Which banks offer the best condo mortgage rates to foreigners?

[morning glory]

I would like to buy a condo but I don’t have much money at all for a down payment. Are there any zero down condo loans available for foreigners? 

As a foreigner, how long of a mortgage can I get? 20 years? 30 years?

 

Thanks for any info you can give me. 

[moontang]

Thai banks don't give mortgages to foreigners.  There was an outfit offering private financing...terms weren't good.  Singapore banks have done it, but there was a minimum of 4 million and you needed serious proof of income (possibly tax returns).

[beachproperty]

You obviously aren't a serious investor or haven't bought property before. Be that as it may....

 

You can negotiate anything and everything directly with the seller! No money down, no problem ....Just find a seller who is willing to finance the whole amount for the length of period you want. Key is finding that right seller.

[MRToMRT]

36 minutes ago, moontang said:

Thai banks don't give mortgages to foreigners.  

I had one with SCB. Admittedly a few years ago. I then remortgaged the same property with them some years later to buy a second unit.

 

It was not without its own unique Thainess. When it came to transferring the deeds back into my name, they could not find the deeds!!

Edited October 13, 2020 by MRToMRT

[moontang]

15 minutes ago, MRToMRT said:

I had one with SCB. Admittedly a few years ago. I then remortgaged the same property with them some years later to buy a second unit.

 

It was not without its own unique Thainess. When it came to transferring the deeds back into my name, they could not find the deeds!!

Were you working here with a WP?  I have never seen or heard of a Thai bank offering mortgages to foreigners, but some of the branches make their own rules, that is for sure.  Never seen a developer/builder offer financing to foreigners, either..would be a great way for them to clear inventory.

Edited October 13, 2020 by moontang

[morning glory]

35 minutes ago, moontang said:

Were you working here with a WP?  I have never seen or heard of a Thai bank offering mortgages to foreigners, but some of the branches make their own rules, that is for sure.  Never seen a developer/builder offer financing to foreigners, either..would be a great way for them to clear inventory.

I have a work permit if that would make it easier.

[MRToMRT]

1 hour ago, moontang said:

Were you working here with a WP?  

Yes

[moontang]

1 hour ago, morning glory said:

I have a work permit if that would make it easier.

You may want to look at your Thai credit bureau report, that would make a difference.  Assuming you have had accounts in your name.

[thedemon]

15 hours ago, moontang said:

Were you working here with a WP?  I have never seen or heard of a Thai bank offering mortgages to foreigners, but some of the branches make their own rules, that is for sure.  Never seen a developer/builder offer financing to foreigners, either..would be a great way for them to clear inventory.

 

They do if you have PR. The issue isn't the banks themselves but rather the Section 19 of the 2008 Condominium Act which says the following;

 

Section 19 Aliens (foreigners) and juristic persons regarded by law as aliens (foreign) may hold ownership of an apartment if the are the following:

1. Aliens permitted to have residence in the Kingdom under the Immigration law;
2. Aliens permitted to enter into the Kingdom under the investment promotion law;
3. Juristic persons as provided in Section 97 and 98 of the Land Code and registered as juristic persons under Thai law;
4. Juristic persons which are aliens under the Announcement of the National Executive Council No.281 dated November 24 (current section 4 Foreign Business Act), B.E. 2515 and have obtained promotion certificate under investment promotion law;
5. Aliens or juristic persons regarded by law as aliens who have brought in foreign currency into the Kingdom or withdraw money from Thai baht account of the person who have residence outside the Kingdom or withdraw money from a foreign currency account.

 

Source: https://www.samuiforsale.com/law-texts/new-thailand-condominium-act-2008.html

 

I have mortgages from both Kasikorn and SCB and in applying for them never felt that I was treated any differently than a Thai citizen. Basically they will have an appraisal done on the property, check your income, account movement etc. and and force you to buy a basic life insurance policy covering the loan amount. That's about it.

 

Quote

Thai banks don't give mortgages to foreigners.  There was an outfit offering private financing...terms weren't good.  Singapore banks have done it, but there was a minimum of 4 million and you needed serious proof of income (possibly tax returns).

Yes a decade or more ago there were several Thai Banks, including Bangkok Bank offering that. The Thai bank would hold the mortgage over the property and their Singaporean subsidiary would extend the loan in Singapore dollars which got around point 5 of the above. As you say the terms and conditions were horrible and there was also currency risk as the mortgage repayments were in SGD but the asset (and probably the mortgagors income) was in THB.

 

As far as I recall the Ministry of Finance warned those banks that they were pushing the envelope and I don't think any major Thai banks offer those offshore mortgages anymore.

 

 

[mrmicbkktxl]

14 hours ago, moontang said:

You may want to look at your Thai credit bureau report, that would make a difference.  Assuming you have had accounts in your name.

