dsfbrit

I have a similar dilemna, have some land through the company route but want to build. However do not want to put the house in the company name and not sure the best way to go.

Just a thought and I am not fully 'up to date' on all this. By that I mean a few months ago I was on top of all this, but some of the details have faded from my brain!!!

However, I seem to recall you cannot have just the land in the company name and the house in your name (say), both land and house must be in the company name if you go that route.

Still, if have remembered that correctly, I expect you knew that anyway

I am considering moving 'my' house and land to my wife via a USUFRUCT.

Why do you have to move both house and land?

You are right of course, a sloppy reply on my part I am afraid. If I do the Usufruct (a big IF there), then I will of course make the most of all the favourable options suggested by Sunbelt. Mind you, to be honest, without the land the house is not of much use and the Usufruct is for my lifetime anyway. So, for practical purposes, the benefits of the land and house split dont really seem that great to me.

Still if I do this, then I will take Sunbelt's advice.

Good luck with the building - hope it turns out nice for you.

I own a house and land via the company route and do not understand why you dont consider it to be a risk.

Because the Government welcome foreign investment, can close these loop-holes ifthey wish but do not and because no-one has ever had their property taken away yet. To me it'll never happen so not a risk I think about.... .

Never mind the constant 'threat' of the FBA changes (its on, its off, its on, its off) hanging over us

What changes to the FBA ? The last lot proposed did not affect FBA List 3 companies that we have to hold our property.

Burgernev

Hang on, hang on - just a minute ... Whether or not you personally think about a risk or you personally find it an acceptable risk does not mean it is not a risk.

Some people - in fact many people I have spoken to about this during the last 2 years - don't like it at all and do lose sleep over it.

I have debated this at length over the last couple of years on many threads and I agree with you that these risks, for me at least, are acceptable.

Especially compared to the 30 year lease.

I decided some time ago, to leave the land ownership in my company and not consider it again.

I only 'wandered' into this Thaivisa Land forum recently as I heard:

- there may be the chance of the government doing 90 year leases ( unlikely)

- the government have reduced the sales/transfer taxes (so if I wanted to do a USUFRUCT - now is the time)

- the number of Thai nominee shareholders has reduced to 3.

I have read all I need to, so bid you farewell

Agree about 'ownership', but I 'own' properties here through Limited Company and Lease because I don't consider it a risk, ... not scared of the dark...

Maybe I need to get out more, but I don't believe these scaredy-cats really exist.

Only one of the above is certain, that a landlord will take your money and it will never be yours again.

Burgernev

I own a house and land via the company route and do not understand why you dont consider it to be a risk. Never mind the constant 'threat' of the FBA changes (its on, its off, its on, its off) hanging over us, there is the slim possibility that the authorities will actually enforce the current company/land laws. I too am not afraid of the dark, its more whats in it that I cannot see that concerns me.

I don't lose any sleep over my company structure, so accept the risks. However, I still may move the property into a USUFRUCT in my wife's name, mainly because the transfer taxes etc... are minimal for the next year and now would be the time to do it. I don't really know why I would do this though as the USUFRUCT has risks as well.

On balance though, the company structure, with all its flaws still seems the best of a bad job, so I may not do anything.

I 'own' a house and land through this approach.

My advice to you us do not do this.

Its illegal - plain and simple.

Unless you are very mentally tough, you will lose sleep over this.

There are many many ... many threads that have been posted on this forum since the declared 'crack-down' on this type of structure back in May 2006.

The crackdown and the changes to the Foreign Business Act (FBA) which have never come into force should be read about in depth.

Other threads you need to read relate to buying house and land via LEASE and USUFRUCT.

Do NOTHING until you fully understand all these topics.

Good luck, I have been learning about all this stuff for the last 2 years and am still not an expert. However, I can assure you the set-up you are considering is not a 'master plan' - its a mistake

As the 'sales' tax (not its true name, but it explains what it is)has been reduced for the next 12 months to nearly zero percent from 6 percent, I am considering moving 'my' house and land to my wife via a USUFRUCT.

