MangoKorat

I guess it doesn't really matter what Bob's nationality is - there's to$$ers in every country.

No, Tim nice but dim.

Hey, leave the North of England out of this, we don't have people like him. Maybe a Southerner but most likely a yank - seeing as how he counts his supposed 'wealth' in US dollars.

I'm not a fan, one day maybe fun but after that it just gets annoying. Its very hard to avoid Songkran in any part of Thailand to the best of my knowledge. I'm no longer in Thailand full time but what I used to do was go onto the budget airline websites and see what promotions are on. I know that flight prices have changed but there may still be some bargains available. Singapore used to be good for a few days out. Vietnam is the next place I want to check out more following a short visit in 2020 for a visa. Several airlines serving both those destinations must surely lead to some healthy competition?

If you actually knew anything about the country, you'd understand that those of us who've been around for a while are used to all the blather that comes out of the Thai government. I've never known any of it to make the slightest bit of difference to a foreigner's life in Thailand - even though we moan about it every time a new announcement is made. On a different note, I find it very amusing that you seem to find it necessay to regularly refer to your wealth. Yesterday it was attending a very expensive gym - not just a gym like anyone else would have said, with you it has to be an expensive gym. Today you state the total of your wealth. Maybe that makes you feel good but it shouldn't - most of us know that people with wealth don't normally talk about it and laugh at your outbursts Mr. Loadsamoney. The chances that you are actually a broke guy who's heading home because his money's run out are pretty high.

Its also very dangerous - containers (often condoms) have been known to burst. Just one of those 'bags' bursting would mean certain death. The sad part in this is that the guy is almost certainly just a mule that will have been paid a small fraction of what those at the top of the chain get. Apparently a certain number of 'losses' is expected and allowed for in the price.

Agreed. When I was married to a Thai I entered a couple of times using the 30 day exempt route rather than my usual 12 month Multi Entry Non O. On the second 30 day entry I was asked why I didn't have a Non O and asked if I was visiting my wife - I replied that I was. I was told that visiting my wife was not considered as tourism and I should not be entering visa exempt as that was for tourists. I was allowed in but warned that I would not be allowed in again without the correct visa. I would guess that plenty of people who are married to a Thai enter every day on 30 day exempts - simply because the I.O. either doesn't notice their previous visas or doesn't really give a damn. However, if the recent reports that Immigration are going to tighten up on regulations and make sure that foreigners have complied with all the requirements, they might well clamp down on married people entering on exempts. Best not to risk it, get a Non O and in the light of the recent announcements, I would also make sure that you have the required 20,000 baht (or equivalent) on you in cash.

The Thai property market is very difficult to understand, it does not follow the trends many of us are used to in the West. One example is the one that I have experienced - my homes in both the UK and Thailand are in rural areas. If a new motorway was announced near my UK home, property values would plummet. When the M6 was announced near my home in Khao Yai, land prices doubled, virtually overnight. What we are talking about here is the potential for a foreigner to sell their home within the 12 month period allowed after inheritance. The foreigner may well have paid more for the land than a Thai would be prepared to and is likely to have built a house of higher spec than is normal for the area. It would not be so unusual for a foreigner in that postion to place a higher value on their property than its actually worth. The likelihood is that they may well struggle to sell their property in those circumstances. However, peculiarities in the Thai property market overall mean that it is not at all unusual for a reasonably priced property to take more than 12 months to sell. That does not mean the property is necessarily over-priced - its just Thailand. In the 9 years that I've lived near Khao Yai, I've seen several properties take well over 12 months to sell. The price of at least one of those was actually increased due to local property values increasing. Property values in Thailand often confound the maxim that the value of a property is what it will sell for. You just cannot apply that in the country.

I have tried to be helpful, not engage in an argument. If you feel you understand the Thai property market better than I do - hat's off to you.

They won't. I emailed them. It took them a hell of a long time (and 2 reminders) to reply but they did just last week. They are adamant that the money must be in a Thai account. They failed to answer my question as to which immigration rule requires 400,000 in the bank for a MENO though.

