Transfering Funds For Condo

[toddy]

Hi!

The situation: I am due to transfer funds to Thailand for purchase of a condo. The developer (Jones Lang Lasalle) assure me that I can transfer to their bank account for this particular development and as long as I write the purpose of transfering the funds (ie to buy a condo in Thailand) on the transfer form from UK, then there should be no problem in me putting my name on the title deed.

However - where do I stand then with the Thor Thor 3 form (that proves the funds originated from abroad and were transfered for this purpose) - can the developer do this for me even though the funds go to their bank rather than my own?

If now, I change my mind and indeed send the funds to my own bank in Thailand, can I at a later date obtain the Thor Thor 3 when I arrive back in Thailand?

What do you think?

[Thaipwriter]

Hi!

The situation: I am due to transfer funds to Thailand for purchase of a condo. The developer (Jones Lang Lasalle) assure me that I can transfer to their bank account for this particular development and as long as I write the purpose of transfering the funds (ie to buy a condo in Thailand) on the transfer form from UK, then there should be no problem in me putting my name on the title deed.

However - where do I stand then with the Thor Thor 3 form (that proves the funds originated from abroad and were transfered for this purpose) - can the developer do this for me even though the funds go to their bank rather than my own?

If now, I change my mind and indeed send the funds to my own bank in Thailand, can I at a later date obtain the Thor Thor 3 when I arrive back in Thailand?

What do you think?

send the money to your own bank account. for security! transfer to the developer the day you get the deeds and tabien baan ( condo registration book)

you can send the money to the developers bank and yes you can ask them to get the paperwork but would you really be happy doing that???

make sure you send more that 20,000 usd

make sure you send the currency of you home country NOT THAI BAHT the exchange MUST happen here

as advised "put for condominium purchase" on the form and make sure that the name on the transaction form is the same as the name in your passport.

Tor Tor 3 finished may 2004, its now called "Foreign Exchange Transaction Form"

you can go and get the FETF from your bank anytime, the form is valid for 6 months.

hope this helps.

[toddy]

So just to re-cap (because I have to be 100% on this): I am now in UK and it is normal to transfer the money to my Thai bank and they can then issue the Foreign Exchange Form when I arrive - maybe 2 weeks after transfer? - Even though I haven't advised them this is going to happen? How would they know to retain the transfer form with the words '...for condo purchase...' written on it - OR IS IT ME WHO RETAINS MY COPY TO SHOW THEM?

Cheers for the help.

[Thaipwriter]

So just to re-cap (because I have to be 100% on this): I am now in UK and it is normal to transfer the money to my Thai bank and they can then issue the Foreign Exchange Form when I arrive - maybe 2 weeks after transfer? - Even though I haven't advised them this is going to happen? How would they know to retain the transfer form with the words '...for condo purchase...' written on it - OR IS IT ME WHO RETAINS MY COPY TO SHOW THEM?

Cheers for the help.

yep the 2 week gap is no problem due to the code that is attributed to the transaction when the money arrives as thai baht.

transfer the money from the Uk using CHAPS or SWIFT for about 25 quid.

any high street bank can do this. if your with cahoot you can arrange the transfer over the phone whilst your in thailand

when the dosh arrives in Thailand it will be exchanged into Thai baht at the T/T (telegraphic transfer ) rate of the day.

the money will be credited to your account and the above 3 letter code will be added to the debit, i cant find my bloody bank book to tell you what the code is but its something like" TXF" it is this code that the bank later refer to to issue the FETF.

FEFT gonna cost u 200 baht

[mbkudu]

Make sure your money goes to your account and not a developer's or agent's account because if you change your mind or something comes up, the money will be in your account and not someone else's.

[The Fat Controller]

If I did my research correctly, to register the condo in your name, the funds have to be transferred to a Thai bank account that is in the same name, so do not transfer to the developer's account.

The form you require from your THAI bank is the one that will have the "remitted from abroard for condo purchase" and the form you receive at your UK bank will have no relevance.

I have not done it yet, but Bangkok Bank have said, come in any time to get the form as we can see the money came from overseas.

[FRM-BKK]

I posted this this reply in a similar topic a few weeks ago. Although it may not all be relevant to you, I hope you will find some useful tips.

FRM-UK

Tor Tor 3 has been abolished since May 2004 and replaced by what the authorities now use:

Foreign Exchange Transaction Form

To get the FETF's (foreign exchange transaction form) you will need to stick to some basic principles.

1

Money has to be remitted from abroad, in a NON THAI currency, so sterling, dollars anything but not Thai baht.

2

The amount you remit in one transaction has to be for at least USD 20,000 or equivalent. If you send less, the amount does not qualify for a FETF form, so make sure you remit enough to get you over 20,000 USD equivalent. ( over 12,000 pound sterling?)

