First of all congratulations to Robin and Sue at The Waterfront in Fisherman’s Village for achieving 56th place in the worldas reported by Trip Advisor Travellers Choice 2009 survey for Best Bargain hotels and 6th place in Asia! Also 9th place in Asia for Best Hidden Gems. Sala Samui Resort & Spa and Tongsai Bay made 9th and 10th respectively in the World in the Best for Romance category.
Samui is into High Season now and we must watch and see how the tourist arrivals stack up. Certainly some businesses are trying to encourage people to come to the island.
Bangkok Airways have their monthly Jazz Concerts at Park Avenue at the airport and now we have the 1st Annual Samui Film Festival – details of both are shown below.
Also this month we have the inaugural Queens Cup Golf competition at Santiburi Golf and Country Club from the 13th and the Press Release is included below.
An interesting comment from Centara Hotels reported below. It is a common assumption that in the bad times hotels must cut their rates to stay competitive and I have touched on this in previous Newsletters. Hotels certainly come out with attractive special offers on a limited basis so as to maintain their rack rates. If you read the article below Centara admit that the number of guest has fallen but they have maintained their rates and that their returns are still competitive. There have been studies within the hospitality industry, mainly aimed at city centre business hotels that confirm this, but it seems it applies just as much to resort hotels as well. It is very tempting to reduce rates in the bad times against the competitive set to increase occupancy but the study shows that this ultimately has a negative effect on the bottom line.
However you must also read between the lines. What are they not saying? Accor for instance have just announced a 9.3% drop on Revenue for the first quarter and 9% drop in sales for the second quarter. The consequences of that are reduced spending. The hotel group is cutting 2009 spending on renovating hotels by 170 million euros to 315 million, lowering support costs by 80 million this year and 45 million in 2010, and reducing operating costs by 120 million this year. Fewer guests mean fewer staff; renovation and improvements deferred which has a knock on effect to other industries. Everyone if tightening their belts and rightly so.
And property prices continue to fall! If you check our web site and look at the Hot Press Offers you will see a great number of properties with prices that have been reduced from between 15% and 50% with an average reduction of 34%. These reductions are now beginning to produce sales and, although still not many, there are a few more buyers around than there were a few weeks ago. NEW REDUCTIONS EVERY MONTH!
If you would like to receive the full monthly Newsletter, please email me at hbonning@kosamuiproperties.com or visit our web site at www.kosamuiproperties.com
Monday, 3 August 2009
Wednesday, 1 July 2009
Koh Samui Electricity Costs
In these troublesome economic days it is worth looking at how money can be saved in running your home. Apart from the “green – environmental” issues, which I do not dismiss but are not the theme of this article, it is what can be done to reduce monthly running costs? The main bill we get on a monthly basis is for electricity and often the one that produces the highest number of complaints, particularly on managed developments. Taking your electrical supply direct from the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) for single phase supply the basic charge depends on your contract. Because many properties are owned under company names the supply rate is that of a Small Business. As most people use more than 150 kWh per month there is in practice no difference to the Residential Rate. Usage as measured by the meter is then multiplied by the appropriate rate and to this is added a fuel cost factor – this varies from time to time based on the cost of production such as oil prices – and is currently 0.9255 Baht per unit. Add VAT @ 7% and that is the total bill. Fairly basic stuff.
For an average bill the gross unit rate will work out at between about 3.30 and 3.60 Baht per unit. Many developments and some individual houses have 3-Phase supply. This is calculated in pretty much the same way but the bill is more complicated because there are different readings for Peak Hours and Off Peak Hours supply yet for most properties the rate is the same unless an option for “Time of Use” metering has been taken, but once taken you cannot switch back to Normal Rate metering. The current basic rate for Normal Use is Baht 2.4649/unit. Added to this is a Service Charge of Baht 228 a fuel surcharge - 0.9255 Baht per unit and VAT. The final unit rate works out at about Baht 3.75.
