seaeagle

I agree with some of petercallen's points, but, nevertheless, land does move at silly prices.

Close to my place, there are 3 plots of just under 600 m2 each for sale at a total of 15m baht. I know that offers have been made up to 13m. So, even if a sale is agreed at 13m, that's 4.3 per plot.

The variables in building costs are the quality of the house, finishings, and total packaage. So, even if you build a 3 bed pool villa of avaerage quality, it will still cost 4 / 4.5. So, in petercallen's budget of 10m, that will leave only a profit margin of around 15% : not outrageous.

I am not interested in making a profit.

I would not pay 4.3m for 600 SQM of land in Phuket.

Anyone who would must have rocks in there head unless it an exceptional piece of land.

But, petercallen, that's the issue, and your conundrum - people are buying land at those prices, albeit not in as great numbers as before. I also happen to think that, using your turn of phrase, they have rocks in their head. But deals are definitely happening.

Because most deals here are cash, there are few 'stressed' sellers where the banks are leaning on them. Inevitably, some may need the cash quickly, but until those numbers swell past whatever is the tipping point, then there'll be no fire-sale of land here.

You can have dual.

I'm still open to be told I'm wrong, but I thought that "officially", you should choose one or the other at age 20? ie up to 20, they'd allow a person to have dual, but after 20, you make your choice.

(Clearly, I do know that's it's not actively enforced.)

I agree with some of petercallen's points, but, nevertheless, land does move at silly prices.

Close to my place, there are 3 plots of just under 600 m2 each for sale at a total of 15m baht. I know that offers have been made up to 13m. So, even if a sale is agreed at 13m, that's 4.3 per plot.

The variables in building costs are the quality of the house, finishings, and total packaage. So, even if you build a 3 bed pool villa of avaerage quality, it will still cost 4 / 4.5. So, in petercallen's budget of 10m, that will leave only a profit margin of around 15% : not outrageous.

Some months ago, I tried to get my FujiFilm camera repaired. It was newer than yours, too.

Scoured Phuket, and absolutely nowhere would even look at it. The nearest promise I got was for it to be sent to Bangkok, with a total turnaround time of 6 weeks.

Decided instead to buy the exact same model while I was back in UK. Got it off EBAY for £65. Now, you're not going to get a repair for anywhere near 3000 baht.!!

Suggest you bin it, and look at EBAY if you really like your camera.

Okay, thanks for the replies, but let's look at what was written earlier:

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Scenario is 2 foreign parents have children fully educated here, and totally fluent in Thai language.

At what age can the kids start the process to become Thai nationals

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They are "kids", so certainly born after 1992.

Parents don't have any PR or Citizenship at all, as the question would be irrelevant then.

So, again the question is "at what age can they begin the process?"

Scenario is 2 foreign parents have children fully educated here, and totally fluent in Thai language.

At what age can the kids start the process to become Thai nationals?

Since Patong has just won a UN award for disaster planning, maybe the Patong mayor and his team should fly up and take control.

All you can eat buffet is normally 399 baht, but it's on promotion for 299 baht for October.

Have beef, chicken, pork and duck for meats, and squid, mussels, salmon, barracuda and another white fish for seafood.

Drinks a little expensive, with a small glass of Chang Draught coming in at 75 baht.

They also offering an "All you can eat & drink" deal for 599 baht.

Kids eat for free, at least my 5 year old did.

Overall feeling was that this was okay for 299, and I may venture back this month. 399 I think is a little high, though.

Can anyone who lives there recommend where to buy a house.

We like the area but over the last couple of years it seems to have a very high crime rate.

We do not particularly want to live in a estate there but it might be the only way to go.

Burglars want easy escapes, so anywhere that you have many inter-mingling streets, such as off the main Sai Yuan drag, is very attractive.

Take a look up sois that are on the seaward side of Viset Road, or others with dead-ends. Two Villas have something up Soi Sarika, I recall.

And how long does your husband wish to work there for?

There'll be no chance of usual western things, like part-time jobs for your daughter, And if your plan is for a number of years, just what will she do when she leaves school?

