Irene

It is called signpost tax and collected by the district office and not the revenue department. The amount is small depending on the size of the signpost. If only in Thai, it is cheaper. If it is both Thai and foreign language, it is more expensive. If it is only in foreign language then it is the top rate. The amount is normally insignificant unless you are people like Coca Cola or Sony where advertisement board is everywhere. Nothing to get excited about.

Thanx for that Irene. The amount requested is not significant as you say. It was just surprising thats all. Never heard of it before.

I do wonder though, what the rational is behind making signs in English taxed at a higher rate than those in Thai. What about signs that only contain graphics?

Cheers,

Soundman.

The rationale of taxing higher on signpost in foreign language was nationalistic prone. The law is archaic and introduced in the days when Thais were very nationalistic fifty years ago. Signs containing graphics are not exposed to this tax. Only those with names and brands are exposed to this tax.

The common way of reducing the tax impact is to show the foreign names or brands as large as you like while Thais could be stated as small as possible to avoid the top rate and fall under the middle rate. Walk around places, you will notice little Thai words under the foreign language. This is one example of tax planning in Thailand. It means a lot to those popular brands.

I recently bought a studio in Jomtien Beach Condominium near Pattaya and I am about to take out an insurance policy for it.

As I understand, this will cover my room only, but what about the building as a whole, does each condominium building have insurance? for fire etc...? If so, how would I be able to check this out? My g/f asked at the office, but they didn't seem to know what we were looking for. I would be grateful for any advice, thanks

It is a common practice for the condo to be insured under the name of the juristic body of that condo at the level of replacement cost of the bare structure (excluding land price). A responsible management should be able to give you a copy of the insurance policy that covers fire and other risks. If there is any reluctance, then raise this question at the next meeting of the co-owners.

The risk that is normally excluded, if not asked for by the co-owners/management, is earthquake.

thebounder said: Please read my post more carefully, you have misunderstood it, as indeed you have misunderstood the judgment. The Court has not ruled to enforce the Regulation you refer to, not at all. They haven't ruled on anything. They have just said that while they consider the situation, it is most sensible that work doesn't continue. Once you actually get your head around that, perhaps you will gloat less.

From the court order: "Therefore in the deliberation the court found it necessary to make a thorough check on the starting point to measure the distance pursuant to the Ministerial Regulations Issue 9, which point the building under dispute was at the correct distance pursuant to the Ministerial Regulations or not, which, the court shall require appropriate time to do the checking. But, if the construction of the building under dispute was still being carried out and in the end the court issued a cancellation of the building permit as brought forward by the 10 plaint makers it may be difficult to heal the troubles or damage to the 10 plaint makers at that time. The case thus has sufficient reasons to evoke the use of the measure or method of protection temporarily prior to the judgement on the case brought forward by the 10 plaint makers."

I have a copy of survey done by city hall make when certifying their building permit. It shows VT7 started at 105 metres from mean tide level. All so I have copy of VT7 plans. With these documents it doesn't take rocket sciences to figure out the VT7 will not be built. Now the court has the same documents and must decide where the measurements start.

From the court order: "The court interrogated both parties in the consideration stage of setting a measure or a method of temporary protection prior to passing judgement on the case brought by the 10 plaint makers and received further facts as follows:

Mr. Amnat Thiengtham, the recipient of Power of Attorney from all 10 plaint makers gave a statement that the plaint receiver 2 constructed the building from the point away from the mean sea level, namely the lowest level at ebb tide only about 100 m. not 200 m. in accordance with the Ministerial Regulations Issue 9 (B.E. 2521) issued pursuant to the Buildings Control Act B.E. 2479."

Let me add when interviewing a legal team. A Bangkok law professor advice use that he never "saw such a stronger legal case for Admin Court!

Read the court case and the court is upholding Ministerial Regulations Issue 9 (B.E. 2521) issued pursuant to the Buildings Control Act B.E. 2479.Why is the court making "a thorough check on the starting point to measure the distance pursuant to the Ministerial Regulations Issue 9" if they are not enforcing the Regulation?

