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SGD

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Everything posted by SGD

  1. Thanks for all the comments. In the end it is the Isuzu V Cross 4x4 auto which is being purchased. Retail is Bt1,257,000 and there is about 30k off this and a few freebies like liners, internal wheel arch protection, tank of fuel, 5 years servicing. Not a massive deal but it is a decent interior, will last 10+ years and still have a decent residual value.
  2. Why ? I have done before at 95% of new value. It isn't insured with the dealer, it is still insured through a reputable insurance company.
  3. Main dealer has come through with a maximum of 85% of new valuation (Bt1.3m) and whilst I've had this pushed up previously to 95% it seems to be a sticking point right now. All the online aggregators seem to max out at either Bt800k or 80% or 85% but the vehicle is brand new. We're looking at not using the dealer insurance if they cannot raise it over 85%. Any advice and is there GAP insurance in Thailand ?
  4. Thailand could have 720 million people (look at the topic title) and it would not change the argument of how much it costs to live as an expat. Your reference is absurd. This is not how near can you live as a local but how many millions, (not hundreds of thousands) dos it require to retire in Pattaya. Over 30 years on boards, groups and forums, most history now, this subject always causes the most grief. You have what you have. It is probably less than a sensible person should migrate with but it is still what you have. You cannot spend more than whatever you have. 95% of "expats in Thailand would fail if the 65k was upgraded by inflation for the last 20 years to say 300k a month and the immigration offices didn't fraudulently stamp forms. Doesn't it tell you anything that perhaps 90% of "worthwhile" expats cannot afford the miniscule £20k to put into a bank and thus use a fraudulent way to live in Thailand.
  5. No, you are tacky and classless to assume that your inability to have more defends that position. I had a cardboard box in London 35 years ago and I retired a multi millionaire by 29 as a banker. I gave up on sights to be a billionaire to have a better life. I inherited £0.00.
  6. Best of what ? It isn't even the best international school. it is just the most well known.
  7. I used to have many businesses in Thailand, mostly in and around Pattaya ranging from bars to restaurants to a hotel and later student accommodation and laundry. Let me tell you about how the economics have moved against everyone inthe small business sector. You could, even as late as say 2000, maybe even 2004/5, buy a bar which could give you a return of 200% to 400% per year. Now you would be lucky to get 25% per year outside massive investment (and the associated risk). It made absolute sense before and makes zero sense now.
  8. I could hold out until maybe August or September (difficult) but I really need one by May / June
  9. I have used a referenced mortgage on land and property outside Thailand where the mortgage would be at such a high interest rate that it would surpass the value of the property on day one and could never be redeemed even if prices went up 25% plus per annum. It was done as protection of course and I think a similar thing would work in Thailand.
  10. Of course but if you join the (free to join) Hilton Hhonors) membership you get 10% off the entire bill.
  11. We've been around forever Jacko and you and I are both right. Soe rents have bounced but bounced from 8/10k which sis where they bottomed out but no-one is going to pay 30/40k a month for VT6 in 2024 onward because the design is now 20 years old and the facilities have not been upgraded because no-one is prepared to invest, because from day one it was bought as a rental place, not a residential place. Nothing wrong with that but it means that for living there, it is not the best. Then they built Central 55555555 and loads now face the aircon or car park. It doesn't even work for the online bookings as they won't advertise the exact unit and they aggregate which is great for yield management but absolutely crap as a prospect for a visitor.
  12. Isuzu ? Toyota ? Mitsubishi ? Ford ? My somewhat old fashioned thoughts are a nice big engine and you'll be ok. There are two 12+ year old 3.0L auto Isuzus in the family bought from new so they have been good workhorses and we'd like the next one to work for 10-15 years too on limited miles per year. I've hit all the websites and many don't outwardly say which are 4x4 or not so I need help. Don't need finance, just a cash purchase. Thanks
  13. So your car doesn't depreciate then ? Please tell me of this magic car. I know you don't put 10/20k of fuel in a car every month but go try service a BMW or buy a replacement part or buy new proper Continental or Michelin tyres and see how much they cost. To replace my BMW X3 would be about 4.5m, maybe a bit more and I think that after 5 years, it would be worth perhaps 2.5m to 3m. So let's say the higher number, 3m, meaning I'd lost 1.5m over 5years, then that is 300k a year or actually 25k a month. Sorry, you're right, a decent car doesn't cost 10/20k a month, it is more like 30/40k a month.
