Yesterday, completed the purchase of a property at the Land Office and made the final payment to the seller.

 

Driving home, phoned the seller to advise we were coming to check and secure/lock the property.

 

Seller said they would not be moving till the end of the month.

 

There was no discussion at any time indicating their intention.

 

Have spent all afternoon and evening attempting to resolve the issue.

 

At this time, nothing has been resolved.  The selling agent is totally incompetent.

 

I will be seeking legal advice in the morning.

 

Anyone with knowledge/experience with this dilemma, I would really appreciate any advice.

 

I have thought of going and disconnecting the electricity.

 

 

Did you inspect the property and premises on the day of closing?  Buyer beware.  Once in the U.S. I sold a house and bought another.  Closed the deal on both and moved same day.  What a pain!  And it rained as I moved into the new place.

 

First place I bought, the seller was so cheap he removed many of the light bulbs.  Second place the seller removed the water softener.

So you met the seller or their agent at the land office to finalise the title transfer, make payment and receive the chanote? If yes then the seller in occupation without any agreement should not be there. They are occuping your property without permission. Hopefully the authorities can assist you. Welcome to the land of misunderstanding... or maybe there is more to this story than you first posted? Final payment? Usually when land is transferred it's a one-off. Please feel free to update us.

 

No agreement in place, chanote in your posession, I would have thought they are now tresspassing. Go to the nearest Police station and report it, ask them to remove the tresspassers.

1 hour ago, Seafarer124 said:

Driving home, phoned the seller to advise we were coming to check and secure/lock the property.

 

Seller said they would not be moving till the end of the month.

 

Repeat what you have stated. Tell them they have X hours to remove their property, then you are changing the locks.

 

Alternatively, if they want a lease for 2 weeks, the cost is Y.

 

Do not change the locks yourself. Do not move any of their stuff yourself. Do not do anything yourself. Manual work is for Thai citizens only.

 

If the property is a condo pay the juristic manager for new access cards and have them revoke the old cards.

 

Be polite but firm. When they realise that they will forfeit any goods and chattels that are left within the curtilage of the property they will soon get a move on.

 

If they leave anything behind make sure you keep one item as it will make a great story over dinner.

Twist is that farang can not own land. Sorry Charlie!

Say they can stay but you'll charge them 50,000 rent for the remaining month

Farangs can't own land so if the police show up he will just say the purchase is in valid. He won't be leaving at the end of the month either.

 

1 hour ago, Don Chance said:

Farangs can't own land so if the police show up he will just say the purchase is in valid. He won't be leaving at the end of the month either.

 

 

NOWHERE does the OP state that he bought land... you should either read more slowly or at least inform yourself, that the land offices in Thailand are also responsible to register condominium sales... 

Get the condo office to turn the water off, they will do that straight away. If not a condo then try for electric but that will take time.

 

Send round Sharky.

 

Quite possible the guy won't move out the end of the month.

Pick him up and carry him out of the property, change the locks immediately. 

To diffuse the situation, Ask your lawyer to give them the option to stay until the end of the month but pay rent, you also have the right now to disconnect the property from the electricity supply forthwith and see how he will like them apples...

I'd be careful handling the situation whichever path you choose.  There were a pair of squatters occupying some land in Chiang Mai we were looking at.  They were threatening violence (under copious influence of lao khao) to whoever purchased the property.  While there are many good willed and intentioned Thai people out there, there are others with nothing to lose that will kill for 100 baht or if you make them lose face somehow.  Just keep it in mind when you get them removed, however you do it.

There should be a professional escrow system where the seller gets  0 satang 0 until they comply will all stipulations in a sales contact. These squatters are literally stealing from you to deny you access to your real property? Unbelievable, why not just let them stay until the rains end!

5 hours ago, Seafarer124 said:

Anyone with knowledge/experience with this dilemma, I would really appreciate any advice.

When you hand over the money at the land office, they hand over the keys.

This is the normal way the transfer is done.

It is strange the buyer didn't discuss this during the purchase process

2 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

When you hand over the money at the land office, they hand over the keys.

