thaijasmine

They are popular in Isaan. This is news? General Robert E. Lee was popular in the Southern US during the great unpleasantness. He lost too ...

No Jingthing you have obviously missed my point.

I was merely expressing my surprise that

( a ) the Monks appeared to attribute so much importance to following the red shirt movement that they

provided continual coverage of events on a tv set at the Temple and the volume from the television set seemed louder than their own chatting and praying

- it just seemed to me as an observer that the Monks were also deeply interested because..............

( b ) It is not so easy for farangs on this forum to denigrade the Monks as being uneducated and easily brainwashed

as some have suggested regarding other red shirt supporters

Somtimes outsiders i.e. non Amercians ( outsiders ) can see events unfolding more clearly.

To me it so obvious the Health care reform is mainly about an attempt at more government control.

Just look at the number of Marxist " progressive movement " lefties Obama has surrounded himself with

and its obvious how Obama and his mob want to change America - spookie....................

I voted no, the gov. and the army seem to be on the same side, and red rallies have not really been very strong.

That doesnt mean anything !

Many in rural Thailand are too busy scraping a living to be able to support themselves in Bangkok for who knows

how long.

If you actually go to Isaan- just see how many non red shirts you will find ?

Well, we (wife and myself) live in Sukhumvit. Rent was 105,000/month until a year ago and now it's 125,000 a month (excluding electricity charges)

I really don't calculate this too often but it seems like we spend around 250 - 300,000 a month total.

Look into getting a APEC business travel card from Aussie imigration. It gives you basically 90 days in all Apec countries. No visa required and fast track thru all immigration points. Cost is A$200 and the card last for 3 years. APEC = Asia Pacific Economic Co-Operation

http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/business/apec/ this is the link

rgds

And A$200 is very cheap considering you never have to pay for visas for any of the

other of the APEC members......including China and Vietnam......

Its such a valuable little card

how many more perverts are still at large here

Are you asking about " farang " or Thai " perverts ?

Family members or strangers ?

It's easy to overlook what goes on around the world...................

" In Thailand, for instance, a survey in 1990 found that 75 percent of Thai men had had sex with child prostitutes, from 20 to 40 percent of them HIV-infected, so that Asia is about to become what one expert terms "the epicenter of the AIDS epidemic."

http://www.psychohistory.com/htm/06a1_incest.html

I'm surprised that nobody mentions the lack of a real property tax on sale prices. When you effectively pay no property tax (the property tax here is nominal), you can hold on to the property and of course you're giving up opportunity cost, but that doesn't seem to flummox Thais. In the states, it would be too painful to hold a property for too long, giving up opportunity cost and substantial property tax.

Any capital appreciation is to be tax paid at income tax rates no ??

Of course you can try tax evasion, but hardly good advice..

According to BOT property indicators, personal housing mortgages have doubled month on month in the last 5 years. That is a huge credit bubble. When the defaults begin due largely to stagnant salaries, and they will, watch the prices tumble. Loan numbers have tripled since 1995.

what are you trying to do Pakboong destroy the myth

that here in Wonderland Thai's only ever pay cash for condo's

and that prices only ever go in one direction

YES !!!

I thinks it's Ok so long as she retains Thai citizenship i.e. becomes a dual UK/Thai citizen.

But this website says :-

DUAL CITIZENSHIP: NOT RECOGNIZED. Exceptions: Child born abroad to Thai parents, who obtains the citizenship of the foreign country of birth, may retain dual citizenship until reaching the age of majority (18). At this point, person must choose which citizenship to retain.

A Thai woman who marries a foreign national and acquires her husband's citizenship has technically lost her Thai citizenship. Should the marriage end in death or divorce, the Thai national woman could regain her Thai citizenship. This is an unofficial dual citizenship designed to protect female Thai nationals.

http://www.multiplecitizenship.com/wscl/ws_THAILAND.html

So while the lady is married this says she loses her Thai citizenship ?

GBP/USD, around 1.05/1.10, GBP/THB around 37/42, before end third quarter.