If you must buy property in LOS then buy a condo in your own name in the 49 percent allocation allowed for foreigners.

would agree with above, why bother? Another problem with the home filter systems is they are high maintainance, and if you dont maintain them the water becomes even more contaminated than you started with, I will stick with having the large bottles delivered.

How do you know if the large bottles that you get delivered have qaulity drinking water?

They just get recycled and returned, but with what?

Agree with the 2 comments above. I have spent several weeks looking into getting a filtration system for the house. I have Well water anyway, but bought lots of bottled water from Big C for drinking and even making tea.

I have decided that for my requirements a simple Water Purifying jug is the best solution. Its free standing and you manually add about 8 litres of water in the top and it is filtered. Just top it up as necessary - simple. Its a Nuvo (German) and cost 1300 Baht from Big C. I bought 2 additional filters at 500 Baht each, in case they no longer make them I come to replace the filter in 6 months time.

I am in the process of buying one of these as well. I found this thread a useful discussion.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...&hl=osmosis

I started off thinking I would have a big tank for the whole house, but decided I hardly needed filtered water to shower, so looked at smaller systems just for the drinking water.

You can buy them in just about any hardware store. I have been to Homeworks, HomePro, Tesco, Big C etc...

After a lot of thought and investigation, I am considering just buying one of those small filter jugs from Big C for about 2000 Baht. They have a filter in them and you have to fill manually, but it seems a really easy option for the amount of water I really need to filter.

I would not bother at all, but it is a real pain having to load up with heavy bottles of water from Big C.

Depending on the degree of care required I think I would rather be at home with a couple of carers to assist my wife in taking care of me. I'm talking a mobility problem here not a mental one.

If I'm a vegtable and just sit around and stare at the wall and crap my pants I'd much rather be put out of my miserie. I don't want to be remembered that way. Catch up on my sleep with half a bottle of sleeping pills. That better than the ever popular taking a dive off the roof.

Agreed.

I hope you (and me come to that) have someone you can trust to look after you (or buy the sleeping pills/help you to that high floor balcony )

The trouble is it doesn't seem to work 'cleanly' like that.

Since being involved in the 'care home scene' because of my mum, I have seen many people that are no longer able to think properly and are at the mercy of other people. Carers at the care home are at least well regulated.

I have seen people with Power Of Attorney over an elderly relative, that I would not buy a second hand car from, let alone entrust with all my care needs!

As for carers at home - I have a friend who pays for 2 carers to look after his dad in his home (his 88 year old dad lives on his own with the 2 caresr - not with the family). He is constantly having problems with them. He has replaced them several times over the last 3 years alone. His dad is now in the early stages of Alzheimers and my friend is certain one carer was abusing him and another was stealing the food and feeding his dad with a small percentage of the food that was bought.

I am 'only' 53 and until I got involved with care homes because of my mum, I never thought about old age care. I would never have bothered reading nor commenting on a thread about old age. If I had I may have made a joke about it.

The trouble is, its really quite scary.

A depressing subject indeed, think I will go and read the Travel Forum instead

My mum is in a Care Home in the UK. The care in my mum's home is excellent and regulated.

They have recently changed the names of these service providers, but basically there are Care Homes and Nursing Homes.

As the names suggest, if you are just old and infirmed and need general looking after, then you can stay in a Care Home where there are no qualified nursing staff.

If your situation is worse then this, then you will be assessed by the Local Health Authority as needing Nursing care.

The 'Nursing' part is supposed to be provided 'free' or at least subsidised. The attitiude of the British Government is that the Nursing part should be free and just the accommodation part paid for. This is because all Nursing Care under the National Health Service (NHS), is supposed to be free at the point of delivery.

This concession was won by an Age Concern group taking the UK Government to court a few years back.

I won't go into all the details, but at the moment We (the family) pay 550 pounds a week (yes a week - that is not a typo!! about 35000 Baht a week) for my mum to be in a care home.

She is 87 and if her condition worsens (she is a diabetic with heart problems), she will be assessed as having to go into the Nursing home next door. We will then have to pay another 100 pounds a week.

Its an odd situation, because my mum has a District Nurse come visit her each day to help with injections, but this is not considered to be 'Nursing' care as the Nurse is not on site permanently.

