How to properly transfer funds for Condo? FET Cert etc.

[Dylannace]

The funds are in my AIB (Allied Irish Bank) account in Ireland.

I wish to transfer an amount to Thailand, for the stated reason of purchasing a condominium, without me leaving Thailand.

My family in Ireland can help deal with bank in Ireland if needed. I'd rather not need to return there before the purchase.

Is this the correct step-by-step procedure?

1. Go to my Thai bank, tell them I want to transfer Euro to them from my AIB account for the stated reason, and that I will need a FET Cert. (formally known as Tor Tor 3).

2. Get the Thai bank to transfer the euro amount?

3. They place the baht value into my Thai account and give me the FET Cert stating that it is for the purchase of a condominium.

4. Get a crossed Cashier’s Cheque from the Thai bank in the name of the vendor (Used Condo).

5. Along with two docs from the juristic office from the condo – onestating the foreign quota, one stating no outstanding bills/debt, go to land office with crossed cashier's cheques, FET Cert, and pay the transfer fee and taxes with the buyer/seller % as agreed.

Point number two, how is it best to actually do the transfer, from my Irish bank?

[KittenKong]

That's more or less it, except that in step 2 only your Irish bank can send the money. Your Thai bank can do nothing. And in step 1 the Thai bank wont do anything until the money arrives.

Your Irish bank may (rightly) be unwilling to send large amounts of money abroad without some extra proof that you are giving the instruction yourself, but this will depend entirely on the internal regs of your bank and your relationship with it.

Most international transfers are done by SWIFT and there will probably be a fee of around GBP20-30, depending on your bank. There will also be a small incoming fee from your Thai bank. And remember to negotiate the rate you receive from them.

[Dylannace]

Thanks.

So I transfer the money to the Thai bank without first telling them that I am doing so, and therefore also the reason for doing so?

Likely transfer by SWIFT.

Then once the funds are in my Thai bank, I go there, show them the transfer information and request a Tor Tor 3 (FET Cert).

It sounds a bit unnerving transferring the money and then approaching the Thai bank for the document, as if there is an issue and FET Cert for the stated purpose isn't issued, the funds can't be used to purchase the condo.

Thanks for info.

[Langsuan Man]

When you make the request for the SWIFT transfer to your Irish Bank you should include the statement "for the purchase of a condo" in the remarks section

You only need to involve your Thai bank to obtain the correct SWIFT code for your Thai bank. Most SWIFT requests also want the full address of your Thai Bank, which is usually the bank's head office address

Your Thai bank should inform you when the transfer arrives in your bank account and issue you a currency exchange certificate, the original of which you will present to the Land Office when you make the condo transfer

You worry too much, Thai banks have been receiving SWIFT transfers for years so there is nothing "unnerving" about the process. Believe me, telling them that a transfer is coming gains you absolutely nothing since your branch has nothing to do with the process and it is handled by a specific office in the bank headquarters

[KittenKong]

You should tell your Irish bank to include the mention "for condo purchase" as the reason for the transfer. Some people suggest including the full address of the condo being purchased but this doesnt seem to be obligatory.

Yes, you could tell your Thai bank in advance but I doubt it will achieve anything much. It cant do any harm though. You could talk about negotiating the rate in advance, I suppose.

[DLang]

You can read up on FET Certs here:

http://www.samuiforsale.com/condominium/foreign-exchange-transaction-form.html

To complicate things a little, some banks, or possibly all now, only give a FET Cert. for amounts of us$50,000+.

Instead of this, they will give an official letter stating the funds were transferred and the reason why, which is accepted by Land Offices in place of the Tor Tor Sam.

The letter needs to be more specific and list the name of the condo you are purchasing.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/408051-tor-tor-3-new-procedures/

This was 5 yrs ago, things may have changed a bit by then.

FET Cert:

Perhaps there is an official Thai name for the letter, instead of Tor Tor Sam, it would help when explaining things to the bank manager just to say I need a Tut Tut 69 or whatever and they'll then get that, rather than trying to work it out by your explanation.

[DLang]

You worry too much, Thai banks have been receiving SWIFT transfers for years so there is nothing "unnerving" about the process.

I think he means the unnerving part is an official at the Land Office saying something wasn't done correctly, so no dice, those funds can't be used.

[Griffo63]

To OP - your plan looks about right.

