Teacher Wife's House

[inapickle90]

I recently married a Thai in Australia who is a teacher in Sakaeo. I want to get her here to Australia on a Spousal Visa, which is fine - however when she joined as a teacher, 10 years ago, the Government paid her 1,400,000 Baht to buy a house.

She of course bought a house for her mother in a poor village in Buriram Province as Thais do. If she resigns as a teacher, she is told (not sure by who) she has to pay that money back. Fair enough (although 10 years as a teacher should count for something). What I do not know how to find out, is whether that 1.4 m Baht is immediately payable in full on her resignation, or whether it can be paid off over time. Where/who do I contact to get a definitive answer? She doesn't speak much English and I feel really helpless. Would really appreciate some assistance.

[Eddy B]

Non-corrupt Lawyer!!

Not east to find!

[inapickle90]

Anyone have any thoughts on how to find an honest lawyer / recommend one?

[lostinisaan]

Anyone have any thoughts on how to find an honest lawyer / recommend one?

Will talk to one tomorrow.

Edited May 27, 2013 by lostinisaan

[sirchai]

I'll try to see the guy- a good and trustworthy lawyer in Ubon Ratchathani today, or tomorrow. If he's willing to do it, I'll message you.-

[Nowhereman60]

So she was given the money and no agreement or contract was signed? I don't believe that. She knows. Be careful.

[Mario2008]

She probably has loaned the money from the teacher cooperative in her province, like most teachers do. I believe you can loan money with only paying interest, if you participate in a fund that pays out on death or retirement. The money you would get is than equal or under the ammunt you loaned. Very possible she did this.

The catch is that if she leaves her job or moves to another province she has to repay all the money, and I believe that is indeed at once. Normally she could get a loan from a bank, but if she leaves the country and doesn't have a job.....

[Mario2008]

So she was given the money and no agreement or contract was signed? I don't believe that. She knows. Be careful.

Read again before drawing conclusions.

[Farma]

As Mario says she possibly obtained a loan through the teachers co-op. Someone would have signed as guarantor for the loan and it's normally paid off at cease of employment.

To get the loans a person would buy shares in the Co-op. The amount of shares determines how much they can borrow.

[ajarnsiam]

Hi, your representative will need to see the loan agreement and if the loan was made via a 3rd party (for example her school or teacher's collective - which they often are for government school teachers) then your representative would also need to see that relevant contract too - eg her employment contract (there's quite a lot of variation in Thai teachers' contracts - often the details depend on the seniority and academic qualifications of the teacher for example).

My own experience of Thai lawyers has been excellent, but needless to say... caveat emptor.

[inapickle90]

All really great advice guys, really appreciate it, you've been fabulous!

Mario2008 your possible description sounds closest to what she tries to describe to me. She has a a Post Graduate MBA on top of her teaching degree and is qualified to and does act as school Director when required. She i think explained to me that payments are made (possibly interest only as suggested) but that it wasn't repayable if she worked through to retirement age, but payable immediately in full she believes if she resigns prior - which points to something in her employment contract to me as well. She is attempting to renegotiate that, but probably without the expert help to assist her.

I also do appreciate your advice there too Nowhereman60 - yes she does know, just that she cannot put it into English very well - or more to the point, Im failing to interpret it very well. I didn't realise how useless translation software was until I applied it to Thai, such is the unique character of the language - (which reminds me to ask on another thread, what is considered the best translating software/sites for Thai, if in fact there is one at all!)

So I need to understand these teachers cooperatives better and be pointed to how I can reference one. Any ideas there?

Sirchai and lostinisaan, would love to know the name of a trustworthy lawyer - thanks! - but also would like to know how you made that assessment of them.

Is using a lawyer the only third party solution? After my experiences here in Australia, Im rather phobic about trusting one - not saying there aren't any trustworthy ones, more a matter of how you pick them.

Once again, appreciate your help guys - will keep you informed of my journey.

[SICHONSTEVE]

Non-corrupt Lawyer!!

Not east to find!

So North, South or West WHERE???

[inapickle90]

Anyone have any thoughts on how to find an honest lawyer / recommend one?

Will talk to one tomorrow.

Hi Lostinissan - I'm interested to know how you got on.

