Foreign to Thai loan contract

[chang14]

Hello all

Today I was asked for an amount of money to loan a Thai friend.

Am I able to do this through legal contract to insure he pays me back on the date he has requested.

He has offered to leave his gold which is only 5% of what he is asking

[kannot]

give him the gold back and say you trust him

[vento]

If He dont pay, friendship is broken.

[pickripper]

Don't lend any money that wouldn't offer as a gift, since it will be treated as a gift. They will start to pay you back, start falling behind on the payments, then an "emergency" will come up making payback virtually impossible. You'll be left begging to get your own money back, and when you eventually exchange harsh words, the borrower will simply end the friendship, feeling justified since you have their gold already and you obviously selfish and unkind for not being more understanding of their financial troubles. Had this happen to me once, and seen it happen to others a lot over the years. Take the high road easy, and don't lend it unless you're willing to never experience full repayment.

As far as legal contracts go, they must exist but I don't have any experience in that area. Unless the loan is relatively large, though, it might not be worth it. I don't think Thailand has anything like a small claims court. Most locals seem to let the police deal with smaller disputes, and that has its own set of difficulties and frustrations.

Edited December 5, 2015 by pickripper

[onetime]

I haven't been able to locate it, but I'm sure there is a legal term in Thai law that means, 'bend over, you're about to get f't and you knowingly have zero recourse'.

[kannot]

Don't lend any money that wouldn't offer as a gift, since it will be treated as a gift. They will start to pay you back, start falling behind on the payments, then an "emergency" will come up making payback virtually impossible. You'll be left begging to get your own money back, and when you eventually exchange harsh words, the borrower will simply end the friendship, feeling justified since you have their gold already and you obviously selfish and unkind for not being more understanding of their financial troubles. Had this happen to me once, and seen it happen to others a lot over the years. Take the high road easy, and don't lend it unless you're willing to never experience full repayment.

As far as legal contracts go, they must exist but I don't have any experience in that area. Unless the loan is relatively large, though, it might not be worth it. I don't think Thailand has anything like a small claims court. Most locals seem to let the police deal with smaller disputes, and that has its own set of difficulties and frustrations.

u really know how to spoil a thread dont you

[kannot]

If He dont pay, friendship is broken.

forget the money..........a broken friendship ,now thats real hardcore

[BudRight]

I wonder why this friend can't get a bank loan. Maybe they know something you don't.

Edited December 5, 2015 by BudRight

[NickJ]

23 years here.......NO.

Been there done that. Then did it again.....and again. No...........unless he looses money on not paying you back then again....no. Collateral is King,

[NickJ]

Also.....even if its on paper....if its more than a. certain amount. If the contract does not have tax stamps its void.

[OneZero]

A contract in a civil case means nothing to Thai's either because since a loan is not a criminal case there is no jail time if found guilty. Also, they won't show up in court repeatedly, and eventually when the court rules in your favor there is no penalty and you can't force them to pay (they just say they have no way to pay).

[Gutenberg]

5% of the amount you should borrow him?

Get out as fast as possible.

Edited December 5, 2015 by Gutenberg

[mogandave]

How good a friend?

I would not loan it to anyone I wouldn't give it to. Don't take the gold and don't bother with the contract. He will either pay you or he won't.

If he pays you, he'll be back for more.

If he doesn't, you own him, and never have to give him anything else.

Either way, there is a good chance you ruin your friendship.

I ran a loan racket for ten years, and I never charged my friends interest, but my friends never borrowed money.

[GuestHouse]

Thailand is the only place I have lived where any local has asked me for a loan beyond the price of lunch.

I blame dumb foreigners for being all too eager to promote the idea that anyone in possession of western looks and under the influence of a wallet full of money may be used as an ATM.

[Gutenberg]

I would only borrow money to people who got a Chanote of a nice land and register the loan against the deed.

Then collect the interests every month and after e.g. 3 years, either collect the full amount + missed interests or collect the land.

This is how many Thais get really rich.

Edited December 5, 2015 by Gutenberg

[shirtless]

Just dont do it, Thais are very poor managers of money you are probably only making a payment on old loans.

[AlexRRR]

Your most likely going to loose the friendship one way or the other, if he can't get a bank loan or loan form some finance company you would be lucky to ever see any of your money again, doesn't matter who or where there from money changes people so me I would politely point him in the direction of a bank and if he never talks to you again he wasn't much of a friend in the first place.

[somo]

Thais lend money to each other but they want collateral and interest even from their friends.

If you don't charge interest they will think you stupid. They will just ask for more and more as it is free money. Without collateral they have no reason to repay the loan. They may well lie about what they need the money for but 9 times out of 10 it is to repay a loan that is being called in.

You can find forms in the basement office shop at Central Lad Phrao.

[blackcab]

I strongly suggest you get a Chanote as security. Before that happens, you need to establish how this guy will be able to pay you back. Where will the money come from?

[momtaz]

See at his job, his assets etc, if the amount is reachable to be covered is ok,

if not, do not involve yourself...

some people concern just to solve their current problem.. friendship is just a mean to some of them,

I used to borrow someone that I knew him for almost a decade, he used to bowwo 20k-50k and returns it,

once borrowed 200k, since 2012 we stuck there,, I just burned my fingers and will never do that again,

my advise, do not give ur money with ur hands and later on will run on ur legs trying to get it back,

[CanInBKK]

Lots of good advice asking for collateral. I'd recommend that route as well. However if he's so hard up he doesn't have collateral and you're still willing to lend, get the contract and also get a cheque written for the amount owned dated for the date he's due to repay. (Don't take the "no current account" excuse, it's simple to open a cheque account.

The reason being that cheque fraud in Thailand is a much more serious offense than simply breaking a contract for a loan.

[HenryB]

Never lend money unless you want to lose it.

[HenryB]

Duplicate post sorry

Edited December 6, 2015 by HenryB

[Nomyai]

If He dont pay, friendship is broken.

people who ask for loans really arent friends. Friends dont ask friends for loans.

Mom, pops, banks, loan sharks, crowdfunding,,,,,,,,,,,,,,these are in the business of loaning to people who kant pay back............................hahahaha.

Edited December 6, 2015 by Nomyai

[buji]

NEVER LOAN MONEY TO A THAI. Best advice. If do, go through a certified Bangkok attorney.

[NickJ]

True about bad checks. They will get arrestesd. Its a criminal matter here to write a bad one.......Also hard to get a checking acct for a non thai , unless its in the name of a business. Still hoops to jump thru.

[mogandave]

It has not been my experience that Thais are generally less likely to pay back personal loans from friends than westerners are.

I would be willing to bet that most of the people moaning about how shiftless Thais are have very limited exposure to working class Thais. I also doubt very much that they've loaned anyone (beyond their "girlfriends") anything.

[Thongkorn]

Dont lend money, quickest way to lose friends,

[farang000999]

5% collatoral? What a deal for the lender!!!

[Na Fan]

I've got several locals that I have borrowed money from, and they have borrowed some from me. If I'm on a dry period they help me out, and vice versa. It works and never had a problem with that.

On the other hand, at the same time I've had lots of occasions where something was paid for "in advance because they needed the money" and the goods were then never delivered.

Depends on what kind of people you're dealing with.