Why then people ask do managed developments often charge higher unit prices? There are a couple of reasons for this. The main one is the loss on distribution. Power is transmitted to the main transformer on site and then distributed to the various properties. Between the transformer and the properties there will be a loss. The transformer may receive say 1000 kWh but the total measured in the property meters may only show 950 kWh. The difference is the distribution loss and needs to be apportioned between the properties. So, one property may show a meter reading of say 200 kWh which at Baht 3.30/kWh would cost 660 Baht but also has to share 200/1000 of 50 kWh or an additional 10 Baht increasing the unit charge to 3.35/kWh.
There are other charges which often come into the equation. Transformers need maintenance and these costs are frequently allocated as a cost on the electricity bill. Whether they are allocated as a proportion of properties supplied or apportioned according to usage is a matter for the management contract. The wires from the transformer may also need attention from time to time and these costs need to be apportioned as well. Transformers and wiring do have life spans and at some time will need replacing so it is not unusual to see a sinking fund built in to the costs to provide future capital for renewal.
Finally there is a cost for the management of these issues. Someone has to check the meters, calculate the bills and collect the money. This is usually provided for as a percentage of the total bill.
Different projects carry out these allocations in different ways. Some include the costs as described above whilst others separate out managements and sinking funds costs. It is therefore important to know how these costs are dealt with in the management or service contract that is signed on purchasing a property.
Reverting to how I started this article. Identifying the big energy users in your home and controlling them sensibly can make a big difference to your energy bills. There are obvious savings to be made by controlling the use of air conditioning both in the hours it is run and the temperature it is set at. Surprisingly a not so obvious high user of power is a pool pump which can easily use 1,500 kWh per year which alone can add Baht 500 a month to your bill. Reducing the cycle time for the pump to the minimum required to keep the water clean can save money. Refrigerators are the next biggest user of electricity so minimising the time the door is left open will help. Simple things such as leaving the television on standby will use about 5kWh per month. The table top water boilers seen everywhere are extremely inefficient in normal use as they continually boil water even when not required. Energy saving lights benefit in operating at a lower temperature so reducing cooling requirements but also produce the same amount of light using far less power – 20-30% less than standard light bulbs. The initial costs are greater but with lifetimes of 8 to 15 times standard incandescent light bulbs they have significant cost benefits. They are not however trouble free. They do not re-act well to being switched on and off in a short space of time and this can lead to a significantly shorter lifespan – as much as an 85% reduction. These bulbs also contain Mercury which can complicate their safe disposal.
Saving money or just being “Green” – it is up to you.
Another comment on Foreign Exchange. Buy Baht here. In the last month I have checked the exchange rates being offered by UK banks and the Post Office against rates quoted by the banks here. As an example on 12th June the Post Office was offering Baht 52.3653 for one Pound and Nat West would only have given you Baht 50.4410. Siam Commercial Bank would have given Baht 54.58875 for notes and Baht 55.57 for Telegraphic Transfers.
A visiting land Officer in Phuket made a rather controversial statement that Thai Spouses owning land on behalf of their foreign husbands was not allowed and in such cases the land title would be with drawn. This obviously caused alarm which was unnecessary as the statement was made in clear contravention of a Supreme Court Ruling in 1999 that provided the funds used to purchase the land were solely the property of the Thai spouse then such ownership was legal. This is why a joint declaration to that effect is required where land is being purchased by a Thai spouse. Further clarification has been made by the Land Office and is reproduced below confirming this.
And property prices continue to fall! If you check our web site and look at the Hot Press Offers you will see a great number of properties with prices that have been reduced from between 15% and 50% with an average reduction of 34%. These reductions are now beginning to produce sales and, although still not many, there are a few more buyers around than there were a few weeks ago. NEW REDUCTIONS EVERY MONTH!
If you would like to receive the full monthly Newsletter, or require advice on acquiring property in Thailand please send me an email at hbonning@kosamuiproperties.com
For an average bill the gross unit rate will work out at between about 3.30 and 3.60 Baht per unit. Many developments and some individual houses have 3-Phase supply. This is calculated in pretty much the same way but the bill is more complicated because there are different readings for Peak Hours and Off Peak Hours supply yet for most properties the rate is the same unless an option for “Time of Use” metering has been taken, but once taken you cannot switch back to Normal Rate metering. The current basic rate for Normal Use is Baht 2.4649/unit. Added to this is a Service Charge of Baht 228 a fuel surcharge - 0.9255 Baht per unit and VAT. The final unit rate works out at about Baht 3.75.