This is the normal way the transfer is done.

However, you know as well as I do that people always keep copies. That's why when you finally occupy said property you change the locks,  even as a simple renter.

did the Contract actually have stated 'Immediate Possession'?  

 

Personally I think taking it to a lawyer and paying him to resolve this is the best solution.  The more you stay out of it the better.

Leaving the person in there is a serious risk, what if he gets drunk tonight and starts smashing windows and making holes in every wall? 

Get the police and/or a lawyer and get him removed asap.

10 hours ago, Don Chance said:

Farangs can't own land so if the police show up he will just say the purchase is in valid. He won't be leaving at the end of the month either.

 

 

Why you need to troll each and every thread, where the words alcohol or property are in the thread title?

 

You must lead a very boring life

11 hours ago, Damrongsak said:

Did you inspect the property and premises on the day of closing?  Buyer beware.  Once in the U.S. I sold a house and bought another.  Closed the deal on both and moved same day.  What a pain!  And it rained as I moved into the new place.

 

First place I bought, the seller was so cheap he removed many of the light bulbs.  Second place the seller removed the water softener.

 Bought a house in England 1974 . All light bulbs were removed plus the toilet roll holder . 

Can I help ?

Handle this very carefully as he is now staying in your house & without many  photos damage

is almost impossible to prove,

Contact the agent who may need to take legal advice, that is why they get commission.

Might have to cool your heels for a day or 2, & no, I am not saying that is right, but possibly prudent

So he has your money and won't leave. True colours revealed. The gall to be on the receiving end and to inconvenience the giver as much as possible.

3 hours ago, kingstonkid said:

Personally I think taking it to a lawyer and paying him to resolve this is the best solution.  The more you stay out of it the better.

 

I would never even contemplate buying a property in Thailand without a lawyer doing the "conveyancing". But I don't speak Thai, nor do I have a detailed knowledge of Thai property law. Even some top notch agents are pretty useless.

For what it's worth, a Thai friend sold his house in Chiang Mai and stayed in it (by arrangement)a month or two after the transaction was complete. Similarly, the people next door waited a few months before the former owners moved. I don't know if that's all that unusual here. 

Inspection before completion with completion only after property cleared is your only protection. Also trusted friend or family should wait in the property whilst completion takes place otherwise how do you actually know what you are buying? They could take the kitchen or a/c with them. Now you will have to employ a lawyer to apply to court for summary possession and get the police to exercise it. Be prepared for damage. Getting a locksmith to change the locks might just result in them changing them back. Have you checked that all bills have been settled?

You are gettin a lot of advise from many people?

As a long time landlord who has made a lot of mistakes, I would recomend that you consult a real estate attorney and verify what the law says?

It shouldn't cost much and might save you a lot of money and trouble?

I know its frustrating, but this is not the time to act on emotion.

11 minutes ago, dundas said:

For what it's worth, a Thai friend sold his house in Chiang Mai and stayed in it (by arrangement)a month or two after the transaction was complete. Similarly, the people next door waited a few months before the former owners moved. I don't know if that's all that unusual here. 

that's the "polite" way to do it,   when both parties are trustworthy.    of course ,  it SHOULD BE DISCUSSED  and written into the contract to be safe.

if one wants to protect themself........ then certain provisions and money held back until property is vacant should also be written down.   Lawyers ?  does anyone know a good one?

 

If in an area where there is a local poo yai bahn...........  a contract WITNESSED  by him/her will carry a lot of weight !   A few hundred baht for his trouble should suffice     ok, make it 500  

 

true story re above paragraph.     i divided a piece of land to sell some to my neighbor that wanted some.   Part of the end of a roof ( large storage building) that was on the piece they wanted would hang over into my remaining land.   I made them agree,  written in contract,  that they would remove at their expense the part that hung over. 

Later, they put off doing that , so i went to the poo yai bahn who covered this district ( not same as the witness)  ...... showed him the contract,   and he went to the buyer and told them   " get er done ! "         they did