The first in a planned periodic series dealing with property issues in Thailand was held at the Sunday, February 18, meeting of the Pattaya City Expats Club. On slate for Property Summit I were three speakers. The first speaker was club member Ren Lexander about the benefit of acquiring second hand properties in Pattaya’s Jomtien area. Next up was Ray Whitley to talk about New Nordic Properties and their business model. Last but not least were representatives from Pattaya Legal Consultants, Wanrapa Boonsu and lawyer Nutthawuth Treetipwattana, to offer advice on how to protect your property assets if it is being held in a Thai name.
Ren Lexander began by explaining that because of superstition, and for many other reasons, Thai buyers usually wanted ‘new’ properties and failed to consider investing in the pre-owned market. He suggested that older properties were better because they are often larger and better constructed. Especially if they are in condominiums with a history of good management. Another consideration is the land around them. Beautiful sea views can be lost! However, the area around many older properties has already been developed. As regards the rental market, Ren said that the Jomtien area has a higher percentage of permanent residents and as a result change of occupancy is lower than elsewhere in Pattaya.
Ren said that paying rent is ‘dead’ money. Once spent you never get a return on it. Ren mentioned that his friend, John has 18 years of experience in renovating and reselling properties in the area. He said he is reliable and by using him you will avoid getting involved with less reputable building companies. Ren said that John gets the best tradesmen to do the necessary work to very high European specifications. Further, he can arrange finance with easy payment terms by providing mortgages at 7.5% on any outstanding amount and this is transferrable if you decide to upgrade to another property in future years. Ren also said that John gives a unique guaranteed rental return of 7% on property.
Next up was Ray Whitley who explained the New Nordic business model and its rapid expansion in the Pratamnak area and beyond. They started with just one property in Pratamnak and now have 91 projects mainly outside of Pattaya. Their expansion has included projects in Phuket, Koh Samui, Cambodia and Myanmar. Many follow a very different model from typical condominium type properties as they are primarily built as resorts where a portion of the units can be purchased for investment. Ray said that the New Nordic model guarantees a buy-back of any property purchased at the original price, but you would need to talk to him about further details of this buy-back scheme. Ray stressed that New Nordic is a cash financed business and as such has no loans or debts on it. The purchaser holds the title deeds to the unit purchased. They also have a 74% occupancy rate and can guarantee a 10% return on any investment.
The last, but not least, presentation was from Pattaya Legal Consultant representatives Wanrapa Boonsu and lawyer Nutthawuth Treetipwattana. They focused their presentation on a property situation of major interest to many Expats here that find themselves buying property in their Thai partner/spouse’s name or through a Thai company with shares that are 51% Thai owned. Between them they covered how to protect your assets when entering into a purchase agreement with a Thai partner, and how to get money or property back if the Thai partner/spouse sells it from under you or borrows money on it without your consent.
They first of all spoke about how to prevent losing money and assets. As the provider of the purchase funds, you need to conduct ‘due diligence’ on the property and documents to be signed. This can be complicated and should be done with the assistance of an experienced lawyer. They urge people to check that the lawyers they employ are actually who they say they are and are qualified to do the work.
Before parting with any money to purchase in a Thai name, they emphasized some safeguards that can be done which will allow you to prove to a Thai court your intent to purchase the property for your benefit. To protect yourself, you must have evidence to present to the court that you did in fact pay for the house or condo. This is why it is so important for you to be a party to construction and sales contracts, which should be in dual language; e.g., Thai and English, otherwise a court of law will say that the house was bought 100% for the Thai and you won’t have a leg to stand on.
In addition to the contracts, keep a record of any money transfers and keep them safe in your custody. These documents are very important evidence in case of a dispute. Write the reason for the transfer of money e.g. to purchase (address). This will help to prove that the money was for your purchase of the house or condo. Keep all original documents in a safe place, including the land ownership document (Chanote), as it is difficult for the owner of record to sell or encumber the property.
Remember that lawyer fees to fight any case are expensive and court battles are time consuming, but, if you have protected yourself from the start and having the evidence often makes it easier to negotiate a settlement, eliminating the need to go to court. You can also make arrangement by drafting a pre-agreement as this is strong evidence in a court. Also, when transferring funds to make the purchase, put it into an account that you sign or countersign checks disbursing the funds.
They mentioned ways you can register your rights at the land office yourself – this can be done by taking a mortgage on the property and/or you having a 30 year lease on the property.
After the presentations, MC Roy Albiston brought everyone up to date on upcoming events. This was followed by the “Open Forum” portion of the meeting, where questions are asked and answered and comments made about expat living in Thailand. For more information on the Club and their activities, visit www.pcec.club.
After the meeting, Member Ren Lexander interviewed Ray Whitley about his presentation to the PCEC; the video can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06xaEwtx0Ls&feature=youtu.be and Nutthawuth and Wanrapa from Pattaya Legal Consultants about their presentation to the PCEC; the video can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFni6UIiXXY&feature=youtu.be
