Thai Home Loan

[highonthai]

3 years ago we bought our second home in CM while living in Los Angeles.

For the most part we did all the qualifying paper work over the internet, mail and many phone calls to the bank. Of course we had to take all the hard copies to the bank when signing the papers.

With a substantial down payment and if you wife qualifies for the loan, There should be no problem. We got a mortgage (Then paid it off 2 years later) to strengthen her credit history in case we want to borrow for further property investments. I was amazed how easy it all was. I even bought my car over the internet….

This is my story, but for some others it seems to differ.

Good luck to ya.

[shochu]

Every case will be different.

Although there is some good info. here from some very knowledgeable people - I wouldn't take everything you read here as the only facts/truths.

I was offered financing when I went condo looking/buying recently. I do not live in LOS, am not married to a thai, and am on a tourist visa when I visit. They wanted me to buy it and they were willing to offer me financing. This came about as I was asking many questions like who was buying, and how they were financing. Their reply was everyone was financing and they could offer me financing as well. I got the inference that there were two options 1) from UOB for foreigners and 2)from the developer. Obviously you need to qualify such as have a required min. income ...

In terms of showing remittance from a foreign source - this is not a problem as long as your loan payments for the financing come from an outside source. As well, there is some erroneous info. (not on this topic directly but in general on topics here in TV) here regarding amount of remittance as some have stated that there is a min. 20G's requirement - wrong - as long as the source is from outside the country - it doesn't matter how much it is - so in theory you could just wire the monthly payments every month, or multiples of it - but it does not have to be the min. 20G's that every here likes to quote. As long as it follows the guidelines - then it's fine.

So - yes - financing is available - as long as you qualify.

If they want to sell to you - they will find a way!

If you ant to buy - then you have to find a way!

[djparker5]

Hello

I am a UK resident and interested in buying a house in Thailand.

I am finding it difficult to find a UK lender to finance an overseas property and would like to ask if it is possible for a non-resident (alien) to obtain a Thai mortgage, home loan or loan against a Thai property.

Might I add that I am engaged to be married to a Thai national later this year, could we co-borrow when married?

Thanks for your help.

Try Saenchai Group, www.saenchai-group.com, they offer different types of financing options.

[Rimmer]

One commercial post removed

[simon43]

He said it was probably some kind of development initiative (post tsunami) to rebuild the area

Oh pleese, that is really a pathetic excuse!! The tsunami was almost 7 years ago and there was minimal damage in the area. Unless you really know where to look, you will never find any evidence of tsunami damage - it's all hidden by the multiple condo and villa developments that are slowly blighting the region.

Simon

[ludditeman]

Since, I have spent the last 20 minutes reading all this thread from the beginning only to find the latest entry (which resurrected it) has been removed, can anyone update what the latest thinking is - Thai Home loan - is it possible for a non-res?

I was thinking the same, seems that the mods dont want any advice posted on here.

I have a similar question and would like to know if it possible for a Thai home loan for an expat resident married to a Thai. I hear that some banks will provide joint loans to couples (Thai-Expat) providing that both are employed by a Thai company, with the expat holding a work permit for a certain amount of time.

Anyone know which banks offer such loans ?

Your wife (Thai) can get a loan from a bank with no income and you (foreigner) signing a guarantee, various banks have assorted conditions which change often.

You (foreigner) can never own the land, it will be in her name.

If you are married, you cannot subsequently enter into any binding lease, ursafunct or contract with your wife that she cannot overturn unilaterally on divorce.

If you are required to sign any documents at the land office giving up any claim to the land, that contract is invalid, as in Thai law marriage contract trumps all and any subsequent contracts between a married couple.

Smallest deposit and biggest loan are the safest way to go if you really must do this.

Rental is very cheap at the moment, you can usually get a much better return on your cash (more than the rental value of a property) in safer investments.

As an example, I rent a 1.2 million baht house for 60,000 baht a year.

