richm7

I can't believe this f*cking thread. The more I read, the worse it gets. I need a life too. Bl**dy hel_l!

why do almost all farangs insist on saying pa-THAI-ya when all they have to do is listen to any Thai or read the spelling in Thai. it's พัทยา phat tha yaa.

I dunno Sa-teve, why do some people pronounce your name wrong. Probably because they're not English speakers. Jeez, slow day, is it?

I am aware you need to declare any amount of money over a certain amount (like 5k?)

Well if I go to heathrow, turn up to the desk to declare 30k, Ive been unemployed for 3-4 years, no assets, is there any reason why I should not be allowed through with it? granted, 30k is alot of money, but its not a huge amount, its just quite a big lump for a young guy who dosnt have a "sound reason" for having it.

What is likely to happen in this circumstance?

*my friend accumulated this money 100% legally.

Secondly, Can any foreigner (uk citizen in this case) open up a Thai bank account in thailand, same type as you would get in the uk. And deposit this amount of cash into the bank, online (ie open it up in thailand, then deposit the funds via my online banking from my uk account?)

thanks in advance

Two ways:

1. Open an account in Thailand (Bangkok Bank is generally OK (I assume you will NOT have a tourist visa, in which case, forget it - nothing special about Thailand there)) and transfer the money from your UK account. Easy. How the heck do you buy a car or a condo in Thailand otherwise?

2. Leave the money in the UK bank and withdraw it via a VISA (or like) card in big chunks ($7000 a day from the US, not sure about UK) at the bank exchange booth. Cheap and easy.

DON'T carry the money without declaring it. Nasty if you get caught. At either end.

Doesn't matter, buy a cheap one. Crap in, crap out. Unless you watch predominantly from DVD, in which case use the internet to check the Home Theatre magazines. I've just been in the US and my mate has some Samsung Plasma's which are pretty bloody good, I must say. Mind you, the broadcast quality in the US seems to have improved massively too. Programs are still sh*t though!

I want to buy an SUV that

- has manual transmission

- runs on diesel

- will give me option to fit leather seats

- is sturdy enough for a long term purchaser (some 7 years or more)

- can be locally made or imported (eg Hyundai?)

- must cost as much under 2 million as possible

Was wondering what my choices are?

Mind if I ask "why manual?". I guess you won't be driving in BKK!

I've had a Fortuner (diesel/auto) for 3 years now. It's been very good, no problems at all and cheap to run. Leather seats, no signs of wear and tear and about THB1.2M (three years ago). I did ask the missus to jump in the back seat for some how's your father a few weeks ago but she wouldn't so it doesn't work for that.

the British Army is short of a few thousand suchlike heroes.

Quote of the day HH

BTW, <deleted> has it to do with football?

Dear chap, if I have to explain it you clearly won't understand.

I use Skype extensively, from to Thailand/UK/USA and my experience is excellent, both voice and video. If Skype does not work for you it ain't Skype, so another service will almost certainly not be any better. Cheap as chips too (except don't call a mobile in the UK.. Ouch!).

Shocking, violence at a football match, whooda thought it?

Blimey, you blokes have not been to England recently to witness to general level of ignorant "laddish" neanderthal behaviour that passes as normal these days. And that's just the women!

Look at the average Brit waddling around Thailand and ask yourself "why am I surprised?". It's cool to be a thug now, innit?

Tattoo's from hairy toe to shaven dome, beer guts drooping over shapeless filthy "shorts, a sleeveless grubby vest and <deleted> and blinding at ear shattering levels across the bar to their similarly attired mates. Delightful, makes me proud to be British.

Having said that, West Ham V Millwall is hardly likely to produce football worth watching, now is it?

BTW, <deleted> has it to do with football?

I've flown Qantas a few times and I can empathize with him. Mind you, those 200lb flying waitress Sheila's they have on quaint arse shouldn't have had too much trouble restraining him. I bet the stewards were in a real flap though.

As far as I understand, Thaksin wants to make Thailand a more modern country. Some folks couldn't stand that, now he is off power. It's all a big game, between the big boys. I wouldn't say everything he did was good, some people did not like his " war on drugs ", but see what happens now, the current goverment, won't do a thing about the situation in the south, and borders to Laos en Cambodia etc....

