Buying house with land on Samui

[oldmanstan]

Good morning all,

 

Looking at a small two story property on Samui with land.  House is already built, wife is Thai as our three kids are as well.  

 

We have a house upcountry, but the land was dirt cheap and the build was done by us with no plans. So not a newbie in the game but this marks a significant difference in purchase and price.

 

As this is a bit of a different beast I have a few questions for those with experience.  Thinking a a structural engineer inspection makes sense, what can one expect on costs for this, would they also survey the land to make sure the chanote matches the markers?  Is there anything necessary to check that the house was built according to plan with the land office and there wouldnt be any issues?  Anything extra you may need to look at regarding liens against a property?  Is a title search necessary or would that show up at the land transfer office?

 

Anything that I may be forgetting or missing?  

 

Much thanks in advance.

 

-Stan

 

[bob smith]

Just remember to pay for it in cash and put it in your wifes name.

 

should be fine.

 

bob.

[oldmanstan]

6 minutes ago, bob smith said:

Just remember to pay for it in cash and put it in your wifes name.

 

should be fine.

 

bob.

 

Thanks for the reply @bob smith

 

That was something else I was just going to add  The purchase price is about 5million the, how do you handle the transferring of cash?  Sign over and then directly to the bank to transfer? Our previous property was 500,000 THB we just brought cash directly to the Land transfer office, paid the transfer fee and once it was completed handed over the cash to buyer. Seems less ideal when handling 5million in cash, what is the typical procedure ?  Escrow looks to only be an option with major developers and projects.

[Tropicalevo]

Lots of questions spring to mind on reading the original message.

Most would be answered by a reliable lawyer - there are some on Samui.

My concern is always the after-sale.

Property access, electricity, water supply etc.

The location of the property will decide a lot of these things. Government water ( it runs out every year) Government electricity (development electricity costs can be uncontrolled) and so on. Is the property on a government road and so on?

[Crossy]

Regarding payment - Madam uses a cashier's cheque, (actually last time she used a QR bank transfer) to pay the land price, cash for the taxes at the land office.

 

[oldmanstan]

Just now, Tropicalevo said:

Lots of questions spring to mind on reading the original message.

Most would be answered by a reliable lawyer - there are some on Samui.

My concern is always the after-sale.

Property access, electricity, water supply etc.

The location of the property will decide a lot of these things. Government water ( it runs out every year) Government electricity (development electricity costs can be uncontrolled) and so on. Is the property on a government road and so on?

 

and thank you @Tropicalevo , all valid and great suggestions.

 

Ive lived on Samui for a few years prior so Im aware of a few pitfalls / issues here.  This is not a sub development / moobaan but a house on government road.  The water is government supplied, knowing that there is water issues on Samui there is a 2000L tank.  One thing I am unfamiliar with is the costs of having water refilled on the island, I will look more into that.  The electric is government electricity as well, so standard government rates.

 

Perhaps a naive question but what exactly would the lawyer look for in a purchase like this directly from owner?

[oldmanstan]

2 minutes ago, Crossy said:

Regarding payment - Madam uses a cashier's cheque, (actually last time she used a QR bank transfer) to pay the land price, cash for the taxes at the land office.

 

 

Thank you for the reply as well @Crossy

 

Cashier cheque I guess would make the most sense, Ive never used or drafted one in Thailand myself so that's something I would look into.  I was curious if QR / bank transfer would be enough to do as a payment once the land office payments were settled.

 

Maybe one more question Id ask of you, every house I've had in Thailand has had some sort of electrical issue both the new condos and house we've rented and the house we built.  Can this actually be mitigated by a inspector having a look and suggesting fixes ?

[Tropicalevo]

2 minutes ago, oldmanstan said:

 

and thank you @Tropicalevo , all valid and great suggestions.

 

Ive lived on Samui for a few years prior so Im aware of a few pitfalls / issues here.  This is not a sub development / moobaan but a house on government road.  The water is government supplied, knowing that there is water issues on Samui there is a 2000L tank.  One thing I am unfamiliar with is the costs of having water refilled on the island, I will look more into that.  The electric is government electricity as well, so standard government rates.

 

Perhaps a naive question but what exactly would the lawyer look for in a purchase like this directly from owner?

Glad that you are not a greenhorn. You will survive! (I too live on Samui)

Water truck prices went though the roof this year as even the well supplies are drying up.

September we were paying 350 to 400 baht for a small truck (2 x mtr3) and 600 baht for a large truck (5-6 x mtr3). These were prices for 'regular' users. Ad hoc users were paying up to 900 baht for the larger trucks.

