Cost of Living In Pattaya

[nkped 1,208]

What are 'Body Corporate Fees'?

Antipodean for condo management fee??

[MM 6,562]

 

 

What are 'Body Corporate Fees'?

 

 

Antipodean for condo management fee??

I just assumed that's what it meant.

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

 

[jacko 8,822]

I just assumed that's what it meant.

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

I daren't admit as to what I first thought it meant!

[cluster 14]

Yes you will have to excuse us Aussies & Kiwis for speaking English!

[nkped 1,208]

Yes you will have to excuse us Aussies & Kiwis for speaking English!

I'd rather know what Jacko thought it meant.

[papillon 695]

cluster, on 28 May 2014 - 09:30 AM, said:

 

 

I know how much food, beer, golf & girl company costs.

 

 

 

Are you sure? You're talking about retirement. How much is it going to cost in the future? Nobody knows. That's just the price of stuff you think you know about.

 

What age do you plan on kicking the bucket?

 

How much will your electricity bill be when there's a civil war going on?

[teelack 9,645]

Body Corporate Fees. These can be the biggest rip-off if you own a condo or a time share.

 

The typical costs include jointly shared lawn mowing/gardening, pool cleaning, sports facilities, shared spaces, security lighting, security and a hundred and one other things. This is usually an annual fee and decided by the committee voted or designated (or the project owners) to look after the running of the complex. It can in some places make the difference between buying or not as it is often uncontrolled and in some cases is manipulated by the owners or management to regain discounts offered when a purchase is made. Caveat Emptor.

[Gary 4,119]

I assume we are talking about monthly maintenance fees. My condo is in a large complex and we pay by the square meter. Ten baht per square meter, so mine is 60 square meters and costs 600 baht per month. My electric bill comes directly from the power company. Other than the 600 baht per month, there are no other fees. Security is top rate, the grounds are neat and trimmed and the swimming pool is pristine.

 

Some of the condo committees are very corrupt and some give their own electricity bills. It is common for those corrupt committees to charge double what the power company charges. Anyone wanting to buy a condo should check to see if the maintenance fund is fat and healthy, how much are the total fees, and additional information about the electricity bills. If the condo office refuses to give you that information, keep looking.

[Idefix 2,275]

Hi Gary. I don't know how Lalana manage to run/work with just these 10 B/m2/month ? In my condo this amount now is just enough to pay for the staff (office, cleaning, security...) and we have to use the famous "special assessment" to get money for the budget (maintenance, electricity, taxes,...). This could be another topic subject...

[cluster 14]

Hi Papillion

 

In the first post I mention CPI.... so yes I realise there will be price increases & I have factored them into my calculations.

 

At this stage, albeit a long way out I am budgeting for say 10 years of retirement in LOS, & then return to Australia to kick the bucket.... However I am not so sure any of us can really "plan" the exact date we will shuffle of so to speak.

 

Civil Wars & the like are a concern yes. I am watching with interest to see how this current situation plays out & the impact on ex pats etc.

 

Cheers

 

Cluster

[jacko 8,822]

Hi Papillion

 

In the first post I mention CPI.... so yes I realise there will be price increases & I have factored them into my calculations.

 

At this stage, albeit a long way out I am budgeting for say 10 years of retirement in LOS, & then return to Australia to kick the bucket.... However I am not so sure any of us can really "plan" the exact date we will shuffle of so to speak.

 

Civil Wars & the like are a concern yes. I am watching with interest to see how this current situation plays out & the impact on ex pats etc.

 

Cheers

 

Cluster

I see you are only 47 although of course I am unsure of your state of health... but do you have any form of medical cover which would include Thailand? A sudden incident can put a dent in plans........

[Gary 4,119]

Hi Gary. I don't know how Lalana manage to run/work with just these 10 B/m2/month ? In my condo this amount now is just enough to pay for the staff (office, cleaning, security...) and we have to use the famous "special assessment" to get money for the budget (maintenance, electricity, taxes,...). This could be another topic subject...

 

A number of years ago I went to the annual condo association meeting. The meeting was conducted in Thai so that was the only meeting I ever went to. Each owner was given 2,000 baht because there was too much money in the fund.

 

Recently the staff re-painted the outside of the condo buildings. I had thought they would have hired a contractor. We had a pigeon problem so they changed the condo rules to allow resident cats. There are no pets allowed in the complex. The cats have made life a lot harder for the flying rats. These are examples of how the association saves money.

 

I think the large size of the complex greatly reduces the fees. There are 9 five story condo buildings and about 90 houses in the walled gated complex.