Moslim extremists en drug trafficers, don't go away with "words". The require hard militairy force. But offcourse a p.m can't go to far, like Thaksin did, then he will be seen as a criminal. The world is a weird place.

Written from an Amsterdam "coffee shop" after a few doobies, I presume?

Like, weird man.

So, who does the PM find in Thailand to clean up the problem? Corruption runs from bottom to top. They're all bent, it is a way of life. There is no real police force in Thailand. In any western country the Thai police would be "organized crime". So, someone please tell me how you fix the problem? It will take a revolution. Then, Thailand can get out of its gutter corrupt way of life and get sophisticated corruption, like in Britain & the US. Oh, it's everywhere, it's just that in the west it doesn't touch you and me, at least not directly (usually). Thailand is Thailand. It ain't gonna change. Yes, it's a shame for the poor old tourist who gets caught out, but often I have little sympathy for them because 50% of the blame lies with them. Fight the battles you can win. This is one battle you'll never win.

Beat the drums, hoist the colours! See you in Court...

You may be right, I may be crazy, but it just may be the lunatic we're looking for?

Imagine: You live happily in a highrise condo. Enjoy your views. Sunbake, swim, play snooker, go to gym/sauna, even tennis court... Total bliss! ... Than one day you accidently discover that Juristic Person cum Building Management KNOWINGLY allowed hundreds of people (Thais, Farang, women, kids, elderly) live without ANY FIRE PROTECTION!!!. And this situation was allowed to continue FOR YEARS!!!... Remember the fire in Pattaya? The deaths? Was it an accident? My condo is over 20 stories,- go figure...

How can you help. Any constructive advice as to my case. Any tips as to applicable thai law and where to find them. Any references to similar cases in the past, if any. Any references to size of compensation. etc, etc, etc.

Please, do not: Tell me I'm an idiot. I know this. Tell me I shouldn't have bought a condo in Thailand. I did. Mention once again TIT. I know where I am. Send me smiles from LOS.

Thank you for help and advice.

P.S. If you live in a highrise, check who is Managing the Property. The name of the company is '*****' and apparently they are pretty big. I have reasons to believe our condo is not an exceptional case...

You are joking right?

If you lobbied hard enough you could probably get your fellow co-owners to invest in some sprinklers/extinguishers.

But get compensation...

You'd essentially be suing the building...which is infact yourself, and your fellow co-owners... talk about sh*tting where you eat... What kind of reaction do you think you're going to get when your neighbors find out a good chunk of their monthly service charge is going to legal fees to defend against the lawsuit you've bought against the building?

As for the Juristic Person, they are just an employee.

P.S. If you specifically paid the management company to install or maintain fire equipment, and they just didn't do it, then obviously this is a different story, and you'd probably have a case. But it doesn't seem like this is the situation?

Spot on. Still no idea what the OP means by "Fire Protection" but whatever it is, as a co-owner, the solution is in his hands. It is quite possible that the Condo Board would have a case against the Management Company depending on the circumstances but you have to ask yourselves whether it is worth the trouble & cost to sue them. I suspect not.

My experience with all of them (does that get me around the "naming" restriction!) is that they are next to worthless. The best you'll get is if you live in a building that's new and was built by them or their parent company. Otherwise the term "tits on a bull" springs to mind.

Go self managed and put a farang in charge. Save yourselves a huge monthly charge for having one of the***** companies plonk a twit at the front office to do sweet FA all day long. Then things will happen. Also look at the CAM fees. Many buildings simply don't charge enough especially as they start to get older so if you need to spend a chunk on stairwell pressurization, for example, you'll end up pulling it from the sinking fund and not be able to replace it. If there is enough IN the sinking fund, of course.

BTW, knocking condo's in BKK is a sport on this forum but the truth is that Condo's & CAM fees are a global issue. Nobody likes paying them and good management is hard to find. Good luck, because you are going to need it.

US banks won't even give you a mortgage in the US these days. They want to know how many times you crap a day and which shoelace to tie first too. Forget it if you're left handed.