Again by quoting the court I'm gloating!

stopvt7,

Forgive me for being blunt. I admire your efforts and partial success so far. But like some of the others, I find it unusual for the affected parties to come out with all sorts of inside knowledge that is quite open to the City Hall and vt7 to learn and find holes to defend their case. If you follow all other legal disputes whether in Thailand or outside Thailand, the affected parties are always told by their lawyers to keep low-profile and quiet on merits of their cases. Quiet confidence is the best policy of all legal disputes.

Jeff Skilling of Enron took the stand at the Congress enquiry instead of relying on the fifth amendments, he was subsequently judged guilty and sentenced for more than 20 years partly for what he said at the Congress. He gave a lot of ammunitions to the prosecutors to present to the jury of his statements.

Furthermore, some of your observations do not jive with the Thai legal system and gave me the impression that you understand the situation in a piece-meal manner. I didn't bother to read all the details and related points as presented by you to this board since it is not this board who is going to decide the case. The lawyers' presentation to the judges is the crucial juncture. Sometimes, cases are obvious that the plaintiff should win but because of poor presentation of evidences, things could be otherwise. By that stage, you would blame the justice system. I am afraid todate you have opened too many holes for me as your supporters to feel more than 50% chance of winning. I gave 80% chance of your winning when I first read this thread. Now I give as an even chance.

I hope so far you have not prejudiced your case unduly. Haven't your lawyers advise you to keep quiet.

Taggart,

The profit from my jackpot stock covered only 30% of my losses on the other ten duds. I still keep these dud stocks of 100 units each in order to remind me of not to take some analysts too seriously.

After these losses, in 2003 I concentrated on big caps insteadand hit the jackpots on all stocks invested, mainly PTT and Shin, and realised them with a total gain of 140% of the investment during the week of Tak Bai fiasco in Feb 2004. If I still hold these stocks today, its value would be reduced to the gain of 30% only. So, this is another important point of investment of "when to realise your profit".

I think I have succeeded in getting away from those duds pretty well by following Ben Graham's philosophy of picking stocks that have a fall back position. Only big-caps give you that comfort. Another advantage is that one's mind remains less fuzzy by concentrating only on the big caps which are not many in Thai stocks. Among SET 50 there are 5 stocks that covers almost half of the Thai stock activities. In order not to miss out on small-caps, I have invested in the small-cap fund as managed by Aberdeen which so far has given me a 4% return after two quarter.

Because of the concentration on the big caps, I have become quite good on the future market on SET 50 stocks and todate has given a nice sum of returns of 50% after a period of six months. The beauty is the index is not easily manipulated and the market is pretty fair for those with economic and financial knowledge.

Irene:

I'm finding what you're posting here, a great learning experience. You had a very high proportion of duds. Aside from the fact they were small cap, was that the only problem, or were there other factors you noticed causing them to be failures, such as high debt ratios, lack of earnings or dividends, obsolete products, or too many stocks in your picks from one sector?

Taggart,

The main reason is that small caps are easily manipulated with small volumes especially by the owners. Another reason is that some of them have bad prospects. They are not money-machines like big-cap. They do not have monopolistic position like the big-caps. Twice I followed the analysts too religiously on these small caps with these attractive fundamentals and lost quite substantially. The analysts have not much to write on the big caps and they love to come out with the prophecy on the small caps. The analysts that I trust now are mainly foreign related such DBS, Phatra, and Tisco. I just ignore the rest. Historically, the three had failed me only 20% on their analysis.

Well, just bear in mind that they are at bottom with reasons as well. I invested in the Thai exchange in 2002 using this basis of unbelievable fundamentals and I hit the jackpot with only one stock and the others were dud. I now learn that the prospect of each company counts a lot.

Irene:

Any chance the stock you hit the jackpot with, made up for all the duds? Also, you're mentioning that "the prospect of each company counts a lot", have you made any changes in your investment thinking to try and get away from the duds next time, as much as possible?

Taggart,

The profit from my jackpot stock covered only 30% of my losses on the other ten duds. I still keep these dud stocks of 100 units each in order to remind me of not to take some analysts too seriously.

After these losses, in 2003 I concentrated on big caps insteadand hit the jackpots on all stocks invested, mainly PTT and Shin, and realised them with a total gain of 140% of the investment during the week of Tak Bai fiasco in Feb 2004. If I still hold these stocks today, its value would be reduced to the gain of 30% only. So, this is another important point of investment of "when to realise your profit".

