hugh mckee

5 hours ago, Tanoshi said:

Anyone with any ounce of sense would have purchased suitable travel Insurance if visiting for short periods. I assume a suitable policy to cover medical expenses.

personally I've never went anywhere without travel insurance, not really sure what a smart guy like you Tanoshi means by posting about "anyone with an ounce of sense"?

this topic is about being in Thailand as opposed to being back at home, if you are in Thailand and stay longer and your insurance runs out then you're going to have

to be insured against covid if you can?

my insurance company who I take out yearly insurance with sent me a letter 6 weeks ago telling me future policies won't cover for covid 19, I'm sure they are not the only one's.

covid 19 medical insurance is needed for people overstaying and also will be the "new norm'" for future travelers.

2 hours ago, Tanoshi said:

https://www.roojai.com/en/covid/

on reading their T & C's

you are only covered by this insurance if you reside in Thailand for at least 6 months or have a work permit, this has never been the case for me

and I'm sure for many others, 2, 3, 4 month trips or less being the norm'

anyone know of covid insurance for long stay holidays?

I'm in the UK but I'd rather be at my nice condo in Thailand.

maybe an ostrich but I'd rather be shielded from the horrible news every day at home, you go out once a day here and have too much time to watch news

Thailand has nowhere near the instances of infection and with it's temps and humidity is very unlikely too.

I'd sit tight enjoy the sunshine, in a month or two you'd be able to get home via a european country if not directly to the UK? if the situation arose

and you needed to go home? it's no fun here right now and extremely depressing, I'd rather be hiding from reality in Thailand, if Boris is to die? the

depressing situation here will get so much worse.

I personally had the choice to fly back to Thailand in early March but worries about Thailand becoming like Italy and getting stuck there made me chicken out,

a decision I now deeply regret.

stay, there's nothing here in the UK, you could come home and start regretting it immediately!

17 minutes ago, StevieAus said:

Well depending where these people are from they could probably be facing tighter restrictions in their home countries

In Australia for example you are not able to return home immediately but are taken by the police/ army / border security to accommodation where you are required to remain for fourteen days.

Pubs and Clubs are closed and no more than two can gather outside.

I have friends in the UK who have notified to remain inside their homes for twelve weeks

it's just a suggestion for their own good, not an order or something being enforced!

1 hour ago, Pdavies99 said:

OK, for Instance...to transfer money out of Thailand, in general you have to demonstrate it is funds that originated from abroad or taxed Thai earnings etc.

 

Krung Thai bank for example charge 1400 Baht to transfer to UK, ask for a sterling transfer to avoid terrible Sterling rates in UK, then many UK banks charge nothing for overseas transfers, making sure they also transfer in Sterling.

 

The rate Krung Thai offer for a transfer in sterling is generally 1-2 baht lower than current exchange rate, so in all your charges will be about 1400 baht plus say 2 baht per pound exchange rate loss.

 

I have done exactly this last March 2018.

 

Best Paul

2 baht per pound exchange rate loss is 5%....that is a massive amount to lose, not even UK banks charge as much as that, 5% is too much and has to be cheaper options of sending large amounts of baht back to UK?

On 2/18/2018 at 5:49 AM, cheeryble said:

What's the huge attraction with the Supalai Condos nr Central Festival?

 

I have previously pointed out the first one filled in no time, and the second one was half booked before building.

Last night I heard of an eight hour queue for sign-ups in the third building.

The price of the Supalai Monte seems to be around 65,000bt/sqm, and the studios are 33 sqm at 3.80 metres wide.

