Buying a new house

[Neeranam]

2 hours ago, thaiguzzi said:

Well said.

4 pages and counting of the usual glass half empty, selfish, twice bitten shysters.

Had a divorce in the West, lost everything or half, get all bitter and twisted, come here, fall in love with a girl half their age or younger than their ex's daughter, and get all mardy, bitter and selfish when it comes to building a house and putting the paperwork in their new wife's name.

 Says a lot or everything to me about their perceived "Love & Trust" in a relationship.

Or even more so, their opinion, taste  & choice in marriage material.

If you don't trust your own wife, who do you trust fer Chrissakes?

And if it's like that at the beginning, you generally know it aint gonna last, and the Expat can join the ever growing list of bitter, told-you-so bar stool experts who spout the usual "don't spend more than you're prepared to walk away with" crap.

I agree.

My golden rule for newbies.

 

Don't get married until you live here for 5 years and don't build a house in her name for 10 years.

[baansgr]

4 hours ago, Neeranam said:

There is a way. I applied for Thai citizenship a year ago. Hopefully will be granted it in another year or so.

Alternatively, I could put it in my wife or kids' name.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wait for citizenship and have in your name.  Buying in child's name the mother will still have a right to live there,  move her family in,  do whatever she wants,  even if you are divorced. 

[khunPer]

5 hours ago, xylophone said:

...a case in which the "company" was a nominee company...

Nominee companies "disappeared" when the rules changed from 7 to 3 shareholders about a decade ago; at that time nominee companies got a time-gap to change in their shareholder list to real shareholders, those that did not, might live a risky life of scrutiny...????

[xylophone]

5 minutes ago, khunPer said:

Nominee companies "disappeared" when the rules changed from 7 to 3 shareholders about a decade ago; at that time nominee companies got a time-gap to change in their shareholder list to real shareholders, those that did not, might live a risky life of scrutiny...????

Didn't think there was a rule change quite that long ago, however I suppose, irrespective of the rule change, those companies which were not bona fide companies wouldn't have been able to change to "real shareholders" because they would have been shareholders in nothing at all/no operating company, and as I recall they would have had to have proved from whence their funding came and so on, even if they tried – – therefore making it impossible for the sham company route to be made legal in any way, shape or form.

 

So as you say, "those that did not, might live a risky life of scrutiny".

[HHTel]

1 hour ago, baansgr said:

Wait for citizenship and have in your name.  Buying in child's name the mother will still have a right to live there,  move her family in,  do whatever she wants,  even if you are divorced. 

Not strictly true.  When I went to court, I was awarded 50% of the house value when sold (expected under Thai law), given custody of my two children and my ex-wife was ordered out of the house.  She initially refused and went back to court.  A court order was issued giving her 7 days to vacate the premises.  It's not all 'doom and gloom'.

[Speedhump]

8 hours ago, sandyf said:

I don't know anything about a lease, the land I am on belongs to my wife's family so the house will always belong to them. After 9 years of rent free comfortable accommodation of my own design, if I had to walk away tomorrow I would have gained a lot more than the million or so it cost to build.

The house belongs to whoever's name is on the house deed as issued by the land department. But the owner does need either to own the land or have a land lease! ???? 

[KhaoYai]

17 hours ago, Langsuan Man said:

Almost every visitor to Walking Street in Pattaya or Nana Plaza in Bangkok is breaking the law in some form or another, as are most drivers on Thailand's roads

 

But when it comes to property the Thai Visa Brigade always become the law and order party;  concerned about the sanctity of the Thai legal system 

 

And once again WE are not hoping that everything turns out OK, WE are living the good life that most of us could never afford in our home countries, the only people who appear to be worried are those who want to rain on someone else's parade 

You must have a very narrow bunch of friends and acquaintances.

 

The Thai Visa brigade that become the law and order party??  I couldn't give a toss about the Thai legal system. I could however, give a tosss about my visa.  I have too much invested in Thailand to be asked to leave.

 

Yes, a lot of drivers on Thailand's roads may be breaking the law......most? I doubt it.  It is also a fact that Thai's who break the law don't get deported.  I don't have any problem with staying within the law, I don't find it difficult.

[KhaoYai]

16 hours ago, thaiguzzi said:

Well said.

4 pages and counting of the usual glass half empty, selfish, twice bitten shysters.

Had a divorce in the West, lost everything or half, get all bitter and twisted, come here, fall in love with a girl half their age or younger than their ex's daughter, and get all mardy, bitter and selfish when it comes to building a house and putting the paperwork in their new wife's name.

 Says a lot or everything to me about their perceived "Love & Trust" in a relationship.

Or even more so, their opinion, taste  & choice in marriage material.

If you don't trust your own wife, who do you trust fer Chrissakes?

And if it's like that at the beginning, you generally know it aint gonna last, and the Expat can join the ever growing list of bitter, told-you-so bar stool experts who spout the usual "don't spend more than you're prepared to walk away with" crap.

In general I'd agree with you except I have had 2 divorces in the UK and didn't lose a penny.  Also, its not always possible to know you're being played by your Thai wife. I thought I couldn't be scammed but the smarter Thai players play the long game. I has absolutely no idea my Thai ex was playing me until 2 years into the marriage when strange things started happening.  She also fooled my Thai friends for a long time. They may be getting smart but their lies remain childish - they trip themselves up with outrageous lies.  She was reasonably smart but I'm sure there are others much smarter.