The water quality from the trucks is terrible. Many owners are installing the large filter systems to their properties.

We are on a private development and the owner has now improved the development water supply so we are using less trucks.

I have heard that Suratthani are going to clamp down on unregistered wells, but that won't affect you as you are on government water.

I will send a PM re the reason for a lawyer.

[oldmanstan]

2 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

Glad that you are not a greenhorn. You will survive! (I too live on Samui)

Water truck prices went though the roof this year as even the well supplies are drying up.

September we were paying 350 to 400 baht for a small truck (2 x mtr3) and 600 baht for a large truck (5-6 x mtr3). These were prices for 'regular' users. Ad hoc users were paying up to 900 baht for the larger trucks.

The water quality from the trucks is terrible. Many owners are installing the large filter systems to their properties.

We are on a private development and the owner has now improved the development water supply so we are using less trucks.

I have heard that Suratthani are going to clamp down on unregistered wells, but that won't affect you as you are on government water.

I will send a PM re the reason for a lawyer.

 

That's great, really do appreciate that information.  I've noticed the dirty water from trucks on one of my last stays on Samui as well, and they used this to fill the house water and pool of the rental .  Looking forward to the PM. 

[Crossy]

19 minutes ago, oldmanstan said:

 

Thank you for the reply as well @Crossy

 

Cashier cheque I guess would make the most sense, Ive never used or drafted one in Thailand myself so that's something I would look into.  I was curious if QR / bank transfer would be enough to do as a payment once the land office payments were settled.

 

Maybe one more question Id ask of you, every house I've had in Thailand has had some sort of electrical issue both the new condos and house we've rented and the house we built.  Can this actually be mitigated by a inspector having a look and suggesting fixes ?

 

You need to do the funds transfer whilst in the land office. Hand over the cash or cheque in front of the officer or show the officer the transfer screen (get agreements from the seller and land office on how to do the funds swap beforehand).

 

For your electrical, you might get a licenced sparks to look over it, I've not seen an actual electrical inspector other than the PEA chap whose "inspection" was cursory to say the least.

[Tropicalevo]

Water quality of the water delivered to refill my pool after repairs. This was back in June when the water was 'better' quality.

 

[Crossy]

Just now, Tropicalevo said:

Water quality of the water delivered to refill my pool after repairs. This was back in June when the water was 'better' quality.

 

 

I reckon you could walk on that even as an atheist

[oldmanstan]

10 minutes ago, Crossy said:

 

You need to do the funds transfer whilst in the land office. Hand over the cash or cheque in front of the officer or show the officer the transfer screen (get agreements from the seller and land office on how to do the funds swap beforehand).

 

For your electrical, you might get a licenced sparks to look over it, I've not seen an actual electrical inspector other than the PEA chap whose "inspection" was cursory to say the least.

 

Ok, will see what makes the most sense.  Thinking the Cashier check looks like the better option but if they're good with direct transfer we might go that route.

 

Never had much luck with electric here unfortunately, and again noticed it to be the same even in the higher priced builds we've stayed in or rented.

 

Thanks again @Crossy !

[oldmanstan]

10 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

Water quality of the water delivered to refill my pool after repairs. This was back in June when the water was 'better' quality.

 

 

Beautiful, reminds me of the ponds we'd hop in back as a kid. 

[Sophon]

I believe 5 million is more than most banking apps will allow for QR payments or transfers.

[simon43]

44 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

Water quality of the water delivered to refill my pool after repairs. This was back in June when the water was 'better' quality.

 

I'd be more concerned about crocodiles in that 'swamp'!

[simon43]

11 minutes ago, Sophon said:

I believe 5 million is more than most banking apps will allow for QR payments or transfers.

I used to just pay in cash at the land office. The most I paid was about 8 million baht, took a fair time to count it!

[oldmanstan]

34 minutes ago, Sophon said:

I believe 5 million is more than most banking apps will allow for QR payments or transfers.

 

@Sophon, thanks and believe that to be the case as well and I suppose its a matter of validating that we can do 1mil a day (or whatever the limit is) once the transfer has gone through or if everything has to be shown exactly to the land transfer officer exactly as going through on the same day.

 

Ultimately Cashier cheque may be the best idea here.

[oldmanstan]

23 minutes ago, simon43 said:

I used to just pay in cash at the land office. The most I paid was about 8 million baht, took a fair time to count it!

 

@simon43 , Guess my question of handing it over in thousand baht bills isnt as farfetched as I thought   Granted seems like a bit of a risk.