chiangmaibruce

Without doubt anonymity fosters more rudeness and more mindless comments. And on that note I think the obsession with anonymity in general social fora like tv is overblown. It's not like tv is another wikileaks. I suspect that society would not be missing out on much wisdom if most of the comments that apparently demand anonymity - here at least - were left unsaid anyway.

And how much and how often ... and have you considered doing a forum search to find some of the hundreds of earlier threads on the same topic?

The issue of how many expats there are in Thailand is addressed in this paper: www.burning-bison.com/expats.htm

Houses are selling in this community development and near our asking price.

Within 3-5% of your asking price? In Thailand but aggravated by the thought of paying a commission?

I get what you are saying but I think you are perhaps being a little stubborn and unrealistic. The commission practice is normal here, and really, what difference does it make who they are or what they do? Your main aim is to sell right?

To give the example of Australia, the agents typically do very little other than send out a broadcast email, answer their phone, and do some inspections. The seller pays for all marketing, plus you pay for the auction if you go that route. You can either get annoyed by the tyre-kickers and by the way the system works, or simply focus on getting your property sold and moving on.

Bruce do you know anything reference if it can be willed to a foreign spouse??

Jim, can you provide any actual real life examples of an ex-wife having a usufruct cancelled? I have not heard of any

Mark, yes, a Thai wife can leave a property to a non-Thai husband in a Will. According to the law he has a year to either sell it or transfer to a Thai (for e.g. a half Thai child) or the land department can sell it out from under him. BUT I have not heard of any examples of that actually happening and what appears to occur is that the foreign husband (quietly and unofficially) is often allowed to remain in the property until he dies or sells it at a later date. Of course you should not rely on that occurring, and presumably you would not want to have any upset relatives with their eye on the property, etc, calling for the law to be upheld.

Quite some time ago I used to enjoy clicking through a web site called "I am a Thai Graphic designer". I don't have the URL from back then but just did a quick google search and found this one. The look is a bit different but it could be the one. Some designers are based in Chiang Mai. See http://www.imtgd.org/ and http://thaigraphicdesigner.wordpress.com/

Honestly, I shake my head in disbelief sometimes when I read threads like this where people delay researching such potentially important matters until the last possible moment. No doubt linked to the corresponding number of (subsequent) threads along the lines of 'only investing in thailand what you are prepared to lose'.

Yes you can enter into a usufruct after the sale, but the world can change in a heartbeat so I would advise doing it now. Be sure to request that the usufruct is for the term of your life. No, you do not necessarily stand to "lose everything" in a divorce. Again you should research Thai divorce laws - the info is just a google click away. Generally you would only lose half of the value of post-marriage assets ... but obviously this would depend on individual circumstances, the level of preparation, and the perhaps the calibre of your lawyer.

Pib, good helpful series of posts thanks. There have been quite a number of earlier threads on this topic (such as this one: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/489397-tax-withheld-on-interest/page__hl__withholding) but it's good to get a detailed and up-to-date personal account like yours

My publisher, Silkworm Books, has a number of books that may be of interest to you

hi. clearly there are quite a few variables when trying to compare one policy with another. One factor that you may not think of is whether you will stay in Thailand permanently or have any lengthy stays overseas. Check the fine print on this issue as some policies may not continue cover if you move overseas or even stay away more than a few months.

1 your first link doesn't work

Sorry, not sure what happened there, try this:

http://www.austchamthailand.com/atcc/asp/general.asp?MenuItemID=356&SponsorID=735

It's the first article in the 'Finance and Investment' section

3 I assume you are Australian; so why not focus on Indonesia?

Am not familiar with the situation in Indonesia, and I would imagine that the slightly closer geographical proximity (which I assume you are alluding to) is unlikely to be a significant factor.

The idea of developing aged care facilities for foreigners in Thailand is potentially a good one if planned and managed competently.

This article may be of interest & I also talk about the idea in this submission

Good luck on your review. I went though the mill several years ago and wouldn't repeat the exercise in a hurry. And we got through without an appeal. I know this is a long way down the track, but when you do get through remember to retain and collect papers for the next step which occurs after she has held residency status for two years.

Oh, and I wrote a paper about the visa process that may be of some background interest.

We also have this problem. The way you go about rectifying this problem depends to some extent on your specific circumstances, e.g. space available in yard, how well your yard can shed/absorb rain water, whether your yard gets runoff from the street of neighbours yeards, ground levels relative to street drain system and between toilet and top septic, etc. As one poster has mentioned, one approach is to remove the standard concrete tank (that lets in ground water) and replace it with something more sealed ... if you can get in to do the work. Of course all septic have some point where water can get in ... remember that in really heavy rain events some people will have water pooling above ground that might enter through a ventilation opening. If this combines with rain over preceding days (elevated groundwater level) then you have a real problem. In our situation we have limited options and during very wet periods we have to use an automatic submersible pump system to remove water from the top of the tank and put it into a PVC stormwater line that we installed .... this runs to a large nearby paddock. We already have seperate grey water tanks but this does not help enough to prevent the problem occurring.

