FinickyFarang

12 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

There is a vlogger from the UK on YT Thailand smiles I think it's called who just put 6 million baht into building a resort in the middle of nowhere on borrowed funds, now he cannot decide if to go back to the UK or stick it out with zero customers.

I believe you’re talking about Simon at Land of Smiles Thailand (LOST).  
 

His situation is a little different.  He and his wife have owned the land for years and built a house on it, plus a few other structures. 
 

the 6 million was for building and setting up a resort on the land.  
 

From the videos it sounds like he had a private lender that is willing to hold off on getting their money back.  
 

He’s thinking of moving back due to the fact that he’s got a resort in the middle nowhere in Phetchaburi.  
 

He was counting on his YT subscribers to keep the place full.  
 

That in itself seems like a bad idea.  
 

Making things worse is that he overspent (more than his loan - dipping into his life savings) on the place.  
 

Did he really need a gym with weights and treadmills in his little resort?  

Did he really need to buy a new vehicle for running people to and from the airport?  
 

Was a pool absolutely necessary?  
 

He built a place based on what some random folks on the internet told him.  
 

He burned through the loan plus a chunk of his savings and then Corona hit and he was stuck with a resort and no customers.
 

Sad really.  I like his videos.  
 

23 minutes ago, greggraham said:

Possibly true, but they didn't with the first amnesty extension letter. Just the letter, usual forms, and 1.900THB. 

But wasn’t the first one applicable if you had a valid visa and we’re extending or am I misunderstanding that?  
 

Most people who are on amnesty right now have burned through all possible exceptions of their visa has expired.  
 

Seems like a slightly different situation.  

7 hours ago, dddave said:

In Thailand, even Bangkok, carrying costs for vacant condo units are almost nil.  Why would an owner/developer significantly drop the price of a unit in response to what is probably a relatively short term economic downturn.  Successful property investors are usually in it for the long haul and at some point, the market will heat up again.

For the entirety of my 18+ years here, skeptics have annually predicted the total collapse of the local condo market(overbuilt, shoddy construction, poor design, over-priced) and for the better part of those 18 years, it has chugged right along. 

Yes, the annual, “The Bangkok real estate market is due for a crash based on my metrics” post.  

46 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:NZ has laws against smoking MJ, but the cops don't enforce them for casual users. However MJ is just as bad as driving a m'bike underage- just takes longer for the bad effects to become apparent.

You lost me at MJ is just as bad as driving a bike underage unless you me at to say that MJ use by underage children is as bad as underage children driving.  
 

If you actually meant to say that MJ use by adults is just as bad as underage children riding motorbikes, I have to ask for some stats on that.  

1 hour ago, stouricks said:

What is that word please?

 

So what's the numbers of falang guests killed on motorbikes compared with Thais?

Adjust the numbers for populations and miles ridden and maybe, just maybe, we can begin to have a conversation.  

I think you’ve gotten some solid advice here which I want to highlight before offering my thoughts.  
 

@bwpage3 Great advice on the difference between having something people want and people being able to find you on the internet.  

@Matzzon Shipping costs, overseas logistics can turn a good idea into a nightmare.  

@Kinnock Like Warren Buffett says, “Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.”   If you have a long enough timeline, snatching up established businesses might be a good strategy.  They’ve already done the hard work of proving the business model.  
 

Just because the business model might take 2 or 3 years to be profitable again is just a matter of time if you have the capital to wait things out.  As an example, one might buy a tourism-related business and spend this slow period working on marketing/SEO, improving the offering, etc.  

Personally, I would stay away from beer bars, just because the market was already grossly oversaturated even before Corona.  But a boutique hotel/hostel might be bought for a bargain price right now.  Spend a couple of years making renovations, marketing, SEO, etc, and you could end up with a business that is very profitable when the tourists return in numbers pre-Corona.  

I would also look at service businesses.  Do you have or would be willing to acquire a skill or are able to provide a service that you could sell?   
 

Play guitar?  Maybe you can give lessons to farangs here in Thailand.  Both via Skype and one on one.  
 

Just as an exercise, maybe you can jot down things or conveniences that you had back home that are hard to obtain here.  
 

