Guesthouse Set-up Advice

[simon43]

Without trying to sound like an advert, my B&B is up for sale or lease. Unfortunately, my lung illness has come back with a vengeance and I need to take a rest.

Oh, my guest occupancy rate is 98% (one year averaged) - that and financials are all 100% verifiable

Edited September 8, 2015 by simon43

[csabo]

Have a Thai partner that I’ve known for 10 years and trust like family.

I can trust my Thai partner 100%.--------OP

Don't see any problem here OP...........just put it all in her name...

..........drop us all a line in a year or so will you, lets us know how the business is progressing.................

Who said the partner was female?

[csabo]

Without trying to sound like an advert, my B&B is up for sale or lease. Unfortunately, my lung illness has come back with a vengeance and I need to take a rest.

Oh, my guest occupancy rate is 98% (one year averaged) - that and financials are all 100% verifiable

Not much of an advertisement and it could be anywhere on the planet based on the info provided.

[simon43]

Not much of an advertisement and it could be anywhere on the planet based on the info provided. [

Exactly - don't want to anger the Mods - OP can PM me if interested

[ouagadougou]

^{"The main reason I say no is from your own words which you have doubts over " trust like family " then you say " Assuming " Make up your mind?"}

^{I was intending the post to answer more specific questions about setting up a business/visa in Thailand and staying away from the emotional rollercoaster discussion. I guess I should of been more clear.}

^{What I was trying to say is....for this hypothetical exercise, lets assume I can trust my partner 100%. What would be the easiest, most cost efficient way to structure the business that would not attract added expenses and attention from authorities?}

^{And yes, my partner is family.}

^{----------------------------------}

^{I completely understand all the posts regarding not getting involved in the guesthouse business and trusting Thai partners. It's kind of refreshing because most of my friends, family and acquaintances have kinda given up on me starting a business in the LOS as I've been looking into it for a long time and have gone through a mass of different ideas. Think the general feel / running joke is that I'm happy to toy with the idea of making money here but more interested in hanging out with my hobbies than committing myself to anything...which isn't true, hence this post and potential venture.}

^{So, all comments are appreciated but I'd ideally like to stick to more specific business, legal, management issues etc. And yes, I am visiting a lawyer soon.}

^{Many thanks for the help....}

[pbonline]

There always is and will always be guyes like OP who think they can do what no one els can.

Dont try to talk him out of it, without people like him the rest of us will not have all the cheap entertainment here.

[williamgeorgeallen]

lots of good advice already. I owned a guesthouse in pattaya. I actually bought the building, this is the only way to make a guesthouse work. even then there are problems with ownership of the building as it must be in a thai company name. it is impossible to rent a guesthouse and pay all the expenses including a work permit. I was able to make a little bit of money but owning the guesthouse was more hassle than it was worth. ended up selling the building and loosing quite a bit of money. DONT WASTE YOUR TIME TRYING THIS.

[laobali]

I took over the lease of a guest house last year. Fairly straight-forward, just meet the owner, decide how many years you want to lease for, try to only pay a month in advance (no deposit) in case things go pear-shape. Can leave monthly wifi/elec/water bills in owner's name, just pay them yourself.

In my case, lease was for two years, owner wanted one month bond (forget getting that returned - standard practice here is you get a 'free' month at the end of contract). The GF and my own name were on the contract. The contract was the standard rental contract (costs 5 baht in a newsagent, maybe some TVer can post a link to download the .pdf [which is A4])

We did a few improvements without consulting the owner - painting, repairing electrics, rerouting plumbing, fixing doors etc - that is at your own expense. I would have requested owner's permission to undertake major structural changes eg. knocking out a wall.

'In case it goes pear-shape'? My GF shot through soon after I gave her 43kB to buy a new motorbike for the business, with the week's takings... what a silly old fawker I am. AA

"My GF shot through"

Can someone translate this into English, please?

Apparently, she called for a Mulligan on his double-bogie and continued with the front foursome.

Load of balls.

With a hole in one.

[khunPer]

KhunPer, thanks for confirming some of the finer details.

How much different is running a limited partnership (or even sole proprietorship) once you have a foreigner as one of the owners and/or holding a work permit?...in terms of registration, taxes, yearly paperwork, eyes on business etc.

If things get excessively more expensive and complicated then I should at least have it as an option to stay out of the business entirely and live off of a Non-Imm O visa and profit. But, I'm not sure how that would work as some form of capital gains tax would need to be paid....I'm not into doing anything illegal.

