Bank Of Bangkok

[tuky]

Ladies/Gents,

My wife insists that we cannot get a loan/mortgage from a Thai bank with my income alone. Is she right?

A little background first...

We were married legally in Thailand.

We have a young Daughter.

I work overseas on a 6 on and 2 off rotation.

In my country of birth my income would allow me to get a loan for say 15,000,000 THB.

My wife is not working.

We have a joint account.

I stay in Thailand on a 30 day tourist visa, but am only there for 2 weeks out of every 8.

The reason I ask this is because we are building a house that was suposed to be finished by Xmas this year, which would have given me enough to to have saved the whole amount of money for the house, new furniture and various iother bits and pieces. But my wife told the contractor that there would a gift in it if he did a very good job. He then met me and has since had up to 20 people working onsite and they are nearly finished, unfortunately before I have saved the full amount of money.

We will have about 3/4 of the whole cost in the bank, and I would presume we can use that as a guarantee for the loan.

My wife went to the bank recently to open another account and when the teller saw our balance the wife, my baby and the mother in law were escorted into the managers office and opened the acount with him, I am sure they want our business and see us as good customers.

Any ideas on this guys? Will they give us a loan to cover the remaining cost of the house?

Cheers

[Dah fahrang]

Easy peasy.

Thai banks are not interested in the house - they will lend against a legally registered ORIGINAL chanote for the land. This is common practice, where people lodge their chanote with the bank for, say, the purchase of a car, or indeed to build a house.

Forget about income assessment. They will value the land, may take into account the value of the house too, then make a loan based on that.

You'll need to set term ie how long you want loan for etc.

If you don't repay, they keep the chanote and flog off the land!

Needless to say, the chanote should be in your wife's name, and the loan will be in her name against the chanote.

[tuky]

Thanks Dah Farang,

Does that apply for a house in a moo baan?

[Dah fahrang]

Absolutely.

That's where I know of the practice from.

It's widely done in rural communities; my wif'es family do it all the time, buying flashy new pick-ups they can't really afford. They even use each others chanote to get themselves into hock upto the b***o*ks.

A definite YES to moo baan, as long as there is a chanote, and its registered with the land office in your amphur.

Good luck with it all!

[Dutchy]

It's not your salary alone, I wouldn't give a loan to a tourist. Even based on the value of your house. No offense but you're nothing but a tourist on a tourist visa. And you serioulsy expect a bank to loan you millions? You must be kidding. I got a loan from www.aia.ac.th but I'm not a tourist, so it's possible but banks require some logical basics....

Dutchy

[bkk_mike]

It can also depend on how much you want to borrow.

Tried to get a mortgage from Bangkok Bank a few years ago to buy a house with land, but they were only willing to lend 2-3m baht to us.

The impression I got was that this was a 'normal' amount for a mortgage, and wouldn't attract attention in the back office as it was the right sort of size of mortgage for my wife based on the long-standing balance in her account.

As soon as you start to borrow an amount that's larger than the normal Thai mortgage, things get checked a lot more carefully, and Farangs are not allowed to buy land. (i.e. My income was irrelevant, and it came down to how much they were willing to lend to my wife).

(So if your wife has a Chanot - and she's borrowing against it - and that's enough for you, you should be fine... - showing your income may help the bank in it's decision about the likelihood of it being paid back, but won't get used in any calculation for how much you can borrow.)

[tuky]

Thanks Dah Farang,

We probably won't need to get the bank to help us and if we did it would only be until my next monthly pay check came in, but I just wanted to know where we stand. The wife worries so much so it is good to have some ammo.

The Bank did appear quite eager to help us too, it was quite interesting to see the change in reaction when we got talking, from indifference to VIP.

I presume the chanote is only issued when the house is paid for, just out of interest will they loan money to get the chanote issued?

I posted this in the visa section because I think it would greatly depend on my visa, but after all it is not me who will be borrowing money if need be.

I think I may as well get myself a non imm o visa anyway.

Cheers mate. I appreciate your reply.

[tuky]

It can also depend on how much you want to borrow.