Why then people ask do managed developments often charge higher unit prices? There are a couple of reasons for this. The main one is the loss on distribution. Power is transmitted to the main transformer on site and then distributed to the various properties. Between the transformer and the properties there will be a loss. The transformer may receive say 1000 kWh but the total measured in the property meters may only show 950 kWh. The difference is the distribution loss and needs to be apportioned between the properties. So, one property may show a meter reading of say 200 kWh which at Baht 3.30/kWh would cost 660 Baht but also has to share 200/1000 of 50 kWh or an additional 10 Baht increasing the unit charge to 3.35/kWh.
There are other charges which often come into the equation. Transformers need maintenance and these costs are frequently allocated as a cost on the electricity bill. Whether they are allocated as a proportion of properties supplied or apportioned according to usage is a matter for the management contract. The wires from the transformer may also need attention from time to time and these costs need to be apportioned as well. Transformers and wiring do have life spans and at some time will need replacing so it is not unusual to see a sinking fund built in to the costs to provide future capital for renewal.
Finally there is a cost for the management of these issues. Someone has to check the meters, calculate the bills and collect the money. This is usually provided for as a percentage of the total bill.
Different projects carry out these allocations in different ways. Some include the costs as described above whilst others separate out managements and sinking funds costs. It is therefore important to know how these costs are dealt with in the management or service contract that is signed on purchasing a property.
Reverting to how I started this article. Identifying the big energy users in your home and controlling them sensibly can make a big difference to your energy bills. There are obvious savings to be made by controlling the use of air conditioning both in the hours it is run and the temperature it is set at. Surprisingly a not so obvious high user of power is a pool pump which can easily use 1,500 kWh per year which alone can add Baht 500 a month to your bill. Reducing the cycle time for the pump to the minimum required to keep the water clean can save money. Refrigerators are the next biggest user of electricity so minimising the time the door is left open will help. Simple things such as leaving the television on standby will use about 5kWh per month. The table top water boilers seen everywhere are extremely inefficient in normal use as they continually boil water even when not required. Energy saving lights benefit in operating at a lower temperature so reducing cooling requirements but also produce the same amount of light using far less power – 20-30% less than standard light bulbs. The initial costs are greater but with lifetimes of 8 to 15 times standard incandescent light bulbs they have significant cost benefits. They are not however trouble free. They do not re-act well to being switched on and off in a short space of time and this can lead to a significantly shorter lifespan – as much as an 85% reduction. These bulbs also contain Mercury which can complicate their safe disposal.
Saving money or just being “Green” – it is up to you.
Another comment on Foreign Exchange. Buy Baht here. In the last month I have checked the exchange rates being offered by UK banks and the Post Office against rates quoted by the banks here. As an example on 12th June the Post Office was offering Baht 52.3653 for one Pound and Nat West would only have given you Baht 50.4410. Siam Commercial Bank would have given Baht 54.58875 for notes and Baht 55.57 for Telegraphic Transfers.
A visiting land Officer in Phuket made a rather controversial statement that Thai Spouses owning land on behalf of their foreign husbands was not allowed and in such cases the land title would be with drawn. This obviously caused alarm which was unnecessary as the statement was made in clear contravention of a Supreme Court Ruling in 1999 that provided the funds used to purchase the land were solely the property of the Thai spouse then such ownership was legal. This is why a joint declaration to that effect is required where land is being purchased by a Thai spouse. Further clarification has been made by the Land Office and is reproduced below confirming this.
And property prices continue to fall! If you check our web site and look at the Hot Press Offers you will see a great number of properties with prices that have been reduced from between 15% and 50% with an average reduction of 34%. These reductions are now beginning to produce sales and, although still not many, there are a few more buyers around than there were a few weeks ago. NEW REDUCTIONS EVERY MONTH!