I think I have succeeded in getting away from those duds pretty well by following Ben Graham's philosophy of picking stocks that have a fall back position. Only big-caps give you that comfort. Another advantage is that one's mind remains less fuzzy by concentrating only on the big caps which are not many in Thai stocks. Among SET 50 there are 5 stocks that covers almost half of the Thai stock activities. In order not to miss out on small-caps, I have invested in the small-cap fund as managed by Aberdeen which so far has given me a 4% return after two quarter.

Because of the concentration on the big caps, I have become quite good on the future market on SET 50 stocks and todate has given a nice sum of returns of 50% after a period of six months. The beauty is the index is not easily manipulated and the market is pretty fair for those with economic and financial knowledge.

Hey guys...serious question. What kind of returns are you getting from the SET? WIth all the emerging and frontier markets to choose from, what drew you to invest in Thailand? I haven't been able to find any supportive information for investing in the Thailand SET.

I have money in Vietnam, China, South Korea, Russia, Brazil, and few of the Eastern European countries in addition to Western countries and have been investing since the 80s so I'm not afraid of spec plays.

Still, I can't find anything decent here. What are you guys finding?

TRUBB: P/E 3.5 div.yeld 11.7% P/BV 0.9

MK: P/E 5.1 div.yeld 5.8% P/BV 0.4

SICCO: P/E 11 div.yeld 8.7% P/BV 0.6

JTS: P/E 4.3 div.yeld 13% P/BV 0.8

NVL: P/E 25 div yeld 1.8% P/BV 0.3

SUC: P/E 5.2 div.yeld 6% P/BV 0.4

also NSM , CHUO, GFPT , FANCY, SINGER , CFRESH, KYE could be worth a try , some troubled fundamentals but near all time price bottom.

The above stocks look fairly small cap. My concern is that they have low trading volumes and that many of the buyers are local investors so prices can either fluctuate wildly or at other times volumes can just die off to a trickle. For that reason I tend to stick to larger caps. Maybe I am missing something here and should take a look at smaller caps again?

No, you are not missing anything. In the long run, you are better off sticking to the big cap since you won't be one of the victims of manipulation on the small cap.

Hey guys...serious question. What kind of returns are you getting from the SET? WIth all the emerging and frontier markets to choose from, what drew you to invest in Thailand? I haven't been able to find any supportive information for investing in the Thailand SET.

I have money in Vietnam, China, South Korea, Russia, Brazil, and few of the Eastern European countries in addition to Western countries and have been investing since the 80s so I'm not afraid of spec plays.

Still, I can't find anything decent here. What are you guys finding?

TRUBB: P/E 3.5 div.yeld 11.7% P/BV 0.9

MK: P/E 5.1 div.yeld 5.8% P/BV 0.4

SICCO: P/E 11 div.yeld 8.7% P/BV 0.6

JTS: P/E 4.3 div.yeld 13% P/BV 0.8

NVL: P/E 25 div yeld 1.8% P/BV 0.3

SUC: P/E 5.2 div.yeld 6% P/BV 0.4

also NSM , CHUO, GFPT , FANCY, SINGER , CFRESH, KYE could be worth a try , some troubled fundamentals but near all time price bottom.

Well, just bear in mind that they are at bottom with reasons as well. I invested in the Thai exchange in 2002 using this basis of unbelievable fundamentals and I hit the jackpot with only one stock and the others were dud. I now learn that the prospect of each company counts a lot.

Right now, I'm angry, very angry with her. But I also recognise my own stupidity as well. From now on, it's academia for me and sod the women

Simon

I can understand your anger... but really think that it is misplaced. If your wife is truly suffering from bipolar disorder, then your anger should be directed at the disease itself and not the person that suffers from it. She did not choose to be one of its victims nor is there much in the way of self-control that can exert over it.

In regards to that issue, might we inquire as to what medications she is on that you referenced earlier.

Have her current doctors confirmed the diagnosis reached by the earlier physician who evaluated her?

simon,

Of all the input, sriracha john's comments make most sense. Of all the diseases, bipolar is one and only disease that defies our common sense and normal sense of proportion. It might be too late now but it is better for you to know of the unusual nature of those inflicted. The disease needs a close supporter going into the mind of the patient. To open your eyes if bipolar is the case for your wife, log into this guy's website, david oliver, www.bipolarcentral.com He is now caring for his mother and has developed a website of a commercial level. You may not need to subscribe to him but read some of his write-ups, you would have understood this disease better and may or may not find some of the answers to your problem. GP doctors do not understand this disease that inflicts on 1% of the population and is genetical.