I recently bought a condo in BKK .

Rather than transfer £ (in my case) direct from the bank in UK to bank in Thailand I used a Foreign Exchange company.

I transferred my £ to them from my UK bank (no charge), converted all it to THB at an agreed rate (and much better than bank rates), transferred the whole amount to my Thai bank account (again no charge for amounts over £10,000) advising the FEC to note "for the purpose of condo purchase".

I'd already advised my Thai bank of the imminent transfer and the transfer went smoothly.

The bank gave me a FET document and also a letter confirming the transfer.

The Land Office meeting went without a hitch, but to be fair the agent handling the sale was there and helped a lot on the day. The Land office clerk was expecting us and we got straight to the front of the queue when we arrived.

[PJ33]

The purpose of obtaining the FETC when your payment arrives, is to enable you to easily transfer funds out of Thailand if you decide to sell the condo at a future date. When you get the FETC from the bank, you take it to the Land Office and they do the necessary, enabling you to transfer the Bahts out of Thailand easily in the future, if you so desire.

Even if there is some almighy c*ck-up and the bank refuses to issue a FETC, you can still use the Bahts you receive to buy a condo, so it's not entirely correct to say "...the funds can't be used to purchase the condo".... you can still purchase the condo with those funds without a FETC (the condo seller will not care whether you have a FETC), but you may have issues in the future in transferring the sale proceeds out of Thailand.

You would be better off to use a foreign exchange company to make the transfer for you. You send them your Euros, they convert to Bahts (at an exchange rate 2% or more better than you'll get by sending Euros into Thailand) and then make the Baht payment for you. It adds an extra day or two to the process but it effectively makes your condo purchase 2%+ cheaper - worth the wait!!

Edited May 22, 2015 by PJ33

[DLang]

^ I thought that the Land Office required the FETC, or official letter in lieu of, to register the property in your name? And that without it they cannot transfer the property to the foreigner's name.

So the FETC isn't for the seller, it's for the Land Office to register the property in the foreigner's name.

I have been wrong before, though. Perhaps others can educate us.

[PJ33]

If there was a requirement for an FETC for every condo purchase by a foreigner, that would preclude any foreigner from buying a condo whose source of income was from employment in Thailand, or who already had funds in a Thai bank account. Such a person would be unable to transfer money in from abroad.

There is no "requirement" to have an FETC to buy a condo. It just makes things easier in the future if you transferred the funds in from overseas and want to extract the sale proceeds to another country.

If funds intended to be used for a condo purchase are already in a Thai bank account, you can make a transfer from your account to the seller using the payment reference "For condo purchase at (address)". The bank will still issue a withdrawal slip and a type of certificate which the Land Office will accept in lieu of an FETC.

[Langsuan Man]

Two reasons for the Foreign Exchange Certificate. The first is so that you can have a condo registered in your name and to repatriate the funds in the future. Assuming of course that the condo is with in the foreigner quota

[DLang]

If there was a requirement for an FETC for every condo purchase by a foreigner, that would preclude any foreigner from buying a condo whose source of income was from employment in Thailand, or who already had funds in a Thai bank account. Such a person would be unable to transfer money in from abroad.

There is no "requirement" to have an FETC to buy a condo. It just makes things easier in the future if you transferred the funds in from overseas and want to extract the sale proceeds to another country.

If funds intended to be used for a condo purchase are already in a Thai bank account, you can make a transfer from your account to the seller using the payment reference "For condo purchase at (address)". The bank will still issue a withdrawal slip and a type of certificate which the Land Office will accept in lieu of an FETC.

I'm pretty sure that a condo cannot be registered in a foreigner's name without the FETC, showing that the funds were transferred into Thailand.

anyway, in the case of the OP, the point is mute, as his funds for purchase are in his Irish bank account.

[Langsuan Man]

If there was a requirement for an FETC for every condo purchase by a foreigner, that would preclude any foreigner from buying a condo whose source of income was from employment in Thailand, or who already had funds in a Thai bank account. Such a person would be unable to transfer money in from abroad.

There is no "requirement" to have an FETC to buy a condo. It just makes things easier in the future if you transferred the funds in from overseas and want to extract the sale proceeds to another country.

