Guest Posted August 21, 2001 Report Share Posted August 21, 2001 “but what's this about different levels of marriage registration? I did the village thing, party on, you know. Then went to the Amphur office at a later date. What we got there was two identical certificates, in Thai” CQ20 I do not want to scare you off but in my case: I went to the Amphur and got 2 different marriage certificates: a) Two identical ones, (blue colored) saying that you and your wife are married, with the registry details such as date and Amphur location. Another certificate indicating that you are married including the fact that all the assets will be on a common basis. In other words, if things going sour, you are legally entitled on 50% under the Thai law. Details include country of origins, details of both my wife and other details. This was witnessed and counter signed by both parties’ best friends. You told me that you did translate marriage certificate, thus from the above, you could find out which one you are actually having. Again, my embassy (I’m Dutch) did tell me that certificate “A” will not be recognized back in my home country. This was 10 years back, thus things may have been changed, nor this would mean that this reflect your case. “ Next question is how much should the farang be in evidence when looking/negotiating. Several have told me to keep as far out of the picture as possible and send the wife with one of my Thai friends to get a better deal, any thoughts?” My experience: I never show-up my white face in anything involving substantial amount of money. Let the wife dealing with it. Step in later to ensure that the deal is good, as she will tell you (overexcited). Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 21, 2001 Report Share Posted August 21, 2001 SINSIN I did not want to p..s you off. I do apologize if I have made this impression. To be more specific: You will be able to produce a legal document, which can be seen like a “will”. It declares that my son will be the beneficiary of this land should be there anything happened. This document including copies of birth certificates, registration of birth in the town of living, marriage certificates are deposited at the Amphur where the land transfer was made. Yes as he is not 18, and should be there anything happened. Then my wife could in theory sell off the land (money still talks in Thailand), this can be also the case that she could plunder my sons savings account, as long he still a minor. The situation changed if something should happened to both of us (e.g dead). There will be NO direct family in the picture who could claim the land / house and so on. [ August 21, 2001: Message edited by: Dundee ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 21, 2001 Report Share Posted August 21, 2001 The third point William Ginzer makes about the 30 year lease is a good one. You can also have written in the contract that should the law change allowing farangs ro buy land then it will be sold. You can also have a renewal clause for another 30 years written in. With regard to property in wife's name I beleive the law is. If she bought it before marriage it's hers. If she bought it after marriage it's communal property with a 50-50 split on divorce. Either way it doesn't matter who provided the money although a farang must sign a paper saying it isn't his money. Anyone know someone who got divorced and got his 50% share? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 21, 2001 Report Share Posted August 21, 2001 poseidon wrote: There is an Australian living in Nong Khai who I'm told is an expert in real estate and legal matters and frequently acts as a go-between farang and Thai authorities. You may want to consult him, his website is www.mekongriviera.com --------- A professional real estate lawyer might be a better choice than a Nong Khai based bar owner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 21, 2001 Report Share Posted August 21, 2001 If the source of the funds was her separate property, the land itself will be her separate property. Aliens are required to swear that the funds are the Thai spouse's separate property (or own funds, if you prefer) so that it is clear that the alien has no interest in the land. If the Alien has an interest in the land, there is a violation of the Land Act. Put another way, when you swear that your spouse was the sole source of the funds, you are disavowing any "community property" interest in the funds used to acquire the property. I do not know anything about the Australian in Nong Khai mentioned above, and he may (or may not) be fine, but if it was my money, I would follow William Ginzer's advice and start with an established and reputable law firm (or at least such a firm's recommendation, if they were not willing to take on the work.) Just as a reminder of the obvious, this is cyberspace. If it wasn't an established firm, I would only consider it if someone I knew (not from the internet, but from the real world) and trusted based on prior history, had acutally used this guy's services and vouched for him. There are alot of scamsters out there, and plenty of them are farangs. I am not suggesting this guy is a scamster (I have no idea one way or the other), and I am just making the obvious point that when money is involved, you have to rely on more than cyber sources to make sound decisions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jai-dee Posted August 22, 2001 Report Share Posted August 22, 2001 cq20 There is an Australian living in Nong Khai who I'm told is an expert in real estate and legal matters and frequently acts as a go-between farang and Thai authorities. You may want to consult him, his website is www.mekongriviera.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jai-dee Posted August 22, 2001 Report Share Posted August 22, 2001 cq20 There is an Australian living in Nong Khai who I'm told is an expert in real estate and legal matters and frequently acts as a go-between farang and Thai authorities. You may want to consult him, his website is www.mekongriviera.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lusty Posted September 8, 2001 Report Share Posted September 8, 2001 So if your not married but have a Thai partner,I take it that even if you are putting up the money there in no sure way of protecting your investment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 8, 2001 Report Share Posted September 8, 2001 quote: Originally posted by cq20: On the setting up a company to buy land. My feeling is that this is really only worth it if you are going to operate a business anyway as once set up I think you have to supply regular accounts and show that the business is actually doing something.M. My two cents: Under current I would never buy land. And I would never buy land in my wife's name either. You can own a house on "her" land but marriages can go sour and often do. In general, prices asked for land are a bit silly compared to the costs associated with a 30-year lease. And it's like that all over SE Asia. It has to do with land prices in Honk Kong and S'pore and places like that and people will ask 12 M Baht for a hectare of swamp area, not because they are bad people but because people from Honk Kong actually seemed willing to pay that sort of money not so long ago. You can lease a hectare (6 Rai, 10,000 sqm) of undeveloped land for around 3-4,000 Baht a year in rural areas. In developed areas outside BKK, e.g. Chiang Mai, that 3-4000 will not get you a hectare but by all means a decent lot to build a house. It's not straighforward and you will want to check a couple of lawyers on the subject. Erecting a company might be beneficial for other reasons than being able to buy land. Residence permit. Things like that. What ever: You don't *want* to buy land. Certainly not in this market. There's only *very* few spots left in Thailand where RE is actually a good investment. Land is looked upon totally different in SE Asia. It's not simply looked upon as a simple commodity with a certain market value determined by supply and demand. So a 30-y lease always works out much cheaper than actually buying. And the lease contract can be in your wife's name by all means. You don't want to cough up all the dough for the house either. You want a small mortgage. Minimum 30 % or so. Somehow it's a terribly good idea in Thailand or countries like that to have a certain amount of debt. Your legal position in Thailand is pretty bismul, you are *very* vulnerable once you are no longer corporate. So whether you set up a bizz or whether you buy some property, you would be advised to build in a little poison pill. Just big enough to deter people from getting funny ideas. Many RA agents don't know shit or don't care. Including the ones with some farang staff. They often care even less. Consult a minimum of six law firms on the subject. First consults should be free. If somebody tells you "No problem ..", move on. Assume it to be a "big" problem and *your* problem only. Take care Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 10, 2001 Report Share Posted September 10, 2001 if you sign a 30 year lease, and the property is sold, does that invalidate the lease? or is the lease still legally binding. also can the price of the lease be increased at any time during the lease? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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