Retirement dreams on Chiang Mai "Hi-So Hill" shattered as foreigner pensioners conned into buying forestry land

 

Picture: Manager Online

 

CHIANG MAI: -- The enticing advertisement online promised a dream: quiet retirement in the beautiful hills of Chiang Mai.

 

Many foreigners thought this was what they deserved after a life of saving so they eagerly signed up to buy houses in the luxurious, quality development.

 

Now they are left with illegal properties that they can't sell and their dreams are over.

 

At the weekend four foreigners complained they had been swindled out of 38 million baht by a Thai online. A further 6 million baht has gone missing in various transfers.

 

Documents such as deeds all seemed above board when they responded to the enticing advertisement but as Cholathit Suratwadee informed them at the weekend, they have been conned into buying forestry land that is protected.

 

The group of foreigners and others found out last June that they had been ripped off. Now the reality is really sinking in as they face losing everything.

 

And they want to make sure that others do not get similarly ripped off.

 

Forestry chief Cholathit said that now they have been duped their only recourse was to go to the police.

 

The development encroached on forestry land in the Mae Tha Chang and Mae Khanin areas in beautiful Hang Dong district of Chiang Mai.

 

Manager online said the area was known as "High Society Hill".

 

The foreigners were not named and manager did not report if they were able to live in the area in the meantime.

 

Cholathit said that this was just one of 100 encroachment cases in Chiang Mai that are being followed up.

 

Source: Manager Online

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2017-09-25

If it sounds too good to be true......it usually is. 

 

It's cases like this that make me believe that Thailand's laws against foreigners buying land are actually humane.

 

Better to have 100 foreigners griping that they can't buy land than 50 foreigners griping that they have lost their retirement savings to land swindles, greedy wives, corrupt officials  and shifty lawyers.

 

One's irritating, with renting as a solution.  The other is devastating- and with no recourse.

 

Foxes got conned?

 

They know they cannot own land in Thailand but tried ways to go around that hurdle. So, who have the last laugh?

44 minutes ago, webfact said:

the area was known as "High Society Hill".

Som Nam Nar !!!!!!!!!

names, companies, developers and agents?

21 minutes ago, trogers said:

Foxes got conned?

 

They know they cannot own land in Thailand but tried ways to go around that hurdle. So, who have the last laugh?

And if they had Thai Wives and the purchase was in the Wifes name would you also suggest they were trying to ''get around' that hurdle?

I rent everything in the Land O' Scams.

 

Everything.

 

This sounds like the Phuket scam where the land office, attorneys and real estate agents were all working together to skin the old Farangs alive.

 

 

The over riding constant about property ownership in Thailand is that foreigners can't  own land/ houses. Evertbody knows that except young children. If you then go ahead and buy a property in the knowledge you cant legally own land/property you cant really complain when it later goes tits up! Only invest in what you are happy to walk away from. 

Renting and leasing is the only way to Go in Amazing Thailand. Also I would never consider buying a Condo!.I've been

here 15 years and very happy!

16 minutes ago, Dellboy218 said:

40 minutes ago, trogers said:

Foxes got conned?

 

They know they cannot own land in Thailand but tried ways to go around that hurdle. So, who have the last laugh?

And if they had Thai Wives and the purchase was in the Wifes name would you also suggest they were trying to ''get around' that hurdle?

 

Or it could have been a project where the land is owned in common by the development, and the foreigners bought shares adding up to less than 49% ownership.  There are many ways they could have reasonably believed they were within the law.  But when the land documents themselves are bogus, none of that matters.  To anyone, including a lot of the TVF geniuses who think they're too smart to be schnookered.

 

They're not.

 

25 minutes ago, Dellboy218 said:

And if they had Thai Wives and the purchase was in the Wifes name would you also suggest they were trying to ''get around' that hurdle?

Then the article misled us. It would be Thais who got conned, not Foreigners!

 

When you gifted away your life savings, the money is not yours anymore.

A fool and his money are soon parted.

 

It is the buyers responsibility to carry out due diligence.

 

totster :)

I don't think it's very nice for anyone to gloat over retirees losing their life savings. They were not careful enough but I'm sorry they lost so much.

15 minutes ago, CNXBKKMAN said:

The over riding constant about property ownership in Thailand is that foreigners can't  own land/ houses. Evertbody knows that except young children. If you then go ahead and buy a property in the knowledge you cant legally own land/property you cant really complain when it later goes tits up! Only invest in what you are happy to walk away from. 