Some good advice here, starting with the suggestion to scan important documents. I have done the same and it's proved to be very helpful. Also getting a good portable hard drive and having a copy of all correspondence etc. This far out - and assuming you are 100% committed to the move - you might consider doing Thai lessons. Perhaps for your daughter too. No you don't need to speak Thai but your transition will be smoother if you arrive with some language ability.

As others have suggested, be ready for the possibility that the culture shock may hit your wife and daughter harder than you. Perhaps schedule a few longer stays in Thailand before you make the big move, to ease those toes into the water. Where possible avoid burning bridges and just rent for a year or so when you arrive.

My mother is 90 later this year and in past years we often encouraged her to come to stay/live with us in Thailand. <snip>

Just a postscript to my earlier note. I wrote an article last year for the journal of the Australian Chamber of Commerce entitled "Aged Care in Thailand: Challenge and Opportunity" which may be of interest to some of those reading this thread.

My mother is 90 later this year and in past years we often encouraged her to come to stay/live with us in Thailand. That is no longer an option and so we have returned to be with her in the town where she lives. I have one sister living in the same town but she has already shouldered more than her fair share of responsibility to assist. Other siblings live in other parts of the country. Mum is in a home but is not entirely happy there so we are looking for a better alternative and we think we have found a place. We are pleased to be here to do whatever we can to make the final stage of her life happier and more fulfilling, and we have already seen her health and level of happiness improve since we arrived.

OK, so based on feedback so far ... in Thailand you get around the contract issue because there isn't one ... just a handing over of cash at the time of title transfer. This would not work with, for example, buying a condo off-the-plan, but then I guess relatively few people would want to/need to buy a condo in the name of a minor.

Yes, one would have thought that legally a child could not enter into a contract, but a trust isn't an option in Thailand.

So when people (in Thaivisa for example) say there are "buying land in the name of their child", how exactly do they do it? The options would seem to be:

1.Contract in the name of the child's parent/guardian and signed by that person, and the land is initially registered in the name of that person. Immediately then the property is gifted and transferred into name of the child (with presumably a second tax payment on transfer)

2. Contract in the name of the child's parent/guardian and signed by that person, but upon transfer from the previous owner the land is placed immediately into the name of the child

3. Contact is in the name of the child and the child seals the contract with a mark, or the contract is signed on behalf of the child by a guardian. Property registered in the name of the child and only one transfer tax payable.

So who has actually been through this process, and how did you do it?

i first encountered frenchie on silom road in about 1996 or 97, and a few years later in chiangmai. always the same rap. he's still around, and so am i.

That long, amazing, I wonder what his real story is?

There are many like him crawling the sois of Koh Samui and Phuket (and one would imagine all over Bangkok) looking for prey. Once when I was on Koh Samui I was approached by a guy - I think he was Australian but I am not 100% sure and it doesn't really matter, who had a similar story, i.e. lost his passport, was waiting for a transfer, needed to get to BKK, etc., etc. He was well dressed and groomed and was very convincing. Later that day I saw him again and he was still working the tourists. A local told me that he had been on Koh Samui for about 5 years living off of the proceeds of his scam. He had me fooled but I didn't part with any money.

Yes, we all get accosted by these people, in Thailand and elsewhere, but 15+ years is what amazes me....

Suspicious timing too -> Refer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moruroa. I suspect this guy is probably a nuclear physicist who lost his job when they stopped testing at the atoll.

Driven by rage he hatched a plan to strike back at the chardonnay socialists and do-gooders who trampled upon his dream, and who cast him upon the employment scrapheap.

What delicious irony that he now takes money from those self-same members of the chattering class to garner the supplies needed to complete the 'dirty-bomb' upon which he labors nightly in the back of his squalid shack in Santitam.

<snip> It's very possible he has mental problems and some family member in his home country could help if they only knew he was wandering around Thailand, disoriented and begging for money.

Kind thought, but between the two of us I was definitely the more desperate and disoriented (but please don't call my embassy)

The first thing he said was to ask me whether I could speak french or english

To the OP, this is not about US notarial services but I will post it here as it may be of interest to readers ...

I was out at the Thai passport office at the big municipal building the other week and noticed there is a small office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs just next door. I'm not sure how long they have been there, but they are set up to notarize documents ... no queue and the fees were (from memory) only 2-300 baht.

Also, while I have hands on keyboard, for any Australians reading this who might need a document witnessed - I am a Justice of the Peace (NSW only)

I have read about farang asking for money down in BKK but I don't think I have encountered it before here in Chiang Mai. You know the ones that start with a story about how they've had some mishap, people sending them fund transfer had a problem (blah, blah) and now not even money for food.

Anyway I had to wait for someone for more than an hour in the lobby of the Chiang Mai RAM hospital yesterday and was approached in this manner. The guy was probably late 50's, french accent, slim build, curly hair. I told him a story that was even sadder than his and went back to my book. When I next looked up he had disappeared and didn't show himself again while I was there. Is this guy a regular feature at the RAM?