American man and Thai wife lose 15.2 million baht in Hua Hin property fraud

[gargamon]

5 hours ago, Duncan 100 said:

I was approached a couple of days ago by an estate agent in Hua Hin. She has a friend that agreed to purchase a new house in a gated estate, the deposit was 1.5m, house price 6m, discounted from 6.9m, then 60 monthly payments of 93,000 (75K in principle & 18,000 in interest), She signed a contract with the developer but could only come up with 1.2m for the deposit and ran out of money. The offer to me is to take over her contract, pay the remaining 300,000 for the deposit, give her back 800,000 of the 1.2m she has put in and pay the agent a commission fee. Then the agent will sell the house for 6.9m, leaving a decent profit. Interested in anyone's thoughts 

Was the real estate agent from Nigeria?

[Nid_Noi]

23 hours ago, webfact said:

Photo via YouTube/ Tero Digital

 

by Petch Petpailin

 

An American man and his Thai wife are pursuing justice after being duped by a real estate firm into buying two plots of land and a house in Hua Hin, located in the southern province of Prachuap Khiri Khan, amounting to 15.2 million baht. Despite their investment, they have been unable to gain ownership of the property.

 

The couple, Patrick Flippin and Vipavanee Kaewmueangklang, sought help from the non-profit organisation Saimai Survive and appeared on a news programme on Channel 7 yesterday, February 5, to seek justice.

Patrick revealed on the programme that he first arrived in Thailand in 2005. He worked and lived in the Sukhumvit area of Bangkok for five years before marrying Vipavanee in 2017. He later returned to the United States for work, intending to retire in Thailand with Vipavanee.

 

Vipavanee explained that she came across an advertisement for a real estate project on social media and became interested in purchasing a property because they were fond of Hua Hin.

The project allowed clients to buy a plot of land and build a house according to their own design. Vipavanee liked the concept and shared the information with her husband.

 

They then decided to pay a 100,000 baht deposit in 2022 to reserve two plots of land in the development.

 

Photo via YouTube/ Tero Digital

Land sold to someone else

The couple returned to Thailand in 2023 to finalise the contract and related documents. The total area of the land was 403 square metres, and they chose to build a one-storey luxury pool villa.

 

The total price for the two plots of land and the house was 15.2 million baht, which the couple paid in instalments of 1 million baht per month. The payments were made directly to the real estate company, and they received receipts each month.

 

Photo via YouTube/ Tero Digital

Last year, the company informed them that their house was ready for occupancy but later postponed the move-in date by two months, rescheduling it for July.

 

While awaiting the completion of the house, the couple repeatedly requested that the company transfer the land ownership to them. However, the company refused, stating that the transfer would only occur after the construction was completed.

 

Becoming suspicious, the couple conducted further investigations and discovered that the company had already sold the land to another person, identified as Ploy, under a sale agreement with the right of redemption.

 

Photo via YouTube/ Tero Digital

Bounced cheques

 

The company failed to redeem the land within the agreed timeframe, resulting in ownership passing to the buyer instead of the company or the couple.

 

Upon learning this, the couple demanded a full refund for the real estate development. The company agreed and issued three separate cheques to the couple.

 

Photo via YouTube/ Tero Digital

Unfortunately, two of them bounced, and the couple was unable to claim the money. The final cheque is due to be cashed on February 17, but they are doubtful they will receive the funds.

 

The couple filed a complaint against the real estate company over the bounced cheque but had not yet filed a complaint over the house and land issue.

 

Photo via YouTube/ Tero Digital

In the latest communication, the company urged them to claim ownership of the house but they refused, as they do not legally own the land.

 

Ekkaphop Lueangprasert, the founder of Saimai Survive, expressed his concerns over the case, suspecting that the new landowner Ploy and the real estate company’s owner conspired to defraud the couple. Ekkaphop vowed to escalate the case to the relevant law officials to ensure justice is served.

 

Source: The Thaiger 

-- 2025-02-06

 

 

No mention of the name of the real estate agency while personal details of the buyers were reported in this article.

So instead of putting the blame on the fraudster, it insinuates that the wrong doing is on the foreigner.

Nothing new in the LOT (Land of Tears).

[Taboo2]

16 hours ago, blaze master said:

I bet the developers went to the temple and prayed for a good life too.

 

This culture is so lost.

