lending out money in thailand

[kevvy]

The biggest mistake people make when lending money is expecting to get paid back.

Edited October 25, 2013 by kevvy

[kevvy]

Lending out money can be a genuine gesture which can turn bad, depending if the loan is repaid or not. Lending money to family or friends can make or break a friendship or family.Many people avoid the process entirely, but you never know when you will be on the other side too.And when a friend is in need you want to reach out and help the best way you can .Depending on the amount, consider giving the money as a gift. After all, this could be seen as a gesture of good will and your friend will be very appreciative. As long as you're not struggling as a result of it.I have lost a lot of gifts over the years , but still give them out .But if I am struggling then I wont give gifts out.

THE BEST GIFT IS GIVING

Kevvy

[uptheos]

Avoid lending money to fellow expats at all costs and you will be ok.

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Lending money to anyone is always a judgement call.

I have lent money to two ex pats one agreed to pay me back a lump sum and another over 12 months.

Both kept their word.

[Heng]

Yeah, I'd say I've done some lending.

[AryanicAristocrat]

Ok to sum it up is the following anecdote:

I had lent monies to a) Thai Chinese Northern Thai c) Isaan and Southern Thais d) Singaporean and Malaysian Chinese and e) Farangs

a) The Thai Chinese comes back to me the next week and returns the said sum plus interests which I had never asked for, plus a small gift.

The Northern Thai comes back next week and returns the same amount plus a small gift.

c) The Isaan and Southern Thais come back the next week and ask if they can borrow more and when said no....they look confuse as they think its their given right to borrow money!

d) The Singporean and Malaysian Chinese comes back the next week and return the money and the folllowing week asked for a higher amount and they then dissappear!

e) The Farang simply cannot be found the next week ie mobile contact is no longer working and never heard or seen him again.

[TheSpade]

There's one person out here I would and have loaned money to but I knew him before coming to Thailand. It was only 3,000B and I had it back the next day. Even if I had to wait until the end of the month or a bit longer it would have been fine as I knew he was good for it.

[kangeroo]

My girl friend worked in a jewellery shop for 18 years in bkk with her girl friend ,she gave 200,000 bht to her for a deposite on a condo but was never given back , My girl lost her job which threw her into poverty because she lost her job and never did get back into mainstream working thailand .

[monkey4u]

I have a golden rule that I live by,

Dont lend money , car , or wife

The first one never returns and the other 2 come back shagged

[Doc46]

Best advise from my bank manager is,,,,, As a rule,if you don't lend out money you will not be disappointed )

[crazykopite]

The only person I loan money to is MYSELF !!!!!!!!!

[catinthehat]

Lent 50k to sister in law to buy a car. Got it back.

Lent 300k to wifeys friend to buy some cows. Got it back 4 months later.

When we married I told my wife that as my income is sporadic, when we have an income stream her family may borrow money without interst and terms to repay. Twice they have borrowed money and paid it back on time.

If you set oout the rules, (#1 is that I we should not be considered ATM's) it does seem yo help. At least in our case it has.

[BigSkip]

Personally I am sick of all the so called excuses. All this town is about is the "con" and who can get what out of them..................friends..&...money don't mix.. Maybe someday I'll learn......

[falkan]

sure i lend out and get some nice profit back aka thai-style, it is amazing what people do for 300thb to bring your money back......

[ozyjon]

Been staying with a lady that has taken a liking to me, during the day she stays home and so do i, she gets many phone calls and people drop in and out all the time,, money flows in and out of her wallet and she writes everything down in a little note pad,, went to hang my towel in the back yard and counted about 15 motor cycles there,,, OK so whats going on,, she lends small money to people in the village and holds their motor cycle for colatoral, she gets the money back plus 10% ,, so i think,, that's how the Thais do it,, i have lent money and never got it back,, next time i will say,, go see my girlfried.

[AYJAYDEE]

Been staying with a lady that has taken a liking to me, during the day she stays home and so do i, she gets many phone calls and people drop in and out all the time,, money flows in and out of her wallet and she writes everything down in a little note pad,, went to hang my towel in the back yard and counted about 15 motor cycles there,,, OK so whats going on,, she lends small money to people in the village and holds their motor cycle for colatoral, she gets the money back plus 10% ,, so i think,, that's how the Thais do it,, i have lent money and never got it back,, next time i will say,, go see my girlfried.

how long do they get to pay it back?

[IsaanUSA]

Loaned quite a bit, never got it back. Twice

Loaned little bit, got it back.

[Bluetongue]

It was a bit mind boggling when I got here how many members of extended family asked for loans, usually fairly small amounts 500 to 10k. I didn't know who was good risk or not. I had never thought that I should have to have bank manager skills to live here. Now mostly early on, I was paid back, now that I know people's capacity to repay I can be much more prudent about it. But simply put, with some of my extremely poor sister's in law it is better to just give a little generosity here and there, so I don't loan them any money any more nor do they ask. As for large amounts no way, but I have been asked, once a nephew rented his land for a million baht over three years, thought he was getting it all up front so arranged to buy a car, when he found out he was only getting half he wanted to land the rest of the car price off me about 300k, I said no, just lease the car. No farang has ever asked me for a loan.

The other notable point is that Thai's will often ask for more than they really need almost as an ambit claim, or even just poor arithmetic, so if someone asks me for 10k to buy fertiliser, I now know, hey that only costs about 5k, what's the rest for, inevitably just to splash around so they only get 5. Or a nephew asked me for 500 to get petrol to get to his new job, until his wages started. I inadvertently followed him to the petrol station where he got his 100 baht worth of gas and bought a huge bag of kanom, chips and crap for about 200 baht. I got paid back but people only live for the day here, tomorrow is another one.

