Due Diligence is the investigation or exercise of care that a reasonable business or person is normally expected to take before entering into a contract or agreement with another party, or act with a certain standard of care.
Conducting Due Diligence when buying property in Thailand is essential.
Does the person trying to sell you the condo .house, villa or land actually legally own it?
A True Story
Recently lawyers for expats Thailand were approached by a client looking to buy a villa.
The client sent us a copy of the sales agreement which was from a foreigner to another foreigner.
Immediately the alarm bells started ringing.
Currently foreigners cannot legally own land in Thailand including landed buildings.
The foreigner thought he was the legal owner of the villa which he had paid in excess of 20,000,000 Baht.
On further investigation the sales agreement entered into by the foreigner with the property developer offered the foreign buyer no recourse or protection as it was operating outside the law.
Lawyers for Expats Thailand dug deeper and opened a massive can of worms.
The villa had never been granted a building permit in addition the land had never been split.
Because of the above the lease promised by the developer had never been registered and therefore as it was over 3 years old was void.
Could it possible get any worse the answer simply was yes.
Our client the new buyer was expected to pay for the mistakes made by the developer and existing resident I was going to call them the owner but what do they actually legally own Nothing!
The cost for remedy of this situation was a staggering 1,700,000 Baht and the developer expected our client to pay this.
Our Client declined and pulled out of the transaction.
The client is happy we conducted the Due diligence as it avoided a whole lot of stress and expense.
Once you have found a potential property to buy simply call Lawyers for Expats Thailand on 0956583038 Whats App or Line or email us at info@lawyersforexpatsthailand.com
First step get a copy of the sellers id card and copy of the land title front and back.
If you are buying from an agent (foreigner) ask to see their work permit and the power of attorney allowing them to sell this property as well as getting the owners id and copy of the land title pages.
From this information we can check that the seller is the legal owner or has the legal right to sell this property.
We can also check if there are any loans registered on the land title.
Lawyers for Expats Thailand will also review the sales agreement and method of sale and put together a legal solution to protect your investment.
Lawyers for Expats Thailand offer property solutions for foreigners in Thailand.
Whatever you are considering buying a condo,apartment,house,villa or land to build your own house make Lawyers for Expats Thailand your first point of call.
Be safe follow the law and live a happy life in the land of smiles.
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