The Stupid Credit Laws for Foreigners Here

[brucegoniners]

One of the many idiotic parts of Thai society and doing business here are the limitations on foreigners borrowing money.

 

My wife and I are shopping for a car.

 

I certainly make enough to qualify. I have my own business that isn't here.

 

But since I don't have a stupid work permit they won't give me a loan.

 

So someone without a pot to pee in, but with a "job" can get a loan and they could be gone tomorrow.

 

Where is the logic in that?

[theguyfromanotherforum]

Certainly if you were living here and paying taxes, you would be able to get a loan just like in any other country.

 

Your creditors don't have access to your business that is not in Thailand if you decide to default.

 

This is basic 101 economy which as a poor immigrant to Canada I learned on the 2nd day.

 

Your rant is completely unjustified.

[beachproperty]

I didn't have a problem .....I don't have a work permit and am retired ...The car is in my name and the loan is in my name.

 

I got a loan from Kiatnakin Bank ....Just told the Auto dealer if you want to sell me a car/truck... get me a loan. And they did!

Edited January 11, 2017 by beachproperty

[muffy]

I have a retirement visa for many moons , the banks tell me I need a work permit to do some things , a retirement visa is better than any work permit .

[rott]

OP if you expect logic you are in the wrong country. And think about it, if you COULD see the logic it would not make any difference - you still would not have the loan. I hope the comments from the other posters are of some value.

[Crossy]

If the roles were reversed and you were a Thai in your home country with no provable income and no local job.

 

Would you be able to get a car loan?

 

 

[Jeffrey346]

11 hours ago, beachproperty said:

I didn't have a problem .....I don't have a work permit and am retired ...The car is in my name and the loan is in my name.

 

I got a loan from Kiatnakin Bank ....Just told the Auto dealer if you want to sell me a car/truck... get me a loan. And they did!

That's awesome. Can you share witch dealer and what bank branch did the load..  PM if you wish...

[chiang mai]

11 hours ago, beachproperty said:

I didn't have a problem .....I don't have a work permit and am retired ...The car is in my name and the loan is in my name.

 

I got a loan from Kiatnakin Bank ....Just told the Auto dealer if you want to sell me a car/truck... get me a loan. And they did!

 

I'm guessing you either had a Thai co-signer or you put up collateral to secure the loan, which was it - either those things or you pay near loan shark interest rates?

Edited January 12, 2017 by chiang mai

[Crash999]

The bank needs some sort of assurance that you have an ability to pay the loan back beyond verbal promises. 

 

Thats not stupid, that's the same policy that exists all over the world. 

 

And the Thais were burned before. After the crisis in 1997 many foreigners just picked up and left the country leaving their underwater loans behind them. That's why it's so difficult now as a foreigner to get a loan for property. 

[Pib]

Farangs can just leave Thailand at anytime (tomorrow if desired) and go back to their home country leaving all their Thailand bills behind with little worry Thailand can reach-out to get the money.   Additionally, work/income from outside Thailand can be more easily "made-up" than in Thailand where the work/income info can be easier verified.   And apparently finance companies/banks feel the likelihood of the farang skipping country is significantly less if legally working in Thailand (i.e., has a work permit), paying taxes, etc.  

[steveyinasia]

12 hours ago, beachproperty said:

I didn't have a problem .....I don't have a work permit and am retired ...The car is in my name and the loan is in my name.

 

I got a loan from Kiatnakin Bank ....Just told the Auto dealer if you want to sell me a car/truck... get me a loan. And they did!

 

 

 We also had no problem getting a car loan, my partner(no not married and together 10 years) had an average paying job and my income cannot be counted as we are not married, she arranged everything through the Toyota dealer.

Edited January 12, 2017 by steveyinasia
grammer correction

[TSF]

As you're so well off why don't you walk into the dealers and pay cash for your car. That's what I did 2.5 years ago when I bought my brand new Mitsubishi Triton. I didn't have a WP either as I'm retired, all I needed was the residency certificate from immigration.

[theoldgit]

I do agree that a bank needs to protect their interests, and as has been pointed out this would be the same in most parts of the world. But what I don't understand, and it's a point the OP has made, if somebody in a fairly poorly paid job had a work permit they would be eligible to apply for credit, that doesn't mean they would be granted it of course, but what's to stop them upping sticks and leaving the country any more than a retiree with a multi million Baht house and a regular, provable, income spanning a number of years?

 

I also don't understand the inconsistent approach, I'm a retiree and have never been anything else here, when I applied for a car loan from a dealer, albeit nine years ago, it was granted fairly quickly via Tisco, there was no suggestion that I needed a Thai guarantor or a meaningless letter from my embassy. Likewise, as a retiree, I was issued with an Amex Credit Card on the back of an invitation from ROP, no holding deposit and no back up signatures from anybody. I suppose this is the old adage of TIT.

[beachproperty]

1 hour ago, Jeffrey346 said:

That's awesome. Can you share witch dealer and what bank branch did the load..  PM if you wish...

Mitsubishi dealer in Bangna ....bank was mentioned in post.

[chiang mai]

15 minutes ago, steveyinasia said:

 We also had no problem getting a car loan, my partner(no not married and together 10 years) had an average paying job and my income cannot be counted as we are not married, she arranged everything through the Toyota dealer.

 

Presumably your partner is a co-signer on the loan or a guarantor, the loan would not be 100% in your name alone.

[beachproperty]

1 hour ago, chiang mai said:

 

I'm guessing you either had a Thai co-signer or you put up collateral to secure the loan, which was it - either those things or you pay near loan shark interest rates?

