(please note, this post may well belong in the 'homes' room but i think it also has a place here because i'd like to ask about the process rather than actual properties.)
hi all,
after numerous discussions with my other half and with it looking like i'll be here for the long haul, i'd like to ask my esteemed fellows if any of them have any experience of buying property here.
while i realise that i can't, any property brought will be under my legal-wife's name, also, i presume any mortgage will be in here name.
i'd like to ask if anyone has done just this- been legally married, got a mortgage in their wife's name, and brought property in here name.
we would be looking for a modest condo, or small house here in bangkok. we see it as an investment as much as anything and if we were to move away then we could rent it out or re-sell it.
please; anybody with any experience, any advice, any tips, any ideas post away!
i look forward to reading them, thanks a lot in advance.
:smile:
I'm sure the world and his wife (or anyone on this board) know more about this than me... but until they show up with their wisdom and experience you are stuck with the fuck all I know
bear in mind that I am a woman (you knew this right? contrary to what folk are saying about me in the padded bra) and my partner is a Thai man
when we bought our condo... it was all in his name... the condo, the mortgage (actually a bank loan I think in thailand, though as I said I don't know much, lol) it was easy... down payment... loan... debt... forever... etc grown up nastiness
it irks me somewhat that it is in his name as I pay the damn mortgage... but that's not the point and if I go there I will be there for days, ranting
you have to get a bank to agree a loan (they will want an independant surveyor... which you will have to pay for) then you go to some public works office, pay a govt officer to approve the sale - then wave the approval at the bank and they givve you cash - you need to decide whether you will have a fixed rate of interest (for X no of years) or let it float according to the market... the fixed rate is usually slightly higher than the market rate... but at least you know what it is - the economy could crash, the world could end etc - basically interest rates could soar
you then decide whether you wanna bust your ass and pay it off in 10 years... or relax and pay it off in 20-25
you could also put it in your name - nothing to stop you if it is a condo not land you are thinking of purchasing, you would have to bring cash in from England (or from whence you came) rather than use money in Thailand for the down payment
this could mean planning ahead - send your savings to England... sending them back to Thailand so you can go "hey look, I used real English money to do this" you might be able to get a bankloan from a Thai bank (probably will) if you are legally married and have a WP.
I also have one friend you actually got his ENGLISH BANK to cough up a loan for property in Thailand.... imagine that! true tho' and useful to know
so that's my fuck all... at least I kept ya entertained till someone clever comes along and tells me I am mistaken in every single point!
I bought a small yam lai orchard in Nong Khai. Paid cash. I too, asked my US bank if they'd consider loaning me some money to build a house there. They laughed their balls off. I will pay cash for the house when I move in a few years. My wife is damn near unemployable in Thailand, but makes 10 x more outside Thailand than those who wouldn't hire her there.
If your wife has a decent working history and an account with a positive balance, she can probably qualify for a mortgage. You, on the other hand, probably can not -- even if you're an IBM executive who *could* pay cash.
A house might be a good investment, though it has to be in the name of a Thai spouse and the mortgage has to be based on the Thai's income, etc. I'm a doubter and a contrarian who thinks condominia in Thailand are bad investments. They're overpriced and under-maintained in the long run. To get a condo in your name, you'd probably pay cash. Detached single family residences are nicer, too.
Maikuhn, is that a yam lai orchard or a lam yai orchard? I'm eating canned lam yai right now.
lam yai -- gettin' old and my fingers are slower than my brain.
They're well maintained if you choose a developer that has a long standing reputation of continued maintainence long after the last condo has been sold. For foreigners, I'd cut that list down to just one developer to make it easy: 'Land and House' all the way.Originally Posted by PeaceBlondie
I think we're talking about the Thai market, Heng.They're well maintained if you choose a developer that has a long standing reputation of continued maintainence long after the last condo has been sold.
Maintainence?
thanks all, interesting replies.
excuse my ignorance heng but is 'land and house' a property agent? if so, could you provide any link? thanks.
i have no problems with the mortgage beg in my wife's name. she's on a fairly high salary for a thai. would my salary be taken into account if we apply for a mortgage, i would hope so as we are legally married.
thanks in particular to parvati, your advice was reasoned and knowledgeable. all points for me to ponder. also does anyone know how the 'thai guarantor' thing go if a thai is to get a mortgage?
"...ever wonder why they kill the weak ones, baby?"
they do take your income into account. for me i had to sign the papers as well. plus get a letter from school saying how much i earn. we bought a house. it's in her name though. same with the car. took my income into acount. just her name on the docs.
good luck. i agree with pb. a house is a better investment. even there, thailand is the only place i know of where property values decline.
ghost and bad luck and all that?
:chug:
to be or not to be.......didn't know will was a tefler
thanks there keegan.
:smile:
I have heard that foreigners are allowed to own a house but not the property. Someone once told me that in order to get around that problem you can start a businees and have the company buy the land. This is information I've heard through the rumour mill though and is probably only partly true. It seems like there is more rumour than fact to be had when it comes to finite issues here.
"We're all very different people. We're not Watusi, we're not Spartans, we're Americans. With a capital "A", huh? And you know what that means? Do you? That means that our forefathers were kicked out of every decent country in the world. We are the wretched refuse. We're the underdog. We're mutts."
PFC J. Winger
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your first bit is correct keeshou, a foreigner can indeed own a house but not the land it's on.
So, someone at my school claims that you can set up a business and that business can buy the land. I would like to know if this is true or another fable.a foreigner can indeed own a house but not the land it's on.
Added after 7 minutes:
OK I found this site which has some good answers to some of your questions (and one of mine).
http://www.holt-realty.com/real_esta..._canubuy.shtml
Plenty of well maintained neighborhoods and condos. One just needs to be selective.I think we're talking about the Thai market, Heng.They're well maintained if you choose a developer that has a long standing reputation of continued maintainence long after the last condo has been sold.
Maintainence?
It's "true" insofar as it is done. I've checked with more than one lawyer, and while the one who sets up these sort of companies said it was fine and would always be fine, the other (who had no financial interest in it) said he thought this was technically in violation of the law, since the company is being set up not as a business, but as a way around the land laws. As with so many things in Thailand, it's probably fine unless someone wants to take it from you, in which case it ain't.
- Reg
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