Banks & Property Buying

[a269652]

Is there any bank which is better than another when used for transferring funds from abroad?

I assume it's quicker to xfer to a large main branch rather than a small sub-branch?

Regards

[thaigene2]

I assume you are opening a Thai account here in YOUR own name before you transfer the money..

You need to do that in order to prove to the Thai authorities that you brought hard currency into the country to make the purchase (thai baht for only thai people and all that stuff..). Some say you can send it to a Thai Lawyers trust account - but I would rather not.

Siam Commercial Bank (the 'royal' bank), Kasikorn (also known as Thai Farmers Bank) and Bangkok Bank should all work fine. Some can be difficult though about opening the account in the first place. Experiences differ from branch to branch - some want to see Work Permits, etc. others more relaxed about it. (hey when I moved here you couldn't register a mobile phone without a work permit!)

Make sure your transfers are more than 20,000 USD each (or just make it one big transfer - fight for a better rate) in order to get the Foreign Exchange Certificate required to show the Land Office when you complete the deal and register the condo/property in your name (this is when/where the lawyer hands over the cheque to the seller).

Good luck.

[a269652]

^ Thank you!