Hi,

I've been married to the wife for around 13 years now and we have accumulated a number of chanotes (in her name) for land and property. The value of this is quite significant, with over 100 rai and a house and apartment in Bangkok. Now we would like to buy another house, but the one we want is beyond our cash reserves, so we had the idea to pay half the money and borrow the other half from the bank, based on the existing chanotes/property as collateral.

My wife has spoken to several banks and the answer seems to be 'mai dai', because she has no job in Thailand (housewife?) and I am working abroad (outside Thailand). I started to transfer money, around 70k baht per month from overseas, for over 6 months but they said the money has to come from a thai account.

Is there really no bank that will lend you 50% of a property valuation with existing property (and the new) as security, unless you have a job or Thai income??

Try UOB.

Have you tried Siam Commercial (the purple bank)? Our local manager was quite creative when arranging our mortgage due to the age restrictions (can't extend past the main borrower's 65th birthday), but we have been with that bank for 10 years plus and he knows us by name (yes, even the farang).

Sadly I think you're going to have problems, when we got our mortgage from SCB the offshore part of my salary was of no interest only the local payment and my work permit.

Be persistent and keep trying each bank seems to be able to set some of its own rules

Several years ago I went to a branch of BBK and they did not want to know about us then two years later I was again introduced to the same branch and they were so accommodating for the same request, i reminded them two years earlier they had turned us down and they just smiled

I have had same experience with different people in SCB, sometimes a small branch is better, less regulation less levels to go through so less people in the chain who can make negative decision

Maybe try a mortgage broker if they exist here in thailand

Good luck

where is your security other than the trust in your wife?

what happens if she dies?

have you made arrangements so that you can stay in in these houses?

as the owner of everything has she made a Will?

danger Will Robertson

I suspect it will be difficult to get a mortgage from a bank without a stable income originated from a job in Thailand. Actually most countries have similar rules, i.e. even if you are wealthy, without an income you won't get a mortgage.

how about selling some of the land you own to finance the property you want to buy? Or how about to get some credit based on other assets you may have, i.e. stocks etc? Or how about getting financing outside the banking industry?

Sell one of your chanote properties. People buy and sell them all the time.

Live by your means.

Or tell your wife to do so...

In the uk, you can get buy to let mortgages without necessarily having an income. The market rent of the place counts as an income.

as far as trusting my wife goes, she already has everything in her name. We have 3 daughters who would inherit if she died, so one of them might put me up!