I am bit confused about the distinction, if there is any - from a purchase lagality perspective.

 

Can foreigners purchase apartments outright? When and when not? What's the difference from a "condo"? In Thai sites I can sometimes see "apartment" - what should be checked to determine if those can be bought or not?

You might read this: Difference Between Condos vs Apartments for sale and rent (remax.co.th)

14 minutes ago, Somros said:

I am bit confused about the distinction, if there is any - from a purchase lagality perspective.

 

Can foreigners purchase apartments outright? When and when not? What's the difference from a "condo"? In Thai sites I can sometimes see "apartment" - what should be checked to determine if those can be bought or not?

The condo is the total building, apartments make up the condo. The terms are interchangeable, when someone refers to their condo it means their apartment.

A foreigner can purchase a condo outright, I have done so. However, the overall ownership of condo apartments by Thai law must be 51% Thai.

The post by msbkk is a distinction I was not aware of.

2 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

The condo is the total building, apartments make up the condo. The terms are interchangeable, when someone refers to their condo it means their apartment.

A foreigner can purchase a condo outright, I have done so. However, the overall ownership of condo apartments by Thai law must be 51% Thai.

When I wrote "condo" I meant a condominium unit, of course, not the whole building. @msbkk's reply indicates there is a difference.

26 minutes ago, msbkk said:

You might read this: Difference Between Condos vs Apartments for sale and rent (remax.co.th)

Thanks, that is helpful. So an "apartment" in an "Apartment building" can't be purchased at all. I'll try to find an example from a Thai site that confused me.

10 minutes ago, Somros said:

Thanks, that is helpful. So an "apartment" in an "Apartment building" can't be purchased at all. I'll try to find an example from a Thai site that confused me.

I suppose the other distinction might be whether the building has a juristic person or a manager. AFAIK every condo has a juristic person, I don't know if they are employed in apartment buildings.

I learn something everyday.

 

This sounds similar e.g. condominiums would be similar to the Strata Title units back in Oz which are bound by the Owners Corporation (Owners).

 

Apartment here would be similar to the old Company Title units back in Oz which would be owning shares in the company. Lenders mostly wouldn't lend on such a title unless the buyer had a huge deposit which would reduce the lenders risk.

 

 

On 8/1/2023 at 4:52 PM, Lacessit said:

The condo is the total building, apartments make up the condo. The terms are interchangeable, when someone refers to their condo it means their apartment.

A foreigner can purchase a condo outright, I have done so. However, the overall ownership of condo apartments by Thai law must be 51% Thai.

The post by msbkk is a distinction I was not aware of.

That's wrong.

 

 

A condo consists of condo units, which can be owned by different people, the common area is owned partially by everybody who owns a unit.

An apartment building is basically the same as a hotel, just for stays of 30 days or more (some "apartments" also hold a hotel license, allowing them to rent out on a daily basis), the whole building is owned by one person (or a company), who rents out the individual units.

 

So if you plan to purchase, then you are looking exclusively at condos, not at apartments.

 

7 hours ago, FriendlyFarang said:

That's wrong.

 

 

A condo consists of condo units, which can be owned by different people, the common area is owned partially by everybody who owns a unit.

An apartment building is basically the same as a hotel, just for stays of 30 days or more (some "apartments" also hold a hotel license, allowing them to rent out on a daily basis), the whole building is owned by one person (or a company), who rents out the individual units.

 

So if you plan to purchase, then you are looking exclusively at condos, not at apartments.

 

I already said I was wrong, based on the post by msbkk.