Wealth Warning : Foreigners masquerading as real estate agents

If you were in your own country and you were looking to purchase a house or apartment, or some land, would you go to the local bar or restaurant and take advice from a friendly stranger? No, of course you wouldn’t, and nor should you be dumb enough to do this here in Thailand, especially with all of the scams that have lost many their life savings.

But you might be fooled by some attractive looking website offering a selection of properties for sale or rent, but once again, look more carefully, and look to see if the website proudly displays their company name, office address, telephone and fax numbers, contact names, etc, because if such details are absent then it’s a sure thing that the website has been set up by a foreigner who is masquerading as a real estate agent, and who is working illegally here in Thailand without a Thai work permit.

Such people are working from home and/or from a website, with only one agenda : to line their greedy pockets with backhand commission payments from the seller. They are knowingly breaking the law and committing a crime by working illegally in this country and paying no taxes to Thailand and to the local community, and can be fined, imprisoned or deported for their dishonesty and criminal behaviour. They are not professionals and have very little knowledge of Thai law, nor may they possess much business experience, and may even be ignorant of the proper proceedings of a property sale which are necessary to ensure you a safe purchase.

Their friendly, generous and helpful behaviour is the means by which they manipulate their victims towards their hidden agenda, because if they were really serious about providing a proper and honest service to their customers then they would operate legitimately within the bounds of the law.

So, if you are looking to buy or rent a property, do yourself and everyone else here in Thailand a favour and steer clear of such sharks, and if you have a property for sale or for rent, be careful not to solicit the help of a foreigner who has no Thai work permit to assist with the promotion and sale or rental management of your property, and who does not have the knowledge to offer you any sensible advice which could prevent you from inadvertently breaking the law too.