Marriage to Thai Woman who is Loan Guarantor for Colleagues.

[khundon]

Why would she be guarantor for multiple friends at work in the first place?

Something fishy about this. Maybe they paid her to sign, typical Thai thing.

The 'Guarantor culture' is central to the borrowing ability of thousands if not millions of Thais. There is nothing 'fishy' about it at all, but it does carry pretty scary risks if things go wrong. It is all about the banks wanting to be covered. It works like this - 3 teachers (for example), form a threesome of Guarantors - so each one looking for a loan has 2 Guarantors - they see it as 'helping each other'. MOST of the time, it works well, and loans eventually get paid off, but often a couple of decades after they were taken out - a long time to be under the threat of a borrower defaulting and the lender going after the Guarantors. The reason it works most of the time, is the banks only entertain these kinds of loans where civil-servants of other professionals from 'good families' are involved, and above all, the monthly payments are taken out of their salaries BEFORE they get what's left. I've seen salary-slips for teachers earning 40,000 baht a month who only have 5,000 baht left after all loans and other compulsory payments (such as the teacher's death benefit fund) are taken out.

Your question : 'Why should she be guarantor for multiple friends at work in the first place ?' is one i've asked myself !

"MOST of the time, it works well"

Until one of the guarantors "from a good family" loses their job!

Sound like a multiple bankruptcy waiting to happen.

[louse1953]

Why would she be guarantor for multiple friends at work in the first place?

Something fishy about this. Maybe they paid her to sign, typical Thai thing.

The 'Guarantor culture' is central to the borrowing ability of thousands if not millions of Thais. There is nothing 'fishy' about it at all, but it does carry pretty scary risks if things go wrong. It is all about the banks wanting to be covered. It works like this - 3 teachers (for example), form a threesome of Guarantors - so each one looking for a loan has 2 Guarantors - they see it as 'helping each other'. MOST of the time, it works well, and loans eventually get paid off, but often a couple of decades after they were taken out - a long time to be under the threat of a borrower defaulting and the lender going after the Guarantors. The reason it works most of the time, is the banks only entertain these kinds of loans where civil-servants of other professionals from 'good families' are involved, and above all, the monthly payments are taken out of their salaries BEFORE they get what's left. I've seen salary-slips for teachers earning 40,000 baht a month who only have 5,000 baht left after all loans and other compulsory payments (such as the teacher's death benefit fund) are taken out.

Your question : 'Why should she be guarantor for multiple friends at work in the first place ?' is one i've asked myself !

I seem to remember a fund that govt.workers can borrow from at a very low interest rate.

[JHolmesJr]

Any woman dumb enough to stand guarantor for the debts of a 'friend' or even a relative shows poor judgement, and is going to be a liability sooner or later.

Next!

[khundon]

Why would she be guarantor for multiple friends at work in the first place?

Something fishy about this. Maybe they paid her to sign, typical Thai thing.

The 'Guarantor culture' is central to the borrowing ability of thousands if not millions of Thais. There is nothing 'fishy' about it at all, but it does carry pretty scary risks if things go wrong. It is all about the banks wanting to be covered. It works like this - 3 teachers (for example), form a threesome of Guarantors - so each one looking for a loan has 2 Guarantors - they see it as 'helping each other'. MOST of the time, it works well, and loans eventually get paid off, but often a couple of decades after they were taken out - a long time to be under the threat of a borrower defaulting and the lender going after the Guarantors. The reason it works most of the time, is the banks only entertain these kinds of loans where civil-servants of other professionals from 'good families' are involved, and above all, the monthly payments are taken out of their salaries BEFORE they get what's left. I've seen salary-slips for teachers earning 40,000 baht a month who only have 5,000 baht left after all loans and other compulsory payments (such as the teacher's death benefit fund) are taken out.

Your question : 'Why should she be guarantor for multiple friends at work in the first place ?' is one i've asked myself !

I seem to remember a fund that govt.workers can borrow from at a very low interest rate.

Typical, someone gets into debt and spends eternity paying it back.

Seems to me, that many Thais are happy living for decades with a debt hanging over their heads.

I suppose that if they keep the poor sweet, they will vote for you come the elections!

[Kwasaki]

Look at it from another perspective. The perfect excuse as to why you cannot get married.

Tell her once her friends have paid the debt and there are no longer any possibilities

of future liabilities from her signing as a guarantor, then you would be happy to get married.

And he'll know that she is telling the truth too.. yeah right!

Another one to add to the long list of why a foreigner should never get married to a Thai women...period!!

You just don't know what is lurking in the closet.

Obviously a post from someone whose never married and divorced in the west.

Edited March 25, 2016 by Kwasaki

[scorecard]

I can't see how they could come after the husband who has signed nothing with the bank and wouldn't have any legal obligation to the bank.

Personally I wouldn't have touched this situation with a twenty foot pole with bells on it...

Re your second sentence, see my reply to 50baht. Yes, your first sentence makes perfect logical sense. But logic and the Law do not always coincide.

And never assume what the law actually says, in any country.