Prosecution Looms Over Deceased French Woman's Fortune

[CartagenaWarlock]

4 hours ago, proton said:

This can't be true as know it all's are always telling us buying a house via the company route with Thai shareholders owning 51% is legal. Until you die it seems then the greedy rats decide it's not and want to take it away from your estate.

I never fell for that ruse. When I bought a house for my daughter's mom (she was a penthouse model in Poseidon who I impregnated when she was 19), I bought the house in her name. I bought a condo in my name.

[swerve]

Thailand has chosen not to sell land to foreigners.  Wise idea.  Some slick Thai lawyer found a path/method for foreign hidden ownership of land.  But, things don't always work out for the foreign entity when they follow this route.

[Surasak]

4 hours ago, Excogitator said:

Another act of self-sabotage by Thai authorities in the name of greed.

 

This is sending a clear message to potential foreign investors not to invest here, and if you do, make sure you dot all i's and cross all t's, and then liquidate and get all your funds out well ahead of the time you might depart this life..

Tesco as an example?

[timendres]

Another example of why it is smarter to distribute assets before you are dead.

[Cabradelmar]

3 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

how many of you guys out there have proxy thai shareholders in your illegal company name house or condo?

 

It's a great set-up... make foreigners THINK they can "work around" the law, get them to buy-in to bogus notions/contracts, then swoop in at a later time, when it's convenient, to take it all back... tick-tock,tick-tock... people never learn... if you are a foreigner, the house (Thailand) always wins. If you are not married to a Thai (who can own land), and/or on a 30 year lease with proper usufruct and superficies, and you built/bought a house, you're playing a risky game with your assets.

[scubascuba3]

7 minutes ago, Cabradelmar said:

 

It's a great set-up... make foreigners THINK they can "work around" the law, get them to buy-in to bogus notions/contracts, then swoop in at a later time, when it's convenient, to take it all back... tick-tock,tick-tock... people never learn... if you are a foreigner, the house (Thailand) always wins. If you are not married to a Thai (who can own land), and/or on a 30 year lease with proper usufruct and superficies, and you built/bought a house, you're playing a risky game with your assets.

Yeah they've been laughing for a long time, able to pull the rug out of all the falang whenever they choose

[Cabradelmar]

7 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Yeah they've been laughing for a long time, able to pull the rug out of all the falang whenever they choose

Same goes for all the foreign investors who invested capital in brick and mortar dispensaries, and farming assets when the ganja stampede started. That rug gets pulled April 2025. I'll never be convinced that THA is a great place to invest capital (unless you are a silent partner with a Thai national -- and even then there is no guarantees).

 

Edited May 9 by Cabradelmar

[Purdey]

When a good story turns bad, sigh.

[jaideedave]

3 hours ago, thairookie said:

 

The Lawyer's Council of Thailand should round up all these lawyers who helped with registering the companies.

555 The whole lot would be in the kip!

[jaideedave]

3 hours ago, ukrules said:

For sure, this will kill many real estate projects - but rightly so.

 

Setting up a company with a 51% Thai ownership with a Thai you don't know is not something that any serious person with any experience in business would do - ever. It's a giant red flag.

 

 

uk...back in the day everyone was doing the 51% deals.In the end a lot/most go sour for 1 reason or another.

[Gknrd]

These business ownerships have never been legal. Just tolerated. Throw a few bucks into the mix and poof. As Thailand's economy goes into the toilet. This will ramp up. Just simple math. 

Thailand holds all the cards. Fun to play in from time to time that's it.

Edited May 9 by Gknrd

[CLUBBER]

5 hours ago, Expat Tom said:

I have been here for many years. Long ago, I owned 2 condos in Thailand. Today I rent. Now, I would never invest one baht in this country. My philosophy is that I will acquire nothing  in Thailand that doesn't fit into a two suitcases or that I can't abandon without sheading  too many tears. Just for kicks, visit "Transparency.org" and pursue the world corruption index and make up your own mind. 

100% agree love it here but would not invest one penny into this country . Just rent and keep my assets and property back inn farangland

[Tropicalevo]

Let's be clear.

Setting up a company with 49% 51% shareholding is legal.

The illegality comes regarding the Thai shareholders.

Nominee shareholders are illegal.

I have a company (trading legally and paying taxes) with Thai shareholders. They are employees.

Totally legal.

I built three houses more than 20 years ago. All owned by the company.

I sold one about 10 years ago and the return on one was 150% of my initial investment for all three.

I have a living will on the second one so I have had the money for that one as well.

The third and final house I will leave to the shareholders. I cannot take the money with me when I die.

So, owning property here does not have to be the great disaster that folk are wittering on about in this thread.

I have done OK with it. Think about what you are doing.

Edited May 9 by Tropicalevo

[dannyb123]

5 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

Let's be clear.