Tried to get a mortgage from Bangkok Bank a few years ago to buy a house with land, but they were only willing to lend 2-3m baht to us.

The impression I got was that this was a 'normal' amount for a mortgage, and wouldn't attract attention in the back office as it was the right sort of size of mortgage for my wife based on the long-standing balance in her account.

As soon as you start to borrow an amount that's larger than the normal Thai mortgage, things get checked a lot more carefully, and Farangs are not allowed to buy land. (i.e. My income was irrelevant, and it came down to how much they were willing to lend to my wife).

(So if your wife has a Chanot - and she's borrowing against it - and that's enough for you, you should be fine... - showing your income may help the bank in it's decision about the likelihood of it being paid back, but won't get used in any calculation for how much you can borrow.)

Thanks bkk_mike,

we would only be looking at half a mill or something if needed, as it would be our first family home neither of us have a chanote presently, my wifes younger sister offered to lend us hers to borrow the money on her house, which is also in an estate.

We have been putting 100k a month into an account in the wifes name for some time now as she think she can say it is her income and get a loan based on that, she seems to forget that if she was working she would need to pay tax on that income and to use it for a loan she would need to prove she paid tax I would presume. It will all work out I am sure, and I am sure we will have the loot to pay for the house when complete, the furniture may have to wait, or we have talked about borrowing to buy furniture.

It is just so hard to get reliable information, this is why i asked the question on thaivisa, perhaps I can learn from experience.

[hotshot]

Any ideas on this guys? Will they give us a loan to cover the remaining cost of the house?

Cheers

If the Chanote is in your wife's name....and the house,too....well.....what happens if you and your wife get a divorce?

You'll get absolutely ripped off.....not a single Baht for you!

This has happened to many farangs here in Thailand

So my advice to you..... forget the loan....there must be another possibility, maybe a down payment?

And the land you can lease in your own name for 30 years.After 30 years you can extend the lease with another 30 years.

Good luck to you!

[12call]

So now you may not need the loan.Make your mind up will ya !!!

[Thailand]

I used the 30 +30+30 leaseback and have my name and my wife's (we are both farang) on the chanote as lessees.

Might be an idea for farang marrying thai's to "buy" your land in this way and if it all goes pear shaped you have a legal document!

(Not sure if your wife to be would think much of the lack of trust, but just ask the guys who have been skinned!)

Not sure if banks will lend against a chanote under our circumstances, might just ask though! Could do with a shiny new pick-up

[12call]

Well put Thailand.This is the best way to obtain legal rights outside of opening a company.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

It seems to afford a measure of security for some people.

[12call]

Doc,what would your suggestion be?

[tuky]

Heaven forbid, if my wife and I were to separate/divorce the house would be hers anyway. I can accumulate what I would lose again in a year or so, she would not be able to. I would not be able to leave her without much, this is my own convictions. We are now a family and I would never leave her to look after our daughter unaided, beside we are now planning our next child which is all the more reason to leave her financially sound, if I had to leave her.

I am 100% comfortable knowing she will not leave me, and I have no desire whatsoever to leave her.

I have left a woman before with the house and funriture and drove away only in my car. I felt good knowing I had done all the right things. That is what is important to me, not being "ripped off".

Whether we will need the loan or not, the comments have been worth the time it took to post this question, it is a question that has been sitting in the back of my mind for some time.

Cheers all.

[mai_ra_bu_cheu]

Why is this under Visas/work permits?

[tuky]

Why is this under Visas/work permits?

I put it here because I believed it may be effected by a visa or work permit issue.

So far it hasn't proven to be true.

[scratt]

Hello!

I have two questions related to this thread..

1) My fiance and I (neither are Thai) own a condo in Bangkok. We are currently setting up a company and are currently on Non-Immigrant Visas. I wll have a work permit shortly.

I want to buy a car on finance. I have been told that with my offshore income (paid into our bank account) and the length of my banking history finance on a car should not be a problem.

I want a car as soon as possible and it may be a month or so before the paperwork is complete.

