Bank Transfer letter for buying condo - problems

[BobBKK]

I was in Bangkok Bank today top get a transfer letter. I had 2m come from outside and assumed I could use this sum.

 

I also thought the need for writing 'for purchase of condo'  on the FX transfer docs was a myth. I am now told I may not be able to use this 2m although it is obviously from 'outside'.

 

Also I had thought to use my monthly pension to 'top up' the 2m if I needed, say, 2.6m. (made up of 2m plus 12 months of 50,000). 

 

Any thoughts?

[The Fat Controller]

All the Foreign Exchange Documents you use to prove the funds came from overseas MUST have the correct reason on them and that has been the way for many years.

 

The land office will not accept anything else.

[scubascuba3]

sounds like every transfer should be "for purchase of condo" just in case. TiT

[thedemon]

SWIFT (or MT103) transfers do allow for amendments to the beneficiary information. So perhaps you could ask the remitting bank to send that as a correction. They will likely charge a fee for that so they shouldn't mind doing it.

[thedemon]

Also pretty sure that the remitted amount can be more than the condo purchase price but not less. Bearing in mind that the T/T amount only needs to satisfy the sale price declared to the land department which is very often less than the actual sale price.

Edited August 21, 2019 by thedemon

[BobBKK]

15 hours ago, The Fat Controller said:

All the Foreign Exchange Documents you use to prove the funds came from overseas MUST have the correct reason on them and that has been the way for many years.

 

The land office will not accept anything else.

There is no law to say that. The law states from overseas. Even the Bangkok bank told me they let many 'slip through' and the letter only states the amount and where it came from. So it's not 100% so we will see.

[BobBKK]

15 hours ago, thedemon said:

SWIFT (or MT103) transfers do allow for amendments to the beneficiary information. So perhaps you could ask the remitting bank to send that as a correction. They will likely charge a fee for that so they shouldn't mind doing it.

Thanks but can't do that. The 2m was lump sum pension payment from government source.

[YT3k72Em]

Did the bank tell you this or the land office? You can check with the land office in your area and see what their requirements are.

[BobBKK]

Just now, YT3k72Em said:

Did the bank tell you this or the land office? You can check with the land office in your area and see what their requirements are.

Bangkok Bank FX guy.  But he seemed to indicate that the 'Chinese' never put 'buy condo' on their forms as it's a big issue in China and definitely not allowed - yet they buy and buy.

It seems the 'for purchase of condo' is a bit of a myth but liked by banks as it avoids any issues. I have yet to see anyone give a ref to where this requirement is stipulated.

 

I will find out soon and report back. Seems madness, if money has clearly come in from overseas, to stop someone buying a legal (farang quota) condo.

[Peterw42]

10 minutes ago, BobBKK said:

Bangkok Bank FX guy.  But he seemed to indicate that the 'Chinese' never put 'buy condo' on their forms as it's a big issue in China and definitely not allowed - yet they buy and buy.

It seems the 'for purchase of condo' is a bit of a myth but liked by banks as it avoids any issues. I have yet to see anyone give a ref to where this requirement is stipulated.

 

I will find out soon and report back. Seems madness, if money has clearly come in from overseas, to stop someone buying a legal (farang quota) condo.

I think you will find the "buy condo" is a bank of thailand requirement, not a land office requirement.

All international transfer need a reason , for the central banks at either end, as a money laundering measure. Even if you leave it blank the exchange desk probably puts a generic entry (consumer goods, holiday etc) to keep the BOT happy. I know I cant send from Australia without putting a reason.

[david555]

18 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

sounds like every transfer should be "for purchase of condo" just in case. TiT

Like I did , even the transfers for living expenses I made as "for buying condo" (or buying real estate in Thailand) reason ….is always handy ….

Edited August 22, 2019 by david555

[Peterw42]

18 hours ago, The Fat Controller said:

All the Foreign Exchange Documents you use to prove the funds came from overseas MUST have the correct reason on them and that has been the way for many years.

 

The land office will not accept anything else.

Its not a land office requirement, I have bought at 2 different offices and it was never a requirement. Foreign exchange needs a reason attached to keep Bank of Thailand happy.

[Peterw42]

19 hours ago, BobBKK said:

I am now told I may not be able to use this 2m although it is obviously from 'outside'.

Who is saying "may not be able", the bank, the land office or is it the bank on behalf of the land office?

 

My 1st condo I bought 3 years later using my 800k visa money, the original FET said "for Visa". You can bring in a suitcase full of money and use the customs declaration at the land office.

