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New land ownership comments discussed at PCEC Sunday meeting

City holds fire drill at Long Beach Garden

Nightly Tai Chi exercise classes come to Pattaya

New land ownership comments discussed at PCEC Sunday meeting

The Sunday meeting of the Pattaya City Expats Club began on August 16 at the Amari’s Henry J. Bean’s Restaurant when master of ceremonies (emcee) “Hawaii” Bob Sutterfield called on everyone for a moment of silence in memory of member Allen Briggs who recently passed away.

Drew Noyes, of PAPPA Co., advises PCEC members how to invest in property safely in Thailand, for long time security.

He then called on Richard Silverberg to introduce the guest speaker. Richard noted that the speaker did not really need an introduction as he was well known to the club and the expat community in Pattaya having been a long time member and former club chairman. Drew is also a well known businessman in Pattaya operating several businesses including PAPPA Co., Ltd., which offers legal and visa services.
Drew started by mentioning that recent articles in the press about Thai government officials’ comments on illegal land ownership by foreigners was causing some alarm in the expat community. One article from Phuket included a Land Office official’s statements about it being illegal for the Thai wife of a foreigner to buy property. Another dealt with allegations of foreign ownership of Issan farm land.
He said the case of foreigners buying farmland relates to people from the Mideast arranging to have crops grown in Thailand for export to their home country. In that case, Drew said the main issue was not so much a property issue as it was an activity issue pointing out that agriculture is a prohibited activity for foreigners. In the case of a Thai wife buying property, Drew said there are legal ways for foreigners to provide money for their Thai wives to buy property that will pass scrutiny.
Drew’s talk was informative and provided a lot of information of keen interest to the large crowd. Drew provided some specific suggestions about buying property and forming businesses. One area dealt with the formation of companies to buy property. For a company to own land, it cannot have more than 49% foreign ownership of its shares. In the past, lawyers set up companies showing 51% of the shares being owned by Thais who really had no investment in the company. This gave rise to the Land Office saying that in such cases, it would investigate where the Thai owners’ money came from. Drew said there were ways to pass such inquiries.
Drew then explained a process where the company is formed with limited investment by the owners. The money to buy the land or condo is then provided to the company in the form of a loan from the foreigner in return for a mortgage on the property. The foreigner then leases the property from the company. Drew emphasized that the money should first be wired into the foreigner’s personal bank account; not to the company’s account. Further, he said the Inbound Wire Transfer Agreement, formerly called a Tor Tor Sam, needs to clearly state the purpose of the wire transfer, for example to loan ABC Company money to buy property at location description.
In forming companies, whether to buy land or to operate a business, Drew suggested care should be taken to avoid being over taxed. He said most Thai lawyers include from 23 to 26 objectives for the company, which virtually allows the company to do almost anything. This, he said, is not a good idea because taxes are levied differently for different types of business activity. Drew suggested the company’s objectives be limited to the actual planned activity of the company. Other activities can be added at a later date if necessary.
Drew also cautioned against buying a property by purchasing an already existing company that owns the property. This is because the company owning the property may have undisclosed liabilities, which you as the new owner would be obligated to pay if claims are made later. He said it was better to eliminate this risk by spending a small amount of additional money to form another company to buy the property and thus adequately protect the much larger investment.
Drew said that in any property transaction, due diligence and record keeping is a must. He explained how titles are recorded at the land office and showed everyone what it looked like. He noted that on the front is the description of the property and on the back is the list of owners. The last name on the list is the current owner of record. If a mortgage is recorded against the property, it would then appear as the last item.
When buying property, he said to make sure to look at the original title so you can see both the front and back. He said it was not uncommon for a seller to show a photocopy of only the front side of the title to the prospective buyer. Often, upon further investigation one finds that the seller is not the actual owner of record or that there is a mortgage against the property. Drew gave everyone some suggestions on how to ensure the mortgage is paid in such cases. He cautioned against giving money to pay off the mortgage to anyone but the mortgage holder or their legal representative.
In conclusion, Drew cited an example of how one could protect oneself if they have property in their Thai wife’s name especially when the “love is gone.” He explained how a foreigner was able to prove to a Thai court that he provided the funds to the wife for acquiring the property and get a court order protecting his interest. Drew said he offers free consultations. He can be contacted by telephone at 038-301-048 or 084-111-7999 or by email at [email protected].
Emcee Bob thanked Drew for his excellent presentation. He then updated everyone on upcoming events in and around Pattaya and called on Les Edmonds to conduct the Open Forum. The Forum affords everyone with the opportunity to ask questions or make observations about living here in Thailand, recommend a good restaurant or movie, or even pass on a few jokes.

City holds fire drill at Long Beach Garden

Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
Continuing its series of fire-prevention seminars around the city, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department descended on the Long Beach Garden Hotel and Spa to demonstrate blaze battling in high-rise buildings.

Firefighters practice evacuating stranded guests during the fire drill at the Long Beach Garden Hotel and Spa.

Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome oversaw the Aug. 14 drill, nothing that Pattaya’s increasing number of skyscrapers means fire-fighting skills are becoming even more important.
Officials staged a mock fire on the hotel’s fifth floor that employees had to handle. The practical training was complemented by a day of theory and education.

Nightly Tai Chi exercise classes come to Pattaya

Pattaya Tai Chi Club and Sattahip District Tai Chi club members, along with Tavich Chaiswangwong (right), chairman of Pattaya City Council, and Deputy Mayor Verawat Khakhay (2nd right) perform Tai Chi at the official opening ceremony.

Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
South Pattaya residents looking to stay fit now have an alternative to high-impact public aerobics classes and gyms with the introduction of Tai Chi exercise classes at Pattaya School 8.
Operated by the Pattaya Tai Chi Club, the one-hour classes run weeknights starting at 6:30 p.m. in the school’s multipurpose building. The slow, low-impact exercises got their official start at an Aug. 19 ceremony attended by city officials and Tai Chi enthusiasts from Pattaya to Sattahip.
Club Chairwoman Siriwan Thongampai said the classes are funded through the city’s Public Health and Environment Department and have already attracted about 70 nightly members.
“The club was set up for people in the Wat Chaimongkol temple area for people interested in exercise, staying healthy and who want to use their free time for useful purposes,” she said, noting Tai Chi has been shown to reduce stress and improve overall health.
Tai Chi, which literally translates from Chinese as “supreme ultimate fist,” traces its originals to 16th century China when the first of five families crafted their own interpretations of the Taoist philosophy of semi-mythical 12th century figure Zhang Sanfreng into a hybrid martial art that combined meditation with slow, low-impact movements.
Most westerns recognize Tai Chi from images of Chinese workers exercising each morning in China. But classes have become popular worldwide in the past two decades as baby boomers age and the art’s reputation as a low-stress training method for seniors became more well-known. It was imported into Thailand in 1955 by Tong Eng Jia whose son became the country’s first Tai Chi instructor.
Researchers have found that intensive Tai Chi practice shows some positive effects on balance control, flexibility, cardiovascular fitness and reduced cholesterol. Despite its low-impact nature, the exercise burns almost as many calories per hour as downhill skiing. It also has been shown to benefit those recovering from chronic stroke, heart failure, high blood pressure, heart attacks, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, and Alzheimer’s Disease.

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