If funds intended to be used for a condo purchase are already in a Thai bank account, you can make a transfer from your account to the seller using the payment reference "For condo purchase at (address)". The bank will still issue a withdrawal slip and a type of certificate which the Land Office will accept in lieu of an FETC.

I'm pretty sure that a condo cannot be registered in a foreigner's name without the FETC, showing that the funds were transferred into Thailand.

anyway, in the case of the OP, the point is mute, as his funds for purchase are in his Irish bank account.

Correct. Even if the funds are earned here while on a work permit the Condominium Act requires the funds come from abroad, if you want the condo to be in a foreign name.

There are some unscrupulous exchange places that will issue a Exchange Certificate for a price. If you don't want to go that route then you have no other choice but to send your Thai earned funds overseas and import them back into Thailand to comply with the Act

[MikeN]

OP, another option that a friend used was to open a foreign currency account with his Thai Bank and then transfer the money into that (he used AU$). When ready to purchase you transfer the money from your foreign currency account into your Thai Baht account and get the FETC then.

You may have to send the money in sterling or US dollars though, which might mean more costs ?

[bkksiam]

Make sure you specify to your irish bank that they transfer the funds in foreign currency. It is the thai bank that must do the conversion to baht. You can negotiate an exchange rate for this. This rate might be a fraction of a point better than the posted rate but if you are transferring a high sum, the fraction of a point can make a considerable difference.

[Happy Grumpy]

Make sure you specify to your irish bank that they transfer the funds in foreign currency. It is the thai bank that must do the conversion to baht. You can negotiate an exchange rate for this. This rate might be a fraction of a point better than the posted rate but if you are transferring a high sum, the fraction of a point can make a considerable difference.

That's interesting, actually.

Others were saying to use a foreign exchange company.

[uptheos]

What if the person doesn't buy the condo?

[Happy Grumpy]

What if the person doesn't buy the condo?

The funds are in their Thai bank account, so they can just as easily splurge and have 2 million long-time's instead.

[hhgz]

"What if the person doesn't buy the condo?"

The person is not compelled to purchase a condo, and can use the money as desired.

[bkksiam]

Put your deposit in an escrow account with a lawyer.

Make sure you are aware of thai laws regarding what happens to condos of foreigners once they die-e.g. those who inherit have one year to sell (actually it's more complicated than that- lots of good info on thai forum about this).

[Langsuan Man]

Put your deposit in an escrow account with a lawyer.

Make sure you are aware of thai laws regarding what happens to condos of foreigners once they die-e.g. those who inherit have one year to sell (actually it's more complicated than that- lots of good info on thai forum about this).

Not all that complicated. If the heir wants to keep the condo in a foreign name then they must use the foreign transaction form to wire the money out of the country and then wire it back and register the transfer at the land office

Or, as already stated, within in one year sell it to a foreigner and have them import the money to comply with the Condominium Act to retain the farang quota status

[GOLDBUGGY]

What I did was open a new account with just my name on it. I think the cost was 500 to 1,000 Baht, which is refundable when you close it.

I couldn't figure out how I could transfer such a huge sum of money from my Bank in Canada without being their in person. Maybe it is different at your bank, or I just didn't know how as I never tried before, but I thought that for this huge sum of money they want to see me in person and with some I.D. A telephone call wouldn't work. I think my daily transfer limit is $1,000 without being their.

So what I did instead was write a Check in my name for deposit in my new account. I did get a call from my bank anyway, but I was able to settle this over the telephone. On my Check I put "For Property Purchase". On a F.E.T. they will only show that this money was transferred from outside the country, but not the purpose of it. Which I don't think you need anyway. The Fee's for depositing this Check was very reasonable. Actually I was surprised how low it was. It also took less than 3 weeks to be deposited into my Thai Bank.

The Owner should have a Land Ownership Certificate, which he will need to produce at the Land Titles Office and in which you should have seen already. Things are done differently in Thailand when it comes to land purchase, or in your case Condo. If the owner took out a Mortgage on the Condo he would have to give the Bank this Certificate, and would get it back once the debt was cleared. So now you can see why this is so important.

In my case I went with the owner to the Land Titles Office. I can't give you much details after that as they don't speak English their, so my wife handled most of it. The bottom line is that everything was completed, they gave us the Certificate, and we gave them cash. I am not sure Thai's will accept a Bank Draft. Or at least the older generation. But they will accept cash. The bottom line is he will hold this certificate until you pay him. So if you pay him before Land Titles, like we did,

he will give it to you then. Or should!

