This is an example scenario, I would love to hear everybody's thoughts and observations:

Mr Farang buys a house for 2 million Baht in the name of his girlfriend, Miss Thai

There are two copies of the original Chanote, one resides at the land office and the other original document lives under lock and key in Mr farangs safe deposit box at the local bank.

Is it possible for Miss Thai to sell the house if she does not have an original copy of the chanote, or can she just present herself at the land office and make a transfer of ownership without the chanote????

Yes she can sell it.

Just report the note lost, get a replacement and sell the house.

This is an example scenario, I would love to hear everybody's thoughts and observations:

Mr Farang buys a house for 2 million Baht in the name of his girlfriend, Miss Thai

There are two copies of the original Chanote, one resides at the land office and the other original document lives under lock and key in Mr farangs safe deposit box at the local bank.

Is it possible for Miss Thai to sell the house if she does not have an original copy of the chanote, or can she just present herself at the land office and make a transfer of ownership without the chanote????

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I would agree that yes the house can be sold, however would wonder if a legal document drawn up which the girl had to sign stated that the chanot would be held as security on a secured loan basis. Presumably to get a copy of the chanot she would be required to obtain a police report detailing that the said chanot had been lost. By doing it this way, any such action would be illegal as with your chanot you also have the letter which she has signed understanding that you are holding the chanot until any loan is settled. Therefore if she went to the police to say its been lost, she is knowingly lying. Might seem peculiar but from what I have seen of the Thai legal system, this might be considered very serious and then become a criminal matter for which she could be charged as she knows full well the chanot is not lost but with you for safekeeping until any such loan is repaid. Might not stop her selling the house, but she could end up inside the prison if she actually did it.

Would be interesting to see what other legal opinion there is on this, or if this completely impractical.

Any outstanding loans on the property can be registered on the back of the chanood for a small fee, and this would show up on her replacement chanood as well!

Yes she can sell it.

Just report the note lost, get a replacement and sell the house.

Spot on.

well that pisses on Mr Farangs chips!

Thanks guys, this was just some drunken bar chatter that i overheard, i thought the guy was wrong but did not want to get involved.

When you're trying to outsmart *insert stereotypical falang spouse...male or female here* use simple math.

Staying in debt mortgage wise to your bank (at an amount that is out of your spouse's reach) is perfectly legal, you don't need any fancy unproven company setup, and it'll cost you less than your UBC bill in interest payments in most cases.

I'm sure Mr. Falang could find a sympathetic loan officer that would be happy to refinance a small amount say 300k at a low interest rate with the house as collateral. Of course, Mr. Falang is screwed if Mrs. Falang finds a new Mr. Falang buyer for the house.