Foreigner buying a condominium

[JOHN CHAN]

Hi, I hold UK passport and am on a retirement Non O visa with yearly extensions already done twice. I would like to buy a condominium and wonder if I could be the sole owner based on this visa status. Also, are there any restrictions to foreigners buying condominium which do not apply to Thai citizens?

I will pay the condo in full amount and so there is no problem with mortgage. I believe that my name will be on the title deed of the condo. Your expert opinion and advice would be appreciated. Thank you

[Peterw42]

Yes, you can be the sole owner of a foreign title Condominium with your name on the title deed. Foreigners cannot own more than 49% of any condo block. Visa status is not relevant.

[johng]

8 minutes ago, JOHN CHAN said:

Also, are there any restrictions to foreigners buying condominium which do not apply to Thai citizens?

Yes  (mostly) only 49 % of the  condo units in a building can belong to foreigners  but if you buy within that 49% you will get a proper Chanote title deed and fully own your condo...don't fall for the company

scam  errm workaround.

[MrJ]

you need to transfer foreign money to Thailand and the proof/form, from a local bank to register under your name at the land office (besides the 49% quota)

 

But if one has cash only and or black money you can get this form under the table via bank or money changer against a fee

[HampiK]

And if you want the condo in your name you have to show that the money come from outside Thailand with a FET (Foreign Exchange Transaction Form).

The rest as the posters up already have sad.. you should be in the 49% of foreign can buy (In Bangkok almost never a problem... in Pattaya on the other side more difficult and they have different prices for Foreigner and Thai... In Bangkok mostly the prices are same.

[JOHN CHAN]

Thanks for everybody's ideas. I have a question: 49% of the units of the condominium-does this mean that if there are 100 units in the whole condo block, foreigners can own up to a maximum of 49 units. I am just curious as I intend to buy ONE unit for myself and I believe I own 100% of the condo.

Also, I have enough Thai baht in my Thai bank account; I do not need to transfer money from outside. But I cannot prove the source of the money. Can I still register my name with the Lands Department? If that is a hurdle, I will consider registering the condo using a Thai nominee under a contract with me. Thanks.

[The Fat Controller]

Foreigners can own 49% of the total floor area, which is not necessarily 49% of the actual condos.

 

If you buy in the foreign allocation, you own it outright.

 

You cannot buy with funds already here, the transfer has to be proven to come from outside Thailand with a statement on the FET form "Reason for transfer, condominium purchase"

 

Breaking the law using a Thai nominee or company is not a good idea in the current climate.

[saakura]

8 minutes ago, JOHN CHAN said:

I will consider registering the condo using a Thai nominee under a contract with me. Thanks.

Umm...think carefully. You could accidently fall from your condo balcony and void the contract.

[saakura]

1 minute ago, The Fat Controller said:

You cannot buy with funds already here, the transfer has to be proven to come from outside Thailand with a statement on the FET form "Reason for transfer, condominium purchase"

 

True. One of my friends recently had to 'round trip' almost 15m baht and lose a big amount in the process. He has been working here for over 20 years, earning and paying huge taxes. He still had to send his "tax paid" Thai Baht to his country and get it back same week to buy the condo.

[uffe123]

don't buy anything in Thailand could be confiscated any time. Just ask the farmers in Isan.

You don't  have to right to anything even if you paid for it. Can be seized any time. don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Many thousands of foreigners has lost everything. Foreigners have no rights in this country.

[Peterw42]

35 minutes ago, uffe123 said:

don't buy anything in Thailand could be confiscated any time. Just ask the farmers in Isan.

You don't  have to right to anything even if you paid for it. Can be seized any time. don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Many thousands of foreigners has lost everything. Foreigners have no rights in this country.

Perhaps you can give more information on foreigners who have lost legally owned foreign title condos ??????

Any land confiscated is usually because it was illegally acquired in the first place.

If indeed "1,000s" of foreigners have lost everything its because they tried to buy land they were not able to own etc.

Happy to be shown one case of a foreigner having legally acquired property, that a foreigner can own, confiscated.

