Shit_Happens

Hey, tell me more. I live and work in Sydney and have never heard of this. Is it only certain awards that get this. If it can apply to me extended holidays here I come

I bought reading glasses in Thailand for the first time in Jan and I will never buy a pair in Australia again. I went to Top Charoen and bought 2 pair of reading glasses for 5000 baht. And because I spent more than 5000 and paid cash they had a special promotion going and gave me a watch which I gave to my Thai nephew who was over the moon with it. I even bought the more expensive double coated anti glare lenses. I had previously paid more for one pair of glasses in Australia with standard lenses.

G'Day and welcome to the board. You will have fun in October

If you are after a Condo in Jomtien Bangkapiboy has a couple of rentals in Viewtalay 1 around this price range. Just send him a PM.

Depending on the price of the Condo you probably offered him a good deal. I owned a studio in VT2 from 2003 to 2005. I was looking for anything from 10K to 12K a month depending on the length of stay whilst some owners were chasing 15K min. I was asked by a English guy if I would rent it long term so I gave to him for 8K a month. He was happy and I had a tenant for 2 years until I sold it. Made a little profit and the rent in the bank in Thailand paid for my holidays. The 15K ones are probably still empty.

Well said. I was just having a shitty moment.

From Bangkok Post New property law stuns foreigners Bangkok (dpa) - Thailand’s booming property sector has been thrown into confusion by a new regulation issued this month that requires all partly foreign-owned companies to prove the source of their funding before purchasing land, industry sources said Tuesday. The new Interior Ministry regulation that went into effect on May 25 has already started to slow sales of housing estates in Thailand’s popular seaside resorts, such as Pattaya, Phuket, Hua Hin and Samui Island, which have been specifically targeting well-to-do foreigners as vacation getaways or retirement homes. “The property boom ended on May 25,” said Ronachai Krisadaolarn, managing director of Bangkok International Associates, a Bangkok-based legal consultancy firm that caters to foreign clients. Thailand has strict laws prohibiting foreigners from directly purchasing property themselves although loopholes in the law allow them to own land and their houses through long leases or a ‘Tnominee company,T’ providing the company is majority Thai-owned. It is common practice for such “shell companies’ to include Thai nationals who have been paid to act as nominees to facilitate the deal and who have invested nothing in the purchase. The new regulation, signed by Suraart Thoingniramol, deputy permanent secretary of the Interior Ministry, is designed to halt the use of such companies for property purchases in the future. “If it appears that an alien holds shares or is a director or it is reasonable to believe that a Thai holds shares as a representative of an alien, the officers shall investigate the income of Thais holding shares, delving into the number of years [they have spent] in the current profession and monthly salary/’ reads a translation of the law. “The provision of necessary evidence is required. The new regulation is actually an enforcement ofThailands existing laws, legal experts said. 111t’s not a radical change. It’s a radical implementation,’T Ronachai said. The regulation has already started to stall home sales to foreigners, sources said. “There’s a lot of confusion/’ said Simon Landy, managing director of the Primo Co, a property-development firm. Some land offices don’t know what to do with it, and many have simply stopped transferring land.” ..PNTThS This answers my own question. Won't this cause a boom in Condo sales?

For some reason this did not download to clearly so I might be missing something but it appears that this is only applying to property bought as a residence and then changed to a business use, eg office or subsequently divided up for sale to non thais. I suppose it could also apply to a house bought in a Thai company purely for resale. Am I correct in thinking property bought in a thai company name purely for a domestic residence is ok? Geniune question this so if I am completely off the mark your responses would be appreciated.

Just a side comment here but has anybody read a post by BigDUSA that was not negative ?

I normally stay in a Condo but have stayed a couple of times at the Residence Garden. Price within your budget, nice apartment style suites, 2 Pools and guest friendly. Book it through this site and get a special rate. Have a good holiday

One bedroom condos in VT2 are going from between 3.4M and 3.8M so this price is about average. It is on a low floor but sometimes this is not a bad thing. Its up to personal choice.

Thanks Gary. I will get a fax off to them.

Hi Gary. Is Liberty a Thai company. My wife, daughter and I will be moving to Thailand before the end of this year and health insurance is near the top of my list to do. If it is a Thai company would you have a website or some other contact info. Thanks Colin

Thanks for posting this info Gabor. Keep it up

Big D we know there is a water shortages and I cannot count how many times you have told us but moving on. Carpediem. My budget is not as large as yours but as an investment have you considered the Viewtalay projects. They have a good rep for quality and maintaining services plus they manage a good resale. My experience with a studio in VT2 was good. Made a good capital growth over 2 years and was always rented. VT5 is in a good location at the Nth end of Jomtien and is on the beach. I have 2, 48 sq metre condos on the 6th floor that I paid approx 31,000 baht a sq metre for last year and I will make them into a one bedroom 96 sq metre condo with ocean views. The building is 99% completed and we will be settling around June. The building to be built behind, Bldg D it is now selling with completion due in 2008/9.

Thanks for the link. I will have to check this place out next visit.

Sounds a lot like my ex wife. Errr, horrible thought.

Hi Bangakiboy My friend has had this problem in VT2. I am no plumber but from memory the problem could be several floors down from your Condo so Draino and the snake will not do any good. I think he said that the grease traps are not on each floor but are spaced one for several floors down the building. Find some one who knows the VT layout and they should be able to fix it quickly. The pipes are accessed from a inspection panel in the hallway. Hope this helps.

G'Day Ron. Welcome to the board.

Na, just tried it at night. Still closed

Hi kdc1899 You sound like you know what you are talking about. I qualified my original post be stating that I am no expert. Due to the increasing prices and my concerns that they are not sustainable I have revised my plans to move to LOS in 3 years time. I believe my advice for the purchase of one property is sound as the original poster wants a place to live. But I had thought to move in a few years and purchase 5 studios to rent out but I will also need capital growth to supplement the rental income. I do not feel comfortable that in another 3 years there will be sufficent capital growth. I am now investigating alternative means to achieve enough income to live on without 100% relying on the property market. A 4 story shop house has been suggested. My wife and her sister can run a food shop come noodle bar whatever out of the shop and the upstairs could be converted to a 8 room guest house. This has gotta be costed out as yet. Any other boardies got any idea? Please not Bar suggestions. Hours to long and temptations to great.

It sounds like your one of those " the cup is half empty kind of guys" From the tone of your post it is probably safe to say we will not be seeing you in Pattaya again.

Hi Python, I must qualify my response by saying that I do not have a true grasp on the Pattaya/Jomtien market the same as a local would plus you are planning this for next year and a lot could happen by then. My observations are that the market has been increasing around 10% per year for the last 3 to 4 years and the forcasters are saying another 20% by the end of 2007 but after that, who knows? My own experience is that I bought a studio condo in Viewtalay 2 in 2003 for 1.1M. This was rented full time for 2 years. I kept the rent low to attract long term tenants and had 1 person for 6 months and a guy for 18 months. The rent was 9K a month the first year and then 10K a month for the second year. I sold the condo August 2005 for 1.4M. So for me it was good. If the forcasters are right it might pay you to buy something now in your price range that is rented and if you do want to live there sell it in the future and buy something you want (you might have to use an overdraft on your UK property but the rental income should cover the interest). You would take advantage of the capital growth over the 2 years plus have the rental income in the bank in Thailand for when you arrive. As to an agent, well there are a few that you would not want to deal with. All I can say is check around. I have a friend in Pattaya who has some good and bad experiences. PM me if you would like his email address. Good Luck

Have a look at Gabor's last post on the property market. He has posted a couple of links that will answer some questions.

Thanks for posting these links. They are very interesting.