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[David48]

As for the loan ... if YOU (the OP) are approached ... it is like an ant trail once the scent to your ATM has been laid down by the first ant ... Thai relative, friend, acquaintance.

My advice is a polite no, first time asked and if requested again, a firm no with a big smile.

Why should you have to provide an excuse as to why the money should not be lent?

As for the concept of collateral to be taken against the loan ... there are plenty of 'hock shops' available which supply this service.

If the quality of the collateral is low and not acceptable to a pawn shop, why should you take it?

As wana above says ...

and if they really needed it ,they would have legitimate lenders to go to and borrow from

[BigJohnnyBKK]

Clearly making personal loans is not an easy business but with a bit of common sense it can be very lucrative.

I have a Thai friend who made more than 100k GBP (5m baht) last year through a combination of personal loans and buying (and reselling) assets from people (normally Thais) who need quick cash.

And assuming we're talking about the usual 4%-a-month-is-cheap type of loan business, in civilized circles this is known as loan sharking and is just as illegal here as it is back home under the usury laws. Of course it goes on here, usually by unsavoury ethnic Chinese, but anyone associated with a farang engaging in this is IMO taking big chances with their health and treasure unless they're tied in with local protection.

Not to mention the immorality of it.

I am sort of interested by the concept of 'her' money and 'your' money and how you keep the two separate.

And I'm confused by how anyone would do anything different here. Any money my partner makes, especially any assets she had from before the marriage are hers and hers alone, including anything I've handed over to her. Within my heart when I sign anything as "joint", or use her network/family as nominees etc I always acknowledge I've **given** it away, even if publicly it's supposed to be family unit, I accept I'm unlikely to ever benefit from it again if/when things go sour down the road.

And I also make sure to keep the bulk of my assets from before the marriage not only outside of Thailand, but unknown to anyone except myself and my executor, including (especially!) life insurance policies.

If my wife wants to know details of my investments, income even salary, my response is that it's my responsibility to make sure our financial future is solid, and she shouldn't worry her pretty little head about it.

Of course, I give her a generous allowance, enough for her to balance between helping her family and shopping expeditions, smartphone upgrades etc., and periodically show her I love her with random bonuses, gifts, trips, gold, whatever. But make sure the total outgo is balanced by the value she's providing, and when things seem to be tipping in the wrong direction, I'm quick to give her gentle but firm feedback to get back on track.

Any other approach would IMO be idiotic.

[brit1984]

Clearly making personal loans is not an easy business but with a bit of common sense it can be very lucrative.

I have a Thai friend who made more than 100k GBP (5m baht) last year through a combination of personal loans and buying (and reselling) assets from people (normally Thais) who need quick cash.

And assuming we're talking about the usual 4%-a-month-is-cheap type of loan business, in civilized circles this is known as loan sharking and is just as illegal here as it is back home under the usury laws. Of course it goes on here, usually by unsavoury ethnic Chinese, but anyone associated with a farang engaging in this is IMO taking big chances with their health and treasure unless they're tied in with local protection.

Not to mention the immorality of it.

Indeed she is ethnically Chinese but she a very pleasant young lady (with a tough business brain of course).

She charges 10% per month for loans but the juicier part of the business is buying assets at discount prices. She focuses on gold as that is her family's business, but it can also work for other assets (I know another Thai who bought a house for effectively half price from a very "motivated" seller).

I agree it is not an industry that appeals to most. I certainly would not want to be involved in such an enterprise. Nonetheless my point stands that such a business can be very lucrative.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

Indeed she is ethnically Chinese but she a very pleasant young lady (with a tough business brain of course).

She charges 10% per month for loans but the juicier part of the business is buying assets at discount prices. She focuses on gold as that is her family's business, but it can also work for other assets (I know another Thai who bought a house for effectively half price from a very "motivated" seller).

I agree it is not an industry that appeals to most. I certainly would not want to be involved in such an enterprise. Nonetheless my point stands that such a business can be very lucrative.

So is selling yabaa, and scamming hornylonely old farang out of their life savings. Better to do without and sleep well at night IMO.

[farang000999]

There are numerous legal ways for this woman to borrow money using her assets or assets of her family as collateral. Loans are not excessive, perhaps less than 1% interest per month. So why is she asking your wife to borrow money? Either because she has no assets, is unwilling to ask a family member to pledge their assets or does not plan to repay the loan. Either way, it is a losing proposition. Someone with no assets has no business asking to borrow 50,000 baht. What is your wife's friends occupation? What is your wife's occupation?