No upkeep for me to pay on the property, so ROI for owner is less than 5%.

I can get a return of 9% on my 1.2 million, and my 1.2 million is safe offshore.

Edited November 24, 2011 by ludditeman

[hyperdimension]

you can usually get a much better return on your cash (more than the rental value of a property) in safer investments.

Can you provide examples of "safer investments"?

There doesn't seem to be any "safe" and/or good-return investments these days. Even simple cash in a bank is subject to exchange rate volatility if the bank account is in a different currency to the currency you use to spend. e.g. The GBP/THB rate has declined greatly over the past few years.

I can get a return of 9% on my 1.2 million, and my 1.2 million is safe offshore.

What is this investment that gives 9%?

[ludditeman]

you can usually get a much better return on your cash (more than the rental value of a property) in safer investments.

Can you provide examples of "safer investments"?

There doesn't seem to be any "safe" and/or good-return investments these days. Even simple cash in a bank is subject to exchange rate volatility if the bank account is in a different currency to the currency you use to spend. e.g. The GBP/THB rate has declined greatly over the past few years.

I can get a return of 9% on my 1.2 million, and my 1.2 million is safe offshore.

What is this investment that gives 9%?

Safer investment, 1 year term account in a Australian bank returns about 6% and is 100% safe (accounts open to every nationality, Americans might be excluded)

Investment that gives 9%, many managed investment funds, with a fairly safe strategy return 7-12% a year at the moment, higher if you want to take risks.

[hyperdimension]

Thanks for the reply.

Safer investment, 1 year term account in a Australian bank returns about 6% and is 100% safe (accounts open to every nationality, Americans might be excluded)

Non-Australians who do this would be affected by the difference in exchange rate from when they converted to AUD and then back afterward. It could either work for or against them, depending on the direction of the exchange rate movement. Hedging in the spot forex market would neutralize this risk, though you would most likely have to pay interest to short-sell AUD, so the hedge would negate the small interest gains from the original investment! Hedging in the spot forex market would only be worthwhile if the gains from the original investment outweighed the cost of the hedge.

Investment that gives 9%, many managed investment funds, with a fairly safe strategy return 7-12% a year at the moment, higher if you want to take risks.

Managed investment funds can and do lose too. Those who invested big into an S&P 500 index fund (thinking that it was safe because it covered the broad market) at the peaks of 2000 and/or 2007 would still now be down on their investments even after 11 years and 4 years respectively, whilst experiencing a maximum peak-to-trough account equity drawdown of 48% along the way. The growth prospects over the next decade of the developed nations of U.S.A., U.K. and Europe don't look good, nor should they, as the past decade has been one of over-leveraging, over-consumption and living beyond ones' means. It was like the economy and markets were on Yaba, and now it is suffering the consequences. So I would not currently consider managed investment funds, which largely invest in equities, to be safe investments.

Edited November 26, 2011 by hyperdimension

[ludditeman]

Managed investment funds can and do lose too. Those who invested big into an S&P 500 index fund (thinking that it was safe because it covered the broad market) at the peaks of 2000 and/or 2007 would still now be down on their investments even after 11 years and 4 years respectively, whilst experiencing a maximum peak-to-trough account drawdown of 48% along the way. The growth prospects over the next decade of the developed nations of U.S.A., U.K. and Europe don't look good, nor should they, as the past decade has been one of over-leveraging, over-consumption and living beyond ones' means. It was like the economy and markets were on Yaba, and now it is suffering the consequences. So I would not consider managed investment funds, which largely invest in equities, to be safe investments.

Sorry should have said, not western investments, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc. and not stocks and shares.

Edited November 26, 2011 by ludditeman

[bfremont]

Hello

I am a UK resident and interested in buying a house in Thailand.

I am finding it difficult to find a UK lender to finance an overseas property and would like to ask if it is possible for a non-resident (alien) to obtain a Thai mortgage, home loan or loan against a Thai property.

