So What Have You Done?

[what next?]

It's been a year now since all my alarm bells started to ring!

Thanks to TV posters I had plenty of information regarding this dodgy company thing.

Pity I didn't log in three years ago when I stupidly followed the advice of a false Scottish friend about forming a company to own a property.

He had of course been here for 18 years and knew everything. As a fellow Scot and old workmate from the eighties I thought I'd listen to him.

Unfortunately "Jim Baxter" (not his real name of course) from lakeside view, mabprachan had been here too long, no more ethics, no honesty or money left. I was fresh meat for him and his equally disingenuous Thai wife.

Now water under the bridge. Poor, pitiful guy.

I believe if one cannot live peacefully in your bought and paid for home ----- what else is there?

A pensioner should be secure and not have a dream home built on a foundation of shifting sand.

It has taken me a year, and about 10 different lots of viewers from 10 different agencies ....but...

Today I sold my Thai home. -----Money in my Thai bank.---- It's over!

The good sometimes win in Pattaya

Have you done anything about what you've read here regarding property ? I'd be interested to hear.

[MarcHolt]

It's been a year now since all my alarm bells started to ring!

Thanks to TV posters I had plenty of information regarding this dodgy company thing.

Pity I didn't log in three years ago when I stupidly followed the advice of a false Scottish friend about forming a company to own a property.

He had of course been here for 18 years and knew everything. As a fellow Scot and old workmate from the eighties I thought I'd listen to him.

Unfortunately "Jim Baxter" (not his real name of course) from lakeside view, mabprachan had been here too long, no more ethics, no honesty or money left. I was fresh meat for him and his equally disingenuous Thai wife.

Now water under the bridge. Poor, pitiful guy.

I believe if one cannot live peacefully in your bought and paid for home ----- what else is there?

A pensioner should be secure and not have a dream home built on a foundation of shifting sand.

It has taken me a year, and about 10 different lots of viewers from 10 different agencies ....but...

Today I sold my Thai home. -----Money in my Thai bank.---- It's over!

The good sometimes win in Pattaya

Have you done anything about what you've read here regarding property ? I'd be interested to hear.

It's hardly fair to blame your Scottish friend. After all, he was just parroting what all the other foreigners were doing. No one thought the government would be foolish enough to call us on this bending of the law.

But obviously there is no accounting for the Thai capacity to shoot themselves in the foot. The new FBA is already seeing a huge amount of foreign investment fleeing, mostly before it even gets here. But as the Thais can't see that money they don't see the danger either. Worse, many foreigners are leaving the country, taking their skills and money with them. It may take a couple more years, but suddenly the Thais will wake up one day wondering where all the money has gone.

Certainly, the boys from Esarn are already well aware of the danger. Many of them no longer have construction jobs. Their wives can no longer sell Som Tam. Instead, they have returned to their barren farms where they are fomenting unrest. A large group of Thai farmers tried to march on Bangkok last month. They got as far as Korat before being turned back. If the government thinks they have swept the problem under the carpet, they are very wrong. These farmers are very upset. Expect to see more unrest soon.

Congratulations on selling your property. I assume you warned the buyer about the dangers of buying it with a Thai nominee company?

[twix38]

personally, I avoided the mistake of following the crowd into something that was always known absolutely to be illegal and a work around of the law. This was always clear and therefore anyone could see that it was not a good way to make one of the largest investments of your life and buy a property.

If you (and all the others) had more common sense and less greed becuase you could spend a lot less to buy a property a lot bigger than at home, then you would not have chosen to form a company and take a calculated risk or bury your head in the sand- even if everybody else was doing it.

It's a fact no matter how you want to describe it, so you took on more risk than I was prepared to do in a corrupt and changing 3rd world country that loves to part foreigners from their money.

With sensible facts to hand and not following the crowd, many people would have been spared the heartache of the Thai poltical and legal changes and enforcement that has come about.

I do have sympathy, but you also made a choice to bend (I would say break) the prevailing laws.

