How safe are land chanotes on samui?

[Thaidream]

It is amazing to me that so many foreigners continue to believe they can own land in Thailand. The law is explicit- you cannot own land!!!!  Up to you if you believe it. Nuff said.

[ronaldo0]

Ask the people who have been told their property is illegal by the army a few months ago !! One was a 110 million bht villa from last press report from what I recall. Most of the people who signed off on land deeds here many years ago to ok them are seemingly long gone or dead from old age.

[mikiea]

On 12/15/2017 at 8:07 AM, SOUTHERNSTAR said:

The chanotes that are investigated as a rule encroached on forest or beach land. Always have the land office resurvey the land before a purchase. You can also ask the forestry department if a specific piece of land are under investigation or not. Talk to people staying in around the land as they will know whats going  on about the land.  

they are only as good as how bad your wife's divorce lawyer is .

[Tofer]

On 15 December 2017 at 7:36 PM, Scouse123 said:

 

Because of the fact that the foreigner, as a rule, is terrified of being cheated out of his/her money as a minority shareholder and not without good reason!

Of course, but that depends upon whom your shareholders are. I was simply stating the facts, as I know them, in contradiction of thaidreams statement that Thai companies could not be legal.

 

It's perfectly feasible that a foreigner has a partner / wife who has the wherewithal to be an equal partner in the company (49%) each and perhaps a sibling who can find 2% thereby keeping it in the family with a reasonable expectation that their share is safe. The Thai contingent may have a majority shareholding but the foreigner legally owns his 49%.

 

[Tofer]

On 15 December 2017 at 10:39 PM, trogers said:

The meaning of nominees is that they are selling their names for use as shareholders, while the source of funds is from some other person(s).

 

You can set up a legitimate Thai company if you can find rich Thais who actually come out funds from their pockets to own the majority shares.

 

Still such a company would make no business sense just being set up to hold only a piece of land, or to build a building for the exclusive use of the minority foreign shareholder.

I agree it doesn't make business sense under those circumstances.

 

My point was that a Thai company can be established legally, without the use of nominee shareholders, with the right shareholders and in the right circumstances obviously.

 

For instance, my Thai wife jointly owns all our properties and assets in UK, legally and morally, and has the wherewithal, had I felt it necessary to form a company in Thailand.

Edited December 17, 2017 by Tofer
Punctuation

[oracle]

On 15-12-2017 at 1:31 PM, Tofer said:

Why does the company have to "involve nominees"?

 

I was under the impression a foreigner could own 49% of a company that owned land with one more Thai than foreigner shareholders holding the remaining 51%. Also that such a company is perfectly legal providing the shareholder can prove their wherewithal to purchase said shareholding.

 

I agree, but you must register the land under a Thai company with the shareholding structure that you mention, i.e. foreign shareholding up to 49%, preference shares for the foreigner and being a sole and foreign managing director. If this is accepted by the land office you are pretty safe when it comes to your Thai shareholders. Not what you usually see that you register the land to a company with a different (fully Thai) shareholding structure and then after the land has been transferred to the company the shareholding is changed to the foreign Thai shareholding that you mention.

 

If you follow this last procedure your Thai shareholders are questionable and company shareholding structure likely illegal when it comes to land holding.

[Tofer]

9 hours ago, oracle said:

 

I agree, but you must register the land under a Thai company with the shareholding structure that you mention, i.e. foreign shareholding up to 49%, preference shares for the foreigner and being a sole and foreign managing director. If this is accepted by the land office you are pretty safe when it comes to your Thai shareholders. Not what you usually see that you register the land to a company with a different (fully Thai) shareholding structure and then after the land has been transferred to the company the shareholding is changed to the foreign Thai shareholding that you mention.

 

If you follow this last procedure your Thai shareholders are questionable and company shareholding structure likely illegal when it comes to land holding.

I did not mention transferring shareholdings, simply set the company up correctly in the first instance as I described and as you noted in your first paragraph.

 

For the record I am not intending setting up a company for myself, but thank you for everyones concern and input. Thai wills and a usurfruct will suffice to protect against a potential family grab in the event my wife passes before me I believe.

[Will E Vormer]

A thai Will is so important. Its amazing the amount of farangs I meet, with assets here, who havent done a thai Will

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[Tofer]

18 hours ago, Will E Vormer said:

A thai Will is so important. Its amazing the amount of farangs I meet, with assets here, who havent done a thai Will

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
 

Not only here, everywhere in the world I believe this is a problem with people trying to ignore the inevitable, or procrastinating over an important issue.