Land and house in buriram

[Blackandwhite]

I HAVE BEEN MARRIED TO MY WIFE FOR THREE YEARS, SHE IS FROM BURIRAM. WE HAVE BEEN COSIDERING BUILDING A SMALL BUNGALOW IN HER VILLAGE, WE ARE GOING TO SPEND AROUND £8500 AND ABOUT £1500 ON THE FURNITURE ECT, HER MOTHER HAS SAID SHE WANTS TO GIVE ME AND MY WIFE THE LAND TO BUILD IT ON IN EXCHANGE FOR THE HELP WE GIVE HER ON A MONTHLY BASIS.SHE IS GOING TO SIGN THE LAND TO US PROPERLY AND CHANGE THE FAMILY RECORDS TO SAY SO. ARE THERE ANY CATCHES. IS £8500 ENOUGH?. WE ARE GOING TO GET THE FAMILY PAPERS ADJUSTED AND TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH.

[lopburi3]

Assume you are not Thai so the papers will only be signed over to your wife.  You can not own property.

8500 should be enough to build a nice home but have no detailed knowledge of the area.  Our maid said she could build a nice bungalow for about 300,000 baht in that part of the country a couple of years ago.

[edd]

Hi  I built a bungalow for my mother in law in a small village near udornthani it has 1 living soom i bedroom 2 storage rooms and a large kitchen.  it has a tiled roof on a metal frame and the walls are made of blocks, skimmed with cement.  tiled floor and full electrics.  all it would need for me and my wife to live in it would be aircon.  this cost me 2200 UK pounds.

in the same village we have built our house, it is big  2 living rooms 3 bedrooms dining room large kitchen large bathroom and 10ft x 30ft balcony. full aircon this cost about 15000 pounds.

so your 8500 pounds will buy you a realy nice home.

it is quite right that the house will have to be in your wifes name us falangs have no real property rights here.

good luch edd

[Liberator]

Assume you are not Thai so the papers will only be signed over to your wife.  You can not own property.

8500 should be enough to build a nice home but have no detailed knowledge of the area.  Our maid said she could build a nice bungalow for about 300,000 baht in that part of the country a couple of years ago.

Forgive me for picking you up on syntax, but you CAN own property in Thailand. You can own a house, farm anything you like. But you CANNOT own land. So if you have a valid lease on some land, you can build and own a home no problems. This is the safest and easiest thing for a non-Thai to do if they want to own property, but you must seek and take proper professional advice regarding the lease.

[lopburi3]

Forgive me for picking you up on syntax

It was in answer to a land question but perhaps I did use the wrong word.  But on your lease of land and build on it as 'ownership' I contend it takes a very optimistic view to believe that.  Just look at the SRT leases here in Bangkok if you think building the building is going to mean much when the dealer cuts the deck.  

[mowlem]

There is a small expat community in the town of Buriram, who may be able to help. Several are well connected, speak fluent Thai, and are in the same situation, vis a vis land ownership. Rather than theory, these guys can tell you from experience what IS and ISN'T possible, who to use/avoid etc. Also, how much things should cost. Unfortunately a lot of people will see you coming, and bump up the price. These farangs have lots of local connections, so might be able to cut down the cost somewhat. Some have lived there over ten years.

Try the "Bamboo Bar" also known as "Bar Farang". It is near the railway station, on the same side of the road as the Thai hotel. Dave, the owner can put you in contact with people.

Another place is "Mai Treechit" (sort of cafe) near the morning market, on the corner by the two opticians, and the gold shops. Toy, the owner, speaks passable English, and again, many farangs from the villages go there for lunch. There is a menu in English BTW

Yes, I lived there for two years if you were wondering!

Good luck.

[Bigjon]

Interested to follow this thread because similarly my TGF has been offered a piece of land by her mother near buriram (kassan) and wants me to build a house on it (and a small beershop). I am happy to do somthing but don't like the idea of writing off £10k if it all goes pearshaped. A difference is we are not married and I currently visit thailand every couple of months . I would consider relocating if I could sort out a decent business but that is another story... I was considering trying to set up a lease on the land (there is an adjacent bit of land that is available too). I would be very grateful for any firm contacts of lawyers/builders/farangs who could advise. I am in London now but back in BKK on 17th June with an option to visit the TGF family in Buriram. If anyone can meet up/offer advice  I will provide all the beers...

[sevinnow]

Similar situation:

To be honest there is not much of a guarantee about your rights in Thailand regarding Property, even if you have a signed legal document by the Lawyers, you are still the farang who lives 6,000 miles away.

Best bet:  Do not do anything you are not in control of and being 6,000 miles away I would say you are not in control of any thing! Wait till you have the opportunity to re-locate on a perminant basis and then invest what you can affordto" lose" only........time is of no importance in LOS...

Sev

:cool:

[colmx]

I am sending Money to my Thai Friend to build a home for his parents on his land near cambodian border in Buriram...

He reckons 100,000THB is enough to build a bungalow with concrete frame, block walls, tiled roof, concrete floor, electricity etc

There will be an internal bathroom, living area and bedroom...

Only time will tell if this is enough money (or if it gets spent on whiskey!), but he thinks it will be, but then again i suppose he will be paying Thai price for the builders... not Farang Price...

Considering the conditions they currently live in, whatever he builds will be like a palace in comparison!

[Thaicoon]

<font color='#000000'>There is a small expat community in the town of Buriram, who may be able to help. Several are well connected, speak fluent Thai, and are in the same situation, vis a vis land ownership. Rather than theory, these guys can tell you from experience what IS and ISN'T possible, who to use/avoid etc. Also, how much things should cost. Unfortunately a lot of people will see you coming, and bump up the price. These farangs have lots of local connections, so might be able to cut down the cost somewhat. Some have lived there over ten years.

Try the "Bamboo Bar" also known as "Bar Farang". It is near the railway station, on the same side of the road as the Thai hotel. Dave, the owner can put you in contact with people.

Another place is "Mai Treechit" (sort of cafe) near the morning market, on the corner by the two opticians, and the gold shops. Toy, the owner, speaks passable English, and again, many farangs from the villages go there for lunch. There is a menu in English BTW

Yes, I lived there for two years if you were wondering!

Good luck.</font>

Hi Richard, How ya doing, Dave from the bamboo is staying with me in wales at the moment, I have finished my house in Buriram, catch ya again Ian (Wales)

[Ronnie1]

Hi Guys,

I am looking to build a house on my wifes property which is off road between Satuek and Buriram Airport. I would really appreciate any feedback on the names and contact details of reliable builders/contractors in the area.

All good things to you

Ronnie1