buying a condo with cash

[maidee]

Can I buy a condo in Thailand, with money that has been sitting here for many years ?

Got some intrested from the bank and would like to invest in a condo, but I don't have foreign transfert of fund or anything.

Would that be a problem to buy a condo, if I don't plan to resell it later ?

[falkan]

no you cant, you need to transfer money out than back again..

[rak sa_ngop]

no you cant, you need to transfer money out than back again..

But you do not necessarily have to transfer out and back the whole amount. The Land Registry valuation of your purchased condo will generally be less than the price you pay for it. So you only need to bring in enough to satisfy the Land Registry price.

[KittenKong]

Also your bank should be able to arrange something that will get you the certificate without having to lose too much on fees and exchange rates.

[Maestro]

The fact that the money has been sitting in your bank account in Thailand for many years is no problem. The question is how the money arrived in Thailand, cash or bank transfer, and if it was bank transfer, whether the receiving bank in Thailand will give you the required document, FETF or credit advice.

[NoBrainer]

You can check with some of the Currency Exchange services. They have been known to assist you in obtaining the required document (Tor-Tor-Sam) for a reasonable fee, without having to move your funds around all over the place.

I am not talking about a tourist exchange booth, but the companies that provide more commercial exchange services.

Edited November 1, 2014 by NoBrainer

[marioc]

I agree with Mestro.

Last year I had the same problem and SCB provided me the right transfer paper because I had the money wired from my country.

[eddiekho]

yes, if you are PR.

[kiniyow]

Cash you say? No Problem~Somchai Realty will be happy to assist you...

[ThaiSmarterThanYou]

A bank will do it for you if you pay the exchange rate... easy...

[brfsa2]

I have a question, I'm a foreigner working in Thailand for a few years with BOI work permit.

Can I buy a condo in cash with money from my salary?

[eddiekho]

Still need to transfer bank (your local bank) to bank (appointed thai's bank) and all these are subjected for internal checks with all the deposit/transaction made. fyi. experienced ...cheers

[straylight]

no you cant, you need to transfer money out than back again..

Unless you have permanant residence status.

[falkan]

no you cant, you need to transfer money out than back again..

Unless you have permanant residence status.

Source?

[Camelot]

Look no further than Thaivisa.com for the source:

A permanent resident also has a number of other privileges such as, for example, being able to:

buy a condominium without being required to transfer money from abroad;

apply for naturalization in accordance with the law concerned;

have Thai nationality granted to children who are born in Thailand;

become a director of a public company; and

apply for an extension of stay or permanent residence for non-Thai family members.

http://www.thaivisa.com/residence-permit-thailand.html

Edited November 2, 2014 by Camelot

[dotpoom]

The bank simply has to change it into dollars and then back again into Thai Bath ....that way it has come in from outside the country.

[SiggiCM]

if you get a loan from the thai bank, then it should be possible to do

[SiggiCM]

no you cant, you need to transfer money out than back again..

Unless you have permanant residence status.

Source?

if you work in thailand you can buy with your salery any Condo, there is no need to bring money from abroad

[technologybytes]

The Thailand Condominium Act was passed to allow developers of condos to sell a percentage of a condo building to foreigners. The problem is that this act was never passed to assist foreigners, the purpose was to assist developers so it's no surprise that it sometimes causes problems.

I have purchased and sold a number of condos over the years, the land office simply want to see something that shows that the money has come from overseas. This is because the Thailand Condominium Act states that a foreigner buying a condo must fund the purchase from overseas. My understanding has always been that you cannot buy cash and you cant save your wages and buy unless your wages are paid from overseas.

Of course, this being Thailand it's likely that different land offices may interpret the rules in many different ways, and even if you do want to buy with cash then with a little imagination you should be able to come up with some paperwork to satisfy the clerk in the land office.

The technical answer is no, you can't buy for cash. The realistic answer is you can pay in any way that the seller accepts, but in order to transfer the property into your name at the last office you will need some sort of paperwork.

[maidee]

ok thanks for the replies...

can a thai person "donate" / "transfer" me a condo as a gift then ?

it seems they really want to make it difficult for a farang to even own a condo, while somchai, if he has the money, can just buy any seize of land / house / business in most western countries

[KittenKong]

can a thai person "donate" / "transfer" me a condo as a gift then ?

You would still need proof of importing currency to the amount of the Land Office valuation of the unit.

Just see your bank manager and arrange a cheap out/in transfer. What's the big deal?

it seems they really want to make it difficult for a farang to even own a condo, while somchai, if he has the money, can just buy any seize of land / house / business in most western countries

Not much will ever be done here for any foreigner's benefit. You may as well learn that now.

That said, buying a condo here is in fact very easy. But it was made easy for the benefit of the Thai construction industry, not for the benefit of the farang buyer.

[angy]

I think all the posts argued about to buy the condo in farang name, if you buy a condo by in company name I think cash is suitable or there is some rule about the use of big amount of cash in transactions?

[KittenKong]

I think all the posts argued about to buy the condo in farang name, if you buy a condo by in company name I think cash is suitable ...

Absolutely. The only problem is that company structures designed solely to allow farangs to buy property are probably illegal in themselves. I expect that these dodgy arrangements will come back and bite people in the backside at some point, and I would never get involved with one.

