Trying To Lease Retail Space From Local Government. Having Problems!

[yougivemebaby]

My girlfriend and her family are from Sakon Nakhorn area. In an Ampur. The local government has shops which people can lease from them. I purchased the rest of the lease from a pharmacist. Let's say it was 100,000 baht. The local government is refusing to put me on the lease. They are saying it is for local residents only. (my girlfriend and I are engaged). Someone HELP.! Has anyone had experience in these situations?

I sent the contract over to an Attorney in BKK. Siam legal. Khun Don told me the contract with her was legit. BUT he never told me that the government has the right to deny people. It is fully up to them who they want to rent it out to. Does this mean they want some tea $? How exactly can I go about finding out what they want? Please help. There is only one month left on the lease. Any loopholes would be greatly appreceiated. (I want to be 100% owner of the space. I am not interested in signing it over to my girlfriend or her family).

Thank you very much

[soi41]

If you for whatever reason not are willing to use your GF's name, I am afraid you can wave your deposit goodbye! Ofcourse the landlord (amphur) has every right in the world to choose their tenants. Bad advice from your lawyer and cheated by the former leaseholder!

[ThaidDown]

So the Amphur is saying that the shops are for 'local people'. On what basis do you think you qualify, do you have your name on a yellow tabien baan in the area, or something similar?.

Of course the local people only reason may just be an excuse and if you satisfied that condition then there would be another reason you could not have the lease. Agree with Soi41 that a landowner has the right to veto any tenant.

Unless the pharmacist had the right under his lease to sell to anyone without the landowners approval then what did you actually purchase. If the pharmacist knew of the restrictions then maybe your beef is with him.

[Cloggie]

Why would the Thai government give you 100% ownership of something that belongs to them and is for local people only? Before you took over the lease you should have done your homework "is this legal and possible" not after....... Just give it to your girlfriend and her family, lesson learned

Edited October 24, 2012 by Cloggie

[WhizBang]

Why would the Thai government give you 100% ownership of something that belongs to them and is for local people only? Before you took over the lease you should have done your homework "is this legal and possible" not after....... Just give it to your girlfriend and her family, lesson learned

Agreed

[yougivemebaby]

Why would the Thai government give you 100% ownership of something that belongs to them and is for local people only? Before you took over the lease you should have done your homework "is this legal and possible" not after....... Just give it to your girlfriend and her family, lesson learned

Being that I can't read Thai I sent the contract over to an attorney in Bangkok. Siam Legal. So I thought I did my due diligence My fiance's father told me he would have no problem getting me on the contract. The price was much higher than 100,000. That is why I want it in my name.

[Farma]

Can you clarify what the actual lease is on?

I'm only asking as I've encountered commercial buildings on crown land. Both buildings were in the centre of cities where privately owned land was not available. B100k + sounds very expensive just for a lease or are you buying the building on leased crown land?

Our previous experiences have included leasing a building on crown land. The building was privately owned with the building owner paying the crown land lease. At the end of our lease we were offered the building with the remainder of the 25 year lease being part of the purchase price.

Another was a building on crown land purchased from a developer. The purchase was for the building only. The land lease was renewable every 3 years through the govt land owner. These buildings were regularly bought and sold with full knowledge they were on leased land. The land lease fees on those buildings were less than B10k per year.

[happynthailand]

one of the reasons you were turned down,is you don't have a WP,and your not married to a thai

just put it in your GF's name,and be done with it.

if your had a yellow book,that would help.

Edited October 25, 2012 by happynthailand

[rgs2001uk]

Post #7 explains some of the peculiarities of the Thai system.

From a purely financial point of view, this doesnt even pass the logic test, wouldnt touch it with a barge pole.

Somewhere a landlord is pissing his pants.

"My fiance's father told me he would have no problem getting me on the contract"

Un effin believable.

[davejones]

Why would the Thai government give you 100% ownership of something that belongs to them and is for local people only? Before you took over the lease you should have done your homework "is this legal and possible" not after....... Just give it to your girlfriend and her family, lesson learned

Being that I can't read Thai I sent the contract over to an attorney in Bangkok. Siam Legal. So I thought I did my due diligence My fiance's father told me he would have no problem getting me on the contract. The price was much higher than 100,000. That is why I want it in my name.

Why did you get engaged if you don't even trust your gf with a few 100K baht? Just put it in her name. Problem solved.

[Baloney pony]

This is one of those tests of honesty that will probably end up saving you a lot of money later on. Your fiance's father led you blindly into it without warning you. You obviously couldn't trust them enough to handle the paperwork in their name. So maybe it's better to just write off that 100k and move on from everyone involved.

[BrianCR]

Sorry. but never heard such crap are we talking about "lades of the night" or real people?