I share your pain. I hope you have a better luck this time.

OhdLover,

We live in a rational world and this website is full of logics. So just tell us your reasons why you should be right in two-year time. Don't use the tactic of those Indian fortune-teller of putting you in suspense first then ask for money before he tells you the prophesy.

The website is full logics... I'll leave that for your account.

The 2 years is just a period I mentioned, you might as well tell me in a few months.

Once again I cannot tell you about my sources, so I don't blame you for questioning my contributions.

I wouldn't believe me either.

OhdLover,

We don't want to know your sources. We just want to know your logics of why vt7 will rise otherwise we think your statement is wasting our time to read.

OhdLover,

The naivety is on your part. Not only that, you are so cynical in believing that money can buy everything. Sometimes, it cannot buy professional pride of our court. The Court's injunction as granted at the request of stopvt7, a farang, is an obvious respect for the rule of law and there are so many cases supporting this contention. Currently, there is one god-father who is on the run because of the court proceedings and one ex-minister of health is now in prison.

I do not venture to guess what would be the final outcome but the todate outcome is quite encouraging to support the existence of rules of law and small investors are protected irrespective of his nationality.

As I stated earlier, tell me in 2 years (or much earlier) whether I was right or not.

My info is not based on what I wrote earlier, and I know this sounds like "yeah, right"...

Just wait and see.

OhdLover,

We live in a rational world and this website is full of logics. So just tell us your reasons why you should be right in two-year time. Don't use the tactic of those Indian fortune-teller of putting you in suspense first then ask for money before he tells you the prophesy.

VT7 will be built.

Keep this posting in mind and tell me within 2 years if I was right or not.....

Yes, you are right but HOW HIGH!!!

Exactly as planned, no doubt about that. There's just a delay.

And the JC-people shouldn't be surprised if VT7 will go to court afterwards to claim the loss of time and other costs.

It's a very risky trial going on now for the farangs who are used to the laws in their own countries.

I live in The Netherlands, and rules and laws are quite strict here, but even here the money wins it from the rules.

I've seen plenty of examples of buildings that were built where 1 or more laws should have prevented it.

Big building companies have more power and influence than you can imagine.

I would never even think of trying to stop VT7, even if I was the owner of a condo in JC.

It's quite naive to think that Thailand is a country of laws. If you live in Thailand long enough, you know that is not true. There are laws, but money can buy everything.

So, once again, VT7 will be there, 27 floors, maybe 2010 instead of 2009.

OhdLover,

The naivety is on your part. Not only that, you are so cynical in believing that money can buy everything. Sometimes, it cannot buy professional pride of our court. The Court's injunction as granted at the request of stopvt7, a farang, is an obvious respect for the rule of law and there are so many cases supporting this contention. Currently, there is one god-father who is on the run because of the court proceedings and one ex-minister of health is now in prison.

I do not venture to guess what would be the final outcome but the todate outcome is quite encouraging to support the existence of rules of law and small investors are protected irrespective of his nationality.

Firstly I'm completely naive about matters financial ref markets/investments etc. About a year or so ago I heard about the "Forex" market and if used correctly its ability to generate income/profits. A google search will provide numerous sites, books, cd's etc providing training/information for the newbie.

I recently came across a "report" from an excellent source on the internet. Apparantley it is genuine and I know that people are buying it up like hotcakes. All the information one needs to generate £100 - £200 (gbp) a day from an initial investment of approx £2000 - £3000. Access to a telephone for support and an internet connection, is all that's needed. This information is being offered to me for the sum of £1200. So initial investment/cost of course comes out at about £4000.

I'm normally dubious/cautious, a sceptic and all that but for some reason I'm getting good vibrations about this. My situation in my home country isn't the best at the moment and I am really, really stuggling. I'm not interested in massive wealth, just a reliable/modest income which I can create whilst I improve my circumstances.

£4000 is probably chump change to most of the readers of this post. But I'd have to loan this money to get myself going. Any prior experiences/information about this method of trading? Is it viable? Anywhere this information can be had for a lesser cost? It will be interesting to read any responses

As the old saying goes, "TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, SO IT IS UNTRUE".

