Hi everyone, I'm hoping for some help after having been very naive and over-trusting of some family members.

I am Thai and live in England. A few years back I bought some farmland from a family member in Thailand. I was, I now realise, overtrusting. At the time I was unable to travel to Thailand and sign the papers to transfer the land legally into my name.

I just found out that my auntie has taken a loan out on this land giving over the papers as collateral. The land is still legally her land. I can't seem to establish whether she has actually been paying on the loan or not. Anybody know of anything I can do? I fear there is nothing I can do. Anyone got any ideas?

Any help most appreciated.

Thanks

The land is still legally her land

and there is your problem for all intents and purposes, there is nothing much you can do as far as I can see...its her land, she can do with it what she wishes

Do you have a receipt from when you handed over the money in payment ?

thats thai family values we keep hearing about mmmm you stepped right into that one the only way out is pay the bank/debt recover the documents and make sure the paper work is in your name only if you return overseas take the docs with you

thats thai family values we keep hearing about mmmm you stepped right into that one the only way out is pay the bank/debt recover the documents and make sure the paper work is in your name only if you return overseas take the docs with you

What a stupid remark, when my grandfather died, family members stole jewels and money. It caused a rift in the family. I am 100% Dutch stuff like this happens all over the world.

Yes for sure, no one in the US or Australia or The UK would ever rip a family member off of course.

Yes for sure, no one in the US or Australia or The UK would ever rip a family member off of course.

well yes i agree my point is that thai family values seems to be a concept of something of high priority

maybe in the UK they don't hide under a cloak of false morality

thats thai family values we keep hearing about mmmm you stepped right into that one the only way out is pay the bank/debt recover the documents and make sure the paper work is in your name only if you return overseas take the docs with you

Yes in Thailand family is (sort of) important.

But has to take the backseat, when it comes to the most important!!

thats thai family values we keep hearing about mmmm you stepped right into that one the only way out is pay the bank/debt recover the documents and make sure the paper work is in your name only if you return overseas take the docs with you

What a stupid remark, when my grandfather died, family members stole jewels and money. It caused a rift in the family. I am 100% Dutch stuff like this happens all over the world.

ok thai and dutch

You say auntie took out a loan,

Your OP mentions Loan Sharks in the header.

Was the the loan an informal one involving loan sharks and the land promised?

Or was the land certificate used for a loan from the Government Savings Bank, quite a common practice BTW.

Also how much is the loan for?

If it's the first, involving loans sharks, tread carefully

If it's the second involving the bank, it's quite straight forward and not unreasonable to settle with them

Is it worth it to you to pay off the loan for the land back and chalk it up to experience, or consider it a down payment in the University of Life?

Who has the chanut, If you can get the chanut for the land , the loan will be written on the back, the outstanding loan will accumulate till the lender owns the land , this is a common thing in Thailand, the lender just sits back and gets the land cheap when the loan is not repaid. the Loan will have to be paid in full to get the load removed from the chanut.

I guess my Thainess meme was making too much sense.

MOVED to Land

OP you state "...having been very naive and over-trusting of some family members."

And therein lies your problem. You say you bought some land from a family member (I will assume you sent the money for the land and you assumed they would transfer the land to you without you being present....and when I say they ....again I will further assume you're talking about your "auntie" who STILL owns the land)

ONLY thing you can do is confront your "Auntie" as she is the one who ripped you off......took your money, didn't transfer the land and to add insult to injury she used that very same land to get a loan. Do you have a written contract for the sale of the land or was it and oral agreement? Have something to stand on if you have a written contract but from your post, AGAIN, I can only assume you do not have a written agreement

wish you the best of luck but depending on how much you paid ....why waste more time and MONEY to solve this problem until you've confronted "auntie"....

AND good luck with that in a country where "saving face" is SO important

Yes for sure, no one in the US or Australia or The UK would ever rip a family member off of course.

well yes i agree my point is that thai family values seems to be a concept of something of high priority

maybe in the UK they don't hide under a cloak of false morality

like in UK politics you mean?

You can say what you want about the US but we don't have problems with aunties borrowing money on their nephew's land.

Yes for sure, no one in the US or Australia or The UK would ever rip a family member off of course.

well yes i agree my point is that thai family values seems to be a concept of something of high priority

maybe in the UK they don't hide under a cloak of false morality

like in UK politics you mean?

please stay on topic !!!

Sounds like the op has a great family money is lost and you should put it down as a lesson learnt never trust Thais with your money you can only lose.

You can say what you want about the US but we don't have problems with aunties borrowing money on their nephew's land.

I'm sure in the majority of cases Thailand doesn't have that problem either.

Fact is, it's the aunt's land. She can do what she wants with it. Which is exactly what she has done.

I know that's not what the OP wants to hear, but it's the truth.

If it's worth it the OP can go to Thailand and if the aunt agrees they can buy it back from the money lender and get it put in their name. If they do the transaction with the aunt and the money lender together at the land office at the same time they will only have to pay one set of fees.

Or kiss it goodbye.

thats thai family values we keep hearing about mmmm you stepped right into that one the only way out is pay the bank/debt recover the documents and make sure the paper work is in your name only if you return overseas take the docs with you

What a stupid remark, when my grandfather died, family members stole jewels and money. It caused a rift in the family. I am 100% Dutch stuff like this happens all over the world.

ok thai and dutch

All over the world.

Money rules.

My Dad and his brother fell out big time over who got what when Grandma died. Never spoke to each other again.

Well...the OP is long gone......dont think she stuck around for the Circle of Wisdom.

Not much you can do if you are not legally the owner. And if your aunt doesn't pay interest or doesn't pay back the loan, they can easily repossess the land assuming the right loan agreement has been signed.

Yeah, what a laugh. I fully expect my brother to comb my folks home for all small valuables when they pass. Most likely while mom is lying on the floor rip. Expect the other brother to keep every item not specified in will he desires.

We all know how dodgy 65% of expat population riffraff is here.

Yeah....the Thais...

Stated by expats who know nothing about people but a whole lot about themselves.