[Khun Jean]

Why would the Thai government give you 100% ownership of something that belongs to them and is for local people only? Before you took over the lease you should have done your homework "is this legal and possible" not after....... Just give it to your girlfriend and her family, lesson learned

Being that I can't read Thai I sent the contract over to an attorney in Bangkok. Siam Legal. So I thought I did my due diligence My fiance's father told me he would have no problem getting me on the contract. The price was much higher than 100,000. That is why I want it in my name.

So you trusted other peoples knowledge.

A good recipe to get you and your money separated.

Now that you have learned that lesson, be ready for the next one.

Namely the notion you have that people are accountable.

When you learned that lesson, and hopefully not spend everything you have you might consider asking questions like on this forum before you make a decision.

Due dilligence is a task you can not leave to others, because what they do is: say yes, this is what it will costs you, thank you and goodbye.

Leaving you with some sort of pseudo feeling of security.

Remember that lawyers only answer your direct questions.

If you ask is this contract legal, they will say Yes if it is.

If you would have asked, 'Can the owner deny me the contract' they would have said Yes.

You did not ask.

You see where this is going, it is always going back to you!

Just accept it, or suffer the consequences.

My "education" costs me a few hundred thousand baht also (about 10-11 years ago), because we all make the same mistakes.

Edit:

About the father in law.

I learned quickly that many people don't know that they don't know.

Meaning he is 100% convinced he is right and will make a case for it, all the while he is completely wrong.

You need to confirm everything from more sources preferably from some written official document.

Whole villages can have that 'don't know that they don't know' problem.

Edited October 28, 2012 by Khun Jean

[yougivemebaby]

Why would the Thai government give you 100% ownership of something that belongs to them and is for local people only? Before you took over the lease you should have done your homework "is this legal and possible" not after....... Just give it to your girlfriend and her family, lesson learned

Being that I can't read Thai I sent the contract over to an attorney in Bangkok. Siam Legal. So I thought I did my due diligence My fiance's father told me he would have no problem getting me on the contract. The price was much higher than 100,000. That is why I want it in my name.

So you trusted other peoples knowledge.

A good recipe to get you and your money separated.

Now that you have learned that lesson, be ready for the next one.

Namely the notion you have that people are accountable.

When you learned that lesson, and hopefully not spend everything you have you might consider asking questions like on this forum before you make a decision.

Due dilligence is a task you can not leave to others, because what they do is: say yes, this is what it will costs you, thank you and goodbye.

Leaving you with some sort of pseudo feeling of security.

Remember that lawyers only answer your direct questions.

If you ask is this contract legal, they will say Yes if it is.

If you would have asked, 'Can the owner deny me the contract' they would have said Yes.

You did not ask.

You see where this is going, it is always going back to you!

Just accept it, or suffer the consequences.

My "education" costs me a few hundred thousand baht also (about 10-11 years ago), because we all make the same mistakes.

Edit:

About the father in law.

I learned quickly that many people don't know that they don't know.

Meaning he is 100% convinced he is right and will make a case for it, all the while he is completely wrong.

You need to confirm everything from more sources preferably from some written official document.

Whole villages can have that 'don't know that they don't know' problem.

Thanks. YES lesson learned. AGAIN. I already knew mixing business and personal was a no-no. If my girlfriend (&family) and I survive this mess, there has been damage. They are a good family and respected one. I am giving them the benefit of the doubt. I think they will get a loan from the bank to pay me back. I'll know more this week. You're right I did not ask the lawyer if the owner had the right to deny me to be the lease holder. It never crossed my mind actually. Thanks for your imput

[ThailandBert]

(I want to be 100% owner of the space. I am not interested in signing it over to my girlfriend or her family).

Then you can kiss goodbye to the 100K. You cannot own property here and if you start a company you can only own 49% of the company. Wouldn't the time to involve the lawyer have been before handing over the money ? I also have to ask just what you base your relationship on when you can't trust your partner with such a small amount ?

[Asiantravel]

Before you paid over any money to anyone did you or your lawyer speak to directly to the landlord's representative to introduce yourself and explain what you were hoping to do at the property ?

Edited October 30, 2012 by Asiantravel

[yougivemebaby]

(I want to be 100% owner of the space. I am not interested in signing it over to my girlfriend or her family).

Then you can kiss goodbye to the 100K. You cannot own property here and if you start a company you can only own 49% of the company. Wouldn't the time to involve the lawyer have been before handing over the money ? I also have to ask just what you base your relationship on when you can't trust your partner with such a small amount ?

It's not owning the property it's owning the rights to the lease. No one except the government can own that property. I'm working with the gov't and it seems like i'm getting closer. They seem interested in helping.