How to do that?

[Darksidedude]

If you dont have cash to purchase a place forget about it, no bank will loan you the money.

[Crossy]

21 minutes ago, mrmicbkktxl said:

How to do that?

 

Drop into a branch of the National Credit Bureau with ID and a small amount of cash, takes 30 mins or so and available in English or Thai.

 

Find your nearest branch here https://www.ncb.co.th/

 

IIRC you can also do it by post.

[mrmicbkktxl]

4 minutes ago, Crossy said:

 

Drop into a branch of the National Credit Bureau with ID and a small amount of cash, takes 30 mins or so and available in English or Thai.

 

Find your nearest branch here https://www.ncb.co.th/

 

IIRC you can also do it by post.

Thanks

[BTB1977]

You say you don't have much money,  but want to make a large purchase.  What happens when your employment suddenly ends. (It can happen). Who pays the mortgage? 

[Pravda]

11 minutes ago, BTB1977 said:

You say you don't have much money,  but want to make a large purchase.  What happens when your employment suddenly ends. (It can happen). Who pays the mortgage? 

 

Fact is there is no chance he will get a mortgage without a large down-payment. 

 

Thai banks are actually very strict with mortgages, more so than Western banks. This is the reason why there are so many condos for sale from developers. People pay a booking fee and when it's time to get a mortgage they simply get rejected, so the unit is back with a developer. Just went through mortgage with a wife yesterday as we took a 3.5 million loan in her name. No 20 or 30 year mortgages if you are over 40. 

 

18 hours ago, beachproperty said:

Just find a seller who is willing to finance the whole amount for the length of period you want.

 

Absolutely hilarious.

 

Are we talking about loan sharks?

[bkk6060]

Many sellers who own the place outright are carrying back loans now.  Some great deals out there negotiate your own terms.  Zero down I do not see as possible most want at least 50% down.

Edited October 14, 2020 by bkk6060

[YT3k72Em]

Work permit wont help you.  You still have to bring the full amount into the country as foreign currency with proof. PR will waive that requirement. 

Try looking at the rental cost vs. the purchase cost and calculate how many years you could rent it for the purchase price... and then think if you will still be wanting to be in that place / job / country in xx years.

[wolf81]

To me it seems a really bad idea to buy a condo if you don't have any more for a bit of downpayment to be honest. Sounds like if sh*t hits the fan, you'd be in big trouble. Or do you have some pension and plan to pay the mortgage with your pension? I guess in that case you have some security in terms of income.

 

The only mortgage in Thailand that I found was MBK guarantee, but they require a 50% downpayment and it seems the costs are really high. Not very attractive. Seems to me this company has virtually no risk and can basically print money with those terms. 

 

https://mbkg.co.th/en

 

They do claim to be very easy in accepting people though. Don't need work permits and such. 

[Max69xl]

2 hours ago, mrmicbkktxl said:

How to do that?

Do you have any credit elsewhere,like credit cards? 

[mrmicbkktxl]

2 minutes ago, Max69xl said:

Do you have any credit elsewhere,like credit cards? 

Well here in Thailand and one in Europe

[MadMuhammad]

1 hour ago, Pravda said:

 

Fact is there is no chance he will get a mortgage without a large down-payment. 

 

Thai banks are actually very strict with mortgages, more so than Western banks. This is the reason why there are so many condos for sale from developers. People pay a booking fee and when it's time to get a mortgage they simply get rejected, so the unit is back with a developer. Just went through mortgage with a wife yesterday as we took a 3.5 million loan in her name. No 20 or 30 year mortgages if you are over 40. 

 

 

Absolutely hilarious.

 

Are we talking about loan sharks?

Owner finance is very common due to the fact the mortgages are almost impossible to obtain for foreigners. 
I wanted to buy a property for 5mil. The wife and I offered 3mil deposit with a  combined income of 100K a month but we were still knocked back. Financed through the owner for 3 years at 3% with a balloon payment at the end. Far better deal than the banks anyway 

Edited October 14, 2020 by MadMuhammad

[moontang]

21 minutes ago, MadMuhammad said:

Owner finance is very common due to the fact the mortgages are almost impossible to obtain for foreigners. 
I wanted to buy a property for 5mil. The wife and I offered 3mil deposit with a  combined income of 100K a month but we were still knocked back. Financed through the owner for 3 years at 3% with a balloon payment at the end. Far better deal than the banks anyway 

But, who is going to service the loan?   What if the owner croaks?  I can't see the land office arbitrating a case of he paid/she paid..