On the contrary, I don't think "everyone" knows that at all.  A lot of foreigners think that it is ok and are tricked by anyone from an insincere partner to lawyers without ethics to some who just about qualify for the description professional scammers.  It's sad that these sorts of scams are so common and it's a blight on Thailand that more is not done to prevent them from happening.  The sums involved are huge and the financial losses are potentially ruinous.

Just now, Just1Voice said:

If it sounds too good to be true......it usually is. 

 

4 people lost a total of 44 Million, 11 mil each for a villa, that's not exactly too good to be true prices

1 minute ago, LannaGuy said:

I don't think it's very nice for anyone to gloat over retirees losing their life savings. They were not careful enough but I'm sorry they lost so much.

I agree entirely.  Very poor form to gloat over someone's misfortune.

The typical usual, unanswered, unanswerable questions in these kinds of cases:

 

--If the housing development was located on protected forestry land, how did it get built in the first place without the forestry authorities stepping in to stop it?

 

--To do any kind of housing sale transaction, presumably the deeds and documents would have to have gone thru the local Land Department. Why would the land department approve housing project sales on protected forestry land?  They don't have maps that show them what areas are what?

 

" swindled out of 38 million baht by a Thai online".

this proves it, there is one born every minute.

regards worgeordie

I somehow don't think that either the government or the police going to 

break out in sweat to solve this case and give those who got swindled

their money back, they have so many mega millions and billions of con jobs

where Thais cheat rob and steal from their own kind, so the poor foreinghers

can wait, or get a lawyer and make him reacher chasing the wind...

1 hour ago, trogers said:

Foxes got conned?

 

They know they cannot own land in Thailand but tried ways to go around that hurdle. So, who have the last laugh?

That`s what I thought and documents such as deeds all seemed above board yet not one of them bothered to have the paperwork checked over by a lawyer.

 

Fools rush in where wise men never go.

So they paid all that money upfront? Without anything being actually built? Without any land title check at land office?

1 hour ago, hgma said:

names, companies, developers and agents?

Today's solicitation of potential defamation charges brought to you by...

Did the foreigners trust their Thai partners?

Sad to hear that some older folk have lost their retirement dream.

Many folk on-line are only there to con/scam people.

Were their Thai partners saying ok darling i fix, speak for you, trust me everything ok?

 

My ex tried many times to get me involved in deals etc, i could never trust her about anything, she was only interested in scamming money out of me, maybe be the same was happening in these cases.

34 minutes ago, mstevens said:

On the contrary, I don't think "everyone" knows that at all.  A lot of foreigners think that it is ok and are tricked by anyone from an insincere partner to lawyers without ethics to some who just about qualify for the description professional scammers.  It's sad that these sorts of scams are so common and it's a blight on Thailand that more is not done to prevent them from happening.  The sums involved are huge and the financial losses are potentially ruinous.

There are people who dont know this but they are are first time visitors on holiday having a great time. How many of them jump straight into 11 million baht property purchase? The number must be small. 

       We will never know the individual stories of how these people ended up buying these properties but it may well have involved buying them through a company 49% owned/nominee/lawyers etc etc but anyone going down that route knows that legal faff is to get round the fact foreigners cant own land/property. Which is a shaky foundation to invest your life savings in if that is the case. 

Speaking from experience. Most likely the police will consider it a Civil matter and not prosecute. However the people who where swindled can hire a lawyer to pursue Criminal Charges against the developer. Which will take years to go through the system. My personal case took five years; and then Developer appealed the decision, and most likely will appeal the case all the way up to the supreme court of Thailand. 

 

....and if the people being swindled make any accusations against the developer during the process, they will find themselves fighting a Defamation Law suit from the developer that carries long Jail Time if the Plantiff wins.

 

If you are buying property. Pay the 3,000 baht to the Land Office to come out and survery it.

1 hour ago, tomwct said:

Renting and leasing is the only way to Go in Amazing Thailand. Also I would never consider buying a Condo!.I've been

here 15 years and very happy!

Renting and leasing might be the only way for you, others like a big roomy house, a nice garden, having pets, private parking, etc, etc.

2 hours ago, Just1Voice said:

If it sounds too good to be true......it usually is. 

 

What sounded too good to be true? They were paying top dollar to live in a nice area......there was nothing cheap here.

2 minutes ago, giddyup said:

Renting and leasing might be the only way for you, others like a big roomy house, a nice garden, having pets, private parking, etc, etc.

 

....which you can rent and lease

2 hours ago, Just1Voice said:

If it sounds too good to be true......it usually is. 

 

What was too good to be true. They wete paying top dollar to live in a nice location, as most people would like to. Nothing on the cheap here.