However, if mum goes into the Nursing home, the Government would then reimburse us about 70 pounds a week for the 'Nursing' part.

This cost is no more expensive compared to other care homes in the area, so you can see the cost in the UK is generally high.

Yes we did have to sell the house and use ALL assets that mum has saved over the years. This includes her pension as well. When the money reduces to around 20,000 pounds, then the Government helps with the non 'Nursing' costs as well.

By the way, people in the UK who have no assets at all get all their care free from day one!!!

Socialism at its fairest.

In the UK, there are regular inspections by the Government (CSCI), which publish all the results of care homes they inspect to ensure the homes are well run, there are no abuses etc...(sadly there are lots of abuses even with this inspection system).

Care homes can be shut down if they do not meet certain criteria.

One of the important things about the UK set-up is that it is closely regulated and for example, the carers cannot accept gifts and cannot witness such things as legal documents etc...

I personally would not trust any care home in Thailand to look after me. I would suspect that even if an organisation were set up in Thailand - equivalent to the CSCI - it would be unable to seriously regulate the abuses that would inevitably occur.

Could you imagine being infirmed and your Thai carer being able to witness your Will for you...

I am afraid the Outlet Mall/Village does NOT have a Puma 'factory outlet'. I went down there yesterday (friday) and firstly looked at the store directory outside the building - I was surprised not to see it there as it had most of the other well known brands. I assumed it had not yet been added for some reason - so went to look for it. I walked around the whole site - couldn't find it. So I went around again as I was sure it must be there.

It isn't - so good luck finding it - it must be well hidden in Pattaya somewhere

I am going shopping down there tomorrow (Sat) - to Tescos - and will have a look for you.

I will let you know tomorrow or Sunday.

I think that Puma is amongst the recently opened outlets at the back of Tesco in South Pattaya. If you have time to take a look, take the Sukhumvit road towards Rayong and you will see Tesco Lotus on your right hand side at the turn for Jomtien. At the back there are about 5-10 new shops selling a lot of designer gear.

I went there a few months ago when they first opened and I am pretty certain Puma was there as well. I would give you more precise directions, but I am just on my way out.

There was a program on the UK (BBC?) TV a couple of years ago that investigated the security of people's homes. They had an X-burglar as part of the show. On the show I saw, the X-burglar had to rob a house that had a guard dog. The guy climbed in through an open window upstairs and went downstairs where the dog was barking madly. He just gave the dog some meat, it wasn't drugged or anything. The dog stopped barking, ate the meat whilst the guy got on with stealing whatever he wanted to.

At the end he left the house, loaded up the stolen goods in the house owner's family car and then called the dog. The dog got into the car and he 'stole' the little mutt as well.

Classic - when the family saw the film they too could not believe the dog could be so dis-loyal!!

I have a 'ferocious' dog that 'protects' the home and have a security alarm system as well - just in case

I have found sawadee.com (and r24 which is affiliated) is often cheaper than Agoda...

I also use tripadvisor.com/ - they have reviews of nearly every hotel there is - from past customers. Can have some useful info about hotels, locations etc.

...Booking direct can indeed ocassionally be cheaper than the agents, especially if you do not want breakfast. Examples where I found this to be true earlier this year were the Sofitel and Chareon Thani Princess - both in Khon Kaen.

Agreed. I just used R24 for my booking in Mukdahan and they were very good. What I like about them as well is that you dont have to provide credit card details when you check for availability like some of the other sites mentioned. Some of them want credit card details up-front and IF the room is available then you have to book.

Fair enough if you are booking way in advance, However, I got into a really annoying situation just before Xmas, when I had provided my credit card details and could not get any feedback about availability of a hotel room later that week. I had to wait 3+ days for the online agency to tell me they had no availability in that hotel. Their terms and conditions said I HAD to take the room if it was available and as they had my credit card details I just had to wait for them to respond or I would have been stuck with the room.

So I then had to find a room in a hurry ! Hardly the end of the World I admit, but who needs the hassle if it can be avoided.

If R24 were to take this long I could at least have started looking elsewhere immediately I thought there was a problem.

