Getting finance from a Thai bank

[OscarMike]

My Thai partner owns a couple of plots of land and we were considering getting finance/mortgage from a local bank to build a house on one of them. I have a couple of questions though and hope you guys with more experience can help-

1) What are the primary requirements the bank will look for?
2) Does the bank value the land at what we paid or what the land office quotes (which is considerably less)?
3) What are the interest rates?
4) Are any banks more favorable and what ones should be avoided? (The one with the active account would be best I guess).
5) Are the farang's income/assets taken into consideration?

Thx in advance.

[Spitfire]

One of the land/finance gurus will be along at some point soon. I'm not one of them but you'll probably find that they will probably look for regular money flow into her account regarding question 1.

[sargeant]

my house is on a mortgage in my thai wifes name
farangs cant borrow a brass razoo as far as i know

i got my wife a credit rating by paying in the house keeping for over a year

the bank came and looked at her business took photos
checked out the house

10% deposit paid to the original owners

The people that came to photo everything said that officially they are not allowed to take into account the farangs income
then said with a wink that unofficially they do

bank siam commercial is mine but i bet they are mostly same same

[Norseman]

I believe that one of the main requirements is that the borrower must have a job.
Without a job you will probably be met by a no from the bank.
It doesn't help if you are a retired person, thus receiving an average Thai workers yearly salary in just one month.

[Super Joe]

My Thai partner owns a couple of plots of land and we were considering getting finance/mortgage from a local bank to build a house on one of them. I have a couple of questions though and hope you guys with more experience can help-

1) What are the primary requirements the bank will look for?
2) Does the bank value the land at what we paid or what the land office quotes (which is considerably less)?
3) What are the interest rates?
4) Are any banks more favorable and what ones should be avoided? (The one with the active account would be best I guess).
5) Are the farang's income/assets taken into consideration?

Thx in advance.

Hi, just a quick point, you mentioned your 'partner', I believe if you're not legally married then it could be a non-starter.

As stated below from Bangkok Bank's website, foreigners funds can be taken into account when the Thai spouses' income is insufficient. Don't know for sure if the foreigner's part would need to be shown from income in Thailand on a work permit etc, probably would if it was a substantial enough part of the arrangement. I do know they don't usually consider property, rental income, other investment income etc that's located/derived from 'back home'. Two couples I know who have successfully done it, both farang husbands were working in Thailand, although both on modest salaries.

The bank will want to see documentary evidence, definately min. 3 months and maybe upto 6 months, of the Thai spouses income. This 'could' involve one of the 6 monthly tax returns to the revenue department, maybe even receipts of the employers' monthly social security payments they have to pay for their employee, if they really wanted to be harsh.

The bank won't use the land office's land rates, but will make their own assessment based on what they think the valuation is IF they ever needed to sell to recover their monies.

You will not be able to register the house (building) in your name, it has to remain with the Thai landowner, c/o the bank, also you will not be able to register any usage rights, ie: lease/usufruct/superficies etc, against the land or house until the bank are paid off.

Bangkok Bank seem to me to be the most helpful in this particular department, but not sure how much the recession over last few years has changed their lending, anyway this off their website today:

FAQ's Q10. As a foreigner, can I get a home loan through my spouse who is resident of Thailand?
A. If your spouse is a resident of Thailand but does not have sufficient funds to buy a house, your spouse may be able to take out a housing loan as long as he/she is the sole owner of the property. You may be able to be the guarantor of the loan and will be liable if repayments are not made. Loan approval is subject to the bank's lending criteria and at the bank's discretion.

Good luck,
SJ 

[hhfarang]

We tried that when we first built our house and Sarge and Norseman are correct. A Thai person who is sole owner of the property can get a mortgage but must be employed (at a good job) or own a business. [Edited at the request of the poster]

[OscarMike]

Thank you for the advice, the picture is clearer now.

[sargeant]

Hi, just a quick point, you mentioned your 'partner', I believe if you're not legally married then it could be a non-starter.

speaking from EXPERIENCE we were NOT married when Mrs Sarge got her mortgage

[Super Joe]

Hi, just a quick point, you mentioned your 'partner', I believe if you're not legally married then it could be a non-starter.

speaking from EXPERIENCE we were NOT married when Mrs Sarge got her mortgage

Exactly, it was 'her' mortgage. The legally married point was an answer to the OP's question 5 about taking the foreign spouses income into account.

SJ

[sargeant]

The legally married point was an answer to the OP's question 5 about taking the foreign spouses income into account.

i think i covered that

The people that came to photo everything said that officially they are not allowed to take into account the farangs income
then said with a wink that unofficially they do

i also pointed out we were NOT married

[Super Joe]

The OP can make his own judgement on the banks' current published legal requirements for taking a foreign spouses' finances into account, and what happened in your situation, where to quote you they said: "with a wink that unofficially they do"

As you say, your advice was unofficial, the banks' I quoted is official. I won't let this thread turn into another one of your retarded rants, but you carry on mate ....

SJ

[sargeant]

Just how many mortgages have you PERSONALLY been involved with or arranged SJ

i.e. whats your experience

methinks zero zilch buggerall