tominchaam

Any Swedes on here yet?

I am dying to know why being tall, handsome and blonde makes these people run a mile

It might be the blue eyes of Swedes making the trick!

Seriously – the Swedish media has published a lot of stories about Swedes being fooled buying time-share in the past. Today I guess few Swedish people are willing to get into the traps of time-share sellers. This is well known by most time-share sellers and might explain why they don’t want to spend their “expensive time” with a likely negative turnout.

Had one guest who left last week with one day overstay. No fee - but "got the stamp".

The current political situation in Thailand involves a lot of uncertainties. This is likely to have an impact on foreign investors for quite some time to come. Most international investors are today pretty conservative as well - mostly due to the overall economic situation from a global point of you.

Information from Land Office http://www.dol.go.th/eng_version/menu.php

Acquisition of Condominium Unit by Alien

Previously, an alien could have ownership in a condominium unit or bought a condominium unit in each condominium in a proportion not higher than forty percent of the total space of all units in that condominium at the time the application for condominium registration had been lodging. Later, on April 28th, 1999, the Condominium Act was amended to facilitate an alien in the purchase of condominium unit. As such, an alien may have ownership in a condominium unit in a proportion not higher than forty nine percent of the total space of all units in that condominium at the time the application for condominium registration is being lodged. The amended Act also provides that an alien may have ownership in a condominium unit exceeding forty nine percent if the following rules are satisfied:

1. Such condominium shall be situated in Bangkok Metropolis, municipality area or other local administrative area i.e. the Pattaya Ciity;

2. The total area of the land on which a condominium is situated, when combined with the land provided for common use or benefit of all co-owners, shall not exceed five rai;

3. Such condominium shall accommodate not less than forty condominium units;

4. Such condominium shall be registered not less than one year prior to the date an alien applies for ownership in the condominium unit;

5. Such condominium shall not be situated in the area of military safety zone under the law on Military Safety Zone;

6. An alien shall utilize a condominium unit in a way that is not contrary to the local custom or good living of the local community;

However, in a five year term as from April 28th,1999, the rules concerning the acquisition of ownership by an alien in a condominium unit in a higher proportion than forty nine percent shall take effect. After that it shall be repealed, and the alien obtaining an ownership in this regard and the alien receiving an ownership in a condominium unit transferred by the former are allowed to continue holding the ownership in that condominium unit even in a higher proportion than forty nine percent.

When you want to buy a condo in your name, the condo association is required to furnish information stating what percentage is foreign owned. If the foreign ownership exceeds 49 percent, you will NOT be able to purchase the unit in your name. You will NOT find a complex that exceeds 49 percent foreign ownership.

Sorry Gary - but Irene is correct. I know about another juristic person where foreigners percentage exceeds 65% of the total area. What you write is correct as well. But when a juristic person gives information that is false and this information is accepted by the Land Office you get a situation like the one described by Irene. Are you really surprised - I am not even if I dislike it a lot.

Plachon - read what I wrote one more time and think about it. I see no way how you can protect cash in a depression which was part of my message as well.

A recession creates difficulties as well as possibilities while a depression creates few possibilities. A depression might get many of the financial institutions out of business and it includes those “institutions” supposed to pay out pensions to retired people. A lot of unemployed people mean less tax to the government and hereby the various pension systems in many countries will be dramatically reduced. So in a depression everybody will suffer but the poor most of all. In a recession most are likely to come out of it ok after some years to come.

This is a US problem at the moment but their way of tackle it with a weak dollar and huge budget deficit is likely to cause a real slow down in the rest of the world. With the Euro stronger than it fundamentally should be Europe is likely to suffer a lot in the years to come. How the Thai economy will do is to me more a result of how the Thais handle their domestic problems where a lot has to be done if the country ever will be competitive on an international level.

Do I feel insecure? Not for the next ten years to come. I think the politicians will cure the problems we have just now. But they do it in a way that scares me a lot. The likelihood might be their short sighted solutions to the problems of today one day will be seen as the real reason for a world mega depression !

Cash is king as long as it is 100% protected and there is nothing like that in a real depression. Gold is gold but very hard to sell in a depression as well.

What are the legal options open to a Thai landlord if a tenant wishes to default on the 12 month contract that they signed--tenant has already paid 3 months rent up front, as a deposit--is keeping this deposit this the maximum penalty available to the landlord, or, if they wished, could they take tenant to court, or similar? Are landlords within their rights to keep this deposit, which I understood to be held as a safeguard in the case of damage to property?

Unless your contract is pretty rare the Landlord has the right to claim that you fulfil the contract. This means you have to pay for those 12 months. Whether he does claim this or not is entirely up to him/her.

To be transit waiting for a connecting international flight does not mean you enter the UK. There should be no problem even if your outbound flight is from another terminal within the same airport. But make sure you are allowed to check your luggage in to your final destination as you otherwise has to enter the UK.

As said by Irene this is common practice if you buy from a private seller. But here you buy from a Developer.

If the original Contract is with the Developer and states only one price I suggest you insist on sticking to this. If the Contract states you have to pay part of the fees at the Land Office it means you have to pay a little bit more compared to if you under declare. Hereby you never risk the Developer (= the Company) one day will come back to you asking for the remaining amount (those money paid with the second check) should foul play be involved.