Are they offering to finance at particularly attractive terms, or what? (didn't see anything on the Monte website)

 

Other condos I've seen go up not so long ago seem to have sold very well, and units for sale go fast in an older building I know well both these categories are being lived in............what about sales in other brand new ones?

yes i think they have to change the heading of this topic to "it's unofficial" as even more than 2 years on there has been no crash despite all the hopes/wishes/dreams of the sad, bitter, jealous posters on here.

to answer your question cheeryble, I have bought a condo in a brand new building and is 2 to 4 months away from completion, as of now they only have 2 foreign left and less than a handful of Thai quota and the prices quoted for resale market are 25% more than I paid last year, the few left with developer are selling at 30% more than I paid.

the bitter and jealous on here criticise anyone on here who buys instead of rents but really who'd rent if they can afford to buy and owning is their preference? from information I am hearing the numbers of Chinese now interested in investing in Pattaya has gone through the roof, sure buying property in Thailand is a gamble, buying anywhere is a gamble but this topic is all about a decline in Thailand's property market and is totally misleading, I personally am glad I found this topic after I'd bought my condo as i think I'd never have bought if I had, now I'm very glad I bought when I did, the longer I waited the more not less i would have paid and with many infrastructure projects planned Pattaya property is not likely to crash and is more likely to grow and with even more Chinese investors too maybe now is a good time to buy? of course i can't say that but I can say from my experience that I am very happy I bought when I did.

48 minutes ago, trevoromgh said:

Thanks to Hugh and other posters for your comments and responses.  I agree the current law is daft as you can pay in your NI contributions for your whole life but in the eyes of the UK government that counts for nothing if you leave the country for more than 6 months a year and that is the truth (he says after writing many letters to the Minister of Health on the subject) they say you have to reside in the UK to receive healthcare (doesn't matter if you own a property and still pay taxes there).   If you are a returning UK citizen wanting to have NHS treatment again you need to tell them you are returning to the UK to live forever, whereas if you are a European citizen or an illegal immigrant you will get free NHS healthcare from day one no questions asked.  

 

Preposterous or what!  One of the reasons I am spending more time out of the UK right now.

 

Nowadays when you go to any UK hospital and check-in at the front desk for an appointment the first question they ask you is "Have you been out of the country recently?"  and I always say "No" as it should be none of their business.

 

 

well that settles it for me,  I will own a condo  very  soon but max' in any one year I will stay is 6 months, did not know the law was so strict or rigid and anti-expat but good to know, NHS may be criticised and unfairly too I think but for me personally to cut myself off from it would be madness.........shame the rules are like this and was wanting to spend a full year in Thailand but cannot jeopardize my health care which I have contributed to all my working life!

51 minutes ago, topt said:

Not commenting on the legality or otherwise but I would guess it really depends on your GP/practice and what, if any, checks they make. Some posters have mentioned in the past that they do that or more........

 

I would suggest that If it happened once then you would be unlucky to be caught out but over a longer period the risks would rise and in the future who knows how joined up the systems may become.

GP practices make no checks and get paid for every patient on their books so they're not at all interested in removing long term patients from their lists just because they've been out of the country and with a permanent UK address then only way I can see if that the authorities know if you're out of the country longer than 6 months  if immigration systems are flagging it and here in the UK we are always being told immigration are under staffed and underpaid, are they really bothered about making sure you stick to the 6 month rule?.....I doubt it.

yes if you have no uk address to use then different but finding a uk address to use as your own when you are in Thailand is not difficult, any family member or friend would help you out there and this in turn could be used for the GP practice.

as for talking about legality, that's a bit offensive, if you've paid NI all your life then staying out of the country for longer than 6 months hardly makes you a criminal if you are bending the rules to favour you.

sounds like some guys on TV who choose to stay here permanently are jealous of the fact that others can go back home for medical treatment or don't have to pay expensive health insurance like they have to but that is typical of the negative posters on here who are always overly keen to type their negative BS but sadly these guys can give you the wrong impression and are difficult to ignore.

great and interesting topic and thankful to the OP for taking the time to post it and for the valuable comments posted on this subject

How does the UK authorities know? of course your in and out records at immigration but do they check this? what if one year you stay 7 months instead of 6, do they get you for this? is your lifetime's contribution to N.I get lost so easily, what I'm asking is their flexibility or is this a strict rule? and what about your uk property, doesn't the fact you maintain a property in the UK mean you can stay longer than 6 months, of course from reading your post it doesn't but I kinda hoped/wished that as long as I have a UK property and registered with same GP I always had that I'd be ok for UK health treatment even if I did stay more than 6 months

1 hour ago, MaeJoMTB said:

This must be the worst instance of 'buyers regret' I've ever seen.