  14. So where can you rent a 200sqm plus condo for 15k ? Why do all expats have to live in shoebox size condos ? I'll let you into a secret, it is because they cannot afford or justify having a larger, roomy and airy place. You also realise that the 65k visa requirement hasn't moved in about 20 years and back then you could get about 5 x as much for your 65k as you can now (in GBP terms) so that would make 65k into 325k a month or 4.38m a year. That would seem somewhat near my number 🙂
  15. It depends on what you do, what you eat, what you drink, how you travel, etc. A good (not good value, I mean good) bottle of red wine in a restaurant is rarely under 3/4000 and dinner for 2 people can easily be 10k plus. Do that once a week and your 50k a month has gone already. Not all of us consider a shoebox condo or some Thai standard house as "living". Nor, though we love soup noodles, do we want to have to eat street food for every meal. Why can't I have a BMW or Mercedes car ? properly built to European safety standards and the same cars I have been driving for decades. Why, if I return to live in Thailand, do I have to downgrade to an inferior locally made Toyota or buy a pick up or go native and get a bloody motorbike ? Sorry, 50k is what I'd put in my pocket if going out for the night, not a month's total expenses.
  16. Diana Estates cannot resolve the cheap charlie design with no lifts and balconies that are about 12 inches wide. They were ok value at 600k to 1m but at 1.8m to 3m and 60/70k per sqm, they are madness valuations. I nearly bought about 10 or 12 of them from an investor some year ago. I should have for capital returns but in truth the place grinds on me and I have stayed there 2 or 3 times to assess it. The flooding doesn't help either. The other problem is that because the infrastructure is so <deleted>, it isn't worth investing lots to make a really nice condo.
  17. I'm talking about living there versus investing there. However, rents have crashed and though they have bounced a little, there are issues with the place being a glorified Airbnb place and many units have been absolutely hammered without much reinvestment. I lived in Pattaya through the era when condos were not routinely finished and every condo was sold as a concrete shell. In VT2 for instance we had years of building work as there were always condos being fitted out. Thankfully that is now behind us but even if you look at modern developments, a great many landlords fail to put in the higher level finishes and some just bang a tv on the wall. VT6 is stuck in the middle. <deleted>ty old stuff and some newer stuff. I'd invest there if the price was right but it isn't. I can buy 2 condos in VT2 for the price of 1 in VT6 and I can achieve between 1.5 and 2 times the rent of VT6. The days of 30k+a month for VT6 are long gone.
  18. I cannot own a condo in the Thai quota. My daughter earns an income from working for one of my companies and has investments of her own. She is looking to diversify and purchase assets in Thailand.
  19. I cannot own a condo in the Thai quota. Any arguments which follow on from it being in my name are irrelevant. I thank you for your post but I did state this in my opening question.
  20. Critical point. Those speaking about under 20 this and that are failing to recognise that the protection of the law is when something negative is suggested, not something positive.
  21. This is a conundrum I have, sort of, so it interests me a lot. View Talay 6 - theoretically fantastic location but it isn't. Noisy and a virtual complete Air BnB building as they even have short term rental places advertising within the building and loads of agents are exclusively advertising condos here. The pool isn't as welcoming as you'd imagine either and many condos are compromised with views due to Central etc. Rents have crashed making it even cheaper but that doesn't help owners. I think this place is too far gone in the wrong direction. Grand Avenue - No, too many issues, I don't see long term value as it is another slave to the temporary rental market. View Talay 1, 2, 3 - Not where you think you want to be but even VT 1 and more so VT2 have so much land that they offer some insulation to the madness outside, especially VT2B set back from the road. You won't ever get this much common land with a condo block ever again. I'm a little biased as I lived there for 4 years but the owners have got hold of the management committee and are running things well. Parking is a breeze and the huge pool and decent on site restaurants are attractive. Prices have fallen and are competitive. Chateau Dale Thai Bali - Behind Foodland, next to VT1, just up from VT2. Semi tropical in nature with usually larger condo sizes (70sqm plus). Decent pool, I like the place. VT3 - Always looks empty when I go up there. Nothing to dislike about it but prices circa 30% higher than VT2 and I'm not sure that premium is worth it unless you want to be in Pratumnak and if you do then there are condos there cheaper per sqm than VT2. As ever, it comes down to what you want and more importantly, where you want to be. For me, since I never use a bike and unless a baht bus is passing I always get a taxi, then it doesn't really matter to me if I live another km away as I am always riding in aircon in a taxi. This is different to years ago when this wasn't possible. Of course, if you want to hit Walking Street or LK Metro within a 2 minute walk then you'll have to live nearby. If not, moving further away is better value and quieter.
