Proposed Condo Purchase

[Jarrod2518]

As I see it - there is insufficient information as to the reasons for your intentions for buying a Condo to alert you to the potential difficulties you may face. At present there is a significant oversupply situation in the Pattaya condo market. Despite what the Real Estate Agents may tell you this is likely to be the situation for some time.

Having over this past few years purchased both a Condo and a house in Pattaya my advice is unless it is part of a 15year plan to live in and you will not be interested in selling for at least 10years  - better option is to rent.    

[likeaking]

11 hours ago, hotfunguy said:

Interesting. Why is this so?

Are you looking to buy a room in a hotel?

[Explorer8939]

I am in the process of buying a condo in the Axis. It's not an investment, I just want a place to stay in for a few months of the year. Right now, I have a storage locker plus I am paying for hotels, so a condo seems like a reasonable alternative.

 

[geezerrb]

No doubt buying can be an investment and advantageous in the right circumstance, but I agree try renting first and explore the asset market when there.

I may get "flamed" here as I am a believer that the current LOS situation is unsustainable. Property may not be affected seriously but I view given the global situation, LOS is a bubble coming to a burst situation,(even China is showing some "cracks").

[Scuba+]

When people make money its often just because of the exchange rate, so could have just had money in the bank

[Petesie]

I've been following the LoS property market for the last 10 years from an 'interested' viewpoint. We rented for over 3 years before deciding to buy a house. We still have intention to purchase a few condo's and there are some good deals around at the moment if you have the cash.

Places I looked at 3 years ago are around 30% less than previous asking prices. If you are looking at long term then now is a good time to buy, get your money trickling into the banking system and take it from there. 

[Scuba+]

I've been following the LoS property market for the last 10 years from an 'interested' viewpoint. We rented for over 3 years before deciding to buy a house. We still have intention to purchase a few condo's and there are some good deals around at the moment if you have the cash.

Places I looked at 3 years ago are around 30% less than previous asking prices. If you are looking at long term then now is a good time to buy, get your money trickling into the banking system and take it from there. 

If you hold US$ then you are probably right, if weaker currencies such as A$,Euro and £ and others then probably not

 

[onehunglo]

21 minutes ago, Petesie said:

I've been following the LoS property market for the last 10 years from an 'interested' viewpoint. We rented for over 3 years before deciding to buy a house. We still have intention to purchase a few condo's and there are some good deals around at the moment if you have the cash.

Places I looked at 3 years ago are around 30% less than previous asking prices. If you are looking at long term then now is a good time to buy, get your money trickling into the banking system and take it from there. 

about 8yrs ago the aussie $ was 33.65 baht  ... now  20.50 , so on a 5 million baht condo/house would be about 70,000 aussie more now , not a good investment ATM in my mind . 

anyone who bought back when the rate was higher are the winners , rent and wait i think is the best shot ATM

[Petesie]

1 hour ago, Scuba+ said:

If you hold US$ then you are probably right, if weaker currencies such as A$,Euro and £ and others then probably not

 

1 hour ago, onehunglo said:

about 8yrs ago the aussie $ was 33.65 baht  ... now  20.50 , so on a 5 million baht condo/house would be about 70,000 aussie more now , not a good investment ATM in my mind . Anyone who bought back when the rate was higher are the winners , rent and wait i think is the best shot ATM

I agree with what you've both said...a friend of mine built his house 10 years ago for 6.2 mtb; he was quoted it's value last week at 6.7...the exchange rate then & now dictates he made 35% but as he lives in LoS and all his worth is here...it never made that much personal difference to him. 

[onehunglo]

30 minutes ago, Petesie said:

house 10 years ago for 6.2 mtb;

in aussie $ it would of been back then about  = $184,000  then

now at this rate  = $302,000 thats all in aussie  

i was looking at the price of setting up then as now , almost double 

but totally agree mate , once over in LOS and set up then you can only go on the market once you have moved everything over there 

[Petesie]

Inversely; I was looking at a condo in South Patts, 2 bed solid build, well finished, 4.2 m...at the time 7Ok GBP.

Same place still on sale reduced to slightly less than 3m...75k GBP. 

[Explorer8939]

Oops.

The grant deed for the condo seems to indicate the owner is a Thai corporation, not the guy selling it. That would mean that I cannot legally own the condo, nor can the guy legally sell it.

I need to have an attorney in Pattaya who can advise me on this transaction, any leads on someone?

[Scuba+]

Oops.

The grant deed for the condo seems to indicate the owner is a Thai corporation, not the guy selling it. That would mean that I cannot legally own the condo, nor can the guy legally sell it.

