emigrating and selling house

[beaufoy]

We are due to emigrate on 3 july, so we started advertising our house 3 month before ie april, but now there is only 3 weeks to go. Hence bearing in mind that there is a fair chance the house will not be sold/or rented before we leave i need some advice. I assume it is best to restrict the agents to only one when I leave otherwise if damage is done or things stolen all agents will just say "It must be the fault of one of the other agents"

I assume we leave our keys with the designated agent, and if someone rents then he handles everything and my wife's signature can be obtained by way of post.

Now comes the actual question " What happens if the agent sells the property"

Does my wife have to return to Thailand to sign the papers....problem is my wife cannot travel alone

Can I return alone and sign the papers on behalf of my wife....If I can do I need to register myself as acting on behalf of my wife before I leave Thailand

Can a lawyer (without sticky fingers) act on behalf of my wife

[sirmud63]

it depends on your agent .

i have sold overseas property with an electronic signiture via email .

[scorecard]

Maybe a specific Power of Attorney granted to a trusted agent or lawyer.

 

By specific I mean the POA document states the specific reason / circumstances in which the POA can be used.

[dotpoom]

I have been trying to sell my house for about 4 years now..eventually got a buyer a few weeks ago after almost dropping the price by half...even put it in an auction. The way I came to look at it was like this...."Whatever I get for it is money in the bank, money that would not be there otherwise"..You cannot spend bricks and mortar.

[BritManToo]

You are asking an unrealistic price.

Knock 50% off (or 25% off) and it will sell.

One of my friends has a nice house for rent advertised on FB for 12,000bht/month.

Been advertised for nearly a year, problem is it's only worth 6,000bht/month.

 

Unrealistic prices mean it's unlikely to rent or sell.

[inThailand]

Get the Land Office specific power of attorney form and sign it and hold until a buyer emerges. Then decide who to name and provide such to complete the sale. A sales agreement specifying that the money is paid directly to you is critical. Don't entrust an agent with your money. 

[altcar bob]

29 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

You are asking an unrealistic price.

Knock 50% off (or 25% off) and it will sell.

One of my friends has a nice house for rent advertised on FB for 12,000bht/month.

Been advertised for nearly a year, problem is it's only worth 6,000bht/month.

 

Unrealistic prices mean it's unlikely to rent or sell.

All over the place,awash with them,empty property/for sale /rent,whatever,thing is there are far more to come onto the market too. Neighbour is just abandoning his place 18 mil,two more nice places lying empty nobody taking them up(sorry 3 now)

   Finest thing I ever did ,not buying a place here

[helloagain]

Took us 3.5 years to sell. Just advertising a few montgs befire you go was crazy. You seem to not know much. I would stay here ......sell....then go where yiu want IF you can get money out

[DavidB4]

Where is it located, can't you rent it out? 

[1FinickyOne]

I have been looking for a property and from what i see, most prices are just more than the property is worth - simple truth is that vacant land goes up and bricks go down and truly depreciate... the friends I know who have had to sell compromised prices about 40%... 

 

As to documents - Fed Ex works great... and it is fast. 

[Cricky]

Big risk leaving an asset here for someone else to sell.

Where is the house and how much do you want. I might be interested. Send me a PM if you like. 

[worgeordie]

The old adage applies, Location,Location,Location,

followed closely by asking price.

If the property is in a good location,and not priced

ridiculously high,(as many are) it will sell,in our 

Moo Bahn ,which is a good location,houses are

selling quickly,not that many come up for sale.

 

Few years ago,Thai's were buying houses to rent,

as interest rates at Banks were so low,but 2 things

have happened,it's not easy finding houses at a price

that would give you any return on your investment,

3-5% gross is no way enough.then the Government

have made it very difficult for Farangs to stay here,

which leaves the main market,Chinese and Thai's,

both of which i have had problems with before,and

would never rent to again.

regards worgeordie

[Lucky mike]

Price fixes all !  Buyers market....use one agent, interview a few, get some testimonials from some of their other clients.  Maybe give rent to buy option, vendors terms if you are in a position to do so......you need agent to give you a current market analysis which compares your property to others now on market plus recent sales.....pick an agent that will give you constant feedback.    Remember the longer it sits on the market the cheaper it gets !