For instance, we have two dogs, and I’ve found that getting top-quality dog products nearly impossible here.  Training collars, quality leashes, etc.  In fact, I was visiting a friend who has a dog the other day and as soon as I spotted the collar on his dog, I was like, “Where did you get that collar?   I’ve been looking all over for a nice collar like that.”   His answer was Petco in the US.  LOL.  

Or just look here on the TV forums for people asking, “Where can I get ...?”   If the best advice is to import it from overseas, maybe there’s a market here for that.  

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

Normally the have dated stamp and a signature on them.

I have a stamp and a signature, but no date. 

To be honest, they seemed rather clueless when we asked them about it.  Then a lot of "Oh, oh, oh, oh" and the printed off the KR2 and had the office boss stamp and sign it. 

Looks like Nonhtaburi is open.  ????

Is it normal for the KR2 to not have any sort of timestamp on it?  What's the point of getting an updated copy if there's no indication of when it was generated? 

Looks like Nonhtaburi is open.  ????

1 hour ago, NanLaew said:

This document can be issued by any Amphur and not just the one where the marriage was registered or the main one where the OP is domiciled. An acquaintance of mine had his wife visit a smaller neighboring Amphur's office where they issued the document because they weren't busy. Call ahead and save a wasted trip.

Anybody know if any of the Amphur offices near Bangkok or Nonthaburi are open now? 

Tried calling the number for marriage certificates at Bang Rak and no answer. 

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

Some amphoes are issuing them now.

Best to check with your local Amphoe about it.

Thanks.  

I have to go to immigration next week for an extension based on marriage and last I heard (few weeks ago) the amphur offices were not processing those requests right now.  Wondering if anybody has any updates on that since things seem to be changing so quickly. 

25 minutes ago, InfinityandBeyond said:

Just reading on another thread a woman from Chaiyapum also tested positive again after being released from hospital in BKK. This is far from over. 

Curious as to what this woman is doing to be infected twice.  Let's say we use the gov's numbers and I'll just round it to 3,000 or so infected.  

3,000 out of 70 million people is a pretty rare occurrence.  That's like a 0.000000428571429% infection rate.  

And this woman gets it twice?  She should go out and buy some lottery tickets ????

Is she a medical professional treating COVID-19 patients?  Gotta be some explanation as to how she got exposed twice given the above odds.  

3 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

I think immigration will make an exception if you cannot get a printout at a Amphoe or Khet.

 

Much appreciated.  Thanks!  I was hoping that would be the answer.  ????

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

You can do your extension now since you have less than 45 day before your 90 days ends.

If you got a updated Kor Ror 2 when you applied for the visa they will accept the one you have.

A member reported not having a new one due to the Amphoes not doing them and was told by his local office they would accept the old one.

What if you never had an updated one?  

I came here on a non-o.  Missed getting a border bounce when my visa came due (borders shut) so had to go to Nonthaburi immigration for a 60 day extension.  

The plan always was to eventually convert to extension based on marriage but I had planned on doing that closer to the expiry of the visa.  Now I'm thinking, just get it over with and not have to worry about the covid stuff or doing any more border runs or count on future visa extensions.  

If I go to immigration with just my original Kor Ror 2 in the next week or two, what's the likely outcome since the local amphurs don't seem to be doing those at the moment?  

30 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

Yes, there will be some sort of fallout in the future. Dont forget that most Thai have put the mortgage on hold for the next 2-3 months, I imagine that will be extended if required.

Agreed, but eventually all of those program will expire and if business doesn't immediately pick back up, a lot of people may find themselves in need of some quick cash or at least to lower their monthly debt burden.  

I don't even want to know what the used car market will look like in a few months.  I'm imagining massive repos when the stimulus stops, the banks start asking for payments, and many people are still unemployed.  

1 hour ago, Peterw42 said:

I dont think there has been any drastic immediate change in the property market due to the pandemic. Thais are getting rent or mortgage assistance, westerners have no reason to sell. If people are dumping property etc, it wont be happening just yet, even if you have lost a job or a tenant, people would have missed maybe one monthly rent or mortgage payment so far, if any.

 

There may even be a downturn in supply of new-build condos on the horizon as developers put building on hold. 

I dont think there has been any drastic immediate change in the property market due to the pandemic YET.