If you would like to receive the full monthly Newsletter, or require advice on acquiring property in Thailand please send me an email at hbonning@kosamuiproperties.com
Thursday, 4 June 2009
Koh Samui Hotel Deals and How Big is Your House?
Tourism is down and hotels are cutting their rates both in Koh Samui and
Usually the owner is well aware that the price being asked is unrealistic but takes the view that somewhere there is someone who may pay it and at that price he will sell, but if it does not sell – so what! And sometimes they are right which makes valuing hotels here so difficult. In one case a beach front hotel was on the market for Baht 50 million. It was available for months, if not years. It eventually sold.
How big is your house? Well it can vary depending on who measured it and by which criteria. The RICS produce a Code of
And property prices continue to fall! If you check our web site and look at the Hot Press Offers you will see a great number of properties with prices that have been reduced from between 15% and 50% with an average reduction of 34%. These reductions are now beginning to produce sales and, although still not many, there are a few more buyers around than there were a few weeks ago.
If you wish to receive the full monthly newsletter, please email me at hbonning@kosamuiproperties.com .
Friday, 1 May 2009
Travel to Koh Samui or not? Are you a Savvy Traveller?
“We advise against all but essential travel to Bangkok. British nationals should also review travel plans to other parts of Thailand. British nationals already in Bangkok and other cities affected by the violence are advised to stay indoors and to monitor the media and this travel advice.”
So stated the first paragraph of the Foreign Office warning to travellers during April. The whole text can be seen here.
Having lived, worked and travelled in and out of the Gulf during the first Gulf War and having been here during the Military Coup three years ago, I have seen these warnings on numerous occasions. Quite rightly I suppose governments need to make such statements because there are many people who are not seasoned travellers, who are not street wise and need to have their hands held every time they step outside their own front door. Modern news broadcasting is so extensive, immediate and even pervasive, that anyone with a reasonable amount of intelligence should be able to make a reasoned judgement on whether or not to travel to a certain place. Obviously over the Easter/Songkran weekend, Bangkok and Pattaya were probably not the best places to be, which was a shame as whether you enjoy Songkran or not, it is usually a time for fun and frivolity. With Songkran coming immediately after a weekend, it became of course a very long weekend with Songkran lasting until Wednesday. So now you have five days when people are not expected to turn up for work and the ability to amass a large number of people for a demonstration was that much easier. So was it a good idea to plan the ASEAN summit at this time? It would appear not with the inevitable consequences. As I write this in the immediate aftermath the police water cannon seem to have been replaced by the plastic water guns which have become more traditional during this period and most people have reverted to more peaceful means of enjoying themselves and the crowds are dispersing leaving the political consequences to be decided.
Here in Samui Songkran passed off as usual, a little quieter than in previous years and, as opposed to other parts of Thailand, is over in one day. Apart from Bangkok and briefly in Pattaya, I was not aware of any reports of disturbances elsewhere in Thailand, and even in Bangkok the problems seemed confined to specific areas, which obviously as a foreigner it would be wise to stay away from. The airport was not affected this time although I suppose that would be the main concern of travellers as the ability to travel and the possibility of not being able to travel was uppermost in peoples mind rather than getting caught up in the demonstrations. Certainly most people I know who are regular visitors to Thailand take these events in their stride, but for people planning their annual vacation to Thailand for the first time perhaps, these confrontations will inevitably make them have second thoughts and seek more stable destinations. The consequences for the tourism industry are severe. Job losses in the hospitality sector have been estimated at 275,000 this year based on a predicted 35% fall in tourist arrivals. Hotel occupancy is down. Room rates are being cut drastically and there are some very good deals being offered across the board.
So for the faint hearted, the Foreign Office advice may be one to pay heed to, but for the more savvy traveller the present situation has created opportunities to explore Thailand far more economically than before. Bangkok does not even have to be on the agenda. Koh Samui is accessible internationally from Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong as are other regional airports. For the more adventurous who wish to avoid air travel there is the Eastern & Oriental Express from Singapore through Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Kanchanaburi for the River Kwai and on to Bangkok where you can connect to Chiang Mai or Vientiane.
