Buying Land in Thai

[Guest]

Who can help me....am serious.... PM me or reply with any help you can plse

CHEERS

[Road Runner]

Hello Scooby,

As a falang you can buy an apartment in Thailand (subject to some rules) but you cannot buy land.

However there are two ways around this.  The first is to marry a Thai person and the land is owned in their name.
The problem with this is that if you get divorced the Thai spouse gets everything.

The other way is to find a decent lawyer and they will set up a company to own the land for you.  Roughly the scheme is you have 7 partners of which 1 is you and the other 6 will be Thai.
They sign an agreement which gives all their rights away to you.  At the moment this is legal and is fairly widely used even by big companies.
The problem is if the Thai government suddenly decides to change the law.

A VERY SERIOUS word of warning  -  the land laws in Thailand are rather like the old feudal laws in the UK used to be.  It's possible for someone to have title to a piece of land without owning it.
In other words they can use it as if it is theirs but they cannot legally sell it.  This has been used to scam unsuspecting people in the past - some of those being Thai!

That's why I say find a decent lawyer.

RR.

[jadeite]

The "company" method was a creative work around to the laws prohibiting foreign ownership. Thailand started cracking down on this in the last year. If they deem it is merely a fake front for foreign ownership, they will prohibit your application or terminate your ownership retroactively. It was a gray area before, and now they have made it crystal clear that this is illegal. Everyone should cross this one off the list.

As mentioned you can own a condo, providing it is not on the first floor and hence has no land associated with it. Other restrictions apply.

You can legally obtain a 30 year lease for land. This can give piece of mind, but what if 10 years later you want to live elsewhere in Thailand or another country? You're stuck paying for a lease for another 20 years for something you don't use.

There is also something called a USUFRUCT allowing one the right to use land for their lifetime without actually owning it.

The last thing you should do is put it in the name of your sweetheart. This is an unnecessary roll of the dice with all the money! What are the statistics of relationships falling out? Everyone thinks this won't happen to them, but it happens to most people. Only use this method if you can accept losing it all.

Whatever you do, get a good lawyer or else you are just food for the sharks. You can be shown the land you are buying but the deed is for a swamp somewhere else. Or you can buy from someone who does not rightfully own what they are selling. Don't be another victim among the countless horror stories. Whatever you do, get a good lawyer.

For what it is worth, a major reason why Thailand does not want foreign ownership is they are concerned it will create a real estate boom and Thai€™s will not be able to afford their own land.

[69billy]

Here you go Scooby..
From Bangkok Post:

Thailand's booming property sector has been thrown into confusion by a new regulation issued this month that requires all partly foreign-owned companies to prove the source of their funding before purchasing land, industry sources said Tuesday.

The new Interior Ministry regulation that went into effect on May 25 has already started to slow sales of housing estates in Thailand's popular seaside resorts, such as Pattaya, Phuket, Hua Hin and Samui Island, which have been specifically targeting well-to-do foreigners as vacation getaways or retirement homes.

"The property boom ended on May 25," said Ronachai Krisadaolarn, managing director of Bangkok International Associates, a Bangkok-based legal consultancy firm that caters to foreign clients.

Thailand has strict laws prohibiting foreigners from directly purchasing property themselves although loopholes in the law allow them to own land and their houses through long leases or a "nominee company," providing the company is majority Thai-owned.

It is common practice for such "shell companies" to include Thai nationals who have been paid to act as nominees to facilitate the deal and who have invested nothing in the purchase.

The new regulation, signed by Suraart Thoingniramol, deputy permanent secretary of the Interior Ministry, is designed to halt the use of such companies for property purchases in the future.

"If it appears that an alien holds shares or is a director or it is reasonable to believe that a Thai holds shares as a representative of an alien, the officers shall investigate the income of Thais holding shares, delving into the number of years [they have spent] in the current profession and monthly salary," reads a translation of the law. "The provision of necessary evidence is required."

The new regulation is actually an enforcement of Thailand's existing laws, legal experts said.

"It's not a radical change. It's a radical implementation," Ronachai said.

The regulation has already started to stall home sales to foreigners, sources said.

"There's a lot of confusion," said Simon Landy, managing director of the Primo Co, a property-development firm. "Some land offices don't know what to do with it, and many have simply stopped transferring land."

[69billy]

And more...
From Thai visa tonight:

Gazette News: Land crackdown targets Thai shareholders

BANGKOK: -- The Ministry of Interior has ordered a crackdown on property companies attempting to circumvent Section 74 of the Land Act in order to allow foreigners to control land ownership.

Section 74 states (unofficial translation): €œIn the process of registering [land] possession rights and contracts between parties €¦ officers have the power to investigate both parties and call them for questioning or have them send relevant documentary evidence as is necessary. Officers will proceed as is appropriate to the case.

