ProThaiExpat

I swore to myself that I would not post again in Thaivisa as so many attack the individual for his comments rather than attack the ideas espoused.

I think Jingthing once swore off posting as well, for a time.

I was very heavily into the subject matter of same sex "marriage" a couple of years ago and while I am heavily in favor of legal solutions and legalistic logic, I learned there is a "political" approach that can carry the day, even when the law cannot.

Clearly, all that have posted are in favor of gays being able to couple legally and equally as do straights now.

The hang up comes when the word 'marriage' gets involved. For a long time, my solution to what appears to be the main thrust of this thread was to allow religions to have the right to use the word "marriage" to indicate their ceremonies coupling individuals and to apply their own dogma to whom they choose to join.

When the "state" becomes involved in coupling, as they do now in what they call "marriage" and use that term in more than a thousand legal ways in most states, clearly that word would have to be changed under this approach. For now, the term civil union seems to fit. Under this approach, all coupling by any person to another as licensed by the state would be called civil unions and then religionists would be free to go to the church of their choice, after being civilly joined, and have a marriage ceremony. There are enough welcoming religions that should satisfy religious minded gays to get "married" as well. Both religious joinders and civil officials joinder ceremonies would continue as now.

I can see that this approach might lead to some irrelevant bigotry when a gay couple satisfied with a civil ceremony by a government official would be attacked socially because they were not really "married", however, straight couples would likewise be stigmatized, however over time, my guess is that the word marriage would transmute to include all joinders, once "permitted" by a civil union license,and would be referred to as a marriage, whether followed by a religious ceremony or a civil one.

I think this would be termed a "political solution", the legalistic approach would be to not allow religions to pre-empt the word marriage and have a court to order the word marriage as presently on the books to mean a joinder of any two people regardless of sex, religion etc.

On the day Obama was sworn in as President of the U.S. and there was the usual parade with many camera shots of him and the reviewing stand, Fox News broadcast live continuous coverage of George Bush's departure from the White House, his helicopter flight to Andrews Air Base, his flight to Texas, his landing there and his travels to his ranch and the balance of his day there, no coverage of the Inaugural of the new president or the festivities surrounding his big day, at least live. Fortunately, for those who think the inaugural and the festivities surrounding a new President's first day is news, NBC and ABC were broadcasting continuous coverage.

Fox News is reported to have a large share of viewers as clearly they target the conservative viewers of TV in the US and get most of them to watch it would appear.

You will observe when you start looking at moo bans that most of them were constructed some distance from major roads as the land was so much cheaper than frontage on major roads. Many moo bans have elaborate gates, an abundance of "security guards" and are quite inviting, however, you may travel a kilometer or more from the main road and the gates before reaching the housing units and depending on the size of the developments, many kilometers more of roads to reach your ideal home.

I mention this as a 7/11 located at the entrance to the moo ban may be just too far of a walk from many of the houses in the development, so watch the distance from that amenity to any house you consider. There are rentals in most moo bans and most of them will have a unit in the 10K to 15K range available most of the time.

My interrupted service has been intermittent all week, but checking back after an hour or so solved the problem for that effort.

For very busy working people I can see it is more than an annoyance, but so many things are in modern life, in whatever country you live in.

Ten years with SCB and interruptions are rare when looked at on a long term basis.

Bangkok Bank has given me such poor service and so many fees for interbank transfers that I actually take my pension deposit from BKKBANK and walk it over to SCB to avoid their transfer delay and fees.

It is good to keep in mind as you attempt to "negotiate" a better deal than first offered, that Japan is the country of fixed prices and Thailand seems to be so inclined. GM tried to do it in the US a few years back and I have no clue if they succeeded. While unwanted "premiums" are often given, the price of the product rarely is discounted.

Accordingly, as suggested by other posters, perhaps you can get some "freebies", however, your timing is definitely against you as the supply chain of Toyotas has been severely disrupted and I wouldn't be surprised if premium prices will be the norm for some time.