[cluster 14]

Health insurance is a very good question Jacko. Short answer is no, nothing that I could transfer to Thailand. My health in general is ok, a few kilo's overweight, but a non smoker that's about it. To be honest falling ill, or a heart attack when in LOS (either on holiday or in retirement) is something that is of great concern. I am reliably informed that health services in Thailand are adequate, however I have no idea what health insurance costs in Thailand, and if there is a higher rate for farangs? I do assume at this point that health insurance in Thailand would be cheaper than it is here in Australia?

 

Jacko - do you have any price information on a comprehensive health insurance plan in Thailand?

 

Perhaps at this point I should disclose a little more of my retirement "plan"..... Yes I am 47 at the moment. I have been "crunching" the numbers in terms of my current assets and factoring in likely investment growth (including) superannuation etc. Assuming everything falls into place (I acknowledge that is a huge assumption) I believe I would be in a position to retire around 63. It is likely I may work onto 65, only to have a surplus of funds. The plan this far out would be to live in LOS for 8 to 10 years - meaning by age 75 I would look to return to Australia to see out my final years.... as my health declines.... Happy to take on board any comments here re this plan!

 

Cluster

[jacko 8,822]

Health insurance is a very good question Jacko. Short answer is no, nothing that I could transfer to Thailand. My health in general is ok, a few kilo's overweight, but a non smoker that's about it. To be honest falling ill, or a heart attack when in LOS (either on holiday or in retirement) is something that is of great concern. I am reliably informed that health services in Thailand are adequate, however I have no idea what health insurance costs in Thailand, and if there is a higher rate for farangs? I do assume at this point that health insurance in Thailand would be cheaper than it is here in Australia?

 

Jacko - do you have any price information on a comprehensive health insurance plan in Thailand?

 

Cluster

You can pay around 25,000 baht p.a. for a policy which is not fully comprehensive, to 70,000 baht plus for more comprehensive ones.

(BUPA for example offer quite a range).

Medical costs here can be eye-watering and quite mercenary for those of us accustomed to 'National Health'

 

There is always the option of 'self insuring'..... rather than spend the money on a policy with a 1,000,000 baht cap, have that amount available in the bank.

[cluster 14]

Thanks Jacko these figures give me a good idea.... interesting my health insurance in Australia is with BUPA... better check my policy, perhaps I already have some cover?

[spike 236]

Health insurance is a very good question Jacko. Short answer is no, nothing that I could transfer to Thailand. My health in general is ok, a few kilo's overweight, but a non smoker that's about it. To be honest falling ill, or a heart attack when in LOS (either on holiday or in retirement) is something that is of great concern. I am reliably informed that health services in Thailand are adequate, however I have no idea what health insurance costs in Thailand, and if there is a higher rate for farangs? I do assume at this point that health insurance in Thailand would be cheaper than it is here in Australia?

 

Jacko - do you have any price information on a comprehensive health insurance plan in Thailand?

 

Perhaps at this point I should disclose a little more of my retirement "plan"..... Yes I am 47 at the moment. I have been "crunching" the numbers in terms of my current assets and factoring in likely investment growth (including) superannuation etc. Assuming everything falls into place (I acknowledge that is a huge assumption) I believe I would be in a position to retire around 63. It is likely I may work onto 65, only to have a surplus of funds. The plan this far out would be to live in LOS for 8 to 10 years - meaning by age 75 I would look to return to Australia to see out my final years.... as my health declines.... Happy to take on board any comments here re this plan!

 

Cluster

Sounds like a pretty good plan to me cluster...I would imagine that by the time you actually retire...you will be pretty well set. Cheers.

[MM 6,562]

If you do plan to get health insurance in Thailand, I think you need to do it before age 60. After that, it's extremely difficult, if not impossible, to get. That's been my experience anyway.

 

I've had to go with self-insured, due to lack of foresight in that regard.

[cluster 14]

MM thanks for that insight. Another item to add to the checklist, and certainly worth further investigation if my current BUPA health insurance here, to see if it provides any level of cover in Thailand.

 

Thanks

 

Cluster

[Gary 4,119]

If you do plan to get health insurance in Thailand, I think you need to do it before age 60. After that, it's extremely difficult, if not impossible, to get. That's been my experience anyway.

 

I've had to go with self-insured, due to lack of foresight in that regard.

 

I don't think I'd call it lack of foresight. I had LMG health insurance until I was 65 years old. I chose LMG because the policy had a clause that they could not cancel my policy because of age. What the policy didn't say was that they would be able to price me out with the premiums.

 

My wife now makes me deposit 2,000 baht per month into what she calls my health care account rather than pay crazy insurance premiums. So far, so good. So, yes, I am also self insured.

[nkped 1,208]

The plan this far out would be to live in LOS for 8 to 10 years - meaning by age 75 I would look to return to Australia to see out my final years.... as my health declines....

