Lease Takeover A Good Idea?

[JimTripper]

What is the point of a lease takeover? Why is the property not just re-rented fresh on a new annual lease? Is there a potential scam with the deposit?

 

Tenant in Bangkok offers a seven month lease takeover where I sign a fresh lease but I need to pay the usual two months deposit which they say I get back at the end.

[dddave]

Is the deal with the existing lease holder or the owner (or his agent) of the unit?  If with the existing lease holder, you would have no legal standing unless his lease specifically permits sub-leasing which every standard Thai lease I've seen expressly prohibits.  Very risky.

[JimTripper]

14 minutes ago, dddave said:

Is the deal with the existing lease holder or the owner (or his agent) of the unit?  If with the existing lease holder, you would have no legal standing unless his lease specifically permits sub-leasing which every standard Thai lease I've seen expressly prohibits.  Very risky.

It's being marketed by the current tenant. That's what I'm thinking. Why would the tenant be involved at all?

 

If they wanted out of their lease early seems like they would just bounce the idea off the owner and get their deposit back when the place is re-rented if the owner is flexible.

 

Only reason I considered it is because sometimes if you want out of a lease early the owner will say Ok, but only if you can find a new tenant. I had that situation when I lived in NYC.

 

It's hard finding a short term contract, everyone seems to be asking for a year on the facebook listings.

 

I guess the safe thing to do is ask for the house book of the owner and ID, etc just like on a regular lease,

[Tropicalevo]

Difficult to say without seeing the lease, but a lease is normally only valid for the people named in that lease.

Anyone else has no rights.

A problem with long term leases for properties is that if you die, unless your benefactors are named on the lease, then they have no rights. Even if you leave the property to them in your will.

[Middle Aged Grouch]

Even foreign house owners on 30 yr leasehold are seeking to sell off fast their property and leave thailand due to all the absurd immigration, tax and bank hassles that have become from bad to worse.

 

If Thailand has some sense, they would hand out say 4 month visa free waiver stay for all foreigners who own property on lease or purchase in Thailand. If not, they will losse not only the money of these wealthy pensionners but also loose the tourism flux.

[JBChiangRai]

The tenant loses his deposit if he breaks the lease early, if he can find someone to takeover his lease and the landlord is agreeable then the new tenant could give him his deposit back but this would be risky as any damage done by that previous tenant would be deducted from deposit at the end of the lease.  It would be far safer to start a new lease.

 

If the tenant leaves early without providing a new tenant and he has paid 2 months deposit and it takes the landlord 2 months to find another tenant then the old tenant could not realistically expect anything back from the landlord.

[JimTripper]

5 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

The tenant loses his deposit if he breaks the lease early, if he can find someone to takeover his lease and the landlord is agreeable then the new tenant could give him his deposit back but this would be risky as any damage done by that previous tenant would be deducted from deposit at the end of the lease.  It would be far safer to start a new lease.

 

If the tenant leaves early without providing a new tenant and he has paid 2 months deposit and it takes the landlord 2 months to find another tenant then the old tenant could not realistically expect anything back from the landlord.

Yeah, it's not worth it. I'm better off just asking for a shorter lease on my own and walking it that's not available. Who needs the aggravation dealing with a third party and their lease problem.

 

Facebook has a whole group "takeover my lease" for anyone that's interested. 🤣

 

[CanadaSam]

Happens all the time in Pattaya, especially with Russians.  The GF is an agent.

 

They sign a lease for a year which clearly states that if they leave early, their deposit is forfeit.

 

It also states that sub-leasing (which is taking over the existing lease) is prohibited.

 

Unfortunately, nobody really ever checks who is actually living in the condo, especially in large ones, so take-overs take place all the time here.

[newbee2022]

On 5/19/2024 at 3:08 PM, JimTripper said:

What is the point of a lease takeover? Why is the property not just re-rented fresh on a new annual lease? Is there a potential scam with the deposit?

 

Tenant in Bangkok offers a seven month lease takeover where I sign a fresh lease but I need to pay the usual two months deposit which they say I get back at the end.

You can say YES or NO, isn't it?🙏

[Photoguy21]

Never take over a lease. There can be a lot of complications that could come back and bite you. Get a fresh lease and before signing make sure you fully understand it including what your responsibilities are and what are those of the hirer.

[AgMech Cowboy]

It's a common practice in the US, but I'd be wary about it in Thailand, unless the lessor is fully aware and agreeable. (The way I've seen some apts and houses left in Thailand, I'd be cautious about how the current leaser has left the property (breakage, etc.)

[ujayujay]

Smells tricky

[JimTripper]

He actually said it would be a new lease I was to sign when I asked him. I just assumed it was with the landlord and not the tenant.

 

My question was, why would the landlord do a seven month lease if it was really a new lease. Makes no sense why it would have anything to do with the existing lease with the tenant. When I asked the tenant this he never responded back to me.

 

I suspect it was not really a fresh lease with the landlord I was to sign. When I got there the tenant likely would have tried to switch something around to get me attached to his lease somehow with the remaining seven months on it.

[AustinRacing]

Why is it risky? Your name is not on the lease. Anything goes wrong is the responsibility of the original renter. The only issue is you’ll get kicked out if it goes pear shaped. If you’re prepared to accept it then go for it as long as you don’t pay extra to the original renter. 

[JimTripper]

26 minutes ago, AustinRacing said:

Why is it risky? Your name is not on the lease. Anything goes wrong is the responsibility of the original renter. The only issue is you’ll get kicked out if it goes pear shaped. If you’re prepared to accept it then go for it as long as you don’t pay extra to the original renter. 

Well, there is the deposit. Usually two months deposit. It is not a sublet where the tenant is coming back from vacation later on. They are just bailing altogether and want me to pay the 2 months deposit when moving in.

[AustinRacing]

3 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

Well, there is the deposit. Usually two months deposit.

Don’t then. He can use this to pay for breaking his lease (if there’s a penalty) and walk away. You’ll get kicked out losing your deposit.