Morgage But Cant Afford To Pay

[greasemonkey]

Sorry to hear of your troubles. Cant think of anything inteligent to sugest a way out too you, Exept possibly extending the term of your morgage, to reduce the payments, and hope for sunnier times ahead.

I dunno what part of the UK your from, but up in deepest darkest wales, there is work about if you look, aint gonna make a fortune right now, but wont starve either.

If you've got a free roof over your head for a while, you'll soon get on your feet. Even with the level of unemployment, and the downturn, all I hear from employers is " Cant get reliable staff"

Best of luck.

[WAYNEandAEI]

I will not be able to afford the morgage when we get back to the UK. we have talked to the bank to see there views and was told its our problem.

what is the worst case if we just go to the UK and default on payments? this is a serious question as it looks like this is our only option at the moment.

You just slip out the back, Jack

Make a new plan, Stan

You don't need to be coy, Roy

Just get yourself free

Hop on the bus, Gus

You don't need to discuss much

Just drop off the key, Lee

And get yourself free

Yes Paul Simon - genius

[Ulysses G.]

[i do not know what the Thai system is but I'd put the housekeeping money on it being less than forgiving than the UK system.

Debt IS a criminal offense in Thailand (unless something has changed fairly recently) . It is not easy to walk away from.

[taninthai]

Wow op can earn 120k on Thailand and that's still not enough I would have thought this is plenty to live a comfortable life over here even with a 32k mortgage.

[MrMakMak]

Wow op can earn 120k on Thailand and that's still not enough I would have thought this is plenty to live a comfortable life over here even with a 32k mortgage.

30k a month for a decent school and 55-100k for a top of the line boarding school(a little useless unless you are rich or your child is a prodigy) (queue 1million english teacher saying state school with english program are as good)

x2 because he will have an other child

60k

30k mortage

thats 90k

Car+bts 5k+ a month

food/clothing/small activities 20-50k

that would put him in debt every single month and even if you remove 1 child, he still can't save for the future. What is he going to do at 45-50 with no savings? teach english untill his death for peanuts?

seriously, my goal is to always make 100k a month minimum or im in trouble and those months i only make about 100k im stuck eating cheap thai food many more days than im used to. This isnt the west, we don't live on creditcards and the bank's cash.. everything is paid $ except houses.. For you it might be big to have 100k per month + 1mil int he bank, but then you buy a car.. you have almost 0 in the bank.. that 100k doesnt get you far and you need to add $ in the bank for your future or any emergencies

Edited February 15, 2011 by MrMakMak

[robblok]

I make around 110k (after tax) a month and the wife makes 20-30k. To be honest this is plenty and we can save loads. I think it all depends on the lifestyle and where you live. We live real cheap and don't overspend much.

I think it all depends on lifestyle. Some of my friends make 30k and do good on that. But if your not willing to economize or you cant. Then your fuc_ked.

[clinique]

Negotiate with the bank . Then try to sell for what you can or rent it out to meet the loan repayments. The bank will likelyrenegotiate the repayments so the rent covers them. Just reneging on the loan is not a good idea, the Thai credit bureau keeps records forever and it would have serious consequences for your wife and and co-signer. As well as, if i may say, it makes it that much harder for farangs to get loans in the future when others run out on Thai banks.

[rott]

Sorry, but 30k a month for a ''decent'' school, is this correct? How many months in the school year?

Sounds an awful lot of money to me, glad I've never had to do it.

Also didn't realise debt was criminal in Thailand.

onnut, best of luck chum.

[transam]

Sorry, but 30k a month for a ''decent'' school, is this correct? How many months in the school year?

Sounds an awful lot of money to me, glad I've never had to do it.

Also didn't realise debt was criminal in Thailand.

onnut, best of luck chum.

30K a month is a rip off. My pal spends 20K a term for a top school in Ubon.

[Slip]

My privately run English Prog school charges 30k a semester rather than a month, that's a bilingual school not a programme in a normal school. (That's x2 semesters).

EDIT: Sorry to hear this crap news Onnut- I hope everything works out.