 

oh yes and you can post this as you have met so many people in your life who have regretted buying a condo in thailand,

I can tell you how many people you have personally met who have "buyers regret" as you call it and it is zero, you don't know anyone in this category and never will and as you have no clue about me either then not sure i can qualify in your "buyers regret" list, easy for you to type your words as if your an authority but just a forum and you can write anything

another expert????

3 minutes ago, Naam said:

you haave a point but perhaps Hugh will enjoy both views. Pattaya is a bay and a number of buildings on both ends have both even at direct beach location.

he doesn't have a point, the point was how much living by the beach costs to buy, not whether he'd prefer it or not, he said he could easily find a new condo of over 70m by the beach for 4m baht and the point is he can't despite claiming to have much knowledge on real estate, he's just one of these keyboard experts who writes nonsense.

1 hour ago, Destiny1990 said:

I dont fancy being right at the beach because its becomes a boring view soon as the sun goes down pitch black.

better bit further away on a very high floor and u have sea and city views combined which is a much nicer view to have.

so with all your real estate knowledge does that mean you cannot after all find a new build condo by the beach in pattaya for 4m baht, despite your claims, of course, not surprised of course but why claim and write these things with no knowledge?

12 minutes ago, chrisandsu said:

Give it ten years and they will

all be looking like the one you described . You could always have a nice unit amongst a load of ugly I guess ?

you mean you hope, the jealousy and envy on here is quite sad, full of bitter people like this poster only too happy for people to lose their life savings or make big mistakes, who can't wait for condo companies to go bust and then read with glee of the people who've lost a lot of money, people they don't know and will never meet but still rejoice as they lost money doing something they could never afford to do.

the bitter on here should be ashamed

7 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

Yes your lack of knowledge about Thai real estate explains why u paid 8 M Bht for a 72 sqm condo in Pattaya.

ok my lack of knowledge which implies you have this knowledge??? you go on to say you'd be finding one for 4m baht

ok I'm intrigued, show me a 4m baht 70+ sq m new build condo right next to the beach for 4m baht about 56k sq m

I viewed many many new builds before making my choice even in sri racha they are far more than 4m, bang saen even more and not even at the beach but even with all my tireless viewings, I still have no knowledge and some keyboard expert on here know's far better than I do, yes I saw many condos cheaper than mine but didn't tick all my boxes and in fact I choose one of the more expensive one's I viewed but never saw any by the beach for 4m or even 5m for the size i wanted which was a large living area and one largish sleeping area, and def' not 2 bedrooms, I'm not a renter.

you get what you pay for, I paid 104k sq m because that is the going rate despite the downturn, if there wasn't a downturn i'd never got it at that price, I could have bought 100's of condos for 4m baht but not with the location I wanted for my holiday home purchase, as I said quite simply you get what you pay for and you have to pay for location and the privilege of owning a new home, people like destiny are either too jealous or too stupid to realise this.

so destiny show me this 4m baht 70+ sqm new build condo right next to the beach in Pattaya you speak of, as you say you have the knowledge and I don't, I await with interest.....maybe for a very long time?

quite simply you pay what you have to pay, the market dictates the price, not you and definitely not the clueless "know it all" keyboard experts on here, who think they have all the answers mostly from their small rented rooms far from any beach.

you got  too excited there destiny with your adulation of trogers, you posted same idiotic comment twice as if once was not enough......seems you have had too much sun after all

trogers pinky finger must indeed be quite a talent, have you met this pinky finger who has so much knowledge about real estate?, a rare talent to have such a thing, I only use mine to pick my nose, it know's nothing at all about real estate, as for my entire body, you let me worry about that but i think but correct me if I'm wrong that knowledge is stored in the brain except of course this famous pinky which you apparently admire so much.

