Thailand Expats

urtheman · #1 23-03-2004, 17:07

I was told today by a Thai property owner today who owns quite a few houses that Americans can buy up to one rai of land without doing the corporation thing or putting it in a Thai's name. He mentioned only American passport holders can do this and only one rai of land.
I'm skeptical of this as it seems that they refer to all farangs in the laws of ownership and if it was true would'nt there be more American ownership of land.

Anybody bought land in Thailand on this forum?

geespot · #2 23-03-2004, 17:26

Hi Utheman

Go see a lawyer, its not that expensive - Ive not heard of this and Im buying land at the moment - through my Thai company and even then your share of ownership is dilluted by the capital required to purchase the property i.e. your Thai shareholders get the benefit of additional shares upto the value of the additional capital you have to put in to buy the property - i.e. you lose every time!!!!

Go see a good lawyer recommend Patong Law Office tel: 076 342303 if you decide to use tell them love & Ben recommended you - ps Im not on commission or anything - they are just nice people

Nicke · #3 23-03-2004, 18:13

Yes, US citizens has special privilegies. You can own 100% of your business while other farangs can own only 49%.

So I guess it's same for land.

Phuket International Law (have office in Phuket Town and Patong) is also a reputable law and real estate comapany, Sam Fauma usually give advices for free. http://www.phuket-realestate-law.com/index.htm

Send them an email and ask.

urtheman · #4 23-03-2004, 19:50

Thank you for the leads on lawyers I'll let you know what they said.

Regards,

Robert

freshc · #5 24-03-2004, 00:50

This is useful information. I'm thinking of moving over there as well... perhaps 4-6 months a year and was wondering about purchasing a property.

alibaba · #6 24-03-2004, 18:39

Anyone thinking of buying a property in LOS. should consider condo.
Can be foreigner owned . A lot less hassle than house & land.
You can rent it out when your not using it, or like me, just have it for your own use.
One of the advantages is security. I lock my door at end of visit and when i return next visit, i walk in and everything is just as i left it.

Nicke · #7 24-03-2004, 19:17

A common solution is to lease the house for 30+ years, either from the property company or your girlfriend (or another Thai) who's name is on the ownership papers.

Another solution is to have a company who owns the land/house, but this practice may not be safe for the future, the rules for companies changes all the time and only two years ago they said they were going to check that the shareholders in the company realle were active and real investors of the company. Nothing happened thought. But if they do such checks, you may run into problem. (Most farang companies I am aware of use just "borrowed" names for the shareholders. It's better to have unique names, in the past the same shareholder names appeared in a lot of companies used by the law firm to help farangs setting up the companies.)

K2 · #8 27-03-2004, 12:34

This is true for US citizens only and is an entitlement under the Treaty of Amity between the US and Thailand, it also gives Americans the right to wholly own a business - BUT this treaty expires sometime next year when GATT (now WTO) obligations supercede it.

urtheman · #9 28-03-2004, 13:15

I haven't yet consulted the lawyers previosly mentioned. But was wondering will any land or business agreements allready in effect for Americans be "grandfathered in". Or will they be terminated.

Nicke · #10 28-03-2004, 15:59

It should be "grandfathered" otherwise big injustice for these involved, but interesting question thought.

Hurry up Robert - before it is too late

Quote:

Originally Posted by urtheman

I haven't yet consulted the lawyers previosly mentioned. But was wondering will any land or business agreements allready in effect for Americans be "grandfathered in". Or will they be terminated.

jsd · #11 05-04-2004, 10:25

Hi Alibaba,

Where did you buy your condo ? Could you give a good average prize for 2 bedrooms condo ? Thanks