I don't know if you need a Lawyer. I had one but only because I added a "Usufructs" to the Land Title. I used this opportunity to discuss how I was handling the Land Transfer and she agreed I was doing everything correctly. In no way did she help me with the property purchase as she knew I did not need any. But as they say in Thailand, "Up To You!" .

Keep in mind my purchase included Land and a House, so it may be different for a Condo. But I don't think so.

Here is a good website that gives you some more good information of Land or Condo purchases in Thailand.

http://www.siam-legal.com/realestate/Usufructs.php

[Langsuan Man]

If the transfer above was for a land and house then it does not come under the Condominium Act and has absolutely nothing to do with this thread which in case you missed the title:

How to properly transfer funds for Condo ? FET Cert etc.

And you will not receive a Exchange Certificate from your Thai bank for you to use to repatriate the funds later

I used this opportunity to discuss how I was handling the Land Transfer and she agreed I was doing everything correctly.

Did she happen to mention to you that you don't own anything ! You only have permission to use the property for your lifetime

[KittenKong]

Keep in mind my purchase included Land and a House, so it may be different for a Condo. But I don't think so.

It is extremely different for a condo. Not least because a condo is the only sort of registered property that any normal foreigner can own in his own name in Thailand.

[KittenKong]

And you will not receive a Exchange Certificate from your Thai bank for you to use to repatriate the funds later

He could have received an FET certificate from his bank and it would be valid to repatriate money later.

You dont have to use imported cash to buy a condo. You could buy a car and still be allowed to sell it and export the money again. Or you could just deposit it in a Thai bank for a while and export it again. Or even keep it under the mattress.

[wpcoe]

When I bought my current condo over ten years ago, I was out of Thailand and had the bank send the Tor Tor Sam to my realtor's office, and they went to the land office on my behalf and did the transaction, so I'm not clear on exactly how the process goes. Does the land office keep the TT3/FET certificate? If so, will I get it back when if/when I sell my condo? If not, is the TT3 sitting in a file drawer in the realtor's office? Just wondering how I would use the TT3 to facilitate sending the money out of Thailand again since I currently don't have it (or a copy of it.) I do have the chanote, but that's the only document I got after the purchase was completed.

[GOLDBUGGY]

If the transfer above was for a land and house then it does not come under the Condominium Act and has absolutely nothing to do with this thread which in case you missed the title:

How to properly transfer funds for Condo ? FET Cert etc.

And you will not receive a Exchange Certificate from your Thai bank for you to use to repatriate the funds later

I used this opportunity to discuss how I was handling the Land Transfer and she agreed I was doing everything correctly.

Did she happen to mention to you that you don't own anything ! You only have permission to use the property for your lifetime

Gosh! I must have blasted you once on a different thread for your stupidity.

Well, if what you say is correct then I will just have to take this F.E.T. this bank gave me, and in which you just said I won't get, and give it back to them as you say it is not any good. To settle my curiosity, why on God's Green Earth, (unless you want to argue this point as well as not all of the Earth is Green) would you think for a second this bank would not issue a F.E.T.? Do you even know what that is?

This F.E.T. stands for "Foreign Exchange Transfer". It is used to show proof that X amount of Dollars, Euro, Yen, or whatever, was brought into Thailand and transferred into Thai Baht in there bank. They don't care if you buy a House or Condo with this money. Or even a month with Bar Girls! This is the Land Titles requirement that you show proof of this, not the banks.

As I said in my post I went to see a Lawyer about attaching a "Usufructs" It should be obvious to you then, like it is for everyone else, that of course she told me about my rights to this property. That I don't own it but have use of it for the rest of my life and that nobody legally can kick me out of their. That I can make improvements and do whatever I want as long as I don't damage this property. But I am so glad you informed me that this is only good the rest of my life, as I was really worried what I was going to do with it, after I am dead.

But since you asked me a question on this subject may I be allowed to do the same. Did your Bank tell you that if you don't pay your mortgage on time, they will take your house and land away and you would be thrown out into the street? Did they tell you that if you don't pay your yearly property tax they will also take your home away? Or did your Government at least tell that if you don't pay your Income Taxes, they will take your Home away? Or even if you help your daughter buy that dream car, and use your property as a collateral for this loan, that if she doesn't pay, or you, then you will lose your home? And you suggest I am a fool as I don't own anything. Did you ever stop to think of what you think you really own? So let's compare.