The Lake Condo near to Asoke station, Foodland supermarket, and a reasonable sized park is an example. The condo is situated on the eight-lane road. The place is well occupied with rental fetching 70,000 to over 100,000. The place is under the management of the expats and professional Thais who take pride of the place. I own a few units there.

Hi Irene

Thanks for your reply. Nice to hear from an owner on the situation at present.

I guess it's the same as anywhere - Location, Location, Location. Although it also sounds like management is of vital importance. Picking an area that suits will be more difficult from here in Melbourne. I had visions of sifting through 30 or 40 possibilities and narrowing it down to 6 or 7 to view when we fly over in October.

Hi, honker,

In Bangkok, location is not supreme. Management is also important. I have one unit in the prime area, near to the park, station, etc. but has a team of weak management, to the extent that we have poor occupancy rate. I am somewhat sceptical of the idea of setting oneself a deadline of having to commit the purchase when one is in Thailand for three weeks. Rushing is not a good thing.

We are lucky enough to have a handful of good friends living in Bangkok, so may be able to have them advise on suitable sites. It's easy to spot a nice building walking distance from BTS or MRT, but parks and suitable shops are not so easy to locate when not there.

In Bangkok, there are only a handful of parks. It is only a bonus if one is near there but not a determining point.

Not really that concerned at trying to be on the river, but transport is a big must.

You would have hard time in finding tenants for a condo near to the river. Transportation from that area is atrocious.

I looked for The Lake Condo on the web to get an idea of what the building is like, but I am unable to find it. Is there a website for it?

There is no website of the Lake Condo. All the units were sold out a few years ago. There are a few units offered by the unitholders for sale. You have to ask the receptionists at the Lake. The Lake's telephone number is 662 2612248

Are yours rented long term residential, or do you have them go short term to holiday makers, business professionals and the like?

Our are all long term rental of at least one year.

Any other pitfalls or things to watch out for that I should know? Also, do you know of a reputable agent for the purchase?

When buying an occupied unit with tenant, one should be certain of the agreement on the future rental income and return of security deposits as paid by the tenant. In the case of a new unit, Thailand has no escrow account, the risk is with the buyer until the date of completion. Therefore, the chance of completion should also be evaluated by the buyer.

I would not dare to recommend any agent to any one since they are so many freelance agents who are gunning for their 3% commissions. There will be so many offering you the services when you start scouting around for the unit. It is you who has to make a right decision through refining some of their words. On the whole, they are quite sincere with their words but through their eagerness they can be less independent in their advices. You certainly need to talk to your friends a lot.

Thanks once again for your insight.

This info is only good for US service connected veterans. I was sent this link:

http://www.va.gov/hac/forbeneficiaries/fmp/fmp.asp

It says that this organization will pay for any care that is related to your service connected disability. They do want all medical records from the hospital to be in English for quicker processing but it isn't mandatory. They would also pay for this care for you if the hospital can except payment by US check in US currency.

Does anyone know of any hospital in Thailand that can provide medical care under these circumstances. I can't afford to have the surgeries I require and pay first and then be payed back later. Cheers for any help.

Snake-Bite,

I think Bumrungrad Hospital and possibly Bangkok Hospital should be able to provide you medical care with billings in US dollars to the States. Prior agreement is necessary to accomplish your wish. The websites are

www.bumrungrad.com and www.bangkokhospital.com

honkin,

That 1,000s vacancy is a generalised statement. The whole point is location. You have to pick the one that will be scarced in ten-year time. I would pick areas that the expats like to frequent, like somewhere near to Emporium or Thong Lor area and the condo is near to the mass transit station and well-managed. Even better, if it is also near to a park. These are the factors: sustainable demand, shopping, travelling, greenery and management. The most important one is the management. There are not that many in Thailand. As the late Bob Hope used to say, God cannot increase the land area anymore when he referred to the central area of Los Angeles. Pricing of this type of condo could be steep when compared with others. But as time goes by, one day you might feel the price you paid for now is a bargain.