Seriously, there is a HUGE problem in the US getting a mortgage; the old adage about banks only lending to people who don't need the money (i.e. have money already) has even gone out of the window. If you have just OK credit, forget it too. Even if your credit is stellar you're going to have problems. How do I know? I'm in the middle of on ongoing farce myself. I have substantially more than the mortgage I am seeking on deposit with Chase and they STILL are balking over lending to me. No guesses on what will happen to my money on deposit if they don't!

As for a mortgage in Thailand, forget it, UNLESS you have a work permit and get paid there. Then you can get one. Otherwise it will have to be the wife and earlier comments explain the problem there.

Sorry to say this, but if you are having a baby and you are genuinely worried about whether it's yours then you are not with the right woman, or she is not with the right man, whichever. I don't doubt that these things happen everywhere in the world but I think deep down you know yourself if you can trust your wife or not.

You didn't actually mention if you are having a baby, are you? or is it just a general question to wind up the members and invite the inevitable sarcasm?

If you would have been reading my OP properly you would have seen it's not about me; personally, I am not worried. I have 2 children and 4 grandchildren.

It was a genuine question and not a wind up or being sarcastic. Many on this forum know me and will know I'm not the kind of member posting troll issues or wind ups.

I gave 2 examples of children who were born in Thailand, not from the father/husband in the family; one of those non-fathers was murdered; hardly an issue to post a wind up with.

I do not understand why people consider this as a personal or sarcastic issue because the question was -again- genuine and meant to be honest.

It is better to know now than later. If anyone has doubts, it's better to check if one is the father.....or not.

Just my own opinion.

LaoPo

Yeah fine, but this is a Thailand forum (largely) and I fail to see what's special about Thailand in this respect (OK keep your shirt on, I know you said as much yourself).

Isn't it more relevant to ask if this is a bigger problem here than elsewhere (possibly) and if so why and allow people to respond constructively (aside from the idiot comments that are inevitable).

I've seen quite a few farang/thai couples with a young child (not a baby, but maybe 18 months when the features start to get stronger) when my wife and I look at one another with that "surely he's not the father" face. Maybe he knows, maybe he doesn't. Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. If he isn't, at least the kid is likely getting a better life than it would under different circumstances, so there is at least one winner in the triangle.

My daughter looks just like me, sadly for her, and were it not for the fact she is dark skinned I'd challenge anyone to say she had any Thai in her at all. In which case, I guess it could go the other way, so just because the child looks 100% Thai does not mean daddy was a motorbike taxi driver.

As for my daughter, I'm getting a DNA test to see who the real mother is.........

Wow, an awful lot (in fact, looks like all!) comments here from utterly unqualified persons. Better, more informative and (hopefully) accurate information is available from medical establishments on the internet. Beware of information from opinion offerers.

I have a friend who got TB. She was put on pills she had to take for six months. Apparently, if you do get TB you MUST complete the course of pills even when you feel better, which is much sooner than six months, or the TB could come back but worse be immune to the treatment. She's OK now but gets tired easily, not surprisingly having a scar on her lungs.

I have searched & searched the forum but cannot find the answer to my question.

Does anyone know if, as a British citizen living in Thailand, can I can apply for a visitor's visa for the USA at the US embassy in BKK?

I know that I do not qualify for the visa waiver programme.

Thanks in advance,

Phil

Phil, why do not not qualify for the visa waiver program? Based on your question as a British Citizen you should have a British Passport therefore you qualify. You can only visit for three months on the waiver program but that is, as far as I am aware, the only restriction.

Unless you are a felon, in which case you're in trouble anyway!

A few points of note.

anyone about to receive uk state pension will have had to pay 44 years for FULL state pension.

If you remain in thailand this figure will never increase unless you spend 6 months or more resident in UK.[AT GOV DISCRETION]

if you do return to uk you will get the pension amount at that present rate.When you go back to thailand the pension will revert to its ORIGINAL rate .

The british working class have been bamboozled for decades.The pension is divided into 2 COMPULOSORY parts

EMPLOYERS CONTRIBUTION

EMPLOYEES CONTRIBUTION.

