Behind the Sell-and-Leaseback Scam: How Forged Documents Are Used to Manipulate Land Deals

Beyond the condo industry.

There’s another world just as riddled with scammers.

That is the "sell with right of redemption" industry.
(Known in Thai as “ขายฝาก”)

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The process is quite similar to a mortgage.

The property owner uses their real estate
as collateral to borrow money.

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Elderly property owners
are often targeted by these scammers.

They want to sell their land,
but are tricked into entering a sell-with-redemption agreement instead.
(You can read more details about how this works on various websites.)

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Scammers create fake documents claiming the owner’s consent,
and circulate them around the market,
hoping other brokers will help find investors to buy the redemption rights.

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Why do scammers do this?

1. Properties under this scheme are typically offered at 40–60% of market value.

Scammers test the market by circulating the deal.

If there’s enough investor interest…

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1.1 They pressure the owner to sell at this low price.

1.2 They show screenshots of investor interest
and ask for “processing fees” or “deal-pushing fees”
to make it happen — all without the owner knowing what price was agreed upon with the investor.

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In this particular case,
I got my hands on the documents.

And I noticed several red flags:

1. All signatures were written in the same handwriting.

2. There was no indication that this was a sell-with-redemption transaction.

3. The owner's signature was missing entirely.

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So I called the owner.

He spoke with clear irritation,
assuming I was just another person trying to talk him into a sell-with-redemption deal.

I told him to calm down —
I wasn’t here to buy or push for that deal.

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Instead, I had evidence
of who was manipulating his land into this shady transaction,
causing him unnecessary stress.

I asked whether he wanted the evidence
in order to pursue legal action.

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But he said he didn’t want to sue just yet.
He’s still trying to stay calm.

#Well, up to you bro.

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FYI — The law:

Anyone who fakes documents
is guilty of forgery,
punishable by up to 3 years imprisonment
or a fine of up to 60,000 baht, or both.

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If the forged document
is an official title or government document —
such as a loan agreement, sales contract, or lease contract —
the penalty increases to
6 months to 5 years in prison
and a fine ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 baht.
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