Can You Wife Sell Or Borrow Against Your House?

Loz · February 5, 2010

Just wondered if this was the case. As if it was, most married men "with doubts" would be well advised to keep the house book and what not (even though its in her name) locked in a safe deposit box back in their home country or maybe here.

SO if the shyt hits the fan like we so love to read about, at least you have some bargaining chips.

Your thoughts?

Same goes for Cars and bikes.

Garry9999 · February 5, 2010

From legitimate financial institutions No.

From money leaders and Mafia Yes.

nasajsc · February 5, 2010

If you have a usufruct or 30 year lease on the house, my understanding is she

cannot sell the land - the encumbrance is listed on the back of the chanote, and

cannot be transferred to another person until its removed. Hence if the <deleted> hits

the fan, you can ask her to leave, and she legally has to, as you lease the house

from her. You are the tenant. Thats what I have heard.

If you dont remove the encumbrance, she cant sell the land, so you keep it for life.

A safe also works, but she may need her tabian bahn to do all sorts of things.

Tonto21 · February 5, 2010

Hi Loz

Here’s what happened about a year ago to someone I know, I’ll call him Bob, for this.

Bob get married to his Thai g/f a number of years ago, everything seems to be going swimmingly, Bob is not a fool so when he built there house, the land was in the g/f name and he leased it, the house he owned. On build completion he and his wife want and got there house books, Yellow, for him and blue for her. He then put them in the safe. Some time after this his g/f starts asking for her (blue house book) and gives some reason as to why she needs it! Saving club in village or to show police she live here….. and so on.

Long story short, she had been going to a loan shark and using the blue book so secure money against the house… A lot! My first thoughts were how anyone would lend money without proof of ownership. I had this explained to me by a good Thai friend: In 99% of all cases the first name in the blue house book denotes the legal owner of the property. The blue book on its own would not get you a loan with, say the Bank, but with loan sharks, sure. He was lucky, if you can call it that he found out at the 60,000 mark. What did he do? First he kicked his gambling wife out then, under some strong advisement paid the loan off.

Deke · February 5, 2010

All of those type of documents can be replaced by the woman if she makes a police report declaring them "lost" and then applies for a new copy at the issuing office.

caf · February 5, 2010

If you have a usufruct or 30 year lease on the house, my understanding is she
cannot sell the land - the encumbrance is listed on the back of the chanote, and

cannot be transferred to another person until its removed. Hence if the <deleted> hits

the fan, you can ask her to leave, and she legally has to, as you lease the house

from her. You are the tenant. Thats what I have heard.

If you dont remove the encumbrance, she cant sell the land, so you keep it for life.

A safe also works, but she may need her tabian bahn to do all sorts of things.

She CAN sell the land but might have difficulty selling it to a buyer given a usufruct is in place.

The usufruct allows you right of use and stay together with your family, which includes a wife and arguably a girlfriend. If she has a tabianbaan then she has a right to stay in the house anyway. There are some other threads running on usufruct and superficies

caf

caf · February 5, 2010

All of those type of documents can be replaced by the woman if she makes a police report declaring them "lost" and then applies for a new copy at the issuing office.

That's why superficies are safer as that document belongs to you.

caf

jackr · February 5, 2010

Get a mortgage on it, the bank holds the chanote. That won't stop her taking the tabien baan and getting a loan, but that sharks would loan on the basis of just the blue book is so wrong anyway.

Tonto21 · February 5, 2010

You’re so right, but the loan shark doesn’t give a toss ether way, Loan sharks by the very name we give them tells you something.

I’m not talking about losing your house legally from under you nose by a conniving partner, I talking about having it blatantly stolen from you, and it doesn’t matter how right you are and how illegal the action is.

Further to the information my friend gave “Bob” was that a lot of times, loan sharks like to lend money when a farang is the partner of the borrower, just to get a lean on the house, (it’s not likely to be a shack, is it) sometimes there game plan is to get the house and land. As for telling the loan shark to thin out and that he’s not getting anything when the said debt comes to light, well, I don’t consider myself a pussy, but, you would be dealing with some heavy hitters and who are you going to turn to for help? How many friends will you get to stand up to the mob with you, when the BIB looks the other way.

JetsetBkk · February 5, 2010

<snip>
If you dont remove the encumbrance, she cant sell the land, so you keep it for life.

<snip>

"so you keep it for life", eh?

bina · February 5, 2010

moving this to the real estate forum for 'real' discusion before teh subject degenerates to the usual......

bina

eurasianthai · February 5, 2010

For banks in Thailand, the house on the land means nothing.

Only the land means something.

And the land is hers, not yours, foreigners can not own land in Thailand.

So she can indeed borrow with the land title.