mike111

as I understand, the phone is quad band, so it supports all the gsm networks.

the model ID is u20i, if that helps. I've used it before in thailand with 12call.

TIA

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mini pro

http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_xperia_x10_mini_pro-3147.php

3G smartphone

10 min. talk time per day, 20 text message per day.

1GB internet traffic per month

planning a 1-2 months visit to Thailand.

whats the best sim card to get? need coverage in BKK and Pattaya.

I know there are several carries. looking for the best prepaid offer right now.

TIA

I've been reading here and on the web about the double entry tourist visa.

Can members here please confirm I got it right:

Say I was issued a double entry visa on June 1, and the visa expires on September 1.

I enter Thailand on July 1, so that should allow to stay nearly till the end of august.

I then leave Thailand, say mid August, and return. Now the second visa "kicks-in" and allows me to stay up to another 60 days?.

TIA

Tnx.

Im familiar with gsmarena.

whats worth buying in thailand, namely, which models are priced lower than compared to the west?

3G support would be nice, but not essential

TIA

Im looking for a new quad band gsm mobile. an android smartphone would be nice, but a simple "bar" phone could also suffice.

The main thing is that I need this as a 2nd unit, so Im not looking to splurge.

any suggestions for a mobile in the range of up to 2000THB or so?

TIA

tnx mates, so good info here

@maccaroni man: I didnt quite get what ur referring to. r u staying in one hotel on soi 3 and then use the gym of Fremont on Suk. 4? do get a "gym pass" only from Fremont?

Expecting to stay in bkk for 3 days for meetings and looking for a hotel in the 1000-1500THB/night range.

anything centrally located with an in-house gym, or a gym nearby?

TIA

tnx, for the inputs.

location: siam/silom/sukhumvit. anywhere which is adjacent to a skytrain is ok.

price range: 1000-1500THB a night.

The hotel doesnt need to have a business lounge/pool/etc.

I expect to be out on meetings all day, so I will be dining outside (no need for in in-house gourmet restaurants).

TIA

I expect to be in bkk for 3-4 days for meetings. any suggestions for a centrally located hotel which is a good value? Im not planning to splurge, just need a place which is clean, safe, and close to the skytrain/BTS.

TIA

The are pawn shops all over the place. You can buy new and sell it to the pawn shop or you can buy it from a pawn shop and return it to the pawn shop at the end. Pawn shop version(if you take a tower) may have a Thai version of Windows installed, but you can install Ubuntu within Windows and use that whilst you are there.

The pawn shop may even agree on a price to take it back, making it effectively a rental.

Tnx mate.

can u provide the whereabouts of pawn shops with a selection of desktop PCs?

TIA

where can I rent a desktop PC in pattaya/jomtien? planning to stay for a couple of months, and need to work frequently online, so using a laptop would be a pain.

Need a desktop, screen, keyboard, mouse

Cheers

davejones:

I was running over several scenarios for the ROI, and the one I posted was for a 6,5M THB condo being rented for 20K THB/month.

20K*12/6,500,000 = 3.7%

A more realistic estimate is an 11 months rent, which gives an ROI of 3.38% (what I've above).

The 20M condo with a 20K rental income gives 1.1%, which is even worse.

Now, as for what is ROI, and me being confused, and the other mumbo jumbo u posted:

http://www.rentalsonline.com/landlords/rental_property_roi.asp

Do your financial homework first before flaming.

trogers: ROI is calculated based on rental income. the profit one makes from selling is due to appreciation, and is unrelated to ROI.

in today's costs, a desent condo is around 15M-20M THB, and rental income would be around 20K THB/month.

a realistic income calculation is for 11 months of rent a year, due too expenses, temporary vacancy in between tenants and so on.

so the ROI for a condo in bkk seems to be: (20K x 11)/(20,000,000) = 3.6%

Given that the inflation in thailand is around 3-3.5%, an owner makes a realistic profit of 0-0.5%

And I will be increasing rent by about 10% coming April for both units.

that's ok, but inflation in thailand is currently 3-3.5% p.a.. when was the last time u increased the rent? and by how much? u might be just keeping up w inflation.

can u realistically increase the rent by 10% p.a. and maintain ur tenants?

what Im concerned of is that "rentable" condos bkk need to be in very good condition, which implies a not too old building and upscale amenities (pool, lobby, marble finishings etc.). All these translate into extra costs which are levied on the owner, and reduce the income.

Of course there are plenty of cheap, rundown units around bkk (as in anywhere else), but handling them is probably a huge headache (less-than-perfect renters, etc.)

thanks, appreciate the info.

Good luck. No way I would invest in Thailand.

why? the fees u've mentioned exist in many other places. any particular reasons why property investment in thailand isnt lucrative?

4%-5%, in my option, isnt worth the hassle of investing overseas. These rates can be had for risk-free term deposits in some locations.

8% sounds better. but dont older condo require more maintenance which eventually diminishes the return to around 5%?

BlackPuddingBertha,

tnx for ur reply, but what ur saying is true for rental properties anywhere in the world.

Im trying to understand the specifics of the bkk property market, from people who actually own & rent properties.

tnx, is that after taxes, fees, etc?

This might have been asked before, but Im hoping for fresh data.

I consider buying condos in bkk for investment. Im mainly interested in the return of investment (ROI), since I plan to benefit from the rent, and not from appreciation (so Im not going to buy & sell).

1. what is the ROI I can expect for condos in a good location, located near public transport (MRT, skytrain)?

2. isnt there already an oversupply of condos in bkk?.

3. any notable expenses to account for besides the condo cost (taxes, fees, etc.)?

TIA

Frankly, IF you can get 10% appreciation on any property anywhere in the world at this time, well done. Khun Jean has given you an important insight above: his rental is 10% BUT the appreciation only keeps pace with inflation. Really, this is as good as you can REALISTICALLY expect. If you get any more, then thats a huge plus, but I haven't seen it recently.

I'm consider buying property to rent out as income. Golden rule: buy where demand is high and availability is low. This gives the owner much more bargaining power, and allows to increase the rent more than the annual inflation.

Pattaya possibly has a high demand for rental properties, but also lots of availability, so the rent increase can, at most, just keep up with inflation.

Would appreciate recommendations for a good hotel which is located in a quiet but easily accesaible location, no bars or shops noise, rooms with thick curtain to get a good night's sleep, and which offers a nice buffet breakfast.

My last stay was near carrefour. Good location but room was facing a biz so there was noise, and too much sunlight in the early morning due to flimsy curtains. Learning from experience ;-)