Buying House

[skippybangkok]

Hi,

Hoping to buy a house ( will be in the Mrs. name ). Generally looking for some good threads to read up on. Any advice appreciated

Structure I am looking for

- House in Mrs Name ( I am the major income earner so the bank will need me as x ? )

- Lease in my name as a counter balance (happily married, but does not negate the need for some common sense )

- Will apply for a loan for 50% of house

- Getting PR in next few months .

- Have known the Bank manager for yonks, and they are happy with extending a loan.

I have not really followed the threads on this issue in the past, but my understanding the only legal way to have a house with some level of protection is buy it in Mrs. name and lease it to me. Going the company route might be problematic and not sure if can get a loan for th 50%.

Thanks.

[Khun Bob]

If you have kids - can you put the land in their name, lease to yourself and the property in yours ? And think of an appropriate reason to explain to the wife ?

[Lazy Sod]

If you want to lease it from your wife in my experience you must pay cash as the bank will not provide a mortgage for a leased property. The local bank manager may not realise this (until he sends the application to head office for approval).

There are no ideal solutions to this as you can see below.

Option 1: Buy in the wifes name with Lease/Usufruct - seems quite a good option but you have to buy it outright because bank will not provide a mortgage.

Option 2: Buy in the wifes name with a mortgage from the bank - unless your wife is rich or in a steady well paid job the bank will demand that you are the guarantor. Problem here is that if you split up, and she refuses to sell, and you stop paying the mortgage, then the bank will go after the guarantor for a long time before they even consider trying to repossess the house. Something to consider if you are planning to make Thailand your long term home (guess you are with PR). Also if she dies it still seems to be unclear to me whether or not the foreign husband gets the house, or it passes to her Thai next of kin. I read somewhere it's passed to a government minister to decide, but I've never heard of any test cases (anybody?)

Option 3: Company route - we all know about this, not currently an option I believe.

Edited February 22, 2007 by Lazy Sod

[Khonwan]

"Also if she dies it still seems to be unclear to me whether or not the foreign husband gets the house, or it passes to her Thai next of kin. I read somewhere it's passed to a government minister to decide, but I've never heard of any test cases (anybody?)"

I read many years ago (can't recall where unfortunately) that the foreign husband WOULD inherit the land but then must sell it within 12 months.

[Lazy Sod]

I read many years ago (can't recall where unfortunately) that the foreign husband WOULD inherit the land but then must sell it within 12 months.

I've read conflicting reports, and don't know if it automatically goes to the foreign spouse, or it goes to a government minister to consider. And if it goes to the foreign spouse whether or not he/she has to sell it within 12 months. Nobody I've talked to seems to know for sure what happens in reality.

[skippybangkok]

Thanks. Yes its a messed up affair. Question, lets say I can get local citezenship (hypothetical ) in a few years, and we by the house now, are there any taxes adding my name on the chanote then ?

[backflip]

How about speaking with professionals that can answer any question you might have, and give you some pointers that you haven't considered? Try Sunbelt Asia.