Building A House: Transferring Money Or Getting A Mortgage With A Thai Bank As An Expat

[KunMatt]

I'm sure this is going to be one of many post relating to this new project we are about to undertake as I ask for help many, many times in TV!

I'm about to break ground on a new house build in Thailand, all my money is in the UK and the exchange rate is the worst it has been in years, so instead of transferring all the money needed now and losing 30% on the exchange rate alone, plus all costs, can I get a mortgage in Thailand? I do not work in Thailand but I have a good worldwide job with a good salary, I've been living in Thailand for over one year and we already own the land. I haven't been able to do any legwork as I am very far from any bank with a customer service department and also the banks are few and far between in our region, any help from anyone who has experience in this would be appreciated.

There is also the option that I just drip feed the costs of the build and transfer money from the UK as needed and hope that the exchange rate steadily increases so I don't lose too much in this trough we are now in (God, I hope this is a trough and it doesn't fall any further!!). When I do need to transfer a large sum of money across what is the best way to do this? I know that with K-Bank, with whom I have an account, for every 5,000 Baht I deposit they charge me something like 250 Baht, so if I transfer a million for instance then I would pay 25,000 Baht just to my Thai bank, plus commision and a reduced exchange rate to my UK bank too. There's also the withdrawal charge I would incur each time to K-Bank too. I'm betting that just hand carrying a million Baht and changing it at an exchange and hiding it under the bed would probably be the cheapest way!

Thanks in advance.

[mpetersen]

no workpermit, no mortgage. even with workpermit, mortgage almost impossible.

[mettadoc]

>.....and we already own the land.

as you cannot own land as a farang, the "we" raises questions....perhaps better stated that "she owns the land" ?....

[KunMatt]

no workpermit, no mortgage. even with workpermit, mortgage almost impossible.

Ok, thanks for the info, that's saved me a long trip.

What about transferring either all my money when the exchange rate is better, or bit by bit when needed, what's the cheapest way to do this? How do the ferangs who buy 10 million Baht houses get that much money into Thailand and not suffer huge costs?

[KunMatt]

>.....and we already own the land.

as you cannot own land as a farang, the "we" raises questions....perhaps better stated that "she owns the land" ?....

Exactly, and that's my next question. She owns the land, I own the building, what are the legalities? Worst case scenario, we break up in the future and I own a building on her land where do I stand??

Edited May 12, 2010 by UKMatt

[olivier2553]

Who ever is the owner of the land can get a loan or a mortgage on the land.

I did not go any further yet, but TKS was offering 200K on a land bought 115K.

[gemini81]

try businessclassthailand.com

their office is at NANA

they are the only ones offering good deals to foreigners, run by foreigners. I do business with them. mortgages here are far behind development and customization. if you're not Thai forget it, been there. try them. they can finance you. if not, they offer investments and other stuff.

you really dont wanna sink too much into this place, you'll end up cheated or you'll lose an investment. just words from one who has learned a few lessons.

[mallyrd]

>.....and we already own the land.

as you cannot own land as a farang, the "we" raises questions....perhaps better stated that "she owns the land" ?....

Exactly, and that's my next question. She owns the land, I own the building, what are the legalities? Worst case scenario, we break up in the future and I own a building on her land where do I stand??

On what basis do you "own the building"? I thought this post was all about a 'new build'! Which is it?

[gemini81]

I re read you article...whoa! careful! slowly. only been here one year? and you "own land?" you lose it all if anything goes sour, as it's in your MRS' name, unless you have a half thai child, then some assets go to them if you have a will.

talk to the guys above, you won't regret it. you're getting ripped off by K Bank. they are arrogant and have the thai ethnocentricity like I would never dream of treating people back in my home.

[KunMatt]

>.....and we already own the land.

as you cannot own land as a farang, the "we" raises questions....perhaps better stated that "she owns the land" ?....

Exactly, and that's my next question. She owns the land, I own the building, what are the legalities? Worst case scenario, we break up in the future and I own a building on her land where do I stand??

On what basis do you "own the building"? I thought this post was all about a 'new build'! Which is it?

Sorry if I'm confusing the matter. She owns the land. I intend to fund and build the house on it, as I understood it expats could own property but not the land. Luckily we are still quite a way off as this is me just starting to research the legal implications of this.

[dave111223]

On what basis do you "own the building"? I thought this post was all about a 'new build'! Which is it?

I think he means he "will" own the building.

The owner for the land would probably be able to get a mortgage for the building (obviously depends on their financial situational), but you (a foreigner and not the owner of the land) would most likely not be able to get a mortgage for the building.

If you were to pay for the building with your own cash you could get various contracts to secure usage of the building (such as Ustruct or 30 lease etc..)

But if the owner of the land were to get a mortgage for the building in their name, i'm not sure that the lending bank would allow you to have rights on the collateral (the building) which is securing the loan.