  22. I moved into the top floor of View Talay 2 (Building B) in 2003 and stayed for about 4 years. I'd previously lived in central Pattaya and it was refreshing to get out of the centre, even if you had to put up with the shambles of a road up to Jomtien. Baht buses didn't go much past about Jomtien Soi 5, if you were lucky to get that far and you could stand for ages waiting for one, though not as bad as now with them refusing to move until full or privately hired. Back then you could hire a bus for Bt50/70 to VT2 from central Pattaya. We got the first 500kb broadband when I was there and that was a game changer, though there was no real streaming service, just downloads and some forums but it was lightening fast compared to the previous dial up or even slower. TV was Sophon cable - dire repeats on about a 3 hour loop. Local bars were cheap and attentive but usually lower quality than Pattaya. However, Pattaya was hardly expensive and before mobile really hit home in 2007, it was a virtual paradise, though not what it had been in the decade previously of course. Life was simpler. We needed less and we got more. Today, it is far too clinical, too money driven and too materialistic. Whatever humanity it had has gone and Jomtien today has no more than Pattaya but just worse built up with an endless ever decreasing size of condos.
  23. There is nobody on here who makes Bt1m plus a month advocating to live on Bt100k a month and those who say you can live comfortably on Bt50k a month are almost exclusively people who don't have more than that to spend. So you drove a car for 30+ years in the west and now you suggest a little moped is ok ? No, it means you cannot afford a car. After owning a house in the west for 30+ years, you suggest a shoebox condo rental is ok ? No, it means you had to sell your overseas house to fund your retirement because you never had any real investments and now cannot afford to buy a decent condo or house. Despite travelling extensively in 30+ years back in the west, you won't be staying in luxury in retirement ? No, your budget does not allow for that. Eaten well all your life but why are you on Cheap Charlie's specials all week ? Lastly (or the list could go on forever), despite having full medical insurance all your life back home, you now decide it is ok to get a Bt1m baht policy that might keep you alive in ICU for 30 minutes because a full medical package is $5000 a year and your budget doesn't allow for that. The reality, the true reality, is that 90% plus of retirees simply shouldn't be in Thailand as they don't have the funds to replicate a decent lifestyle. Of those, a huge majority compromise to a large or lesser degree but my experience is that fewer than 5% have enough medical insurance. As for not having a car, then any argument against that is madness. But it costs Bt1m plus for a Thai made car and Bt3/4m for a decent western standard car (pick up derived cars are tin cans, not real cars). Then you have another Bt10/20k a month running costs. Rent when you arrive for sure and maybe rent a few places but then why not buy a decent place ? If you have enough, then you buy eventually and if you don't you argue that rental is the only way forward. So what is the number you need ? Comfortably, Bt4m plus a year. You don't need to spend all that of course but it is only Bt300k+ a month and that is not huge. Save half of it unless you have specific expenses and you are down to Bt160k a month which is Bt40k a week which isn't a massive amount of money. But as I said, 90% plus are underfunded so 90% plus of views will think this hugely excessive, simply because they have much less.
  24. I'm not in Thailand right now but my experience of Thai bureaucracy is never to ask them what interpretation they would like but to know what they should do and then present the case. I can see a high percentage of land offices simply going down the "cannot, need Thai person" nonsense because they either don't know, don't care or are trying to preserve the ability of a Thai to screw over a foreigner somehow.
  25. My daughter is 16 and there is a condo which is held in a Thai name which she would like to buy. She has dual Thai and UK citizenship and her mother is Thai. I would prefer that her mother does not have anything to do with the property or even knows about it but I do not know whether this can be done ? My presumption is that there must be a way because what if the mother was dead and there was no Thai relative ? We are not interested in any other form of ownership, such as a company or foreign quota etc. I also read that various land offices have "different interpretations" so for the record, this one would be a property in Jomtien, Pattaya.
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