Edited February 15, 2011 by Slip

[JPPR2]

Sorry to be just another poster to say I feel for you. It is a tough situation to overcome. I had many friends go down same path in US when the housing market crashed. Most walked away and took a huge credit hit, plus they thought were in clear but were not, they were pursued by the banks in civil court. Your situation seems very clear and the property you bought appears to be a lemon. Seems like a heck of a lot of money to have that happen. I mean this was not a 1.2million bought TH. That price is mid upper class.

I did ask a few of my friends here in TL and the comments aligned with what someone posted about revoking your and your wifes passport. Be careful this appears to be quite true. So coming back could be an issue especially if wanting to visit. I was told that you will be 'Flagged" and they will let you in then confiscate yours and wifes passport and you cannot leave until all debts have been satisfied. So I guess this is a one way pass out of here. Were you planning on returning? If so, sounds like the bad debt might be waiting for you with penalties.

It always seems so easy to walk away but there are many underlying ramifications. My friends are still in hell as it seems to crop up and bite them in the ass.

Best of luck to you

Edited February 15, 2011 by JPPR2

[rott]

Thanks for the info on the school fees, I felt that it was most likely a case of someone who can't help talking telephone numbers all the time. So how much does one of the international schools in Pattaya cost? Before someone rips into me i will look it up myself.

Off topic again, I thought that in the USA the mortgage was with the property not the individual, making it easy -attractive even- to walk away, and contributing directly to the large number of defaults.

Edited February 15, 2011 by rott

[tgeezer]

Hi onnut, not that it helps, but really sorry to read of your plight. Have you been to talk to the bank at all, to see if they, can come up with any sugestions, or are interested in helping in any way. You never know?

jb1

I am sorry I haven't ploughed through all the replies but this one fits. A Thai friend said that you must not default on the loan, he mentioned ten years on the books plus the guarantor having a problem. He also said that banks will suspend interest, you just pay off the capital from now on. This I find hard to believe but it definitely means that you have nothing to lose by talking with the bank. If there is no joy with the bank they can't stop you leaving the country, they probably shouldn't be made aware of that anyway.

[a99az]

I really do feel for you onnut, I know you are going through hell and I wish you all the best in the UK.

A number of people have suggested renting it it out, maybe for little more that the mortgage payments, if things improved you might possibly want to return to Thailand. Is it advertised on Thaivisa? you never know.

Could it be feasible to try and find someone who could take over the house and continue the mortgage payments to the bank, this might be better than defaulting and could protect your wife's credit rating, obviously with some sort of protection in place for a possible buyer and yourselves. I am really just thinking aloud, I'm sure you have thought of all the options and I'm not sure if the bank would allow anyway.

As I say I really do feel for you and yours, I really hope things get better for you and your loved ones.

Even if you rent it out and have to pay a small bit your self you would then have a house here to come back too. Just a thought. Remember you should be able to pay a bit once you settle down in the UK. You could also ask the bank if you could have a year and pay the interest only.

[tgeezer]

There are some nice answers here, thanks to those posters.

I cannot sell the house at all and nobody will rent. here is why!

its a double town house, both side built at different times. one side was built well and the other was not, resulting in one hell of a crack going through every wall and floor in the house splitting in in two. come the rainy season it gets worse.

3 years ago we spent 400k getting it fixed and it split and leaked at the next rainy season, so we tried again with another company with the same result at the next rainy season. its funny because when we bought the house it was a dream home, very nice inside and outside. two days after we moved in it rained hard and we then realised we had a problem. we were recommended to do some work which cost 300k so we did and it helped but did not solve the fact that the last builder who built the 2nd side of the house did not piledrive down enough..

so. we cant sell, and I wouldnt sell it to anybody. its a lemmon so to speak. also nobody would want to rent it at all. if we pay the mortgage while in the UK the place will be collapsing and will be in ruins by the time we come back.

this is why we are prepared to walk away from it. anyone else with some ideas ?

How much is your decision to leave influenced by the problems with the house? What would the situation be if the house was not cracking? It sounds to me that you have had bad advice on the stabilisation of the place, and it has cost you a lot of money, for nothing, this is enough to make anyone think of an alternative solution to the problem.

The solution seems to bring with it additional problems. I would definitely talk to the bank because what you are suggesting is that they take the loss of value of the house instead of you, while this may be an attractive option for you, there is nothing in it for the bank. Can not a solution be found in sharing the loss, after all they shouldn't have lent against collateral, which they didn't verify adequately. Did they not insist on insurance? houses can subside as well as burn down.