[gemini81]

>.....and we already own the land.

as you cannot own land as a farang, the "we" raises questions....perhaps better stated that "she owns the land" ?....

Exactly, and that's my next question. She owns the land, I own the building, what are the legalities? Worst case scenario, we break up in the future and I own a building on her land where do I stand??

On what basis do you "own the building"? I thought this post was all about a 'new build'! Which is it?

Sorry if I'm confusing the matter. She owns the land. I intend to fund and build the house on it, as I understood it expats could own property but not the land. Luckily we are still quite a way off as this is me just starting to research the legal implications of this.

you can only OWN A CONDO. You can lease a property for 30 years is the other option. option two is their way of making sure it goes back to a Thai national. You don't own any of that, you have to understand. talk to the link I put above is wise advice to you, I think they have good insight as professionals

[thailandbluegrass]

Gemini81 is correct. You can never own land here and cannot even own a condo if it is on the ground floor. Anything that touches Thai soil CANNOT be owned by a foriegner. From the second floor up you CAN own. Only 1 year here my uggestion is to wait anothe 365 years before making this sort of decision.

[sibeymai]

Don't know where you heard that the banks take a commission on funds being transferred in. Have used Bangkok Bank over the last 10 years and never had a pay a commission. Don't think K-Bank would charge one either.

As for a mortgage, it is possible though not easy. You may be able to do it wholly in your wife's name (provided you are legally married in Thailand) with at least 50% deposit up front and you as a guarantor for your wife for the remaining 50%. Your wife will have to show proof of income or other assets for security. The bank may accept a statement of foreign assets/income from you depending on their mood at the time.

I have been offered mortgages on the above terms by a number of Thai banks. However, do be aware that the banks will tell you one thing and then do another or even renege on their offer at any time so beware and get everything in writing.

[KunMatt]

Don't know where you heard that the banks take a commission on funds being transferred in. Have used Bangkok Bank over the last 10 years and never had a pay a commission. Don't think K-Bank would charge one either.

I'm not making this up for the fun of it, I have two K-Bank accounts in two different cities and I've paid money into each of them and been charge for each 5,000 deposited, 250 Baht a time. Also, the reason for having two accounts is because despite being a Nationwide bank, K-Bank charge 20 baht for every single withdrawal that you take not in the account's city.

I haven't used either of these accounts for over 6 months as I'm better off just taking from my UK account in a Thai ATM, but that's what they were charging last summer.

I tried to join Bangkok Bank because they don't charge like this but couldn't get an account because I do not work in Thailand

As for a mortgage, it is possible though not easy. You may be able to do it wholly in your wife's name (provided you are legally married in Thailand) with at least 50% deposit up front and you as a guarantor for your wife for the remaining 50%. Your wife will have to show proof of income or other assets for security. The bank may accept a statement of foreign assets/income from you depending on their mood at the time.

I have been offered mortgages on the above terms by a number of Thai banks. However, do be aware that the banks will tell you one thing and then do another or even renege on their offer at any time so beware and get everything in writing.

I didn't think that getting a mortgage in Thailand would be easy in the slightest, I'll just wait for the exchange rate to sort itself out.

Thanks for the info.

[KunMatt]

Only 1 year here my uggestion is to wait anothe 365 years before making this sort of decision.

OK, I'll get back to you in 365 years then...

[olivier2553]

Don't know where you heard that the banks take a commission on funds being transferred in. Have used Bangkok Bank over the last 10 years and never had a pay a commission. Don't think K-Bank would charge one either.

I'm not making this up for the fun of it, I have two K-Bank accounts in two different cities and I've paid money into each of them and been charge for each 5,000 deposited, 250 Baht a time. Also, the reason for having two accounts is because despite being a Nationwide bank, K-Bank charge 20 baht for every single withdrawal that you take not in the account's city.

I read your post twice, I have been customer of Kasikorn for over 15 years, I was never charged to deposit Thai Baht into my account.

And none of the persons I know in Thailand have ever been charged to deposit Thai Baht in their account in any Thai bank.

Who ever told you you have to pay a charge to deposit cash into an account is ripping you.

[samesamebutdifferent]

Dunno if it's any good to you, but to bring my money to Thailand to build our house I got 25,000GBP of travellers cheques. The biggest size for AMEX is 500GBP. This is still a sizeable wad, and a lot of signing, but at a charge of 33THB per cheque regardless of its size, I was paying 50p in every £500. I think that's 0.1%. I don't really know the legallity of what I did, but the bank did'nt seem to mind.

[jackdawson]

we break up in the future and I own a building on her land where do I stand??

ut oh

way 2 go into your thai homebuilding "partnership" w/ confidence !

[KunMatt]

we break up in the future and I own a building on her land where do I stand??

ut oh

way 2 go into your thai homebuilding "partnership" w/ confidence !

If anyone doesn't consider the worst case scenario and what rights they have if this all goes pear shaped then they are obviously a fool.

