Gary

I amazed that there are still some people buying property with bogus Thai companies. The government may never prosecute those people but why take a chance? You will own 49 percent or less of the property with the remainder owned by Thais who have no financial investment. That is exactly what makes it illegal. You pay 100 percent of the purchase price and own 49 percent. In addition to having an illegal company you will be paying an accountant, paying taxes on income you DON'T have and filing a tax return. I like to sleep well at night and that would be difficult if I were waiting for some Thai politician to get a hard on and kick me out of my house/condo.

I agree with Gabor that transportation is a pain in the ass in some areas. If the condo complex is NOT on the baht bus route I would keep looking. The motorcycle taxi driver was ripping me off for 50 baht for a ride to a baht bus route and I HATE to ride on motorcycles.

I don't want to get into a baht bus pissing contest but I DO have a story to tell. I too used to pay 10 baht from Jomtien to Pattaya and although some of the drivers complained they accepted the 10 baht. It finally got to the point that the drivers wouldn't pick me up. They would cruise past me and grin at me. It almost seemed that they all had a picture of me and agreed NOT to pick me up. They won the battle. I now pay the 20 baht.

I MUCH prefer Jomtien also. The transportation is no problem for most of the complexes. Just make sure when you are looking that the baht buses are available. As far as everything else, I am of the opinion that if you can't find it in Jomtien you don't need it. Soi 7 has two condo buildings and that location is great. Everything you need is within walking distance. Getting to Pattaya is a very easy 20 baht ride.

It always amused me that the Thai government decided that two can live cheaper than one. A retirement visa for single guy requires 800,000 baht in the bank. The visa when you have a Thai wife requires 400,000 baht in the bank. Sounds stupid but I learned that they are correct.

I DON'T live on a budget. Having to watch how much I spend would make me nervous and I don't like to be nervous. I have two pickup trucks, one a four wheel drive and the other a two wheel drive. My wife has a 125 Suzuki motorcycle that she uses most of the time. I'd much rather drive one of my pickup trucks than a car. That's how I was in the US and that hasn't changed here. I have a condo in Jomtien and live in my wife's house in Loei province. I live exactly how I want to live and I really don't know how I would spend any more money without just throwing it away. I DON'T like to travel. I had to travel for most of my working life and have no desire to travel now unless I have no choice. I burned out on the Go Go bars long ago and my wife is smart enough to keep me weak enough that I have no desire to wander. Unfortunately I have to make a trip to Jomtien and Bangkok this week and I am NOT looking forward to it. It's a long drive and I could fly but that is more of a pain in the ass than driving. I don't like to be without my own transportation either. This fall I have to make the obligatory trip to the US to see my parents. They are both 86 years old. I'd rather take a beating than to take that long boring flight. Money is only important if you don't have any.

It all depends on HOW you want to live. If you don't have a live in girlfriend and want to have a bed partner several times a week 20,000 a month isn't going to get it. You also have to own your own place to avoid paying rent. Obviously you can't get drunk every night. If you did stay in holiday mode all the time you really wouldn't need to have much saved up becaue you wouldn't live long enough to spend much. Having a holiday here and living here are two different things. Unfortunately most of us learned the hard way the being in holiday mode every day is hazardous to your health.

The premium has been about the same the past three years. Since I am 61 now I really expect the premium will go up. The older you are the higher insurance is. Some companies cancel you when you are 65 years old. According to the agent if the premiums have been paid for a few years this company won't cancel me.

Last January I renewed my health insurance. At age 60 it was a little less than 20,000 baht per year. It is with Liberty Mutual Group. Is it any good ?? I really don't know but I had acute appendicitis last fall and it paid all except 15 baht of the total bill. The total bill was over 48,000 baht.