[sitti]

5 hours ago, MadMuhammad said:

Owner finance is very common due to the fact the mortgages are almost impossible to obtain for foreigners. 
I wanted to buy a property for 5mil. The wife and I offered 3mil deposit with a  combined income of 100K a month but we were still knocked back. Financed through the owner for 3 years at 3% with a balloon payment at the end. Far better deal than the banks anyway 

Never heard of it. I'm a private banking customer of Thai banks and own multiple properties and buildings in Bangkok. Of course I have extensive experiences in getting mortgages from Thai banks and this is the first time I heard of financing through the owner. Either you're not explaining it right or shady way of getting a loan. Even there is such thing, it would be completely unregulated, zero protection to buyer, which the owner can easily screw the buyer. How can you possibly be perfectly certain that owner will transfer you the property after you paid off this so called mortgage through the owner. Unless you're talking about condo company partnering with a bank, and they offer pre-arranged mortgage to qualified potential buyer. But even then buyer would still have to go through bank's process. Nobody should do any type of loan with anybody but real banks. 

 

[madmen]

It's called vendor finance but always heavily favors the vendor and they will have a repossession clause built in if you default twice and all your equity vanishes. Most of the buyers are so excited to get a "loan" they will take any terms offered as majority have bad credit ratings or bankrupt etc. Or in the case of thailand there is no credit. 

[Peterw42]

On 10/13/2020 at 3:13 PM, MRToMRT said:

I had one with SCB. Admittedly a few years ago. I then remortgaged the same property with them some years later to buy a second unit.

 

It was not without its own unique Thainess. When it came to transferring the deeds back into my name, they could not find the deeds!!

How does that work, you cant own a foriegn quota condo unless the funds come from overseas, if a Thai bank lends you funds its not foreign currency.

[Peterw42]

37 minutes ago, sitti said:

Never heard of it. I'm a private banking customer of Thai banks and own multiple properties and buildings in Bangkok. Of course I have extensive experiences in getting mortgages from Thai banks and this is the first time I heard of financing through the owner. Either you're not explaining it right or shady way of getting a loan. Even there is such thing, it would be completely unregulated, zero protection to buyer, which the owner can easily screw the buyer. How can you possibly be perfectly certain that owner will transfer you the property after you paid off this so called mortgage through the owner. Unless you're talking about condo company partnering with a bank, and they offer pre-arranged mortgage to qualified potential buyer. But even then buyer would still have to go through bank's process. Nobody should do any type of loan with anybody but real banks. 

 

How do you own Thai property without the funds coming from overseas ? Do the Thai banks borrow the money outside Thailand.

Or are you talking about owning 49% of a company that borrows and owns property

[morning glory]

Many thanks to all for your information. 

[sitti]

1 hour ago, Peterw42 said:

How do you own Thai property without the funds coming from overseas ? Do the Thai banks borrow the money outside Thailand.

Or are you talking about owning 49% of a company that borrows and owns property

I have Thai citizenship. Before I had the citizenship, I had to rely heavily on my Thai family.

[MadMuhammad]

7 hours ago, sitti said:

Never heard of it. I'm a private banking customer of Thai banks and own multiple properties and buildings in Bangkok. Of course I have extensive experiences in getting mortgages from Thai banks and this is the first time I heard of financing through the owner. Either you're not explaining it right or shady way of getting a loan. Even there is such thing, it would be completely unregulated, zero protection to buyer, which the owner can easily screw the buyer. How can you possibly be perfectly certain that owner will transfer you the property after you paid off this so called mortgage through the owner. Unless you're talking about condo company partnering with a bank, and they offer pre-arranged mortgage to qualified potential buyer. But even then buyer would still have to go through bank's process. Nobody should do any type of loan with anybody but real banks. 

 

The transfer is done on the day the deposit was paid and there is a note made on the rear of the chanote that the property is under finance. We signed a contract with included stipulations that should we be later than 30 days on any payment or the final balloon payment all monies pairs to the owner will not be refunded and we will lose all rights to the property. 
I spoke to quite a few people a few people that have gone through the process and I was also advised by my lawyer, hence insisting the property was transferred into my wife’s name in the first instance. It is a legal and common way for foreigners to buy property. 
We also have the option to payout the mortgage early with no penalty. 
 

https://remthailand.asia/making-owner-finacing-a-viable-option/

 

 

[MadMuhammad]

7 hours ago, madmen said:

It's called vendor finance but always heavily favors the vendor and they will have a repossession clause built in if you default twice and all your equity vanishes. Most of the buyers are so excited to get a "loan" they will take any terms offered as majority have bad credit ratings or bankrupt etc. Or in the case of thailand there is no credit. 

We had the property transferred on the date of execution of the contract but we do have the repossession clause in our contract. I have the funds to pay the loan in its entirety but I make far more investing in stocks than the 3% I pay in interest. I’ll never be in the position to default so it’s out Something I have to worry about.

We also have a ‘early payout’ clause where we can pay the total balance owning minus any future interest payments. I’m happy with our deal