PATTAYA, THAILAND – A family that paid 1.5 million baht toward their dream home over several years has been evicted after the property was sold at auction; the developer had secretly used the house as collateral for a mortgage.
Five years of payments — then the shock
The case began in 2015 when the family’s father signed a purchase contract for a house in a private housing project in Nong Pla Lai, east Pattaya. The agreed price was 3 million baht. Over the next five years the family diligently paid installments totaling 1.5 million baht and moved into the house in 2017.
In 2020 they discovered that the builder had pledged the property to a financial institution. The father stopped making payments, a decision that later proved justified. In 2024 the Enforcement Department announced an auction of the property, setting the stage for the family’s eviction.
Three days to vacate — wrongful detention
In 2025 representatives of the new owner appeared and demanded immediate evacuation. The family’s eldest son, 24-year-old Suthipong Nanta, and his three younger siblings were ordered to leave within three days. When Suthipong refused, police intervened and he was mistakenly detained because officers assumed he was affiliated with the developer. A court order subsequently freed him and confirmed he was a victim, not a perpetrator.
Family under strain
The incident has taken a severe toll on the family. The parents have moved to another province because of the stress, while Suthipong and his siblings remain in the disputed home. He describes a surreal daily life of having to climb through locked doors to retrieve belongings. The family has asked authorities for a two- to three-month grace period to pack their possessions and rehouse their pets, saying they feel abandoned by the system.
Questions about liability and oversight
Central to the controversy is how a developer was able to mortgage a house that had already been sold and why authorities did not intervene earlier. Pattaya’s real-estate market has a reputation for opaque and sometimes dubious transactions, and this case highlights gaps in buyer protection and regulatory oversight.
Suthipong has called on relevant agencies to investigate the matter thoroughly and to take steps that will prevent other buyers from suffering a similar fate.
Fight for justice
Legally, the new owner may have legitimate title following the auction, but the moral questions remain stark: a family that paid half the agreed purchase price has lost its savings and its home as a result of alleged developer fraud. The dispute underscores the urgent need for stronger safeguards for property buyers in Thailand.
The family’s plea is simple and poignant: ‘We paid — and lost everything.’ The case is now a test of whether authorities will provide accountability and reform to prevent such outcomes in the future.
Source: Pattaya Mail