torrenova

Don't bother with the expat club medical insurance as it is rubbish and won't cover you after 60 or 65 anyway. As stated by another, joining some schemes then is impossible. Speak to a broker. Get off this forum and onto http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Insurance-Thailand-f121.html Loads of information there. Thai Visa Insurance is actually AA Insurance http://www.aainsure.net/ and they have an office opposite BigC at the top of Pattaya Tai (you cannot see it from Pattaya Tai but go to BigC and you'll see it). Great staff and Peter the owner is always around and more than happy to deal with y

But aren't they still using those old MD-11s on the BKK route ?

Agreed Tom. Also good if doing some touring by air and can use KL as a hub. A useful option also if you live near Stansted. However, as you and others have said, you need to do your homework and all the sums. Personally, I don't think it is a player unless it significantly undercuts the other options and that is after you've added in all the ancillary costs like drinks and food.

Agreed, as have I, but whether you pay rent only or rent and key money, it is effective rent in advance. Not a great deal of difference between 20k a month over 3 years or 10k a month and 120k key money each year or 360k key money every 3 years except for cashflow, risk (if there is any) and the time value of money. I was just trying to highlight that the total cost over the lease period is "rent".

As you know, rent and key money go hand in hand so you'd need the key to work out the effective rent. As for 15m then she was dreaming. Well below 10m I'd have thought depending upon size and how well fitted out.

I wouldn't have thought that LK Metro was so fragmented ownership wise unless it was built and sold off piece by piece which is not what I was led to understand. As for doing building work, then that is the nature of a commercial enterprise as opposed to residential. Why not if it makes sense ? but yes, you are effectively doing it for the building's owner and if you have any plans to buy the building, you should get your lease and a contract price based on the value prior to your additions and improvements.

That was my understanding. I've not done business with the family but I understood, rightly or wrongly, that they were reasonably fair and in it for the long term. Not selling on properties was part of that long term planning as I understood it and thus, negotiating a long term lease was possible.

Racking my brains I seem to recall him having arrangements with some of the companies for rooms on a corporate footing which I thought was a great bit of business. Perhaps that came to an end ?

24 rooms at say an average of Bt750 and 2/3rds occupancy would generate income of Bt4.4m. Bt125k a month is Bt1.5m leaving gross income of Bt3m before the bar and restaurant. I don't get comments about a rent hike if he is selling the freehold as he has no rent ! Last time I spoke to Robin, which was some time ago I agree, I'm sure he said he had a long lease on a lowish rent so I'm not sure where the freehold comes into it. A long lease would go well past now though he may be at the last stage of 3+3+3 and have been told what the rent is going to be to get a new long lease. Even that

I'm not driving past each day as I used to but going up the hill to Jomtien, on the right before you get to the Residence Gargen on the left, there used to be a hire place. Could be gone now as I don't live in Jomtien now but they were there for years. Before the crazy golf on the right, set back a little. Beware if you drive them on the roads that they are classed the same as bikes and you'll need a helmet.

I think you'll find that if economy spacing had not already been introduced, it would not be allowed now as it is too small. You cannot have people standing but I think there would be scope for them lying down in a sort of bunk bed system.

Strangely enough there is no VAT on airline tickets nor are there certain duties on the fuel which one would expect to see. A remnant of historic agreements in the early days for sure but it seems that the government is taxing the customer directly rather than the airline for this.

Stanstead Express from Liverpool Street Station. Get there by bus, tube, train or taxi. If you haven't booked Air Asia, please do a door to door total cost calculation. Before and perhaps now, you had to stay overnight in KL on at least one leg. With no service on board, I don't think it is such good value when you can go full service indirect for about £400 these days. Back to the question. If you have lots of luggage and don't know your way around the underground system, then you're going to have a crap journey. From Kings Cross or Paddington, get the Circle Line but getting to t

Yes. some decent places to eat, including one French bistro place which regularly get smentions in the daily specials write ups. Le petit ???? I've forgotten the name sorry. Wouldn't stay there. Too much chance of bumping into Colov and it is definately the poofs paradise around there.