39 baht by the end of 2010

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Pound-Starti...0&start=350

If the author spent as much time reseaching the condo act instead of trying to write (and sell) witty little stories, he might find the law would be on his side and this matter would for more resolvable than he states.

I have to agree with the author based on personal experience of having lived in Centre Condo next to Wat Chaimongkrol

and Tukom. Here it is the same situation - a Thai-Chinese matriarch completely in control of the building.What you are underestimating

123ace is the power these people have. There have been many attempts by the foreign owners to overide crazy decisons ( foreigners are mostly European ) but these have even resulted in menacing and threatening phone calls by unidentified callers warning them not to make trouble in the building. I say of you come accross any condo under the control of a a Thai-Chinese matriarch - you should never buy in that building.

It certainly doesnt feel like you are as welcome as in the old days.......

I mean having to prove this on this way in and then having to be very careful

you are not wrongly accused of shoplifting on the way out

I can't believe they even let you send fresh food in the delivery service. (Ok, I can believe it...I mean that I'm surprised. ) At my Carrefour in BKK, that's one of the specific delivery rules: NO perishables allowed. They always ask me if there is any fresh food, and sometimes they even dig around to make sure.

This is Pattaya, not BKK. I was not told of this here. If this is policy, then notify the customers.

willyumcr I have used this service in Pattaya for 3 years !! They always remind you not to

send perishable goods. Maybe you were not listening .

I have no complaints at all even if they are a bit late sometimes........its free for gods sake !!!

On top of that ask yourself how can any store afford to send groceries for free all over pattaya

at the drop of a hat ? You expect too much.

This bias on this forum is amazing. The bears and conspiracy fanatics can't see a positive outcome if they stepped on it. Hey, I get it the market is going to go down in the future and some bad things will occur (e.g., bank closures, unemployment...). When are you going to come to grips with the fact that you called the markets drastically wrong the last year and were part of the reason many average Joes pulled out of the market and missed huge returns. Funny, most the calls on this forum I saw last year were after the financial collapse - genius!

This is one of the most entertaining forums on the internet. Facts are completely irrelevant and avoided whenever possible.

An interesting and quite comprehensive, but long perspective on the pending doom.

http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=17736

Party pooper

This bias on this forum is amazing. The bears and conspiracy fanatics can't see a positive outcome if they stepped on it. Hey, I get it the market is going to go down in the future and some bad things will occur (e.g., bank closures, unemployment...). When are you going to come to grips with the fact that you called the markets drastically wrong the last year and were part of the reason many average Joes pulled out of the market and missed huge returns. Funny, most the calls on this forum I saw last year were after the financial collapse - genius!

This is one of the most entertaining forums on the internet. Facts are completely irrelevant and avoided whenever possible.

I dont think it is unhealthy to question the integrity of what governments are telling people right now because

so many of them are involved in " spin ".

If you are American, as an example you must be aware that the statistics they are feeding the citizens

of USA are fantasy and why should people have any more trust in the Thai government statistics ?

As Thatcher said at the sinking of the General Belgrano battleship (with the loss of 323 lives)

"Rejoice. Rejoice at that news"!

This finance minister is not to be trusted. I think he's incompetent.

Is there any independent review of Finance Minsitry statistics in Thailand? Or can they just make stuff up.

I think " Finance Minsitry statistics " can be anything they want them to be ...........

look at China, look at what they found in Greece, look at bullsh*t statistics USA comes up with

every month

How come no one noticed a foreigner walking around with a safe ?

If he didnt use the front entrance to walk out with the safe how did the Middle Eastern guy

know an alternative escape route where he could leave with a safe ?

this story doesnt make sense

At the beginning of March a Thai friend will go to a Temple in Isaan to become a monk for one month.

For a week before that he says he will stay in his home in Isaan but I don't know the significance of this.

I will be attending the " ceremony " when he becomes a monk ( when they a wear a white robe ) and I would like to get a better understanding of the meaning of the different steps in the procedure including the week before if that has any significance. Would anyone happen to know where I could read something about this written in English ?

I am just curious why they use a 747 for a short domestic flight ?

Is there that much demand for travel between BKK and Chiang Mai ?

quote]

Thanks for the link but I can't open it for some reason.