 

I understand what you mean in general - some guys need a check up from the neck up but I genuinely had no idea I was being scammed. If I was foolish enough to get married again, I would not do it whilst I'm working outside Thailand. I firmly believe that these girls actively target men living outside Thailand - much less hassle for them and they get more time with their Thai husband/boyfriend.

 

Fortunately for me, apart from a little support, I lost very little when I divorced my Thai wife - for once the Thai land laws worked for me.  My house is not in a company name yet, its still registered to a Thai. My ex had no chance of getting her grubby little hands on it because I don't own it, do I??? ????

 

At the end of the day she lost out and is now back working 60 hours a week in Borwin for 15,000 a month.

[baansgr]

18 hours ago, HHTel said:

Not strictly true.  When I went to court, I was awarded 50% of the house value when sold (expected under Thai law), given custody of my two children and my ex-wife was ordered out of the house.  She initially refused and went back to court.  A court order was issued giving her 7 days to vacate the premises.  It's not all 'doom and gloom'.

has she paid you the 50% yet. 

[HHTel]

3 hours ago, baansgr said:

has she paid you the 50% yet. 

No, but I'm living in the property and the Land Office has a copy of the court order.  Requires my signature as well as hers when sold.  I'm in no hurry.

50% of Sin Som Ros is as per the law of the land.  Too many foreigners roll over thinking they have no chance.  A court will uphold that every time.

[xylophone]

7 minutes ago, HHTel said:

No, but I'm living in the property and the Land Office has a copy of the court order.  Requires my signature as well as hers when sold.  I'm in no hurry.

50% of Sin Som Ros is as per the law of the land.  Too many foreigners roll over thinking they have no chance.  A court will uphold that every time.

Seems like you have come up "smelling of roses" as the old saying goes HH...…….nice to hear a positive story amongst the disasters I have read and encountered.

[BKKBike09]

On 11/19/2018 at 10:56 PM, khunPer said:

It's a rubber band, depending of how big a house you are talking about, and choice of materials.

If the land costs 5 million baht, you'll have 10 million baht left for everything else, in a 15 million baht budget. A pool and surroundings will be in the level 1.5 million to 2 million baht. A relative good quality house will cost you in the area of 25,000 baht to 30,000 baht a square meter, so for up to 8 million baht you can build about 250 to 300 square meters. If you choose more luxury – like marble bathrooms, and high-end brand name fittings; teak and slate, or sandstone floors; teak window frames and doors; expensive decoration tiles; etc. – your price could well be from 50,000 to 70,000 baht a square meter, leaving you with not much more than a 100 square meter house for the same price.

 

When seeing a turn-key house, there might be things in construction that you cannot easily spot, whilst when building your own house, you have a change to select everything yourself, and follow the construction in details. An already build house might have a nice make-up, but how will it be five years, or 10 years from now?

 

However, a building construction company may have some quantity discounts, that makes them able to build a house for a reasonable price, and still make a nice mark-up. A building construction company will also add a profit when quoting you, plus a percentage for unforeseen costs, so might not be that much of a difference. On the other hand, there could also be a big difference.

 

A second hand house that is already five years old, or 10 years old, should be cheaper than building a new house, but how much is depending of the level of maintenance. Location is also a major factor in pricing, chosing a different location often means a different price.

 

So if you think you can do it cheaper for a nice house, you need to think of what you might be able to get, for example for an average of 25,000 baht a square meter, and 20,000 baht, and 15,000 baht; and then compare that to the house prices you see, minus value of land.

????

Some good points here. As the price of land goes up, and that of construction materials and labour, I think the quality of new build has to have gone down. I've looked at a number of newly built houses in Bangkok housing developments over the past year or so and some of them were shocking: subsidence seemed to be a real issue with some. I ended up buying a 20-year old townhouse because, for the money and location, I thought it a far better deal. It would benefit from some TLC but the core structure is sound and, after 20 years, subsidence is unlikely to be an issue. I know several people who bought / leased land and then built, and they've ended up with houses that are what they wanted. One of them built using recycled shipping containers, which could be an interesting option. Of course, if you decide to have a house built from scratch, unless you know the trade yourself, you're at the mercy of the contractor as to whether they are trustworthy and will actually use the right materials for critical elements like foundations and load-bearing elements. Cement and rebar aren't 'one size fits all' choices. Also if your site is close to the sea, then the salinity in the air becomes a consideration.

 

Good luck.

 

 

[sometimewoodworker]

On 11/20/2018 at 10:40 AM, Geordieabroad said:

A lease is a lease, varying number of years, A "PEPPERCORN" LEASE MEANS 999 YEARS

No it doesn't no matter how much you shout a 999 year lease is a 999 year lease, FWIW I have one, though technically it's probably 970 years now. 

 

Though completely irrelevant in Thailand as no lease is valid beyond 30 years anyway.

 

 

a peppercorn rent or lease just means the rent/lease is extremely low/cheap

[HHTel]

Quote

Peppercorn rent

A token or nominal rent. The name comes from leases where the rent is one peppercorn a year. Other kinds of token or nominal rents, such as £1, or a red rose each year, may also be referred to as peppercorn rents. 

 

[Rugon]

On 11/22/2018 at 4:30 PM, xylophone said:

Seems like you have come up "smelling of roses" as the old saying goes HH...…….nice to hear a positive story amongst the disasters I have read and encountered.

No, this is normal Thai law. Those who don't get this are mugs.