Assisting Thai GF to buy property in Thailand

[overkillxx]

Hey Guys,

 

I've posted in this category because I can't find anywhere else on Pattaya-Addicts.com forum that is more appropriate.  Hopefully at the very least someone can steer me in the right direct..  Here goes..

 

 

 

Me & my Thai partner live in Australia.  For a longtime she has been wanting to buy a property in Thailand for her family to live in. Unfortunately the job she has in Australia, though it pays ok, is cash in hand. Ultimately she has no record of income to prove to a bank in Thailand so that she can get a loan on her own merit. She does however have about 950,000 baht (At least) for a deposit. She will spend about 2,600,000 baht for a property. To do this ultimately I need to Marry her in Thailand & sign into the contract for the property.  I don't have any interest in the property as its entirely hers. I am just assisting her to buy it as she isn't able to secure the loan through the bank as she can't prove her income.

 

A:  I recently sold my house in Australia. As such I am looking for another house.  If I sign a contract for a house with her in Thailand , can a bank in Australia see this "debt" I have taken on in Thailand when I apply for a homeloan in Australia? I don't think they can unless I declare it. But I want to be sure. hence why I am asking. In reality & as mentioned above I won't be paying for anything in relation to this property. My Thai gf will be.

 

B: If for whatever reason she cannot pay the repayments, what legal obligations do I have? Can the Thai bank (Whichever bank that may be) get the money from me?  Are there agreements in place between Australia & Thailand that may make this possible?  I would think that if she defaults on the loan in her repayments the bank would just resell the property. As she will have a decent deposit, I would think that if there was any shortfall after the bank sold the property, it would not be very much.. But this leads me to question C:

 

C: Her deposit she will have initially on the mortgage is a reasonable amount. But as is the way (Especially with Thai families) her family/whoever may convince her to use that capital to buy "other" things (Car, expensive furnishings, etc). This would have the effect of making the debt on the property larger & if "B" happened & she defaulted on the repayments, then the shortfall would be much larger.  Is there anyway I can make it so that any capital paid off on the property cannot be withdrawn on until such time as the property is paid off fully & I am relinquished from any contract with a bank that has my name on it?

 

D: If I Marry her for the sole purpose of buying this property with her & then divorce her shortly after, is the divorce in Thailand recognized in Australia? I've read some sites saying certain countries may not recognize a Thai Divorce. I am not married to her in Australia. I will simply Marry her in Thailand & then divorce shortly after for the sole purpose of buying a property in Thailand for her as mentioned at the start.

[tweedle-dee]

I would consult a lawyer from both sides of the fence, not the jury you will get here...with all due respect.  

[gustafo15]

 

 

D: If I Marry her for the sole purpose of buying this property with her & then divorce her shortly after, is the divorce in Thailand recognized in Australia? I've read some sites saying certain countries may not recognize a Thai Divorce. I am not married to her in Australia. I will simply Marry her in Thailand & then divorce shortly after for the sole purpose of buying a property in Thailand for her as mentioned at the start.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

haha this made me smile

 

being married o a thai bird is something you don't want anyway!!

[Harry Brown]

Sounds a bit hairy for my liking, but I'm no legal expert.

 

As others have said, get a Thai lawyers opinion as well as a legal opinion in Aussie, could be the best money your ever spent, I heard Siam Legal are fairly good.

[ausmagoo]

 

You say she has 950,000 baht of her own money...... is that money in a bank in Thailand???

 

Does she or parents own land or other assets in Thailand???

 

With the money she has.... then she is looking to borrow 1.650,000 baht from the bank...... and the repayments will depend on the period of time she wants to take the loan over. The bank will give her options and she can also state what period she wants too. As you know... the length of time of the loan will affect the repayment figure and also the interest amount on the loan.

 

I do not know why you asking about marriage but if you marry her in Thailand and register the marriage in Thailand... then it is a legal marriage in Australia. If you go this way... then you will have to go to the Australian Embassy in Bangkok to get papers certified that you are single and can get married before the marriage can be registered at the local Amphur. The other option is to just have a village marriage ... it is not registered and is not considered a legal marriage in Australia. Really... there is no need to get married just for her to get a loan.

 

The easiest way would be for her to buy the property is for you to stump up the 1,650,000 baht and hope she will pay you back.... but there is options for her to get the loan... depending what other assets she or her family may have.

 

cheers

[Pattaya_Brian]

Wow! Whew!

[Jarrod2518]

Mate as a Newbie with 3 posts you are placing a lot of faith in the expertise of the BMs. Many will have that expertise and be wiling to share it but the bottom line is due diligence obligations requires that you inform yourself with information from a credibable qualified source.  A mate in the Bar may not be either credible nor qualified to offer informed advice - so beaware.