34 minutes ago, Destiny1990 said:

Trogers has more knowledge about real estate in his pinky finger then you in your entire body.

 

4 hours ago, MaeJoMTB said:

How much have you paid out for this 'imaginary' condo so far? (just wondering)

Have you checked how many condos this company has already built? and if they built on time?

You do understand quite a few 'off plan' condos never get finished (especially in Pattaya), and nobody gives foreigners refunds.

Then there is all the prime location with sea view condos, that promptly have another condo built right in front of their sea view.

 

I paid 20kbht up front for my wife's 'imaginary' house.

They got the other 200k when it was finished, at the Land Office (bank official et al), and they were ready to hand  over the keys.  

They actually finished the house 1 month early, but not the road outside, so I made them wait.

 

Not a 'know it all', but lived here nearly 10 years full time, so know better than to trust a Thai construction firm.

I suspect even Naam would be a bit careful with 250,000 Euros.

here we have a thai property expert, a self proclaimed "not stupid guy" yet he basis all his knowledge on what happens in his street of 2m baht houses and that because one of them is lying empty then this is an indicator for the whole of Thailand, he has obviously no clue of what people are having to pay per sq m to be beside the beach or to live in the city and only knows about his his own little street but claims he's not stupid and can tell me how much my condo is worth and what i could sell it for without any knowledge , typical of the keyboard experts.....but oh he tells us he's not stupid???

what do you know about foreigner refunds, about off plan condos not being built about prime location condos have another built in front of them, you only know what you read on here and you write nonsense so don't be too surprised if others right similar nonsense.

fyi, there will never be another building in front of my condo, it's too near the beach already, I won't need a refund as a foreigner as it's very near completion and will be finished soon but thanks for your concern.

I could afford to buy a nice condo, some on here just don't like anyone who can do this,

this is a fact, sad but true despite their undoubted denials, it's all in their words

1 minute ago, MaeJoMTB said:

How much have you paid out for this 'imaginary' condo so far? (just wondering)

Have you checked how many condos this company has already built? and if they built on time?

 

I paid 20kbht up front for my wife's 'imaginary' house.

They got the other 200k when it was finished at the Land Office (bank official et al) and they were ready to hand  over the keys.  

They actually finished the house 1 month early, but not the road outside, so I made them wait.

another stupid comment, "imaginary condo" you're another one of these keyboard smart asses

I'm not interested in your 2m house or your 20k deposit, that's your life and your circumstances, don't equate everyone to your mindset and your finances and your life, we're all different and houses are different and condos are different, what people can afford is different, what people's wshes and desires are different and what they are prepared to pay for this are different.

if you are happy in your 2m baht house then good for you but nasty comments because someone chooses to pay 8m for a condo is the comments of a stupid, bitter and jealous guy who of course would rather live in an 8m baht house than a 2m baht house despite all he types on here, many mnay people have paid 8m for a condo, many have paid more, you get what you pay for, you got a 2m house.

4 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

So what did u buy? Studio one bed? What City ? Sqm?price? Why u care so much what others write here? If u like the place and the unit u bought then why not simply enjoy it?

I bought a 72sqm studio condo beside the ocean in Pattaya for 8 million baht including taxes and it's very very nice and ticks all the boxes i was looking for, I could have bought an older similar condo 1km from the beach and saved about 4 million baht but I'm not an investor and money is not my god, I choose a new condo right next to the beach and of course  you've got to pay lots more for this, I want to be happy and comfortable and enjoy the cooler sea breeze in my own home, this comes at a premium but "you get what you pay for" and I'm sure I'd have no problem selling this condo if Thailand does turn out to be such a bad place as is made out so much on this extremely negative forum, sure thailand has it's problems and maybe I have to remove my rose tinted spectacles, but if you have the not very nice, windy, raining, cold, dark before 4pm conditions i will be enduring for the next couple of months then maybe you'd not be so quick to be so critical of thailand like so many are on here.

