Reader question: Lending money to a Thai, did I fall for it?

I don't understand why you would want to help someone with two houses and 34 rai of land financially.
With that property she can take out a loan from the bank.
She could have done that right away, instead of going to a loanshark.

Once a contract has been drawn up, it will have to go through the courts, unless a letter from a lawyer announcing a trial can persuade her to pay.
There is nothing sensible to say about the costs, that depends on how much she protests.

Another option would be to sell the contract to the loanshark (or say you will), who will make sure he gets his money.
Then you will see some of your money back, although less than you lent out.
I'm not sure how legal this is though.

It is probably best to present the whole story to a lawyer.
He knows Thai law and can give better advice on possible next steps.
Also in your possible agreement with the loanshark.

Hi Will,

It's hard to tell if you fell for it (as your question suggests) because we don't know what exactly is in your agreement. Was the contract drawn up by a lawyer? Witnesses present at the drawing up of the contract? (very important in Thailand)
Even if you hire a lawyer, you have no guarantee at all that you will see any of the money back. The lawyer will of course claim that it is because he also wants to earn something from you, and preferably as much as possible.
You had better first asked for the necessary information on this forum before proceeding to lend money.
Lending money is a professional profession and should be left to banks, who have the know-how and experience.

But hopefully you will see some of the money back someday.

Succes

I don't understand why such a question is still being asked! Of course you fell for it. How can anyone get involved in loanshark activities when they know that interest payments in excess of 1000% are being paid? A loan of 400 K ThB against a property of 34 rai of land and 2 pieces of real estate. Why help? With what then? And why did you have to bend your knees? Would have helped to restructure the debt by listing her income and expenses instead of donating money herself!

If she has sufficient collateral, she could also have obtained a loan from the bank at a decent interest rate.
I don't know how much interest you're asking, but under certain circumstances you can put that at 3 percent per month. I would be the first to send her a letter saying that because she is not fulfilling the contract, you will also change the rules and raise the interest to 3 percent per month. Hopefully that scares her.
A lawyer often asks a percentage of the amount to be collected, but if the contract is well put together and clearly in your favor, you should be done with 2/3 muun. Just shop around because they don't have fixed rates.
I have sometimes helped people, neighbors and family in the same way, but luckily it was always paid back on time. It sucks when you help people and this is their thanks.
Succes

A contract is not much here, we ourselves have also lent money after receiving the title deeds of a piece of land. As collateral. The loan was never paid back, we were left with a nice piece of land, only had to be transferred at the land office. Perhaps negotiating with a local intermediary is another option to get some money back.

Will's story makes me suspect that the two houses are not or not yet owned by his acquaintance. As long as you have not repaid the entire mortgage debt to the lender, the house is not yours, but the lender's. When you have paid everything, you will receive a statement from the lender and you will receive the property in your name through the district office.
There are many more Thai people who say they have their own house, but in reality it is not so.

Dear Will, what to do? You can request a start-up meeting from a lawyer, sometimes the 1st half hour is not charged. In that time, a first impression can be obtained of your chances of obtaining the loan amount and what the possible costs of the lawyer and additional procedure costs would be.
Keep this in mind, first check the facts that you want to let the lawyer know, eg check whether your good acquaintance actually owns the said land and 2 houses, you cannot acquire ownership of these. You can force the borrower to sell it, but there is a good chance that no buyer will emerge, it is also possible that the borrower has already heavily borrowed these properties and may have other loanshark loans.
In short, it can be quite a journey of discovery before taking action to get your money back. Consider the whole, is there a chance of success with action or does it only lead to costs with no benefits.
No cure no pay is not common in Thailand. Good luck with it.
Nico B

If I may play devil's advocate for a moment; my first thought was that everything could be staged. Does a loanshark really come by every day to get his money? or has this good acquaintance enlisted some friends to pose as money collectors from a loanshark in order to appear pathetic to her “rich” farang acquaintance. And then to get him to give her a loan (free money) (of course he/she doesn't know that yet at that moment). She kindly asks him/her to help her because she is so sad with a so-called expensive loan, and usually sooner or later the loot will arrive with one or another acquaintance. This would also explain why she already owns a number of homes and has land….(perhaps obtained in this way). Most Thai women will not be like that, but there are some in between……..

It's no shame that you fell for it, I almost fell for it myself, a good Thai buddy of mine also asked for a loan that I declined, luckily, and a month later he lived in a completely different part of Bangkok . I really considered him a good buddy, he me too, we often hung out with each other, but some Thais will suddenly switch that switch from now on I'm going to think purely about myself. opportunistic.