som nam na

I have offered to buy the condo at the asking price and arranged to meet the owner this week to conclude the deal. Thanks to Alan and Emil and Emil's friends wife Tuk for their help and advice.

Owen's SWR model is an excellent basis for retirement planning, add in factors like: 1. How much you will actually need to draw down per month / year 2. Inflation in the home and spend country(ies) 3. Spend / investment currencies and exchange rates 4. Investment / property growth rates 5. Pensions and other income 6. Taxation Put the above into a spreadsheet forecast (using the SWR approach) for say 15 years or longer depending on your circumstances, plug in the drawdown amount you will need per month / year, do a backward pass and and it can give an idea of how much nest egg you

Just finished a contract so will take a holiday for 1 or 2 months. Preference would be to rent a good quality apartment in Pattaya instead of staying in a hotel ... just the TG and me so 1 or 2 bed apartment is ok.... given the chance I would like to rent in Northshore. Normally stay in Areca so budget would be 30 - 60,000 THB

The reason for renting is I am thinking of buying a condo (Northpoint or Northshore) and wanted to try living in one for 2 - 3 months to see what it would be like. My job contract is coming to an end and I want to take a holiday before starting a new job. Cost is not the main driver, Areca Lodge would cost THB 35,000 + per month.

Would appreciate if BM's would share there experince concerning rental of Northshre condo's, rental rates / duration, advantages / disadvantages, good / bad experiences etc Thanks SNN

ok guys, at last I went and did it ...put my hand in my pocket and pulled ..out the plastic. May not be everyone's choice but I bought a HP Pavillion dv 2195. It was the best value machine on sale when I was on a business trip to Dubai. Was tempted by Acer (good vaue), the Sony S series (expensive). Toshiba (too bulky and not as good a spec as the HP). The IBM was really nice but too low a spec for the price. Originally started off thinking I wanted a laptop to travel with then decided fuck it, If I am going on holiday leave the laptop at home so went for something poratble whixh won't get car

I need to make a sworn affidavit (Form D80 UK divorce) before a solicitor and then send it to the county court in the UK. Problem is I am away from the UK for a couple of months and need to know if is it possible to swear the affadivt in Thailand before a UK solicitor, if yes can anyone recommend a UK solicitor in either Pattaya or Bangkok. Thnaks SNN

My suggestion is to get rid of George Bush and his gang of pirates / thieves, cut the budget deficit, and as a nation become truely great by becoming a real world player instead of selling so called American democracy by being Israels lapdog and bombing the fuck out of the rest of the world. With its ability, weath and power America has the potential to do so much good ....its a pity Bush and his crew do so little and instead line their own pockets and at the personal cost of so many true American patriots who pay with their lives each day.

Now that Northpoint Condos have been released it would be interesting and much appreciated to hear some feedback from the guys who have ears to the ground in Pattaya on how the sales at Nothpoint and (resales) Northshore are going.

I bought a IBM T40 in 2003, it was expensive at the time but an excellent machine, and came with a 3 year international warranty. Gave it to one of the kids when I got my laptop from work. The one from work was nowhere near as good (HP) but it was free and saved the cost of buying the laptop for my son.

Guys, armed with your comments and advice I am off to the shops this weekend to have a look, should be intersting because I am presently based in Japan. There have been some good suggestions to but a cheapo but I travel a lot for work (oil industry) and need a good ultra portable since it will be my main machine and need to perform where ever I am at the time. Just found the attached link which compares Ultra's http://www.itpro.co.uk/labs/1/business-ult...s/products.html Thanks SNN

Withholding tax is 15% on interest, http://www.rd.go.th/publish/6045.0.html there are some exemptions but they probably won't apply Interest Interest income may, at the taxpayer's selection, be excluded from the computation of Personal Income Tax provided that a tax of 15 per cent is withheld at source. However, the following forms of individual's interest income are exempt from 15 per cent withholding tax; (1) interest on bonds or debentures issued by a government organization, (2) interest on saving deposits in commercial banks if the aggregate amount of interest received is