You only have permission to use the property (you think) you own for your lifetime as long as you pay your Mortgage off, and all you Property and Income Taxes every year for the rest of your life. If your Pension won't cover these expenses, too bad! In the event of your death the house will automatically be turned over to your wife. In the event of a divorce, you can either buy your wife's half outright, or more likely sell this house and give her half the profit.

Now Me!

I have permission to use the property for a lifetime. There is no Mortgage or Lean on this property nor can one ever be put on it. There is no Property Tax in Thailand, per say, as it is paid during the purchase and sale of the property. I don't work in Thailand so I don't have Income Taxes to pay. So every year for the rest of my life I don't have to pay anything. In the event of my death, my property will automatically be turned over back to the owner. My Wife! In the event of a Divorce, I don't have to pay my wife for half the value of this property, or sell it, as I don't own it, and thus it is not mine to sell. But my wife may have to, if I permit it. She can under no legal circumstances kick me out of this property. If I chose I can live their the rest of my life and bring in a new Girl Friend if I choose.

So I am sure glad you brought this up to show me how much better it is to sort of own your own home in the West compared to renting and leasing in Thailand. By-the-way. My Post mentioned it was for a House and Property Purchase. You did not have to read on, since nobody put a gun to your head to do this. Or where you just thinking for the Op and trying to defend him, and not like he needed that? Or perhaps you thought that nobody else here is interested in a House and Land Purchase, and only here for Condos?

Nope! I must have bashed you in the past for being Foolish again and providing Garbage Information.

No F.E.T. because you don't buy a Condo... My Foot!

[GOLDBUGGY]

Keep in mind my purchase included Land and a House, so it may be different for a Condo. But I don't think so.

It is extremely different for a condo. Not least because a condo is the only sort of registered property that any normal foreigner can own in his own name in Thailand.

Is it really that extremely different? How So? Have you bought a Condo as well as a House and Land in Thailand before to compare?

I did not just Lease or Rent some Property like a Rental Agreement for a Condo. I had to buy it first, or my wife did.I also looked into buying a Condo for quite awhile to. Of course there are some differences, as there is also in Canada to, when compared to buying a home. Your Percentage of Ownership and the Condo Rules come to mind. But a Property Search and Consulting a Lawyer is still the same.

But this is sidetracking what the Op wanted to know. He wanted to know "How to properly transfer funds for a Condo (which is the same way for a house). "F.E.T.Cert. etc." My Post, if you read it, suggested writing a Check and upon which you will get this F.E.T. when you ask them for it. Which is not a Certificate at all, but rather just a piece of paper, like I have.

I never claimed I was an expert Condo Buyer. But then the Op never requested for one. It is just othesr here that assume he doesn't know anything about buying a Condo here. Not me!

[GOLDBUGGY]

Keep in mind my purchase included Land and a House, so it may be different for a Condo. But I don't think so.

It is extremely different for a condo. Not least because a condo is the only sort of registered property that any normal foreigner can own in his own name in Thailand.

Is it really that extremely different? How So? Have you bought a Condo as well as a House and Land in Thailand before to compare?

I did not just Lease or Rent some Property like a Rental Agreement for a Condo. I had to buy it first, or my wife did.I also looked into buying a Condo for quite awhile to. Of course there are some differences, as there is also in Canada to, when compared to buying a home. Your Percentage of Ownership and the Condo Rules come to mind. But a Property Search and Consulting a Lawyer is still the same.

But this is sidetracking what the Op wanted to know. He wanted to know "How to properly transfer funds for a Condo (which is the same way for a house). "F.E.T.Cert. etc." My Post, if you read it, suggested writing a Check and upon which you will get this F.E.T. when you ask them for it. Which is not a Certificate at all, but rather just a piece of paper, like I have.

I never claimed I was an expert Condo Buyer. But then the Op never requested for one. It is just othesr here that assume he doesn't know anything about buying a Condo here. Not me!

Sorry. I made a mistake. For the F.E.T. I also got what you could call a Certificate along with a paper. I forgot about that. But to answer someone else's post the Land Titles will only copy this Certificate and give it back to you.