Property open for discussion

[Jaime]

The worst road in Hua Hin must be Soi 102, and that road is barely passable in the dry season.
Some of lower parts in Hua Na area has been fitted with drain pipes, but the rest of it is not I think.

I assume you meant the wet season? The top end was not too badly affected by Novembers floods but it is only a matter of time until more development takes place and there is less natural soakaway. Ironically, more development is likely to be the only driver for improvement of the actual road service, which as you say is a shocker.

There is some great, comprehensive advice in this thread but one thing that nobody has considered (unless I have missed it) is the presence of Jao Tee - or spirits - on the land. According to Mrs Jaime these are very strong on the land along Soi 102, especially at the top end where we have our place. This may be a bit of a laugh to us rational westerners but not (if you have one) to your Thai spouse. Lots of Thais on our development talk about the strength of the local Jao Tee, leading to sleepless nights, feelings of being watched and a general air of unease!

We took a bit of a leap of faith when we bought our place and overall we are not displeased with the end result but as others have said you get what you pay for and sometimes you don't even get that! However, there is one other thing I would like to add to this thread - obviously it pays to be prudent and research is recommended but if you worry too much about a lot of these things then you are buying in the wrong country, never mind the actual development.

[Jaime]

Sorry Mods, I tried to edit the spelling of 'surface' from service and a second post appeared. Now I can't edit my posts for some reason.

[Norseman]

The worst road in Hua Hin must be Soi 102, and that road is barely passable in the dry season.
Some of lower parts in Hua Na area has been fitted with drain pipes, but the rest of it is not I think.

I assume you meant the wet season? The top end was not too badly affected by Novembers floods but it is only a matter of time until more development takes place and there is less natural soakaway.

No Jaime, I meant the dry season.
If you go to Suksabai 2 or Hill Village you will understand what I mean.
Most Tuk Tuk's refuses to go up there from Phetkasem Rd.

(The road to Suksabai 1 is ok).

[Jaime]

Sorry Norseman - I have not been up to BSS2. Is it the road that runs along the front of BSS1 that you mean (that is indeed completely awful) or the extension of Soi 102 that runs up towards the Orchid Homes development?

[Norseman]

Hi Jaime.

The extension of Soi 102 that runs up towards the Orchid Homes are fine, nothing wrong with that road.

To get to the really bad road you have to turn right from Soi 102 and go to Hill Village or Suksabai 2.
You can also go there from Soi 94, turn left befor you come to Dusit Land & House, and cross the fields down to Hua Hin Laguna.
Even that road is getting bad now, but not as bad as the right part of Soi 102.

Sooner or later I guess that this specific road will get it's own Soi number.

[Burger]

malcolminthemiddle wrote:

Please explain the advantages of having 3 Phase?

I know places with 3 Phase where it is never used, yet there is an additional monthly charge for having the supply irrespective of usage. The charge is indefinite since once 3 Phase is in it cannot be disconnected, as I understand it.

I can not speak for all construction here in HH, but where I have been involved, you bring in 3 phases to the property's fuse board. Then each of the 3 phases supplies certain designated circuits within the property. In some areas now, and certainly in the future, there is over demand on the single phase cable (usually at night), this results in certain appliances in your house not having enough power to run, ie: A/C units, elec cookers, large water pumps etc.
If this occurs to one of the 3 phase cables, it may not affect you as you are only requiring that particular cable to supply a third of the properties demand. If in the worse case the cable is completely over demand or down, then only certain circuits in your house will not run. But you still have lighting, power, showers, A/C etc from the other two cables.
Plus by putting a new 3 phase supply in with your own transformer, as I am doing on my builidng work, you can come directly off the larger 11kv or 22kv supplies in the area. The installation cost is far more for the developer, but you have a stable electric supply which is better for the project, and for me a selling point.
With regard to cost, there is not an additional cost for metered usage as far as I am aware (my wife checked with her contact in the electric company today), from reading your post regarding the 3 phase never being used, I would think that instance is a different type of installation/wiring.

This is only my understanding, hope this helps!?!?

Burger

[HansMartin]

I don't think Burger's explanation of 3-phase power is correct. Go to www.wikipdeia.com (a great source of all types of information) and do a search on "3-phase power" and "single phase" power.

On this side of the pond the electric distribution system in urban areas is almost always 3-phase, while in less densely populated areas the electric distribution system can be either single or 3 phase. Power brought into a residence is almost always single phase 120/240 volt. Lights, TVs, computers, etc. are 120 volt; and ovens, hotwater heaters, and clothes dryers are 240 volt. Commercial/industrial buildings usually require 3 phase , at 480 volt or higher.