[AaronClark]

To be honest.... I try to never "lend" money to friends and family expecting to get it back. That is unless it is a more substantial amount say upwards of 5 or 10,000 baht. In these cases and if I really need it back for some reason note a sincere need for repayment. I then evaluate their effort to repay or at least communicate issues or delay in repayment which illustrate their respect for me and affirm the friendship. If they disrespect me, don't communicate or repay then it is a friendship related write off and the last time I will assist financially.

The word friends is important in this, some are real and true friends I have had or expect to have long term who almost always pay back. Others are more interesting, fun and semi important people connect with memorable moments in my life. The later half are less likely to pay back in my experience usually about 30% repayment success. The amounts are usually not more than 1,000 or so, but a few have been in the 10's of thousands. In the end I regret the loss of the friendship more than I do the money... trust me and I am not well off by any means.

Part of the reason I accept a few failures to repay and don't worry about a few "defaults" is because rather than of giving change to beggars on the streets or donating to various charity organizations, I focus my money and energies on the people around me who always seem to be in need and play an important role in my own life.

There are cases where other special cases for example with my Thai father in law where we use the word is loan, but we both know that his health and lack of income don't afford him many opportunities to save even a single satang. This once proud and tough man wears the shame each time he has reached out for help and has only done so on a handful of times over my 12 year marriage to his only daughter. He even put in half the money for show during our wedding and he is a simple farmer. He then returned my half of the funds and told me to use it on my wife and daugther. He has my absolute respect.

[nickmanchester2]

Yeah! Me to, i recently lend a thai women i know 5000b to pay for a police fine and she has almost paid me back!!! Only about 500b left to pay - i am speachless

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[johnthompson]

I have lent a substantial amount of money (around 70k) to 4 thai people. I never got a single dime back and I have lost contact with all of them ever since. They just stopped talking to me, changed phone numbers and stuff.

[bunnydrops]

Lent to two Thais, one O offered to that was having trouble getting a loan from the bank. Both paid me back and almost on time. The thais locally seem to live on borrowed money. Borrowing money to pay the interest on borrowed money until they have to sell something to dig themselves out. Here there is a land baron that got all his land by lending. Still people borrow from him. Another older woman never expects to be paid back and is happy with all the monthly 10% interest payments.

[BEVUP]

Yep been there a couple of years back & still yet to see the light

It went to the Outlaws & 1 distant member

Some of you people are lucky as i have come to the conclusion that 90 perc are full of sh**te, & think their is no way of getting the monies pending on how much borrowed (as i stated to wife LOAN ) compared to their wage

& yes 90 perc of them do live on borowed money between families & loan sharks as mentioned in reply 83

They even lend money to people who may have only known for a month becuase there with a relos buisnes - hence the reason they all change phone numbers never to be heard by again (or is this just becuase they know your wf/is with a Farang & so you really dont need it back (on the bottom of the list if your lucky) after the thais are threatening first

Now a gift to me is not really money it is something from the heart that at the time you thought to give IE Wife got new matress for mum so old one went to young teenage nephew, i looked in the window & said throw it out & will buy new single one & base with some tubs for belongings

MIL said to wife HE do for Nephew (as in amazement )

[elliottm]

2 big rows with the wife refusing to bail out family members (6 siblings in all) during 1st & 2nd year of marriage, 2 years married

1) 150k for big bro to buy out his ex from hometown house (right after we'd married)

2) 80k towards lil bro 1st car deposit to qualify tax rebate

I would have stepped in 1) as last resort (the mother in law lives there!) but I certainly weren't paying for a young bad boy to get a car he can barely afford when my family never had a new car!!

Sinsod bought mum a new bike & dad new teeth & has been variously recycled to help out family members, let's leave it at that for now

Edited October 30, 2013 by elliottm

[Heng]

Of course interest rates will be higher than the market rate (bank rate).... because most of these folks could NOT get a loan in any bank and have likely already tried to in every single one.

[Morden]

Of course interest rates will be higher than the market rate (bank rate).... because most of these folks could NOT get a loan in any bank and have likely already tried to in every single one.

Not entirely correct. Leaving aside the biker types whose bosses lend small amounts, a big difference between banks and private lenders is that the latter do not usually snatch the collateral on pay back day provided that the interest is paid. Even some who could borrow from their government employer prefer private arrangements.

[farang000999]

2 big rows with the wife refusing to bail out family members (6 siblings in all) during 1st & 2nd year of marriage, 2 years married

1) 150k for big bro to buy out his ex from hometown house (right after we'd married)

2) 80k towards lil bro 1st car deposit to qualify tax rebate

I would have stepped in 1) as last resort (the mother in law lives there!) but I certainly weren't paying for a young bad boy to get a car he can barely afford when my family never had a new car!!

Sinsod bought mum a new bike & dad new teeth & has been variously recycled to help out family members, let's leave it at that for now

How many of your own assets are in wifey's name?

[prvtdetdave]

I lent 2,500 gbp to a brit whom I thought I knew here in Thailand.

Ran back to England shut off his phone.

Kevin K. Huthes of East Sussex, ________ your a scum bag.

[Ajaan]

My take on loaning money in Thailand is this (and I've done it, more than I care to remember): whether you loan to a fellow farang or to a Thai, don't think of it as a loan, think of it as a gift. Because the chances are 98% (or more) that you will NOT get it back, haha...

[jomcondo]

in the majority of cases people want to borrow money because

they lack financial discipline and/or they have no intention of paying it back.