Buying Home - Wire Money Under Wife's Or My Name?

[Pib]

The wife and I will be closing/making the final payment on a house in Bangkok come early 2008. The one down payment to date was the booking/contract deposit of 500K Baht (approx $15K) made last month while in Thailand. The wife is Thai and I'm American.

When wiring over the final amount needed (significantly over $20K) for the final payment from our joint bank account in the U.S. to our joint bank account in Thailand "will it make a difference at the Land Office/during the chanote transfer whether the funds were originally wired from/under my wife's name or my name?" Also, will the name used (the wife's or mine) on the wire transfer make a difference when it comes to getting a FET document, possibly sending money back to the U.S. if we sell the home X-amount of years from now, or make a difference in other areas?

Thanks in advance for any guidance/feedback.

[PadThaiGuy]

The wife and I will be closing/making the final payment on a house in Bangkok come early 2008. The one down payment to date was the booking/contract deposit of 500K Baht (approx $15K) made last month while in Thailand. The wife is Thai and I'm American.

When wiring over the final amount needed (significantly over $20K) for the final payment from our joint bank account in the U.S. to our joint bank account in Thailand "will it make a difference at the Land Office/during the chanote transfer whether the funds were originally wired from/under my wife's name or my name?" Also, will the name used (the wife's or mine) on the wire transfer make a difference when it comes to getting a FET document, possibly sending money back to the U.S. if we sell the home X-amount of years from now, or make a difference in other areas?

Thanks in advance for any guidance/feedback.

Putting property in a Thais name, ....sending money back to the USA? Now that's funny.

[fremmel]

When I did this I transferred the money in from an account with only my name to our joint account here. So Bangkok Bank's "Credit Advice/Receipt" only listed the account name, my name, as the "Ordering Customer". The land office typically doesn't require documentation about where the money came from. But they will require you to sign a form that it's not your money and you have no claim on the land. And they'll also ask the wife where the money came from so you'll need to have an explanation (savings, family, etc.) Just guessing on sending the money back out, but I wouldn't think there'd be any problem sending it back to the same account if you keep the bank documentation.

[Pib]

From one Newbie to another Newbie, thanks for the info. The wife and I do plan to call our bank in Thailand before wiring the funds to see if they got any recommendation one way or another on the name to use. At least I'll be giving them a heads up of inbound money...heck, I'm even going to ask the bank if I can get a better exchange rate than the normal rate for X-large amount coming in--it shouldn't hurt to ask...I figure all they can say is No. I also plan to run the questions by our Thai lawyer. I'll only get one chance to take the best path on this wire transfer, so I'll sure ask around to hopefully get some good advice. Thanks again and Happy Holidays.

[nitram]

Since you married, chances are, that the Land's department will ask you to sign a document stating that the funds are your wife's only and that you have no claim to the money or the sale of the property.

So sending the money in your name, will have no impact at all on the purchase of the property.

[bangkapiboy]

Since you married, chances are, that the Land's department will ask you to sign a document stating that the funds are your wife's only and that you have no claim to the money or the sale of the property.

So sending the money in your name, will have no impact at all on the purchase of the property.

Well said. Farrang will have no ownership rights on the property anyway -- only condos. Send the money from any account and it won't matter.

[all4real]

Just wonder does the inbound fund that significant over $20k for home purchase subject to Bank of Thailand reserve requirements? For those that have experience, wonder what document is needed for the receiving bank to waive the reserve requirement? Thanks

[yorkman]

Since you married, chances are, that the Land's department will ask you to sign a document stating that the funds are your wife's only and that you have no claim to the money or the sale of the property.

So sending the money in your name, will have no impact at all on the purchase of the property.

Well said. Farrang will have no ownership rights on the property anyway -- only condos. Send the money from any account and it won't matter.

False

A foreigner cannot directly own land in Thailand per Thai law. That means a foreigner can directly own a condo for example, since owning a condo doesn't imply land ownership. As far as a house is concerned, it is possible for the foreigner to own the house itself, but not the land it sits on.

So Nitram your post was almost right, it would be better to say "Since you married, chances are, that the Land's department will ask you to sign a document stating that the funds are your wife's only and that you have no claim to the land.

So sending the money in your name, will have no impact at all on the purchase of the land

So @ Pib, as far as the house is concerned, that is subject to whatever legal arrangement you put in place with your wife; where the money is seen to come from is neither here nor there really.

[phuketrichard]

send it in your name,

even though you will be required to sign that its her money and she will have to tell them where it came, ( if they ask) from as she can not buy it in her name with your money even if your married, you can own the house ( i own mine and its for sale :-) ) . Yes you can send money back out of thailand if it comes in in your name and you can tell /show them why its going back out.

You never know what will happen in the future so make sure you get her to write you up a 30 year lease and the get your name added to the back of the nor sor sam or Chanote and regster the lease at the land office.

She might come back with, "Don't you trust me?" but just tell her it just in case something happens. like a pre nup..

[Pib]

Thanks for the feedback. We got about three plus decades of marriage to each other under our belts right now so I'm really not worried about a trust issue between us. However, we will be doing a Usufruct and putting the structure in my name to help protect me in cases she passes away before I do. Plus, helping trust stay strong with some protective measures is never a bad idea.