Another reason I have heard is that if the rules for capital gain tax will be changed in the future it might be that the declared value at the Land Office will be important – today it is not.

I want to sell my membership at Imperial Lake View Golf Course in Cha-Am. Expires Jan 2023. Price 215.000 baht which includes transferfee. If interested please pm me.

Real democracy is something rare in developing nations. The majority of the Thai people are not aware what it really means to have a true democracy. Looking at the political parties few are built on an ideology and personal interest dominates their actions. It is unfortunately something Thailand shares with many countries. A strong, honest and acceptable leader could change all this – but doubt such a person will be accepted by the established elite of the country.

What country has such a leader now? Please: even ONE example.

A good example is Singapore which was a very corrupt city/area until Lee Kuan Yew came to power. He managed to change it into a modern state with an extremely low rate of corruption according to many studies. His son is now the PM and from what I have seen has the same attitude to corruption. Many might say Singapore has never been a true democracy and I intend to agree. But to have a government concentrating to do what they think is longsighted good to the people is what any developing nation needs to ever be ranked as a developed nation.

But I agree you find very few countries around the world with such a leader. I guess the main reason is the elite of developing countries tend to only protect their own interest which is very damaging to real democracy to say the least.

Real democracy is something rare in developing nations. The majority of the Thai people are not aware what it really means to have a true democracy. Looking at the political parties few are built on an ideology and personal interest dominates their actions. It is unfortunately something Thailand shares with many countries. A strong, honest and acceptable leader could change all this – but doubt such a person will be accepted by the established elite of the country.

Hello everybody.

I think to buy a house in Sweden. A friend of mine told me that it is possible to stay 1 year in house with a 10% deposit of total amount and, if house is all ok, pay the remaining 90%. It is true?? Can anybody explain me the real rules to buy a house in Sweden?? thank you. Jana

Sure you can stay one year in a house if you rent it. But a house is not bought and the purchase registered until you have paid 100% as all financing in Sweden are through banks or similar institutions.

Sure you can buy a house if you are a citizen from the European Union. But don’t expect banks are willing to give you a loan unless you can prove your ability to pay back is good. The amount the bank is willing to lend to you also depends on the estimated value of the property – estimated by the bank.

No idea why people bother with Immigration or Embassy for this.........

Myself have always gone to the Town Hall and the Local Junta will give you this paper...

I guess it's because the local transport office didn't mention this option when I asked.

1st time you need someone to go with you + Copies of passport and where you live.. call back next day to pick up paper stamped with a nice big red seal.... [accepted for when I bought my car + got the Thai drivers license + the 5 yr renewal]

I have a chanot which has both my name & my wife as co-owners. Will that do?

Don’t take for granted all Amphurs will write this document confirming where you live. To me it appears that it is rarely done in Amphurs with plenty of farangs unless you have a good contact to use. There should however be no fee involved as such a document should be free.

Another alternative is to apply for a “yellow book” but Amphurs with a lot of farangs are getting restrictive in giving them out.

Either you're a troll or there must be some misunderstanding about the process of Permanent Residency.

Maybe in one month you have an interview.

The process to get PR is slightly more troublesome than renewing the driver's license.

The OP is not applying for a Permanent Residence according to what he writes and the way I understand it. He just needs a proof of residence which is needed to get a driver’s licence.

No way will I prepare anything for my own funeral. That is up to those still alive as I am dead and can’t even take part in the party as a human being.

I hope however it will be a good and happy party which reflects my good and indeed happy life. The only wish I have is the “guests” do not have to listen to a lot of rubbish about me being such a good person – especially from those having another opinion.

It is a pleasure to see so many enjoy going back to their home countries. This is said bearing in mind I am not one of those.

I try to go back at most every second year and cannot say it is something I look forward to even if everything is up to my satisfaction.

It is however very different when I get visits here from my children with families or close friends from my old country. I enjoy it a lot and it really gives me a lot of happiness and satisfaction.

Why does your friend not use the service of the immigration office in Hua Hin?

You need a letter confirming your address as well as a letter from your bank confirming the money has been transferred into Thailand if the Land Office play according to the rules.

I doubt the bank will write a document confirming the full amount for your condo came from an overseea account if you choose alternative 2. This document is a must if the Land Office is going to register you as the owner of the property.

But this isThailand - Thai banks and Thai Land Offices! If you manage it be quiet about how it was done and don´t tell anyone.

We have a few units around 50 sq.m. The cost for a total renovation incl. new furniture was appr. 300.000 baht each. The people renting them has expressed their satisfaction and claim the standard is very high.

It will be shown on Starsport 11 pm - delayed.

All info from Department of Land can be found on http://www.dol.go.th/eng_version/menu.php

There are condominium juristic persons where farangs are registered to much more than stipulated - also where this never has been allowed. This means that if you are a registered farang owner of such a juristic person you are not allowed to sell to another farang - unless you use dirty tricks as well. Hereby I want to underline that not even registered ownership of a conominium is as protected as it should be.

Good idea if you want to board first. To me it is worth nothing even if the cost is close to nothing as well.