@John *********

I'm married but I am on a retirement visa, not marriage visa. I imagine that would make things difficult trying to get my name in the blue book. But the absence of my name from the bluebook wasn't the issue really, I had my name on the chanote and the land office document. I'm prevented from signing a lease because I have no work permit

@John *********

just empty blue book, I own two condos. Farang name can't be listed in the blue book. I tried what you suggested, but only with empty blue book. Dragon woman rejected it because I don't have a work permit

@Bob *********

If wouldn't shed a tear if her face accidentally collided with someone's fist.

Ok, so here's what we did

I own the condo my friend is renting. I drafted a lease with my name as the landlord. I included copies of the tabian baan, chanote, and land office documents proving I own it. Note that my name can't be in the tabian baan because I'm a farang.

Dragon woman rejected it. She said that I can't rent my spare condo because I am on a retirement visa and don't have a work permit. 😠😠😠

I pointed to my wife who was there, dragon woman said I'd have to rewrite the lease, provide tabian baan of the the room in which my wife and I live (her name is on that one), the room we are renting to my friend, both chanotes and our marriage certificate. We'll try again tomorrow.

My next question: will they tell me I have to get a marriage visa ? Can you live in Thailand on a retirement visa and be married to a thai ?

Dragon woman is a coont for sure. She loves to be rude and scream orders at farangs, but her attitude changes for thai people.

@Bob *********

got all that

@Russell ******

would it be better to have my name on the lease ? My wife's name is in the blue book as a resident, not the owner. I'm the owner

@Ron ******

the blue book doesn't have my wife's name in it. I live with her in a second condo in the same building, her name is in that book. Can we bring both books ?

@Neil ******

they are all definitely on the take, thats for sure. But they'll want just as much as what you'll pay an agent. Agents have been jacking up their prices also. Used to be, if you already had the money, an agent would run the paperwork for you and it would only cost you 12k. Now they want 26k, just for shuffling paper and dealing with the bureaucracy.

@Todd ********

interesting point. Wise gives you the rate up front, whereas a swift transfer is going to use the rate advertised on your thai bank's website on the day and hour it arrives at your thai bank. And those rates are usually crappy, not to mention it is impossible to predict the day and hour it will arrive. Usually, when I've done a swift transfer over 25K USD, I got a call from bangkok bank when it arrived and I was able to beg for a rate maybe 5bps higher than their advertised rate. But it was still crap.

@Todd ********

you're right, you can, but anything more than 5000 usd they charge fees no cheaper than a SWIFT transfer, because they are using SWIFT. So for that kind of money, you're better off doing a wire from your bank