??????

Almost all of the working class since world war2 worked for employers.

Any employer would calculate the cost of employing workers INCLUDING the 'employers 'NI contribution And the employer would count this as losses when unions demanded a pay rise.

In other words ..THE EMPLOYEE pays BOTH contributions but has been fooled into believing he pays only half of his actual contributions.

Should any employee wish to 'opt out' of the scheme [scam] he could only take the employees contribution to place into a private pension/health plan.

The government after the war were the equivalent of a working mans club committee and the NH scheme they demanded was granted but the permanent secretaries [the real power] made certain [by the fact of their being a ceiling of how much is deducted from salary ]that it would be funded BY the working class.

If you google the name TONY BOCKMAN you will find the site where our appeal is being heard on september 2 this year.

We lost the case in europe as the judges believed that our state pension was 'NON CONTRIBUTORY'.

This is tosh. I left the UK in '87 to work in the US. I'm now 61, hovering between the US & Thailand. I'll decide where to stay eventually but that's for another thread.

I got in touch with the pensions people about a year ago. Very smooth, very efficient. I got a letter saying I had 24 "credits" (inverted commas because the paperwork is in Thailand and I'm currently in the US). I don't actually recall the word "years" ever being used, by the way. Don't beat me up because I'm old and I have forgotten exact wording used. Anyway, they also sent me a schedule of payments, year by year, to buy the 6 credits required to reach the magic 30, which buys you a FULL pension. You do NOT need 44 years of contributions, that is incorrect.

It cost me 700 quid or so to buy the six remaining credits, which will give me the FULL pension, currently the grand sum of about 96 quid a week. Had I not elected to buy the credits, I would have received 24/30 of the full pension. I calculated that if full pension were 100 squids when I was 65 it was well worth the 700 quid now because it would take less than a year to get it back. Of course, I could croak between now and then but I guess I then won't care anyway!

Finally, I'll risk the wrath of the moderators by passing a comment on the post I'm replying to. This thread was started by someone looking for information, not a Scargillesque politically motivated rant. Yes, most of us did work for employers, and anyone with half a brain should know that ALL employers calculate their loaded labour rates, which of course includes all overheads, including the toilet paper our friend obviously consumed reels of while sitting in the bog fuming about the nasty employer, the corrupt Government and the working mans lot in general, rather than actually working. So, I guess our friend concludes that in his working life he effectively paid for the toilet roll and even the factory window cleaner by virtue of those costs being reflected in the employers ability to pay him the wage he so richly deserved, at least in his own mind. And you know what? He's right. So, let's start a campaign to have all employers pass on their costs to the employees but pay them more to cover it. So, then the workers can take their own bog rolls to work, their own little heaters and lots of shillings for the meter, and get a monthly bill for their space in the building, bring their own pens, pay the full insurance rates and set up their own pensions and healthcare.....it goes on and on. I'm not working at present and hope I don't get sick because putting my foot inside the doctors door here will cost me at least $200.00. Beware of what you wish for; you might get it.

"The Working Class can kiss my arse, I'll soon be back in Thailand, at last" Sung to you know what.

There has been all sorts of research done into what acaemics in Thailand call "cross cutural marriges". Those between ex-pats/bar-girls (which they are a little more blunt about and call "sex workers") have some obvious, and not so obvious stats.

The overwhelming majority end in tears within the first couple years or so (doesn't take a rocket scientist to work that one out - most are a recipe for disaster from day 1) . Some last a little longer, say 3 - 5 years and even fewer last longer, say 5 - 7 years.

By year 10 something like 95% (plus) of partners in this group have gone their seperate ways.

Around year 10, there is a dramatic change (the exact figure might be 9years and some months, or 11years and some months - don't hold me to it, I can't remember what researchers have said, but the turning point is as close as damnit to 10). I think most folk understand that the longer a marrige lasts the greater the chance of the partners been able to make a success of it and the stats show 2 things about ex-pat/bar-girl marriages:

- if the marrige survives the +/- 10yr turning point, chances are something like 90%-95% it will go on to last for good.