[inapickle90]

I'll try to see the guy- a good and trustworthy lawyer in Ubon Ratchathani today, or tomorrow. If he's willing to do it, I'll message you.-

Hi sirchai - how did you get on?

[thunder30101]

First off, the school did not GIVE HER THE MONEY ! She signed an agreement of some sort to obtain this money, until you get a copy of this agreement SHE SIGNED you are wasting your time and money talking to lawyers or admin or the teachers co-op. After you get the copy of the agreement have it translated into english, sorry but thais will bend the truth to fit the illusion they need to avoid losing face. I have thai teacher friends and my wife is a gov employee, one of the perks of being a gov employee to make up for the low salaries are perks such as low interest, no down payment, long term loans that are very easy to get with just a signature of the borrower and a guarantor (they all do it for each other). It is basically a form of indentured servitude, as you can not leave your job and take the loan with you, it must be paid back in full plus interest. Another problem is most times they do not pro rate the interest, if you can pay off early you will pay the full amount, this deters others from doing the same thing, thus creating a possible large turnover in employees. I have known many thais in the same situation that are stuck in jobs but have spent the money borrowed and are now slaves to the system.

[Scott]

It sounds a little like the line from a song:

"I owe my soul to the company store."

[sirchai]

I'll try to see the guy- a good and trustworthy lawyer in Ubon Ratchathani today, or tomorrow. If he's willing to do it, I'll message you.-

Hi sirchai - how did you get on?

He's not interested at all, sorry. There're two possible ways to get such an amount, which is usually spent not just for a house. A car, motorbikes, maybe some buffaloes for daddy etc....

A) She took the money from the so called "Sahagong", a cooperative, which Mario had already pointed out.

All provinces have banks, especially for teachers, with a very low interest rate. 10 years ago, when Thaksin ruled the country,(which in a way, he still does) they'd figured out that most teachers were in deep dept and a law was made that all teachers didn't have to pay the loan back.

\

That has changed in a way, that now relatives, such as husbands, children, etc...will have to jump in if something goes wrong.

Would your wife have told you that she'd built a house for her Thai husband and kids? A serious question. Another problem pops up, when you've got to use translation programs to communicate with her.

As another poster had already mentioned, she'd never tell you the truth, as the loss of face seems so important to avoid. The government didn't just pay her such an amount of money. Others might have signed as guarantors.

I'd think twice and look for a lawyer in your country, won't be too expensive, but you need to have facts, not just assumptions, or what's been left over through translations. You'll have to have the documents and somebody who understands the laws in LOS.

Good luck from lower northeast! -

.

Edited May 30, 2013 by sirchai

[inapickle90]

Sirchai, many thanks for asking the question, greatly appreciated.

Guys, yes I've always known that it is a contract of some sort, I just put it in the basic terms that were poorly translated to me because of her lack of English, and my minimal Thai - shes not trying to hide anything, in fact getting frustrated as i am in getting me to understand. I just needed to know who the contract might have been with to get an understanding of benefits / loans to teachers and the sorts of conditions these might be. And no I won't be making any assumptions, until I see the contract and have it properly translated.

Re your concerns of whether she's doing this for a husband and child - suffice to say I've read the many horror stories of Thai/Farang relationships - I have in fact also dated 4 Thai ladies previously, and yes I suspected at least one anyway, may have had a husband in the background and I wasn't even going to wait around to prove those suspicions or otherwise. In my wife's case, she's never had a boyfriend, to the extent that I even had to teach her how to kiss - and I don't think I need to explain how I know she was a virgin before meeting me. So I'm saying this to take the focus off the relationship side (as that stuff can be found in the love / marriage threads) I'm focussing here on how I might be able to re-negotiate conditions of the loan, if that is at all possible.

I will let you know what I find, think it will be a slow process. Certainly any other useful contacts, eg in a similar co-op, or any other suggestions/experiences i would be grateful to know. Cheers.

[thaicbr]

Are there no trust worthy decent English teachers at her school that could help with the translation?

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE Q6

[Scott]

Translating a contract is not an easy task.

[Somtamnication]

Anyone thought of asking the school?

[inapickle90]

Im going to a Thai/Australian couple`s house here tonight - will have a phone hook up with my wife as well - hoping I can get some answers.

The school she is at is very small - 5 teachers in total and no, no-one can speak English.

Will update tomorrow.

Thanks guys for all the tips.