If your condo is not yet ready, and you are required to make regular payments, which are smaller than 20,000 USD send several payments at once, so to get you over the 20,000 USD amount.

Also I would only pay monies into my own Thai bank account, not the account of the developer or solicitor....only your own!! This is just for safety and security. Also keep in mind the vality period of FETF's I have no experience with this as my transaction was completed in 8 weeks.

3

When you send the money from your home country, or wherever it is coming from, the remitting bank must put on the electronic wire form some crucial information..............without this the bank or land department will refuse.

First on the wire instructions it must contain your full name. exactly as in your passport. It must also contain the purpose for the remit: "for purchase Condominium" These two items are vital. I had the bank in the UK also put on my passport number, just so to tie everything in with me only.

4

Once the money is in Thailand, go to the bank and ask them to issue you with the FETF. If you are dealing with a local branch who do not seem to know what to do, go to their head office. I did everything through the Bangkok Bank HQ on Silom Road in Bangkok. That is where I have my accounts. They knew exactly what was needed and got me sorted out in about half an hour. I had remitted 3 payments to Thailand.

I did have to pay for the FETF's about 200 baht each letter.

5

The FETF form should contain the following:

in section 1

your full name and passport number

in section 2

the name of the bank that sent the money to Thailand

in section 4

the purpose of the transaction, with the code 318069 (i assume this is a standard code for condo buying)

and this section will also specify that the reason is for: "purchase of Condominium"

in section 6

date and your signature

in section 7

a stamp and signature from the authorized financial institute (your bank)

That is it.

You will need additional bits and pieces fior the land registry department.

You will need copies of the passports of both your father and your mother. If they are no longer alive, you must give their full names, registered postal address when they were alive and the date they died.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Great information. Thank you for that.

[WhiteShiva]

What is the situation if you work in Thailand, are paid in Thailand, and want to buy a condo?

[Firefan]

Whiteshiva;

a friend of mine was in that situation. He concluded that he had to arrange for wire out from Thailand (he used another bank to wire out than his usual I believe - not that I think it is a must), converting the THB to Euro and then wire back in.... a waste... Cheers!

[ericg1953]

FRM,

Thank you for the good information. There is one part of your post I did not get. I have put down a deposit on a new condo project and starting in December 2005, I will be paying 80,000 bht every month for 12 months.At the end of 12 months the balance will be due. I have given already a 100,000 bht deposit. In your section #2 it talks about monthly payments(my situation). The monies will be transferred from the US , but I wasn't sure what you meant. Please elaborate on how you feel is the best way for me to do this and also protect myself as best as possible.

Thank You,

Eric

[Beer-diow, khao-neow, mai-an!]

Surely you could trust a major developer with the cash?! I know this is Thailand, but....the firm buildig my condo said they will arrange all the foreign ownership forms for me so long as I wire it to them when due (and they are not a mom & pop firm btw)

[Khun Bob]

Hi

Why do you have to send to Thailand in the currenjcy of the country the money originates from ?

I can get better rates from a currency broker who would buy thai baht for me on the forex market and then transfer to my thai bank account in thai baht - and the TT would state where the monet originated from and what the purpose was for - property purchase.

Cheers

Hi!

The situation: I am due to transfer funds to Thailand for purchase of a condo. The developer (Jones Lang Lasalle) assure me that I can transfer to their bank account for this particular development and as long as I write the purpose of transfering the funds (ie to buy a condo in Thailand) on the transfer form from UK, then there should be no problem in me putting my name on the title deed.

However - where do I stand then with the Thor Thor 3 form (that proves the funds originated from abroad and were transfered for this purpose) - can the developer do this for me even though the funds go to their bank rather than my own?

If now, I change my mind and indeed send the funds to my own bank in Thailand, can I at a later date obtain the Thor Thor 3 when I arrive back in Thailand?

What do you think?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

send the money to your own bank account. for security! transfer to the developer the day you get the deeds and tabien baan ( condo registration book)

you can send the money to the developers bank and yes you can ask them to get the paperwork but would you really be happy doing that???

make sure you send more that 20,000 usd

make sure you send the currency of you home country NOT THAI BAHT the exchange MUST happen here

as advised "put for condominium purchase" on the form and make sure that the name on the transaction form is the same as the name in your passport.

Tor Tor 3 finished may 2004, its now called "Foreign Exchange Transaction Form"

you can go and get the FETF from your bank anytime, the form is valid for 6 months.

hope this helps.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[mbkudu]

Hi

Why do you have to send to Thailand in the currenjcy of the country the money originates from ?

There are a couple of reasons for this. One is that if you ever sell your property, you can get your money out of the country because you have the parerwork showing how you brought it in, and secondly the the Thai government and Thai banks make a good profit on the foreign exchange transaction that takes place.