My friends up here tell me that I give my wife way too much money. Maybe that's true but with 20,000 baht a month she pays all the bills and has money left over to put in her savings account. I can assure you that we DO have toilet paper and toothpaste. I even have new razor blades. I VERY seldom drink at home but I do go up to a friend's coffee shop on the mountain two or three times a week and drink beer. I buy the beer from another little shop there for 45 baht a big bottle. Usually I try to drink no more than three big bottles but it normally ends up at four bottles. I have taken cases of Archa beer up there for my friend to keep in his refrigerator but I feel guilty if I don't buy beer from the ladies shop next door. She always waits on us and brings snacks for us to eat. She is a nice lady. Her beer supplier doesn't have Archa so she can't stock it for me. I should add that my wife refuses to pay my bar bills. She does buy my cigarettes. My uniform of the day is shorts, T shirt and sandals. My wife pays for the diesel for her Toyota and I pay for the diesel for my Nissan. My wife is a great cook so I really don't like to go out to eat. Every couple of weeks we do go to a big fish pond and eat fresh fish and shrimp while sitting on one of their rafts. My wife pays for that too. Other than me buying myself new toys, I don't know how I could spend any more money. A visit to the doctor or dentist doesn't cost any more than 200 baht and it is VERY seldom that either of us has to go. My hair cuts cost 25 baht. A pack of cigarettes, a big bottle of beer and a haircut for 100 baht really doesn't damage my wallet very much. The rent I collect from my condo pays bar bills and my occasional trip to Jomtien. A good friend of mine always INSISTS that I stay at his apartment when I go down. He stays with his girlfriend while I am there. His girlfriend has a bar and the asshole won't even let me pay for my beer when I drink in that bar. Food up here is very cheap at the local fresh markets. As cheap as the food is my wife grows some vegetables in her garden and often goes mushroom hunting. We eat a lot of delicious fresh mushrooms. I guess I could go to Pattaya once in a while and rings the bells in the bars.

Car insurance; All the companies insure about the same way. First class is full coverage and there is no deductible. No deductible means that even small bumps are turned in and that makes it expensive. The vehicle is normally insured at a fixed replacement value. You can get the collision and theft portion cheaper by lowering the amount they pay for replacement. This normally costs about 20,000 and up per year. Second class covers no collision but does cover fire and theft but unfortunately most companies do not offer this class, at least I couldn't find it. Third class is a bargain. Good liability coverage but no collision, theft or fire coverage. This coverage will cost less than 5,000 baht per year. That's what I have on my vehicle. The one in my wife's name has first class because she drives for shit. NOTE - The Thai government requires the minimum insurance coverage. That covers injuries to people who may be injured and you are at fault. That is cheap but you better hope no one is badly injured. You SHOULD have auto insurance here because if you don't an accident is likely to be your fault whether it is or not. If you have insurance you call the insurance company and since they won't pay if it is NOT your fault, you are protected from any bullshit.

After living here for about 6 months I decided that rent would be my biggest variable. I looked long and hard to find a condo I liked. I refuse to live in a shoe box and at the very least wanted a separate bedroom. My friends told me that the condo I found was too expensive but that's what I wanted. It is 60 square meters in a very nice complex. I really didn't care if it appreciated or not since I bought it for my security. Since I have bought it, it has nearly doubled in value. I no longer live in the condo and rent it cheap enough that my renters won't find anything better for the price. I get a return of about 6.5 percent. I get a better return than that from my investments BUT that condo is like a security blanket for me. I get along very well with my Thai wife but things could turn to shit. It's not likely but I have been here too long to say it WON'T happen. I lived in a pretty nice apartment that was a little smaller than my condo. I wanted to hang a clock in the kitchen and the landlord would not allow it. I wanted a vent in either the wall or the front door so I could get some air flow through the apartment off the balcony. Again a no go. I can do whatever I like to my OWN condo without having to ask anyone. That alone was worth a lot to me. I think to live cheaply and comfortably you will have to spend some money to get started. I have the condo, two vehicles and a motorcycle. One pickup truck is in my name as well as the condo so if things would turn to shit I can pick up and leave within a day. She can have the other vehicle and the motorcycle. I remain a cynic and am too old to lose what I have. I CAN'T make it back. I believe that you should spend no more on your wife than you can afford to walk away from. My finances are my business and all she has to know is that the money comes in every month. I buy whatever toys I want and can easily afford them. I am spending about 25 percent of what I could afford to spend and live exactly as I choose to live. Things were tight when I first came over because that was prior to my pensions starting. I was living off my savings so I was a little nervous about buying any big ticket items. After the dust settled and I knew for sure what my living costs would be, I was able to buy the condo and a new truck. You have to have a death wish to drive a motorcycle in Thailand. I did have a Kawasaki Boss and a couple close calls made me decide that I certainly didn't want to die on a Thai road and have my remains hauled off in the back of a pickup truck. My Thai wife has a western style two bedroom house up country. I have westernized it further to suit the way I want to live. I have also built a two meter high wall around two rai of land and also built myself an eight by eight meter garage/workshop. The main thing I would have regrets about leaving is my Golden Retriever dog. I am not a wealthy man by any means and would have to live like a pauper in the states BUT I can live VERY well here on a fraction of what I can afford to spend. My only problem at this point is that it looks like my kids in the US are going to inherit some money and that is NOT in my plans.