Not true, I know a few that speak Thai fluently - one of those reads and writes Thai and corrects his wife on her speech. When my girlfriend heard him talking she was quite shocked and said he has no foreign accent at all. There are not so many that speak Thai so well but to say no foreigners speak Thai well is plain wrong.

Not necessarily. An 'attractive price' may not mean that the owner recovers their costs. Secondhand property has always taken time to sell due to Thai's aversion to it. Of course if you ask much less than the value, you are more likely to get a sale but it can be difficult to sell a property at any price in Thailand. Another factor can be that whilst a house has value to its owner, others may not be interested at all. Many foreigners build houses on land belonging to their partner's or their family and that house is often a much higher specification than is the norm in the area. That expense may well be OK at the time but impossible to recover in forced sale situation. I know of quite a few foreigners, married to Thai's who have built houses costing 3 or 4 million and are happy to have done so. These house are quite often in a village location and may well be far away from local amenities etc. Quite a few of them wouldn't have a hope in hell of recovering that expense within any time period, let alone 12 months. Every area has its ceiling value per sq m and high spec houses may well exceed that in terms of cost. My house for example, is in a high value location (for the area). I have carried out several improvements to it for my own comfort and have other improvements planned. However, shortly after I bought it the new M6 motorway was announced sparking a flurry of land sales and new building. What was a quiet, semi rural location may well soon be swallowed up by the nearby city. The new motorway may well increase values in the minds of Thai people but for me its a negative. I have a potential new opportunity in a different area. I am still deciding whether to sell my current house and move on or carry out those further improvements. At the moment, I would probably get around a 800,000 to a million baht more than I paid for the property, including improvements. If I carry out the further improvements I doubt I would get my money back if I decided to sell. The spec I have planned will most likely take it over the ceiling price. If I had a crystal ball and could guarantee that no further new developments will take place nearby, I'd be happy to stay because I love the location. The current spec of my house is way over the norm for the area. What I see as essential items for my own comfort are almost certainly not seen in the same way by any potential Thai buyers. This is the case with a lot of houses 'owned' by foreigners in Thailand. There is a commomly used phrase when it comes to the main factors that determine the value and saleability of any property - across the world. Location, location, location. A house with similar specs to mine is common place in say Pattaya where a lot of foreigners live but its not in my area. All these things affect the value and overall saleability. So no, I don't think that simply offering a property at an 'attractive price' will guarantee a sale within a year. There are several factors to be considered - not least of which may be whether or not you are prepared to accept a loss. Its not a simple matter - value is determined by location, spec and demand. The fact that a foreigner has spent 5 million building a house to their spec does not mean that the house is actually worth that.

Nothing new then? However, its almost certainly just another talking shop that will be forgotten in days.

I very much doubt that they were actually arrested and there is no need for any brown envelopes. Have you ever wondered why the Thai police use old fashioned duplicate books with carbon paper for fines rather than the more modern self carbonating books? Next time you get stopped and 'fined' take a look and see if there's a piece of carbon paper in place - I've never seen one. It would be interesting to look at one of those books later and see if the amounts on the receipts you are issued is the same as the amount in the book. As far as I know, they don't even bother with receipts when stopping Thai's at the frequent helmet wearing checks. "No helmet, 50 baht sir", "can I have a receipt please" "certainly sir, 100 baht"

No and the photo seems to be of construction workers - unless tour guides have taken to wearing hard hats.

Houses/land in Thailand can literally take years to sell - its nothing like the European market. Much of that is because Thai's often have big ideas on how much their land is worth and also because they have an aversion to buying secondhand houses. A single plot next to me has been on the market @ 2 million baht (totally unrealistic) for almost a year. A similar sized plot opposite was sold quickly for 900,000 - I expected that to bring 1.2 to 1.4 million but the owner clearly didn't want to mess around. Land/houses can sell quickly but it is not uncommon for it to take years. Therefore, a realistic price is most likely to enable a fast sale - just as it is anywhere else.

