More details from developer about 20 year Thai visa/condo deal

[Anthony5]

I wonder how high the balcony rails are on this development ...

living in 30 square meters, one suspects they don't need a swimming pool but lots of safety nets to catch the punters , but then again considering the location it would be a fall with a view

Maybe no rails at all...

At that price one can't expect much more than a few thin walls

Hopefully it comes with a Thailand Elite card, a 5 years (3x) renewable visa, and 1 year extendable entry stamps... I guess all the good value is in the card.

Really?

In my country in Europe, where build materials, build quality and labor costs are a multiple from Thailand, I can buy a 30m² apartment for that price. So these condos are WAY overpriced.

I so tire of these "in my country" comparisons without any details. What are we comparing to?

here is one for you, so you get the idea...

For the same money I can buy 50 square kilometers of Dearth Valley in the USA.

See how silly this is?

Euope is a big place .. now tell us you can get the same condo on the Mediterranean, walking distance to beach ... for that .. and you have our full attention.

Sorry to break it for you, but in Spain which is on the Mediterranean, you can have a 100m² for that price

[newnative]

I wasn't referring to the Southpoint deal with my comments regarding the Elite card. I was simply stating that if you are over 50 and can qualify with either income in the bank or a pension, then in my opinion the 1 year renewal isn't that difficult. I would only consider the Elite card if I was under 50 or very rich and wanted to make things even easier..

[gamini]

This seems like a great deal for people who trust the various Thai governments/Juntas to honor each others promises for the next 20 years. Given the current situation, what could possibly go wrong?

Some predict the end of the Thailand Elite program... since 13 years.

Some others enjoy the super convenient Thailand Elite long term visa... since 13 years.

Trust or not trust...

Some don't trust the government and still hesitate to become Thailand Elite members.

Some others may not fully trust the government, but became members a long time ago... and they enjoy trouble free long stays in Thailand since over a decade.

Up to you to worry or not

(Me, a happy Thailand Elite member since 12 years).

(Guys, stop worrying so much and go for it!).

(If you have the money, of course).

[Anthony5]

It may disturb a bit the feelings of the Thailand Elite haters, who call Thailand Elite a scam, and like to constantly repeat that the program may be cancelled any day...

But, as a Thailand Elite member, I can tell you that the visa attached to the membership is... just a dream.

And the program is already 13 years old.

And it is a fact that a few thousand members enjoy easy long term visas, some since 13 years. Happily.

And, for the worried ones, the program did already survived 2 coups.

And there are more and more members joining each day...

So, if you need a condo, and that the purchase of that condo comes together with a full 20 years Thailand Elite membership... It's a great promotion

Wasn't Elite Visa suspended during a certain period?

More and more members? Have they reached the projected 1.000.000 members in 1 year figure yet, or are they after 13 years still below 1000 members?

[BlackJack]

I hope the contracts are not confidential

otherwise how would one know what they are signing up for

Also, how would a change in government affect this contract?

Once again investors are not sure even after clarification.

Caveat Emptor

[theguyfromanotherforum]

You never seem to stop promoting the visa Gerry?

I will repeat myself like a broken record.

Would Warren Buffet consider this visa a good value? Would Warren Buffet buy a condo in Thailand?

There is a difference between rich and stupid.

[MobileContent]

Doesn't sound that bad. Lets say 3 million Baht and rent it out at 7000-9000 Baht a month = 84,000 Baht x 20 years = 1.68 million 2.16 million Baht in rental income or maybe it can be rented out for more money via AirBNB at 900 Baht x 30 days x 12 months = 324,000 x 10 years is 3.24 million Baht.

As for me I prefer to go with the 5 years TEV.

[BlackJack]

It may disturb a bit the feelings of the Thailand Elite haters, who call Thailand Elite a scam, and like to constantly repeat that the program may be cancelled any day...

But, as a Thailand Elite member, I can tell you that the visa attached to the membership is... just a dream.

And the program is already 13 years old.

And it is a fact that a few thousand members enjoy easy long term visas, some since 13 years. Happily.

And, for the worried ones, the program did already survived 2 coups.

And there are more and more members joining each day...

So, if you need a condo, and that the purchase of that condo comes together with a full 20 years Thailand Elite membership... It's a great promotion

Wasn't Elite Visa suspended during a certain period?

More and more members? Have they reached the projected 1.000.000 members in 1 year figure yet, or are they after 13 years still below 1000 members?

I know little about the card only in what I have read

but havent the terms and conditions changed several times?

[kinmaew]

Either way, kiss your money goodbue I dont care what "Deal" they have dodgy bros farang running this is doing very well and could not give a rats and once he has all his cash will flee the scene and no laws for recourse in event of a problem = farang lose money again

[ginko297]

Really? the Goverment agree?

well, post a pic with a foreign passport with a visa expiration date of 20 years signed and stamped by a thai immigration office and maybe I trust it.

