Koh Samui: Only 10% of properties - some owned by foreigners - on disputed hills are legal

[off road pat]

4 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Nah, they'll be abandoned and left to slowly rot.

That's the Thai way.

Indeed, why spend (Waste) money ????

[Ventenio]

2 hours ago, b17 said:

To our astonishment, we read about the same property being sold to five different foreigners.

 

farang, please give Thailand your money.  please.  all of it.  no, you no get money back.  and no property.  thanks farang you very hansome

 

but no clever.  no no  .  please get friend buy too he also very hansome  if he have money .   

[Surelynot]

32 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

That has been known for decades, but still the deleted buyers come. One born every minute, or something like that I believe.

I can see why though.....the prices, the fantasy, rush of blood to the head.....all mixed in with ignorance of the dangers.....

 

Why is your marriage like a hurricane?....All seems warm and cosy at first...then suddenly your <deleted> house has gone.

[Captain Monday]

5 hours ago, Natai Beach said:

I first went to Samui in 1997. And every year until 2003. Chewaeng still had a dirt two way road, no Maccas etc. Mornings I would float in the sea to recover from my hangover. It was beautiful, tropical paradise surrounded by nature. So beautiful I decided to move to Thailand when sitting on Chewaeng Beach.
 

Last year I was there and really noticed how ugly it looked now with the hills being built on. 
 

If they are illegal I hope they bulldoze them all and return the area to nature. It would be good if the French developers return the money to the buyers, but I know they won’t.
 

Yep, and about that time I was told never invest anything in Thailand you cant afford to walk away from

100 percent deadweight loss. Nobody ever told me I would be barred entry because of a virus. At what point do you just walk away?

[connda]

How do these properties get built illegally right under the noses of authorities?  It's not like the construction and its aftermath is hidden from view. 

[connda]

25 minutes ago, Captain Monday said:

Yep, and about that time I was told never invest anything in Thailand you cant afford to walk away from

100 percent deadweight loss. Nobody ever told me I would be barred entry because of a virus. At what point do you just walk away?

At what point do you walk away?  Right now is probably a good time.

[from the home of CC]

1 hour ago, KamnanT said:

You must be one of the lucky 10% --- good for you.

nah, I didn't mean you didn't have brains and in fact I was suggesting you did have the smarts to avoid this mess. Sorry, that was not my intention at all..

[from the home of CC]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

The right thing would be to demolish them at the developer's expense. If I could I'd go to see them come down. Sadly I expect them to still be there for many years to come. If they can't be occupied that would be some satisfaction though.

I know there's corruption in this country, it's probably it's biggest cancer. Most people in their hearts know it's inherently wrong but greed wins out. From paying agents to bribe immigration to walking away from vehicular manslaughter, it seems everything is for sale. Many count on this greed to cheat through life without having to work as hard as the next poor slob. Opportunities were and still are rife here to exploit others and gain an upper edge by buying favorable results. With all business slowing there's more time to delve into land ownership records and money trails and I expect more of these type of 'disputes'. Long time due imo..  

[hotchilli]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Much of the illegality stems from the fact that they should not have been given planning permission in the first place as the gradient is too steep. 

So 90% were built with planning permission and official knowledge but remain illegal?

I can smell something.

[hotchilli]

1 hour ago, connda said:

How do these properties get built illegally right under the noses of authorities?  It's not like the construction and its aftermath is hidden from view. 

Easy

[ronaldo0]

Two of the biggest eyesore areas in samui are chaweng noi and banrak hillside . Having been in the villas in the photos I wouldn’t buy one if I could afford it . Yes the view was nice but not amazing and it is a bit cooler as you have breeze higher up , but other than that the place I was at last was 56 million bht and had a nice terrace but the building was basically a few walls with large glass doors . The other problem with these villas is the roads to access them are either like mt Everest or a fair old drive . Plus the fact that they all are that close together you would have zero privacy and can hardly turn up your stereo etc . No thanks !

[GreasyFingers]

6 hours ago, Swimfan said:

Don’t investigate the developers. Look at where the land titles and planning permits came from. 

So the developers were naive?

[RobFord]

1 hour ago, connda said:

How do these properties get built illegally right under the noses of authorities?  It's not like the construction and its aftermath is hidden from view. 

Because the authorities are authorizing it and taking the money. They’re untouchable and know it. Duh. 

[RobFord]

26 minutes ago, GreasyFingers said:

So the developers were naive?

