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

[norsurin]

The right headline should be.. American man lost 15.2 million baht.

[steven100]

8 minutes ago, marin said:

Perhaps the most bitter and unknowing poster on here 

haha ... so what is your stupid point 

[steven100]

5 minutes ago, norsurin said:

The right headline should be.. American man lost 15.2 million baht.

to the usual thai thief ... 

[KhunHeineken]

11 hours ago, gasman666 said:

When i first came to LOS in mid 90s a mate told me never forget the four Fs. If it flies, floats, fcks or in a foreign country always cheaper to rent than buy. How true this is.

Yeah, but my real estate agent / developer "is different."   

[marin]

16 minutes ago, steven100 said:

haha ... so what is your stupid point 

 

14 minutes ago, steven100 said:

to the usual thai thief ... 

That you should get your bitter ass out of dodge. What good does bitching and whining all day  everyday do. Go dude, the world is your oyster. 

[KhunHeineken]

10 hours ago, baansgr said:

All too common in Thailand. I know many guys think they own their houses but in reality they do not, corrupt real estate agents and lawyers working together..a nice smile from some old issan tart dressed nicely and guys believe anything they say...be careful out there boys, all is not what it seems

I agree. 

 

So many guys come to Thailand and get blinded by "the dream."  They lose touch with reality.  Unscrupulous Thai's prey on it. 

[patman30]

4 hours 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.

the pic did look big to myself, but can only go on what is stated above,
15m seems too much even if on 1 Rai
the house does not look anything special
is land that costly down there?
and still if looking for retirement, so many better options

[ukrules]

6 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??

 

Same as anywhere, depends on the location really.

[Captor]

I wonder who the realestate agent is?

[iLuvThai]

12 hours ago, Duncan 100 said:

She has a friend

Jesus Christ had a friend named Judas and with a simple kiss on the cheek signalled the soldiers who Jesus was and they arrested him. 

Get a real estate lawyer that doesn't have skin in that game. Best of luck.

 

Cue the eye rolls.

[bdenner]

22 hours ago, Peterphuket said:

That was indeed a long time ago, I still have it on a computer somewhere.

Yes, back in thoes days it could only be downloaded in *.pdf format but was published in paperback about 4 years later.

And as one member pointed out his surname is Leather. Sorry, = CRAFT !!!!

[What to do now]

They could have saved themselves a lot of trouble and just held up a sign that said " We're gullible, take our money." 

[save the frogs]

23 hours ago, bdenner said:

Going back to 2001:- This is why Steven Heather's novel "A Private Dancer" Should have been compulsory reading in ALL flights to Thailand.

why? that book talks about real estate scams? 

[ed strong]

Yes we 'brought' a few years ago in hua hin.

 

Very similar set up in terms of the house building from scratch and you pay per month as the build progresses.

 

Well still 5 years on now from completion and the house is still in the name of the property agent that sold us the build!

 

All monies paid from us but no property.

Most lawyers were off little hope as most of them work with the agent.

 

Lol won't be doing that again. I really thought we would be ok, seeing as the woman that sold us was a known established firm and had family in hua hin.

[newnative]

     15MB is a huge amount of money--at least it is for me.  Why wouldn't you spend a tiny percentage of that amount to hire a reputable lawyer to look over all the paperwork before you sign anything, answer any and all questions you may have, make sure you are happy and in agreement with all the terms in the paperwork, and be there for you through the entire transaction until its conclusion?    This gentleman is not a newbie--from the article, he worked in Bangkok for a number of years.   He should not have been so wet-behind-the-ears clueless.

     Before we hear from the Peanut Gallery, yes, there are reputable lawyers.  Before you hire any lawyer, have the lawyer supply you with a copy of their lawyer's license certificate.  This should be on an A4 size paper and include a photo and current, valid date showing the lawyer is in good standing with the Lawyers Council.   If they won't supply this, look for another lawyer.   Spouse and I built a new home last year.  First thing we did was buy the land.  We are planning to build another home this year--and the first thing we will do is buy the land.

     

      

      

     

[steven100]

1 hour ago, marin said:

 

That you should get your bitter ass out of dodge. What good does bitching and whining all day  everyday do. Go dude, the world is your oyster. 

you don't like it because someone speaks the truth.  you think they are all honest here, your dreaming !

 

I don't care what u think....  

[steven100]

1 hour ago, Captor said:

I wonder who the realestate agent is?

Noi honest realty 

[steven100]

6 minutes ago, newnative said:

Before we hear from the Peanut Gallery, yes, there are reputable lawyers.  Before you hire any lawyer, have the lawyer supply you with a copy of their lawyer's license certificate.  This should be on an A4 size paper and include a photo and current, valid date showing the lawyer is in good standing with the Lawyers Council.

so you have to verify the lawyer's not a Thai cheat and thief also ....  

WTF would anyone buy here is beyond me ....  

[ukrules]

1 hour ago, Captor said:

I wonder who the realestate agent is?

 

There is a Thai language facebook group for Hua Hin and the Thais are talking about this in Hua Hin - they are outraged.

People are naming companies in direct messages.

 

It's not an agent - it's one of these situation where you buy from the developer. Best to avoid agents in such situations as they can charge outrageous fees which can be avoided by simply going direct to the sales office on the site.

 

[KhunLA]

25 minutes ago, steven100 said:

so you have to verify the lawyer's not a Thai cheat and thief also ....  

WTF would anyone buy here is beyond me ....  

Age dependent of course, but for same reason anyone would buy instead of rent at anywhere, any time in their life.   Build equity, better investment / ROI than renting.  

 

I've done very well here, 1st - 2nd - 3rd / present land & house investments.   Along with appreciation, 19 or 25 year of being rent free.

 

Rent free without the appreciation is motivation enough.

 

Of course if I got here at 65 or 66 years old, age of most USA retirees, born 1954, then hell no, I wouldn't buy in.

 

As far as the OP, building before owning the land was just plain stupid.   The wife should have known that.  Even the farang should have had that little bit of common sense.