PS does exist a passport in the world with exprration date of 20 years?

[JB300]

Thailand Elite still hasn't responded to my email asking for clarification on what they consider to be "property" (with regards to the Thailand Individual Membership for Property Co-Project - http://www.thailandelite.com/factsheet/Property%20Co-Project_Factsheet_English.pdf program option).

Somehow I don't think I'll ever actually get an answer any ways.

So according to this article, it looks like they are selling 2 million baht condos (their cheapest units) for 3 million and including the TE card (with it's 1 million baht membership fee) in the price. It also sounds like they have either agreed to pay the 20,000 baht annual fee or have made a deal with TE to have it waived (most likely it will be recouped through the condo maintenance fees).

(Remember - the "Thailand Individual Membership for Property Co-Project" option is only a 1 million baht membership fee.)

2 million baht for a 30 sqm studio condo plus 1 mil more for the TE card. (Add in whatever the monthly/yearly condo maintenance fees will be.)

Hmmmm, 2 bedroom house (128 sqm) on the Darkside - 1.5 mil. Throw in another 500k for the "Easy Access" TE card. Put the extra mil in the bank - should be able to earn enough interest to easily cover the 20k annual fee.

(Of course the difference is you probably can get the condo in your name, unlike the house, as long as the 49% rule hasn't been reached yet.)

There isn't an annual fee for the 500k/5 year Easy Access card

[Soutpeel]

It may disturb a bit the feelings of the Thailand Elite haters, who call Thailand Elite a scam, and like to constantly repeat that the program may be cancelled any day...

But, as a Thailand Elite member, I can tell you that the visa attached to the membership is... just a dream.

And the program is already 13 years old.

And it is a fact that a few thousand members enjoy easy long term visas, some since 13 years. Happily.

And, for the worried ones, the program did already survived 2 coups.

And there are more and more members joining each day...

So, if you need a condo, and that the purchase of that condo comes together with a full 20 years Thailand Elite membership... It's a great promotion

Wasn't Elite Visa suspended during a certain period?

More and more members? Have they reached the projected 1.000.000 members in 1 year figure yet, or are they after 13 years still below 1000 members?

I believe they wouldn't take new members for a period, but that not the same a suspending anything, and during this time, existing members never had any problems and existing contracts where honoured

as to your second point, what relevance is there to your question...so what ? a company or government department embellished their projections, goes on every day world wide...

The facts are as we stand

1. the TE program has been in play for 13 year

2. At no time has the Thai government reneged on the visa aspect of the program

3. As to whether its value for money is purely the opinion of the individual, if some one bought in a got their moneys worth, that's fine, its their money they have spent

seems to me the biggest naysayer on the TE program would be same sort of people who would say a Ferrari is a shit car on the basis of the fact they could never afford one...

for me personally would I go for this deal Condo + TE ..No

would I go for the full TE program, probably not, simply because I don't see myself living in Thailand for the next 20 odd years, and currently have no inclination to retire here....when the job is over for me in Thailand, I am going home to retire

In the shorter term, if I had to would I consider the TE 500k option ?, most certainly, I believe that is a good deal...

[thousandpercent]

As said corruption at the very top.

Be specific, please. What was illegal?

[Yunla]

Unless the Police Order is updated with such a paragraph it cannot be regarded as legal.

Of course it's not legal. But the developer has got to sell their tiny jail cell like apartments and foreign criminals need somewhere that will let them hide out for a couple of decades. It's a match made in Thailand.

TE registration includes the "no criminal history" declaration. I have a friend working at TE and she told me they run international checks on applicants. I do not pretend to know how thorough this is. My own TE card application went through in two days, and I have zero criminal history worldwide. I was however told by several people, that TE are very conscious of their image and they do check applicants' backgrounds, to comply with law and avoid future tarnishing of their image.

As I said in a previous thread, I am very happy with my 5-year TE visa. I am severely disabled, and regular border-runs which are easy for able-bodied persons, were very difficult for me. I have nothing but positive feedback of my experiences with this scheme. I would not get the 20-year option, I feel more comfortable to buy multiple 5-year cards. And I wouldn't want to live in that place in the OP, No Sir, but maybe it will appeal to other people.

[little mary sunshine]

Reading some of the posts in SUPPORT of this UNPROVEN and

Very skeptical attempt to UNLOAD THESE CONDOS....Would,the

REALATORS AND OWNERS of this place please identify

Themselves !!!

[thousandpercent]

How can a govt dept agree to a deal with one developer or real estate agent. Surely that is illegal, or should be.

The deal should be open to all that sell condos.

Who said it's not open to all developers?