The Lake Condo near to Asoke station, Foodland supermarket, and a reasonable sized park is an example. The condo is situated on the eight-lane road. The place is well occupied with rental fetching 70,000 to over 100,000. The place is under the management of the expats and professional Thais who take pride of the place. I own a few units there. This is the one that gives me so much confidence when comparing with the ones I bought right in the centre of town facing the huge sports club but the management is pitiful. My advice is to visit places and be nice to the receptionists to learn of the stage of the management or sit around and see how efficient or how pitiful it could be. Don't trust the estate agent of any level to make the choice for you. This is not London or Sydney.

Irene, just out of interest, what are the maintenance charges (baht/sq.metre/month) for this type of well managed condo building.?

Do you think that maintenance charges reflect the quality of management?

Thanks

rak sa_ngop,

Baht 35/sqm/month. Now they have proposed to increase to Baht 45 which is subject to the approval of the coming general meeting. I personally do not object to that realising that they will be careful with our money. The maintenance charges reflect the management quality. Another condo has a huge sinking fund and they forever modify the lobby just like some five-star hotels. The benefits are worth it. Another condo is so stingy with no rise for years because they believe that according to their rules no rise is possible. The place is really shabby and bad morale of the staff. Theft is reported every now and then. Fortunately, the structure of this place must be the best in town with most units with four bedrooms which is rare. So finding tenants is not that difficult.

An average place, could be top of the lower half of apartments (qualitywise) that we rent has maintenance fee of 85B per sqm per month.

We know that as the invoices were put in our mail box. The landlord pays that (from us, through the rent).

What 35-45B maintenance fee in such a good place means is beyond me. Must be thousands of 4 bed apartments in a complex to support that kind of low levies.

Or, in my case, 570 apartment owners (Thai) and 17 farang are all being robbed blind?

Edit: picked 4 beds from some post, not saying it was Irene's.

think_too_mut,

If it is truly B85/sqm/month and not for optical reason to the tenant, then it is the highest I have ever seen. Then your last paragraph seems to be correct. Believe me, I am an avid investor in this field since the first condo was built in Bangkok.

honkin,

That 1,000s vacancy is a generalised statement. The whole point is location. You have to pick the one that will be scarced in ten-year time. I would pick areas that the expats like to frequent, like somewhere near to Emporium or Thong Lor area and the condo is near to the mass transit station and well-managed. Even better, if it is also near to a park. These are the factors: sustainable demand, shopping, travelling, greenery and management. The most important one is the management. There are not that many in Thailand. As the late Bob Hope used to say, God cannot increase the land area anymore when he referred to the central area of Los Angeles. Pricing of this type of condo could be steep when compared with others. But as time goes by, one day you might feel the price you paid for now is a bargain.

The Lake Condo near to Asoke station, Foodland supermarket, and a reasonable sized park is an example. The condo is situated on the eight-lane road. The place is well occupied with rental fetching 70,000 to over 100,000. The place is under the management of the expats and professional Thais who take pride of the place. I own a few units there. This is the one that gives me so much confidence when comparing with the ones I bought right in the centre of town facing the huge sports club but the management is pitiful. My advice is to visit places and be nice to the receptionists to learn of the stage of the management or sit around and see how efficient or how pitiful it could be. Don't trust the estate agent of any level to make the choice for you. This is not London or Sydney.

Irene, just out of interest, what are the maintenance charges (baht/sq.metre/month) for this type of well managed condo building.?

Do you think that maintenance charges reflect the quality of management?

Thanks

rak sa_ngop,

Baht 35/sqm/month. Now they have proposed to increase to Baht 45 which is subject to the approval of the coming general meeting. I personally do not object to that realising that they will be careful with our money. The maintenance charges reflect the management quality. Another condo has a huge sinking fund and they forever modify the lobby just like some five-star hotels. The benefits are worth it. Another condo is so stingy with no rise for years because they believe that according to their rules no rise is possible. The place is really shabby and bad morale of the staff. Theft is reported every now and then. Fortunately, the structure of this place must be the best in town with most units with four bedrooms which is rare. So finding tenants is not that difficult.

Who exactly are you going to rent it too? There are 1000's of vacant condos in this city , why is yours going to be any different?.

I didn't realise the Bangkok rental scene was in that much distress. There's always plenty of new condos going up and they can't all be bought to live in. For ages my wife and I have stayed in beautful serviced condos when we come to Bangkok and just thought this was pretty normal. I always thought that quality rented in any market. I know in Melbourne, our rental properties have not had more than a day or 2 of vacancy in 5 years. This is due to prime location and excellent renovating and decorating. Dogs don't rent no matter what the market is like.