The authorities and developers are working hand in hand, or are one and the same. The authorities are untouchable and the developers long gone with the buyers left nothing. Duh. 
 

[RobFord]

3 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

The right thing would be to demolish them at the developer's expense. If I could I'd go to see them come down. Sadly I expect them to still be there for many years to come. If they can't be occupied that would be some satisfaction though.

At the developers expense? They’re long gone. Duh.

[ronaldo0]

40 minutes ago, RobFord said:

At the developers expense? They’re long gone. Duh.

Quite a few developers are still there but the problem is the people that signed off saying it was ok to build . Supposedly most of them have moved to mainland , retired or have passed away . 

[Swimfan]

3 hours ago, JusticeGB said:

The planning laws in Samui are that houses built on slopes between 35 and 50 degrees can have a maximum size of 80 square metres and 75% of the land must remain free of buildings of which 50% be filled with native trees. It's obvious looking at the pictures of these houses that none comply with these conditions before even considering if the chanots are legal.

I thought you could not build on land above 45deg slopes? 

[PoorSucker]

1 hour ago, ronaldo0 said:

Plus the fact that they all are that close together you would have zero privacy and can hardly turn up your stereo etc .

People don't buy them to live in, they buy them to rent out on Airbnb. 

[Swimfan]

1 hour ago, ronaldo0 said:

Two of the biggest eyesore areas in samui are chaweng noi and banrak hillside . Having been in the villas in the photos I wouldn’t buy one if I could afford it . Yes the view was nice but not amazing and it is a bit cooler as you have breeze higher up , but other than that the place I was at last was 56 million bht and had a nice terrace but the building was basically a few walls with large glass doors . The other problem with these villas is the roads to access them are either like mt Everest or a fair old drive . Plus the fact that they all are that close together you would have zero privacy and can hardly turn up your stereo etc . No thanks !

Was going with a large group to a Bangrak hillside villa for a dinner party one night it was a large group of us coming from Lamai we booked a mini van to take us but he would not drive up the hill to the villa because of the gradient. We had to call our hosts and they had to come down in the 4x4 and take us up in several trips. 

[ronaldo0]

39 minutes ago, Swimfan said:

Was going with a large group to a Bangrak hillside villa for a dinner party one night it was a large group of us coming from Lamai we booked a mini van to take us but he would not drive up the hill to the villa because of the gradient. We had to call our hosts and they had to come down in the 4x4 and take us up in several trips. 

Yip have been up a few like that with the car in 4 x 4 mode and even then it was wheel spinning. Made me wonder how they got all the building materials up . ????

[wolf81]

10 hours ago, ThreeEyedRaven said:

Irregularities? Doesn't he mean blatant fraud and criminal activity by the land department and the judiciary that was supposed to be keeping things honest? I would wager that it involves a lot more than just two hills too.

It presumably also involved mountains of brown envelopes.

[phetphet]

I recently drove to, or at least tried to drive to a house in Chaweng Noi. The hill was so steep the wheels were spinning. No  grip. Had to give up.

Would hate to try it in the rain. I suppose the people that can afford to buy those places can afford a big 4WD. But a scary drive nonetheless.

[Tropicalevo]

6 hours ago, Ventenio said:

  8 hours ago, b17 said:

To our astonishment, we read about the same property being sold to five different foreigners.

 

6 hours ago, Ventenio said:

 

farang, please give Thailand your money.  please.  all of it.  no, you no get money back.  and no property.  thanks farang you very hansome

 

but no clever.  no no  .  please get friend buy too he also very hansome  if he have money .   

The ignorance of some comments amazes me at times.

I have lived on Samui for 20 years.

There are at least three cases that I know of where properties or land, in the area where I live, have been sold to multiple people. In every case, the deal was made by foreigners. Not Thais.

I do not personally know of any dodgy deal made by a Thai to a foreigner here on Samui. It has always been farang to farang.

Yes, the land office enable it to happen, but the money behind it is farang.

On the hill where I live, land has been sold and 12 properties have been built illegally. The DSI have told the land office to sort it out or they will recind the chanote titles.

The land was sold by a farang.

The Thais are not the 'root of all that is evil' in Thailand.

And yes, I have been ripped off by builders/contractors. All of them farangs. For the last 15 years I have only used local Thai contractors in all cases except one. Locals are cheaper and in many cases - more honest

[phetphet]

4 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

 

The ignorance of some comments amazes me at times.

I have lived on Samui for 20 years.