Bangkockney, do you really find tickets cheaper in BKK than LDN ?

I always fly with Etihad, and I pay around £400 - £500 and can never find a price like that in BKK !

Yeah, I just booked to fly 2 adults 1 child, Emirates, return for around £1,200 (paid in THB) (this includes a return in the expensive month of December). Found this deal to be about £100 cheaper in BKK. I concede this is not big chips to everyone, but a saving is a saving.

When it comes to plane tickets, one really has to shop around to get value.

However, I have never actually found it cheaper to buy two one-way tickets. Usually, buying a return and paying a fee to change the return date ( usually $50 or $100 ) has worked out cheaper.

Agreed and also my preferred method of doing it.

Outstanding price! Please let us in on which agent is getting that deal for you.

Why is it that...

when I buy a car, I pay a deposit, then pay the full and final payment once the car is delivered.

when I get some aerial photography, I pay for it when the photos are finished.

when I got my garden landscaped, I paid for it when the work was completed.

when I went to hospital for an injection, I got the vaccination, and only then did I pay for it.

.......when I go to a restaurant, I eat the bloody food first before paying for it!

Yet, with an Estate Agent here, they want their FULL commission up front just on contract signing, rather than see the whole sale process through to a conclusion, and receive the commission in FULL at the same time as the seller receives their money in FULL.

One agent even preferred to walk away from any chance of getting a dime, rather than get paid when their job (getting a 'sale', not just 'finding' a client) was properly over.

It's absolutely outrageous, but I think we're locked into this cartel. With the current climate, the boot is certainly on their foot. But, hey, one day when the market turns, these people should certainly get payback .

For you agents out there, just why do you think your job ENDS once you've simply found somebody? Your job ends when a satisfactory sale is concluded, and not before. Don't say "it's like this in Thailand", because it's not. Thais don't pay Thais commission until the sale is done and dusted. You 'foreign' lot have just unilaterally put this in place, when it exists nowhere else in the world.

AArrghhh!

wow, that's a lot of replies!!

I will keep looking and as someone suggested, there seems to be a lot of second hand stuff around. However when it's your first child, it's kind of nice to have it all new and shiny!!!

Trust me - you're heading for the most expensive time of your lives, so far! Your hand is always in your pocket for nappies, food, toys etc etc. Your going to need every spare $, £ or Baht you can get - don't dismiss the second-hand market, especially where expats have brought quality items into Thailand themselves.

Think I'll be asking my friend to sign up to TV!!!!

He's told me that the best way to view what they have is to go to www.homeexchange.com.

Then put in their reference number - 128191. This will bring up their details and property pictures.

You don't have to be an exchange member to do this, apparently.

A non TV member friend of mine has asked me to post this request.

The family are members of an international Home Exchange scheme. I know they've had some excellent holidays around the world, and the whole thing works on going to stay at the other place overseas, while they come and stay in their place here on Phuket. No costs involved, and only travel fares to pay.

For Christmas and New Year, they had agreed an exchange with a family in California. Due to a terminal illness elsewhere in the immediate family, they've had to cancel their trip to California. However, the Californian family (a scientist and software programmer, with 2 small children) are now, to say the least, stuck - air tickets obtained, but no place to stay.

Okay, they understand that there's a chance they'll just have to book a hotel for their holiday here. However, my friend is wondering this..........

Are there any of you who will be, simply, leaving your homes empty for your own holidays over Christmas / New Year, who would consider having this family from USA 'house-sit' for you? Benefits are that they'll look after plants, pets etc, and your home will be occupied, rather than an empty burglars invitation.

I'm told that, normally, utility bills aren't paid for, since the other half of the exchange uses utilties anyway - it's all net=ted off. Here, I think that some sort of utilty payment will be on offer, of course.

Failing a house sit, then you could always consider using the exchange facility and going to California, but I don't know the specifics of that, and you'd need to discuss this with my frind.

So, if anyone out there is interested, and can help out, please post or PM.