This culture is based on "Money  #1"...but folks fail to realize that until it is too late.

 

P4p

Never get married in Thailand

Learn to live alone

Do not trust anyone!!!!

[gargamon]

16 minutes ago, Celsius said:

 

he bought 3 things, house, land and wife

The rent, don't buy modus operandi applies to all 3.

[Taboo2]

3 hours ago, steven100 said:

 

There's his first mistake .....  as she caused the second mistake.     ouch  !  expensive wifey  !!

 

will farang ever learn ....

Agree...why do men get married today is beyond me...I see no upside in getting married....and prefer to die alone, my money going to my kids.  That is how I roll!

[Taboo2]

4 hours ago, norsurin said:

So his wife find that interesting???

Im not surprised if she is a part of this scam.Happends many times in Thailand.

100%

[nickmondo]

6 hours ago, Duncan 100 said:

I was approached a couple of days ago by an estate agent in Hua Hin. She has a friend that agreed to purchase a new house in a gated estate, the deposit was 1.5m, house price 6m, discounted from 6.9m, then 60 monthly payments of 93,000 (75K in principle & 18,000 in interest), She signed a contract with the developer but could only come up with 1.2m for the deposit and ran out of money. The offer to me is to take over her contract, pay the remaining 300,000 for the deposit, give her back 800,000 of the 1.2m she has put in and pay the agent a commission fee. Then the agent will sell the house for 6.9m, leaving a decent profit. Interested in anyone's thoughts 

consult with Integrity Law in Thailand.  they have a You Tube channel.  

[RocketDog]

15 hours ago, gargamon said:

Rent, don't buy.

Thus leaving the security of your domestic life in the hands and under the control of somebody you have no reason to trust.

 

This oft used argument cuts both ways. There is no 'right way' for every person.

 

Clearly renting is the right way for you.

 

I rented for three years (condo and then house in Chaam) while courting a Thai lady. We've now been together 7 years and I bought my pool villa 20min outside hua hin, 20 minutes from the Khao Tao beach, 10 min from the local fresh market amidst expansive pineapple farms. I own the house outright and have a 90 lease on the land with rights to purchase the land if I want. I have been spending my time and DIY skills in buying tools and improving the house and grounds, which greatly improves my everyday life as well as giving me a sense of accomplishment.

 

I sold my house in America in November and am now using those funds to make my life better every day as well as raising value for my Thai spouse after I pass. Win-win in my book.

 

Deep attic (50") insulation, vented soffits, and turbine vent keep my house pleasant and save on aircon bills. Of course there's no reason to expect Thailand will get hotter but you never know 🤔.

 

New pumps and piping for my pool. New sliding front gate and fence, all SS tubing and anodized aluminum panels. Complete renovation and painting of the concrete perimeter walls around my property. New landscaping and exterior lights. Upgrade to my pool house with windows and shades. New tile in the whole house.  New exterior and interior paint. New ceiling fans. New insulated metal roofing over low slope kitchen roof on top of clay tile. New water pump and tanks. Greatly enlarged Koi pond and pump. Exercise equipment for a home gym we both use.

 

Raised beds for the garden. Currently I have 12m of rows with chest high tomato plants bursting with green fruit. 4m row of bell and sweet peppers bigger than my fist. Lettuce okra cucumbers watermelon and cantaloupe plants.

 

I would never do anything like this to rental property yet it vastly, practically immeasurably, increases my pleasure and happiness and that of my wife (we all know the return on that investment! wink wink).

 

I appreciate it all every evening sitting by the pool, sparking a doobie, and watching the sunset far from roads, lights, and noise. She appreciates keeping up our golf-course lawn, raising orchids, tending her avacado and papaya trees. We spend very little time inside the house. The dog enjoys guarding the property and the long walks in the pineapple fields.

 

High dividends for such a small investment as far as I'm concerned.

 

To each his own. You voiced your opinion and I mine.

Do what makes you happy Sir. That's the best advice I can give anybody.

 

 

[KhunLA]

Moral to story ... If you haven't RE experience, and don't know what you are doing ... then hire a reputable RE lawyer.

 

Building a house on land you don't own yet, wasn't the best idea.  Ignorance is not always BLISS 

[proton]

9 minutes ago, RocketDog said:

Thus leaving the security of your domestic life in the hands and under the control of somebody you have no reason to trust.

