LAND OFFICE REGULATION

[seagulls]

Over the past 14 years my Wife and I have purchased several properties both here and in
Chiang Mai . We recently found a good deal on some land here and the Thai Lady seller flew in
from Norway to do the transaction with us . We met at my Bank and fortunately she also had
her account at the same main branch .AS I have in the past I just transferred directly from
my account to hers . At the land office they only used to ask "Have you been paid " and would go
ahead with the Title Deed transfer . Yesterday they would not accept a "Farang" account being used
for the purchase .WE all had to go back to the Bank put the funds in my Wifes account so that she
could make the payment into the Thai Lady's account . Anyway I hope this info helps someone else
spending a Miserable eight hours as we did yesterday

[Hoopoe]

As far as i can remember the money to purchase land cannot be yours ( foreigner ) when we ( ish ) purchased the land to build the house on , i (Husband foreigner) had to sign a declaration stating it was my wife's own money being used to purchase the land , i believe this has always been the case ,

[parrot]

This is what happened to my wife at the land office just a few weeks ago. The buyer and my wife went to the office (I was there only as a bystander....didn't talk to any official or have to sign any papers). A land official asked my wife the selling price.....she responded. The official asked my wife if she had been paid, she responded, 'yes'. After the deed was done and we left the land office, the buyer handed my wife a cashier's check (we had seen the check before transferring the deed, but my wife/buyer were not asked to show any proof at the land office).

[Giggle]

^^^The land office is probably just fishing for a bribe.

Would they be OK with the money being transferred from a joint account? (making it up as they go along)

[wazza]

Its probably a request / instruction / order from the Head of the Land Office, " as per his discretion " to provide transparancy on any Expat related issue at the land office .

[FrazeeDK]

well, if the Farang spouse is present at the land office and the money obviously came from the Farang's account it would be a bit difficult for the Farang to sign a statement saying "not my money, not my land..." It looks like the folks at the office were observing the letter of the law since they gave you no problems after you put the money into a Thai citizens account and that citizen completed the transaction...

[seagulls]

Obviously in most cases the Funds come from the Farang . I had to sign a Waiver saying that I have
no claim on the Land or property hence the trip back to the bank to deposit the Funds in my Wifes
account .and negating my direct deposit to the Sellers account .There have been instances where
disgruntled Farangs have attempted to involve the Land Office with ongoing Litigation cases in
futile attempts to retrieve their funds ( Good luck with that one !! )

[glalt]

I don't know about all land offices but I do know about the one my wife has to use. They don't care where the money came from as long as the farang signs the document that says he has no financial interest in the land. I have signed quite a few of those documents.

[seagulls]

NO . Bottom line is yes they do care where the Funds come from and NO the Funds cannot come
DIRECTLY from a Farang account into the sellers account .

[Giggle]

I sent 4 separate personal checks, in my name only, to the land seller over a period of a year (I was living in another country). The seller cashed them at his bank and, after the last was sent, we (my wife, me and the seller) met at the land office to transfer the chanote. I had to sign the paper saying I had no interest in the land. The land office didn't care if we bartered, if it was a gift, if it was a gambling debt, or whatever. All they cared about was if the transaction was settled and that ole round-eyes had no stake in it.

[Nigglyb]

When Mrs N bought a plot I was seen lurking outside the door of the Land Office. When it was “our” turn I was called to the desk where Mrs N & the vendor were sitting & told in not so many words “Farang not you land” which I naturally agreed with. I was then asked to sign my life away on an untranslated paper to confirm I had no rights whatsoever. Land of Smiles eh
We/she paid cash, after transfer, it was all a bit mafiosa sitting in a car with backed out windows outside the Land Office handing over bundles of 1000’s which the old dear with arthritic fingers counted unbelievably quickly

[deankham]

Does anyone have experience with selling property / land they can share?

My wife is in the process of selling a house/land and we are preparing the required paperwork. I say we because our selling agent is adamant that I have to sign several forms stating my wife is fully authorized to proceed with the sale and that all the monies from the sale will be hers and not mine. I guess this is kind of the reverse of the process we had to do when we bought the house? Not sure if it is relevant but I am not listed in the House blue book, however do have a Yellow house book with that address.

The slightly complicated part is we are not in Thailand and only my wife will travel to do the sale at land office. Therefore we have been told to get the documents legalized at the Thai Embassy and Ministry of Foreign affairs' in the country we are living.
The Thai embassy has said we should also get the British Embassy to legalize the documents but this is not something the British Embassy will do (They have zero interest in British Citizens and only in British Business / Trade relations).

Anyway probably going into too much detail but am interested if anyone has done this process before and if there is any tips or ticks for a smooth process?!

Thanks

[joepai]

Your Agent is correct, you do need to sign

[deankham]

Thanks Joepai.

Well we are as prepared as we can be. The forms are signed as provided by the Thai Embassy to allow my wife to act on my behalf and to sell the property (which is fully in her name anyway).

Nice experience with the Thai Embassy in Doha today who acknowledged that the British Embassy will not legalise forms to help their citizens and instead agreed to leglaise the form for me event though I'm not Thai. Only thing they asked for was that I had the MOFA in Qatar legalise a copy of my Qatar ID so they had proof it was genuine.

Let's see what the Udon land office make of it all. Plenty of stamps will maybe keep them happy although I'm sure if they don't know they will just create another step to go through, or ask for another piece of paper to be signed.

[Bandung_Dero]

《Snip》 I say we because our selling agent is adamant that I have to sign several forms stating my wife is fully authorized to proceed 《Snip》

A bit off topic but from my experience your wife can't even borrow monies from a bank using a chanoot as collateral if she has her Farang married name on it. The land office has to provide a declaration signed by the Farang stating he has no ownership/control over the chanoot.

[wazza]

Lawyer with POA

[maaka]

I thought POA only comes into effect when one is ting tong..

[deankham]

《Snip》 I say we because our selling agent is adamant that I have to sign several forms stating my wife is fully authorized to proceed 《Snip》

A bit off topic but from my experience your wife can't even borrow monies from a bank using a chanoot as collateral if she has her Farang married name on it. The land office has to provide a declaration signed by the Farang stating he has no ownership/control over the chanoot.

Thanks for that BD. Sounds similar or same as the forms I've had to sign and get stamped by the embassy.

[deankham]

I thought POA only comes into effect when one is ting tong..

not quite Maaka, although that is a common time when someone might want to issue a POA (I have POA over my father due to his mental condition aka being a bit ting tong!)

But you can give POA for someone to handle any legal type dealings on your behalf.

[Bandung_Dero]

Forgetting the hassles, I guess the bottom line is although we cannot own land here we can certainly have some security over it.
Good luck with the sale!