Jsd

alibaba · #12 05-04-2004, 22:18

Hi jsd
My condo is in the Patong Grand Condotel on Rat-U-Tit Rd. next door to what used to be the Bayshore Resort Hotel, which is now called the Devana or something like that. Also the Sky Inn is next to it.
Prices for condo's vary, depending on which complex.
My place has 2 large bedrooms and an area containing, lounge, fitted kitchen, plus 1 bathroom / wc. + 3 balconies. 85 square metres. on the 6th. floor.
The complex also has a nice pool & parking.
I paid 2.3 million baht 5 years ago and i don't think the prices have risen a lot since then. The monthly costs are 1200 baht. This covers management fees, water & electricity standing charge. The only other cost is for the water & electric i use when i am there. About 700 baht a week. That is with having the aircon running most of the time. Grand Condo is quite a nice place,
secure and no hassles. A lot of the units are owned by farangs who use them for holidays or who live there most of the time. Some are investment properties that are rented out. Mostly long term. I rented a few times before buying. A cheaper option is the Sky Inn, but a bit downmarket. A lot of LB.s rent places there.
If you want to go to top end of market in Patong, there is the Andaman Suites. Prices range upwards of about 7 or 8 million and the management costs are very high.
Hope this answers a few of your questions.

jsd · #13 06-04-2004, 09:06

Thanks Alibaba for these useful info. I'm sure I'm not the only one who'll take advantage of them. I've another question ? Which realtor did you contact for this invest ? How was the fee ? I know it was 5 years ago but that can at least give an idea. Thanks again

Jsd

alibaba · #14 06-04-2004, 15:33

Hi, jsd
I didn't use a realty Co. I did contact a few & viewed a few properties but couldn't find what i wanted. I advertised in & checked out property sales in Phuket Gazette online. I finally decided to buy in Grand Condo. I rented from & then bought through a guy who owns & manages units there.
His name is Wolfgang Weinzetti (Wiwi).
Check out http://members.tripod.com/PhuketWiwi/
I paid him a finders/arrangement fee, but cannot remember how much.
I remember i did a few visits to find what i wanted. Still this was always an excuse to visit regularly. Also i insisted that the seller paid the transfer fees.

koarl · #15 14-06-2004, 15:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by alibaba

His name is Wolfgang Weinzetti (Wiwi).
Check out http://members.tripod.com/PhuketWiwi/

This site is out of date!

Wiwi's Apartments moved to http://www.patong.at

regards
Koarl

domifletch · #16 14-06-2004, 16:04

I found some intresting info on http://www.siamnordic.com/eng_index2.htm

naomi · #17 15-08-2004, 16:04

Nicke is very right.

One of my friends, a European, not married, no Thai girlfriend has just bought a house in an upscale residential area in Phuket for a moderate price. It is completely legal, certified and approved by the Land Department, kinda circumnavigating the law though. But be careful, there a r e companies out there to cheat you. Trust the foreigners in the know. Anyone having questions, PM me.

ace · #18 15-08-2004, 16:25

Naomi,...

One of my friends, a European, not married, no Thai girlfriend has just bought a house in an upscale residential area in Phuket for a moderate price. It is completely legal, certified and approved by the Land Department, kinda circumnavigating the law though. But be careful, there a r e companies out there to cheat you. Trust the foreigners in the know. Anyone having questions, PM me.

Yes you can purchase property in Thailnad I have done it a couple of times BUT each piece of propertuy comes with 2 deeds or land registry forms, One for the house and one for the land. In both cases my wife owns the land, with a reference to my passport on the registry form. At least that is how it is done in Khon kaen.

Johnnie · #19 30-09-2005, 16:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by urtheman

I was told today by a Thai property owner today who owns quite a few houses that Americans can buy up to one rai of land without doing the corporation thing or putting it in a Thai's name. He mentioned only American passport holders can do this and only one rai of land.
I'm skeptical of this as it seems that they refer to all farangs in the laws of ownership and if it was true would'nt there be more American ownership of land.

Anybody bought land in Thailand on this forum?

Talk to me - I work with a Thai lawyer who specializes in Propety purchases , conveyancing , company formation & work permits. Cheers John

LivinLOS · #20 30-09-2005, 16:53

Whats your price for a corporate formation structured for 49% or 34% farang ownership with the required thai directors supplied ?? Thai directors should also pre sign resignation slips and the farang shares be voting shares with the Thai directors non voting shares ??

Formation costs and annual 0 profit declaration cost ??

How long to have complete ??

Current 'top quality' costs locally are 20 - 35k baht for formation (all directors provided) and 10 - 15 for annual 0 profit declarations.. Can pay less if dealing with lawyers who are not in the more expensive offices etc but those prices reflect competant english speakers with a great track record for punctuality and efficiency.

My favorite lawyer I always reccomend is IIRC 22k formation and 12k per year for the annual returns all in.