When I moved over here this time about three years ago I was retired and a little worried about what it was going to cost me. I kept very accurate record of everything I spent on a spread sheet. My budget would allow no more than $1,500 per month. After four months I quit keeping track because I was averaging about $1,100 per month. About half of the was for bed partners, bars and booze. Knowing I could comfortably live on $1,100 I bought a condo and got a live in girlfriend. That dropped me down to about $600 per month. She did the laundry and cooked great food. Since then I have moved into her house up country. The amounts are now in baht. The major bills are, and these are maximum amounts, electricity 1200, water 100, Ipstar shit Internet 2,500 and UBC 1600. I give my wife 20,000 baht a month and she pays everything except the annual insurance premiums and my occassional trips. She has about 5,000 baht per month left over to put in her savings account. I won't put up with cheap food so we eat well. The insurance premiums would come to about 3,400 baht per month so I'm sure I could live on 20,000 per month without giving up anything.

That's correct but I don't think you will get much for 36,000 baht. When someone sells you a thirty year lease the price will be about the same as buying the property outright. I guess the scary part is if the government thinks what tax you are paying is not reasonable THEY will decide how much it should be. I should mention that I don't know of anyone who is actually paying that tax. It's the same when you rent out your condo. You are SUPPOSED to be paying that same 12.5 percent tax but it appears no one is actually paying it.

A thirty year lease is perfectly legal and it it registered, so that is probably the best way to go for guys wanting to have a house. Keep in mind that that also has complications. There is a 12.5 percent tax that is payable monthly for each months rent. What I am saying is that after you pay for the lease in full you are still liable for the 12.5 percent tax on the total lease payment. If you lease from your legal wife and she lives with you on that property the tax does not have to be paid. If she does not live with you and there is question of how much tax is to be paid, the government will decide what is fair. Buy a condo in your name and sleep well at night.

Any lease longer than 3 years must be registered at the land office to be legal. The 30 + 30 + 30 is possible EXCEPT the land office will not register ANY lease for more than 30 years. It is at the discretion of the land owner whether or not he chooses to renew the lease. After 30 years you can figure on moving out. These lawyers here will write any contract you want. That doesn't mean it is legally binding. An extra 30 year lease option is worthless.

The Thai constitution forbids foreigners from owning land in Thailand. The simply means that a foreigner CANNOT own land in Thailand. There are many lawyers who will form bogus companies for a foreigner to own land but the fact is that those companies are not legal. Other than a condo in your own name you cannot own real estate. Tell your friend not to spend more than he can afford to walk away from.

If any of it is true the guy is a shady character himself. Maybe a bogus business deal gone bad and he is looking for revenge. In any case if it had been me, my VERY first stop would have been the American Embassy. The guy may have some potential as a novelist. No, I don't believe it.

For the past few months US Citibank has been running specials on six month CD's. They pay more than longer term and the current offer is 5.5 percent on a six month term. Last month it was 5.0 percent.

Winner, sorry I missed your question until today. I use an agency on 2nd road called PCD International. The agent I used has gone so there is another farang lady there that I now use. The office is just past the Xcite Disco. Phone number is 038 374 196. I was 60 when I paid my last premium.

ETF means exchange Traded Funds. They trade like stocks so that means they are no load funds and have no stupid huge commissions for the managers. Here is a link that will tell you everything you need to know; http://www.etfconnect.com/select/rank/default.asp Here are the five funds that I hold; PHT, PTY, PFN, IGD, EBI I'm retired, live in Thailand and have no earned income so no taxes.

I pay no US taxes and most of my money is still in my 401K retirement fund. That money is invested in mostly ETF closed end bond funds. 60% is in US dollars and the rest in foreign bonds. I spend my dividends every month and since they all pay monthly dividends they are easy to keep track of. My average annual return is over 9%. Since they are closed end they are not allowed to grow and must pay out everything they make. That makes them quite stable and the prices move very little. I sleep well at night.

I would NEVER buy pre-construction especially now that a man would have to have rocks in his head to buy through a bogus company. There are plenty of units still available that are finished and you can legally buy in your own name. What happens if they sell the 49 percent farang share and the others sit empty? There will not be enough money in the maintenance fund to take care of the place and maybe not even enough to get the water and electric hooked up. There are still abandoned BIG buildings sitting unfinished.

Heineken is already so light that it is like Chang with 50 percent water added. Why would they make a light beer?

I have a friend who drinks it EVERY day and a lot of it. He won't drink anything except Chang. When I offer him an Archa he tells me that he doesn't know how I can stand to drink that horse piss.