taichiplanet

just gone through the process of looking for 80/90-16 tyres. Not much to choose from in that size that is half decent, Mich don't make/sell the Pilot Sporty that size in Thailand anymore but now have the Pilot Street. Appears that the Street is slightly more durable than the Sporty, not sure how grip is affected.

i ordered a set from "Ek Paiboon Yang Yont" in Bkk (02) 222-7535 on Tuesday, i sent an email to Khun Pairoj toger0 at yahoo.com who speaks english and i should have the tyres tomorrow. 930 Baht each plus 100 baht deliver to Sattahip. i've dealt with him before and he is usually fairly prompt.

Don't know what size rim you have on the back but it is not recommended to go 90/90-16 on a 1.6" rim.

If you email Michelin Thailand through their website they'll let you know if there is a dealer in CM.

http://michelin.co.th/then/About-Michelin/Contact-Us/

couldn't find specifics for XV sales, but so far this year for Passenger cars up to 7 people (Ri. 1) - 447 Subarus have been registered with engines 1801-2000cc and 20 over 2001cc

http://apps.dlt.go.th/statistics_web/brandcar/car57/Car1_whole.xls

(opens an excel file, at bottom has total and month tabs)

for stats on licences, trucks, motorbikes etc also by province and year. maybe somewhere are stats by model.

http://apps.dlt.go.th/statistics_web/statistics.html

that is for the older model of the City. The recently released City specs are still in thai.

can't remember where i got this or if it is up-to-date. it has a watermark on it so hopefully it is good enough for what you want.

Thai Traffic Rules¡11-20-9999-update.pdf

anyone know when the new Jazz will be released in thailand? will it have the 1 litre turbo (80 kw) engine? might be another contender for the OP (and me); depending on price of course!

http://www.carsales.com.au/news/small-passenger/honda/jazz/detroit-motor-show-honda-jazz-premiere-41008

world.honda.com/news/2014/4140113All-New-Fit-NAIAS/index.html

A:Wind-up

Ford UK have a brochure with limited specs (and a price list) on their site. Also has the new Fiesta details with full specs.

http://www.ford.co.uk/Cars/EcoSport/Brochureandpricelist

The UK get the EcoSport with a variety of engine options but for the Ecoboost engine only the 125PS with manual gearbox, while the UK spec Fiesta has the option of the Powershift with the ecoboost 100PS or Ecoboost 125PS with manual tranny.

Think i will go for the Fiesta 3 door if available in Thailand!

"About 200,000-400,000 tonnes of rice in the government’s stockpiles will be packed in five-kg packages to be sold at Bt85 per unit, he said."

Have i done my sums wrong, but isn't 5kg at THB 85 = THB17,000 per tonne?!

To answer posts 5 and 7. We do have office staff, who are thais, and a management company, which is thai. BUT the condo Juristic Person/Chairman is a farang, so it is obviously possible. He has been registered as such with the local Land Office for several years, and signs all the relevant paperwork pertaining to that post. If it was illegal you would think the Land Office would not agree to a farang in the position, but they do !!

Some of the posts confirm my fears that although it MIGHT be overlooked, anyone wanting to push the matter could probably say i was acting illegally. So i guess the answer, for me, is sorry but no thanks.

Are you 100% sure that the JPM (who is a Farang) is registered at the land office?

In certain circumstances a committee member can be a JPM -as an emergency measure.This temporary JPM does not have to be registered at the land office.

However sometimes this 'emergency measure' becomes the norm. The JPM registered name at the land office will reveal all.

The JPM of our condo is a foreigner, and recently registered at the Land Office. i don't see anything in the Regs saying that the JPM cannot be a foreigner (Section 35/1). The work permit issue for a JPM i am not sure on. Being JPM is a responsible job; if anything goes wrong the JPM is responsible!

I and my fellow COC members have been committee members for just over a year. We have just registered the Juristic Person (JP, who happens to be Tha), manager (Thai) and Co-owners Committee (COC) members (all farangs) with the Lands Department (LD) and there have been no problems as far as work permits are concerned.

