BigStar

Well, find out who it was and go after 'im, sport. Meanwhile, the OP said, "So I've been browsing the internet the past few weeks and checking out the new bikes," not scooters as you insist. WOT???

And the topic is Real price of a new motorbike, or can't you read?

Too short-sighted for the shrewdest posters. A poor victimized farang needs to cover ALL the bases. You never know what more nasty surprises THEY have in store for us! Now in every such thread daring to mention the word condo, we always have a number of naive noobs grasping for the critical information they need before they LOSE EVERYTHING--like so many already bankrupted, desperate to sell, and headed for the exits. From a sense of noblesse oblige, then, our wisest, such as yourself, should reach out to our noobs and relate the classic, street-smart ANF Poster Three Primal Laws Of Survival In Thailand, distilled over many years from the sage advice of our shrewdest, most knowledgeable members. 1. Never invest in anything you aren't ready to lose; 2. Never own more than you can carry with you or leave behind; 3. Keep a suitcase packed at all times. There. All any farang needs for happy, successful living in Thailand. We need the Laws pinned somewhere. Quoting one or more of the Laws gives you ten (+10) instant points of valuable ANF Posting Cred™ from the peanut gallery. Ding!

The co-owners eventually realize they're too stupid to manage the building themselves and hire a management company. Sorted. To pre-empt: yes, the management company can be voted out at any annual meeting.

OK, please restate the issue about which you think you might have a court case.

All renters here, for decades, always agreed on the ANF Poster Little Miss Muffet Rule about residency in Thailand. Now that you've all agreed, could owners discuss the issue without all the chanting?

It's not. Unless you have receipts for the fees paid in 2017, you'll lose, after a lot of bother. Then you'll be out legal fees (50,000 comes to mind) AND the fees from 2017. Our condo has a rule that if you lose, you'll have to pay the condo's legal fees as well. I'd offer a settlement, maybe 50%. Don't like the management, you'll have to get enough votes at the annual meeting to change it. Definitely can be done. No, Thais don't always vote with Thais. They also appreciate good management. The condo is required to hold the annual meetings; if not you do have a legal argument.

Our renters here never do, and always jump into any thread mentioning "condo" to reassure themselves. But I understood my first year here and, after a few years of due diligence, have verified my understanding yearly since then for 22 years. I guess you get the point of owning, and can afford it, or you don't. Relax, bask in your superior wisdom with grace and equanimity. Owners already know everything you've got to say. Ownership has responsibilities, yes. Can't handle them, don't own. Except for the occasional issue here whinged from one owner out of thousands, they just gon' continue enjoying living in their properties. Suck it up. If you had the share certificates, you could tape them together and make yourself a homeless shelter, no? And you could live rent-free, too. Yawn. Complaints about condo rules and HOAs are legion in the USA. Most owners live contentedly in their properties because the laws and rules are enforced, as they are in my building. Nobody likes EVERY rule. We don't like the management, we change it by vote at the Annual Meeting. We vote on fees, the auditors, and a lot of other stuff. Typical assertion about Thai rules and laws, such as this one here recently: laws being upheld in Thailand is a joke. So then, walk out from a 7/11 with goods unpaid; better, rob a gold shop. Walk the walk, don't just talk the talk.

Better yet, perhaps another Brit will have a problem wearing anything: Pattaya’s first-ever St. Patrick’s Day parade was temporarily upstaged by a naked British man who stumbled out of a beer bar sans clothing for a stroll down the parade route. --Drunk Brit’s nude stroll upstages oncoming parade

When will they ever learn?

Leave it. Souvenir.

LOL. BS is extremely common on the 'net, "its" [sic] not in the least peculiar. 🙂 So we got lots of posters here proclaiming their expertise on every conceivable subject. Many are, of course, quite wealthy and regularly appear on the Sunday Times Rich List. High percentage of renters, by some coincidence, worried about people who own condos. Now, can you afford aircon in your rented room, or are you saving by just using the fan?

Don't touch the stuff, myself.

It's terribly worrisome that some expats can easily afford to buy condos while he's trying to build his nut and sweating rent. Yet another ANF Financial Expert dazzling all the simpletons. 🙂

Long as nobody put a pair of elephant pants on you. That's the real worry around here.

I've seen expats who survived only by relying on their Thai wives, or, in one case, Thai neighbors. Thais often help drivers who've had accidents. Thai SS helps many expats, who've worked at Thai companies, with medical expenses. But long-term free support & medical services--you got no right to expect that. What budget there is should be spent for Thais themselves.

Best for this old boor to solicit a ticket home.

It all depends on the individual Thai driver, just as it does with UK drivers. When I pass by Central Marina I sometimes think of these two: Fatal Bike Accident, Two Welsh Lads Who Died In Pattaya Last Year But the UK idiots, as "our lads," are a protected class, so we twist ourselves into pretzels making excuses. The dear lads were dodging a dog, pothole, or best--it was some Thai's fault, LOL.

I dunno. A lot of men nowadays have those low hanging nipples. You may see a lot of moobs during Songkran. Those don't get much love here for some reason.

Finally got a bag of monkfruit sugar and it's not bad. But, expensive, as you note.

Utter complete nonsense.

However, those hospital costs may not occur until the 80s or beyond, if you diet & exercise (or have the genes of George Burns). So that would be a good run with which most can be happy. Me, I have Thai SS, but I never really need it.

A few can have it all. Wine, women, song, non-stop carpe diem yet still end up on top. For the average person, it takes some discipline, smarts, and hard work to plan for a comfortable old age. The sooner the planning starts, the better. I've known a wide variety of expats. Some HAD a fat wallet in Thailand but then managed to spend most of it and are now practically destitute. They might argue better destitute in Thailand than well-off in the UK. You may find a few of these lying in common wards in Thai gov't hsps. Others continued working in Thailand and either have Thai SS or can afford self-insurance AND a new BMW SUV. Some enjoyed themselves in Thailand thoroughly, then went home for that last critical medical care and died there. Some decided to end it all early, for example, one who taped himself in his bathroom with a charcoal burner. And some just smoked and ate themselves into an early heart attack. German pensioner seemed to get a lot refunded on his medical expenses from his German gov't/company insurance. Not rich, but frugal, owned his own condo, cheap used motorbike. One Brit, a former pipe fitter from Sussex, in early 60s, after boasting he never used condoms ("and I've never 'ad a problem, knock on wood," as he rapped his knuckles on a plastic table), contracted AIDS. Very funny bloke. Thai neighbors cared for him in his room, lying on a mattress on the floor, until he had to leave for a ward in Banglamung Hsp. His end came quickly and his ashes were scattered in Pattaya Bay, where he'd like to be. He adamantly refused from the beginning to return to the UK, though his brother and wife would have taken him in. So people manage to get by but, yes, planning helps an awful lot IF you want to reside long-term in Thailand. Income stream, savings (at least 2 million, 4 better), taking care of your health and fitness, avoiding extravagances, etc.

What's wrong with a Triumph, Royal Enfield, or Yamaha XSR155?

We should pin this article for those who usually pipe up to blame Western junk food restos for Thailand's obesity and diabetes epidemic. All that sugar in everything, sugar addiction learned from birth, practically. My gym resides on soi lined with family shop houses. Soon as the kids arrive home from school, they immediately hit the food carts and run around holding sugary drinks in their hands.