Been some good posts but no one has come forward to dispute the above. Some ideas to evade but not legally avoid paying Thai Tax. We will all probably take the risk but for those guys who stay in Thailand for more than 180 days per year and therefore classed as resident for tax purposes the risk is the Thai Authorites will apply the obligation to submit tax returns and to pay tax on money brought in to Thailand. The Thai Authorities could also follow up to see tax is actually paid. Something similar just happened to a colleage with whom I am working with in Japan, the Japanese authorites w

Thanks guys for taking the time and trouble to post. There are some useful pointers and advice in the posts and while each one is the personal view of the BM who posted it is precisely the sort of feedback I was looking for. Yes I can read the computer mags but real first hand experince gives a good insight.

I will soon change jobs and have to hand back my present laptop and therefore need to buy one. Advice from BM's as to which laptop they would buy if they were in my case would be appreciated. Price is not the determining factor but important aspects are a good sized hard disk, screen not less than 12'', DVD/CD read write drive, wifi capable, and above all the laptop should be portable and not too heavy. Thanks SNN

Marleyboy summed it up well, its better than finding a seat in the departure hall + the drinks and newspapers are free. For me the lounge in London is just same same as many other airline lounges around the world, not one of the best and nothing to write home about, but if its your first time or you are not used to airline lounges then enjoy. One aspect I liked was the crisps ...took two packs on the plane with me, went well with G&T's. A big negative is they wanted to charge GBP 10 charge for Wifi access which is normally free in other airline longes. I poiltely declined to pay.

Bob2005 you are correct when you say the interest would be free from UK tax (provided you become non-resident or ordinarily non-resident from the UK) but if the interest is brought into Thailand it could be taxable as income from a foreign source. If you are resident in Thailand there is also an obligation to file a tax return. http://www.rd.go.th/publish/6045.0.html Personal Income Tax (PIT) is a direct tax levied on income of a person. A person means an individual, an ordinary partnership, a non-juristic body of person, a deceased person and an undivided estate. In general, a person liab

Owen, its an intersesting and informative post, but what is the position with regard to Thai income tax when the guy retires to Thailand? There is a website with info http://www.rd.go.th/publish/6045.0.html on Thai income tax and of course the easy answer is to ignore the fact that income tax could be payable in Thailand, but it would be interesting to know the true position. I say this because I recently moved some USD funds to HSBC in Bangkok (in a non resident account) and now find I am paying 15% withholding tax on the interest.

A woman had been taking golf lessons. She had just started playing her first round of golf when she suffered a bee sting. Her pain was so intense that she decided to return to the clubhouse for help and to complain. Her golf pro saw her come into the clubhouse and asked, "Why are you back in so early? What's wrong?" "I was stung by a bee", she said. "Where?", he asked. "Between the first and second hole", she replied. He nodded knowingly, and said, "Then your stance is too wide."

thans, any idea as to the cost of the land?

sorry should have been clearer, its bounded on two sides by urban village access roads (can drive a car down them) and on two sides by other village properties. Suppose its the equivalent of a plot of land in a small village in farang land set back from the main road down a soi but amoungst other properties. Not sure about the water but the GF said we could sink a well.

Thinking of building a house in the village, the family don't own the land but there is a piece of land in the village its about 90 square wah and supposedly for sale. Its slap bang in the centre of the village about 300 m back from the main road in a built up area and bounded on two sides by the the "internal village track roads" also got electric alongside. Ok now the question, what should it cost to buy? Any input or advice would be appreiated.

The only HSBC machines I know of are inside HSBC bank in Lumpini. never seen one anywhere else in Thailand. Your HSBC card should work in virtually all other ATM's in Thailand, but when doing so you will pay a fee. For Brits the best option is to open a Nationwide flex account ...no ATM fees abroad.

Any BM's experience good or bad on the prerelease of Northpoint condos?

I would need danger money ....and steel trousers?