Our plan was to purchase it initially for investment purposes, leaving it in the hands of a decent agent (yeah, I know - not so easy to find). We weren't looking for residential occupation, but more business travellers and holiday makers not wishing to stay in a hotel. Down the track (retirement in 10 years) we would move over and take up residence ourselves.

If this appears to be impossible, well I guess we would wait until retirement and move over, purchasing a place when we come.

Can others confirm what Simmo says about 1,000s of condos being currently vacant in the city? This may change our perspective immeasurably.

Cheers

honkin,

That 1,000s vacancy is a generalised statement. The whole point is location. You have to pick the one that will be scarced in ten-year time. I would pick areas that the expats like to frequent, like somewhere near to Emporium or Thong Lor area and the condo is near to the mass transit station and well-managed. Even better, if it is also near to a park. These are the factors: sustainable demand, shopping, travelling, greenery and management. The most important one is the management. There are not that many in Thailand. As the late Bob Hope used to say, God cannot increase the land area anymore when he referred to the central area of Los Angeles. Pricing of this type of condo could be steep when compared with others. But as time goes by, one day you might feel the price you paid for now is a bargain.

The Lake Condo near to Asoke station, Foodland supermarket, and a reasonable sized park is an example. The condo is situated on the eight-lane road. The place is well occupied with rental fetching 70,000 to over 100,000. The place is under the management of the expats and professional Thais who take pride of the place. I own a few units there. This is the one that gives me so much confidence when comparing with the ones I bought right in the centre of town facing the huge sports club but the management is pitiful. My advice is to visit places and be nice to the receptionists to learn of the stage of the management or sit around and see how efficient or how pitiful it could be. Don't trust the estate agent of any level to make the choice for you. This is not London or Sydney.

Does anyone know where I can get good stock fundamental and technical analysis for the SET? I've been trading with Seamico Securities for a few years now which has its own reports but I'm looking for something with more detailed information on stocks such as all the standard fundamental analysis ratios, technical analysis charts and explanations with broker ratings etc.

Do I have to pay to get this or is there a brokerage firm out there that has all the whistles and bells included in its service?

There's a hel_l of a lot of brokerage companies to wade through so if someone can suggest a good one it would be greatly appreciated.

p.s Is there enough interest out there to start a Stock Exchange of Thailand Thai Visa forum?

The following are my brokers that should meet all your need. Some may require you to be their clients. There is no one broker that could fit your bill. They are good in certain respects.

DBS Vickers- www.dbsvitrade.com

Phatra- www.phatrasecurities.com

Tisco- www.tiscoesec.com

Phillips- http://poems.in.th

They are in English and well-written especially the first three.

I think you will have a better luck with the first three and the last one may meet more on your need. I use all of them.

VT7 will be built.

Keep this posting in mind and tell me within 2 years if I was right or not.....

Yes, you are right but HOW HIGH!!!

Sukhumvit upgrades are costing 500M baht says Ronakit

City hall is spending almost 500 million baht on upgrading Sukhumvit Road, the main artery into Pattaya.

Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh, whose brief includes the city's public utilities, says that the plan is to improve the flow of the traffic and also to beautify the highway to improve the image of Pattaya as an international resort.

The upgrading involves 14 kilometers of Sukhumvit and involves a budget of 477 million baht.

There are four main components to the plan. Under an expenditure of 150 million baht, the number of highway lanes is being increased from three to four, along with the provision of a sidewalk. Another 150 million baht will see the installation of about 200 high-mast streetlights along the route. The planting of trees and shrubs along the median, together with sprinklers and rainwater traps is costing another 77 million baht. The remaining 100 million baht will be spent on traffic engineering and signboarding to accommodate the expansion to four lanes.

Ronakit said that this total amount is substantial, but the result should be an impressive and efficient approach highway for visitors to the city. The deputy mayor added that it is estimated income from tourists to Pattaya is approximately 5 billion baht per year. Compared to this, a budget of 500 million baht for desperately needed improvements is not an unreasonable amount.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yet "another" sukhumvit road beautification project? Aren't there a number of really pressing

things the city genuinely needs? Is this just awarding special contracting jobs to friends? The

management of these public funds and some of these endless, repetitive, public works

projects are really distressing with so many other essential things left ignored.