€œIn cases where there is reason to believe that the request to register possession rights will evade the law or where there is reason to believe that land is being bought for the benefit of foreigners a request for an order from the Minister will be made. The Minister€™s order will be final.€

The crackdown will target Thai partners in Thai-foreign ventures, examining their inco me, their professional qualifications or experience, and their credit history.

In an order dated May 15 and issued to all provincial governors, the Deputy Permanent Director of the Ministry, Sura-art Thongniramol, notes, €œThe Ministry of Interior has received reports that there are foreigners working with Thais or [engaging] Thais to register a company with the aim of buying and selling immovable property as a business venture.

€œAt the initial stage a house and land are purchased for residence or [for use as] an office and later [the aims are changed] to selling and subdividing for sale to foreigners €¦ which is illegal.€

Provincial officials are ordered, €œas protection against bypassing the law€, to examine limited companies, limited partnerships and general partnerships €œhaving the aim of carrying out business in immovable property.€

The order continues, €œIf it appears that an alien holds shares or is a director, or if it is reasonable to believe that a Thai holds shares as a representative of an alien, the officers shall investigate the income of Thais holding shares, delving into the number of years [they have been] in [their] current profession, and their income. The provision of necessary evidence is required.

€œIf a loan was taken [by the Thai] for the purchase [of shares] evidence of the loan is required.€

The order does not specify which officials will be responsible for investigating suspect companies, nor does it set out, except in the vaguest of terms, what will happen after the €œinvestigation€.

All it says is, €œIf after due investigation it can conceivably be believed that the request for registration €¦ is to bypass the law or [it can be believed] that [those involved are buying] land for the benefit of an alien as defined in Section 74 €¦ the officers who undertook the investigation shall forward the findings to the Land Department to a wait the order of the Minister.€

No deadlines are set for how long an investigation will take, or how fast the Minister will be required to deliver a judgment.

Local reaction was hard to come by. The Phuket Provincial Land Office was not aware of the new order. However, one Thai involved in the property industry, who did not wish to be named, remarked that it seemed €œlike a good thing, as long as the application is fair€. He added that he worried that it might be used by some €œfor their [own] benefit€.

-- Phuket Gazette 2006-05-31

[katoeylover]

IMHO, i would leave it for a while til the dust settles with this new government.

Dont want to end up losing £40K for the sake of a few months.

[stogie bear]

Good idea... The 30 year lease option looks good at the moment.

The idea behind the clampdown is that Thais won't be able to buy houses if foriegners are allowed to. This is a bit silly as the houses being built are specifically for farangs anyway and would not have ever been built for Thai buyers anyway.

It's an adventure living here!

[Stewart]

why would you want to do this?

[Guest]

Cheers all....think I will accept the advise of giving it a few months b4 i invest and keep an eye on things....was looking at buying a condo but know it would only be a stepping stone to the self build but how easy is it to resell condo's ? and they seem to be very expensive for waht basically is a couple of rooms in a tower block.....

[Guest]

(69billy @ Feb. 23 2007,01:02) Gazette News: Land crackdown targets Thai shareholders

€œThe Ministry of Interior has received reports that there are foreigners working with Thais or [engaging] Thais to register a company with the aim of buying and selling immovable property as a business venture.

€œAt the initial stage a house and land are purchased for residence or [for use as] an office and later [the aims are changed] to selling and subdividing for sale to foreigners €¦ which is illegal.€

Provincial officials are ordered, €œas protection against bypassing the law€, to examine limited companies, limited partnerships and general partnerships €œhaving the aim of carrying out business in immovable property.€

The only good news I can see is that this 'crackdown' may be aimed at property speculators, rather than individuals purchasing property for their own use ('residence') albeit through a local corporation.

However, the 'rule of law' in Thailand is so unpredictable that it would be difficult to give any clear advice  

[stogie bear]

(Stewart @ Feb. 23 2007,21:22) why would you want to do this?

You mean why would I want a 30 year lease? Because it will almost certainly outlive me! After that I don't give a hoot what happens!

[Stewart]

(stogie bear @ Feb. 26 2007,22:00)

(Stewart @ Feb. 23 2007,21:22) why would you want to do this?

You mean why would I want a 30 year lease? Because it will almost certainly outlive me! After that I don't give a hoot what happens!  

No, why would you want to but at all in a place like Thailand. Sounds like a recipe for uncertainty and nasty surprises

[kaos]

Buy a condo in BKK is great idea...I did it.
and if you buy not in bangkok tourist area (like sukumvit, silom etc.) the condo is not expensive at all.
I bought a condo in Ramkamhaeng for 2mil baht (60 sqm) and i spent other 500K baht to decorate it (not too bad compared to europe or usa).
I chose Ramkamhaeng because the university plenty of ladyboys

[Guest]

saw this intresting artical in todays online bkk post

http://www.bangkokpost.com/Business/28Feb2007_biz36.php

I will look into this next time i am in thailand