And property prices are still falling! If you check our web site and look at the Hot Press Offers you will see a great number of properties with prices that have been reduced from between 15% and 50% with an average reduction of 34%. These reductions are now beginning to produce sales and, although still not many, there are a few more buyers around than there were a few weeks ago.
To receive the full monthly Newsletter please email me at hbonning@kosamuiproperties.com
So stated the first paragraph of the Foreign Office warning to travellers during April. The whole text can be seen here.
Having lived, worked and travelled in and out of the Gulf during the first Gulf War and having been here during the Military Coup three years ago, I have seen these warnings on numerous occasions. Quite rightly I suppose governments need to make such statements because there are many people who are not seasoned travellers, who are not street wise and need to have their hands held every time they step outside their own front door. Modern news broadcasting is so extensive, immediate and even pervasive, that anyone with a reasonable amount of intelligence should be able to make a reasoned judgement on whether or not to travel to a certain place. Obviously over the Easter/Songkran weekend, Bangkok and Pattaya were probably not the best places to be, which was a shame as whether you enjoy Songkran or not, it is usually a time for fun and frivolity. With Songkran coming immediately after a weekend, it became of course a very long weekend with Songkran lasting until Wednesday. So now you have five days when people are not expected to turn up for work and the ability to amass a large number of people for a demonstration was that much easier. So was it a good idea to plan the ASEAN summit at this time? It would appear not with the inevitable consequences. As I write this in the immediate aftermath the police water cannon seem to have been replaced by the plastic water guns which have become more traditional during this period and most people have reverted to more peaceful means of enjoying themselves and the crowds are dispersing leaving the political consequences to be decided.
Here in Samui Songkran passed off as usual, a little quieter than in previous years and, as opposed to other parts of Thailand, is over in one day. Apart from Bangkok and briefly in Pattaya, I was not aware of any reports of disturbances elsewhere in Thailand, and even in Bangkok the problems seemed confined to specific areas, which obviously as a foreigner it would be wise to stay away from. The airport was not affected this time although I suppose that would be the main concern of travellers as the ability to travel and the possibility of not being able to travel was uppermost in peoples mind rather than getting caught up in the demonstrations. Certainly most people I know who are regular visitors to Thailand take these events in their stride, but for people planning their annual vacation to Thailand for the first time perhaps, these confrontations will inevitably make them have second thoughts and seek more stable destinations. The consequences for the tourism industry are severe. Job losses in the hospitality sector have been estimated at 275,000 this year based on a predicted 35% fall in tourist arrivals. Hotel occupancy is down. Room rates are being cut drastically and there are some very good deals being offered across the board.
So for the faint hearted, the Foreign Office advice may be one to pay heed to, but for the more savvy traveller the present situation has created opportunities to explore Thailand far more economically than before. Bangkok does not even have to be on the agenda. Koh Samui is accessible internationally from Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong as are other regional airports. For the more adventurous who wish to avoid air travel there is the Eastern & Oriental Express from Singapore through Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Kanchanaburi for the River Kwai and on to Bangkok where you can connect to Chiang Mai or Vientiane.
And property prices are still falling! If you check our web site and look at the Hot Press Offers you will see a great number of properties with prices that have been reduced from between 15% and 50% with an average reduction of 34%. These reductions are now beginning to produce sales and, although still not many, there are a few more buyers around than there were a few weeks ago.