Watch out for cabling issues with an upgraded shower, particularly if multipoint. I just put in a 10kw multi in the house and ran 25mm wire from the electric in the street to the meter and 16mm from the meter to the heater. I seperately grounded the heater but in a condo, you'd have to check how to ground it. Is there a central grounding rod type of thing ? If it trips out and you are resetting it from the shower unit then the problem is not with your breaker. I'd also suggest installing a Safe-T-cut if you don't already have one to deal with the power. Aircon servicing is in the Bt500

So bump up the price to an unjustified level to pay the commission ? Great advice. Agents are crap. They do nothing other than stick it on a website. They do no due dilligence and would happily say you had sales of 5m, costs of 4m and profits of 3m (which is impossible). Unless you need to protect anyone knowing you are selling, word of mouth will usually get a result backed up by some paper and your ownn internet advertising. I've bought and sold enough in Pattaya to know this first hand. For large stuff, the agents do perhaps have some advantage but I'd still be sceptical. If you

Town houses easy at that level and some condos but lower end condos tend to be for the Thai market with suspect security and crap furniture and fittings. You should be able to get a 6 month lease at 10-12k direct but agents may want 12k at least. Some of the thai agents, such as Tip http://www.tipproperty.com/ will deal with the lower levels. You might be able to get into View Talay 2 for that on a 6 month deal which is what I'd go for.

Most guys living in LOS don't do anything for work and thus don't really want a missus doing 12 hours a day 6 days a week job. Thus, they tend to substitute the income she would have earned and still pay all the bills so she can be around. Thus, she has way more cash than she had before. Personally, I think she should work, especially if relatively young and certainly if childless. It gives the guy free time as well. As for the family, then whilst I'm not saying never to help out, it is primarily her business and as she now has more income, she should be managing that to deal with such

Quite a lot of advice there but I wouldn't bother with any of it. Why ? well all the business advice people are nigh on useless and unless you have something expensive and / or easy to sell, they want 10% plus VAT for doing next to bugger all. Forget all this about licenses and the rest of it. That is a given and it is up to the new people to make their own arrangements. So why not use an agent apart from the cost ? well largely because buyers know the agents are crap and over priced and it doesn't matter what it looks like in an advert, you've go to fly over and have a look don't you

Drive or walk down the Sois on the estates looking for signs. Have leaflets printed and delivered. Inserts into the Pattaya Mail etc. Adverts on the various Pattaya notice boards.

Wouldn't give him a satang of my money.

Sorry, a 10% "service charge" is an effective "mark up". D2D charges to go in their book and takes a hefty % of the price in the menu. Whatever this one does, it is only a variation on a theme, not a new science. By the way, D2D does not mark up any prices either. Restaurants are entitled to charge whatever they want. It is up to the restaurant whether to charge a different price. If you have all the old D2D menus, you will see that initially they did not really charge more through D2D bu gradually they increased their prices substantially. I find it all pretty much crap when i

If the Bangkok one is anywhere as good as the Phuket one I saw last month you'd be hard pressed to justify paying 50% to 100% more for worse accommodation. I think we need to know the TV set up, confirmation of no pool, prices of some food as breakfast at Bt200++ is not on my agenda. I suspect the beds will be good and the showers whilst functional and quite small are fine. At Bt1000 or less it is a winner but not a player at Bt1500 when you can stay n the Aspen for Bt1800-2000 on Soi 2 which is just in a different league.

Real electric is about 3.25 baht a unit and I used to use about 600/800 units a month in my place in Jomtien. Thus you're chucking (or getting ripped off for) an extra 10-3.25=6.75*700=4,725 or effective 36% hike in the monthly rental fee ! Bt5 is top whack and should be discouraged. Bt10 is taking the fucking piss.

The best bet is either a girls type room or be prepared to put in your own aircon. On the dark side, you can get 2 bed houses starting at about 6/7k a month but my experience is that 10k gets you a nice 2 bed 2 bath place with all new facilities so why bother with shit for 2/3 k cheaper ?