[Tatsujin]

Unless I'm misunderstanding something, the visa is forever tied to the condo ... and ... "entitled to a 20-year visa, which amounts to five-year, multiple-entry visas which can be renewed every four years"

So, you are at the whim of immigration once again when they decide in four years that they've changed the rules once again and won't be allowing you to renew.

Thanks, but no thanks.

"So, you are at the whim of immigration once again when they decide in four years that they've changed the rules once again and won't be allowing you to renew."

Once again?

Referring to changes in visa exempt entry or ...?

You know how Thailand works, yes it might be all "agreed" now how this renewal works and it may be "guaranteed" now ... but it can so easily be changed in the future, and it will ALWAYS be at the whim of the individual immigration officer and whether they got out of bed the right side or not. They can't even be consistent with the application of their own laws at the moment, and this just looks like a future nightmare to me with no leg to stand on when you come out of it the wrong side in years to come.

[Sparkles]

Wouldn't touch it with the proverbial barge pole.

Smells like a S C A M. Fast track immigration and on getting a driving licence total BS and discounts ,on what exactly...coupons from 7/11,50% of a haircut ?

If this was legal, and really had benefits, every developer would do it.

First purchaser please report back !

[Anthony5]

It may disturb a bit the feelings of the Thailand Elite haters, who call Thailand Elite a scam, and like to constantly repeat that the program may be cancelled any day...

But, as a Thailand Elite member, I can tell you that the visa attached to the membership is... just a dream.

And the program is already 13 years old.

And it is a fact that a few thousand members enjoy easy long term visas, some since 13 years. Happily.

And, for the worried ones, the program did already survived 2 coups.

And there are more and more members joining each day...

So, if you need a condo, and that the purchase of that condo comes together with a full 20 years Thailand Elite membership... It's a great promotion

Wasn't Elite Visa suspended during a certain period?

More and more members? Have they reached the projected 1.000.000 members in 1 year figure yet, or are they after 13 years still below 1000 members?

I believe they wouldn't take new members for a period, but that not the same a suspending anything, and during this time, existing members never had any problems and existing contracts where honoured

as to your second point, what relevance is there to your question...so what ? a company or government department embellished their projections, goes on every day world wide...

The facts are as we stand

1. the TE program has been in play for 13 year

2. At no time has the Thai government reneged on the visa aspect of the program

3. As to whether its value for money is purely the opinion of the individual, if some one bought in a got their moneys worth, that's fine, its their money they have spent

seems to me the biggest naysayer on the TE program would be same sort of people who would say a Ferrari is a shit car on the basis of the fact they could never afford one...

for me personally would I go for this deal Condo + TE ..No

would I go for the full TE program, probably not, simply because I don't see myself living in Thailand for the next 20 odd years, and currently have no inclination to retire here....when the job is over for me in Thailand, I am going home to retire

In the shorter term, if I had to would I consider the TE 500k option ?, most certainly, I believe that is a good deal...

The letter in question is posted somewhere on this forum, the program was suspended, and members were informed that could NOT renew their visa.

There are also post on this forum from Elite members who confirmed that during a certain period they could not renew their visa.

There is also a post from our dear Gerry1011 on this forum, in which he admits that the event in fact happened and some members were affected with it.

[Tatsujin]

Reading some of the posts in SUPPORT of this UNPROVEN and

Very skeptical attempt to UNLOAD THESE CONDOS....Would,the

REALATORS AND OWNERS of this place please identify

Themselves !!!

From the original article:

Condo Name: Southpoint Pattaya

Developer: Kingdom Property

Owner/Director: Nigel Cornick, Chief Executive Officer

[vision2014]

I did not read all 4 pages of posts so my point may have already been addressed. Construction at Southpoint stopped 5 months ago and management have told buyers that there is no confirmed date for construction to be recommenced. Buyers have only been told that Southpoint is is negotiations with banks regarding funding issues. Approximately 50% of the units have not been sold and there is no way Southpoint will be completed in Q4 2015 ( which was the commitment to buyers).

[Anthony5]

I did not read all 4 pages of posts so my point may have already been addressed. Construction at Southpoint stopped 5 months ago and management have told buyers that there is no confirmed date for construction to be recommenced. Buyers have only been told that Southpoint is is negotiations with banks regarding funding issues. Approximately 50% of the units have not been sold and there is no way Southpoint will be completed in Q4 2015 ( which was the commitment to buyers).

That is interesting to hear. You have any links to a reliable news source.

[Robert24]

smart marketing indeed.

[Estrada]

I think I will go with the regular retirement visas, which for 20 years would cost one a meagre 38,000 Baht

plus the 800k or 65k in the bank or pension in the bank of course...

so 16000000 for the 800k option or 15600000 for the monthly pension route

so it seems to me the condo/TE option is actually cheaper even for those retired, will leave them more money for Leo and their favourite Isaan teeraks to con out of them

Come on Soutpeel, you are not that naive??