Might I add that I am engaged to be married to a Thai national later this year, could we co-borrow when married?

Thanks for your help.

I was in the same boat as the OP, a UK resident looking to buy a property in Thailand. I came across this forum and although it didn't help me very much I want to help others in the future in this situation. A lot has changed since most of these posts. These days it's not so difficult for a non-resident to obtain a mortgage in Thailand. Yes, if you try to go directly through a Thai bank directly, you will struggle and most likely fail. I used an international mortgage broker and they helped me through every step of the process. I wasn't able to get a loan to value quite as high as in the UK, but I did secure a mortgage. I used credit international as my broker. I recommend them to any non-resident looking for a mortgage in Thailand.

[yoshiwara]

Having stirred up a real hornest nest, mind if I toss another couple of hand grenades in here ?

Firstly, you say that I can own a Condo. I don't particularly like the idea of living in an apartment for the forseeable future but if need be. However I had thought that these places were only built in commercialised areas such as Bkk, Pattaya etc - what about the smaller towns in the provinces ?

Secondly, I was speaking to someone here in the UK over the weekend who is having a house built. When I asked him how he'd managed it he said that this was some kind of development company in Krabi. He said it was probably some kind of development initiative (post tsunami) to rebuild the area. He seems quite confident in the arrangement (unless someone else knows something different).

Keep asking the same question and eventually you will get the answer you want.

[RAZZELL]

Hello

I am a UK resident and interested in buying a house in Thailand.

I am finding it difficult to find a UK lender to finance an overseas property and would like to ask if it is possible for a non-resident (alien) to obtain a Thai mortgage, home loan or loan against a Thai property.

Might I add that I am engaged to be married to a Thai national later this year, could we co-borrow when married?

Thanks for your help.

I was in the same boat as the OP, a UK resident looking to buy a property in Thailand. I came across this forum and although it didn't help me very much I want to help others in the future in this situation. A lot has changed since most of these posts. These days it's not so difficult for a non-resident to obtain a mortgage in Thailand. Yes, if you try to go directly through a Thai bank directly, you will struggle and most likely fail. I used an international mortgage broker and they helped me through every step of the process. I wasn't able to get a loan to value quite as high as in the UK, but I did secure a mortgage. I used credit international as my broker. I recommend them to any non-resident looking for a mortgage in Thailand.

Link?

RAZZ

[Soutpeel]

Hello

I am a UK resident and interested in buying a house in Thailand.

I am finding it difficult to find a UK lender to finance an overseas property and would like to ask if it is possible for a non-resident (alien) to obtain a Thai mortgage, home loan or loan against a Thai property.

Might I add that I am engaged to be married to a Thai national later this year, could we co-borrow when married?

Thanks for your help.

I was in the same boat as the OP, a UK resident looking to buy a property in Thailand. I came across this forum and although it didn't help me very much I want to help others in the future in this situation. A lot has changed since most of these posts. These days it's not so difficult for a non-resident to obtain a mortgage in Thailand. Yes, if you try to go directly through a Thai bank directly, you will struggle and most likely fail. I used an international mortgage broker and they helped me through every step of the process. I wasn't able to get a loan to value quite as high as in the UK, but I did secure a mortgage. I used credit international as my broker. I recommend them to any non-resident looking for a mortgage in Thailand.

Was this for a Condo ? then yes of course this would be possible, you can own a condo in your own name but strugging to understand how any reputable financial institute would grant someone a mortgage on a house/land i.e. something you could never fully own in your own name per the current Thai laws...this would constitute a signifcant risk on the part of the financial institution.

If such an arrangement was in place the interest rate would be through the roof, or the the insitution involved is dodgy to say the least

For a Farang resident/non-resident the chances of getting a mortgage from a Thai bank in their own name are just about zero, further this is not speculation on my part having gone through the "Thai national/Farang guarantor " arrangment about 8 years ago via SCB and at the time looked at all the possible options availble to buy a house on a mortgage and the above was the only viable route