To receive the full monthly Newsletter please email me at hbonning@kosamuiproperties.com
Wednesday, 1 April 2009
Koh Samui, Songkran, Marina and Sports Stadium
The world economic situation continues to have its affect on real estate globally and unsurprisingly also here in Koh Samui. We continue to see price reductions of 25-30% many of which are due to the fall in the value of
Songkran starts on 13th April so keep those plastic bags handy if you are going out to keep your phone, wallet etc. dry. Samui has a pretty good tradition of keeping it to three days at most. In some parts of
I have reported in previous Newsletters on plans for a
This has nothing to do with Samui but is interesting and worth passing on. We are all aware of the regular nonsense Health and Safety Executive directives that appear in the Press from time to time. Well the
It would appear that Koh Samui is to get a new Sports Stadium according to the following announcement – “ Welcome to the Home Page of the Samui Sports Stadium, opening soon on the
If you would like to receive the full Monthly Newsletter, please e-mail me at hbonning@kosamuiproperties.com
Thursday, 5 March 2009
David Beckham nonsense on Koh Samui
Once again David Beckham’s “house on Koh Samui” has hit the headlines around the world. Reports are that he has installed a state of the art mosquito repellant/killer (depending on which report you read) and that the local Monks are up in arms about killing living creatures. One wonders why then the Monks are not protesting at Tesco, Big C etc. about the mosquito sprays, rat poison, and other insect zappers they sell and why companies such as Rentokil are not targeted! What nonsense! Then they go and publish a photograph of “his house” which actually belongs to someone else. Even Samui Express picked this up and published it and they really should have known better. I copy that article below out of interest only. Just goes to show you cannot believe everything you read in the papers.
I reported last month on problems we had with our web site being hacked which was at the best disconcerting, but we were able to resolve that issue relatively quickly. If anyone still has problems accessing our site or gets warning messages – particularly is you use the Firefox browser, please let me know. We also discovered an issue with emails in that due to the number of emails I send out, not least of which are the ones distributing this Newsletter, our out-going mail server started to reject mails as it identified them as potential spam. We changed our outgoing mail server but as a precaution I also use my gmail accounts hbonning@gmail.com and ksprop.harry@gmail.com and kosamuiproperties@gmail.com so if you receive mails from any of these accounts they are legitimate and from me.
Well there is good news and there is bad news. And they are both the same. Asking prices are coming down and quite significantly. This is due to a combination of factors, mainly of course the world wide economic situation and lack of credit. As Thailand has always been a cash purchase scenario due to the absence of finance for foreigners, and as most people are hanging on to what cash they have these days, the market has all but dried up. There are still buyers around but they are only looking at really attractive deals. Combine this with the fall in the value of the British Pound as a prime example and you can see that from Baht 64 to the pound last June to Baht 50 to the pound today, this represents a 28% increase in the cost of a property here in Sterling terms. However, on the other hand anyone selling here can reduce the price of their property by 28% in Baht and still achieve the same result in Sterling. As an example, a house for Baht 10,000,000 would have cost £156,250 in June last year but would cost £200,000 today. Equally that house could now be purchased at a Baht price of Baht 7,812,500 and still maintain the Sterling price. So the good news for buyers is that property is getting cheaper – provided you are not paying in Sterling.
We have seen a number of owners reducing their asking prices accordingly and some quite dramatically taking into account the factors mentioned above but also due to personal circumstances which are producing some very interesting possibilities. We have one large sea view property on a large site that was offered at Baht 60 million which is now available at a drastic reduction to Baht 25 million for a quick sale and another hilltop house which last month was Baht 24 million now available at Baht 13 million. These are exceptional purchases for someone with a medium to long term view.
Progress is being made on the Marina project I reported about in the November 2008 Newsletter. Towards the end of last month bore holes were drilled to investigate the ground conditions for construction.
Below I have reproduced an article I wrote last November for C-Publishing and which will appear on the March Issue of C-Holiday magazine. As at this time I do not have a direct link to the article in the magazine but the general link is http://c-publishing.com/ .
Generally everything remains pretty quiet having regard to this is still High Season. The world economy is certainly having its effect on tourism although there do seem to be a fair number of stalwarts who continue travelling but in far fewer numbers. The next surge would be expected at Easter and Song Kran, so we must keep our fingers crossed for good reports.