[a99az]

Has your wife got a UK passport? I don't think the Thai government can take her passport if it's not a Thai one. Just a thought.

[WarpSpeed]

Thanks for the info on the school fees, I felt that it was most likely a case of someone who can't help talking telephone numbers all the time. So how much does one of the international schools in Pattaya cost? Before someone rips into me i will look it up myself.

Off topic again, I thought that in the USA the mortgage was with the property not the individual, making it easy -attractive even- to walk away, and contributing directly to the large number of defaults.

Of course the mortgage is attached to the owner, the bank retains a lien against it, if you default it goes on your credit for whatever the legal costs to foreclose, maintain plus interest and any balance due less the foreclosed sale of the home which may take months or longer and they let them go really cheap as they can't maintain all of the foreclosures..

[WarpSpeed]

Has your wife got a UK passport? I don't think the Thai government can take her passport if it's not a Thai one. Just a thought.

They can if you're in violation of Thai laws...

[onnut]

120k is not that much really.

Mortgage 32k

Maid 7k

Car 15k

School for 1 child 30k

We would like another soon!

Electric, Internet, tv, water 10k

Food and clothes 20k

So yes we can do it! But then the house needs fixing, car needs new tires and brakes, oh yes, I forgot health insurance.

120 really is not alot!

To be honest, we can stay in Thailand and make do. No problem. But why would I do that when I believe I can give my son a better start in the UK. Many posters think going to the UK is wrong, I don't.

UK will be good, we just need to get rid of this house!

I have received so awesome PMs from a number of posters. Thaivisa really has some good guys on it.

I am sure something will come up soon, we are in the process of sorting it out with the bank, fingers crossed they will help us out.

[roamer]

120k is not that much really.

Mortgage 32k

Maid 7k

Car 15k

School for 1 child 30k

We would like another soon!

Electric, Internet, tv, water 10k

Food and clothes 20k

So yes we can do it! But then the house needs fixing, car needs new tires and brakes, oh yes, I forgot health insurance.

120 really is not alot!

To be honest, we can stay in Thailand and make do. No problem. But why would I do that when I believe I can give my son a better start in the UK. Many posters think going to the UK is wrong, I don't.

UK will be good, we just need to get rid of this house!

I have received so awesome PMs from a number of posters. Thaivisa really has some good guys on it.

I am sure something will come up soon, we are in the process of sorting it out with the bank, fingers crossed they will help us out.

Seven years ago we faced a similar decision over our daughters education (my stepdaughter), she was 8 at the time. Money not being a particular problem at the time we took a look at quite a few schools in Bangkok & Chiang Mai. There were some pretty good schools there but for me its a personal thing and we never felt really happy going down the International school route. We therefore decided to head for the UK and a British education. As our daughter spoke very little English private schooling was out of the question, no EFL support and a pressured environment. We opted for a delightful state primary in Camden, London. Her new classmates instantly adopted our daughter and her English skills improved at a dramatic pace. Time moves on, she is sitting her GCSE's in June and very much expects to get the grades she needs to progress through A levels to hopefully a place to study medicine or vet science. She joined the Scouts at 11 and went on through that to become an accomplished and very competitive sailor and is now an assistant sailing instructor teaching other kids to sail. She has completed her Duke of Edinburgh Silver award that included a 50K canoe trip and thinks sea kayaking around Scottish islands in icy winds is close to heaven.

All she did was see the opportunities and grabbed them, we now have a very confident articulate, hopelessly untidy, daughter who loves returning to LOS and catching up with family and friends and slips easily into "Thai mode". Personally I doubt very much whether we would have had the same daughter had we stayed in LOS, might have done it academically but I doubt she would have developed her independent streak, critical thinking skills and self awareness that she has now.

Good luck onnut, hope the rest of it works out for you.

[farang000999]

try to get your wife UK passport asap in case there are problems in the future (there probably won't be)...

[nocturn]

Wow op can earn 120k on Thailand and that's still not enough I would have thought this is plenty to live a comfortable life over here even with a 32k mortgage.

you thought wrong.

[stander]

You left the UK when you were 19, 16 years ago correct?