 

This oft used argument cuts both ways. There is no 'right way' for every person.

 

Clearly renting is the right way for you.

 

I rented for three years (condo and then house in Chaam) while courting a Thai lady. We've now been together 7 years and I bought my pool villa 20min outside hua hin, 20 minutes from the Khao Tao beach, 10 min from the local fresh market amidst expansive pineapple farms. I own the house outright and have a 90 lease on the land with rights to purchase the land if I want. I have been spending my time and DIY skills in buying tools and improving the house and grounds, which greatly improves my everyday life as well as giving me a sense of accomplishment.

 

I sold my house in America in November and am now using those funds to make my life better every day as well as raising value for my Thai spouse after I pass. Win-win in my book.

 

Deep attic (50") insulation, vented soffits, and turbine vent keep my house pleasant and save on aircon bills. Of course there's no reason to expect Thailand will get hotter but you never know 🤔.

 

New pumps and piping for my pool. New sliding front gate and fence, all SS tubing and anodized aluminum panels. Complete renovation and painting of the concrete perimeter walls around my property. New landscaping and exterior lights. Upgrade to my pool house with windows and shades. New tile in the whole house.  New exterior and interior paint. New ceiling fans. New insulated metal roofing over low slope kitchen roof on top of clay tile. New water pump and tanks. Greatly enlarged Koi pond and pump. Exercise equipment for a home gym we both use.

 

Raised beds for the garden. Currently I have 12m of rows with chest high tomato plants bursting with green fruit. 4m row of bell and sweet peppers bigger than my fist. Lettuce okra cucumbers watermelon and cantaloupe plants.

 

I would never do anything like this to rental property yet it vastly, practically immeasurably, increases my pleasure and happiness and that of my wife (we all know the return on that investment! wink wink).

 

I appreciate it all every evening sitting by the pool, sparking a doobie, and watching the sunset far from roads, lights, and noise. She appreciates keeping up our golf-course lawn, raising orchids, tending her avacado and papaya trees. We spend very little time inside the house. The dog enjoys guarding the property and the long walks in the pineapple fields.

 

High dividends for such a small investment as far as I'm concerned.

 

To each his own. You voiced your opinion and I mine.

Do what makes you happy Sir. That's the best advice I can give anybody.

 

 

 

We bought 13 years ago, if we had been renting over this time we would have spent as much by now as we did on the house. Rent don't buy people are often the ones who don't even have the income for a legally obtained extension, they have no choice but to rent. Rent money is money down the drain, often paying somebody else's mortgage.

[kingstonkid]

16 hours ago, dddave said:

The most important phrase in Real Estate is "Due Diligence". 

Any honest Real Estate Attorney will stress, never sign or pay for anything without making sure every word of every sentence is understood and every property ownership claim is verified and documented.  

This case is far from the first time people have purchased or developed property from a distance and arrived to find out what they thought they owned, doesn't exist or that somebody else owned it.

One of the things that surprises me still is that people that would not think twice about getting a lawyer involved in their home country think it's not necessary here.

[RocketDog]

4 minutes ago, proton said:

 

We bought 13 years ago, if we had been renting over this time we would have spent as much by now as we did on the house. Rent don't buy people are often the ones who don't even have the income for a legally obtained extension, they have no choice but to rent. Rent money is money down the drain, often paying somebody else's mortgage.

Precisely correct on all points Proton.

 

My life of luxury now was built on the backs of the folks who rented my properties for years, paying the mortgage plus profit every month.

 

I thank them for it at least once every five years.

 

It's sounds like I am bragging and maybe I am. I'm proud of the fact that I started saving and investing in my mid 20's.  My mantra was: I have to get old but I don't have to be poor.

My first job out of university in the mid 70's paid a whopping $12,000/yr. I too was renting a house in Houston ($115/month) while buying silver at $5/oz as well as land in Arkansas. We lived without aircon too. Both investments paid large returns.

 

Nobody ever gave me any money and I never inherited any. I just kept up that routine throughout my earning years until I retired at 67 in 2016 when the Orange Clown made his debut. Sold my house last year on the Mango Messiah's return performance.

 

Next step was planting offshore banking and metals vault flags in the early 2000's. Now I will start the process of moving assets out of his reach permanently.