Setting up a company with 49% 51% shareholding is legal.

The illegality comes regarding the Thai shareholders.

Nominee shareholders are illegal.

I have a company (trading legally and paying taxes) with Thai shareholders. They are employees.

Totally legal.

I built three houses more than 20 years ago. All owned by the company.

I sold one about 10 years ago and the return on one was 150% of my initial investment for all three.

I have a living will on the second one so I have had the money for that one as well.

The third and final house I will leave to the shareholders. I cannot take the money with me when I die.

So, owning property here does not have to be the great disaster that folk are wittering on about in this thread.

I have done OK with it. Think about what you are doing.

 

 

But you're not dead yet, so you don't know how your legal arrangement will be interpreted when you do die. Given the opportunity to extort your estate and make a quick buck anything is possible in LoS.

[kiwikeith]

14 hours ago, retarius said:

Poor person makes good for once and the Thai justice system tries to steal it from her. 

It's a tangled web they weave, if but yet to deceive, something like that. 

[kiwikeith]

12 hours ago, arick said:

The maid opened up her mouth and the upper class elite with all the money don't want some scum like her to get anything so they take it themselves.

Some lawyer's may also be problems. 

[Tropicalevo]

12 hours ago, dannyb123 said:

 

 

But you're not dead yet, so you don't know how your legal arrangement will be interpreted when you do die. Given the opportunity to extort your estate and make a quick buck anything is possible in LoS.

The property is not mine. I own nothing.

It belongs to Thais - legally.

I am not even a shareholder.

When I am dead I will not care.

I have been through the Thai courts here - when my wife died without a will.

The judge followed Thai law, of which I have a small amount of knowledge from a course that I attended, and multiple court cases over my time here in Thailand..

You are guessing at what might happen.

I am saying what has happened.

[kwaussie]

Don't know why the French lady didn't transfer house into maids name before dying, end of story.

[maxcorrigan]

Wonder if Bob Smith (bs) is reading this he apparently owns two villa's and countless condos be interesting to hear how he gets aroung it!

[john donson]

I don't understand to this day, why governments don't apply those absurd laws to foreigners in our own country... if we cannot buy here, they should not be allowed to buy in farangland... no residency here, even you married or retired for x amount of years or decades, ...

[ezzra]

Now the wolves are circling the prey smelling the blood of opportunity here getting one over on the maid and as

'her lawyers trying to protect her' ( 'more like protecting their fees') 

We haven't heard the last of yet yet...

[Hanaguma]

When I was looking for a condo I ran into this a lot- real estate agents who use 'company ownership' as a way to entice buyers who are rightly concerned with whether a unit is available to foreigners.  Steered well clear when they couldn't exactly verify if it was above board or not. And now with the crackdowns on nominees, I'm glad I did.

[G_Money]

Rent only in Thailand.

 

 

[Tropicalevo]

6 minutes ago, G_Money said:

Rent only in Thailand.

I disagree.

I have lived here rent free for 24 years and when I sold one house I more than covered my initial investment for originally buying the land and building three houses.

Seems OK to me.

[G_Money]

Just now, Tropicalevo said:

I disagree.

I have lived here rent free for 24 years and when I sold one house I more than covered my initial investment for originally buying the land and building three houses.

Seems OK to me.

You’re still alive.  The mess occurs after death.

 

I’ll stick with owning California property where I actually own it and renting in Thailand.

[Jenkins9039]

21 hours ago, bradiston said:

What use is 50% of a house?

When you set up with someone they are entitled to 50%

 

Take it or leave it.

[Tropicalevo]

3 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

The property is not mine. I own nothing.

It belongs to Thais - legally.

I am not even a shareholder.

When I am dead I will not care.

 

3 minutes ago, G_Money said:

You’re still alive.  The mess occurs after death.

Read my previous posts on how I set things up and court case.

Sold the first house already. Living will on the second (I already have the money)

Third house goes to legal shareholders  (staff)

I do not own anything for there to be a mess over.

Sort your stuff out now.

[Celsius]

18 hours ago, CartagenaWarlock said:

I never fell for that ruse. When I bought a house for my daughter's mom (she was a penthouse model in Poseidon who I impregnated when she was 19), I bought the house in her name. I bought a condo in my name.

 

You decided to mention this because you are proud or ashamed of this fact?

[G_Money]

6 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

 

Read my previous posts on how I set things up and court case.

Sold the first house already. Living will on the second (I already have the money)

Third house goes to legal shareholders  (staff)

I do not own anything for there to be a mess over.

Sort your stuff out now.

You are correct.  You own nothing.

 

Best to rent in Thailand.

Edited May 10 by G_Money

[Tropicalevo]

13 minutes ago, G_Money said:

You are correct.  You own nothing.

 

Best to rent in Thailand.

And I never rented (24 years). How can renting be best?