Mortgage Finance in Thailand -Options

BJ The Bear

BJ The Bear

New Member
Hi, I was wondering if anyone can give me any advice on how to possibly get mortgage finance in Thailand?
My wife who is a Thai National and I wish to relocate permanently to thailand to live and work , We are currently located in Western Australia and visit Thailand on a regular basis and will be in Thailand again for one month all of december 2010. My wife originally is from Ban Tako which is about 45 minutes drive from Nakhon Ratchasima -Khorat, she has land which she owns outright- 2 large blocks in Ban Tako and 1 block in Ban Len near Nakhon Pathom Bangkok, We wish to build a house on one of those blocks Probably in Ban Tako, We both have good jobs and good income from our jobs in Australia so servicing a mortgage loan in Thailand would be no problem, we also have a substancial cash deposit, however we need to know if a mortgage arrangement is possible and would like to hear from anyone who may have been down this track before,
Information such as: 1. Would we be eligible for a mortgage ?. 2. can you use your land you already own as collateral with a cash deposit?
3. Do we need a resident Thai guarantor as we both currently work in Australia?.

We intend to start building early in the new year of 2011 if we can get finance, We intend to engage the services of Alan The Builder to build our house, and we have my wifes brothers family who will occupy the house until we settle permanenty there in 2012.

Any information, help and advice from anyone, would be greatly appreciated, I can PM any contact details if required

Thanks in Advance:NoSpam2:
 
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Unlikely that a Thai bank will provide a mortgage to you but some of the overseas banks will consider it, although a residents permit might be required. However your wife can probably obtain a loan and I would suggest you try the Government Housing Bank in the first instance.

After that try the other Thai banks and see how they compare.

Consider this though

Around the middle of 2005, Thailand saw the emergence of a new financing service offered by Bangkok Bank’s Singapore branch. At this time we saw Bangkok Bank starting to offer offshore financing for foreigners wishing to purchase real estate in Thailand. Up to 70% of the property’s value was made available to foreigners who did not qualify for a local loan. This gave many foreigners access to finance for their dream homes even if they did not reside in Thailand. Up until this time, there were only a handful of private offshore firms offering lines of credit of this kind and often at rather stringent and unattractive terms. Bangkok Bank in Singapore still offers such loans to foreigners and the demand for this is increasing. They are able to tender loans in several currencies including US and Singapore Dollars. Currently, the interest rate for USD loan consists of the prime plus 0.5% which in total stands at 8.75%. A processing fee will also be incurred upon application. Bangkok Bank does insist on meeting the applicants in person and this means you would usually have to travel to Singapore to apply for this.
Bangkok Bank was the first bank in Singapore to offer such financing services. However, this year we saw the introduction of United Overseas Bank (UOB) in Singapore jumping on the band wagon and offering similar lending services to foreigners wishing to purchase real estate in Thailand
 
Why not ask the wife to sell a piece of her land and then you will have money enough to build your house and no finance will be needed. :?
 
Thanks Nick and Alan for the advice,

I have already tried to get some information about overseas finance from SunAssets
International Home Loan …… for Thai People Living Abroad for an international home loan, filled out the application twice and sent it off but got no replies on both occasions. Your advice on approaching Bangkok Bank in Singapore seems like the best bet and i will give them a try. We were thinking of establishing an account with Bangkok Bank in Bangkok anyway so it might also be a good move to start moving funds to their branch for a start

Yes Alan, and the other option of selling the other 2 blocks would probably eliminate the pain of having to seek finance altogether but i would need to find out how much they are worth, I have no idea at this stage but will find out from my wifes sister who she purchased them off.
Thanks again both of you for your help and advice
 
We are renting and will probably buy the house we are renting, I am still working (not in Thailand) and my wife goes to school.
We went to Kasikorn bank and they told us 80% of value could be borrowed which surprised me since other numbers I have heard is 50% max for foreigner/Thai couples if there are no income. A different situation than yours but seem possible. I were told I just needed a letter from my employer saying how much I earn and how long I have been employed.
Mortgage would be in Thai name only and they would hold the deed to the house until we paid the loan back.
 
Age could possibly be an issue since most farangs are most often somewhat older than their wives..

If the husband is effectively a guarantor, the loan will need to be paid off before he reaches 60. That is the age limit applicable to Thais.
 
BJ The Bear said:
Yes Alan, and the other option of selling the other 2 blocks would probably eliminate the pain of having to seek finance altogether but i would need to find out how much they are worth, I have no idea at this stage but will find out from my wifes sister who she purchased them off.
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What I am about to say is now way aimed at you BJ but to people who are thinking of retiring to Thailand that have a girlfriend or new wife and are not 100% on their decision to make the leap or not.
Marriage is all about partnerships,I have seen guys become down on there luck and short of cash .They have had wives that own additional pieces of land to their home and when asked to sell its been as though they have been asked to sell their soul's .It seams to be fine when you are spending money building houses,buying car and alike but when asked for them to chip in the old analogy of "Money you money me...money me money me "comes into play with some.
If anybody to coming to retire or live in Thailand and their wife owns loads of land,ask her to sell a bit to chip in for the cost of the house,the answer you get may change your decision take the plunge or re-enforce it knowing you are doing the right thing.I would recommend all guys take a 30 year lease out on the land before building a house and obtain a yellow house book..
Sorry to state the obvious to some or plant seeds of doubt in others but there seems to be a few locals on the losing end at the moment so 100% thought is needed to make sure all your bases are covered.
Sorry if I have gone off topic a little,I'm only trying to warn the newbie's of some of the pit falls.We are all here to help each other at the end of the day..
 