- marriges in this group have a greater long term success chance than the percentage of Thai/Thai marriges which have survived the +/- 10year truning point.

Different disciplines will interpret that data in different ways - what I find interesting about it, is if you have married a bar-girl and get to year 10 in the marrige, then all the potential problem issues and negatives which are associated with bar-girls seem to become non-issues and your chances statistically are now as good as, if not better than those in Thai/Thai marriges.

No shortage of stats on ex-pat/Thai-girl partnerships.......... loads of info has been compiled over the years by social science researchers.

You gotta luv statistics. Generally compiled by a bunch of academics totally out of touch with the real world looking to spend our tax money in pursuit of a Phd. Apart from the glaringly obvious conclusion in the second paragraph (as pointed out by the poster), the rest could apply to any marriage, between any two people, anywhere in the western world. I also find it a little worrying when someone trots out a bunch of statistics containing phrases like "I can't remember what researchers have said." Kind of goes to credibility, I think.

As for me, my marriage is great. I'll ask the wife how she feels when she gets in. She just popped out to buy some gold and get her dad a truck so he can look after the sick buffalo, then she was running over to see a couple of old male friends (strictly platonic) and her ex-husband, 'cos he's sick too. Little darlin' has a heart of gold. Literally.

I've posted on this before but here we go again. Why oh why do you not make a VISA withdrawal at an exchange booth?. (OK may be it's after hours but surely you don't need that much immediately at 10 at night?). That way the limit is much higher (I don't know what it is with Nationwide but I pulled 100,000 baht from them using this method a few weeks ago, but I do know that from my US Bank it is $7000). You'll need your passport but that's the only disadvantage. And before someone jumps on the "cash advance credit charge" wagon I am of course referring to VISA/MC linked debit cards, not credit cards. The money comes straight out of your account. Easily the best way to go if you need a substantial amount of cash

i watched the video very closely stoping, repeat, frame frame etc.....

i found it to be inconclusive, clearly they touched wallets... but I saw no wallet being snatched

So I think I will stick to Burger King as my only place to shop while at the air port

If you did not see her take the wallet after reviewing the video frame by frame you need to take a trip to Sukhumvit and buy yourself some cheap glasses. It is a plain as the nose on your face. The wallet gets shifted from one side of the display to the other then gets lifted. Clear as crystal.

The video is conclusive. Everything after the video is speculative because only the tea leaves involved know what happened. Clearly they are thieves, and their subsequent protestations prove them to also be liars, so you really cannot and should not believe a single word they say. Given the evidence I'd specualte that it is stupidity in the extreme to attempt to defend these thieving toerags. They got what they deserved, whatever it was.

If you believe anything else join the UFO nutcase crowd or the JFK conspiracy looney club.

Apologies to the poster I replied to. Except for the first sentence "you" does not apply exclusively to him/her.

Had "creative" bills at the Dubliner so many times we stopped going. A group of us used to knock off early on Fridays and descend on the Dubliner around 4pm for the happy hour. We did this for the best part of 2 years. About 50% of the time (seriously that often) we'd get extra charges on the bill. When queried, the manager would almost always say... "Well, that's what happens. People drink too much and can't remember what they had." Occasionally the bills would be rectified.

We started noting down our orders, and yup, the bills were still wrong, and we were still blamed. So we started going to the Bull's Head. Pity, cos we liked the Dubliner otherwise. So the Bull's Head have had our business for the last 2 years.

(In mitigation for the pubs, it does get very confusing for the waitresses. People are always calling out orders and it's not always clear whose bill they should go on. But still.)

When I frequent Soi 8 pub I get none of this nonsense. Perhaps something to do with the fact that when you order each time they put the bill in your little bill holder or something to do with the big Kiwi owner who knows that ripping off customers is not good for business.

