Hi to all,
I have heard all the horror stories of building on parents or land in GF name, and if relationship goes bad, the guys loosing everything, is it possible to lease land in joint names??, instead of buying land off parents in GFs name, lease the land in joint names, it appears to me as a good compromise, the parents/family get some money from the lease and you have a little security, how secure are these leases??. This was suggested to me by an older thai friend, he suggested that if a relationship did go bad, that the assetts on the land could not be sold, and that a negotiated 50/50 split is the most likely outcome of a relationship breakdown, especially if legally married.

The best solution is to do what the guy did, when his wife owned the land and he owned the house, they split, he bulldozed his house.

If you are going to build a house in your wifes village,consider it a gift because you can't or won't stay there if there is a breakup!Even if you bulldozed it,the money is gone!The majority of falang men, I have talked to,get bored early on with living in the village,so you might want to put some thought into it from that perspective!

I never wanted to live in the village ,but wanted to visit the family often,so my intention was to build first for our comfort and later,when I was dead, for the wife to move there if she chose!I wanted to build a single A/C large living room and bathroom on a 2 br. foundation for her to expand on later!

Never happened because the family started cheating us immediately plus some other family issues that were not going to get resolved,effectively ending visits and contact with that portion of the family!

Living in the family village requires a good family relationship and one that you are comfortable in!Good Luck

On the contrary to BKKSTAN, I built (and we live in) a house on the TW's land, and I absolutely adore village life.

My TW had a legal document drawn up whereby if we split a valuation is done on the house and land and either partner has the option of buying the other out or, the land and house is sold at current market value and proceeds are split 50-50... Now, some cynical bast'ds will say and do say its not worth the paper its written on, and I hope we don't have to find out... I did have the document reviewed by an English lawyer who told me it was pretty standard and basically the same as he would have written...Anyway as I say I hope we don't have to use it, the 7 years of marraige so far says we won't have to.

BTW, most of the wifes family are nearby and are as good as gold, never bother me for anything, regularly call us over for dinner and look after the house when we go away....So I guess I'm one of the lucky ones...

I would agree though village life isn't for everyone, we're only 25KM's from udon so not too far away from the lights....... We actually lived in the village, with the family for 3 months before we built the house, again the wifes idea..

I envy your situation and I am happy for you Kudjap!It definitely works for some,so an open mind and some common sense is highly recommended.Knowing the ''pitfalls'' ain't all bad either!

lot's of negatives if something goes wrong with land/house purchase. 50/50 split sounds nice, like winning a law suit, doesn't mean you will get paid, as they won't have the assets to buy you out. and you can't buy them out, without another partner. gov't as we saw this past year, has a tendency to change regimes, and laws at their whim, what next? what and who will be allowed to do and be where next. buying and selling a house even if things go good can be a hassle. plus udon and thailand is not for everyone, renting for couple years at least in different areas will allow you to think about your options. relationships, well, for me, they come and go. seems like 3 yrs is the limit for me, couple longer, but if you have that kind of record, as i do, do you really think this will be different. yes, us hopeless romantics have faith, but reality kicks in every couple years, then we get to enjoy being singe, then start over again. now that was a positive reply. obviously just a couple things to think about. if all goes good, then bless you. good luck

Agreed laphanphon, the TW wouldn't be able to buy me out, but I could but her out if I needed to without another partner, I have a Thai company already set up with land as a company asset, up the value of the company and add house and land to the company....sorted

Yes there was a shakeup of this 'loophole' but my Thai Directors are all financially secure and can easily show qualifying bank accounts if required. They are friends from my working days here.

I have a bit of a problem I just finished building a house 15 k south of Udon . The original price was 3m. but with the exchange rate and certain chages to the plan it ended up at 4 m. At the same time I started building ., my wife told me that there was a good deal going on 3 Rai up the road but the seller needed the money that day as it was a bargain. I got the land that day in the wifes name for 900.000 bht.

I told the wife I was only buying it to sell it. I told her last week I have to sell it as I need the money towards a deposit on a house here in Ireland, there is now conflict between ourselves for the first time in 5 years of marraige as she said her grandmama has sown chillies etc on it. I told her dont even question me as the house in Ireland will also be 50/50 hers. I dont even own 49% of the mansion I just built for her. Problem is I will not find out the result until I arrive there in early July. I really need that land to be sold. Any suggestions? I am going through the picture no sound treatment at the moment. Sorry tale but fingers crossed things might get resolved.