I need to have an attorney in Pattaya who can advise me on this transaction, any leads on someone?

Pull out. They've misled you, they\you said it was foreign owned.

 

Just proves once again, you decide to buy and the hassle and stress kicks off

 

[Explorer8939]

6 minutes ago, Scuba+ said:

Pull out. They've misled you, they\you said it was foreign owned.

 

Just proves once again, you decide to buy and the hassle and stress kicks off

 

The actual contract says foreign owned, and lists an individual as the owner.

 

I can't rely on my ability to read a Thai legal document, though, so I need to consult an expert.

[davidge]

19 minutes ago, Explorer8939 said:

The actual contract says foreign owned, and lists an individual as the owner.

 

I can't rely on my ability to read a Thai legal document, though, so I need to consult an expert.

I thought you were buying a new unit from the developer?

If so, it will be the first registration so no previous owner - other than the developer setting things up as a condo building.

In any case, if the foreign quota hasn’t been reached in a building then you can register a condo as foreign owned regardless of previous ownership.

[Petesie]

I think you're in the situation where the condo is in a Company name but has a foreign allocation; should be no hassle through a lawyer who will dissolve the company and handle the transaction.

 

[Explorer8939]

2 hours ago, davidge said:

I thought you were buying a new unit from the developer?

If so, it will be the first registration so no previous owner - other than the developer setting things up as a condo building.

In any case, if the foreign quota hasn’t been reached in a building then you can register a condo as foreign owned regardless of previous ownership.

I am buying a condo that is currently owned and used as a rental. The grant deed says the last transaction was over 5 years ago.

The unit is in the Axis.

[davidge]

17 minutes ago, Explorer8939 said:

I am buying a condo that is currently owned and used as a rental. The grant deed says the last transaction was over 5 years ago.

The unit is in the Axis.

I’m 99.9% sure that The Axis is nowhere near the foreign quota so there wouldn’t be a problem getting it registered in foreign ownership regardless of current ownership - as long as all appropriate paperwork is done.

[Scuba+]

I understand when people sell condos in thai company name they sell the company as well. If he then transfers into foreign name then the company would need to be dissolved and taxes paid. These taxis could be big?

[Lucky]

I think that the VT6 condo would be your best option. I've been living in a View Talay condo for the last 15 years and I think that they are some of the best condos for the money in Pattaya.

[Explorer8939]

10 hours ago, davidge said:

I’m 99.9% sure that The Axis is nowhere near the foreign quota so there wouldn’t be a problem getting it registered in foreign ownership regardless of current ownership - as long as all appropriate paperwork is done.

The issue is that the purchase contract specifies the current owner to be a foreign individual.

 

I am not really interested in going through the exercise of dissolving a Thai corporation and transferring a condo to a foreign name, there are just way too many potential slips there.

If current ownership is not what the contract states, then the contract is invalid.

Edited August 18, 2019 by Explorer8939

[onehunglo]

14 hours ago, Explorer8939 said:

Oops.

The grant deed for the condo seems to indicate the owner is a Thai corporation, not the guy selling it. That would mean that I cannot legally own the condo, nor can the guy legally sell it.

I need to have an attorney in Pattaya who can advise me on this transaction, any leads on someone?

go to R-CON bar in soi baukow ask for Andrew one of the sons , he is a Thai Citizen now and knows all the ins and outs , what you can and can't do , has good contacts ..... give him a go , sure he will point you in the right direction

[usexpat46]

20 hours ago, Explorer8939 said:

Oops.

The grant deed for the condo seems to indicate the owner is a Thai corporation, not the guy selling it. That would mean that I cannot legally own the condo, nor can the guy legally sell it.

I need to have an attorney in Pattaya who can advise me on this transaction, any leads on someone?

I used the Magna Carta law firm when I bought my condo, there  is a Brit who works there named Tony so no problem with a language barrier.  You should be able to go to the Juristic Person office located at the Axis and find out the current percentage breakdown between foreign/Thai ownership.  If you hire an attorney they should go to the Lands Office for the ownership percentages.

[Explorer8939]

I asked about the title, and was sent the back side of the Or Chot 2 condo title. On the back side are entries of subsequent transactions. I have not translated them, but it looks like a new title is not issued for a purchaser, the new owner's name is added to the back side.

[Scuba+]

I asked about the title, and was sent the back side of the Or Chot 2 condo title. On the back side are entries of subsequent transactions. I have not translated them, but it looks like a new title is not issued for a purchaser, the new owner's name is added to the back side.

The chanote will be changed at the land office. Maybe you are talking about the JP records at the condo but you want it to be within the foreign quota. Not enough info at the moment