Selling Condo To Overseas Buyer

[mandee]

I am selling my condo to an overseas buyer (well known friend). He will be here (jomtien) for one week in August and we hope to do the deal quickly

at the Land Office. He has a Thai Bank Account and the paperwork covering the origin of the assets will be in order.

Although when I bought the condo (10 years ago), all was smooth sailing I tend to fret about new regulations and interpretations of laws/rules.

In this respect can anyone offer any advice as to how we can take all the requisite preparations to ensure a smooth transfer ?.The condo manager came with me previously and it was a breeze. We now have a new condo manager and I know he does not have the same depth of experience in this stuff.

Is there a list of documents needed by seller and purchaser above the usual ID photocopies does anyone know.

Failing the completion of the transaction for any reason, is it possible to sell/buy by proxy. If so does it involve lawyers.?

Thanks to anyone who can help.

[KittenKong]

Assuming that the condo is in farang name you will just need an FET form (previously called a tor tor sam) from the buyer's bank showing that the purchase amount was imported correctly from overseas, a recent debt-free certificate from the condo Juristic Person Manager, and cash to pay the taxes (usually about 6% of the declared or estimated sale price, whichever is the higher). Obviously you will also need the original chanote and ID (passports) for both parties.

There is no reason why it should take more than a couple of hours though you would find it easier if you had a Thai speaker to do the running around from office to office, and a banknote in an envelope also speeds it up.

[mogo51]

Good advice above re Thai present with you at Lands Office and it can still be slow. There is a Thai lady who spent over 30 years in Canada and runs

Nitty Solutions, shopfront at Beach Condos, (on the beach side heading south the large single condo on Jomtien 2nd Road, next to S1 entrance. She is

very knowledgable and honest, she may be prepared to help you for a reasonable fee. They can usually negotiate a fair transfer fee.

[BB24]

Also think about getting legal advice - ideally an Expat who knows the ropes.

I used this guy - Joe Lynch www.lannalawyers.com

[BB24]

Ooops : http://lannalawyers.blogspot.com/

[hhgz]

Along with the certificate indicating that you are not in arrears, as mentioned by KittenKong, you will also need a letter from the Juristic person that the sale of your condo to a foreign person does not violate the ownership ratio. Both you and the buyer are subject to various fees and taxes. Acute Realty has an online calculator that is very accurate, and they need to be paid either in cash, or a cashier's check.

You are able to complete a sale by proxy. I bought my BKK condo from a Nepalese, who was not present at the transfer. His (BKK real estate) broker handled both sides of the transaction, and did not involve a lawyer.

Edited March 7, 2015 by hhgz

[mandee]

Along with the certificate indicating that you are not in arrears, as mentioned by KittenKong, you will also need a letter from the Juristic person that the sale of your condo to a foreign person does not violate the ownership ratio. Both you and the buyer are subject to various fees and taxes. Acute Realty has an online calculator that is very accurate, and they need to be paid either in cash, or a cashier's check.

You are able to complete a sale by proxy. I bought my BKK condo from a Nepalese, who was not present at the transfer. His (BKK real estate) broker handled both sides of the transaction, and did not involve a lawyer.

Excellent calculator. thank you very much.

Is there any way prior to the sale to get the Land Office Evaluation please ?

Since a ploy to sell could be to sell at a ridiculous price, say Baht100,000 would/could Land Office raise any objections.?

I see that such a move would not affect the Land Office "Income" from any sale as their valuation rightly takes precedence.

Edited March 9, 2015 by mandee

[hhgz]

There are two methods to find the assessed value. First, you can go to the Land Department personally, and request this information. As easier method is to make use of the "rental/resale" office in the condo building. The manager of this office keeps track of every sale, every "asked" and "actual" selling price, and the assessed value of each apartment. If the manager does not have the assessed value, (s)he can contact the Land Department on your behalf. With very few exceptions, the Land Department only assesses residential condo construction every 15-20 years. Likely, it has not changed from when the condo was first sold.

If you answer the questions accurately, the Acute calculator will only be off by 100THB, or so - it's very accurate. When you sell a condo, you'll be assessed a 40THB charge - not included in th calculation. You'll actually go to a special window, pay the 40THB, and get a stamp. I'm not sure that the proceeds of the stamp sales cover the cost of the employee who sells the stamp. Regardless, that's Thailand. If you plan on paying the tax using a cashier's check, make the check a few thousand THB less than the calculator indicates. You can always make up the difference in cash. On the other hand, if the cashier's check is too much, you won't get any change.

Cheating a governmental agency is always fraught with danger. Many TVers are proud that they've cheated the Thai government and, if that's something you think is a good idea, please, be my guest. I you get caught, the sale can be declared void by the Land Department, and the people involved can be arrested and fined.

"I see that such a move would not affect the Land Office "Income" from any sale as their valuation rightly takes precedence."

If you believe that defrauding the Land Department doesn't affect its revenue, you're wrong. If you use the calculator correctly, you'll see the the taxes paid to the Land Department are dependent on the actual selling price.

Edited March 11, 2015 by hhgz

[KittenKong]

There are two methods to find the assessed value. First, you can go to the Land Department personally, and request this information. As easier method is to make use of the "rental/resale" office in the condo building. The manager of this office keeps track of every sale, every "asked" and "actual" selling price, and the assessed value of each apartment. If the manager does not have the assessed value, (s)he can contact the Land Department on your behalf. With very few exceptions, the Land Department only assesses residential condo construction every 15-20 years. Likely, it has not changed from when the condo was first sold.

My building has no "rental/resale" office. The juristic person does keep a record of who current owners are, and of course it also issues the debt-free certificate for each sale, but it has absolutely no idea of what the asking or final prices were, apart from speculation and gossip (of which there is plenty of course, this being Thailand).

It is not the job of our juristic person manager to obtain valuations for anyone.

[hhgz]

Are you pulling the pin from a grenade and tossing it in my general direction, or do you want another suggestion? An assessed value is different from a market evaluation. If a buyer or seller wants an appraisal performed by a bank, you need to pay for one - it'll be cheap. Too, you can speak with the condo manager, not the juristic person, and ask for assistance. It's as simple as this, "I'm selling my apartment and I need find out what the assessed value of it is. Can you assist me?" The person may or may not be able to help. Regardless, the Land Department has the assessed value.