If I didn't ask this then another poster would have given me a same sarcastic post like yours but from the other angle.

[KunMatt]

I read your post twice, I have been customer of Kasikorn for over 15 years, I was never charged to deposit Thai Baht into my account.

And none of the persons I know in Thailand have ever been charged to deposit Thai Baht in their account in any Thai bank.

Who ever told you you have to pay a charge to deposit cash into an account is ripping you.

Apparently I've got my wires crossed about the costs; K-Bank was charging me for depositing money but different amounts in different places, I also said that it was a rip off at the time and stopped using the accounts because of this.

My gf says it was about 30 Baht per deposit, and 20 baht per withdrawal. Do all Thai banks charge for using their ATMs for withdrawing money from outside of your account's city? I know that Bangkok Bank doesn't.

It costs 250 Baht for each deposit of any amount from a foreign account, even into Bangkok Bank.

[SantiSuk]

Thai GDP growth 7% this year (even accounting for coloured shirt politics). UK GDP growth 0.25%. Don't hold your breath for a higher UK/Baht exchange rate.

[gemini81]

dude, like I said, you're getting cheated and K bank is telling you they can take commissions where they really can't. Do yourself a big favor and check out the place I mentioned above where I do my investing. They'll point you in the right direction.

The other guy is correct, like we said you can't own anything. and IF you had a falling out, your Mrs takes all. put yourself in a more winning and secure position. I mean, maybe a condo so you have it in terms of security, and easier to get financed. if you have a condo or OWN something here, banks will work with you more. I'm not the expert, but I all to acquainted to playing the game here

Like I said, the guys above are from the UK Canada and USA, so you wont have to feel like you're getting cheated. i don't wanna deal with any Thai bank finance or even feel like any groups are cheating me, I want a bank or place I can have a personable relationship with. I'm sure you do too

[flying]

20 baht per withdrawal. Do all Thai banks charge for using their ATMs for withdrawing money from outside of your account's city? I know that Bangkok Bank doesn't.

Well Bangkok Bank does or did when I was there.....25 baht per use in a city outside of account origin.

I do believe they all do no?

[mpetersen]

no workpermit, no mortgage. even with workpermit, mortgage almost impossible.

Ok, thanks for the info, that's saved me a long trip.

What about transferring either all my money when the exchange rate is better, or bit by bit when needed, what's the cheapest way to do this? How do the ferangs who buy 10 million Baht houses get that much money into Thailand and not suffer huge costs?

You can cost-average your exchange rate by transferring every 30 or 90 days or what suits you. Or you can just jump on a chance when you have sufficient money to take advantage of what looks like an up-tick on exchange rate. It's really your own feeling and preference. I wouldn't wait for the GBP to go back up to 70THB. It might happen, but not quickly.

You can setup a GBP non-resident account (at HSBC) and keep GBP here, then transfer into a non-resident or resident THB account as you please. When I need to to exchange "that much money" to buy a condo, I just monitored the rates for one or two months and struck when I thought the time was right. It "saved" me about 400,000 baht over current rates.

[mpetersen]

dude, like I said, you're getting cheated and K bank is telling you they can take commissions where they really can't. Do yourself a big favor and check out the place I mentioned above where I do my investing. They'll point you in the right direction.

The other guy is correct, like we said you can't own anything. and IF you had a falling out, your Mrs takes all. put yourself in a more winning and secure position. I mean, maybe a condo so you have it in terms of security, and easier to get financed. if you have a condo or OWN something here, banks will work with you more. I'm not the expert, but I all to acquainted to playing the game here

Like I said, the guys above are from the UK Canada and USA, so you wont have to feel like you're getting cheated. i don't wanna deal with any Thai bank finance or even feel like any groups are cheating me, I want a bank or place I can have a personable relationship with. I'm sure you do too

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

If you are buying a condo, make sure you wait until you have signed a deal on one (millennium residence is nice!), because you will have to purpose-transfer funds from overseas mentioning the condo unit on the transfer in order for you to be issued an FET foreign exchange transaction form which then you show to the land office to prove the funds came from overseas. If you already have funds here you will have to send them out and then back in again....more hassles, exchange rate losses and time wasted.

[KunMatt]

You can cost-average your exchange rate by transferring every 30 or 90 days or what suits you. Or you can just jump on a chance when you have sufficient money to take advantage of what looks like an up-tick on exchange rate. It's really your own feeling and preference. I wouldn't wait for the GBP to go back up to 70THB. It might happen, but not quickly.

You can setup a GBP non-resident account (at HSBC) and keep GBP here, then transfer into a non-resident or resident THB account as you please. When I need to to exchange "that much money" to buy a condo, I just monitored the rates for one or two months and struck when I thought the time was right. It "saved" me about 400,000 baht over current rates.

So how did you transder "that much money" from the UK into Thailand and what bank charges both sides were involved each time?