Just got back from Index Living Mall. Their in-store restaurant shows 3 sections on their large menu board:

• Main Dish

• Coffee / drinks

• Hot Mail

I own a dc here on phuket, send me a pm and i can help you.

Open season for self-promotion, today!!

i have dive business, too. PM me, also, to let me see if I can help. Let me have dates, and, if you know about local sites, tell me which dive destinations you prefer, as well.

As far as I'm concerned, THE most internationally understood and recognised word in the world is "Taxi".

Opposite the All Seasons Hotel in Nai Harn, the motorcycle and car drivers sit waiting for customers underneath a sign which reads, "TXAI"

Can't believe you pathetic lot are discussing this.

I'm far too good to join in this thread.

seaeagle - comments typical of Thai Visa and unrelated to any discussion of the school.

Beg your pardon, Phuketblogger!

Benjie clearly stated that important aspects for his / her daughter were Thai language, manners and society. Given that to achieve these aims, the child was being sent to Kajonkiet, then it is entirely correct to point them out in this discussion.

Take the Kata Road from Chalong circle. In only 50 yards, there's a burger bar on the left, turn in here. Right in front of you is a large-ish supermarket. They regulalrly have both normal and dark Lao in.

I'm with a previous poster - Draught Chang is a very good beer, and rarely found sold by the case. Big C had some in last week, though, for 435 baht per 12 640cl bottles.

Just wish you could buy Myanmar lager here. Another good beer which follows me back down from a Ranong visa run!

Thai language, manners and society which is why an English Program within the Thai curriculum works for us at this stage.

Thai language - fair enough

Manners - ka, kap, wai. Suggest you read the posting on Thais showing good manners and people skills in banks and supermarkets etc, elsewhere in this sub-forum.

Society - now you ARE having a laugh. Cheating, corruption, racism, envy, greed, couldn't-give-a-sh1t-attitude, rights of women v. men, must be first, me, me, me....... . I'm afraid that "Thai Society" holds little or no values that I grew up with, and certainly few values that I wish my own offspring to embrace.

As is often the case here, people often post but don't actually answer the question.

So, yes, you can cancel should you wish to sell. If it's the same up there as in Phuket, then you, as the usufructuary, would simply go to the land office and cancel your own usufruct. At this point, the land would be entirely free from encumberance, and a sale would go through.

The usufruct gives you the right of occupancy for a fixed term, or life, depending on what you've written in to the agreement. As my own lawyer succinctly put it, "She can't chuck you out!".

Ownership is, of course, another thing. It would technically be possible for the owner to sell the land / house, but your usufruct would continue for the term stated. In reality, who's going to hand over good money to buy property which they can't use because you have occupancy due to your usufruct?

Might be slightly different to what the OP is saying, but still very relevant :

A few years ago, I was paying my electric bill by a monthly direct debit. Upon leaving for Europe for a couple of years, we rented the house out, and cancelled all our own direct debits.

For 4 months, the tenant regularly paid his own electric bill by cash. He then went on a holiday. During that time, the electric bill came, and also went past the due date.

Technically, the bill was 'overdue'. Since the electric company still had my own bank details on file, they decided to debit my bank account, despite the mandate being cancelled at both bank and electric company.

Result was that the tenant reimbursed me, and continues to be in the house 5 years on. But the main result is that I NEVER give my bank details to any organisations here, and certainly don't use the Thai Direct Debit system.

Might be slightly different to what the OP is saying, but still very relevant :

A few years ago, I was paying my electric bill by a monthly direct debit. Upon leaving for Europe for a couple of years, we rented the house out, and cancelled all our own direct debits.

For 4 months, the tenant regularly paid his own electric bill by cash. He then went on a holiday. During that time, the electric bill came, and also went past the due date.

Technically, the bill was 'overdue'. Since the electric company still had my own bank details on file, they decided to debit my bank account, despite the mandate being cancelled at both bank and electric company.

Result was that the tenant reimbursed me, and continues to be in the house 5 years on. But the main result is that I NEVER give my bank details to any organisations here, and certainly don't use the Thai Direct Debit system.