I think I will have to chage my call sign on the board!!!!!!!!!!!! Sabai
Maybe Mai Sabai Mark Mark

My wife has everything in her name or access to it!It is funny how she reacted one day when one of the ''old pro''local gals told her that she should be careful because I might try to sell her land if I find a younger girl The programmed and constantly reinforced insecurity is easily brought to the front of the mind.Plus they don't really seem to understand the need to manage things.

Hopefully you will be able to have private communication with her as now she is probably getting alot of ''family'' input!Good luck!

sabai wrote: I am going through the picture no sound treatment at the moment.

Ahh yes i know the treatment you talk of well.
That sounds like an impressive build you have there and that also sounds like an impressive amount of chillies

Sabai, you are not going to be able to sell the land once bought. Tell your wife that you now have to borrow the money from the falang bank for your your house in Ireland, and that they will own 50% until it is paid off. So, if anything happens to you, she gets nothing. Just maybe she will see the sense and agree to sell the land in Thailand.

I resolved most of these issues years ago by letting it be known that I was the only poor falang in the world - everyone knows this now and stops trying to sell my wife houses, land and other 'bargains'.

I hope she comes round as the house in Ireland is for her as well. I will be pushing up daisies a long time before the missus as she is a lot younger than me. As for the house build I posted some photos under House and land forum. It looks like they are building a Big C in the village. I am currently waiting for the final pics of the build. Its all top notch material used But I havent seen it yet.

Here is the tread

http://www.udonmap.com/udonthaniforum/v ... php?t=4426

ahh yes i do remember it now, maybe you could resize the photos as they are very Large and you can only get a small percentage on the screen, and did you get anyone to check out the build for you.?

The land ownership for me is no longer an issue, I am home and will not come back to Thailand, after 2 years in Thailand, and 2 failed relationships it is not for me. My last Thai GF has done her disappearing act for the last time, no contact with her for weeks, no explanations of where, with who or why she goes. the contsant steam of lies to save face even on minor issues, demanding parents trying to extract money by any means possible.
My point and this is important to anyone thinking of a relationship with a thai, take your time, learn the culture, look at the people around your potential partner. In my case I did the above, I rented a home, the assetts, I have lost, are a house full of furniture and a new motor bike, am I bitter, no way, I have had some wonderful times, met some great friends, the financial loss of around 100000 baht does not matter, I have not lost everything and still have my assetts and am able to move on and look elsewhere for a partner. The land of smiles is really the land of smiles, sexy bums, lies and deceipt. I believe a Thai is incapable of being open and honest in a relationship, once under any pressure they will lie to save any embarrasment, and save face, a society, where people do not have to face up to the consequences of their actions, is not for me. Only invest in Thailand what you are prepared to loose, over 90% of these Thai/Falang relationships fail within a couple of years. It really is "up to you" to protect yourself emotionally and financially.

300K a rai a bargain Hmm!!!!!!!!!!!

Realtionship breakups, I had three divirces before Thailand never got a house, always got the bills and in two cases years of child support, never alimony. Did have to buy my way out to save my retirment once. Well worth it I might add.

I have never married with the idea that I was going to get divorced, stuff happens guys just the way life is no matter where you are.

Just because you can have it in your name doesn't mean your going to get it anyway.

There is only one reason to buy a house here other then to give your wife something at sometime, that is having things the way you want them and no landlord.

In the end is it really that different, then anywhere else when real life sets in. As long as I can protect the retirement I can rebuild somewhere else. That one I would vote with my passport if need be.

I don't know maybe laws are different in the countries where you come from.

MY home is financied so she has a very long time to go before she could gets it free.

If that should happen I have lost a down payment, the payments are now less the rent would be anyway. Hopefully by the time it is paid for we will have a very good idea if the marriage is really going to work, three years and counting, I don't have most of the problems that come with some Thai marriages, but we did live together for over a year before marriage.

If you see money games early on then your really asking for trouble to build a life with someone.

By the time the house is paid for she has earned as much as I have.

But that is just my approach.

Our sharp lady has already spelled it our in another thread, prenep.

So far my wife has never given me any reason not to trust her, if that changes I will be out the door, trust is just to important in a relationship. I try to remember that in the way I conduct myself as well. I like those little cuties as much as the next guy, they are certainly easy enough to get here, just takes a bit of money.

Would my wife leave me over that, I doubt it, but we would not have the trust we have now? That is a two way street, up to me to do my part.