[damien76]

I have some questions on buying a condo with cash.

I was told i can make the payment in 2 ways:

1) via bank transfer from native bank to the seller's (developer) bank in thailand. All paperwork will be done by them and less hassle.

2) bring in cash and declare at the custom to get a certificate from the officer to proof that the money is use for the purchase of condo in thailand.

I am leaning towards the latter as I can do the exchange at the money changer which offers me a much better exchange rate compared to the banks.

Also, as I travel to Thailand very often, I am wondering if is it ok to bring in the money a few times instead of the full amount in 1 shot. For example, say the price of condo is 2million thai baht equivalent, can i bring in 1million thai baht twice and declare at the custom twice? Will the land office accepts that....

Hope someone can enlighten me.

[Maestro]

1) I recommend that you transfer the money to your own bank account in Thailand and then use money from your Thai account to pay the seller.

2) I don't know of any case where a foreigner used cash brought into Thailand for the purchase of a condo. Presumably, it would depend on the Land Office whether or not to accept this method.

[Maestro]

no you cant, you need to transfer money out than back again..

Correct. Section 19(1) of the Condominium Act:

(1) Aliens permitted to have residence in the Kingdom under the Immigration law;

[HampiK]

I have some questions on buying a condo with cash.

I was told i can make the payment in 2 ways:

1) via bank transfer from native bank to the seller's (developer) bank in thailand. All paperwork will be done by them and less hassle.

2) bring in cash and declare at the custom to get a certificate from the officer to proof that the money is use for the purchase of condo in thailand.

I am leaning towards the latter as I can do the exchange at the money changer which offers me a much better exchange rate compared to the banks.

Also, as I travel to Thailand very often, I am wondering if is it ok to bring in the money a few times instead of the full amount in 1 shot. For example, say the price of condo is 2million thai baht equivalent, can i bring in 1million thai baht twice and declare at the custom twice? Will the land office accepts that....

Hope someone can enlighten me.

Hello

My last condo I bought, i used about 3 TT3 papers to prove that the whole amount was from outside thailand. I even choose which amounts I wanted to hand over.

It doesn't matter how many transfer you have. Only important is, that the whole amount is coming from outside

[linguini]

I have some questions on buying a condo with cash.

I was told i can make the payment in 2 ways:

1) via bank transfer from native bank to the seller's (developer) bank in thailand. All paperwork will be done by them and less hassle.

2) bring in cash and declare at the custom to get a certificate from the officer to proof that the money is use for the purchase of condo in thailand.

I am leaning towards the latter as I can do the exchange at the money changer which offers me a much better exchange rate compared to the banks.

Also, as I travel to Thailand very often, I am wondering if is it ok to bring in the money a few times instead of the full amount in 1 shot. For example, say the price of condo is 2million thai baht equivalent, can i bring in 1million thai baht twice and declare at the custom twice? Will the land office accepts that....

Hope someone can enlighten me.

Hello

My last condo I bought, i used about 3 TT3 papers to prove that the whole amount was from outside thailand. I even choose which amounts I wanted to hand over.

It doesn't matter how many transfer you have. Only important is, that the whole amount is coming from outside

Hi HampiK,

Could you share how far apart were your 3 TT3s? days, weeks, months or year? wonder if there are restrictions on when the money should be in when one purchases a condo. tks.

[HampiK]

I have some questions on buying a condo with cash.

I was told i can make the payment in 2 ways:

1) via bank transfer from native bank to the seller's (developer) bank in thailand. All paperwork will be done by them and less hassle.

2) bring in cash and declare at the custom to get a certificate from the officer to proof that the money is use for the purchase of condo in thailand.

I am leaning towards the latter as I can do the exchange at the money changer which offers me a much better exchange rate compared to the banks.

Also, as I travel to Thailand very often, I am wondering if is it ok to bring in the money a few times instead of the full amount in 1 shot. For example, say the price of condo is 2million thai baht equivalent, can i bring in 1million thai baht twice and declare at the custom twice? Will the land office accepts that....

Hope someone can enlighten me.

Hello

My last condo I bought, i used about 3 TT3 papers to prove that the whole amount was from outside thailand. I even choose which amounts I wanted to hand over.

It doesn't matter how many transfer you have. Only important is, that the whole amount is coming from outside

Hi HampiK,

Could you share how far apart were your 3 TT3s? days, weeks, months or year? wonder if there are restrictions on when the money should be in when one purchases a condo. tks.

Hello,

For the condo about 2 TT3s were about 6 months old.. and 1 were about 2 years old. I am not sure if there is a limit on how old they can be. But it would make no sense, because the regulation only tells about that the money have to come from outside.. and not state that the money have to come from outside in the last x months.... But as it is thailand who knows....

Maybe I was lucky or it really doesn't matter. I have now 2 condos... and the oldes TT3 i used were about 3 years old at the time of land-regisration department.

Best Regards,

Hampi

[wpcoe]

If I understood the bank rep correctly (and there were a few language translation problems) when I recently got an FTEF, that form is only issued for individual transfers into Thailand of US$50,000 or higher. What does the Land Office accept if, for example, you had done multiple transfers of US$20,000 each? Do you have to send the money back out of Thailand and then back in as a transfer of (or multiple transfers each of) at least US$50,000?