[Thingamabob]

Lower your price and wait. Do not leave the sale in the hands of a third party. If you do you will be screwed 

[altcar bob]

There are  no expats of the generation that started all the buying off in the first place,new arrivals amazed how cheap stuff is compared to home,they are the ones to target (if poss) just off the banana boat

  Anyone now buying must be a mug,stuck with an ever decreasing house value,that in itself will never sell,just abandoned houses surrounding  with sale or rent notices festooning the area,making a sink neighbourhood.    

              Its all lose lose situation

[flyingtlger]

A day late and a baht short..... 

[grkt]

Where have you tried to post ads online ?

 

 

[ajnamoon]

Wheres the house   what size and what price??

[1130bobs]

Don't worry about it.  Your Thai g/f family have it all under control.  

[xylophone]

4 hours ago, BritManToo said:

You are asking an unrealistic price.

Knock 50% off (or 25% off) and it will sell.

Yes, you make a good point............here in Patong it is the same with far too many houses on the market at unrealistic prices.

 

The problem is that some farangs who bought up to about 10 years ago would have paid top dollar for their property, only to find that when they put it on the market, even for a similar price, now no one is interested.

 

Consider this, two-bedroom townhouses on a small estate in a quiet area were being sold for 2.4 million baht when they were first built and quite a few farangs bought them, in fact the whole neighbourhood was farangs.

 

A few years later some were on the market for about 5 to 5.5 million baht and a couple sold at that price, setting unrealistic expectations I believe. A point in question would be a friend who bought one for 4 million baht (he thought he had a bargain at that time) and who spent 600,000 baht in alterations and improvements and who now can't sell it.

 

He has it advertised for about 4.6 million baht, because he says that's "what it owes me", however I think he will be extremely lucky if it sells, this especially as one not too far away from it, given it was not in the same condition, has just sold for about 2.5 million baht.

 

Hard for farangs to get a fix on this market because property prices are all over the place and there is no specific way of "valuing" property here, and not only that more and more properties are being built, especially condos and apartments, and less farangs are coming over with the intent of buying a house here, so a property glut ensues.
 

[Baerboxer]

3 hours ago, altcar bob said:

All over the place,awash with them,empty property/for sale /rent,whatever,thing is there are far more to come onto the market too. Neighbour is just abandoning his place 18 mil,two more nice places lying empty nobody taking them up(sorry 3 now)

   Finest thing I ever did ,not buying a place here

 

There were several large properties for sale in our zone for a few years. Many more in the other 2 zones of our Mobaan. Majority were bank repossessions where people couldn't / hadn't paid their loan repayments. The banks were advertising them for sale at high prices. Some fell into disrepair and it looked like would become derelict.

 

All the ones near me have now been sold and the buyers are all spending more, not only refurbishing but also building some nice extensions, and landscaping. The ones up for rent don't seem to be occupied though.

 

My wife and children have dual nationality but will most likely choose to live their lives here after I've gone. I bought a property here when I was getting 71-72 baht to the GBP. The values of houses have doubled in that time on this estate. The house is my wife's, in her name totally, just as the UK house is in mine.

 

Your circumstances and world view mean you don't choose to buy. That's up to you. Not everyone is the same.

[HerbalEd]

Ask the agent these questions.

[BritManToo]

33 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

Your circumstances and world view mean you don't choose to buy. That's up to you. Not everyone is the same.

Hardly anyone is choosing to buy today ......... which is the problem for those who already bought.

Worldview has nothing to do with it.

 

Buying in Thailand is not a good choice with current Thai exchange rates and Thai military government.

Good luck trying to sell at double what you paid in 2007!

Boasting isn't selling. 

[seancbk]

5 hours ago, altcar bob said:

All over the place,awash with them,empty property/for sale /rent,whatever,thing is there are far more to come onto the market too. Neighbour is just abandoning his place 18 mil,two more nice places lying empty nobody taking them up(sorry 3 now)

   Finest thing I ever did ,not buying a place here

 

Where is your neighbours place?  If he's abandoning it I might move in ?