Couldn't agree more. Soi 8 is the place to go. A decent pint of Guinness or Kilkenny, properly pulled at 50 baht less than the chains, same staff for as long as I can remember and a good regular crowd. Add the good music at the weekend and pretty decent food and you can see why it is always busy. Never had a bill padded there for two reasons; first, the staff doesn't change so you know them and they know you, second as bkkjames mentioned they stick the bills in the cup on the table, so a quick glance in real time is all you need to do. I don't doubt that someone will have a story of an error there, but it will have been an error, not deliberate. I'll ask Dave (the big Kiwi) how he manages to sell at 50 baht less than you-know-who but I suspect the answer will be that they are just profiteering. 220 baht for a pint of Guinness brewed in Malaysia is about as steep as it gets. Blimey, I can get a pint of Dublin Guinness in Texas for five bucks and 18 cans of draft for $20. Why is it 200 baht A CAN here?

Last post from me on this or any other subject. Apparently someone is a little sensitive and dislikes their pomposity being challenged so they complained to the (self appointed) moderators. No big deal, it matters not one iota to me whether I post or not. I'm sorry if I unintentionally offended anyone (yes, that DOES mean that I have intentionally offended some posters, but only because they darned well asked for it), but all I can say is that if you are going to post pompous, unsubstantiated, rude, rambling stupid submissions you have to expect to get a backlash. If you don't like it, don't post. I could not care less myself, you can call me what you like, 'cos I can give as good as I get without running crying to the moderators. So, fire away, I'll still read your mostly good posts and have a private chuckle at the few dumb ones, but I'll be buggered if I'll put up with pillocks who go crying to Mum because they don't like a post. And I'll also be buggered if I put up with some self appointed clot who issues me a warning without doing his/her research first. So, goodbye, it's been fun.

xbusman, where do you come up with such utter tripe?

Let's take a look at your assertion. You reckon that a return of 1% per month on the value of a property is good. Good? It's <deleted>' remarkable. 12% per year? Dream on. That means that my ex's 350k house in England would rent at 3500 a month. I think not. Or, my $450k house in Texas at $4500. Or, my 10M baht condo in BKK at 100K. I <deleted>' wish. I flogged a house in California once for way over $700k and I can assure you that if I could have got $7000 a month for renting it I would never have sold it. PLEASE show me a market where you can get a 12% return. Not possible, unless your name is Peter Rachman (perhaps you need to look him up). My son rents in London now, and the total rent paid for a property worth 400K is 2000 quid a month. Or, 0.5%. He has done the same for years, in various properties, and the number has always been there or thereabouts. 0.5%. To my absolute knowledge for the past 5 years the number in BKK has also been 0.5% perhaps a little more, but nowhere near 1%. Look, a return of 6% on a capital investment that (in the long run) is increasing in value is bloody good. 12% is dreamland.

After such a nasty and ignorant post, I have been waiting patiently in my room hoping your brilliance will light the way for this new age of investment. Unfortunately, after purging, you seem to have emptied what little sense you had in your incoherent rantings. I am guessing you are either at best a troll or at worst some idiot curmudgeon that needed venting.

I thought I would go over your post carefully and see if there was anything that made sense, new math that could lift up the world economic order from the distress you and your ilk seemed to have caused.

Lets work through your first assertion that 12% is "<deleted>' remarkable" as you put it. After vacancies, taxes, management fees, remodel costs between renters, and insurance we are lucky to see a 6% net out of that 12% gross. When we look at the wide range of investments offering 6% for nothing more than handing the cash over, the only reason to buy real estate is the sometime vain hope it might appreciate in line with inflation. That is not a very good bet today but it was in the past. For that meager appreciation we have to put up with crazy renters, idiot neighbors, building inspectors, tax auditors and the raft of problems that comes from owning property quite unlike owning a tax free municipal bond.

If you are grossing 6%, you could be netting as low as 2 or 3% on the same order of a bank deposit. If so, you are as stupid as your post indicates.

Your second point is that I asserted you should get a 1% return on whatever you paid for a property. I dont think I need to comment on how utterly stupid that is but since you lowered yourself to that level I will help you out. The rule of thumb is to look for property you can buy at 100 times rent so you can earn 1% a month. Not to buy anything in a bubble and place an unrealistic rent on it. If you dont get that point, well I dont need to say more do I. On review of your properties, I would agree that if they were bought for investment purposes then indeed, you did a really really stupid investment. If they were bought for living, then they sound like beautiful homes that should be able to be resold for a profit by your heirs. Your son sounds infinitely smarter than you, he is enjoying reasonable rentals from other brilliant investors.

