More Land

[Gary A]

A couple years ago a friend of a Thai friend of mine wanted to sell twelve rai of land and wanted to know if I was interested. It turned out that a couple of rai was pretty much swamp and most of the rest of it was an overgrown orchard. Old somoh and mango trees. He was willing to sell it for 400,000 baht. I told my Thai friend that the guy was dreaming. I told him I might pay 20,000 baht per rai but no more. The answer was that was impossible. The subject came up from time to time but I told my friend that I wasn't interested, way too much money. Recently the guy has been calling again and was willing to come down on his price. I asked my Thai friend to get a copy of the chanote. It turns out that three rai has totally disappeared, that six rai has no chanote and only three rai has a chanote. I figured that the three rai with the chanote was the swamp. I offered 20,000 per rai because I happen to have mountains of dirt nearby from digging a pond.

Now the rest of the story. It turns out that the owner of the land owes another friend of mine and her husband 50,000 baht. They own a little shop on the mountain where I drink beer a couple times a week. The lady asked me if I was interested in buying that land. I told her that the guy misrepresented the land and that I had lost interest but may be interested in the three rai with the chanote. She immediately called the guy and he told her that he had to sell the land together because the three rai had the access to the rest. It appears that the six rai can be sold in about five years and a chanote can be made. I told the lady that no way was I interested in land that had no chanote. She hassled him so much about the money he owed her that he finally decided that I could have the three rai for my 60,000 baht offer. I told her that when he has a chanote for the other six rai that I may be interested but that it wasn't my problem.

Today I took the copy of the chanote and had a closer look. It turns out that the three rai is the high corner ground and is a triangle shape with road frontage on two sides. The balance of the land is behind this piece. He is supposed to come tomorrow to settle up and transfer the property to my wife. I still have no where to move my dirt but it is a NICE piece of land. One should never underestimate the nagging power of a woman who wants her money. I'll still be a little surprised if the deal actually happens but the lady assured me that it would. I'd feel bad but since the land owner is such a crooked conniving little bastard I feel just fine about it.

[Gary A]

A couple years ago a friend of a Thai friend of mine wanted to sell twelve rai of land and wanted to know if I was interested. It turned out that a couple of rai was pretty much swamp and most of the rest of it was an overgrown orchard. Old somoh and mango trees. He was willing to sell it for 400,000 baht. I told my Thai friend that the guy was dreaming. I told him I might pay 20,000 baht per rai but no more. The answer was that was impossible. The subject came up from time to time but I told my friend that I wasn't interested, way too much money. Recently the guy has been calling again and was willing to come down on his price. I asked my Thai friend to get a copy of the chanote. It turns out that three rai has totally disappeared, that six rai has no chanote and only three rai has a chanote. I figured that the three rai with the chanote was the swamp. I offered 20,000 per rai because I happen to have mountains of dirt nearby from digging a pond.

Now the rest of the story. It turns out that the owner of the land owes another friend of mine and her husband 50,000 baht. They own a little shop on the mountain where I drink beer a couple times a week. The lady asked me if I was interested in buying that land. I told her that the guy misrepresented the land and that I had lost interest but may be interested in the three rai with the chanote. She immediately called the guy and he told her that he had to sell the land together because the three rai had the access to the rest. It appears that the six rai can be sold in about five years and a chanote can be made. I told the lady that no way was I interested in land that had no chanote. She hassled him so much about the money he owed her that he finally decided that I could have the three rai for my 60,000 baht offer. I told her that when he has a chanote for the other six rai that I may be interested but that it wasn't my problem.

Today I took the copy of the chanote and had a closer look. It turns out that the three rai is the high corner ground and is a triangle shape with road frontage on two sides. The balance of the land is behind this piece. He is supposed to come tomorrow to settle up and transfer the property to my wife. I still have no where to move my dirt but it is a NICE piece of land. One should never underestimate the nagging power of a woman who wants her money. I'll still be a little surprised if the deal actually happens but the lady assured me that it would. I'd feel bad but since the land owner is such a crooked conniving little bastard I feel just fine about it.

An update. Today my wife has the chanote for the three rai in her name. The price was 60,000 baht. The other six rai actually has a chanote but there is a note on the back of it that it cannot be sold for ten years. That note was put on the chanote over five years ago. The land office recommended to my wife that if she wanted the six rai just to put her name on the chanote as the mortgage holder. I offered the guy 30,000 baht to put my wife's name on that paper and he did. She must be considered as a good risk. The balance of 90,000 baht for both parcels to be paid sometime in the future. The lady he owed the money to assured him that my wife and I were good for it. He was paid 90,000 baht which is half of it today. Now I have somewhere to dump my dirt.

[Lickey]

Gary, well done on obtaining the land, next is transport for your soil, if you have a light loamy soil, make sure they fill the trucks up, if its the red clay type, make sure they fill 3/4 of the truck at least, Last december when the footings were being done for new salon, we needed 14 loads of topsoil, all the trucks were 6 wheelers, and were delivering 1/2 loads, i told haulage boss that the trucks were not full and would only pay for 1/2 loads, 250bht, he said that the trucks could not tip a full load of red clay, I explained to him that the trucks had the advantage of tipping downhill and it wouldnt be a problem, sure enough, the next truck came near full and tipped, no problem, We should have paid 7000bht, but being there and monitoring the situation saved me 1500bht, not a great deal, but enough to let the haulage boss im not a thick falang when it comes to tippers and haulage, i suppose the moral is be there or be fleeced, Good luck, Cheers Lickey..

[Gary A]

Gary, well done on obtaining the land, next is transport for your soil, if you have a light loamy soil, make sure they fill the trucks up, if its the red clay type, make sure they fill 3/4 of the truck at least, Last december when the footings were being done for new salon, we needed 14 loads of topsoil, all the trucks were 6 wheelers, and were delivering 1/2 loads, i told haulage boss that the trucks were not full and would only pay for 1/2 loads, 250bht, he said that the trucks could not tip a full load of red clay, I explained to him that the trucks had the advantage of tipping downhill and it wouldnt be a problem, sure enough, the next truck came near full and tipped, no problem, We should have paid 7000bht, but being there and monitoring the situation saved me 1500bht, not a great deal, but enough to let the haulage boss im not a thick falang when it comes to tippers and haulage, i suppose the moral is be there or be fleeced, Good luck, Cheers Lickey..

It appears that I STILL don't have a place for my dirt. My wife says the low area is perfect for rice paddy because the level of the pond is higher than that ground.

Oh well, it looks like I saved some money.

[Gary A]

It took two tractors about a day to make these two rice paddies. There is a pond on the far back side but it may not be big enough to flood them. It cost 5,500 baht to make the two paddies.

[Maigo6]

I bought 7 Rai for 120,000 Baht a few months ago, original price was 180,000, I made an offer of 120,000 and left it at that.

A few days later, the seller accepted, its good land 200 Metres off the main road, only 2 mins from my house has a chanote also, with the 10 year deal dated 2 - 3 years ago.

It will be mainly rice farm, I like it and will build a nice hut there too. Brilliant in the cold season for barbecues and beer when the sun goes down, big fire going.........great stuff.