Even Thai farmers in issan have not had legally owned land confiscated. It is usually when a "possession for farming" title is abused and the people try to sell, rent or develop land that is not theirs to sell.

[sead]

14 hours ago, JOHN CHAN said:

Thanks for everybody's ideas. I have a question: 49% of the units of the condominium-does this mean that if there are 100 units in the whole condo block, foreigners can own up to a maximum of 49 units. I am just curious as I intend to buy ONE unit for myself and I believe I own 100% of the condo.

Also, I have enough Thai baht in my Thai bank account; I do not need to transfer money from outside. But I cannot prove the source of the money. Can I still register my name with the Lands Department? If that is a hurdle, I will consider registering the condo using a Thai nominee under a contract with me. Thanks.

Yes you are right.

[sead]

41 minutes ago, uffe123 said:

don't buy anything in Thailand could be confiscated any time. Just ask the farmers in Isan.

You don't  have to right to anything even if you paid for it. Can be seized any time. don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Many thousands of foreigners has lost everything. Foreigners have no rights in this country.

Think you are talking about husbands buying or building house on wifes familys ground etc etc. This is not the case here

[The Fat Controller]

In all of my 22 years of visiting Thailand, I have never heard of anyone losing a condo that has been correctly purchased in the "foreign allocation"

There have been some dodgy developers in Pattaya where people have bought "off plan" and lost money, but that was due to fraud.

If you buy using the correct process then you will be fine.

[CH1961]

15 hours ago, JOHN CHAN said:

But I cannot prove the source of the money.

You have to provide the form "Tor Tor 3" (FET) over the whole sum for the condo. More is ok ;-)

All paperwork will be checked at the landoffice and there is only one language accepted .. Thai !

All your documents have to be in Thai language.

At the end you will get a Chanood and the blue housebook in your (Thai translated) Name.

[HampiK]

2 minutes ago, CH1961 said:

At the end you will get a Chanood and the blue housebook in your (Thai translated) Name.

Only the Chanood will have his name. The blue housebook would be empty as he is not thai.

He can asked later for a yellow book which is for foreigners. :)

[CH1961]

1 hour ago, HampiK said:

Only the Chanood will have his name. The blue housebook would be empty as he is not thai.

He can asked later for a yellow book which is for foreigners. :)

Hoi Hampi,

I've the blue housebook in front of me ... and you are right, no names written on page 3.

[BobbyL]

17 hours ago, saakura said:

True. One of my friends recently had to 'round trip' almost 15m baht and lose a big amount in the process. He has been working here for over 20 years, earning and paying huge taxes. He still had to send his "tax paid" Thai Baht to his country and get it back same week to buy the condo.

Jesus, I never knew that. What an absolutely ridiculous process. 

[Tony125]

37 minutes ago, BobbyL said:

Jesus, I never knew that. What an absolutely ridiculous process. 

Read post #4

[simoh1490]

It doesn't have to be an FET, it can be a foriegn exchange certificate/note from your bank or a letter from the bank itself, you don't need to confirm the source of the funds.

[Different]

I would suggest you check the wall between your condo and the neighboring condo, punch it to distinguish between cement and concrete go a head.  If you feel it is cardboard don't buy it.

[JOHN CHAN]

When I said using a nominee to buy a condo, I was referring to my legal Thai wife! Obviously, it is never breaking any law if a husband buys a condo for his wife. However, one questions arises: if after the purchase, can the wife GIVE the condo to her husband as a present for whatever purpose in which case the husband does NOT have to pay her? If that is the case, how do we satisfy the Lands Office people and we do not have to remit money from overseas to pay the wife?

Also, about going overseas, opening an account and remit money, I am aware that it is possible to remit over USD50,000 for buying a condo. But the question is: if a person brings Thai baht or any foreign currency out to that country to open an account, he can carry with him a maximum of USD20,000 equivalent, then to bring enough money to that foreign country, one has to travel to and from 5 or even 10 times! How does the law operate here? I am too old to travel. I'm thinking of asking my wife to bring money out to Singapore (for example) and open an account containing enough to buy the condo. I am just curious. Thanks for any advice.