If that is the case then I think you will be returning to a very different place, a place where multiculturalism has gone haywire and the indigenous citizens are overwhelmed in many places.

Good luck to you and your family

[prefabs]

120k is not that much really.

Mortgage 32k

Maid 7k

Car 15k

School for 1 child 30k

We would like another soon!

Electric, Internet, tv, water 10k

Food and clothes 20k

So yes we can do it! But then the house needs fixing, car needs new tires and brakes, oh yes, I forgot health insurance.

120 really is not alot!

To be honest, we can stay in Thailand and make do. No problem. But why would I do that when I believe I can give my son a better start in the UK. Many posters think going to the UK is wrong, I don't.

UK will be good, we just need to get rid of this house!

I have received so awesome PMs from a number of posters. Thaivisa really has some good guys on it.

I am sure something will come up soon, we are in the process of sorting it out with the bank, fingers crossed they will help us out.

Onnut, looks like you need to give it a little more thought. and maybe time, if that is available given your son's age. Do I detect a little bit of depression in your post? Remember most TV regulars don't accept that the UK will be good, so that colours their arguments. However, even Tory Minister Ken Clarke was warning just this weekend that people in UK are unprepared for what is about to hit them with all the forthcoming cuts.

[WarpSpeed]

You left the UK when you were 19, 16 years ago correct?

If that is the case then I think you will be returning to a very different place, a place where multiculturalism has gone haywire and the indigenous citizens are overwhelmed in many places.

Good luck to you and your family

Perfect! Since his wife and child are'nt indigenous they should adjust quite well and he'll do so too eventually. Most here have come to an entirely new environment and culture well into their lives and still made a life of it, going back is only half as hard at best..

Edited February 16, 2011 by WarpSpeed

[onnut]

I don't have depression, I know what I want to do. Cuts in the UK and bad times coming may be true but my sons education will still be there.

Like I said, my only problem is this house!!

Roamer, thank you. That's what I am hoping for.

[stander]

Onnut

You will find that the country has been almost overrun by Muslims and that is the crux of the problem with multiculturalism.

[jayjayjayjay]

surely the bank will allow you to renegotiate payment terms. Take 15 a year loan out to 30 years. Reduce your monthly exposure by up to 70%. Add to it with a little rent money. Get someone in on a bargin but allow them to be responsible for upkeep, that is how I've always negotiated good rent deals. The landlord, in this caes you, should be happy. If you reduce your monthly exposure, cover part of the mortgage with a renter, then surely you can squeeze the rest out once relocated to the UK.

[jayjayjayjay]

Some very nice posts here. Thanks for the support.

It's not all that bad really.

Problem: I think education in Thailand is below par on back home. Also to get a better education for my son in Thailand will cost more that I can manage.

Solution: go back to the UK and have him educated in state schools. I did it and so did my siblings and we all come out with good qualifications.

The most I can earn in Thailand right now is 120k month. We would like another child so ad this cost to schooling also. We have both spoken at length about going back and we both agree it's the right thing to do. We have good support from my family and there is plenty of work in my field.

I'm looking forward to going back and am positive this move will work out for us. I'm a grafter and so is my wife.

The only drama we are having now is this bloody house. I can't walk unless I know my wife will be safe when visiting Thailand. We have spoken to the bank and it looks like they may take the house and sell it for what they can meaning we will have to pay the rest. This I can live with, I hope this works. At least it is legal and we will not have future problems. I hope LOL.

Another thing about the education thing. I need my son to grow up thinking for himself with a Western attitude to life. We plan on giving him the best of both worlds. And his mum will do a great job of that in the UK.

While in the UK. I plan on getting revenge on his mum by dragging her around every church we pass. He he he. Get my own back on all the temple tours.

I did not check of your sons age. I have financed my daughters international schooling in CM from the age of 3yrs. They are now a few of years shy of finishing A-Levels. I would never do it this way again. I would leave them in Thai schools until the age of 11-12 years, the other option being bilingual schools. My daughters have fluent spoken and listening Thai, but do not read or write like Thai they should. They could not attend Thai University. On the other hand, had they stayed in cheaper Thai or Bi-lingual schools they would have built this skill set. At the age of 12-13 yrs, they would have adopted the English program without any problems. Many of their friends have followed this path and are fully capable of studying A-Levels . My daughters are straight A students, with a few misses here and there, but this is about hard work rather than being in the international system from ages 3 until now. The early years of English is about parental contact, 9-11 about friends, and 12- up about schools peers.