Would we be able to use the condo as security for a car loan now without a work permit?

2) Because we own our condo and some land (via our company) up North we do not need 50,000 Baht a month to live on. If we have to pay ourselves this money we are effectivly overpaying ourselves and paying tax on income we do not need!!! What I would like to do is reduce our wages. But I am not sure if that is possible.

I had an idea of re-investing some of our salary into our company. If I did this in the UK, for example, we would get tax relief. This is acceptable to me and a good use of our excess salary.

It also means we are not paying tax on meony we do not need!!!

We are also still investing the money in Thailand.. Does anyone know if this is acceptable?

Thanks,

scratt

[bina]

Can someone explain a bit about the chanote/mortgage thing? My friend just put his land on mortgage in order to get money to do the US visa deal w/one of those ripoff artist manpower companies... what are the payback conditions for this? how often do people in Issan lose their land if they do? what is the interest rate payback? i'd rather lend him my money (he's always paid me back even for dinky amounts) that he could pay off slowly rather then him lose the land (he wants to build a modest house which is why the work in US or israel)...and in addition: you can live from the land but cant eat the house...he's having nightmares about this now and he is a responsible man but he implied that he might not meet the payments if no job comes thru in US.

bina

[lopburi3]

how often do people in Issan lose their land if they do?

Often? Don't know details but there is a 'pawnshop' type process using the Land Registration Office which is probably what has been done. There are probably limits on interest (which may or may not be those agreed to) but in any case would likely be high.

What is an even larger red flag to me is using a manpower agency for US employment. These are usually semi or skilled workers and this type of worker is unlikely to find employment in the US (such jobs can be filled from Mexico or South American countries). There seem a high probability this this is a rip off.

[astral]

Heaven forbid, if my wife and I were to separate/divorce the house would be hers anyway. I can accumulate what I would lose again in a year or so, she would not be able to. I would not be able to leave her without much, this is my own convictions. We are now a family and I would never leave her to look after our daughter unaided, beside we are now planning our next child which is all the more reason to leave her financially sound, if I had to leave her.

I am 100% comfortable knowing she will not leave me, and I have no desire whatsoever to leave her.

I have left a woman before with the house and funriture and drove away only in my car. I felt good knowing I had done all the right things. That is what is important to me, not being "ripped off".

Whether we will need the loan or not, the comments have been worth the time it took to post this question, it is a question that has been sitting in the back of my mind for some time.

Cheers all.

Leaving divorce/separation aside, what if your wife dies?

Who will own the house then? Not you - foreigner, not your daughter - too young.

Set up a company and own the house through the company, then you have absolute control. You can make a will to leave the house to your wife and/or daughter when you die.

Do you have any assests in your home country?

I borrowed money at home, against a property there, to cover the house in Thailand.

Much easier that way, and from what you say you can pay off the loan in just a few years.

PM me if you want.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Heaven forbid, if my wife and I were to separate/divorce the house would be hers anyway. I can accumulate what I would lose again in a year or so, she would not be able to. I would not be able to leave her without much, this is my own convictions. We are now a family and I would never leave her to look after our daughter unaided, beside we are now planning our next child which is all the more reason to leave her financially sound, if I had to leave her.

I am 100% comfortable knowing she will not leave me, and I have no desire whatsoever to leave her.

I have left a woman before with the house and funriture and drove away only in my car. I felt good knowing I had done all the right things. That is what is important to me, not being "ripped off".

Whether we will need the loan or not, the comments have been worth the time it took to post this question, it is a question that has been sitting in the back of my mind for some time.

Cheers all.

Leaving divorce/separation aside, what if your wife dies?

Who will own the house then? Not you - foreigner, not your daughter - too young.

Set up a company and own the house through the company, then you have absolute control. You can make a will to leave the house to your wife and/or daughter when you die.

Do you have any assests in your home country?

I borrowed money at home, against a property there, to cover the house in Thailand.

Much easier that way, and from what you say you can pay off the loan in just a few years.

PM me if you want.

That is a great way to do it. Good for you.