There are at least three cases that I know of where properties or land, in the area where I live, have been sold to multiple people. In every case, the deal was made by foreigners. Not Thais.

I do not personally know of any dodgy deal made by a Thai to a foreigner here on Samui. It has always been farang to farang.

Yes, the land office enable it to happen, but the money behind it is farang.

On the hill where I live, land has been sold and 12 properties have been built illegally. The DSI have told the land office to sort it out or they will recind the chanote titles.

The land was sold by a farang.

The Thais are not the 'root of all that is evil' in Thailand.

And yes, I have been ripped off by builders/contractors. All of them farangs. For the last 15 years I have only used local Thai contractors in all cases except one. Locals are cheaper and in many cases - more honest

Wasn't there a big case about something called the coco mafia in the early 2000's?

[Tropicalevo]

3 minutes ago, phetphet said:

Wasn't there a big case about something called the coco mafia in the early 2000's?

Yes. His name was Axxn Sxxd. Many properties were sold but many were never finished.

They are back up for sale again (urgent) on Plai Laem Soi 7. I know a few people who lost a lot of money to him. The current 'corporate group' are doing a good but difficult job of sorting it all out. (after 15 years?) AS was the front man. His and Thai money was behind it all.

He also owned Coco Blues and a Chinese restaurant in Chaweng.

Organised the one and only big concert on Samui. Jerry Lee Lewis, UB 40 and others.

Bought a seaplane for visa runs to Burma and did few other 'dodgy' deals

[Tropicalevo]

40 minutes ago, phetphet said:

I recently drove to, or at least tried to drive to a house in Chaweng Noi. The hill was so steep the wheels were spinning. No  grip. Had to give up.

Would hate to try it in the rain. I suppose the people that can afford to buy those places can afford a big 4WD. But a scary drive nonetheless.

Yes. I have been asked to work in a couple of developments in Chaweng Noi and Bophut Hills.

In the end, I have said 'Thank you but no thank you'. As you say, scary. I do not want to attend any more hospitals or funerals in Samui.

[Tropicalevo]

3 hours ago, Swimfan said:

Was going with a large group to a Bangrak hillside villa for a dinner party one night it was a large group of us coming from Lamai we booked a mini van to take us but he would not drive up the hill to the villa because of the gradient. We had to call our hosts and they had to come down in the 4x4 and take us up in several trips. 

I live on a hill in Plai Laem (near Bangrak).

Many times, 'outside' minivans have said - cannot. It is not a factor of cannot, it is a fear factor of having to turn around on a gradient.

The local minivan company that we use (that know the hill) always pick up and drop off.

Mind you, there are some hills on the island that I would refuse to go up.

[ronaldo0]

56 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

I live on a hill in Plai Laem (near Bangrak).

Many times, 'outside' minivans have said - cannot. It is not a factor of cannot, it is a fear factor of having to turn around on a gradient.

The local minivan company that we use (that know the hill) always pick up and drop off.

Mind you, there are some hills on the island that I would refuse to go up.

The one opposite the villas in the photo is just about the worst I have been up, it’s right at the bottom of the hill after dr frogs and is just over a car width in places and insanely steep all the way up . There are some behind Bkk hospital that are steeper but they are only short distance of 30-50m and you turn onto a level road at the top . My wife just about died of heart failure going up it as near 2/3 of the way up the wheels started spinning and she had to boot it to make it to the top . It was that or a very steep roll/slide backwards which would have ended up in us going off the road down a jungle embankment. ????

[thaibeachlovers]

10 hours ago, ronaldo0 said:

Yip have been up a few like that with the car in 4 x 4 mode and even then it was wheel spinning. Made me wonder how they got all the building materials up . ????

Winch?

 

Wellington in NZ has houses on very steep hills. I think they used flying foxes to get the materials up ( or down ).

https://www.pzazz.co.nz/tips/new-zealand/-precarious-homes

 

Building materials and even an earth mover have had to be craned on to the precipitous site high above a bush-clad gully. But it’s “nothing we aren’t used to here in Wellington” says Rudy, whose specialist projects on other steep and challenging sites has been featured in several of our other articles.

 

 

 

 

Houses which look as though they have been built on top of each other have been part of the Wellington landscape for more than 150 years. The challenges involved in constructing them were enormous, and even today, renovating and even painting them takes special skills, as we will discuss later in this article.

[cracker1]

I imagine it will be a simple process to find the name of the person at the land office who "Signed" the permit to construct on each of these illegal sites ?