I opened an account at Westpac Bank in Australia a few years ago while living in Thailand when the AUD was 65 cents to the USD. I moved all my US holdings to Australia, many Skype calls to them, and have enjoyed the increase in my reserves with the AUD at record levels. My interest rate on 5 year CDs is 6.7% per annum and I encountered no problem with any authorities in doing this.

You do pay a flat 10% tax on your interest income, taken out by the bank at the time they pay you. I opted for a monthly payment of interest earned, although could have picked up a couple more decimal points in interest if I had opted for annual payments of interest.

If I were to do it again, I would open a dollar denominated account at Westpac there so that I could pick the exchange rate most favorable to me in the time frame chosen to convert my USD to AUD.

Interest rates have been climbing in the last couple of years and logging onto Westpac's website will give you current interest rates, above 5% I believe. I do my banking with ANZ who pays interest on both savings and checking accounts. Westpac charges AUD 20 on wire transfers while ANZ charges AUD 24.

Online transfers between the two banks occurs on a daily basis and both banks have excellent web sites.

PM me with any questions.

Good Luck.

When I retired to Thailand ten years ago, BKK Immigration was quite demanding that I show them the actual bank voucher indicating thereon the country of origin and institution of my transferred funds and the date/time stamp of when it was received.

It was my understanding that this was only for the first time I went for non-immO based on retirment from tourist visa. When I then extended in Chiang Mai for the first year, there was no such request. I have done the same tourist to non-immO a couple of times since and there was no such requirement, however on those occasions I was using a pension letter.

At the time, the Immigration Officer explained to me that they wanted to make sure the money I was using for my 800K bank deposit came from overseas and was not earned in Thailand.

I don't know if that requirement is still in place and whether it varies from officer to officer. Perhaps there are members who have done a first time application recently who can help with this. If I were you, the amount of difference between what you can get as a rate of exchange by actual cash in BKK and the best conversion rate at a major bank through a wire transfer is not so much that it is worth the risk of not being able to prove the source of your funds, if immigration asks you as this is your first time, as it was for me.

My house, built on a triangular lot and generally conforming to that shape, has a classic Thai tile roof over the majority of the house, but as the house is triangular, a flat roof is used to cover the areas that the peaked tile can't accomodate.

Ten years and no leaks. They used a white cement type paint to seal the cement roof. My drains are numerous and the down spout blue pipes are concealed in faux columns which conforms to the overall design.

I would be concerned with putting drains inside the house and running horizontally across ceilings. The pictures of the house do not reveal external wall design but surely the downspouts could be buried in the exterior walls.

There are many flat roof sealing methods and companies that use them. One who my builder brought out to the house, has a great textured fabric seal but it was really expensive. Palm Springs, California has an abundance of flat roofs and they use a white cement based coating for most of those flat roofs.

I have used ModernForm office chairs around my round dining table for 10 years and they are as good as the day I bought them. I like a swivel chair with wheels. They also repair any that are damaged due to heavy use. They are fabric covered but they must use a iron weave as no wear shows. Needless to say they are pricey but you do get what you pay for in this line.

Their store is located in Chiang Mai on the Super Highway across from Northern Tesco.

I bought my Lenovo during the change over from IBM since it was cheaper to buy a new low end Lenovo than the crashed old IBM motherboard destroyed by coffee spill.

Must be five years or more and it is going well. I did upgrade my Ram of 500mb by google search for my laptop version and found a 1.5 gig for 65 dollars AUD. Also upgraded by HD to 500 gigs. Had it installed in Thailand and all data moved into it for 500 baht. Yes speed is now remarkable.

I did download a free Ram Utilization Program (RAM PROx)that installed a meter on my task bar alerting me to what my going RAM usage was and when it gets below 500 I access my task manager and remove RAM gobbling programs that inevitably end up on my machine inadvertently. For example, even though you have told Skype to not turn on when you turn on your computer and your icon shows white, it still runs part of their program using 50 mg unless you log off. Control Alt Delete brings up your task manager and lets you see exactly what programs are eating all your RAM.

