LennyW

If it wizna for yer wellies, where wid u bee, you'd be in the hospital or infirmaree.....

Thankyou Billy

My visa which led me to choose Thailand in 2004 as my home in the future, 1 year retirement in 50 years was not grand father.

Since changing the law, in the words of the embassy, for they could not see into the future. In spite of my years to make them aware they would not give me a new 1 year retirement if they would not give me this in the future. Since the law was changed just before 6 months to apply only to retirees over 50 years.

However, this is Thailand.

It can not be said often enough.

Do not take more into the country than you can afford to give up with a smile.

This applies to all levels ...

You get in a problem then Falang with money in Thailand a target.

TIT

<deleted>?????

The fare is going to be whatever the driver says it is!!!

That would be a mistake, talking to the driver.

Some have gone to Pattaya Tai and said that was as far as they were going

In my experience, this happens less than 5 percent of the time.

You dont need to talk to the driver, if you do not hand him enough money he is going to let you know about it for sure!

I know many regular visitors to here that have bank accounts here also, so they transfer money during the "good rate" times and use that for their holidays, that seems to have been working well for them for the last 12 years or so.

Flights could become an issue, although not for our visitors this christmas as they booked their flights in the early part of the year - next year could be a different story though?

Time will tell....

I don't regard this as any meaningful concession! Thais know that prices are skyhigh

anyway in its like they are saying your welcome to your developments perched up there!

What about being able to own productive land ! Not a chance I suppose

Extending the max lease on land from 30 to 90 years as per the proposal would be a huge boost, lets see if it actually happens though - time will tell.

Wife burbled to me farang can own any condo (100% of building) if priced between 8-10 million baht then added also 90 year lease I asked her if she meant 30=30=30 but the paper was not specific. So all the expensive overpriced units can be owned 100% by farang now...... whoooopeeeee............... didnt notice them qeueing up down the roads this morning same as the Thais when they announce a new development???

That may happen once it is actually implemented and not just proposed!

I have heard that they are to extend the period for reduced transfer fees beyond the end of March 2009, but again cannot find definative confirmation?

The fare is going to be whatever the driver says it is!!!

No dual pricing in the lovely resturant any ways!!

There's only 2 weeks between a bad and a good haircut anyway!

Dangerous game if you dont pick exactly the right time, fine if you do though!

If however your asset continues to make money for you, you would not want to liquidate that asset - would you.

Lenny I understand what you are saying and your continued confidence in the real estate

sector as an investment class is admirable !

So let me throw at you another concern i have

regarding the prospects for real estate investments in the future and I would be

interested in your knowledgeable response.

Surely a big part of the attraction of real estate in the past has been concept of capital growth

and not only income generation. I doubt if quite as many people would be so enthusiastic

about investing in real estate if the potential for capital growth wasn't there?

I agree with that, but i am talking about renting out property, renters are not investing to gain capital growth but they are providing an income to people that have property assets and are in no hurry to liquidate them, i guess as long as you are in no hurry to liquidate your assets then this is an ideal scenario.

We are just witnessing a phenomenal amount of money being sucked back out

of the global financial markets -money that you could argue shouldn't have been

available in the first place because a lot of it was the product off the multiplier effect originating

from what we now know were completely bogus and totally worthless

synthetic derivatives. How do we know when or even if this amount of money

will ever come back into the system? So not only have the banks stopped lending

but the money supply is likely to be considerably less in the future.

The continued raising of real estate values in the past has in turn relied on

economic growth in general and similarly growth

in peoples incomes. After the last downturn in 2000, the recovery was helped

by a long period of cheap money - but it's doubtful if that kind of financing

will become available again for a very long time.

Cheap money and foolishly given - in the UK people were getting 125% mortgages, people straight out of school were being offered 60 year mortgages that could be handed down to their children, hopefully this is a scenario that we shall not be returning to any time soon!

At the same time, I don't see anything now in the pipeline

to allow any further increases in people's wages either now or in the medium term?

In fact we are hearing more about retrenchments and salary reductions as

American Express announced only yesterday.

Some real estate prices have reached the stratosphere and yet where is the

silver lining on the horizon to provide people with the incomes to pay mortgages

against some of these

prices even based on their current salaries let alone if over the next few quarters

they remain frozen or are even reduced. And this is all happening when once again

there is a huge amount of condominiums stock available?

I guess my bottom line is that as long as people are not getting loans / mortgages for property purchases then there will be a continued demand for rental properties. I have seen a recent trend here that more and more Thai people are buying "falang" style properties in order to rent them out to those foreigners that are reluctant to purchase in the current climate.