My friend in Pattaya had Banglamung TV and it had very little to interest an English speaker. He tried Sophon which can be irritating, but it has a good Aussie channel and is probably worth what it costs. You get to see all the famous people like Howard and Niels. Howard goes to a lot of restaurants Niels goes to everything. He is like the boss of many things

Spot on !!! Thats the most concise and accurate comment I have read about the news channels in Pattaya. Thanks for making me laugh this early in the morning!

Good Heavens, are you mad

I have just come back from my wife's village in Mukdahan. She is there for a month looking after her mum. I met everyone in the village I reckon, they all came for a chat with the 'Farang Husband'. Everyone there seemed to know everyone else and knew all their problems etc...

The last thing you need to do as Farang living amongst them- is stick your nose into their business!

Do you really think that this girl and her Thai 'spouse' will just forgive you and your life will go an as before.

Keep out of it. There is a chance the Farrang won't thank you anyway. I had a similar problem with a good friend who was involved with a 'dodgy' Thai girl. I told him what she was up to with some other Farang. She was also lying about some business debt she had. He eventually dropped her, after all kinds of questioning and the use of a Private detective. He is still quite cool towards me - I think he blames me in some ways - sadly the saying 'don't shoot the messenger' can be ignored!!

Good Luck

Thanks all.

Am i reading this layout correctly ...the lower deck economy has 33" seat pitch wheras the upper deck has 36"? If so this could be another good reason to pre-seleted your seat online.

Yes I think you are right - I had not noticed that. I expect, like so many other cash strapped airlines, in the not so distant future Eva will start charging extra for this sort of thing.

I booked my next flight in November in February, so I have avoided the recent increases at least!

Have a good trip

I hate to raise this again, as this has been discussed extensively and i'm not normally that fussy with flights but i'm just about to book an EVA London - BKK return and i notice the return leg is now using the 747s and not the new 777s. When i flew a few years ago the economy on the EVA 747s was not great (compared to the improved economy experience on their 777s). So have the 747s been refurbished recently? Their website is vague ..

thanks :-)

Eva started running the new 747 between BKK-LHR-BKK last December 2007. I flew EverGreen Deluxe with them in January on the BKK to UK leg and upgraded to Premier Class on the way back to Thailand. The seat layout can be seen here if you 'click' on aircraft type:-

http://eservice.evaair.com/online/html/global/asi0a202.asp#

If the above URL wont load, the attachment has the 747 configuration as well.

The following explains the different 'types' of seats, click around for all the different types:

http://www.evaair.com/html/b2c/english/tip...aurel_Class.htm

The seats in Deluxe and Premier were the same as the 777. I walked around the plane and the seats in Economy looked the same as the 777 as well, but I was not sure.

What was different and I did not like, was the 'spaciousness' of the old style 747 had gone. The toilet area for example, which used to be large enough to go and stretch your legs and maybe have a chat, has been reduced in size greatly and it all feels pretty cramped.

In fact inside the new 747 it actually felt smaller than the 777.

I walked 'upstairs' as well and it seemed that economy seats are now in the 'bubble' up there . That was done no doubt to get more seats into the space, as the 'old' 747 used to have Premier and First Class seat upstairs only.

Overall I preferred Eva Air 5 years ago - still its all progress I suppose!!

Have a good trip

Just wanted to jump in and say that PB is a copyrighted trademark of PeaceBlondie, and my lawyers will be contacting the impostors. Thank you.

Fair enough PB, so does that mean you will be there to greet me at the airport to give me free 'nibbles' before I get on the flight instead of Bangkok Airways???

Would you settle for a small bag of M&M chocolates?

I will arrive at the airport at 4.30 AM for my 6.00 AM flight, - PB so they would make a very welcome breakfast

Just wanted to jump in and say that PB is a copyrighted trademark of PeaceBlondie, and my lawyers will be contacting the impostors. Thank you.

Fair enough PB, so does that mean you will be there to greet me at the airport to give me free 'nibbles' before I get on the flight instead of Bangkok Airways???

I have a feeling that PB Air no longer offer this service - pity...

Likewise I had a good trip to Nakhon Phenom a few weeks ago. And when you're waiting for the flight at BKK you can eat all the free goodies that Bangkok Air provides its passangers.

