I read this today and thought others might enjoy the read. Hope it is OK to post a link to this article. I live in Baan Amphur...not sure which building he is referring to???

http://www.escapefromamerica.com/2010/03/r...-in-thailand-2/

If the author spent as much time reseaching the condo act instead of trying to write (and sell) witty little stories, he might find the law would be on his side and this matter would for more resolvable than he states.

If the author spent as much time reseaching the condo act instead of trying to write (and sell) witty little stories, he might find the law would be on his side and this matter would for more resolvable than he states.

I have to agree with the author based on personal experience of having lived in Centre Condo next to Wat Chaimongkrol

and Tukom. Here it is the same situation - a Thai-Chinese matriarch completely in control of the building.What you are underestimating

123ace is the power these people have. There have been many attempts by the foreign owners to overide crazy decisons ( foreigners are mostly European ) but these have even resulted in menacing and threatening phone calls by unidentified callers warning them not to make trouble in the building. I say of you come accross any condo under the control of a a Thai-Chinese matriarch - you should never buy in that building.

^Yensabai Condo falls into that category also.

One reason I posted this article is I have a friend who owns a condo in one of the VT buildings. Story is pretty much the same, though they did band together and eventually get things sorted out. So it can be done, but it appears it is not easy....

One reason I posted this article is I have a friend who owns a condo in one of the VT buildings. Story is pretty much the same, though they did band together and eventually get things sorted out. So it can be done, but it appears it is not easy....

Who said life was easy? You simply deploy a large weapon and blow the head off, or alternativly you could discuss this on TV (is there a difference?) IMO - Name and Shame.

To be fair I do agree, I would never have had anything to do wth a Thai Chinese in this regard (as described). My semi-sarcastic comment was that at THb 18,000. - psm this is very cheap, the author is very complimentary of the building operations and staff and I think he was creating a story to be sold by word count in the US. Talking it up to make a story worth buying and linking it to a fake watches etc was frankly misleading.

I know only one condo in Ban Amphur priced around 18,000/sqm – STS Condo. Its a wreck

The guy should have checked the prices in the neighborhood and asked himself why this one so bloody cheap

Fake watches? Where is that? He does these articles for free. All he asks is to have a link put in to his favorite charity. One which we all know about here in Pattaya. I think that is pretty darn good of him. I am not a real fan of this website, but it is OK. Have looked at it for years. I have also read some of Bart Walters other articles. They are pretty good. But I don't think his intent is to be misleading. It is an article, and like all others, easy to tear apart via web posts like this.

AddictedToThai: That is what I was thinking. I was there a few weeks ago. Looks like a wreck for sure. Pretty bad. If you read the article, he even said it was a gamble, but for the money, worth the risk. I think the point was the dragon lady and how you can get caught up in this. He got suckered in like many others...and the laws here are not oriented towards owners/renters. Not like they are in other countries. His point was buyer beware. Fair enough...

From the OP:

I read this today and thought others might enjoy the read. Hope it is OK to post a link to this article. I live in Baan Amphur...not sure which building he is referring to???

http://www.escapefromamerica.com/2010/03/r...-in-thailand-2/

How old is the linked article? It says "March 10" but no year is given. It says "A 2008 upgrade to the Condo Act is supposed to put the bite back in the law", hence the article must have been written before 2008. Are we discussing history here?

Something looks funny about that blog.

Fake watches? Where is that? He does these articles for free. All he asks is to have a link put in to his favorite charity. One which we all know about here in Pattaya. I think that is pretty darn good of him. I am not a real fan of this website, but it is OK. Have looked at it for years. I have also read some of Bart Walters other articles. They are pretty good. But I don't think his intent is to be misleading. It is an article, and like all others, easy to tear apart via web posts like this.

AddictedToThai: That is what I was thinking. I was there a few weeks ago. Looks like a wreck for sure. Pretty bad. If you read the article, he even said it was a gamble, but for the money, worth the risk. I think the point was the dragon lady and how you can get caught up in this. He got suckered in like many others...and the laws here are not oriented towards owners/renters. Not like they are in other countries. His point was buyer beware. Fair enough...

Err.. have you read the article? he references Rolex and other common 'copy goods' in the opening paragraph. I assumed this was to make an amusing linkage between buying a product that was artifically representing itself as one thing when it is in fact another and valued far below the real products purchase price, in this case a condominium as the price is so far below market expectaions i.e THB 18k psm. This I read as being the message here.

If it was actually saying beware of buying property from a lady of alleged mixed ethnicity that resembles a mythical fire breathing creature, then I also get that message.

OK...I thought you meant a URL link. Sorry!!!! Yes, I did read that part....but still an interesting article.

I am not a big fan of this website, but it does have a few jewels here and there....just have to search for them...