 

 

[BobBKK]

5 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

I think you will find the "buy condo" is a bank of thailand requirement, not a land office requirement.

All international transfer need a reason , for the central banks at either end, as a money laundering measure. Even if you leave it blank the exchange desk probably puts a generic entry (consumer goods, holiday etc) to keep the BOT happy. I know I cant send from Australia without putting a reason.

The 2m is in my account. As I said it was sent as part of my pension (lump sum) no reason would have been given.

[BobBKK]

4 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Who is saying "may not be able", the bank, the land office or is it the bank on behalf of the land office?

 

My 1st condo I bought 3 years later using my 800k visa money, the original FET said "for Visa". You can bring in a suitcase full of money and use the customs declaration at the land office.

 

 

The bank are saying "may not be able to issue the letter"  which is a strict requirement. Years ago it was lax and banks often turned a blind eye but since Prayut everything's changed.

 

BTW The bank also said you cannot use old transfers more than a year old. I have tons of transfers "for purchase of condo" from 2009 to 2012 but Im told I cannot use those.

Edited August 22, 2019 by BobBKK

[Peterw42]

8 minutes ago, BobBKK said:

The bank are saying "may not be able to issue the letter"  which is a strict requirement. Years ago it was lax and banks often turned a blind eye but since Prayut everything's changed.

 

BTW The bank also said you cannot use old transfers more than a year old. I have tons of transfers "for purchase of condo" from 2009 to 2012 but Im told I cannot use those.

Are you talking to the main branch in the area ? I have found with BKK bank the main area branch can do a whole lot more than the sub branches.

[thedemon]

If there is no other solution you can always transfer the money out then in again though obviously this would typically mean a loss on exchange rates and more fees.

 

It is possible that a Foreign Exchange company like Superrich can do this more cheaply even if they can't provide the FET themselves. Maybe they can, I don't know. But for sure they can take your money and remit it back to a bank account.

 

Otherwise you could try calling the bank and ask them if they can offer a deal for doing that. At least with consumer banking, I have always found Bangkok Bank to be the most bureaucratic and least flexible of the major banks. I would try with Kasikorn or SCB. It may even be worth your time to make a quick call to Kbank's call centre (02-8888888) and ask. Generally the level of English spoken is excellent. The call centre is open 24hrs but I think for a question like this it may be better to call during office hours when the International section at HO is open. 

[paahlman]

For investment is the easiest and correct wording. Has been for ages.

[dotpoom]

"There's more than one way to skin a cat".

[Peterw42]

16 minutes ago, paahlman said:

For investment is the easiest and correct wording. Has been for ages.

Are you saying it is a land office requirement to have "for investment" written on the FET

[BobBKK]

3 hours ago, dotpoom said:

"There's more than one way to skin a cat".

That's what we are trying to find.

I have bought in over 25m and all had "for purchase of condos' but that was between 2009 and 2012 and they say I cannot use those now. I have all the correct docs for that amount.

As I stated I got a lump sum last year of 2m and they say that might not be possible too. 

[BobBKK]

18 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Are you talking to the main branch in the area ? I have found with BKK bank the main area branch can do a whole lot more than the sub branches.

Big branch in main shopping center. I'm waiting for a bank statement - they only go back 6 months ANOTHER frustrating thing as it takes a week and costs 200THB.

[Peterw42]

21 minutes ago, BobBKK said:

Big branch in main shopping center. I'm waiting for a bank statement - they only go back 6 months ANOTHER frustrating thing as it takes a week and costs 200THB.

A good chance that is a sub branch. find the main branch. Main branch is usually the only branch that can open foreign currency accounts and 2-3 things the smaller branches cannot do. Main branch can be like dealing with a different bank, your statements probably take a week as they come from main branch..

Another angle could be the branch closest to the land office as they would be doing lots of FETs, maybe even have a dedicated person doing them.

Edited August 23, 2019 by Peterw42

[BobBKK]

3 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

A good chance that is a sub branch. find the main branch. Main branch is usually the only branch that can open foreign currency accounts and 2-3 things the smaller branches cannot do. Main branch can be like dealing with a different bank, your statements probably take a week as they come from main branch..

Another angle could be the branch closest to the land office as they would be doing lots of FETs, maybe even have a dedicated person doing them.

Main branch, opens FX accounts and is huge. ALL Bangkok Bank branches take one week to get statements over a year.

[BobBKK]

For anyone interested I got the letter. Bit of a debate but got it.