But hey, who knows what will happen next!

[/b]

I would say collecting a rent whilst retaining the assets was pretty smart??

Hey Lenny - maybe it is not so smart if the world experiences a long period

of DEFLATION ? USA talking now of 0% interest rates - Japan

now at 0.25% - where do we go from there ?

The longer you can collect a rent on your asset the better!!

Lets say - you have a 5 M Bt asset rented out at 35,000 Bt / month, over a 5 year (long period) term you will have written down your asset to 2.9 M Bt, so even if you sell at the same price it cost 5 M Bt, (highly unlikely on a property), you will still have made a profit of 2.1M Bt.

Thats 8.4% ROI per annum, better than you will get with any bank meantime!

Not banks I agree - but you could use that money

more profitably by picking the right times and short selling in the stock market

from time to time ! And you also have the hassle of an illiquid " asset " in

particular in the times we have ahead.............

Dangerous game if you dont pick exactly the right time, fine if you do though!

If however your asset continues to make money for you, you would not want to liquidate that asset - would you.

[/b]

I would say collecting a rent whilst retaining the assets was pretty smart??

Hey Lenny - maybe it is not so smart if the world experiences a long period

of DEFLATION ? USA talking now of 0% interest rates - Japan

now at 0.25% - where do we go from there ?

The longer you can collect a rent on your asset the better!!

Lets say - you have a 5 M Bt asset rented out at 35,000 Bt / month, over a 5 year (long period) term you will have written down your asset to 2.9 M Bt, so even if you sell at the same price it cost 5 M Bt, (highly unlikely on a property), you will still have made a profit of 2.1M Bt.

Thats 8.4% ROI per annum, better than you will get with any bank meantime!

Are we to understand that you did not like Manila then Naam??

Thai banks have been very particular on loans since the 97 Asian mess, that is why there is a lot less fallout in Thaialnd from the present worldwide crisis.

Friday night road blocks looking for pro-PAD protesters driving up to BKK for this weekend's protests.

I would expect all roads leading to BKK for the duration of protests to encounter such activity.

Hide your protest banners, yellow plastic clappy hands and tear gas in the trunk.

That was the reason i heard too.

Hey, if Euro and Russian ladies can work in bars, then it would only be fair to allow farang ladies the same opportunities.

Euro and Russians are farangs!!!

Well spotted 5tash

The advertising is to get people to rent "spaces", opening soon, a lot of money spent there and looks good - good resturaunt too.

I dont know what the tourists are doing "normally" but you just have to look in the bars along beach road when it rains - standing room only, where the hel_l do they all appear from??

Just what Pattaya needs - another cheap charlie!!, who no doubt will spend hours on this forum complaining about the prices, services etc. in Pattaya

I guess if they are doing it for free they might be OK - what was the leaflet for?

I think this warning should be applied to all roads IN and AROUND Pattaya!

well, reality finally meets fantasy..........

credit crunch - check

oversupply - check

gvt on verge of collapse - check

local economy disintegrating - check

BANGKOK PROPERTY MARKET

Capital faces oversupply of condo units

Falling demand leaves developers with a large inventory of unsold units

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/10/31...ss_30087290.php

Bongo Im still managing to let with ease my condos (4) just taken on a new client for 1 year priced at 14000baht per month. Advertised for 2 days now full again although did have a guy pay a deposit and never turn up?? Oh well w e kept the deposit and then re advertised 2 days later full.

I'll let you know when it changes.

I think the price range is the decider.

wow 14000baht/35 = $400 *4 properties = $1600 per month? you really are a high roller.........NOT, when you get to 6 figures in $ (not baht) i'll be impressed

your renters are smarter than you, why tie up the money in a capital trap when they can deploy the dough more effeciently some where else (such as the yen, shorting the global bourses etc) and be LIQUID and remain mobile

I would say collecting a rent whilst retaining the assets was pretty smart??

He was lucky to get the money back, but I bet he was even more thrilled to have his full name reported in the papers

There's probably a photo of him out there too. Perhaps he's got a wife back in the US? I'm sure she'll be thrilled.

The best advice in these circumstances is if you can afford to lose it - write it off.

Pictures of him on the PDN splurge..

End of March is correct at the moment, and yes it is rumoured to be extended.

The actual price you will be charged is based on the Land office valuation of the land - (which is usually significantly lower) not the price you are paying for it.