I am soon hoping to sell a relatively substantial rental property in UK. There's enough in there to comfortably buy an upmarket condo in Nimmana, Chiang Mai which is my favourite part of the world. I am stereotypically more than 20 years older than my Thai gf / partner. She has her own home and my salary of course.

I can see that the Thai property market is not exactly where you would choose to invest and that good quality housing stock can sit for long periods without interest. I am keen to ensure something tangible is left for the family when I'm gone.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

I noticed a couple of nice looking new condos somewhere around soi 13 or 16 or somewhere around there when we were last in the city a couple months back but a little close to the main drag.

Why not buy property in her name if you are just making an investment for her future?

14 minutes ago, ArchieBunker said:

Why not buy property in her name if you are just making an investment for her future?

Thanks. I have already bought a property for her in her little town in Phetchabun. I don't fancy dying quite yet and if we were to fall out I would be back in Blighty which it is the point of the exercise to avoid.

I'm not familiar with the CM housing market but I can relate the experiences of my Thai partner and myself. We have been in Thailand since 2010 and we have bought and sold around 23 condos and houses in Rayong, Bangkok, and, mostly, Pattaya. Except for 4 properties we bought to rent out and have since sold, we lived in every property we bought. Most sold easily, all sold at a profit. Some profits were small, some profits were large.

We don't, however, buy a property in the hope we will make money, although that's always nice. We buy because we prefer to own the space we live in. We like our own art, antiques, and furniture, we like an 85-inch tv rather than a 42-inch, we like a quality mattress we have selected, we like a large refrigerator with automatic ice maker and water dispenser rather than what you usually get in a rental. And, we like to make changes whenever we feel like it--and we usually feel like it quite a lot. Life is short, we don't want to spend it in a rental. That's us.

The other consideration is I am 14 years older than my Thai spouse and likely will die first. The two properties we now own free and clear, a house in Pattaya and a Bangkok condo, will give my spouse options down the road.

If you are a regular reader of Asean Now you will likely know there is an ongoing spirited debate on renting vs. buying. In my opinion, there is no right or wrong answer; no one size fits all. It's all up to the individual or couple. I would say if one is only here short-term or one's stay here is uncertain, rent. If a longer stay is likely, then owning can have some advantages--at least it does for us.

If you like the place, the neighbours, and facilities they offer, and there is a good management, you cant go wrong buying if you intend to live there 10 years or so!

The good thing, you can do what you want with your lace, insulate, paint, decorate, and make it your home, the bad thing, you do not choose your neighbours.

Another thing is if they start construction near by, that can take years to complete.

simple rule- never invest or buy anything here you are not prepared to walk away from.

Rules regs etc change so fast and are totally unpredictable - as Thai females can be.

What would it cost you to rent ? balance that against the interest you get if you left the money in an interest account ?

Personally I wouldn't buy - then you have total flexibility as to where you go and with who at any time you want.Example: 6 months up country- 6 months by the sea 😄

27 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

simple rule- never invest or buy anything here you are not prepared to walk away from.

Rules regs etc change so fast and are totally unpredictable - as Thai females can be.

What would it cost you to rent ? balance that against the interest you get if you left the money in an interest account ?

Personally I wouldn't buy - then you have total flexibility as to where you go and with who at any time you want.Example: 6 months up country- 6 months by the sea 😄

A legal bought condo is not an investment you need to consider as a risk investment. You might not get it sold for the wanted price by the time you are ready to sell, but it is not a lost investment as many other investments foreigners do in others names.

And if he plan to live in the same appartement/condominium for many years, it will be a good investment at the end.

And as married you also have rights it the land have the right title, your marriage is registered, and the investment was doen after you married. Things is not as black and white as some want it to be.

12 hours ago, Seagull Sam said:

I am soon hoping to sell a relatively substantial rental property in UK. There's enough in there to comfortably buy an upmarket condo in Nimmana, Chiang Mai which is my favourite part of the world. I am stereotypically more than 20 years older than my Thai gf / partner. She has her own home and my salary of course.