Edited April 13, 2012 by farang000999

[farang000999]

Clearly making personal loans is not an easy business but with a bit of common sense it can be very lucrative.

I have a Thai friend who made more than 100k GBP (5m baht) last year through a combination of personal loans and buying (and reselling) assets from people (normally Thais) who need quick cash.

And assuming we're talking about the usual 4%-a-month-is-cheap type of loan business, in civilized circles this is known as loan sharking and is just as illegal here as it is back home under the usury laws. Of course it goes on here, usually by unsavoury ethnic Chinese, but anyone associated with a farang engaging in this is IMO taking big chances with their health and treasure unless they're tied in with local protection.

Not to mention the immorality of it.

Indeed she is ethnically Chinese but she a very pleasant young lady (with a tough business brain of course).

She charges 10% per month for loans but the juicier part of the business is buying assets at discount prices. She focuses on gold as that is her family's business, but it can also work for other assets (I know another Thai who bought a house for effectively half price from a very "motivated" seller).

I agree it is not an industry that appeals to most. I certainly would not want to be involved in such an enterprise. Nonetheless my point stands that such a business can be very lucrative.

Brit is the new resident ThaiVisa liar. 10% a month is certainly not legal. Also, nobody in their right mind would pledge assets at that interest rate. So either your friend is a liar, you are a liar or you got some details of the story wrong. Go into a bank. Take a look at the "fixed interest rates" and then you can see how ridiculous 10% a month is.

[wana]

Clearly making personal loans is not an easy business but with a bit of common sense it can be very lucrative.

I have a Thai friend who made more than 100k GBP (5m baht) last year through a combination of personal loans and buying (and reselling) assets from people (normally Thais) who need quick cash.

And assuming we're talking about the usual 4%-a-month-is-cheap type of loan business, in civilized circles this is known as loan sharking and is just as illegal here as it is back home under the usury laws. Of course it goes on here, usually by unsavoury ethnic Chinese, but anyone associated with a farang engaging in this is IMO taking big chances with their health and treasure unless they're tied in with local protection.

Not to mention the immorality of it.

Indeed she is ethnically Chinese but she a very pleasant young lady (with a tough business brain of course).

She charges 10% per month for loans but the juicier part of the business is buying assets at discount prices. She focuses on gold as that is her family's business, but it can also work for other assets (I know another Thai who bought a house for effectively half price from a very "motivated" seller).

I agree it is not an industry that appeals to most. I certainly would not want to be involved in such an enterprise. Nonetheless my point stands that such a business can be very lucrative.

Brit is the new resident ThaiVisa liar. 10% a month is certainly not legal. Also, nobody in their right mind would pledge assets at that interest rate. So either your friend is a liar, you are a liar or you got some details of the story wrong. Go into a bank. Take a look at the "fixed interest rates" and then you can see how ridiculous 10% a month is.

a loan shark can charge any % he wishes

thats why its generally despearate people who cant get money from anywhere legitimate that turn to loan sharks

the % doesnt matter ,unlicenced loan sharking is illegal nearly everywhere ,regardless of the %

[farang000999]

"Desperate" people with assets can get loans for less than 1% a month by pledging said assets. Understand? He claims his Thai Chinese friend made 5m baht repossessing property from delinquent loans. Perhaps do a bit more reading and thinking before posting! Also he claims that there is a "juicer part of the business", besides making 10% a month - banks currently offering fixed deposit at 3.5% a year - his post is total BS.

Edited April 13, 2012 by farang000999

[Dancealot]

Does the OP know her friend? This is not clear to me

[farang000999]

probably as well as a singporean husband can know a friend of his thai wife. maybe they even sat across from eachother at MK before he paid the bill.

[mca]

If you don't say no then do the rest of us a favour by not coming on here whinging or asking for advice when your wife's 'friend' fails to pay the money back.

Cruel but great

[mca]

I think we have at last goind a subject which has responses that enjoy a broad and general agreement across all TV members.

I never thought that would happen -

Exactly what I was thinking.