Edited April 5, 2007 by twix38

[brahmburgers]

I got in to forming a 'Thai corporation' with the idea of getting a better visa. My Chiang Mai lawyer (I was her 1st case!) was very charming, but not smart. Indeed, I would often clue her in on things that she should have known. While the process was loping along, every few weeks she would call to tell me she needed more money to finalize the process. I got more and more depressed and wanted to pull out, but was already in deep. Finally I got the corporation (valued at 2 million baht!) for a bit over $1,000 - but worth nearly nothing in the real world - and there were still more things needed for me to get the blasted visa I was aiming for.

When the Thai taxman breatheth down my collar once too many times, I opted to drop the whole thing. NOT EASY IN THAILAND. If cost me an additional Bt.8,000 to get kill the corporation. Not a good experience. Lesson learned: stay legal, but don't try any fancy business dealings that involve government. Thai government will bury the little guy who tries to go legit.

I had another experience with another Thai lawyer that was most disappointing, but that's a story for another column.

[RAZZELL]

It's been a year now since all my alarm bells started to ring!

Thanks to TV posters I had plenty of information regarding this dodgy company thing.

Pity I didn't log in three years ago when I stupidly followed the advice of a false Scottish friend about forming a company to own a property.

He had of course been here for 18 years and knew everything. As a fellow Scot and old workmate from the eighties I thought I'd listen to him.

Unfortunately "Jim Baxter" (not his real name of course) from lakeside view, mabprachan had been here too long, no more ethics, no honesty or money left. I was fresh meat for him and his equally disingenuous Thai wife.

Now water under the bridge. Poor, pitiful guy.

I believe if one cannot live peacefully in your bought and paid for home ----- what else is there?

A pensioner should be secure and not have a dream home built on a foundation of shifting sand.

It has taken me a year, and about 10 different lots of viewers from 10 different agencies ....but...

Today I sold my Thai home. -----Money in my Thai bank.---- It's over!

The good sometimes win in Pattaya

Have you done anything about what you've read here regarding property ? I'd be interested to hear.

Yeah, all doom and gloom...But show me one case where someone has lost their house due to the new "rules"?

I think more a case of "same same but different"

RAZZ

[what next?]

It's hardly fair to blame your Scottish friend. After all, he was just parroting what all the other foreigners were doing. No one thought the government would be foolish enough to call us on this bending of the law.

Not just parroting, he was motivated by greed for the commission from the lawyer, land sale and building contractor.

But obviously there is no accounting for the Thai capacity to shoot themselves in the foot. The new FBA is already seeing a huge amount of foreign investment fleeing, mostly before it even gets here. But as the Thais can't see that money they don't see the danger either. Worse, many foreigners are leaving the country, taking their skills and money with them. It may take a couple more years, but suddenly the Thais will wake up one day wondering where all the money has gone.

Certainly, the boys from Esarn are already well aware of the danger. Many of them no longer have construction jobs. Their wives can no longer sell Som Tam. Instead, they have returned to their barren farms where they are fomenting unrest. A large group of Thai farmers tried to march on Bangkok last month. They got as far as Korat before being turned back. If the government thinks they have swept the problem under the carpet, they are very wrong. These farmers are very upset. Expect to see more unrest soon.

Congratulations on selling your property. I assume you warned the buyer about the dangers of buying it with a Thai nominee company ?

Thank you sir, my buyer was fully aware of the company problems, he arranged to put everything in his wife's name.

[donx]

I'm curious to know whether you ended up losing, coming out about even, or gaining money with the sale of your property. No doubt there was a psychological toll that you had to pay, but leaving that aside, I'm curious how things turned out strictly from a financial perspective.

[what next?]

I'm curious to know whether you ended up losing, coming out about even, or gaining money with the sale of your property. No doubt there was a psychological toll that you had to pay, but leaving that aside, I'm curious how things turned out strictly from a financial perspective.

Donx,

Strictly financial? Well not really, about 3/4 mill baht for the 3 years.

I am actually sad to have had to sell. Peace of mind means more to me however.

Just a matter of time before the lawyers make a killing restructuring existing companies if in deed that is possible.

Anyway all my career I've been trained to be pro-active.