Having played the copy game ad naseum with the various officers at CM Immigration, I now simply go to the copy girl behind immigration, tell her what process I am going through and she makes the right copies for very few baht with no extra ones returned to me by any of the officers.

What did you ever have to copy for your 90 day report?

Earlier this month, copies required were face page of passport and non-immO visa. I didn't go personally this time, but the Thai that did it for me, reported that was what was needed.

Having played the copy game ad naseum with the various officers at CM Immigration, I now simply go to the copy girl behind immigration, tell her what process I am going through and she makes the right copies for very few baht with no extra ones returned to me by any of the officers.

90-day notification of staying longer than 90 days

90 Day Reporting

There is a requirement that visitors to Thailand report every time they change the place they are staying. In the spirit of that regulation, why can't long stay retired persons living in the same home for years, report only when they move to a new residence?

I have heard Fedex and other delivery companies have an arrangement with customs officials to tax containers in bulk and then pro-rate the tax among the parcels in the containers, usually no relevance to what is being shipped by an individual. Also Fedex and other carriers often charge extra fees.

Shipping by post is often tax free but when you do pay the tax, it is usually correct.

There are insurers out there who will waive pre-existing conditions if you have received no treatment for two years after the policy is issued.

WOW!! A voice from the past and it is my own.

While my card was not honored by some banks in Australia, they never "ate it" and I am sure there are many reasons cards don't work, one is a typo during entry. As long as the card is within the time frame indicated on its surface to be good, it should work in the system indicated on its back with the logo for Cirrus or the like.

My card always worked at Westpac ATM machines and I would try to use it there first.

As far as ID is concerned, it is up to the local merchant. I suspect the big stores such as Cole, David Jones or Meyer wouldn't ask for ID but the asian mom and pop stores probably would.

I have noted that Visa and Mastercard logos have been added to some ATM or HIP cards and I think with that logo on your card, you can go into the bank and make cash withdrawals, ID would be a must in such situations. I have never taken money out that way due to the heavy fees involved, but it is a last resort if all else fails.

Good Luck.

Most bus stations have parcel and luggage delivery service by weight. You would have to pick up the parcels from the bus station in CM.

I have been going to RAM hospital for ten years and have yet to receive medical care from a physician that didn't work for a local government hospital in addition to their duties at Ram, perhaps except for a dermatologist.

All of the professors at CMU Medical School are required to work out of the government hospital that has the 13th floor Falang Clinic, as well as working at RAM.

Grace Dental Clinic likewise has many Government Dental Professors who teach as does my dentist and owner of the clinic Dr. Korakot.

I would think that any clinic in Chiang Mai that is only open in the evenings and weekends is owned and operated by moonlighting government physicians.

Are you saying that the doctors at RAM are the same doctors as your local government hospital?

If your going to RAM, I'm assuming that your insured privatly.

If the doctors are the same, why not save the $$ and go to the local government hospital?

Thanks for the information

I asked my Orthopedist who is a professor at CMU Medical School who must put in time at the government hospital allied with the University the very same question about whether I should see him at the government hospital allied with the University and his reply was that I would be happier at Ram as there is little waiting to be seen and the staff at Ram is more attentive to the patient. The plastic surgeon I used for a lesion removal works mostly at Nakonping Government Hospital but works nights and late afternoon at Ram and Lana Hospitals.

He advised that the hospital costs at Lana were 25% cheaper than Ram so I had my procedure done there. His fee, however, was quite high in my opinion and when I asked him why his lesion removal was so much more than I had experienced with surgeons at Ram previously, he replied that Plastic Surgeons get bigger fees since they are specialists. Frankly, I would go to Dr. Ekachai, the general surgeon at Ram and the CMU Allied Hospital for most surgeries since his fees are reasonable but probably higher than two years ago.