Here is the main page of the blog, go there an try and find it from there. Usually when I have a url that won't open I try the main part without the page number

http://thailand-realestate.com/blog/

This is the article

The Escrow Act B.E. 2551 (“Escrow Act”) came into effect on May 20, 2008. The Escrow Act applies to any reciprocal contract; although, it is not mandatory to use the services of an escrow provider. Prior to the Escrow Act, there were no specific escrow regulations in Thailand. Rather, the parties used the laws of agency to accomplish an escrow system.

Commercial banks, financial institutions or any juristic persons prescribed in the relevant ministerial regulations licensed by the Ministry of Finance are eligible to act as escrow agents. The escrow agent must further be a neutral party and have no connections to any “concerned party,” either directly or indirectly. The escrow agent cannot be, for example, also the bank for the developer. The EBA prescribes both fines and imprisonment for an escrow agent who fails to comply with the provisions of the EBA. The Escrow Commission also has the authority to order an escrow agent to pay administrative fines.

The escrow agreement must contain the following provisions.

1. Name and address of the parties and the escrow agent;
   
2. Execution date of the escrow agreement;
   
3. Title of the reciprocal agreement between the parties;
   
4. Terms or conditions for the delivery of escrow assets;
   
5. Requirements for payments out of the escrow account;
   
6. Rights and obligations of the parties and the escrow agent;
   
7. Remuneration and other fees related to performance under the escrow agreement; and
   
8. Other particulars as further specified in the Notification of the Escrow Committee.
   

The escrow agent has the duty to draft and prepare the escrow agreement. It is likely, however, that sophisticated parties will prepare the escrow agreement for the review and approval of the bank or other escrow agent.

When an escrow agreement has been terminated, the escrow agent must transfer the monies and interest in the escrow account to the proper party, pursuant to the escrow agreement, within 30 days. The termination of the escrow agreement does not affect the right of the escrow agent to receive remuneration and fees for the acts performed, unless the termination is the fault of the escrow agent.

When the escrow agreement has ended and the monies have been transferred in full from the escrow account, the escrow agent must close the account and notify all parties.

They might sell out quickly, but wont be luxury units at that price.

I think the View Talay condos are even more than that, & they are pretty basic?

You get what you pay for.

Ahthough in many cases in this town you don't get what you have paid for.

I would be seriously worried that even at that price, unless they go to Russians, they will have trouble selling this.

Would you want to be one of the keen first buyers entrusting your deposit to a builder who may not be able to fund successful completion of the building.

Look at Waterfront and Ocean 1 for non-starter projects where building deposits were (I am sure the promoters will claim) instead squandered on advertising and the like, and La Royale as an example of what happens even to a fairly reputable and well-funded developer when the money starts to run out before the building is completed.

Avoid.

In 2010 and we are still in the midst of global credit crunch so anyone who buys a condo

" off the plan " must have more money than sense Unless the developer agrees to comply with

the new Escrow Business Act in Thailand you are throwing your money away. If the developer

isnt complying with the Escrow Business Act it suggests either they have no money of their

own or bad faith on their part or both!

http://thailand-realestate.com/blog/?p=129

So much to get my teeth into here and despite the hostility let's try and address thaijasmine's issues:

Capalisation Costs: Vehicle, Professional Photographic Equipment, IT infrastructure and platforms

Overheads: Rent, Electricity, Insurance, Accounting, Internet and Hosting Fees

Cost of Sales: Salaries, fuel, phone, telephone, sales and marketing

So with the above costs in place we then spend time:

Finding and promoting properties on behalf of the owners.

Assisting prospective tenants in selecting a short list of properties to view matching their requirements

Driving the client to view properties

Find additional properties if we do not have any matching the prospective tenant's requirements

Negotiating price, concessions and detail with the owner on the prospective tenant's behalf

Enormous fees? Standard fee for a 1 year lease is 8.33% hardly gouging is it?

If you're suggesting that we are investing all this time and money to build up a business to somehow hoodwink people please be more specific on how this works?

thaijasmine

Agents are spivs and any Tom Dick and Harry can set up shop.

