Condo Joint Ownership

[rak sa_ngop]

I am interested in buying a condo (foreign quota) and putting it in my name together with a friend's (farang) name as joint ownership. The objective is to let the condo ownership pass automatically from one party to the other when one party dies.

 

I have heard that this can be done (somehow) at the Bangkok Land Department but I am specifically interested in how this can be achieved in the Pattaya (Jomtien) area.

 

Questions I have include:

 

Does the money to purchase the condo have to come from both parties i.e.half-half, or can one party pay the total amount?

 

Does there have to be a separate 'agreement' drawn up to detail the joint ownership. By a lawyer or just a hand written agreement?

 

Upon death of one party does the surviving party have to change of ownership from 2 names to one name  with the land department, or can the survivor just carry on using the condo with both names registered? If the survivor wanted to sell the condo I can see that some legal processes would then be required but at this stage I am not concerned about this.

 

Any experience/advice about this would be gratefully received. Note that I am also not concerned about the condo being sold from under me by the joint owner if we have a bust-up. The person in question is already named in my will to inherit my far more expensive Bangkok condo. Joint ownership seems like a convenient way to pass on property without the normal transfer requirements.

 

Thanks

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Delight]

It is my understanding that condos in the foreign allocation can only be jointly owned -foreigner  plus Thai person.

This suits the government as it increases the Thai percentage.

Clearly if what you seek were possible then potentially up to 3 generations of foreigners could own a condo and simply pass it down over time. Thus avoiding transfer taxes and the need for a FET

Work Around -Maybe

In your will you name your friend as both administrator and beneficiary.

Your friend’s lawyer will register the condo in the name of the administrator. It can stay in this state for years.

If a sale is required –the the beneficiary instructs the administrator to organise this

The new owner will need the FET.

The will of your friend will be constructed in a similar manner –naming you as both beneficiary and administrator.

Suggest that you get a lawyer to advise you further

Edited June 17, 2018 by Delight
grammar

[rak sa_ngop]

I am personally aware of one condo in my Bangkok building that was jointly owned by two foreigners. When one joint owner passed away the second joint owner managed to get the Chanote amended to make him the sole owner. This was achieved about 4 years after the death of the other joint owner. As far as I am aware there was no need to show additional funds from overseas to accomplish this re-registration (but I do not know the full details).

 

So yes it can be done, but this was in Bangkok and maybe some 'special payments' were involved.

 

That is why I am trying to garner some information before approaching lawyers. For ever lawyer I suspect there may be a different reply.

[Delight]

 I was curious about your request for information.

So I sought an opinion from a lawyer on the net

The opinion is:

For the land office and the condo act they do not each own 50% of the unit but each is entitled to 100% ownership. Their relation as co-owners is governed by the sections governing co-ownership in the civil code. So if one dies the other co-owner should be entitled to full ownership without having to comply again with section 19 of the condo act (fet form). The other owner must of course be entitled to the other half based on, for example ,a last will and having followed the correct procedure . Also being able to show the correct documents to remove the name of the  deceased from the deed. Some transfer fees and taxes would probably apply.

 

Just to stress -this is only an opinion and not verified

 

This may help.

[rak sa_ngop]

On 6/21/2018 at 8:46 PM, Delight said:

 I was curious about your request for information.

So I sought an opinion from a lawyer on the net

The opinion is:

For the land office and the condo act they do not each own 50% of the unit but each is entitled to 100% ownership. Their relation as co-owners is governed by the sections governing co-ownership in the civil code. So if one dies the other co-owner should be entitled to full ownership without having to comply again with section 19 of the condo act (fet form). The other owner must of course be entitled to the other half based on, for example ,a last will and having followed the correct procedure . Also being able to show the correct documents to remove the name of the  deceased from the deed. Some transfer fees and taxes would probably apply.

 

Just to stress -this is only an opinion and not verified

 

This may help.

 

Thanks greatly for this information. So it is possible  (probably) to have two owners named on a chanote with the condo passing from one party to the other party on the death of one party.

 

This also explains why in the case I cited in Bangkok, the family of the deceased were not able to claim 50 pc of the condo unit,  and subsequently the chanote was 'easily' amended to the name of the surviving party.

 

One practical questions remains, does the purchase money have to come from both parties (i.e.2 fets) or is one party sufficient.

 

Thanks again

[Delight]

20 hours ago, rak sa_ngop said:

 

 

One practical questions remains, does the purchase money have to come from both parties (i.e.2 fets) or is one party sufficient.

 

Thanks again

According to the on line lawyer each party owns 100% -therefore my guess is  that each will have to submit FET . Each FET for the full amount. Given that this is accepted then this must confirm the '100% ownership of both parties'.

 

This is just my guess.

Farang logic can differ from Thai law and Thai logic.