I guess they are much more concerned about the second reason than the first.

[steveromagnino]

>>What is the situation if you work in Thailand, are paid in Thailand, and want to buy a condo?

I was in this situation a month ago and did not need the TT3 form. However, I also got a mortgage; not sure if you could still do that if you were paying the whole amount in one go without a mortage.

The rationale was that the money was generated locally - had to show work permit, passport and so on.

[steveromagnino]

>>What is the situation if you work in Thailand, are paid in Thailand, and want to buy a condo?

I was in this situation a month ago and did not need the TT3 form. However, I also got a mortgage; not sure if you could still do that if you were paying the whole amount in one go without a mortage.

The rationale was that the money was generated locally - had to show work permit, passport and so on.

[FRM-BKK]

FRM,

Thank you for the good information. There is one part of your post I did not get. I have put down a deposit on a new condo project and starting in December 2005, I will be paying 80,000 bht every month for 12 months.At the end of 12 months the balance will be due. I have given already a 100,000 bht deposit. In your section #2 it talks about monthly payments(my situation). The monies will be transferred from the US , but I wasn't sure what you meant. Please elaborate on how you feel is the best way for me to do this and also protect myself as best as possible.

Thank You,

Eric

Hi Eric,

First my apologies for a late reply........................I have not been on-line for several days.

Now get to the point.......................

If you remit funds to Thailand from abroad, the amount you remit in one transaction has to be over US 20,000 or or above or equivalent at market rate. If you remit less, your transactions(s) will not qualify for the required Foreign Exchange Transaction Form. So, if you remit 12 times your monthly 80,000 Thai Baht, you will not qualify for the Foreign Exchange Transaction Form, as the amount each time is only US 2,000 (at an exchange rate of approximately 40 baht to 1 US dollar)

If I were in your situation, I would remit to Thailand US 20,000 or above or equivalent and paid only into your own bank account in Thailand.............................I assume you have a Thai bank account?

Once the money is in your Thai bank account, you set up a payment scheme to the developer to pay him the required monthly sum of 80,000 thai baht each month. At the end when the final balance is required to settle, again, that money is already in your account.

I cannot speculate as to how much your condo is going to cost, but if you pay in instalments, you would be wise to remit the required total amount in lumps of US 20,000 or above or equivalent. As anything under this amount you will not qualify for the FETC form. The land registry department will not allow the transfer of the title deeds in that case.....................you will loose out!

One other issue you will have to find out about (I am not familiar with this) is the period of validity for the Foreign Exchange Transaction Form. Will the land department accept a certificate that is over 6 or 12 months old?

Perhaps you can arrange this with the bank in Thailand......................they may prepare your forms some weeks or months prior to you transfering at the land registry department? I realy dont know about this.....but try to find out.

To protect yourself.....................make sure that your money is always remitted to your own bank account. Pay the developer in a way that can be traced.....................either with cheques issued by the bank, or by internal transfers between banks, so that there is a record.

What you cannot protect yourself from is if the developer wants to be dishonest.

In that case you could use a legal representative.

You might also find that some agents are willing to help you out. The agent I used were absolutely fantastic. Totally trustworthy.

If you want more details of who they are and who to contact, please private message me and I will respond.

Let me know how you get on

Good luck,

FRM-UK

[ericg1953]

FRM,

Thank you for the good information. There is one part of your post I did not get. I have put down  a deposit on a new condo project and starting in December 2005, I will be paying 80,000 bht every month for 12 months.At the end of 12 months the balance will be due. I have given already  a 100,000 bht deposit. In your section #2 it talks about monthly payments(my situation). The monies will be transferred from the US , but I wasn't sure what you meant. Please elaborate on how  you feel is the best way  for me to do this and also protect myself as best as possible.

Thank You,

Eric

Hi Eric,

First my apologies for a late reply........................I have not been on-line for several days.

Now get to the point.......................

If you remit funds to Thailand from abroad, the amount you remit in one transaction has to be over US 20,000 or or above or equivalent at market rate. If you remit less, your transactions(s) will not qualify for the required Foreign Exchange Transaction Form.  So, if you remit 12 times your monthly 80,000 Thai Baht, you will not qualify for the Foreign Exchange Transaction Form, as the amount each time is only US 2,000 (at an exchange rate of approximately 40 baht to 1 US dollar)

If I were in your situation, I would remit to Thailand US 20,000 or above or equivalent and paid only into your own bank account in Thailand.............................I assume you have a Thai bank account?

Once the money is in your Thai bank account, you set up a payment scheme to the developer to pay him the required monthly sum of 80,000 thai baht each month.  At the end when the final balance is required to settle, again, that money is already in your account.