I think it's too early to really tell.  I see in the US, March still had some price increases in various markets even though unemployment is expected to jump to 30%.  

I don't think anybody has seen the worst of it yet in terms of economic impact so the telling part will in the months ahead.

I would suspect many Thais, already up to their eyeballs in debt, will start rethinking any rental properties or raw land they own.  Many business owners, especially those that rely heavily on tourism, will need to liquidate some real estate to help cushion the blow until things pick back up.  

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

It is not normal but I have seen posts about other offices wanting photos at home. Normally just a photo showing the house number is needed.

When they ask for photos, are they looking for photos printed on photo paper or can you just print a color photograph on A4?  Seems like getting photos printed at a print shop would be a pain at the moment.  

6 minutes ago, jacob29 said:

If I was from Iran, damn right I'd want to stay put. What is hard to understand about that? They're already here, not going to make the situation worse here, but you would rather they risk their health, and the health of others, going back home due to regulations?

 

Thailand just advised Thai nationals in Japan to stay put until April 15. So the very same government policy you're defending (where you can't see the sense of an additional 30 days), sees fit to take a 'wait 15-30 days and see' approach.

Most of the people I've seen are Americans and Brits. 

But your point about Iranians is taken.

That said, most of these people came here when Asia was the center of the crisis.  If you had a tourist visa that expired in March, that means you likely arrived here in January or February.  By Feb, things were starting to get serious in Thailand while in the US and UK people were still debating what to do IF it comes to them. 

So, again, just trying to understand the logic of someone coming to Thailand when Corona cases were ramping up but doesn't want to return due to the health risks. 

I mean, I remember having dinner with some friends of mine from the US that were visiting around Valentine's Day and they were asking me if I was scared of catching Corona living in Thailand and how they were hoping to make it out of here without catching it. 

21 minutes ago, Billthekiwi said:

Why can't they just give a blanket automatic extension to tourist visa holders. It would only be 2 months at this point.

Not saying this is the right way for Thailand to be handling this, but I would expect that their motivations are:

1.  They probably want the tourists to leave.  That's why they have made the visa extension so difficult to obtain.  Many of the people on tourist visas are capable of leaving but they prefer to stay here until the Corona Virus crisis is over. 

2.  How would they do this and not give amnesty to those folks on 5-year overstays?

Again, not saying it's right.  Just trying to see how Thai authorities might be looking at the issue from a different angle.

8 hours ago, TooBigToFit said:

I wonder what all these people are doing lingering in Thailand. Does everyone want to stay forever if they could? Are they running illegal businesses. Is a month not enough for a shopping trip or tourist vacation? I get similar thoughts when driving on the congested roads. Where are all these people going? Are they just going out to buy something? Are they all working? Are they leaving the city? Why so many?

I had been wondering that too.  From what I've seen on FB and elsewhere, it does seem a lot of these people have simply decided that they don't want to go home.  They think Thailand is safer than their own country so they're just going to stay in Thailand until the whole Corona thing is over and it's safe to return home. 

That's the part I don't get. 

I have seen very few of these people mentioning anything about their attempts to leave.  Like, if I was legitimately trying to get out and my flights were being cancelled or my home country was totally locked down to people returning, I would mention that since it bolsters my case for this being beyond my control. 

But most people just talk about how Thailand needs to give them a visa extension. 

Like one person said that they were on their third visa extension.  They had a 60, then they extended for 30 before things got crazy, then immigration would only give them a 7-day, and they went back after 7 days and got another 7-day, and now they got a letter from their embassy (I believe she was a Brit) and she's hoping that they'll give her another 30. 

So, that's 60 + 30 + 7 + 7 = 104 days and she wants another 30 so, 134 days. 

I also don't get why they think a 30-day extension is going to solve their problems.  This Corona Virus is going to be awhile.  And as time goes on, they'll have less options, not more (in the relative short-term 3 - 6 months). 

Like, what happens if 30 days from now Thailand is pretty much on constant lock down and there are few, if any flights out? 

There was another guy I saw who was staying because the cost of a flight back home had tripled (like $500 to $1,500) since the Corona Virus hit.  He was getting an extension so he could wait for a lower price.

I do understand it on a certain level but I'm just not sure if a lot of these people are thinking past next week or the next 30 days.