Condo Irregularities ?

[Jingthing]

12 hours ago, HAPPYNUFF said:

Why buy a condo in Thailand, with all the  future problems you will undoubtedly experience.     Just rent, if   problems arise later, move on.

There are reasons.

To do what you want with your space.

To get well settled.

No landlord.

To lower the risk of being forced to move.

To prepay rent. In my case as an American there have been US tax advantages.

[soi3eddie]

10 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

There are reasons.

To do what you want with your space.

To get well settled.

No landlord.

To lower the risk of being forced to move.

To prepay rent. In my case as an American there have been US tax advantages.

Totally agreed. I've owned my Bangkok condo for 13 years now. No problems at all. Nice co-owners and and neighbours, good location, good building management and it's a lovely second (and likely permanent future residence). No chance of being evicted, ludicrous rent rises and I can furnish and redecorate as I wish. Suits me. 

[donx]

5 hours ago, Jingthing said:

To prepay rent. In my case as an American there have been US tax advantages.

Can you explain the US tax advantages? I'm not aware of any and if there are, I'd like to know if they are available to me as an American as well.

[smutcakes]

@Gussie This might sound like a stupid question, but are you 100% sure its a registered Condominium and not an Apartment building?

[Airalee]

10 hours ago, donx said:

Can you explain the US tax advantages? I'm not aware of any and if there are, I'd like to know if they are available to me as an American as well.

I was wondering the same thing.  I’m not aware of any tax advantages of owning a condo here in Thailand unless @Jingthingis referring to opportunity costs such as income received from investments (dividends) or interest income on money that was left in a US bank account etc, rather than spent on a condo.  Would be nice to understand what exactly he is referring to.

[Jingthing]

10 hours ago, donx said:

Can you explain the US tax advantages? I'm not aware of any and if there are, I'd like to know if they are available to me as an American as well.

Sorry for not clarifying.  I was referring to a personal situational thing. If I had to pay rent here that money would come from taxable withdraws from my traditional IRA. So not needing to do that lowers my taxable income.

Edited February 10, 2022 by Jingthing

[donx]

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

Sorry for not clarifying.  I was referring to a personal situational thing. If I had to pay rent here that money would come from taxable withdraws from my traditional IRA. So not needing to do that lowers my taxable income.

Thank you for the clarification.

[lkn]

On 2/7/2022 at 6:25 AM, Gussie said:

I asked to see the monthly accounts and was told that this was not possible and that they had no Juristic Code that they could give me.

I suggest you read the Thai Condo Act because it makes clear what is required from a condominium, e.g. the JPM must post monthly P&L statements, must have AGM within 120 days of the end of the financial year, must elect 3-9 committee members to serve for 2 years, but no longer than 4 years, etc.

 

Condominium must have first AGM no later than 6 months after first unit is sold, and meeting minutes and supporting documentation must be registered at the Land Office etc.

 

I would start by going to the Land Office to find out what has been registered about your building, and if any AGMs have actually been held, ask Land Office for help about what they would suggest your next step to be, which depends on what has actually happened.

 

Someone above also quoted the part from the Thai Condo Act about who can hold proxies at the AGM, this, term limits, and how to call for EGM is also good to keep in mind for potential next steps. Basically the co-owners need to take back control from the developer, and the law can probably help you here.

[zappalot]

On 2/9/2022 at 8:03 AM, Henryford said:

My condo is run by a Committee, mostly farangs,

NO farang in the committee? Run. In most cases Thais are not able to manage a building. They are lazy and do what they think is right, but their thinking is far away from laws and science....

[zappalot]

On 2/10/2022 at 9:06 PM, lkn said:

I suggest you read the Thai Condo Act ...

 

I would start by going to the Land Office...

The condo act is not worth a thing since no punishments come along for a management not obeying its clauses.

The land department needs ages (if they respond at all) and can not do anything since no punishments for any wrongdoing of a management company are in place.

Going to court? Waste of time, judges here are far away from using common sense or from (scientific) evidence. They believe any <deleted> a management company would tell them, even if they would tell: 1 and 1 = 3. Farang says it should be 2. But since a Thai management company says it is 3 it must be 3. End of story.

[dj230]

I can't recommend much other than AP Thai has been a good developer in my personal experience even though I am just renting, juristic office is great and management. I have seen numerous occasions people asking for financial data regarding condo expenses and where the maintenance fees are going to and have been given it, I have never personally asked as I am just a tenant, so I can't say what or what isn't being given to owners to see. 

 

There is an app with updates weekly on all the maintenance being done in the condo. 

 

I would never buy a condo personally in Thailand but if I had to, I feel comfortable with buying one from AP Thai. 

[lkn]

4 hours ago, zappalot said:

The condo act is not worth a thing since no punishments come along for a management not obeying its clauses.

The land department needs ages (if they respond at all) and can not do anything since no punishments for any wrongdoing of a management company are in place.

You gotta start somewhere, learning what is the law is a good first step, learning, by going to the Land Office, what has been filed about your condo, is a good second step.

 

If you actually did learn about the system, you would not complain that Land Office can’t punish, because that is absolutely not their role in this.

 

And while you can argue the court is slow/useless, the Land Office will respect you registering a new committee, if done according to the rules, the bank will respect your ownership of the bank account, if you have the proper registration from the Land Office, and developer has no legal right to object if you turn off their utilities for 6 months of non-payment, and you can charge them interests (if stated in your bylaws, limits explained in Condo Act) and even a fee to re-enable utilities.

 

So there is plenty you can do, if you just learn about how the system works, before you have to involve the courts.

Edited February 13, 2022 by lkn

[lkn]

7 hours ago, zappalot said:

Thais are not able to manage a building

Neither are many foreigners. Seriously, our former chairman and vice-chairman were foreigners and some of the most unethical, selfish, and fiscally irresponsible people, and had no clue about how to run a building.

 

Thailand doesn’t always attract the best people.

[Yellowtail]

5 minutes ago, lkn said:

So there is plenty you can do, if you just learn about how the system works...

And therein lies the rub.

[zappalot]

31 minutes ago, lkn said:

You gotta start somewhere, learning what is the law is a good first step, learning, by going to the Land Office, what has been filed about your condo, is a good second step.

I know the law in and out - but with the majority of Thai co-owners keeping quiet in case of criminal corruption there is no way. Your way works in a ideal world. Not in Thailand. Good for you you do not have a bad experience yet....