[bontang]

4 hours ago, altcar bob said:

There are  no expats of the generation that started all the buying off in the first place,new arrivals amazed how cheap stuff is compared to home,they are the ones to target (if poss) just off the banana boat

  Anyone now buying must be a mug,stuck with an ever decreasing house value,that in itself will never sell,just abandoned houses surrounding  with sale or rent notices festooning the area,making a sink neighbourhood.    

              Its all lose lose situation

Altcar Bob,

                      The Negitive  Festooning Property Expert,     You talk a load of Crap Mate, 

 

[khunPer]

On 6/11/2018 at 10:52 AM, beaufoy said:

Can I return alone and sign the papers on behalf of my wife....If I can do I need to register myself as acting on behalf of my wife before I leave Thailand

Can a lawyer (without sticky fingers) act on behalf of my wife

Your wife can sign a power of attorney – especially needed when transferring the property to the new owner at the Land Office – that's an often used procedure, and no problem if documentation is correct; talk from experience.

 

Check in advance with both Land Office, and the chosen real estate agent, and your lawyer exactly what is needed; i.e. signed copies of your wife's ID-card etc. If just one document is missing, the transaction might be refused until the requested documentation is provided; even a landscape photocopy iso. portrait copy can sometime be a problem.

?

[xylophone]

4 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Good luck trying to sell at double what you paid in 2007!

Because there is no way of valuing property here, especially where leases for farangs are seen as "punitive" (I use this term lightly) or difficult, a lot of farangs hear of a relatively similar property which has sold for X, 000,000 baht, so immediately think that they should price their property likewise.

 

Unfortunately it doesn't work like this and just because some fresh off the plane, unwitting and unknowing farang has paid over the odds for one, doesn't mean to say that everyone is like that.

 

So to get back on track to the original poster.................work out what your breakeven point would be if you were to sell it here and transfer that money back to your home country and because of the strong baht and other poorly performing exchange rates, you may well find that you can sell it for even 60% of what you think it's worth and still end up, in converted terms, with a profit. Not forgetting of course that you have lived in the place "rent-free" for all those years.

 

And signing a power of attorney has worked for me in the past, so a reputable lawyer will handle it for you, and getting money out of the country is no problem, especially if you have the original foreign exchange transfer form from the clearing bank/or similar.

 

Good luck.

 

[altcar bob]

4 hours ago, bontang said:

Altcar Bob,

                      The Negitive  Festooning Property Expert,     You talk a load of Crap Mate, 

 

You seem to be well endowed (property wise) (spelling too),let me guess,recent arrival,just bought,but I am sure you can show typical examples of.. especially farang getting shut,  especially in a hurry..no..?   I'm keeper of the keys for unsold houses 5 of 'em  and more in the basket soon,could say Ill be living rent free as caretaker-in chief.     Look i do not like it,its going to get a lot worse,once  happy neighbourhoods,now barren and deserted,it is horrible

[Robert Ian]

If you would like a reliable, non smoker, no pets, caretaker to stay in the property, to safe guard it, and in exchange for a nominal rent, keep the place clean and tidy, water the plants and keep the garden (assuming there is one) looking good, liaise with your agent when he/she wants to show a potential buyer through the home, and to also liaise with you if bills come in, I am happy to come to Chiang Mai to meet with you to discuss. I am currently living in Hua Hin. Previous to living in Hua Hin, I lived in Chiang Rai, so am familiar with Chiang Mai. 

 

[altcar bob]

7 minutes ago, Robert Ian said:

If you would like a reliable, non smoker, no pets, caretaker to stay in the property, to safe guard it, and in exchange for a nominal rent, keep the place clean and tidy, water the plants and keep the garden (assuming there is one) looking good, liaise with your agent when he/she wants to show a potential buyer through the home, and to also liaise with you if bills come in, I am happy to come to Chiang Mai to meet with you to discuss. I am currently living in Hua Hin. Previous to living in Hua Hin, I lived in Chiang Rai, so am familiar with Chiang Mai. 

 

Not in Chiang Mai, Pattaya,  think the owners just want shut ASAP, the 2 empty properties next to me (  one the owner lives in Chiang Mai) I know what he will take,a third off what he bought it for,but i have friend in Condo am trying to get him to take it on,  The 18 mil,the owner leaves in months time,feel sorry for him,like to move in there myself,good idea though,but dread the consequences if anything goes wrong