If you wish to receive a copy of the full Newsletter please email me at hbonning@kosamuiproperties.com
I reported last month on problems we had with our web site being hacked which was at the best disconcerting, but we were able to resolve that issue relatively quickly. If anyone still has problems accessing our site or gets warning messages – particularly is you use the Firefox browser, please let me know. We also discovered an issue with emails in that due to the number of emails I send out, not least of which are the ones distributing this Newsletter, our out-going mail server started to reject mails as it identified them as potential spam. We changed our outgoing mail server but as a precaution I also use my gmail accounts hbonning@gmail.com and ksprop.harry@gmail.com and kosamuiproperties@gmail.com so if you receive mails from any of these accounts they are legitimate and from me.
Well there is good news and there is bad news. And they are both the same. Asking prices are coming down and quite significantly. This is due to a combination of factors, mainly of course the world wide economic situation and lack of credit. As Thailand has always been a cash purchase scenario due to the absence of finance for foreigners, and as most people are hanging on to what cash they have these days, the market has all but dried up. There are still buyers around but they are only looking at really attractive deals. Combine this with the fall in the value of the British Pound as a prime example and you can see that from Baht 64 to the pound last June to Baht 50 to the pound today, this represents a 28% increase in the cost of a property here in Sterling terms. However, on the other hand anyone selling here can reduce the price of their property by 28% in Baht and still achieve the same result in Sterling. As an example, a house for Baht 10,000,000 would have cost £156,250 in June last year but would cost £200,000 today. Equally that house could now be purchased at a Baht price of Baht 7,812,500 and still maintain the Sterling price. So the good news for buyers is that property is getting cheaper – provided you are not paying in Sterling.
We have seen a number of owners reducing their asking prices accordingly and some quite dramatically taking into account the factors mentioned above but also due to personal circumstances which are producing some very interesting possibilities. We have one large sea view property on a large site that was offered at Baht 60 million which is now available at a drastic reduction to Baht 25 million for a quick sale and another hilltop house which last month was Baht 24 million now available at Baht 13 million. These are exceptional purchases for someone with a medium to long term view.
Progress is being made on the Marina project I reported about in the November 2008 Newsletter. Towards the end of last month bore holes were drilled to investigate the ground conditions for construction.
Below I have reproduced an article I wrote last November for C-Publishing and which will appear on the March Issue of C-Holiday magazine. As at this time I do not have a direct link to the article in the magazine but the general link is http://c-publishing.com/ .
Generally everything remains pretty quiet having regard to this is still High Season. The world economy is certainly having its effect on tourism although there do seem to be a fair number of stalwarts who continue travelling but in far fewer numbers. The next surge would be expected at Easter and Song Kran, so we must keep our fingers crossed for good reports.
If you wish to receive a copy of the full Newsletter please email me at hbonning@kosamuiproperties.com
Monday, 2 March 2009
Fake Bank Notes on Koh Samui
Still running a month behind on these blogs but will catch up in the next few days.
The internet is such an important tool in business these days and a company’s website is the most vital provider of information on the company’s activities and products. Our own website www.kosamuiproperties.com is a major tool in our business and is the first contact that a client usually has with us. It is therefore a potential disaster when that web site is hacked which happened to us in January. For a while anyone using the Firefox web browser received a warning message when they tried to access our site that it had experienced an “attack” and they should not proceed further. Naturally this initiated a flurry of activity on our part with correspondence with our hosting company and Google to identify the problem and eliminate it. It was identified as coming from three sites in China and following the instructions of our hosting company and IT advisors we were able to clean the site and restore its safe availability within 24 hours. We maintain up to date Virus Programs and other safety software but hackers are so ingenious these days that even that sometimes does not help. Internet security is so important these days as there are too many people out there with malicious intent that you cannot be too careful.
Last month I reported on fake thousand Baht bank notes in circulation in Thailand and this month it would seem they have arrived in Koh Samui and indeed it would appear we had one in the office as part of a rental payment. I have reproduced the flyer which helps to identify fake notes below, so please take the time to look at it and be careful when receiving cash. The local banks have states that the money drawn from and ATM will be OK but long experience of dealing with banks here suggests that even then you check what comes out of the slot.
