Cm Attorney Recommendation

[Dustoff]

~

Geez, ya know? Even the supposedly simple matter of buying a house/condo/whatever?

Do any of you have positive and successful experiences with a Thai attorney in CM?

There are recommendations thru the Trader News (Sumali), ads for English-speaking Thai lawyers but.. Do we really EVER have a chance of not being totally ripped off even when we attempt to purchase house/land and put it in our Thai wife's name?

Long story but I hear that we falangs suffer these kinds of things on a more than regular basis..

Da wife and I lease with an option to buy, take over the owner's mortgage payments, written agreements (bank provided paperwork) for him to hold for up to a year while we save for a down-payment.. Less than two months later we get a certified letter from his attorney that if we do not pay what we "owe" him (his equity), they are taking us to court...

I hire above attorney who says that it is okay to give this guy an additional 200k baht (in addition to the 100k we have already given as deposit and the 50k we paid to catch up his arrears in mortgage payments) and I am thinking,

"Umm WHAT?!?"

This lawyer is working on my/my wife's behalf..?

Sorry but I have been taken to the cleaners FAR more than once over here and see the handwriting on the wall..

Anybody out there want to lease our newly renovated house with an option to buy..?

[seeker108]

Hi Dustoff,

Sorry to hear about this problem of yours. I am surprised that no one has come up with any names for you yet. I'll give you what I can.

First I would suggest contacting Sunbelt Asia.

179 Mahidol Rd., Haiya, Chiangmai 50100

Tel: 053-283845, 053-277707

http://www.sunbelt-chiangmai.com

[email protected]/

While they probably do something like vet the kind of contract that you initially set up so that you do not run into this kind of problem, I am not sure if they handle legal actions on contracts they did not initiate, but they may. I would trust their judgement and honesty. I am so far quite pleased with work they are doing for me.

However, if they can not handle any legal action on this, they can probably refer you to someone who does. They do have a team of in-house attorneys. Even if they do not handle court actions it might be good to consult with the CM office and have them look over the initial contract to see where the problem lies and get their opinion on you or your wife's legal position. I think you are probably aware that having your wife, as a Thai, being the apparent one pursuing this will put you in a better position. At least that is how I understand the inner workings of the court system in Thailand. I hope she is on all of the legal documents. But I especially hope it does not need to go to court.

I know nothing about your landlord, but is it possible that he did not understand the initial contract? Or maybe he is feeling some seller's remorse and feels that you got too good of a deal. Then maybe he can somehow be shown that it was a fair deal and you have had to put a lot of money into making it nice now. It may be that if you and he with your attorneys sit down that the whole thing can be cleared up with a discussion (especially if he has no legal basis for his complaint). Of course first thoroughly go over the contract, and your understanding of it, and what your ideal resoluton would be with whatever attorny will be helping you. Maybe SA will help with this kind of mediation.

If using SA is not possible and they do not have a firm to recommend, I had previously heard from some people with experience in this that there were 2 honest lawyers in CM that they knew of. This was 2 years ago and I can only remember some details about one of them. Hopefully with this info you can track him down if necessary, or maybe someone else here will know who he is. He was maybe 5 to 7 km NE of CM, I think off Maejo rd (or possibly Doi Saket rd.). He had some sort of problem with his legs that confined him to a wheelchair. Can't be too many honest lawyers out that way that fit the description.

Finally, I just yesterday ran accross this firm's website: http://www.chiangmailawyer.com/

I know nothing about them, but the site looks good and it looks like they handle real estate law.

Good luck with all of this and I hope it turns out to be a simple misunderstanding that will clear up quickly. Sorry I could not be of more help.

seeker

[earlofwindermere]

Khun "Joe" is a lawyer who I have used in the past. I can verify that he is an honest guy who will look out for your best interest. He was recommended to me by other farang in the city but with a warning that he is so "honest" that he will not allow any cutting corners or "grey" areas. Personally, I have had good luck with him. His office is currently in the process of moving this week from Huey Kaew Road to a small soi behind the Siam Commercial Bank on Nimmanhemin so I'm not sure how easy it will be to meet with him. He does take cases to court and I know that he was doing a similar case in Phuket last month. His English is also good.

Khun "Joe"

THANARAT LAW OFFICE

5/7 Sukkasame Rd. ( Nimmannaheyminda)

T. Suthep A.Muang Chiangmai .

04-0474026 or 09-8535917

[email protected]

[Ajarn]

  He was maybe 5 to 7 km NE of CM, I think off Maejo rd (or possibly Doi Saket rd.).  He had some sort of problem with his legs that confined him to a wheelchair.  Can't be too many honest lawyers out that way that fit the description. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The lawyer's name is Pipat. His phone is 053-242-900. His office/home is just off Chiang Mai-Mae Jo rd., across the street from Muubaan Tanawan.

[SDH]

~

Geez, ya know? Even the supposedly simple matter of buying a house/condo/whatever?

Do any of you have positive and successful experiences with a Thai attorney in CM?

There are recommendations thru the Trader News (Sumali), ads for English-speaking Thai lawyers but..  Do we really EVER have a chance of not being totally ripped off even when we attempt to purchase house/land and put it in our Thai wife's name?

Long story but I hear that we falangs suffer these kinds of things on a more than regular basis..

Da wife and I lease with an option to buy, take over the owner's mortgage payments, written agreements (bank provided paperwork) for him to hold for up to a year while we save for a down-payment..  Less than two months later we get a certified letter from his attorney that if we do not pay what we "owe" him (his equity), they are taking us to court...

I hire above attorney who says that it is okay to give this guy an additional 200k baht (in addition to the 100k we have already given as deposit and the 50k we paid to catch up his arrears in mortgage payments) and I am thinking,

"Umm WHAT?!?"

This lawyer is working on my/my wife's behalf..?

Sorry but I have been taken to the cleaners FAR more than once over here and see the handwriting on the wall..

Anybody out there want to lease our newly renovated house with an option to buy..?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Dustoff,

If you're serious PM me and I got one for you....A REAL good one.

SDH