USING A LAWYER:

Do what you would do back home & take our advice. USE A LAWYER but be careful there are good and bad lawyers here????? When using the services of a lawyer please be considerate and talk slowly. Although many lawyers speak English it is not there first language and be slow and patient when stating your case especially if you have just been rolled by your girlfriend???. There understanding of what you are trying to say maybe is not what they are thinking so when talking use local layman speech not heavy doctrine. Do not stand and demand like one will do in the west. Do not look down at a lawyer who is sitting down while you are standing. You are in Thailand not in the West. Do not shout and make demands or bang your fist on the table because you gave all your money to the "local bargirl" & now are crying!!!. Why? Some Thai lawyers will simply turn there back and close you out. You may even lose the money you gave. Simply speaking if you are rude and act like one does in the west then forget using a lawyer here. Thailand people are very patient and they do not like to be threatened or placed in situations where they do not understand the falang. Remember if you have a litigation case pending here in Thailand it can take many years to process & lots of money and court sittings that just drag on and on but this is Thailand and one must abide by their rules. If you lend money to a foreigner or anyone in Thailand do by way of contract and secure assets off the borrower. 9 time out 10 you will not get your money back.

Buildings apart from condominiums do not have any form of title document, but their sale or long lease can be registered at the Ampher (district) land office. Proof of ownership, must be established either from proof of construction or document showing previous sale-purchase (not to be confused with the House Registration document, which is only a register of the house's occupants). When buying a condo or property please remit through the National Bank and have record that you are using the money to purchase the property. There are many unfinished condos in Bangkok and any who have paid depsoits may not get back. Important to ask if no completion money back the moment work stops.

This large condo complex is now incomplete above WHAT TO WATCH FOR WHEN BUYING

Check on the maintenance in a condo. Never pay a holding fee OR DEPOSIT until you check on th status of the condo and the title complies with 49% foreign ownership. Do not believe what you see on the internet as the finished product. Many times as in the case of the Pratunam Centre condos in the picture above has stopped. Talk to neighbours about noise as remember theres no zoning in Thailand --so there could be a factory next door. Check on safety like extinguishers and fire hoses- most building do not have sprinkler systems nor wet risers so make sure they have a dry riser with hoses and extinguishers on each floor. Check smoke stop doors on the stairwells; security and if they have good security24 hours. Look at the state of the office, hallways, parking areas. What is the maintenance yearly fee and if the condos have been upgraded and perhaps when they will be next painted etc. Do they spray for termites. Do they regularly clean the hallways and elevators and outside.

Be careful when buying new condos. has the land been paid for?? If they say your title will be in 1 year make sure there is a penalty clause if they are late. Ask what % of maintenance payment will the Thai owners bear ( eg will the owners pay the same as the foreigners). Make sure when you remit your funds from abroad that the bank has a record that they are for the use to buy a condo

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IF YOU WISH TO SHIP GOODS TO THAILAND THEN WE CAN HELP YOU

Please check this section as it will help those who wish to bring goods from ovrseas. remember not to bring anything of commerical value as the customs will charge you. itemize all goods and be careful bringing out antiques which may be revalued by customs and cost you a lot to clear. It can be a headache.

[ Shipping your households to Thailand ]

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New property law stuns foreigners

Bangkok (dpa) - Thailand's booming property sector has been thrown into confusion by a new regulation issued this month that requires all partly foreign-owned companies to prove the source of their funding before purchasing land, industry sources said Tuesday.
The new Interior Ministry regulation that went into effect on May 25 2006 has already started to slow sales of housing estates in Thailand's popular seaside resorts, such as Pattaya, Phuket, Hua Hin and Samui Island, which have been specifically targeting well-to-do foreigners as vacation getaways or retirement homes.
Thailand has strict laws prohibiting foreigners from directly purchasing property themselves although loopholes in the law allow them to own land and their houses through long leases or a "nominee company," providing the company is majority Thai-owned.
It is common practice for such "shell companies" to include Thai nationals who have been paid to act as nominees to facilitate the deal and who have invested nothing in the purchase. The new regulation, signed by Suraart Thoingniramol, deputy permanent secretary of the Interior Ministry, is designed to halt the use of such companies for property purchases in the future.
"If it appears that an alien holds shares or is a director or it is reasonable to believe that a Thai holds shares as a representative of an alien, the officers shall investigate the income of Thais holding shares, delving into the number of years [they have spent] in the current profession and monthly salary," reads a translation of the law. "The provision of necessary evidence is required."
The new regulation is actually an enforcement of Thailand's existing laws, legal experts said. "It's not a radical change. It's a radical implementation," Ronachai said.
The regulation has already started to stall home sales to foreigners, sources said.
"There's a lot of confusion," said Simon Landy, managing director of the Primo Co, a property-development firm. "Some land offices don't know what to do with it, and many have simply stopped transferring land." Source Bangkok Post

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