koastal wrote:Just as a matter of interest ( and a rather silly question ) but how DOES having fair skin REALLY effect your negotiating power when buying land ? Are you doomed from the start to pay a higher price ?
As much as we'd think the longer we've been here and assimilated as much as we can..even having good languages skills or a wife and five kids on your arms ... that damned white skin is always going to be the first thing they see and the price is going to reflect that.
Still... having good negotiation skills is going to help... or a skilled Khmer negotiator who has your best interests at heart and not a personal commission.
If it makes any difference Khmers will still try and rip off a wealthy Khmer asking about property for the same reason they try and rip off a white person - because they think they can afford it. Then again, they also try to rip of a poor as hell looking Khmer, because they think his unwise enough for them to get away with it.
One of Khmer friends told me whenever he goes to look at land in the provinces, he dresses very poorly and goes with a rented camry. When he is looking at the land and locals come and ask what he is doing he says he is looking for his lost cow, and starts to describe what it looks like, and says to contact the village chief if anyone sees it. Really funny! He firmly believes if too many people start looking at the same piece of land the prices always go up