The thing that permeates some locals way of thinking is " the foreigner can afford it, they've got money to burn and can therefore afford to lose it because its inconsequential to them "

A while back I was working on my Sony Vaio laptop and stood up to go to the toilet. Clumsy arsed me I tripped over the extension cord pulling the thing onto the floor and smashing it. Later on ( and still smouldering ) I picked my wife up from her office. One of her staff asked my wife why I had an annoyed look on my face. Upon explaining that I'd just smashed my laptop the girl simply looked quizzical and said " Oh but he can buy another"

I'm fairly comfortable financially but not to the extent of casually thinking "never mind I'll buy another" when destroying 40000 baht or so worth of kit.

I'm not saying it's the OPs situation. I don't know the people involved. But it would not be beyond the realms of possibility for the woman to think "She's got a foreign husband therefore if I don't pay the loan back it's no loss to them or any bother because they've got loads of cash"

Edited April 13, 2012 by mca

[brit1984]

Clearly making personal loans is not an easy business but with a bit of common sense it can be very lucrative.

I have a Thai friend who made more than 100k GBP (5m baht) last year through a combination of personal loans and buying (and reselling) assets from people (normally Thais) who need quick cash.

And assuming we're talking about the usual 4%-a-month-is-cheap type of loan business, in civilized circles this is known as loan sharking and is just as illegal here as it is back home under the usury laws. Of course it goes on here, usually by unsavoury ethnic Chinese, but anyone associated with a farang engaging in this is IMO taking big chances with their health and treasure unless they're tied in with local protection.

Not to mention the immorality of it.

Indeed she is ethnically Chinese but she a very pleasant young lady (with a tough business brain of course).

She charges 10% per month for loans but the juicier part of the business is buying assets at discount prices. She focuses on gold as that is her family's business, but it can also work for other assets (I know another Thai who bought a house for effectively half price from a very "motivated" seller).

I agree it is not an industry that appeals to most. I certainly would not want to be involved in such an enterprise. Nonetheless my point stands that such a business can be very lucrative.

Brit is the new resident ThaiVisa liar. 10% a month is certainly not legal. Also, nobody in their right mind would pledge assets at that interest rate. So either your friend is a liar, you are a liar or you got some details of the story wrong. Go into a bank. Take a look at the "fixed interest rates" and then you can see how ridiculous 10% a month is.

I agree with your points that 10% per month is more than banks charge, and that nobody in their right mind would borrow money at such a rate.

However, there are plenty of people who borrow money at more than 10%, although of course they don't have access to bank lending nor are they normally in their right mind.

The well known online payday loan companies charge much higher rates of interest than this. For example, wonga.com charges more than 30% per month and others charge much more.

This is a huge industry but I am pleased you, like most people, know very little about it. I will assume this is the reason why you wrongly accused me of lying (or accused my friend of lying to me).

Although your post was rather rude towards me, I will also assume your anger is actually with loan sharks. I would like to remind you that, as I explained earlier in this thread, I am not personally involved in this industry nor would I want to be.

[SlyAnimal]

Don't lend any money unless you personally know someone and believe they are good for it (and they agree to a repayment schedule). I have only loaned one Thai person money, my gf's older brother, and he sticks to the repayment schedule every month because he's a hardworking honest guy (he used the money to help expand a summer business of selling water in addition to his normal business)

For anyone else, my gf turns them away, sometimes offering to give them 1000 or 2000 from her own money if they are family, so that she's not seen as being stingey etc. She tries to invest in visible wealth too eg she buys gold for her mum, rather than giving her cash, so that her mum can say sorry no money because we brought gold already. Likewise when I buy a car later this year, she will probably say its on finance so that she can avoid loans for the next few years maybe lol

[wana]

Don't lend any money unless you personally know someone and believe they are good for it (and they agree to a repayment schedule). I have only loaned one Thai person money, my gf's older brother, and he sticks to the repayment schedule every month because he's a hardworking honest guy (he used the money to help expand a summer business of selling water in addition to his normal business)

For anyone else, my gf turns them away, sometimes offering to give them 1000 or 2000 from her own money if they are family, so that she's not seen as being stingey etc. She tries to invest in visible wealth too eg she buys gold for her mum, rather than giving her cash, so that her mum can say sorry no money because we brought gold already. Likewise when I buy a car later this year, she will probably say its on finance so that she can avoid loans for the next few years maybe lol

i have some nice motorbikes ,of course ,people think im a billionaire because of that

when we get stopped at a police checkpoint i usually get " beautiful bike,how much did you pay ?

my wife says " we just rented it for today "

usualy pay zero or a small token fine for tea money ,just for being in thailand etc