I believe that everybody in Thailand involved with a condo realises that it is mainly the farangs who run the COCs and that it is necessary without a work permit. The two JPs before our current JP and manager were farangs without problem or comment from the LD. I also checked with my lawyer and he said that there is no problem and that there have been no problems with farangs not having work permits.

You really need to get hold of the Condo Act, 2008 (attached) and read it through. It is very useful in laying out the duties and responsibilities. It also does not say that the farang COC members have to have work permits.

Just a warning not to rely totally on translations of the act. I've looked at several versions and everyone is different in small ways, E.g. the copy of the Condo Act you attached appears to be missing a bit in the second last paragraph of Section 18/1 "and may be suspended from receiving common services or using common property as set forth under the By-laws including the non-existence of the right to vote in the General Meeting." NB - besides the missing bit about the right to vote, it does not state 'may risk having the supply of utilities stopped'. Stopping electricity is not legal and stopping water supply is a grey area (according to our Condo Manager).

As i can't read Thai i've relied on a Thai without legal background to translate somethings for me; which may also be incorrect!

my guess is that it means the place is run-down and shabby; which it is. Of course it will never be Retro, as it will be an eternal 20 year wait to be so!

i agree with thaicbr, ask LP.

I am wondering about the value statement. Has anyone ever actually tested these Real helmets or seen one after a crash?

For me, value comes from having a better price to performance ratio. That or offering similar performance at the same price and better features. That's why I buy HJC helmets.

Can only vouch for side impact. Hit the road at about 20-30 kph when the bike dropped instantly to the left after a dog ran into the side of the front wheel. Snapped the left collar bone, slight grazing on left arm through the long sleeve shirt, and gravel rash on the left knee where jeans tore open (only mentioning the slight injuries to give an idea of the accident). No hand injuries as was wearing gloves and my watch took most of the impact there! Was wearing a REAL GJ998, there were scratches on the side of the helmet and the side of the visor but didn't feel the head hit at all, and no bumps or bruises on the head. i don't think i had a headache from the head impact, but obviously had too many other things hurting to pay any attention!

I have had a few full face REAL Helmets since then. For running around town i think they are fine; they fit my head nicely anyway! As KRS1 said, i rather sweat a little and have the protection of a full face helmet. I've never had one stolen from my bike, i just hook it under the locked seat, maybe a HJC etc might be a more desirable target. The Bilmolas look nice too. Wanted a double visor helmet and couldn't find the Bilmola Replicon in my size to try the fit, so ended up getting the REAL Orbid, which is also a flip-up (prefer not to have that option as i guess it makes the helmet heavier) but it is supposedly ECE compliant.

i ordered some Michelin Pilot Sporty from

Ek Paiboon Yang Yont (02) 222-7535 in Bangkok

Khun Pairoj [email protected]

and he had them delivered to Pattaya area (Sattahip) for THB100.They are the Michelin Distributor in Thailand.

Good service and prices, communicates well in english. I ATM'd the money in the morning and got a call from the transport company in the afternoon to pick the tyres up from their depot.

Looks like Bell is doing a half arsed service - bus to/from Swampy then van to/from DM. They estimate 3.5 hours! Hopefully they will do a direct service one of these years. Sounds like the car service in an earlier post is a much better option.

Sure, raise the fee to THB 800 but give the passenger a performance incentive - if it takes more than 1 hour to exit the country at passport control or enter the country at immigration - a full refund.

It would good PR if they do a refund scheme, and it won't cost them much as people won't bother to stand in another line for another hour or 3 to get the refund!

"According to Plodprasob, authorities have mobilised all resources including the latest technologies in tackling the water-related threats."

Better motorboats?

The motorboats was soooo last year's solution. This year it will be the 1000 airplane project, to blow all the rain clouds away.

We have just discovered after taking over the committee and the jpm, that our condo failed the fire inspection because the layout of the original plans were not followed and therefore access of the fire engine to the condo is restricted.

My understanding that this is quite a common issue,the developer changes the design to compromise the integrity of the condo in terms of fire safety, for a more esthetic look.

