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Monday 25 July 2011

New Listings and Price Reductions at Ko Samui Properties

Check out all our New Listings here
http://www.kosamuiproperties.com/

and our latest Price Reductions here
http://www.kosamuiproperties.com/stoppress/stoppress.html

and you can see both on our Ko Samui Properties Facebiik page here
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Ko-Samui-Properties/135017444890

Next Newsletter due out 1st August.

Monday 11 July 2011

Ko Samui Properties Blog for July 2011

Once again I must come back to the issue of having all your paperwork up to date and correct and knowing where it is. It is very frustrating, particularly in this market, to go through the process of negotiating a sale only to find that the seller does not actually have the original paperwork to hand causing delays and frustration on all sides.


Thailand is gaining a reputation for medical tourism due to the extensive facilities available and reasonable charges. I have always found dentists here to be very good and cheap compared to the UK. A filling is Baht 1,000 which is equivalent of GBP 20 as opposed to the NHS quoted price of GBP 47 and private treatment at GBP 77 – 100+. There are some very good hospitals, mostly in Bangkok, providing a wide range of treatments and by the time you get this Newsletter I will have undergone cataract surgery. Over the years I have had the “pleasure” of visiting many hospitals (unfortunately as a patient) in many countries so entering the doors of a hospital for any reason is not one that fills me with trepidation. Nevertheless, there is inevitably a certain amount of anxiety when faced with surgery on your eyes – in my case cataract surgery on both eyes.

If anyone is considering this let me allay your fears. It is a wonderfully simple and quick procedure. Arriving an hour and a half before the appointed operating time you relax in comfortable arm chairs as a nurse administers a series of eye drops. Then in the pre-op room you are swathed in the usual operating gowns and have the first of two injections. This for me was the most anxious time – having someone stick a needle into the flesh at the side of the eye. Why I was concerned I do not know. Hardly felt a thing and that just froze the area for the main injection which was totally painless. All you could feel was tightness around the eye as the anesthetic took hold. Then the operation began. All I could see were a pair of bright lights moving around and then it was all over. Ten to fifteen minutes after going into surgery I was back in the recovery room where a nurse explained the cleaning process and schedule for drops over the next two weeks, followed by the cashier of course and that was it. Having arrived at 06.30 we were out before 10.00. The eye was covered with a loose dressing and next day I went back for this to be removed and a post op check up. As soon as they took the dressing off I could see the difference. Absolutely amazing. My long distance sight is virtually perfect but I need reading glasses. Some irritation as the eye heals for a few days. The operation on the other eye followed a week later with the same procedure.

I went to the Rutnin Eye Hospital on Asoke in Bangkok. A specialist eye hospital also used by the Royal family and the treatment there lived up to their first class reputation. You can contact them through their web site www.rutnin.com/eng/ . Their charges are reasonable. I recall my first visit when cataracts were diagnosed cost me Baht 1,200. The surgery cost will depend on a number of factors and if anyone is really interested send me an email and I will let you have a breakdown of the costs.

The big event at the moment is the General Election on 3rd July. No polls are allowed to be published in the immediate run up to the election but I would expect to see a north south divide once again.

The real estate market is slowly gaining pace but as reported previously only on the lower ranges. We have been receiving more serious enquiries recently than for a long time and interest has moved up into the 10-15 million range whereas previously it was almost exclusively under 10 million. However, before everyone starts putting their prices up, the only properties selling in that range are those that have already been discounted. What is also noticeable is that with so many agents having disappeared over the last year or so, there are signs of one or two coming back, unfortunately with little real estate experience. So just be careful who you are dealing with.

For the full version of this Newsletter please email hbonning@kosamuiproperties.com

Ko Samui Properties Blog for June 2011

This is late again as I was in Bangkok having eye surgery - full report on that in the July Blog!

Last month I commented again on the relationship between Bangkok Airways and tourism on the island and the negative effect their airfares were having. They have been widely criticised in the Press and on-line and to their credit they made an effort and offered a restricted number of seats on the Bangkok-Samui-Bangkok route at Baht 4,300 return up until the end of July. Or so it was reported. Nothing on their Web site and nothing in their promotions except ones to increase the frustration when you see you can fly from Bangkok to Chang Mai or Phuket for around Baht 2,000. I would be interested to hear from anyone who managed to get one of these fares. Even the Residents Card is of little use with regard to fares. Discounts are only available on their highest fares and it is often cheaper to ask about their Promotional Fares – but you have to ask because the booking staff will not volunteer that information.


I have always been very supportive of Bangkok Airways and the risk they took in building the airport. However, enough is enough. Personally I consider Samui Airport to be one of the worst designed airports in the world. It looks stunning but is totally impracticable. In every airport you can expect to walk a good distance from check-in to the gate – but not in the boiling sunshine or torrential rain. Buggies? If you are lucky and forget it on a late flight. I have complained on more than one occasion when I have been to Bangkok for the day and returned on the last flight and requested a buggy to take me from arrivals to the departure car park. Even in the pouring rain they were reluctant to help. The response of Bangkok Airways is to start charging for the departures car park. Baht 200/day. Not a huge amount and I know that all airports charge for parking but for someone working on the island, having a Residents Card and making a one or two day trip to Bangkok, you would think they might just provide free parking – but then they would have to provide transport from arrivals!

The real estate market seems to be picking up somewhat. We have been receiving more serious enquiries recently than for a long time and interest has moved up into the 10-15 million range whereas previously it was almost exclusively under 10 million. However, before everyone starts putting their prices up, the only properties selling in that range are those that have already been discounted. What is also noticeable is that with so many agents having disappeared over the last year or so, there are signs of one or two coming back, unfortunately with little real estate experience. So just be careful who you are dealing with.

For the full version of this Newsletter please email hbonning@kosamuiproperties.com