To everyone else....thanks for the concern, wisdom and entertainment.

Guesthouse I'm looking into is not in Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket or Chiang Mai....if that helps stimulate ideas.

»How much different is running a limited partnership (or even sole proprietorship) once you have a foreigner as one of the owners...«

There should be no differences with a registered company or partnership, apart from Work Permit paperwork and application. Bear in mind, that the foreigner (non US) can never own more than 49 percent.

Sole proprietorship held by a Thai (only), may well be a question of the size of the business, a small business may just run without much paperwork; cannot say if it’s legal, but often that’s how it’s done.

»If things get excessively more expensive and complicated then I should at least have it as an option to stay out of the business...«

You ask about some kind of “capital gain tax” – to be taxable, it normally requires an income or gain. Where are you having a capital gain from...?

Foreign income or capital gain is only taxable in Thailand, if you bring the money into Thailand the same year as they are earned...

If you invest in a Thai business as foreigner, then that would be a share of a limited company or partnership, the company shall pay company tax and the dividend will be taxed (probably withholding tax)...

I’m not a professional, so you should consult a business lawyer for specific and correct answers.

[ouagadougou]

Agree with you William....if you don't own the land, or have a plan to own the land, then you're wasting your time....owning the building would be a nice compromise. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm ready to invest that much in a first Thai adventure.

KhunPer....thank you very much for spending the time on your 2 posts. Think I'm ready for a first visit to a lawyers office.

One bit of info that I didn't expand on is the front shops that are included in the lease of the guesthouse. There would be revenue coming in from the rooms as well as from the tenants. I believe it's the shops that hold the key to the business' viability. They are all on 1 year leases and would be under our control to decide whether to increase rent or takeover and run / profit from ourselves.

I still haven't decided if we will go through with the project...and not even sure if it's ultimately ours for the taking even if I did say yes, lets go....things have a habit of changing very quickly around here.

[NOC]

^{"The main reason I say no is from your own words which you have doubts over " trust like family " then you say " Assuming " Make up your mind?"}

^{I was intending the post to answer more specific questions about setting up a business/visa in Thailand and staying away from the emotional rollercoaster discussion. I guess I should of been more clear.}

^{What I was trying to say is....for this hypothetical exercise, lets assume I can trust my partner 100%. What would be the easiest, most cost efficient way to structure the business that would not attract added expenses and attention from authorities?}

^{And yes, my partner is family.}

^{----------------------------------}

^{I completely understand all the posts regarding not getting involved in the guesthouse business and trusting Thai partners. It's kind of refreshing because most of my friends, family and acquaintances have kinda given up on me starting a business in the LOS as I've been looking into it for a long time and have gone through a mass of different ideas. Think the general feel / running joke is that I'm happy to toy with the idea of making money here but more interested in hanging out with my hobbies than committing myself to anything...which isn't true, hence this post and potential venture.}

^{So, all comments are appreciated but I'd ideally like to stick to more specific business, legal, management issues etc. And yes, I am visiting a lawyer soon.}

^{Many thanks for the help....}

I've sometimes used one lawyer to qualify another lawyer. On the sly of course. You might want to exercise that option here. The odds aren't exactly in your favor.

[itsmylife]

What is the cost for consult a lawyer ?

[ouagadougou]

What is the cost for consult a lawyer ?

found this thread from 2014 regarding fees....

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/698557-lawyers-how-much/

[IMA_FARANG]

I won't say a word about legal stuff and requirements to be the "live in Owner".

All I will ask is this question;

As the "live in owner", are you prepared to be available 24 hours a day, to handle the problems that will be brought to you every day for you to solve?

I say this because you need to realize exactly what you are taking on.

Everything, from tomorrow's breakfast menu to the room maid who got caught by a guests husband giving his wife a "special massage" in their room?

[NickJ]

If something is up and running and there is any possible promise of a huge profit forget about it.Chances are it would not be for sale.

Everybody thinks they can put there twist on a faltering business and it will thrive. Thats a huge mistake.

The next mistake is simply not doing the simple math and working out the overhead.

Thai Partners that I can trust.....Death Rattle.

Edited September 9, 2015 by NickJ

[itsmylife]

So if i going to register a small food business with my thai wife as partner , do i have to get a shop address for register first or later ?