I cannot speculate as to how much your condo is going to cost, but if you pay in instalments, you would be wise to remit the required total amount in lumps of US 20,000 or above or equivalent. As anything under this amount you will not qualify for the FETC form. The land registry department will not allow the transfer of the title deeds in that case.....................you will loose out!

One other issue you will have to find out about (I am not familiar with this) is the period of validity for the Foreign Exchange Transaction Form. Will the land department accept a certificate that is over 6 or 12 months old?

Perhaps you can arrange this with the bank in Thailand......................they may prepare your forms some weeks or months prior to you transfering at the land registry department?  I realy dont know about this.....but try to find out.

To protect yourself.....................make sure that your money is always remitted to your own bank account.  Pay the developer in a way that can be traced.....................either with  cheques issued by the bank, or by internal transfers between banks, so that there is a record.

What you cannot protect yourself from is if the developer wants to be dishonest.

In that case you could use a legal representative.

You might also find that some agents are willing to help you out. The agent I used were absolutely fantastic. Totally trustworthy.

If you want more details of who they are and who to contact, please private message me and I will respond.

Let me know how you get on

Good luck,

FRM-UK

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

FRM,

Thank you for the info. My total purchase price is 2.6 mill baht.

I will get a bank account when I arrive in Nov.

Thanks again

Eric

[pattayamick]

FRM,

Thank you for the good information. There is one part of your post I did not get. I have put down  a deposit on a new condo project and starting in December 2005, I will be paying 80,000 bht every month for 12 months.At the end of 12 months the balance will be due. I have given already  a 100,000 bht deposit. In your section #2 it talks about monthly payments(my situation). The monies will be transferred from the US , but I wasn't sure what you meant. Please elaborate on how  you feel is the best way  for me to do this and also protect myself as best as possible.

Thank You,

Eric

Hi Eric,

First my apologies for a late reply........................I have not been on-line for several days.

Now get to the point.......................

If you remit funds to Thailand from abroad, the amount you remit in one transaction has to be over US 20,000 or or above or equivalent at market rate. If you remit less, your transactions(s) will not qualify for the required Foreign Exchange Transaction Form.  So, if you remit 12 times your monthly 80,000 Thai Baht, you will not qualify for the Foreign Exchange Transaction Form, as the amount each time is only US 2,000 (at an exchange rate of approximately 40 baht to 1 US dollar)

If I were in your situation, I would remit to Thailand US 20,000 or above or equivalent and paid only into your own bank account in Thailand.............................I assume you have a Thai bank account?

Once the money is in your Thai bank account, you set up a payment scheme to the developer to pay him the required monthly sum of 80,000 thai baht each month.  At the end when the final balance is required to settle, again, that money is already in your account.

I cannot speculate as to how much your condo is going to cost, but if you pay in instalments, you would be wise to remit the required total amount in lumps of US 20,000 or above or equivalent. As anything under this amount you will not qualify for the FETC form. The land registry department will not allow the transfer of the title deeds in that case.....................you will loose out!

One other issue you will have to find out about (I am not familiar with this) is the period of validity for the Foreign Exchange Transaction Form. Will the land department accept a certificate that is over 6 or 12 months old?

Perhaps you can arrange this with the bank in Thailand......................they may prepare your forms some weeks or months prior to you transfering at the land registry department?  I realy dont know about this.....but try to find out.

To protect yourself.....................make sure that your money is always remitted to your own bank account.  Pay the developer in a way that can be traced.....................either with  cheques issued by the bank, or by internal transfers between banks, so that there is a record.

What you cannot protect yourself from is if the developer wants to be dishonest.

In that case you could use a legal representative.

You might also find that some agents are willing to help you out. The agent I used were absolutely fantastic. Totally trustworthy.

If you want more details of who they are and who to contact, please private message me and I will respond.

Let me know how you get on

Good luck,

FRM-UK

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

FRM,

Thank you for the info. My total purchase price is 2.6 mill baht.

I will get a bank account when I arrive in Nov.

Thanks again

Eric

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

As far as I understand from my bank lady who deals with the land department.

1. The foreign exchange form is called a "bai Turagam"

This can only be issued for transfers more than 20,000 US$.

A "bai turagam" is needed, if you want to transfer said money out of the country again.

2. However, for condo transfer purposes.

A "bai turagam" is not needed. In case you transfer less than 20,000 US$ at a time, yours or the developers bank will issue an official letter stating the money was trasferred in foreign exchange,which is then to be useed at the land department.

Mind you, some very small condo's can cost as little as 10,000 US$.

In any case. The land department just need proof of transfer of funds matching their official appraised value of the condo, which normally is way lower than the real buying/sales price

Edited September 16, 2005 by pattayamick