I come on here hoping to read about people on the same journey as me as it's about buying real estate, I'm not wanting to read about know it all's saying no one should be buying, why would I when I've just bought? there's so many on here with a different agenda and their opinions are flawed and biased to suit their selfish desires and their large egos.

reading Thai Visa has me worried that I have made a mistake but it's one I can fix easily but hopefully not as Thailand has given me many happy times as a holiday maker and wish for more every UK winter I have left...........but def' won't be buying a car, never had a clue the roads were so bad!

and yes have to stop reading this forum as you don't get a balanced view, there's way too many whingers on here, it's a totally disproportionate viewpoint,  the happy people are far less likely to post, they're out having fun I suppose.

9 hours ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

I guess you missed us or did something happen on the trip to Las Vegas?

Any progress on the condo?

no Las Vegas was great and I love USA but not allowed to live there like I can in Thailand

and yes I've tried to delete my account and again last night but it's not possible, every time I do come on here I read so much negative stuff that it makes me seriously doubt my decision to choose Thailand, the bad stuff about Thailand you read on here is unbelievable and if I'd read this forum before I bought I would not have bought that is 100% certain and because of the weak £ I could sell my condo when it's finished in 4 months for a similar price i paid for it and put it down to a lucky escape, even if i take a loss, I won't die, it's only money but then I'd have to rent and that is a 2nd class way of doing things, so much better to stay in your own home and the jealous, envious, bitter renters on here know this but most don't have the cash or the balls to ever buy their own property which makes them wish that those who do lose out just out of pure spite and jealousy,  a lot of the comments on here are fuelled by this, from bitter, sad, bored and unhappy people or people basically trapped in Thailand as it's their only home and that is why it's better to delete and not read as the happy people usually don't have time for these forums so it's unlikely I'm ever going to read their thoughts and get a balanced reflection on Thailand.

8 minutes ago, robertthebruce said:

 

All I can say is I am so so glad I eventually sold my Condo...

 

100 Percent Positive would never buy again  in Thailand....

 

Too Risky........

 

but thats me, ...everyone is different......

 

 

why? and I'm a fellow Scot, my question is genuine

isn't any purchase got an element of risk wherever you are buying?

32 minutes ago, trogers said:

I didn't need to be Yoda to cash out before the sub-prime fiasco and acquire my condos here in 2007-8.

I don't care, that's your business, how much money you have means absolutely nothing to me, I don't know you, will never meet you, to me you are nothing, you're boasting is lost on me.

I'm on this forum looking for people in similar situation to myself, purchasing a condo in thailand, not some know it all, arrogant serial poster who likes to boast about how much money he has which impresses no one and is a poor reflection on you

11 minutes ago, trogers said:

You came on here a little late. If you only came here in 2009. I sang a different tune then, as I should be, at that point in the property cycle.

you are not Yoda,

life events have a big part of dictating when you make a holiday home purchase

you still have no clue for certain nobody does, not even the bank governor, all speculation and opinions,

you have no clue what negotiating a prospective buyer is doing with the developer to say you shouldn't be buying is just wrong on so many levels

12 minutes ago, trogers said:

Difficult to avoid when one personality views this OP (It's official - Thai real estate bubble pops) is outside the definition of this forum section.

I've made my point, all this talk of investment and making money and being justified by any negative news story they can find and at the same time ignoring the recent governor of the bank of thailand's comments on the very subject

I come on here to find people like myself in the process of buying in thailand which is what this section is about, instead i find guys like trogers advising people not to buy, forgive me for being a little confused