We have yet to get hold of the report at the tessabaan yet, but our understanding that the fire engine needs access to ensure the ability to access the higher floors by ladder. We have excellent fire escapes and other equipment.

The condo should not have been issued with an or.6 certificate and therefore should not have been allowed to transfer units. This will be pursued in the criminal court.

Please ensure that when you take over a committee you are conversant with the original plans and all was as original outlined and safety not compromised.

Thanks for the info. Where is your condo located?

We will be lucky if we have any documents when/if we get control. I know the building maintenance guy has all the schematic diagrams of the building but he is on the developer's side. i hope that the Land Office will have some plans. Luckily the local and HQ Land Offices seem to be happy to work with us in sorting all this out. The managing agent with produce a 3 year maintenance/repair plan, and we will try and avoid being a cash cow for them by organising or own repairs rather than using their technicians.

"The basics as i see it for a good fire protection system would be:

- a smoke detector system in each room back to a control board

- a fire escape with self closing fire rated doors acting as a safe zone

- a hydrant riser on a separate water system in the fire stairs so fire brigade can have water pumping when emerging from the fire stairs

- small fire reels or extinguishers for residents to use for a small fire

- maybe solid core doors with self closers on apartment entrance doors so that a fire is retained in an apartment long enough to allow other residents to get past.

- and of course the most important thing.... yearly checks/inspections!"

And who is going to pay for all of this in a cement building that won't burn ?

Then you go on to complain abut paying 20 baht and it should be 12 Bt.

I think if you want a nice top notch comdo, there are plenty go out and buy one, But you bought into a lower class condo unit and want the world for nothing, won't happen. And how will youmake the poor Thai's pay all these fees who don;t have the money to do so ?

And from my 10 condos in Pattaya, any time a independant management company went it, it turned into their cash cow

I do wish you luck, but sounds like you will be turning it into a Thai/Expat war there

I assume you are being sarcastic about cement buildings not burning.

I didn't complain about paying 20 baht, i am happy to pay 20 baht. What i was highlighting was another instance where the original developer was acting illegally. in fact we realise we may have to raise additional funds, as 12 baht is no where near enough to run the building.

No poor people living in our building. In fact they are so rich that most of the rooms are empty most of the year and only used occasionally on long weekends. Ever heard of the Condominium Act 2008? That is how we will make people pay. Sorry, i am not going to fall to you level by dividing people into farang or thai. People is people and if they don't pay then i don't care what nationality they are. BTW, there is a good mix of people involved in sorting this out, and a good mix on the committee as well. Good god, we are so modern that we even have females involved!!

This is against the original developer and her family that has continually acted illegally. Again, it has nothing to do with whether they are thai or not.

Yes, there are good managing agents and bad ones. i've even been ripped off in Australia in condos i owned there; only goes to prove my point that people is people. Since you have had so much experience with managing agents, could you please advise which you were unsatisfied with and which (if any) you were happy with?

Thanks for your wishes of good luck; it is the only thing i agree with about your comments.

Actually they have been ripping us off with maintenance too! Charging 20 baht/sqm/month while the regulations for the actual condo building states 12. I bought into this with my eyes wide open but have been surprised at what has gone on and the general apathy. And they added another 8 sqm above what my chanoot says. I've gotta laugh, as otherwise i'd cry!

But yeah, seems to happen in many places which i think is why DoL is getting serious about enforcing the regs. We are lining up a couple of management companies for the weekend to talk with us before deciding on one. I will try to get a copy of the fire regs as defined in the Building Control Act.

A good idea about trying to get the local fire station involved.I have already organised to get some insurance people out to the building, as doubt if the place is covered for anything. Though i guess premiums are gonna be astronomical until we get the place sorted a bit better. But another good suggestion to ask them about fire regs.