 

 

No co-signer nor collateral .......Interest rate is 6%

 

PS ....excuse me....the car was the collateral

Edited January 12, 2017 by beachproperty

[chiang mai]

1 minute ago, beachproperty said:

 

 

No co-signer nor collateral .......Interest rate is 6%

 

That would be hugely unusual, what percentage of the vehicle's value was financed, a low percentage perhaps?

[beachproperty]

1 minute ago, chiang mai said:

 

That would be hugely unusual, what percentage of the vehicle's value was financed, a low percentage perhaps?

 

70% financing ....

[chiang mai]

Just now, beachproperty said:

 

70% financing ....

So be clear, 70% financing on a new vehicle, the loan and the vehicle in your name, no collateral provided, you don't have a work permit and no cosigner required, correct?

[beachproperty]

1 minute ago, chiang mai said:

So be clear, 70% financing on a new vehicle, the loan and the vehicle in your name, no collateral provided, you don't have a work permit and no cosigner required, correct?

 

Correct.....but the vehicle it self is the collateral ....the bank has the ownership book ...I only have a copy

[chiang mai]

Just now, beachproperty said:

 

Correct.....but the vehicle it self is the collateral ....the bank has the ownership book ...I only have a copy

 

Understood. I guess the answer is either that some banks probably have sweet heart deals with some dealers, the dealer may underwrite the loan or smaller banks are buying business and taking bigger risks.

[AgMech Cowboy]

Well, actually the op does have a good point. I am the sole provider for my family. I work outside Thailand, but my wife can get a 6 million baht loan for the house and all I had to do was sign as the guarantor.  Same with the 1.8 million baht car loan for which we only put down 200k baht. But I can't even have a master card or visa but she can have 6/7 cards for close to 1million baht total credit, but she has no job or income...  If I'm not there to pay how are they going to be paid.  He's completely correct. They have stupid rules. (not to mention, I have established a very good credit record with AMEX Thailand, but I can't have a bank card).

[dotpoom]

I went to buy a car a few months ago for my wife....I had no problem getting it on HP if I desired (she was going to make the repayments).  After weighing up the interest due I decided to pay cash. 

   I am certainly not a man of "means" and am retired here 16 years.

   No disrespect intended, but if you have a business somewhere (as you make a point of stating that) could you not afford. to buy a car in Thailand for cash...not really all that expensive?

[themerg]

I was told, you are farang. here is Bank policy. If I want to borrow 100,00 Baht, I must secure 100,000 Baht with Bank for the duration of the loan.

Depending on the amount borrowed, this can add up to a lot of Baht.

This is a very high price secured loan.

If I have 100,000 Baht to secure loan, why would I want to borrow it ?

Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore.

We are in Thailand.

[1FinickyOne]

15 hours ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

Certainly if you were living here and paying taxes, you would be able to get a loan just like in any other country.

 

Your creditors don't have access to your business that is not in Thailand if you decide to default.

 

This is basic 101 economy which as a poor immigrant to Canada I learned on the 2nd day.

 

Your rant is completely unjustified.

 

 Way to go "Charlie from another planet"... you nailed it... Banks are independent businesses. I was once denied a loan in my own country that I thought I should have been given, but their money and I was going to them... and I did quite easily get a car loan here, which was encouraged by the car co. because they made more on the loan than the car.. or os they said. 

 

 

[1FinickyOne]

18 minutes ago, themerg said:

I was told, you are farang. here is Bank policy. If I want to borrow 100,00 Baht, I must secure 100,000 Baht with Bank for the duration of the loan.

Depending on the amount borrowed, this can add up to a lot of Baht.

This is a very high price secured loan.

If I have 100,000 Baht to secure loan, why would I want to borrow it ?

Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore.

We are in Thailand.

 

I have been told the same in USA, my home country. And yes, seemed silly but I think that was the idea... goood way to get rid of me w/o being unfriendly.

[Mansell]

Just bought an 850,000 baht car last month from Toyota. My wife and I are both retired and she has no income besides me. She does own a house, but they weren't very interested in that. Originally they wanted 25% down, but because of our ages the finance company suddenly decided they wanted 40% down, which we did, of course this made our payments lower over the four years. Everybody seems to be happy.

[Suradit69]

17 hours ago, brucegoniners said:

One of the many idiotic parts of Thai society

 

What in heaven's name does a bank wanting to have accessible collateral on a loan have to do with Thai society,

 

If I shifted to some European country or Australia, for example, and wanted a car loan based on some assets I claimed to have in the US, I don't think banks would be falling all over themselves to hand me some money.

 

In fact if I returned to the US after a long absence and without much in the way of credit history, I'd probably face some resistance.

 

 

Edited January 12, 2017 by Suradit69

[Thainess]

You say you "make enough to qualify" for a car loan, but you can't afford to buy a car without a loan. Therefore, you're living beyond your means and I doubt you earn much, just like 95% of the "falangs" in BKK. Don't you have savings that you can dip into to buy a car? If you don't even have enough savings to buy a car easily, you're living in a very precarious life situation indeed. Grow up and start saving money every month.

[Suradit69]

4 hours ago, rott said:

OP if you expect logic you are in the wrong country.

 

What nonsense. Simply because you can't understand something doesn't make it illogical.

 

If you think he's such an overwhelming candidate for a loan, why not offer to lend him the money yourself. Oops, suddenly the thought of doing that raises some red flags, yes??