[MrMakMak]

Some very nice posts here. Thanks for the support.

It's not all that bad really.

Problem: I think education in Thailand is below par on back home. Also to get a better education for my son in Thailand will cost more that I can manage.

Solution: go back to the UK and have him educated in state schools. I did it and so did my siblings and we all come out with good qualifications.

The most I can earn in Thailand right now is 120k month. We would like another child so ad this cost to schooling also. We have both spoken at length about going back and we both agree it's the right thing to do. We have good support from my family and there is plenty of work in my field.

I'm looking forward to going back and am positive this move will work out for us. I'm a grafter and so is my wife.

The only drama we are having now is this bloody house. I can't walk unless I know my wife will be safe when visiting Thailand. We have spoken to the bank and it looks like they may take the house and sell it for what they can meaning we will have to pay the rest. This I can live with, I hope this works. At least it is legal and we will not have future problems. I hope LOL.

Another thing about the education thing. I need my son to grow up thinking for himself with a Western attitude to life. We plan on giving him the best of both worlds. And his mum will do a great job of that in the UK.

While in the UK. I plan on getting revenge on his mum by dragging her around every church we pass. He he he. Get my own back on all the temple tours.

I did not check of your sons age. I have financed my daughters international schooling in CM from the age of 3yrs. They are now a few of years shy of finishing A-Levels. I would never do it this way again. I would leave them in Thai schools until the age of 11-12 years, the other option being bilingual schools. My daughters have fluent spoken and listening Thai, but do not read or write like Thai they should. They could not attend Thai University. On the other hand, had they stayed in cheaper Thai or Bi-lingual schools they would have built this skill set. At the age of 12-13 yrs, they would have adopted the English program without any problems. Many of their friends have followed this path and are fully capable of studying A-Levels . My daughters are straight A students, with a few misses here and there, but this is about hard work rather than being in the international system from ages 3 until now. The early years of English is about parental contact, 9-11 about friends, and 12- up about schools peers.

This is quite false. Not every child has the same capacity. You never thought that your daugther was lucky and got some nice genes and a good brain development? You think this part of this is due to the fact that in her expensive school she was fed good food instead of some cheap rice with toxic meat and a coke? There's a lot of small things those expensive school provided that might of changed her from a potential C student at a normal thai school to a A student at a good school. Learning to write thai exactly like Thais is not a good reason to take such a big chance, you never know if you have a child that's going to be less good in school than the average, or a child that will need a tighter environment or a child that is much affected by his food (some kids can live off popcorn and still concentrate while others need premium food or they can't even read 2 sentences and remember them)

If you read the phuket forum, you'll see how big of a joke even the thai private bilingual schools are. Took 6months for the parents to convince one of the 2 big thai school that the teachers were wrong thinking that fifteen was not written as "five teen".

All in all, some kids can become neuroscientist studying in the worse school in the world, but most of them are not this lucky and having a better school can change them from making 30k$ a year in the future to 200k$+ just by making sure that there's is as little bumps in the road as possible. Just look at me, i was sent to a half private school, i skipped and did nothing the whole time and finished a B student in classes i didnt care about and A in the ones i liked. dropped out of college 5 times.. just because they couldnt diagnostic me with ADD and give me a simple pill.. If i had gone to a real private school i would of been on ritalin or adderal and i would have a masters or doctorate by now for sure and a more proper job in the real world. Going to this semi private school that kind of sucked(most of my class have done nothing with their lives) did not stop me from having a good life, but it did stop me from having a normal job with less stress, having an education to fall back on, having a more adjusted social life etc etc. Even with no pills, having gone to a private school with proper discipline and with the other kids being motivated(or forced into) and having a lot of extra curricular activities such as arts would have made me a better and less lazy person.

do not send your kids to a thai school unless you hate them That's the only thing in thailand which you cant argue with. If you're a poor teacher, home school them. If you're a terrible dirty drunk, home school them you'll still be better than most teachers.

Dont have your kid stuck in going to a thai universitiy, they are worthless internationally and they lead nowhere inside thailand as well.

Not every kid is a prodigy, most are not.