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I totally understand where you are coming from Alan, The wife and i have been married 6 years, known each other for 8, Met in Toowoomba queensland originally while she was visiting her sister who is married to an aussie and lives there.
So I think i might know my wife a little well, and really its not something we are jumping into.

My Younger brother who is also 18 years married to a Thai woman and lives in caboolture qld introduced us at a barbecue, my brother has known my wife for over 10 years. So as far as trust and understanding goes, that is not a problem, I know people who have traveled the same path and been burnt severely and end up with nothing but the cloths they wear, but this is not the case.

My wife loves Australia and would love to stay here, it was me who decided on the idea of living and working in Thailand.

She would like me to retire and start to enjoy life that be committed to a concrete jungle here in OZ.
Looking at the other posts i probably would be too old for the loan as i turn 62 next week and yes my wife is a lot younger than me at 37. Even though the 30 year lease and a yellow house book sounds like the go.

Dont worry the seeds of doubt were there when i first met her, she is no gold digger and her family know my limits, have helped them in the past but they understand we have a life too and we are no longer ATM Machines not that we ever parted with much to them.

Its good to discuss all of the positives and negatives about anything or any topic,
it is the only way i reckon to find things out and talk about things in general, it may help me, but also everybodies input is most welcome and it no doubt will help others
who are seeking the same advice:Cross_Fingers:
 
Typos

BJ The Bear said:
I totally understand where you are coming from Alan, The wife and i have been married 6 years, known each other for 8, Met in Toowoomba queensland originally while she was visiting her sister who is married to an aussie and lives there.
So I think i might know my wife a little well, and really its not something we are jumping into.

My Younger brother who is also 18 years married to a Thai woman and lives in caboolture qld introduced us at a barbecue, my brother has known my wife for over 10 years. So as far as trust and understanding goes, that is not a problem, I know people who have traveled the same path and been burnt severely and end up with nothing but the cloths they wear, but this is not the case.

My wife loves Australia and would love to stay here, it was me who decided on the idea of living and working in Thailand.

She would like me to retire and start to enjoy life that be committed to a concrete jungle here in OZ.
Looking at the other posts i probably would be too old for the loan as i turn 62 next week and yes my wife is a lot younger than me at 37. Even though the 30 year lease and a yellow house book sounds like the go.

Dont worry the seeds of doubt were there when i first met her, she is no gold digger and her family know my limits, have helped them in the past but they understand we have a life too and we are no longer ATM Machines not that we ever parted with much to them.

Its good to discuss all of the positives and negatives about anything or any topic,
it is the only way i reckon to find things out and talk about things in general, it may help me, but also everybodies input is most welcome and it no doubt will help others
who are seeking the same advice:Cross_Fingers:
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One day I will learn to spell!!!:ShitHappens1:
 
BJ
Don't you worry about speelink,mate. Its great you spend some time typing here because, as already said, it might help others.

All good advice from 'The Crisp' and I would add that a Usufruct is the name of the 'strongest' type of lease here. Basically it lasts as long as you and gives you the right to evict the Thai landowner plus makes it virtually impossible for the house/land to be sold from under your feet.

The other important aspect is for you both to have wills drawn up in Thailand as Thai inheritance laws do NOT automatically include your Thai wife's estate going to her husband. It goes to children,family and siblings only.

BJ, it sounds like you got a good 'un mate.
 
Dave The Dude said:
BJ
Don't you worry about speelink,mate. Its great you spend some time typing here because, as already said, it might help others.

All good advice from 'The Crisp' and I would add that a Usufruct is the name of the 'strongest' type of lease here. Basically it lasts as long as you and gives you the right to evict the Thai landowner plus makes it virtually impossible for the house/land to be sold from under your feet.

The other important aspect is for you both to have wills drawn up in Thailand as Thai inheritance laws do NOT automatically include your Thai wife's estate going to her husband. It goes to children,family and siblings only.

BJ, it sounds like you got a good 'un mate.
Click to expand...

I think Daves Spot on there, I would make sure she filled out a Will and Usufrust.
Your wife Im sure is a lovely lady, but these are all measures that should be put in place if something were to happen to her and the wolve's decided to close in on her estate.
 
Prakhonchai Finance have been known to assist with the preparation of Thai (and UK) Wills.

PM Prakhonchai Nick if further assistance is required.
 
Dear BJ (Blow Job?),

My friend Martin (German) in the hotel in Bangkok were I was based took out a mortgage the same time as I bought my condo in Bangkok. This was about 4 years ago and I paid cash however he went through the local UOB (Singapore based) to finance his purchase.

We were both working for a huge multi national American Company called Starwood hotels - Sheraton, Westin, St Regis, Le Meridien, etc (1500 hotels worldwide) and we both had contracts with the company where we had been working for many years.

He had all the necessary documentation and his loan was approved!!!! However he said to me that the hassle and amount of paper that he had to provide was incredible. He said that it just wasn't worth the problems that occurred especially with the red tape involved and all the paper that they required (letters from the company/hotel, salary statements for the last 2 years, personal statement of assets and liabilities, bank statements since he was born, blood group, sperm donation, BJ, etc, etc).

Therefore in conclusion - bite the bullet - sell some land and live in paradise in the Land of the Smiles!

Whicker
 
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Thanks for the info ( Whacker!!!) aka (Hand Job) gee I,M so sorry i missed the letter (N)....................................needed constructive info.........................not a negative sarcastic insult!!-- -------You Handjob!!
 
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My friend in BKK has used UOB - Singapore with branches all over Thailand to gain mortages for business and property .
 
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