Buying a House in Rayong. Need a lawyer

[candoman89]

Hi All:

 

as the title says, I am buying a house in Rayong with my wife and would like to connect with a lawyer to check over the  land title deed.  Also want him to arrange the sale so my interest is protected via a usefruct (spelling?) or loan to wife or... or... or...  Don't want to go via thai company although that is always possible (have had a Thai company for 15 years).

 

Any recommendations of a lawyer somebody has used in the area?

 

Thanks

[Eff1n2ret]

There's no name I can recommend, but if at all possible instruct a lawyer who knows the local area and amphur. I say this from my own experience over 10 years ago, when I attempted to register a usufruct on the house we had bought the previous year in Banchang. In the absence of local knowledge I picked a lawyer in Pattaya who was on a list of firms recommended by the US Embassy. When we went to the Amphur a sour-faced female started raising what I thought were spurious objections and the lawyer's rep just stood there open-mouthed. The guy in Pattaya said he'd never experienced any similar problems in the Pattaya area.

At the time I couldn't help wondering whether the offer of a bribe would have fixed it, and a local lawyer would probably have known the individual and known what to do. As it was, I didn't feel like taking the risk of making an offer which might land me in trouble, and walked away from the whole thing.

I just wrote it down to experience, and stopped bothering about it long since. If the missis ever wanted to throw me out I'd go, and if she was no longer around I probably wouldn't stay in Thailand anyway.

I hope this is of assistance.

[candoman89]

Thanks for the insight.  Never thought about local knowledge but I should know better.

 

[Langsuan Man]

Same is true for Sattahip Land Office , they have different rules and requirements than Pattaya Land Office 

 

For instance,  if you want to purchase a house in a company name via the Sattahip office your "company" must have over 1 Million Baht in assets (above the purchase price of the property),  where Pattaya  has no such requirement

 

So local knowledge cannot be overstated, especially when dealing with Land Offices, which like,  Immigration are fiefdoms

[candoman89]

Thanks for that.  Would prefer not to go the buying it via company but could do.