Contract In Thailand

[SirPaul]

Hello

Can someone please clarify if contracts in Thailand have to be in Thai when a foreigner is buying a condo in foreign ownership. I have been told that a contract in English is good enough.

Also, does a contract for a condo have to take a certain format?

Thanks

[jlelouer]

Hello

Can someone please clarify if contracts in Thailand have to be in Thai when a foreigner is buying a condo in foreign ownership. I have been told that a contract in English is good enough.

Also, does a contract for a condo have to take a certain format?

Thanks

No special format from what i know. Mine is in Thai and i think it is mostly the case. I would recommend to buy only with big developers to avoid problems.

[loverboy44]

What a bullshit!

What guarantees you that a big developer does not cheat on you? I remember one real estate agent saying .... this is a big development. Here you don't have to worry!....

They haven't even had a proper land title there.

Go to your embassy, ask for a lawyer that checks everything and get it in a written form, you understand.

Nothing to do with big or small.

[jlelouer]

What a bullshit!

What guarantees you that a big developer does not cheat on you? I remember one real estate agent saying .... this is a big development. Here you don't have to worry!....

They haven't even had a proper land title there.

Go to your embassy, ask for a lawyer that checks everything and get it in a written form, you understand.

Nothing to do with big or small.

Calm down Loverboy, i'm just trying to help here... And why do tend to think that foreigners will be necessarily cheated?

I have a friend of mine who went with a small developer, his condo completion has been delayed for over 8 months now. And I have signed in May 2008 with LPN (one of the biggest developer in Thailand - listed on the stock exchange) for a condo that was supposed to be finished in June 2009, and they finished on time. Moreover their contract is quite professional as it states what's included/excluded, so they obviously know what they are doing.

Bigger/known developers tend to be more professional than smaller ones, it's true in all kinds of businesses ! Of course, check this as well with a lawyer.

[joskydive]

You can have your contract written in both Thai and English on the same pages. Should they wish to only give you a contract that is written purely in Thai, don't sign it until you have had it translated into English yourself. Do not allow them to get it translated for you as certain things may not be included which are included in the Thai contract and be aware, in a Court of Law, Thai language takes presidence.

If you are making a deposit to the developer it might be an idea to look into putting your deposit through a registered Escrow agent instead of directly to the developer, so, if things fall through or not as you have agreed, you would be able to get your deposit back. You can Google 'Escrow Act' to see what I mean.

[stgrhe]

The answer to your question is that the contract/agreement can be in English only. There is no law saying it has to be in Thai or bilingual. If it is a bilingual contract please ensure the the wording states that the English version has precedence over the This version. Furthermore, unless you can fully read and understand Thai do not accept such a contract/agreement. If the seller doesn't want to play ball walk away and look for another property.

[katabeachbum]

Hello

Can someone please clarify if contracts in Thailand have to be in Thai when a foreigner is buying a condo in foreign ownership. I have been told that a contract in English is good enough.

Also, does a contract for a condo have to take a certain format?

Thanks

Make it in english only, cause thats understandable to you. If its in both languages they may not be identical.

Its not a contract, its a prepurchase/ presale agreement. It should containe what penalty the developer must give you in case of breache. Like if you pay 500k now, the developer has to give you back 5 mill to cancel. Keep the payments low until completion and transfer of ownership

[glegolo]

Hello

Can someone please clarify if contracts in Thailand have to be in Thai when a foreigner is buying a condo in foreign ownership. I have been told that a contract in English is good enough.

Also, does a contract for a condo have to take a certain format?

Thanks

-------------------------------------

Bought a house now in may here in Chaiyaphum together with my wife. the contract for the house is in english

and it is valid. It is as good as in Thai.

Glegolo

[SirPaul]

Hello

The contract is in English. They have also made a contract in Thai and English and have told me that the English one is all I need. If this is the case I will only sign the English one.

The contract they have offered me does not state what is not included, only what is. There is nothing in the contract detailing what could happen if the condo is not ready in time. how standard is such a stipulation?

I intend to take the contract to lawyers as for a small fee they will check it over. My concern is the validity of the contract. i.e. is it worth the paper it is written on!

Thanks

Edited July 25, 2009 by SirPaul

[samILO]

The answer to your question is that the contract/agreement can be in English only. There is no law saying it has to be in Thai or bilingual. If it is a bilingual contract please ensure the the wording states that the English version has precedence over the This version. Furthermore, unless you can fully read and understand Thai do not accept such a contract/agreement. If the seller doesn't want to play ball walk away and look for another property.

I totally agree with this statement. We do this in our offices every day and so do most of the international law firms. Anyway as of the new Condo Act Amendment from last August there are terms and agreement norms, even if the agreement is written different to such and being a disadvantage to a buyer, the law applies and such clause will be dismissed in court.

[stgrhe]

The contract they have offered me does not state what is not included, only what is.

This is quite normal because if the contractor lists what is not included then you, as the buyer, could argue that everything else is included.

There is nothing in the contract detailing what could happen if the condo is not ready in time. how standard is such a stipulation?

This is something you should not accept. The agreement (it is not a contract) should always have a LD-clause (Liquidated Damages) under which the terms for delay (other than for force majeure) are written.

Furthermore, the agreement should include a Termination for Default clause. One reason for default could be X number of months delay, the contractor becomes bankrupt or start winding-up the company etc.. The consequences, should termination come to effect, must be clearly specified too.

[thaiwanderer]

The contract they have offered me does not state what is not included, only what is.

This is quite normal because if the contractor lists what is not included then you, as the buyer, could argue that everything else is included.

There is nothing in the contract detailing what could happen if the condo is not ready in time. how standard is such a stipulation?

This is something you should not accept. The agreement (it is not a contract) should always have a LD-clause (Liquidated Damages) under which the terms for delay (other than for force majeure) are written.

Furthermore, the agreement should include a Termination for Default clause. One reason for default could be X number of months delay, the contractor becomes bankrupt or start winding-up the company etc.. The consequences, should termination come to effect, must be clearly specified too.

Not sure what you mean by it an agreement rather than a contract?

It is a proposed contract until the offer and terms is accepted by the parties and then executed, is it not? In which case it is currently a proposed-agreement if you are going to use the term agreement, so unsure what distinction you are attempting to make?

As to translations iirc technically the parties can agree any governing language they want whether versions are executed in one, two or many languages. However from a practical point of view if there is no Thai version of the contract a thai court will likely require consider a thai translation prepared for the purposes of the proceedings in the event of a dispute. For most issues this distinction may be of no real importance but imho it is sensible for a farang themselves to have a thai translation version agreed along with the english version at the time of execution (with the contract stating the latter taking precedence). However good it is translation is never de-coding.

I recall it was touted at the time of the most recent condo act amendments that there would now be standard condo contracts but i understand this is not really the case and Sam's use of the phrase 'norms' instead is more accurate.

And always remember just because the parties agree something and it is clearly and explicity stated in their contract that does not at all mean it will be upheld at court (even if the parties do not disagree on that point at all).

[SirPaul]

I think I am beginning to realise that my so called contract is just an agreement at the moment, and until the condo is completed the real contract cannot exist.

This leads me to beleive that I would not want to invest further until the condo is completed especially after being told (after deposit paid) that the company I am dealing with does not offer any terms for delay and does not offer any compensation for finishing past the proposed mentioned date. And furthermore they have refused to put in writing the proposed finishing date.

Thanks for all the input here, it has been useful.