Well no, most people obtain a Usufruct to protect them from being evicted in the event of a marriage breakdown. I've had a Usufruct on my property for over 9 years. The house is registered to a trusted Thai friend and my name is registered on the rear of the chanotte in the entry recording the Usufruct. I was single when I took control of the house then married - now divorced. The one (and only) good point about the Thai Land Law is that in the event of a divorce, if your wife is not the registered owner, she has no claim whatsoever on the house........................................house? What house? I don't own any house. The Usufruct has no value to anyone else except the Usufructuary.

Now I know what happened to 'Loadsamoney' - he's in a gym in Bangkok! https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=harry+enfield+loads+of+money+sketch&sca_esv=d1ba00635c671747&sxsrf=ACQVn08Mb6WYj0OVBJGG_Jrawk2rzRUhAg%3A1711364324587&source=hp&ei=5FgBZrnlIcqqhbIPsra1uAQ&iflsig=ANes7DEAAAAAZgFm9JPIsNiiVl4W1mf1dJiVWLiAo2Po&oq=Loads+of+money+harr&gs_lp=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_OAQ&sclient=gws-wiz#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:13caa9c1,vid:8PFAEcHbgHY,st:0

Why are school kids riding bikes in the first place? Stand on Old Mitraphap (the main road through Korat) on any school morning and you will see bikes ridden by 12 year olds, 3 up and without helmets - right in front of the police controling the traffic.

That is already the law but why do you only refer to tourists? Surely anyone, including Thai's, hiring any vehicle, should hold a licence to do so? The problem as usual is............little or no enforcement.

I don't agree - that would discriminate against the majority of bikers who don't ride stupidly. You do not of course, hear about people who don't have accidents. One thing that would help would be strict checks to ensure that foreigners hold the correct licence for whatever they are hiring. Before I owned a bike in Thailand I would often hire a big bike when I visited Pattaya. I was never required to have a licence - my passport was good enough.

While I agree with you that the police should be doing their jobs, I think you will find that overall, they target Thai's far more than foreigners.

Yes, the rules are quite clear on that. Although a foreigner can inherit a property through the death of their spouse, it cannot be registered in their name. There may be some form of legal status for that but I would expect its just left in limbo until sold. Technically a new owner would have to accept any Usufruct that was in place on that property but that would almost certainly render the property unsaleable. I have no idea if a law is in place to deal with that situation but I would think that in practice, the foreign spouse would probably allow the property to be transferred to a member of his former spouse's family. If the couple have kids that are too young to own land, there may be the possibility of it being held in trust until they are old enough. However, I have no idea if trusts even exist in Thailand. This illustrates the absurd nature of the Thai land laws. When thinking of death and inheritance, we normally think it involves people of advanced age. Consider the position of say a 40 year old man married to a Thai woman and living in Thailand with their 2 children in a house on land registered to his wife. The wife dies, let's say in a car crash and the husband inherits the property. Having already gone through the trauma of losing his wife, he now has to find a way to house his family because under the law, he has to sell the house. My suggestion is that any foreigner who currently lives in a property registered in their spouses name that they may inherit - sees a lawyer and deals with the matter now rather than trying to do so after the death of the Thai partner. As far as I know, and I'm not 100% on this - if a Thai citizen who is married to a foreigner dies intestate, any land is automatically left to their spouse along with any other property under matrimonial law, regardless of that spouse's nationality. I don't think there has to be an actual will.

Firsty, the discussion never went anything like that and secondly, as a totally uninformed person, I very much doubt that the pound to the baht will go down to 35 at any time - other than through temporary blips. However, as we have gone way off topic, admittedly due to my post on this subject, I don't intend to continue this line.

Confusing, the Bangkok to Korat section is well underway and was forecast to be completed by 2025. I believe that target includes several already experienced delays. In the light of the above statements, It would be interesting to learn if that forecast has now been extended. Or could it be simply bad reporting..........................again!