My GF dragged me to a Thank You/Update lunchtime party thing in lower Suk on Saturday - for an update on another high quality condo development we bought there (ready in 2 years). It was one of those presentations where they show you the materials and processes being used for construction etc. All high quality, from a Taiwanese firm.

It was jam-PACKED! Standing room only. I'd say at least 99% Thais/Chinese/Japanese - a good mixture of young, not-so-young, and retirees. There were only 2 'white skins' in the audience that I could see. Maybe the supposed all-knowing, all-powerful Western falang is not such a big deal after all?

They all seemed happy and well-healed; maybe they know something about property the $500-a-month falang slum-dweller doesn't?

Or your GF who might have grown up in a slum and wants more blood out of you?

Even if she is a general's daughter, looks like you have been well roasted already. Expect more presentations like that.

Just for fun, check who's driving all that exercise of showing you around. Nothing else happening in BKK other than "buy more property" Amway type of shows?

I just bought an apartment from a bank (two actually, to live in, not for profit).

It was very hard to decide what to buy as the banks have huge quantities of repo properties and are slashing prices...

(mine was reduced 15% with transfer fees paid in a "grand sale". Another one in November...)

How some people claim the economy, and property sector in particular, is OK is beyond me.

I just bought an apartment from a bank (two actually, to live in, not for profit).

It was very hard to decide what to buy as the banks have huge quantities of repo properties and are slashing prices...

(mine was reduced 15% with transfer fees paid in a "grand sale". Another one in November...)

How some people claim the economy, and property sector in particular, is OK is beyond me.

it is called denial, most people can not admit that they are not as shrewd as they thought (ego cant handle it), and they suffer the delusion that "real estate only goes up"

Just as a side note.

In my purchasing process, and trying to find out the "real" property value it became clear that peoples opinions are not important. Prices are based on land office valuations. They physically have a department that decides on property prices in each area. Banks loan against these valuations, not the asking price.

So my process was (as a cash buyer):-

. Find a property that I liked.

. Check the land office valuations.

. Try to get a price lower than that.

I posted a couple of links to the banks repo sites, just in case you're interested.

http://www.ghbhomecenter.com/buy/details.a...=10-09-2-0117-1

http://www.led.go.th/default.asp

http://www.npashowroom.ktb.co.th/WebShowRo...t?COLLCATENO=11

I hope that's of use / interesting. It's a good time to buy from these sites.

You'd have to be insane to buy off plan at the moment. (Internationally funded condos are skeleton like close to my condo in Suk 71. Just 4 months ago they were promising completion dates in June - not a days work has been done since, unpaid workers have packed up and gone home. I feel really sorry for the foreign purchasers who were naive enough to believe some of the people on this site...)

Just as a side note.

In my purchasing process, and trying to find out the "real" property value it became clear that peoples opinions are not important. Prices are based on land office valuations. They physically have a department that decides on property prices in each area. Banks loan against these valuations, not the asking price.

So my process was (as a cash buyer):-

. Find a property that I liked.

. Check the land office valuations.

. Try to get a price lower than that.

I posted a couple of links to the banks repo sites, just in case you're interested.

http://www.ghbhomecenter.com/buy/details.a...=10-09-2-0117-1

http://www.led.go.th/default.asp

http://www.npashowroom.ktb.co.th/WebShowRo...t?COLLCATENO=11

I hope that's of use / interesting. It's a good time to buy from these sites.

You'd have to be insane to buy off plan at the moment. (Internationally funded condos are skeleton like close to my condo in Suk 71. Just 4 months ago they were promising completion dates in June - not a days work has been done since, unpaid workers have packed up and gone home. I feel really sorry for the foreign purchasers who were naive enough to believe some of the people on this site...)

Thanks for a great post. I followed the links and have saved them as they will be of interest when the whole ediface crashes down around our ears...