Well, at least there will be one progress in one area!!!

SINGAPORE: Airfares don't come cheaper than this!

Budget airliner Tiger Airways is offering one-way tickets for just a dollar!

The offer is for travel from Singapore to Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai, Padang, Phuket, Shenzhen and Udon Thani.

Tickets are for travelling dates from September 11th until October 28th this year.

You can buy the tickets from May 14th until May 20th.

The airliner is also offering special discounts to destinations in Australia.

One-way fare to Darwin is just $8, and one-way ticket to Perth is $28. - CNA/ir

ChannelNewsAsia

Can anyone tell me what is the catch here besides the advert value?

New to this forum but here goes. Read this thread and noticed a mention of Regatta Condo. A friend (no really) of mine bought a unit from this development company in Regent Pratumnak condominium. Turns out his unit is much smaller than was advertised and promised in the contract. The developer is reluctant to return his overpaid monies. The amount of money I'm not sure about but he says it is more than 500,000 Baht difference. They even charge the maintenance fees based on advertised size not actual size? Just thought I'd bring this up as a buyers beware report. He has also spoken to a couple of other purchasers and they are still getting invoiced for the full amount for their final payments on transfer. Is this illegal? Surely purchasers must be told before transfer and final payments of the true size and surely this must be reflected in the final payment price?

That does not make sense. My experience tells me that whatever the agreed purchase of the square metres of the condo, the final title deed of the unit shall be the final basis of payments. In most sale agreement, there would be a clause stating that the final square metres as stated in the deed shall be adjusted on the final payment.

Checked with my friend and there is a clause stating unit will be sold at a certain price per sq.m. Seems the developer has had the deeds for a few months and never told any of the purchasers?? Even sent out final payment sheets on the listed size instead of actual size. Only once they received the deeds did they find out the size difference! Now they have a fight to get funds back.

This is very interesting. Please keep us informed how your friend and other co-owners will go about getting money back. There are thousands of condo units in Pattaya and probably thousands of farang owners. We need to know about all things to do with condos - buying contracts, Law, Regulations, Management, co-owners rights. PLease keep in touch.

I am puzzled by the situation. How can one pay the final payment without having sighted the title deed first? At that point of time, you will know of the amount to be adjusted to the agreed price per square metre.

Assuming that one is careless in paying first and seeing the title deed later, the aggrieved party can still ask his lawyer to demand the refund of the excess. The developer should oblige if it is a well-known developer who still wants to stay in the business. Going to court on such a crummy trick is not good for his business. If the devloper ignores, then take him to court and try to get as much publicity. It is a retrievable situation.

It is my understanding that in order to have the right to "export" back your money you need to "import" it legally, that is to certify that these funds come from abroad into the Kingdom.

To do this you need to channel your money through some "certified" banks. I did it using the HKSB, whose offices are near Lumpini Park.

What I don't know yet is whether you can "export" more than what you have "imported". I suppose you can, as 10 Mill THB don't have the same value in 1997 as in 2007.

You are right. When you import the fund, you need to state on the exchange control form stating the purpose of the fund. If this is specifically spelt out of the property involved, upon export, any gain therefrom plus the amount of the capital fund could be exported. The Band of Thailand is pretty reasonable throughout.

NAME OF THE HOSPITAL, PLEASE.

New to this forum but here goes. Read this thread and noticed a mention of Regatta Condo. A friend (no really) of mine bought a unit from this development company in Regent Pratumnak condominium. Turns out his unit is much smaller than was advertised and promised in the contract. The developer is reluctant to return his overpaid monies. The amount of money I'm not sure about but he says it is more than 500,000 Baht difference. They even charge the maintenance fees based on advertised size not actual size? Just thought I'd bring this up as a buyers beware report. He has also spoken to a couple of other purchasers and they are still getting invoiced for the full amount for their final payments on transfer. Is this illegal? Surely purchasers must be told before transfer and final payments of the true size and surely this must be reflected in the final payment price?

That does not make sense. My experience tells me that whatever the agreed purchase of the square metres of the condo, the final title deed of the unit shall be the final basis of payments. In most sale agreement, there would be a clause stating that the final square metres as stated in the deed shall be adjusted on the final payment.