The electric equipment to be operated determines the phase and voltage required. I imagine that power requirements for a residence in Thailand would be pretty light except possibly for the airconditioner; but I still doubt that the equipment requires more than the standard single phase/240 volts. However, I will ask my brother-in-law (who a contractor in BKK) about this next time I am over there.

Actually I am pretty impressed with the reliability of the electric system in Thailand. We've never lost power anywhre in the country, urban or rural areas, even in the middle of some pretty impressive thunderstorms. That is more than I can say about living here in California where outages are common in the winter due to trees being blown down on powerlines and in the summer where high demand has led to rollng blackouts.

[Burger]

HansMartin Wrote:

I don't think Burger's explanation of 3-phase power is correct. Go to www.wikipdeia.com (a great source of all types of information) and do a search on "3-phase power" and "single phase" power.

It's not actually my explanation of 3-phase, but the Thailand Electricity Company's. The meters and fuseboards have 3-phase written on them, but I know that traditional 3-phase wiring that we have back home in the UK, is determined by the end item, ie: larger equipment that has 3-phase motors.
Over here however, what they call '3-phase' is more like 3 seperate single phase supplies, as described in my earlier post.
The end result is that the power in your property in Thailand is more stable when wired 'Thailand 3-phase'.

Sorry for any confusion,

Burger

[HansMartin]

I once had a house in Idaho that was built in 1903. It had a 3-wire system 9separate wires) feeding the main breaker panel. I had to have this upgraded when I remodeled. The 3-wire system was replaced with a single cable that contain 3-wires (two hot and one ground). That is the conventional system in the US.

Maybe the old 3-wire system is what is currently in use in Thailand. Anyway it is not a 3-phase system irrespective of what the electric company says.

I'll look harder at this when I'm back to Thailand next.

[malcolminthemiddle]

Going back to the hypothetical project in my previous post, here is the reservation process:

1. Sign Reservation Form
2. Pay Reservation Fee within 10 days of signing Reservation Fee
3. Developer releases standard Sale & Purchase Agreement 7 days after receipt of Reservation Fee.
4. Sale & Purchase Agreement signed within 45 days of the date of the signed Reservation Fee ie 28 days after receiving Sale & Purchase Agreement.

Sale & Purchase Agreement is non negotiable and the Reservation Fee non refundable.

With the onerous T & C listed in my previous post, no wonder the developer didn’t want the buyer to see the Sale & Purchase Agreement before accepting the Reservation Fee.

I think in the UK and US this would be illegal since the buyer has the right to be aware of all conditions governing the sale prior to paying a deposit?

I also wonder whether the lawyer who prepared the terms and conditions broken any rule or guideline of the Thai Law Society by intentionally retaining information until the fee has been paid?

[Burger]

malcolminthemiddle wrote:

Going back to the hypothetical project in my previous post, here is the reservation process:

1. Sign Reservation Form
2. Pay Reservation Fee within 10 days of signing Reservation Fee
3. Developer releases standard Sale & Purchase Agreement 7 days after receipt of Reservation Fee.
4. Sale & Purchase Agreement signed within 45 days of the date of the signed Reservation Fee ie 28 days after receiving Sale & Purchase Agreement.

Sale & Purchase Agreement is non negotiable and the Reservation Fee non refundable.

With the onerous T & C listed in my previous post, no wonder the developer didn’t want the buyer to see the Sale & Purchase Agreement before accepting the Reservation Fee.

That is not the reservation process on projects I have been involved with. The reservation fee (holding deposit) is part of the contract signing process at step 1.
I assume there are projects out there that require the buyer to hand over money without, seeing or agreeing to, the sales contract, but anyone who enters into that agreement is a fool and putting themselves and their families at financial risk.

Ask to see a copy of the contract you will be entering into before making a commitment.
Ask to ammend/remove any condition that you object to.
If the developer does not want to budge, walk away, there's plenty of houses on the market here.

Burger

[HansMartin]

I agree with Burger. I do enough contracting here in the US, that I know it is my $$ or my clients and the $$ is not dispursed until AFTER the contractor performs.

And if that is a problem it is not mine!!

That being said I am involved in a project wtih my wife's famly that didn't quite meet my criteria; but i did execute a signed contract (for whatever that is worth) before $$ changed hands. Actually it was worth a lot because of the family invovled; but they sure hate putting things in writing. Is that a Thai trait?