This was 4 years ago, can you still do this. The PB Air site does not mention this nowadays.

I do like the Bangkok Airways lounge nibbles

From Sakon Nakhon it is about another 1hour 15 minutes to Mukdaharn, so i think that you would be looking at them charging you 2.500-3000 baht. I think you would be better off getting an air conditioned bus and it would be alot cheaper

You certainly wont go any where near Sakon Nakhon on the trip from Nakhon to Mukdahan

The trip is Via That Phanom at around 100 K's as stated earlier for you

Also have you considered VIP from Morchit in Bangkok about 6 hrs but very comfortable trip

A good way to see the area around Mukdahan

Regards's

shagg's

The VIP bus would be an option, but I live in Pattaya and for various reasons, mainly the dog!!, I can only really be away from here for 2 days.

So I have booked a 6AM PB Air flight from Suwanaboom Airport arriving Nakhon Pahnom at 7.15 and then my wife has arrranged a taxi down to Mukdahan. This means I can leave Pattaya at about 3 AM and will arrive in Mukdahan at around 10 AM at the latest.

A relaxed trip of about 7 hours door-door.

Coming back I will leave Nackhom Panhom at 5 PM and arrive back in Pattaya at around 9Pm.

Its expensive, flight, parking, road tolls, diesel, and taxi comes to about 11000 Baht.

If I take the bus from Pattaya it takes about 14 hours door to door and for a 2 day trip this is just too much effort. Mind you the return bus fare is only about 1000 Baht.

My wife is in Mukdahan looking after her mum. I hope she gets better nice and quickly for many reasons - including not having to make this trip again

Still I will make sure I enjoy it.

We are staying at the Ploy Hotel.

For anyone who is interested, the PB Air flight including taxes etc... is 6300 Baht.

Taxi Naknon Phanom to Mukhadan to Nakhon Phanom 1200 Baht one way

Thanks again to everyone for your feedback - its been really useful.

Thanks very much for the feedback.

I have asked my wife to arrange a cab to pick me up from Mukdahan. I got 'worn out' thinking about it

The final straw was realising the bus station in Mukdahan is out of town as well, so I would have to get another cab or 'Sky Lab' into town.

Dealing with taxi drivers twice in one day was just toooo much !!

dsfbrit wrote

I am not bothered about the actual cost of the cab, I just hate being 'ripped off'. So should I make sure the meter is turned on or negotiate a price beforehand.

You will definitely have to negotiate, there is no such thing as a metered taxi in this neck of the woods. Although they might have a fixed price in mind.

I am flying into Nakhon Phanom on the 15.30 flight on Tuesday 3rd June, if on the odd chance you are travelling then ? I will give you a lift into town, as I nearly pass the bus station on the way to my house.

Best Regards

Mr Conrad

Thats a great offer Sadly I am going there next Friday. My wife is in Mukdahan as her mother is in hospital there. I have asked her to arrange for a cab to pick me up from Mukdahan. I decided this was easier than getting to the Nackon Phanom bus station and getting a bus. It also means I don't have to negotiate with cab drivers I think the final straw was when I realised I had to get a cab from the bus station to the hotel in Mukdhan as well. Dealing with cab drivers twice in one day was tooooooo much.

Thanks again for your help -and have a nice trip on Tuesday.

I fly into Nakhon Phanom a lot if i cannot get a flight to Sakon Nakhon.

The airport will charge 1.500 baht to get to Sakon Nakhon as i have done this many time's to save the wife the drive, the same price even if she is with me.

From Sakon Nakhon it is about another 1hour 15 minutes to Mukdaharn, so i think that you would be looking at them charging you 2.500-3000 baht. I think you would be better off getting an air conditioned bus and it would be alot cheaper.

Yes I agree, I spent a lot of time looking into this yesterday and the bus seems the best option. As you use the taxis, could I asl you one more question. I need to get to the bus station in Nakhon Phanom, from the airport. Do you know if the taxis are a reasonable deal.

I am not bothered about the actual cost of the cab, I just hate being 'ripped off'. So should I make sure the meter is turned on or negotiate a price beforehand.

Thanks for your help