Which ever way you go, always ask for what the fees would be ahead of time and certainly use either hospital's

pharmacy only in an emergency. After my first surgery at Ram and saw their exorbitant pharmacy charges, I bought all my meds outside the hospital. My doctor said don't mention that you are doing it while in the hospital and he would note my chart that I was to be asked before giving me any meds. Once I learned what med they wanted to give me, I had a Thai friend buy it at a local pharmacy and bring it in to me. They gave me an injectable vitamin concoction after the first surgery at a very high expense and when I learned what it was, I merely refused it in subsequent hospitalizations.

I have been going to RAM hospital for ten years and have yet to receive medical care from a physician that didn't work for a local government hospital in addition to their duties at Ram, perhaps except for a dermatologist.

All of the professors at CMU Medical School are required to work out of the government hospital that has the 13th floor Falang Clinic, as well as working at RAM.

Grace Dental Clinic likewise has many Government Dental Professors who teach as does my dentist and owner of the clinic Dr. Korakot.

I would think that any clinic in Chiang Mai that is only open in the evenings and weekends is owned and operated by moonlighting government physicians.

I really feel for Americans with their healthcare nightmares.

Happily there's an easy option.

Simply don't get insured. I'm not, nor are many friends.

Most care is very reasonable here. In a worst case scenario that something expensive happens in the next few years do you have savings to cover the hit? (Remember that US costs are many multiples of Thai costs. They're a sick joke which Americans work themselves into the grave to pay.......possibly a factor in why their life expectancy is less than Europeans).

Thank you for your post. In another thread on this subject I posted my experience in Thailand for the past ten years and quoted a savings in excess 1 million baht by not paying for health insurance. Included in my costs was 30 days hospitalization and four surgeries.

The one direct response to my post was that I should not live in Thailand if I couldn't pay for insurance and quoting my savings over the years, I only used the quote from my first year without increases, I was considered smug.

Self insurance is a concept practiced by many business and individuals that have assets to take care of the unexpected. Of course, if you are lucky to have good genes as measured by the diseases of your family, you are taking far less risk by being self insured than those that have debilitating diseases in their families.

It is a basic tenet in law that you cannot grant a right greater than what you hold or have. The measuring life of one holding under a usurfuct is the entire right granted under that agreement and thus one cannot create by a subsequent deed or contract a longer period of time than you have.

The same principle applies to landlords that try to grant rights in property which he has leased previously. Since his right to possession has been conveyed away for the period of time specified in the lease, any further rights he wishes to convey must be operative after the leasehold expires.

Thus any lease executed by one holding a usurfuct will end at the end of the "measuring life", ie the usurfuct holder regardless of the term granted.

Ithink you are wrong.

A 30 year (or whatever term) lease granted by a Usufruct and registered at the Land Office will surely remain valid for the lessee.

Applying your contention that you can extend the length of a usurfuct (the life of the holder)by giving a lease to your usurfuct that extends the length of time of your usurfuct suggests that the original owner and grantor of the usurfuct can lose his right of reversion upon the death of the holder of the usurfuct by the act of the holder of the usurfuct issuing a lease for longer than the usurfct is non-nonsensical. One cannot grant to another more right to property than you have been granted, regardless of what a government agency does. Granted, judicial remedy must be sought in such a case, however, land offices are a little more knowledgeable than most seem to give them credit for.

By applying your logic, a three year leaseholder could grant a usurfuct to a 21 year old.

Most of "old birds" who came to Thailand when they were over 65 are faced with the issue of obtaining insurance before we reach 69, the top end of the age where insurance can be bought.

Knowing that I would like coverage after 69, I canvassed companies that advertised continual coverage after that date but with increased premium.

My best quote at that time, ten years ago, was 12k baht a month. With open heart surgery advertised at expensive heart hospitals in Bkk for 500k baht, I figured that my worst case scenario was four years of no insurance before my heart attack and I would be ahead of the game.