Some good news is that following the visit to Koh Samui of the Prime Minister recently, the state of the roads on the island was discussed and a promise of funding made. We must now see if that turns into reality! See the article later in this Newsletter.
The weather since the turn of the year has been much cooler than normal, and whilst acceptable to those of us brought up in colder climates, has not been welcome by our Thai hosts. Having said that though, there was one night watching the rugby quite late when even I had to make a quick run home to get a slightly heavier shirt and change my shorts to long trousers. Not at all what we expect in Samui in January.
If you are planning a trip here in the spring, the Song Kran Festival this year runs from 13th to 15th April here in Samui although different areas of Thailand extend the dates and you can get wet for a whole week in some places. Samui is pretty sensible and two or three days is the maximum. If you have never been during Song Kran it is an interesting experience – once – although the Thais love it every year but having lived here for nearly nine years now, the novelty has worn off . Or maybe I am just getting old and curmudgeonly!
A somewhat shorter Newsletter this month as there has not been a great deal of published news to report. Generally everything has been pretty quiet having regard to this being High Season. The world economy is certainly having its effect on tourism although there do seem to be a fair number of stalwarts who continue travelling but in far fewer numbers. The Chinese New Year was reasonably busy, a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy tourist season. The next surge would be expected at Easter and Song Kran, so we must keep our fingers crossed for good reports.
If you would like to receive the full Newsletter, please email me at hbonning@kosamuiproperties.com
The internet is such an important tool in business these days and a company’s website is the most vital provider of information on the company’s activities and products. Our own website www.kosamuiproperties.com is a major tool in our business and is the first contact that a client usually has with us. It is therefore a potential disaster when that web site is hacked which happened to us in January. For a while anyone using the Firefox web browser received a warning message when they tried to access our site that it had experienced an “attack” and they should not proceed further. Naturally this initiated a flurry of activity on our part with correspondence with our hosting company and Google to identify the problem and eliminate it. It was identified as coming from three sites in China and following the instructions of our hosting company and IT advisors we were able to clean the site and restore its safe availability within 24 hours. We maintain up to date Virus Programs and other safety software but hackers are so ingenious these days that even that sometimes does not help. Internet security is so important these days as there are too many people out there with malicious intent that you cannot be too careful.
Last month I reported on fake thousand Baht bank notes in circulation in Thailand and this month it would seem they have arrived in Koh Samui and indeed it would appear we had one in the office as part of a rental payment. I have reproduced the flyer which helps to identify fake notes below, so please take the time to look at it and be careful when receiving cash. The local banks have states that the money drawn from and ATM will be OK but long experience of dealing with banks here suggests that even then you check what comes out of the slot.
Some good news is that following the visit to Koh Samui of the Prime Minister recently, the state of the roads on the island was discussed and a promise of funding made. We must now see if that turns into reality! See the article later in this Newsletter.
The weather since the turn of the year has been much cooler than normal, and whilst acceptable to those of us brought up in colder climates, has not been welcome by our Thai hosts. Having said that though, there was one night watching the rugby quite late when even I had to make a quick run home to get a slightly heavier shirt and change my shorts to long trousers. Not at all what we expect in Samui in January.
If you are planning a trip here in the spring, the Song Kran Festival this year runs from 13th to 15th April here in Samui although different areas of Thailand extend the dates and you can get wet for a whole week in some places. Samui is pretty sensible and two or three days is the maximum. If you have never been during Song Kran it is an interesting experience – once – although the Thais love it every year but having lived here for nearly nine years now, the novelty has worn off . Or maybe I am just getting old and curmudgeonly!
A somewhat shorter Newsletter this month as there has not been a great deal of published news to report. Generally everything has been pretty quiet having regard to this being High Season. The world economy is certainly having its effect on tourism although there do seem to be a fair number of stalwarts who continue travelling but in far fewer numbers. The Chinese New Year was reasonably busy, a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy tourist season. The next surge would be expected at Easter and Song Kran, so we must keep our fingers crossed for good reports.
If you would like to receive the full Newsletter, please email me at hbonning@kosamuiproperties.com
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