As for your personal references it seems you have an anal fixation. I would have that looked at.

The sad part is that banks listened to idiots like you for far too many years. Easy money, asset value will always increase, get rich quick without any more effort than signing a piece of paper and waiting for the millions. Now we are being asked to pay for that lunacy. Thanks for your comments, your destructive habits and worthless advice but next time, keep it to yourself.

Sorry for the delay. I have better things to do than worry about your latest diatribe.

For a start you are still on your 12% (gross - I never said it was anything else) return on rental property. And yes, you do need to comment on how utterly stupid that is, because you continue to make that utterly stupid claim (along with all your other claims - you sure you're not Peter Rachman?). What is all this diversionary twaddle about buying in a bubble? Oh, I get it, you mean 1% on YOUR valuation of the property, not its actual selling price! So, you buy a place for $200k, value it at $100K then claim that $12k a year rent is 1% per month. Brilliant, Einstein. O.K. let's get serious. You say " look for property you can buy at 100 times rent so you can earn 1% a month." Good idea, just show me where and I'm in like Flint. Are you seriously suggesting that property is generally available at a 100 times multiplier of its monthly rental value? Note I said generally, not exceptionally. So, a 50k a month condo in BKK can be snapped up for 5M, or a $2000/month house in the US for $200K? You know it's illegal to smoke that stuff in Thailand. I still maintain your numbers are BS and apart from claiming to be some super experienced speculator you fail to back up a dam_n thing you say. I'm Superman and have a 15 inch todger; prove me a liar. I argue that my position is just common sense and any reader should conclude that himself without me needing to back it up.

Anyway, I'll close on some facts. They must be true because I got them from the Daily Telegraph, and as we all know, British newspapers only report facts. The current rental return on UK property (which experts seem to agree is currently "right priced" though, due to overshoot, will drop lower before setlling about where it is now) is 3.6%. That's 0.3% per month, a very long way from your 1%. Furthermore, during the housing peak it was 2.8%, which is not totally unexpected. So Mr. Expert, show me REAL property that rents for 12% of its market value. I want in.

Finally, my apologies for being an idiot and nasty and ignorant. I bow oh mighty one to your obviously superior intelligence, command of the English language and ability to walk and chew gum at the same time. However, should you continue to claim a 12% return (and yes Einstein, we're all smart enough to understand that is gross, and we all know what gross means) I will call you a <deleted>' liar and demand you show me the money. Where, when and full details please. Else, <deleted>.

I have a penthouse unit in Noble Remix on Sukumvit Thong Lo... I'm considering selling it before or shortly after completion in this upcoming June...it would be nice if I could get 100,000-120,000+ pr SQM. However this would put the the 3br unit in the 16-20million range.

...the market here, like elsewhere, has been fed by very many optimistic people and money flushed foreign co. Unfortunately that is about to go pop and purchases such as yours be heading down towards the 50% level 2nd Q next year if they are to be sold.

No no you got the Thai real property market all wrong! Are we not always told (especially by Nigel Cornick) that property prices never go down in LOS and that condo prices (unlike trees) actually do grow to the sky! No, the smart thing to do is to hold-on to the unit for a year and sell it for 20% more per sq meter than you paid for it...after all, prices never go down in Thailand (unlike every other property market in the world)!

I really like that idea of asking Noble to take the unit off your hands...try that one and see how far you get or how fast prices CAN fall in Thailand

I would agree that Noble is not know for high-end developments and unless the Square-Faced One is looking for a pad for a new gik...it's unlikely you'll find any buyers for a B 20M condo in the "trendy" Thong Lo area. As to the nice Noble office ladies, I'm sure they would be happy to take it off your hands and love you long-time for it...just sign it over and they'll even waive any sin-sot

Are you listening richm7 ?

Yes, of course. I always listen. Even to idiots.

Another question - what tone arm are you using?

The Grado cartidges and phono stage will work with any half decent arm, by the way. (The phono stage doesn't care, of course!)