only because my wife insisted I gave up the old keypad device!

I came to Thailand to live in the beach version of the bush to get away from rampaging technology and overbearing bureaucracy, so I won't be installing that app, but thanks for the information all the same.

Maybe when this building project is finished, now I'm sort of retired, I might find time to drag myself into the 21st century.

11 hours ago, sandrabbit said:

I'm sorry but you sound like my wife, I set the AC in both house and car to run in automatic ie to control to the temperature I want but manual setting isn't as energy efficient as letting the unit do it itself and my bugbear is setting the temperature setpoint as low as possible as the unit can't work any harder than it already is.

Well, it appears, aside from me and your wife, that Daikin and a few other brands agree there is a need to override the auto setting to boost the cooling effect :)

I don't use auto in the house because the fan at low setting is not good enough for air flow comfort, so we set it at medium flow which overrides auto (fan setting) on our crappy Panasonic unit.

Our Mitsubishi Pajero a/c is generally very good but doesn't boost cooling (high fan) sufficiently on auto at our usual 25* ish setting when you first get in on a hot day, or as I said before maybe we just feel the need to get the temp down lower initially when we are boiling over from the outside heat / sun.

I will concede I am not the most technically minded when it comes to mechanical issues, but our comfort is more important than energy efficiency / cost.

Apologise to the carbon footprint greenies...

2 minutes ago, Naam said:

if it's a conventional unit the compressor runs or it doesn't. there's no such thing like "kick up a gear" no matter what you set with your remote! 

I get what you're saying, it's more a case of we feel a need for it to cool the room down more when we first enter, once in bed we invariably turn it down a notch.

Why do some machines in hotel rooms have a boost mode if the auto mode is meant to do the job?

Just now, Naam said:

no advice without being precise! half an hour or so... does not match your comment

after "half an hour or so" are you switching the unit off or "then run it at about 26/27..."?

We run it all night at that temp mostly for the fan / air circulation.

16 minutes ago, sandrabbit said:

I'm sorry but you sound like my wife, I set the AC in both house and car to run in automatic ie to control to the temperature I want but manual setting isn't as energy efficient as letting the unit do it itself and my bugbear is setting the temperature setpoint as low as possible as the unit can't work any harder than it already is.

I usually rely on auto, but find the fan (in car) and compressor (in house) kick up a gear if the temp is turned down for a spell. Maybe it's the crappy Panasonic unit in our rented house, I know for sure it's not the most efficient.

Some hotel a/c's have a boost mode which has the same effect.

1 minute ago, Naam said:

that does not explain "a bit".

Half an hour or so before we go to bed.

33 minutes ago, Naam said:

anybody can clean the filters! but depending on usage the unit has to be cleaned thoroughly by a professional. this is done by spraying a detergent foam and let it "work" for 15-20 minutes. then the unit is rinsed by pressure washing.

For that I would surely get a contractor in, as you say twice a year.

2 minutes ago, Naam said:

please define "we switch a/c on a bit".  are you first setting the thermostat lower than the later on desired 26/27ºC?

Sometimes as low as 24/25* if it's a bit of a sticky hot night.

44 minutes ago, Naam said:

Daikin flaws

-on high fan speed the units are extremely loud.

-fan bearings deteriorate when used continously after a few years.

 

positive aspect

-quite reliable and fair priced.

-availability of spare parts excellent.

 

summary:

but generally highly overrated by people who lack experience with other brands.

 

If, if we ever had to use them, we would never have them on high fan. In our temporary rented home we switch it on before we turn in to cool off the room, then run it at about 26/27* with low or medium fan, as there are no ceiling fans or insect screens on the windows to allow us to leave them open.

We only use high speed fan in hotel rooms which are hot on entering and need a good blast to remedy that, and they are all usually quite noisy on that setting.

In this case can I assume Daikin have your blessing?

Sorry, repeated it as I thought the first one had got lost!