It might come as a surprise to you, but with the 800k option, it is not compulsory to spend all the money each year!! And even if it was, at least you would be the benefactor, whereas with the TE card the money goes straight into the corruption trough.

As for the last part of your post:

oh dear and I always took you for someone with a sense of humour...

but lets assume you dont spend the 800k/yr your still have to "lock up" 800k in the bank therefore "phantom fiddlers' comment it only costs 38k is still wrong

but of course your asserting the TE money goes into the corruption trough, one supposes you can shows or prove it as I am sure the PM of Thailand would be very interested, considering he has given the undertaking to clamp down on corruption, and I am sure if you can show him the corrupt practices, sure there would be some gratuity in it for you...like a free TE card, which I sure you will refuse on moral grounds...

Everyone should have an emergency fund, this is the purpose of the requirement for B800K in the bank earning interest currently at B15,000/year. However you only need the money in the bank untouched for 3 months prior to visiting immigration to extend your stay. So you are totally wrong because over 20 years with average fluctuations in interest rates would become around B1,650,000 after deducting the B38K quoted by Phantom Fiddler. Personally I stick the money in a time deposit for 4-7mths and then 8-5mths in equity funds earning around 20%/annum.

[louse1953]

As said corruption at the very top.

Where is the corruption if ALL the details are known going in.This is how governments do business around the world,special "deals" for the rich.If your silly enough to trust something for 20 years,up to you,i say.As always with real estate,buyer beware.

[Estrada]

I did not read all 4 pages of posts so my point may have already been addressed. Construction at Southpoint stopped 5 months ago and management have told buyers that there is no confirmed date for construction to be recommenced. Buyers have only been told that Southpoint is is negotiations with banks regarding funding issues. Approximately 50% of the units have not been sold and there is no way Southpoint will be completed in Q4 2015 ( which was the commitment to buyers).

Thanks for the confirmation. I posted last week that I thought construction had stopped, as their web site has not been updated with progress since last November. I had inside information that the Company was in trouble a few weeks ago. That is why I recommended caution on this project. Having been here 21years and seen so many projects abandoned after the deposits/progress payments etc have been paid I not buy from this project until the financial difficulties have been resolved (If at all). Also what guarantee is there that Kingdom Properties will hand over the money to Thailand Elite for the 20 year visas? I nearly bought a condo near my house that started construction in 1997 and stopped at the second floor until it was bought from the bank last year. Everyone who paid their deposits and progress payments lost their money.

[louse1953]

It's hard to imagine how people would consider retirement to LOS and living the rest of their lives in a 30 square metre walk in cupboard as a great retirement.

In comparison to where some of us come from,this would be paradise.

[JOC]

I did not read all 4 pages of posts so my point may have already been addressed. Construction at Southpoint stopped 5 months ago and management have told buyers that there is no confirmed date for construction to be recommenced. Buyers have only been told that Southpoint is is negotiations with banks regarding funding issues. Approximately 50% of the units have not been sold and there is no way Southpoint will be completed in Q4 2015 ( which was the commitment to buyers).

There we have it!!

And this very serious developer has been handpicked by the "Elite Card"".............

Two scam artists working together!!

[vision2014]

I did not read all 4 pages of posts so my point may have already been addressed. Construction at Southpoint stopped 5 months ago and management have told buyers that there is no confirmed date for construction to be recommenced. Buyers have only been told that Southpoint is is negotiations with banks regarding funding issues. Approximately 50% of the units have not been sold and there is no way Southpoint will be completed in Q4 2015 ( which was the commitment to buyers).

That is interesting to hear. You have any links to a reliable news source.

Hi Anthony,

The media in Pattaya almost never publish negative articles about Developers. However, I have friends who have purchased units at Southpoint and we have had discussions with senior Southpoint managers (Nigel's direct reports) .Moreover, I live in a condo directly opposite Southpoint and my comment about construction being halted are based on my "first hand" observations. I have not invested in Southpoint and have "no axe to grind" but I simply wanted to caution prospective buyers in light of the current challenges the Developer is facing.

[abitmiffed]

Unless I'm misunderstanding something, the visa is forever tied to the condo ... and ... "entitled to a 20-year visa, which amounts to five-year, multiple-entry visas which can be renewed every four years"

So, you are at the whim of immigration once again when they decide in four years that they've changed the rules once again and won't be allowing you to renew.

Thanks, but no thanks.

That's for sure.

They change the rules more then underwear in this country..

But again you are an "elite idiot" to go for this.

This is just legal corruption with paperwork.. Do read the very very fine print before you become an elite.