Pattaya Land Office Charges (%) to Transfer Title

[OneZero]

I'm not sure if it varies from one location to another, but this question pertains to purchase of condo in Jomtien (Pattaya land office).

 

Assuming a condo has been owned for at least 5 years, what are the various % Pattaya land office charges to transfer title (as a percentage of at least the land offices minimum evaluation of a particular condo bldg)?

 

Specifics: I am buying a Jomtien condo that has been owned by seller far longer than 5 years  I'm told that the land office has a minimum valuation for this bldg of 40,000 thb / square meter (m2).  Seller & I will split land office charges 50/50.  

 

I have long been under the assumption that the various % charges the Pattaya land office makes will sum up to a bit over 3% of evaluation (assuming it has been owned longer that 5 years). 

Real estate agent says I don't need to go to land office if I give power of attorney.  Real estate agent also says that in the case described (seller has owned at least 5 years) the charges will be closer to 7% rather than the 3+% that I was assuming. 

 

My suspicions have been raised.  Can anyone provide advice?

[thaitero]

I think this 5 years or more reduction applies only if seller is selling his own home and have been properly registered to that address so not for farang owners.. Not sure though about this,,,

[KittenKong]

You sent me a PM about this, to which I replied. I will also post the content of my reply here as it may benefit others:

This explains it fairly well and 7% is not so far off the mark.

https://www.samuiforsale.com/real-estate/condominium-transfer-tax-and-fees.html

As always in Thailand, there are no hard and fast rules and everything can change according to what people have for breakfast.

I would never give power of attorney to anyone in Thailand, regardless of skin colour. Far too many cheats here for that.

[OneZero]

Thanks for replies.  I will certainly go to the land office.

[Pattaya46]

Hi

Unsure where your 7% come from... ??

I sold last month a condo I owned in South Pattaya for nearly 10 years.

The total of taxes at the Land office (buyer + seller) was about 2.7% of declared price

and nothing more to pay that these official taxes for which you get a receipt.

[OneZero]

In the  sales & purchase contract I have agreed to pay 50% of All closing costs at land office. My mistake.  One of the closing costs is "Income Tax", which should be solely a sellers responsibility if one looks at it from a moral responsibility only.  The calculation of this sellers "Income Tax" is rather convoluted based partly upon years of ownership & what all else I'm not sure (The seller happens to be a Maj General & is quite rich, but I'm not sure of that impact).  In any event this sellers "Income Tax" alone has added 200,000 thb alone to the land office costs, of which I have to pay half.  The 2% transfer tax on the 5 million thb condo is 100,000 thb.  Transfer tax (100,000 thb) + income tax (200,000 thb) = 300,000 thb so I'll be paying approx 150,000 thb.   It's the "Income Tax" variable which in some cases can make the land office cost very expensive, even if one is not obligated to pay the "Business Tax" (for a sale prior to 5 years ownership). 

Live & learn.

[ballbreaker]

Try link to transfer cost calculator and see what it generates for your purchase.

 

http://www.acuterealty.com/calculator.asp

 

[OneZero]

Owner is  Person	Company
Selling Price:	baht
Land Dpt. Appraizal Price:	baht
Occupied Date:	--                  01         02         03         04         05         06         07         08         09         10         11         12         13         14         15         16         17         18         19         20         21         22         23         24         25         26         27         28         29         30         31                           --                  January         February         March         April         May         June         July         August         September         October         November         December                           --                  2006         2007         2008         2009         2010         2011         2012         2013         2014         2015         2016         2017         2018
Transfer Date:	01      02      03      04      05      06      07      08      09      10      11      12      13      14      15      16      17      18      19      20      21      22      23      24      25      26      27      28      29      30      31                                                                   January                 February                 March                 April                 May                 June                 July                 August                 September                 October                 November                 December                                                                                      2018                 2019                 2020                 2021
	Owner has registered its name in a House Registration Book (Blue Book) totally more than 1 year Owner has never registered or registered its name in a House Registration Book (Blue Book) less than 1 year
	Condominium or Property in Project Private property, not in project

Person Owner has registered its name in a House Registration Book (Blue Book) totally more than 1 year Condominium or Property in Project
Expenses Detail
Transfer fee (2%) =	100,000
* Business Tax (3.3%) =
* Stamp Duty (0.5%) =	25,000     occupied 12 year(s)
* Withholding Tax =	125,000     occupied 10year(s)
Total=	250,000  baht ***

[OneZero]

Don't know how all that other data got in the input data.

Anyway, the owner has actually owned it more like 20 yrs since 1998 (but the calculator only went back to 2006), so instead of 125,000 income tax it will be more like 200,000.

 

In actuality income tax is a sellers responsibility morally, but it is all part of the negotiation.  My ignorance of the income tax aspect and agreeing to pay half of everything (therefore including sellers income tax) was where I erorred in the negotiation.  However, the seller did not really want to sell at the agreed price, so he was probably aware of snaring me into paying half of his "income tax".  Win some, lose some.

 

 

[topt]

On 6/23/2018 at 6:54 PM, OneZero said:

However, the seller did not really want to sell at the agreed price

Curious so any idea what forced his hand as earlier you said?

On 6/23/2018 at 1:12 PM, OneZero said:

The seller happens to be a Maj General & is quite rich,

 

[OneZero]

We're not close but We've known each other for about 20 years.  When he was a lower rank I was an advisor to RTA & we crossed paths.

[starway]

hello

 

If I transferred money direct to developer about the first down payment who generate for me the FET?

[KittenKong]

It is inadvisable to do this.

Set up your own bank account here, transfer your money to it from abroad, then send the correct amount of Thai Baht to the developer's account using internet banking. That way you will have a proper trace of everything sent, and you will also have the FET form.

[Alan1203]

Would a photocopy of the FETF from the developer's bank suffice? 

 

And what happens if you can't obtain a copy of an FETF (from the developer) because the initial booking/deposit is less than 50,000 USD? Does that initial amount face issues when transferring money back overseas if/when the condo is sold?

[KittenKong]

Banks will always issue a suitable form indicating the details of a forex transfer, regardless of the amount.

Some people do make transfers to the developer's account, and the developers do seem to get suitable documents issued to allow for the chanote to be issued, but it is not the way I would do it under any circumstances.

Open an account here and just do all your transfers and payments through it, with no exceptions. That way there should be no problems with the money side now or ever, and you will have the full paper trail for when you want to export the money again. Anything else may cause problems.

[Alan1203]

I thought foreigners can't open an account without any reason/ties to the country. Only after purchasing a condo would it warrant a reason to open an account. 

 

Anyhow, I do have an account now, and I am trying to make a deposit from overseas. If I transfer money to my Thai account now, can I walk in and ask for my FETF in about 5 months time (December, when I visit again)? 

[KittenKong]

5 hours ago, Alan1203 said:

If I transfer money to my Thai account now, can I walk in and ask for my FETF in about 5 months time (December, when I visit again)? 

Yes, though bear in mind that some Thai banks dont process an incoming transfer without first getting you to accept the rate, so make sure your phone number is valid. This is an opportunity to negotiate that rate.