Spiv - "–noun British Informal. a petty criminal, esp. a black marketeer, racetrack tout, or petty thief." source: dictionary.com

Well you've got me on that one! You can often find me on the corner of Sukhumvit / Asoke in my overcoat accosting passersby "psst! Guv, wanna buy a dodgy condo guvnor, nice 'n cheap like but keep it under your hat"

Seriously though, don't you think calling me, my wife and her colleagues criminals is taking things a bit too far? But since you have done I challenge you to back up your statement with some facts and examples of how we have acted disreputably or in a criminal manner and if you can't I think you owe us an apology.

Throughout this thread the tactic of cherry picking replies and bogus scenarios engineered to make a point hasn't really given us any useful information though I must admit it's mildly entertaining, I have explained honestly and openly what we do, how we do it and who we are aiming to provide a service to. You have proposed a scenario of a property rental market without agents but have declined to give any details of how this would work so why not give the forum the benefit of your insights and tell us how this scenario will come to pass, here's some real life scenarios to address before you write off property agents.

Owner in UK wants to rent out his condo or house in Bangkok, whose going to deal with the enquiries?

Overseas tenant is moving to Bangkok and want's information on available properties and characteristics of the local area

Owner wants to reach widest possible audience for his condo

Tenant wants to negotiate a lease with Thai speaking owner

Tenant is new to Bangkok and unfamiliar with the geography

Tenant is very busy and does not have time to trudge around the streets themselves

Oh, if only there was a service available that could deal with these scenarios..................

PhiPhi

"I am capable of avoiding hiring a maid but I'd rather spend my time earning money that doing the washing up, cooking and ironing, therefore I pay somebody to provide this service for me, I really don't see that point unless you are advocating the abolition of service based industries."

Every prospective tenant can avoid using an agent

"So first you say that estate agents add nothing and then you complain that they are not qualified to 'add nothing' so which is it? "

Ok add nothing !

" Seriously though, don't you think calling me, my wife and her colleagues criminals is taking things a bit too far? But since you have done I challenge you to back up your statement with some facts and examples of how we have acted disreputably or in a criminal manner and if you can't I think you owe us an apology. "

I didn't say that did I ? This is exactly why this article is correct…………..you are doing now !!!!!

"unfortunately, the real estate agent industry is saddled with a poor reputation -- not unlike that of lawyers or even car salespeople -- because some agents don't know the difference between truth and lies. "

http://homebuying.about.com/od/realestateagents/a/063008-LiarAgts.htm

Many of your views on estate agents are from a very simplistic and narrow perspective. It seems fashionable to bash agents and tar them all with the same brush, much as lawyers or car sales men are slated. If we all declared our professions on here we would have less room to hide perhaps.

Agents will always be necessary, to consdier it to be a dying trade because we can go on line is dim and disingenious. How would you get a valuation for a mortgage? how would you find a shop where there are no vacancies, or a warehosue? get comaparable evidence to reduce your office rent before the lease expires? market a property overseas in 10 countries at the same time? obtain market research on a specific sector? I could go on for hours, but you will still think its a dying trade....

Do I need a mortgage to rent a condo?

Yes agents are a dying trade in condo and home rentals, particularly in Thailand.

123ace, before you post what in your opinion is " dim and disingenious " i suggest you get your facts correct

Agents most definately are not allowed to value property in Thailand. Only

licensed valuers ( licensed by the Thai Govt ) can do that and they are all Thai

people ( except for one farang who played a part in setting up

the licensing system after the Asian Economic Crisis ) The chances of another

farang getting a licence are virtually zero. These people must have obtained a degree

in a finance related subject and then undergo rigorous training.

In contrast to that I know one farang agent in Bangkok who was previously a " booze " salesman

in UK and had no real estate experience whatsoever.

Agents are spivs and any Tom Dick and Harry can set up shop.

what is wrong with that ? strawberries and cream..............strawberries and cheese ....

Its a natural progression..................

... and their negotiating skills are generally quite abysmal...

IMO one should never ever allow a real estate agent do the negotiations for you!

exactly ! which is why i feel they are superfluous ..........what exactly do they do to justify

their enormous fees ?