For sure, getting a professional company to guide us in the right direction is essential. But it helps if at least the committee members have an idea of what to do. At the GM it surprised me the attitude most people had was 'let the committee sort it out'. When really it should be (and legally is) the co-owners instructing the committee what to do and the committee just follows those instructions. No wonder so many places are badly run and get ripped off! i asked what is the limit of spending for the committee, and was told "unlimited"!!! A disaster waiting to happen in the wrong hands. Or in this case, more of a disaster waiting to happen.

thanks for the replies.Yes, replaced the JPM (the previous one was brother to 'the owner' and was found by the DoL to be grossly negligent in his duties, and fined). One of the farang committee members is temporary JPM until we get a management company and have them supply one.

In the reports of the Bkk hotel fires there is a reference to "to see if the hotel had violated the 1992 Building Control Act. The Act requires that a fire sprinkler system be installed in buildings with more than seven floors."

http://www.thaivisa....er-system-fire/

http://www.nationmul...s-30177440.html

In regard to the retrospective question, in the thaivisa link above "Bangkok City Council chairman Suttichai Weerakulsunthorn said that though the Building Control Act was applicable to buildings constructed from 1992 onwards, he would ask the owners of all other big buildings to comply with safety standards as prescribed by the Act." As trogers mentioned different provinces may have different regulations.

here is the Building Control Act in thai

http://app-thca.kris...¤04-20-2522-001

(updated 1992)

http://app-thca.kris...¤04-20-2535-002

I couldn't make much sense of it running it through a translator program. i really need a good version in english, hopefully the management company can help out.

Just been through a 5 year upgrade on the building in Sydney i have an apartment in, so have a fair idea on what is needed (though a long way from being an expert). At the moment in the building here we have no hoses, no smoke/fire detectors, no emergency lights, no signage, no hydrants and the few extinguishers that aren't missing haven't been checked for 6 years. So just installing a couple of extinguishers on each floor will be a vast improvement but still i would want something more satisfactory.

The basics as i see it for a good fire protection system would be:

- a smoke detector system in each room back to a control board

- a fire escape with self closing fire rated doors acting as a safe zone

- a hydrant riser on a separate water system in the fire stairs so fire brigade can have water pumping when emerging from the fire stairs

- small fire reels or extinguishers for residents to use for a small fire

- maybe solid core doors with self closers on apartment entrance doors so that a fire is retained in an apartment long enough to allow other residents to get past.

- and of course the most important thing.... yearly checks/inspections!

Of course what i think is irrelevant and it would be nice to see some actual laws/regulations.

Thanks for the reply. I am also concerned with fire safety and what fire regulations there are (if any).

You are spot-on about the apathy, though some of that was due to actual and perceived connections that the owner had. It was really only the fact that recently more farang had bought into the place and bought the bigger condos that we were eventually able to get 25.5%. Gotta say that the Dept of Land head office in Bkk was very supportive and serious about any infractions of the regulations by the Juristic Officer and management. If anyone has problems with the way their condo is being run then report it to DoL HQ (letter in thai, signatures of as many co-owners as possible and the reply recipient must be a thai co-owner!!).

Unfortunately the place is more of a long-weekend holiday place for Bkk Thais, so if the elevators are out of action most won't notice! Actually, it is what i like about the place as mostly it is deserted and very quiet. Not to worry, it will be a priority for the committee along with recovery of fees! Too much to do but hopefully with a good management company and an effective committee we will make a good start.

Putting my own topic slightly off topic. To change the maintanence fee rate requires 50% of the co-owners; does this also apply if we want to add a sinking fund? And what is needed to raise a special levy; just a vote at a GM?

can someone point me to the fire regulations/codes for Condos in Thailand. A decent english translation would be appreciated but if not then Thai is fine.

Basically the situation of the condo (in Na Jomtien) is it has had 20 years of abuse (read repairs when something goes wrong instead of maintenance) under one 'owner'. The co-owners finally got a General Meeting going last Saturday and hopefully once the minutes of the meeting and the committee is registered at the land office, the control of running the building will be back in the hands of the co-owners. It is going to be a long, long haul to get the building right but my main concern beside recovery of fees is safety. Elevators first up (had one slowly free fall on me last month!) and get some basic fire safety in but work towards the goal of compliance for fire safety. We will apoint a management company to help run the place, but i would like to know the regulations to know what to aim for.