What's the thinking about going back to Oz for the final act--cost/insurance, quality of care or?

[cluster 14]

At this stage the thought is quality of care, and most likely to be nearer to my kids & probably grand kids by then.

 

This is of course major crystal ball gazing!

[js007 795]

 

I don't think I'd call it lack of foresight. I had LMG health insurance until I was 65 years old. I chose LMG because the policy had a clause that they could not cancel my policy because of age. What the policy didn't say was that they would be able to price me out with the premiums.

 

My wife now makes me deposit 2,000 baht per month into what she calls my health care account rather than pay crazy insurance premiums. So far, so good. So, yes, I am also self insured.

 

Gary,

 

If you had a really serious health problem, couldn't you just hop on a plane back to the states and be treated there under Medicare?

[nkped 1,208]

Gary,

 

If you had a really serious health problem, couldn't you just hop on a plane back to the states and be treated there under Medicare?

Not a good option when the elephant is sitting on your chest.

[Gary 4,119]

 

Gary,

 

If you had a really serious health problem, couldn't you just hop on a plane back to the states and be treated there under Medicare?

 

If I were able to travel, Medicare is certainly an option. That's the main reason I paid the premiums until I was 65.

 

My recent medical problem;

 

When I first moved to Thailand, as I said previously, I had LMG health insurance. They could not cancel my insurance policy because of age. What they didn't tell me is that they could raise my premiums and price me out. Nuan talked me into cancelling the policy and instead put about $60 a month in a separate savings account. I have a friend in Jomtien who is a few years younger than I am. He pays a premium of about $2,700 per year for his health insurance.

 

I recently had a stroke, a fairly minor one if any stroke can be called minor. Anyways, my wife insisted that I go see a doctor. The clinic doctor had blood work done and spent quite a bit of time with me insisting that I go to the hospital. The clinic charged me $18 for that. Nuan, my wife, thought that was too expensive.

 

We went to the Loei government hospital. They took blood, checked my blood pressure and did an EKG. I was pleased to see that they had a new GE CT scanner that was only for your head rather than the old claustrophobic tunnel type. From there they put me on an IV drip, two bags full. I wanted a private room but they were all full. I had to stay in the stroke ward for two nights. That was NOT pleasant. Nuan slept on the floor beside my bed. I had several more EKG's and they checked my blood pressure every couple of hours along with taking more blood samples.

 

When we checked out, the hospital gave me a bag full of pills and figured out my bill. It came to about $225 for everything. I'd hate to see what that would have cost me in the good ole USA. When I finish all the pills, I have to go back for a checkup and the doctor may change my meds. I didn't know what to expect from a government hospital but was pleased to see that they had sophisticated equipment and a lot of nurses. I was happy that Nuan stayed with me all the time except for in the CT scan and ex-ray rooms. I don't know why they also gave me a chest ex-ray but they did.

 

I was surprised in the stroke ward. There were two old women, one was dead and one old man out of 14 patients. The rest were fairly young fit looking people. More women than men. One woman, maybe 40 years old had a stroke about two weeks before they took her to the hospital. It was a bad one and her family put her in the mental hospital because they thought she went crazy. She couldn't walk or talk.

 

Follow up;

 

I went back to the hospital as instructed by the doctor. They took another blood sample and of course the normal blood pressure test. I had to wait until the blood sample was checked. The doctor said my blood tested much better than before. Before my triglycerides were way high. They gave me a two month supply of the same drugs and told me to come back in another two months. The checkup and the supply of drugs cost about 1,000 baht.

 

A local friend of mine here had a heart attack. He wanted to go to Loei Ram which is a private hospital. I took him there and they stabilized him. They wanted to take him to Khon Kaen hospital to put in stents or have a bypass. They changed their mind when they found out he had no money. Since I took him in, he told me that they wanted me to pay his bill. He told me to leave quickly at the same time they were paging me. I did leave. They actually called the police. The cop that came to the hospital yelled at the hospital staff and asked them if he was supposed to put him in jail. The cop was angry. He turned around and stomped out. They then loaded him in the ambulance and dropped him off at the government hospital. Loei Ram charged him 13,000 baht for that couple of hours of treatment. He did eventually pay them. He was in the government hospital for several days. His bill there was 6,000 baht. There was no pressure for him to pay. He eventually paid that bill also.

Edited June 5, 2014 by Gary

[Trvlr 50]

Gary, keep in mind that Medicare will only cover hospital stay - unless you have been keeping up with your Part B payments.

Without Part B cover, you will have to pay out of pocket for tests, doctors' visits, medicines - the whole lot.

 

I have seen a government hospital on Soi Buakhow, but it looks like a small clinic. Where is the nearest decent fully equipped hospital? I would like to keep their info handy just in case.