[KittenKong]

However, one questions arises: if after the purchase, can the wife GIVE the condo to her husband as a present for whatever purpose in which case the husband does NOT have to pay her? If that is the case, how do we satisfy the Lands Office people and we do not have to remit money from overseas to pay the wife?

A transfer like that is considered to be a sale by the Land Office. Whether you actually pay your wife or not, and how much, is completely irrelevant. The transfer will be taxed at the normal rate based on the greater of the assessed value or the declared value. And as a foreigner you will still need to prove that an amount equal to that highest value was actually converted from some foreign currency to THB. Also it will not be possible to do the transfer at all unless there is space in the farang quota in your building, which probably wont be the case in buildings that are popular with farangs.

So even if you declare a value of 1B you will pay tax on whatever the Land Office thinks that the condo is worth and you will need an FET form (or similar) for the same amount. Any other system would simply be inviting massive tax fraud in all land transfers. Land transfer taxes are one of the few things that cant actually be cheated on (much, or without the connivance of someone at the Land Office) here, and the system is quite robust for Thailand.

The best way around the problem of your money being in THB is to arrange with your bank to do a paper export/import of the sum involved. The cost of this is entirely negotiable and should not be very high. Then just buy your farang-name condo in the normal way. Anything else will probably result in you losing your money or your condo or both at some point.

[JOHN CHAN]

Hi,

 

In relation to the need of transferring money from overseas to Thailand for buying a condo, I am curious to find out whether this is possible: A Thai wife buys a condo in her name and then GIVES it to her husband as a present, and changes ownership to her husband. Thus, there is no need for the money transfer document. Is this a possible scenario? Thanks for any opinions in advance.

[KittenKong]

Read my reply immediately above your question, which explains why you cannot do this. Transfers are treated as sales and will be taxed accordingly, regardless of whether any money actually changes hands or not. To put a unit into farang name requires an FET for the assessed value or the declared value, whichever is higher.

[edwarda909]

Abank employee at Bangkok Bank told me Ineed aretirement vis,not a tourist vis, to buy a condo? Is this true?  Doesn't make any sense, otherwise no younger individuals could buy.

[smutcakes]

2 minutes ago, edwarda909 said:

Abank employee at Bangkok Bank told me Ineed aretirement vis,not a tourist vis, to buy a condo? Is this true?  Doesn't make any sense, otherwise no younger individuals could buy.

 I bought a condo and i am not retired. They never asked to see my work visa either, so i presume incorrect. As far as I am aware as long as you have a visa, even a tourist one you can buy a condo.

[Laughing Gravy]

I have a quick question on this. I was living and working in Thailand for over 16 years until recently. I have Thai bank accounts. I am now in China working until I decide to move back to Thailand. I have been sending money back for the last 5 months to my Thai account. I am also going to buy a condo in a year or so. Will this money still be OK that I have  sent back or will I have to send it back to the UK and send it all in one go, back to Thailand.

 

I can start sending the money back to the UK and then send it all in one go back to Thailand to purchase a condo. Any advise would be a appreciated.

[smutcakes]

1 hour ago, Laughing Gravy said:

I have a quick question on this. I was living and working in Thailand for over 16 years until recently. I have Thai bank accounts. I am now in China working until I decide to move back to Thailand. I have been sending money back for the last 5 months to my Thai account. I am also going to buy a condo in a year or so. Will this money still be OK that I have  sent back or will I have to send it back to the UK and send it all in one go, back to Thailand.

 

I can start sending the money back to the UK and then send it all in one go back to Thailand to purchase a condo. Any advise would be a appreciated.

As far as I am aware as long as it is transferred into Thailand in a foreign currency, i.e you dont convert to THB in the UK or elsewhere and transfer THB, then it does not matter what currency it comes in as. Obviously you would need the FET forms for the money you are transferring back if you were going to be buying in your name, not a Thai name.