I don't have a clue as to what goes on with the various land deals. One thing I hear is she want to sell land but no paper. Then it's followed with "can buy but have to wait for paper. My good Thai friend (a Teacher in Nong Wa So) tells me that after the 10 years that my wife can then register the land and get the proper papers. It isn't a big deal for me as I am basically an observer. I would hate to see my wife get screwed, unless it's me. One thing I have noticed in Thailand is the old adage "possession is 9/10ths of the law" seems to hold true here also. Time will tell;o)

Jetdoc, I would be a bit worried if someone said to me, "sell land but no paper".

Maybe the paper is with the bank, and maybe the person selling has borrowed money from the bank on the security of that land, and thus if you were to try and proceed with the purchase you would either have to clear the existing debt or at least inherit the responsibility for clearing that debt (mortgage)??!!

arjay wrote:Jetdoc, I would be a bit worried if someone said to me, "sell land but no paper".

Maybe the paper is with the bank, and maybe the person selling has borrowed money from the bank on the security of that land, and thus if you were to try and proceed with the purchase you would either have to clear the existing debt or at least inherit the responsibility for clearing that debt (mortgage)??!!

The alternative scenario is that the land has never been registered, meaning it is still common land and technically the property of the Crown.(There is a clue this may be the case in the friend saying you can register it in 10 years)
This is a far more worrying scenario as it was never anyones property to sell.
There are no apparent hard and fast rules about this type of land but by precedent. Every so often the govt will take a certain area and offer the land (Free) to occupier/users that can prove a history of family usage going back a number of years (The bits of paper?)They then register the land and issue , firstly the Sor Por Kor, subject to the previously mentioned rules and after 10 years the restrictions are lifted and normal land registry papers are issued.
If this is the case with Jetdocs purchase the following worries occur:
By attempting to sell the land, she has broken the continuous usage chain


and therefore it is unlikely that it can be given to her.If his wife attempted to use it by farming or building on it, they are technically illegal squatters,
and subject to, at least, any developement being demolished and possibly a heavy fine.Of course eviction from the land would be automatic.
Any of these possibilities can be instantly checked by a visit to the land registry office in the area.

First any references to me buying land are false. Now the land my wife bought is across the soi from where he parents live and the entire area is populated with relatives and has been for many generations. Although my wife only has the typical 6th grade education, I'm hear to tell you she is one sharp cookie. I mean I wasn't smart enough to retire at age 26!!! Anyway I have no idea if history will have any bearing on the future, but it appears to me that Thai's have been conducting business this way for long before I got here and will probably continue to do so long after I'm gone. The price of the land was minimal, however the house will come in at about 1 mil give or take. As I said before I would hate to see my wife loose her investment but it will not effect me or my quality of life;o) If I'm still around ten years from now I shall post how it shakes out.;o)

I really should add that I do not recommend others should do this and this may turn out to be an educational experience, but I can assure the forum the most expensive education I have ever received;o) BTW I think she bought the land almost 2 years ago so maybe only have to wait 8 more years.

correction to above "will not be the most expensive"

Sorry Jetdoc, I didn't mean to imply you had purchased any land or that you financially aided your wife to do so.
My posting was really a general warning on the pitfalls awaiting the unwary considering the purchase of land, and the things to be observant for. It is perhaps unfortunate that your wifes circumstances seemed to fit that bill.
However if it prevents just one member reading it making a mistake then I feel it was justified.

As a side note, the rai next to the rai my wife bought was owned by an old lady, not sure if a relative or not. A couple of months ago when visiting, I was speaking with a German fellow who is married to a niece of my wife's mother. I mentioned to him that I was trying to get my wife to buy that rai. His wife (a cousin of my wife) said she was thinking of buying that rai but old lady didn't have "paper". A few weeks ago my wife told me that her cousin had bought that rai, probably had to pay a bit more since she knew that my wife trying to buy it also. Go figure.

I live with my GF in a small village in in the lower Loei province, about 100 houses. She tells me that the land in this area is all Sor Por Kor only and nobody that she knows of has Chanotes. Even though they acknowledge the rules regarding only being able to pass the land down to immediate family this does not seem to hinder them from routinely buying and selling land outside the family. I have never been present to witness an actual transaction to see how the paper work is handled but am told that paper does pass hands and some village official is involved. My GF's family history to the area surounding this village goes back a long way even to a great grandmother who is 101 years old and they have passed land down within the family as well as buy and sell it outside the family. It seems that buying land with a Sor Por Kor in small rural areas is fairly routine and safe. However, I think any farang thinking about getting involved with this type of transaction should base their judgement on how solid of a relationship you have with the wife or GF and how good of a family she has. I think you would have to trust them to handle the transaction completly and not be involved yourself once the decision is made to buy the land. After all, if things go bad no matter what kind of paper you have you are going to have some problems. Again, this is isolated rural farming area and farangs are almost non existant. Anywhere near or in a big city or developed area I believe would require a Chanote before my involvement in a purchase.

Thai wife and I bought 21 rai near Phrae with Nor Sor something, from friend of family. When wife goes to local land office to upgrade to Chanote, another guy turns up and claims half the land is his! Land seller tried to help us and provided stacks of old papers, rolled out the granny, everything, but no help. Land people totally in with the bad guy. Long story short, we were left with 11 rai chanote. We sold that off ASAP and managed to just break even.