 

Also, I trust you are not overlooking your situation in Oz. If you are cohabitating with TGF then in the event of a seperation - then you face a "see you in the Family Law division of the Federal Court regarding potential property settlement or voluntary consent orders", refer to Section 80 Family Law Act(C'lth) for the details.

 

In Thailand you will not be able to be a residentail house owner - there are restrictions and prohibition on foreign ownership of land. This means that a financial institution will be reluctant to advance funds to finance a property based on a mortage issued in a foreigner's name. It is possible to look at a guarentee arrangement if you have sufficient realisable financial assests held in Thailand in your name which the financial institution can hold against the funds advanced.

 

The bottom line is that the most simple but also the least prudent approach is to lend the funds to the TGF with you holding on to the Chanott plus a signed but undated transfer. The latter which can be excuted at a later date does give you some leverage - if necessary.

 

One thing you can look at - if you are working in Oz then you should explore setting up a negative gearing exercise which will give you income tax relief on the money you "borrow" to invest in the house. It it too complicated to go through this on the forum - too detailed for most members but finacialy beneficial and not too hard to set up.   

[Pumpuynarak]

I had no problem being the guarantor for wifey on her mortgage, we(i) put down 1.5m and took the balance of 1.5m on mortgage. Wifey had no income whatsoever but the bank were quite happy for me and my pension to repay the mortgage over 10 years.

 

I think being legally married was undoubtedly a major factor but having said that we had only been married a matter of months, the bank obviously took into account it was only a 50% mortgage with bags of equity if things went wrong.

 

Good luck. 

[bob_ny]

Run away.

 

Run far far away.

 

Banks all over the world are not in the real estate business. They're in the money making business.

 

They don't care if they will make money on the sale of s repossessed house. All they need to know is that you're on the hook for the full amount. And if you have easily found assets, they will do whatever they need to take it.

 

They'll keep her home warehoused until someone can make money with it(probably one of the bank executives) meanwhile the bank will probably write it off as a loss or wash. They don't need to make money on the house because you were forced to honor your contract.

 

Run away.

 

Run far far away

[Nongkue]

sexually transmitted debt!

[Pumpuynarak]

Run away.

 

Run far far away.

 

Banks all over the world are not in the real estate business. They're in the money making business.

 

They don't care if they will make money on the sale of s repossessed house. All they need to know is that you're on the hook for the full amount. And if you have easily found assets, they will do whatever they need to take it.

 

They'll keep her home warehoused until someone can make money with it(probably one of the bank executives) meanwhile the bank will probably write it off as a loss or wash. They don't need to make money on the house because you were forced to honor your contract.

 

Run away.

 

Run far far away

 

A fair warning but the mortgage will not be in the OP's name but the Thai girls and its she they will go after in the event of default. You may act as guarantor but as long as you have no assets in Thailand you have nothing to fear imo, you can walk away at will.

[Pheat]

I had no problem being the guarantor for wifey on her mortgage, we(i) put down 1.5m and took the balance of 1.5m on mortgage. Wifey had no income whatsoever but the bank were quite happy for me and my pension to repay the mortgage over 10 years.

 

I think being legally married was undoubtedly a major factor but having said that we had only been married a matter of months, the bank obviously took into account it was only a 50% mortgage with bags of equity if things went wrong.

 

Good luck.

 

Yep

As long as a Thai has a good deposit say 30% easy to get a mortgage no proof of income needed.

My Thai wife brought a property to rent out like this a couple of years ago.

[roomark]

If she is living in Australia and she has worked for that money in Australia surely she can get a loan in Australia for that kind of money without your help?

No disrespect, but did you bring her to Aus or someone else visa wise??

[bob_ny]

A fair warning but the mortgage will not be in the OP's name but the Thai girls and its she they will go after in the event of default. You may act as guarantor but as long as you have no assets in Thailand you have nothing to fear imo, you can walk away at will.

I'm not familiar with legal matters in Thailand nor Australia.

 

In fact I'm not sure of the difference between guarantor and co-signee, so I tend to avoid these type of entanglements unless I've got important reasons to get involved. And I don't consider this an important reason to get involved even if I was the OP.

 

If I needed to get involved, I'd certainly seek out the best advice I could afford and consider the cost of risking it all in my consideration.

 

As a c-signer in the U.S., I would be totally at risk for the full obligation if the mortgagee defaults on the loan. It would also impact my credit rating, even if I were to fulfill my obligations.

 

So I would run away.

 

My thinking would be very different if she were my wife, & I was safe and happy in the relationship for years.

 

Marrying in order to buy would not even be considered by me.