History is I have had no mentionable medical needs for eight years and then a fall off a ladder resulted in four surgeries for a comminuted and displaced femoral fracture including 31 days of hospitalization over a year before I was released from treatment. Top surgeon, top hospital and a 200K total bill for everything. Its now been 10 years and a generous estimate of my medical expense for that time is 250k baht for that entire time.

12k baht a month, assuming it was never raised, (dreaming) and my insurance cost would have been far in excess of one million baht.

The basis for insurance is fear and my guess many will post a horror story however, insurance companies are rich and own vast amounts of property for a reason.

My guess that your friend has the UK to return to if he has a serious illness. My backup plan is if I do get in a serious long term illness that would be very costly, I would return to my home country and use my government paid for hospitalization.

Insurance policies are one or two paragraphs of coverage and pages of exclusions.

The elderly have many basic systemic anomalies such as high blood sugar, elevated blood pressure, decreased kidney function and the like, fertile ground for an exclusions based on a pre-existing condition.

I was able to overcome my fear of being self insured for medical expense when I was no longer able to buy health insurance due to my age.

Good luck to your friend as he "makes do" without health insurance, knowing that even people with health insurance can be thrown into bankruptcy due to the cost of health care.

Each case is viewed differently by the staff at the Australian Embassy, however, guidelines suggest that if she spends more time in Australia than in Thailand during any given period, she is not a tourist living in Thailand and visiting Australia but one who is living in Australia and visiting Thailand.

Since you are living in Australia and she is romantically linked to you, the danger of an overstay is far greater if she doesn't have a job that she must return to in Thailand.

My guess is that she is best served in waiting three months before applying for her second tourist visa in the same year.

' betting that your land office might allow the lease registration' hits nail on head.

You can consult all the legal eagles you want, if the local land office wont register you are stuffed.

My first port of call would be the local office to see if they will actually register, may save a small fortune in legal fees.

Good point in any case....

Do you think I need to check if they'll allow a lease given by a usufructuary within the period of the usufruct?

I could sub-usufruct, but this would be unsafe for a buyer as it would presumably finish when I dropped of the twig, hence the lease.

Think of the term or length of the letting. In English law there is a concept of a "life estate", the term is measured by the life of the life estate holder. A usurfuct is the continental European equivalent and again the length of the usurfuct is the life of the estate holder.

The pregnant question is, what is the term of the sub-usurfuct, certainly not the life of the sub-usurfuct holder, the length of the estate remains your life. Technically, I suppose you could use your life as a measuring stick for the length of the sub-usurfuct. Technically, you can do it but I suspect Thai law might not allow usurfucts for those other than the original estate holder. Clearly, there is no real need, is there, to use the usurfuct device when a simple lease for 30 years would technically work but would the land office allow for a lease for a fixed term when the rights of the lessee would terminate upon your death. Thus theoretically, say you were 90 years old and granted a 30 year lease, it is almost a legal certainty that the lease term would exceed the usurfuct and thus you would be conveying a right you didn't in reality, possess in that it was a right of possession far exceeding the reasonable length of the usurfuct.

Thus, a lease with a fixed term, routinely automatically renewing unless revoked, would greatly narrow the anticipated term to more approximating the usurfuct. It might fly but if the land office had never seen it done before, you know what the result would be.

A pre-nup agreement is a contract between two people in which they agree how assets of the marriage are to be disposed upon divorce and is often tiered based on the length of the marriage.

Since you definitely plan on living in the US and in a particular state, you would be wise to at least get a form pre-nup for your state off the internet and follow it in drafting your pre-nup in Thailand.

Better yet, do an internet search for a lawyer in Ohio who advertises he does pre-nups and have him draft one for you. I am sure you would have no problem recording it in Thailand, although I was unaware that a recordation of a pre-nup was required in the U.S.