 

I'm still proud to be American, and thankful to have had the best years of life in america, 1950-2010, but at a 5,000 mile remove.

 

Somehow I suspect your backstory is not much different than mine. If so we both paid for our ticket and get to enjoy the ride.

[Toby1947]

Wouldn't buy a box of matches in Thailand. Needs to check the wife and associates out. 😡

[Toby1947]

Wouldn't buy a box of matches in Thailand. Needs to check the wife and associates out. 😡

[impulse]

56 minutes ago, proton said:

 

We bought 13 years ago, if we had been renting over this time we would have spent as much by now as we did on the house. Rent don't buy people are often the ones who don't even have the income for a legally obtained extension, they have no choice but to rent. Rent money is money down the drain, often paying somebody else's mortgage.

 

That's all well and good.  But I'll bet the guy in the OP is wishing he'd rented.  And I've met a few guys in similar situation while working in LOS.  And these guys weren't dumb, nor noobs.  Mostly they got caught out by Land Office corruption and one of them got taken by his wife.

 

 

[ChockyTheCat]

5 hours ago, norsurin said:

So his wife find that interesting???

Im not surprised if she is a part of this scam.Happends many times in Thailand.

 

[ChockyTheCat]

That’s exactly what I was thinking !

[UWEB]

5 hours ago, patman30 said:

15 million for a quarter rai, 403sqm
that would be a hard sell that would definitely need some convincing

As per the Channel 7 Video the Landplot is 1.612 sqm, may be the house area is 403 sqm. All that fits more to the pictures as the perimeter wall is quite wide and the House is big.

[Nairbem]

On 2/6/2025 at 11:44 AM, webfact said:

Photo via YouTube/ Tero Digital

 

by Petch Petpailin

 

An American man and his Thai wife are pursuing justice after being duped by a real estate firm into buying two plots of land and a house in Hua Hin, located in the southern province of Prachuap Khiri Khan, amounting to 15.2 million baht. Despite their investment, they have been unable to gain ownership of the property.

 

The couple, Patrick Flippin and Vipavanee Kaewmueangklang, sought help from the non-profit organisation Saimai Survive and appeared on a news programme on Channel 7 yesterday, February 5, to seek justice.

Patrick revealed on the programme that he first arrived in Thailand in 2005. He worked and lived in the Sukhumvit area of Bangkok for five years before marrying Vipavanee in 2017. He later returned to the United States for work, intending to retire in Thailand with Vipavanee.

 

Vipavanee explained that she came across an advertisement for a real estate project on social media and became interested in purchasing a property because they were fond of Hua Hin.

The project allowed clients to buy a plot of land and build a house according to their own design. Vipavanee liked the concept and shared the information with her husband.

 

They then decided to pay a 100,000 baht deposit in 2022 to reserve two plots of land in the development.

 

Photo via YouTube/ Tero Digital

Land sold to someone else

The couple returned to Thailand in 2023 to finalise the contract and related documents. The total area of the land was 403 square metres, and they chose to build a one-storey luxury pool villa.

 

The total price for the two plots of land and the house was 15.2 million baht, which the couple paid in instalments of 1 million baht per month. The payments were made directly to the real estate company, and they received receipts each month.

 

Photo via YouTube/ Tero Digital

Last year, the company informed them that their house was ready for occupancy but later postponed the move-in date by two months, rescheduling it for July.

 

While awaiting the completion of the house, the couple repeatedly requested that the company transfer the land ownership to them. However, the company refused, stating that the transfer would only occur after the construction was completed.

 

Becoming suspicious, the couple conducted further investigations and discovered that the company had already sold the land to another person, identified as Ploy, under a sale agreement with the right of redemption.

 

Photo via YouTube/ Tero Digital

Bounced cheques

 

The company failed to redeem the land within the agreed timeframe, resulting in ownership passing to the buyer instead of the company or the couple.

 

Upon learning this, the couple demanded a full refund for the real estate development. The company agreed and issued three separate cheques to the couple.

 

Photo via YouTube/ Tero Digital

Unfortunately, two of them bounced, and the couple was unable to claim the money. The final cheque is due to be cashed on February 17, but they are doubtful they will receive the funds.

 

The couple filed a complaint against the real estate company over the bounced cheque but had not yet filed a complaint over the house and land issue.

 

Photo via YouTube/ Tero Digital

In the latest communication, the company urged them to claim ownership of the house but they refused, as they do not legally own the land.

 

Ekkaphop Lueangprasert, the founder of Saimai Survive, expressed his concerns over the case, suspecting that the new landowner Ploy and the real estate company’s owner conspired to defraud the couple. Ekkaphop vowed to escalate the case to the relevant law officials to ensure justice is served.

 

Source: The Thaiger 

-- 2025-02-06

 

 

The moral of the story , buy nothing in Thailand 🇹🇭, only one thing can be trusted in Thailand,  that is you will be chewed up and spit out like date pit.

[cardinalblue]

Not the sharpest pencils in the box…dishing out money in Thailand w/o securing proper documents of ownership…

 

they didn’t do their due diligence on the developer and now paying the price for it….

 

why is this case not in the courts…clearly fraud was happening 

[NorthernRyland]

2 hours ago, Antti said:

That's more than $450k USD. Isn't that an insane price for a tiny plot and a one-storey house in Hua Hin?? 

 

400 sqm is a 1/4 of a rai and merely double the size of the smallest plot which the cheapest housing projects use. That's not enough space to build anything luxury by any standards.  

 

Look at the pictures, it looks like he used half of the lot so I don't see how that house be any more than 100sqm. It's like 12,000 per square meter average to build so this guy got totally ripped off by the developer.

 

These houses are just concrete cubes and if they put lots of glass in them they look fancy is all. Maybe 50% of the cost was the land (so it like 30m baht per rai there?? yeah right) but that still means he got ripped off.

[NorthernRyland]

49 minutes ago, UWEB said:

As per the Channel 7 Video the Landplot is 1.612 sqm, may be the house area is 403 sqm. All that fits more to the pictures as the perimeter wall is quite wide and the House is big.

 

Oh.... disregard my previous comment then. He got 1 rai and and 400sqm house (probably including the covered roof areas). Still overpriced because I find nothing about these housing projects to be luxury. Just concrete cubes with glass.

 

Mods should fix their translation then because it very clearly says "the total area of the land was 403 square metres". 

[NorthernRyland]

2 hours ago, proton said:

We bought 13 years ago, if we had been renting over this time we would have spent as much by now as we did on the house. Rent don't buy people are often the ones who don't even have the income for a legally obtained extension, they have no choice but to rent. Rent money is money down the drain, often paying somebody else's mortgage.

 

Building yourself is the only way to get a good house in Thailand if you ask me. I don't want at any price one their crap housing projects and that's what most of the market is. If you're married and willing to take on the risk find your own plot of land (not from a developer!) and build something where you're not ass to cheek with your neighbors like the property developers will have you doing if you follow their program.

[chilli42]

7 hours ago, vukovar77 said:

As we can see, he has a cute Thai wife who wants to purchase property advertising on social media. He did not do due diligence and properly check the documents in LOS. I do not feel sorry for him. How anyone normal can pay upfront following social media only? 

I do indeed feel sorry for him.  This should not happen to anyone. You are right though … “A fool and his money are soon parted”. There are many good lawyers in Thailand. A good lawyer would have smoked out this scam and avoided all the pain this man will go through. A good lawyer is not cheap in this case though it would have been money well spent.

[DTL2014]

If the developers or agent are still using their bank accounts - should be quite easy to find them.The thais are very good at locating people with their village networks.Also not sure if they have ANPR systems yet but tracking their car/bike movements might provide a clue . Where did the money go...can it be recovered? Do the agents/developer have to belong to some kind of association to get their licence? if they have breached that code .Make the regulator responsible for the losses - then the regulator has an obligation to recover the money and ban the agent /developer  from future operations...otherwise what's the point of any of these organisations? does it really require TV exposure to get anything done .Why is that?

[Straight8]

8 hours ago, norsurin said:

So his wife find that interesting???

Im not surprised if she is a part of this scam.Happends many times in Thailand.

It would not surprise me one bit.

[Straight8]

4 hours ago, Celsius said:

 

he bought 3 things, house, land and wife

You reckon he got a package deal there???

[steven100]

cheats & thieves abound .... simple

[steven100]

no one can be trusted in this sh_t hole.

[marin]

6 minutes ago, steven100 said:

no one can be trusted in this sh_t hole.

Perhaps the most bitter and unknowing poster on here