I can see that the Thai property market is not exactly where you would choose to invest and that good quality housing stock can sit for long periods without interest. I am keen to ensure something tangible is left for the family when I'm gone.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Are you living in Thailand full time?

Are you aware of the tax you (may) have to pay?

I was reading up on this and watched a few videos about this.

Why not keep your back home property and used the rent from that to rent here?

This maintains a toehold in a market more likely to prosper and allows you flexibility to move, if needs be, when living here.

Depends how old you are whether to buy or not. Don't let anyone con you into buying in the GFs name or thai company name

On 3/28/2026 at 5:09 PM, Seagull Sam said:

I am soon hoping to sell a relatively substantial rental property in UK. There's enough in there to comfortably buy an upmarket condo in Nimmana, Chiang Mai which is my favourite part of the world. I am stereotypically more than 20 years older than my Thai gf / partner. She has her own home and my salary of course.

I can see that the Thai property market is not exactly where you would choose to invest and that good quality housing stock can sit for long periods without interest. I am keen to ensure something tangible is left for the family when I'm gone.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Thai property can be difficult to sell – or a long time procedure – of course both depending on location and present market structure.

Thais seem to prefer to buy new; so, in general the value of the building decrease by time while the value of the land under the building increase. Again, depending on location, you might not gain from owing a property/condo in Thailand, but you might get your investment back; then it's like you had used the interest of your money to pay a cheap rent.

"Cheap" here is depending on the horizon, buying price compared to rental for similar home. Normally a rental is calculated between 8% and 12% of the initial investment – easy to calculate with 10% – so, for example a 4 million baht new built condo should be around 30,000 baht per month in rent; or rather from 25,000 baht to 35,000 baht.

You can hardly calculate to gain an interest around 10% per year of savings – more like 4% at low risk and up to 7% with some level of risk – so, if you plan to keep a property for a longer periode, to own it makes sense. After 10 years rental you might in some cases have paid for it anyway, but get nothing back when you leave.

Retirement property decisions get complicated fast when legacy planning enters the picture. Most people focus on the numbers—rent vs. mortgage, appreciation potential—but miss the structural issues that matter most.

The real problem isn't whether to buy or rent. It's whether your ownership structure protects what you're trying to build. Thai law handles inheritance, foreign ownership, and asset transfer differently than most Western systems. One small detail in how the property is registered or titled can mean the difference between your family having a clear, sellable asset or inheriting a legal mess.

Same applies to tax implications, currency exposure, and what happens to the property if circumstances change. These aren't theoretical concerns—they're the difference between a solid plan and expensive mistakes.

The framework that works depends on your specific situation: your timeline, your family structure, your capital source, your long-term plans. Generic advice about markets and locations misses the point entirely.

If you're serious about getting this right—not just buying something, but structuring it properly—that's where the details matter.

Thanks to all andapologies for slow reply. I'm not sure why I wasn't prompted by email.

My 'substantial property' is commercial so I won't be burning any bridges at home.

I am certainly intending to consider long term occupation

On 3/29/2026 at 5:16 AM, jvs said:

Are you living in Thailand full time?

Are you aware of the tax you (may) have to pay?

I was reading up on this and watched a few videos about this.

Thanks to JVS - I am planning on spending a good proportion of my time in Thailand. What is the issue with tax please? If I have to spend less than 50% I will do that.

Any links to videos would be appreciated.

5 hours ago, Seagull Sam said:

Thanks to all andapologies for slow reply. I'm not sure why I wasn't prompted by email.

My 'substantial property' is commercial so I won't be burning any bridges at home.

I am certainly intending to consider long term occupation

Thanks to JVS - I am planning on spending a good proportion of my time in Thailand. What is the issue with tax please? If I have to spend less than 50% I will do that.

Any links to videos would be appreciated.

In a nutshell, if you spend >180 days in Thailand you are Thai Tax resident & any money you remit to Thailand may be subject to Thai Tax.

E.g. I'm sending >12Million THB this year to buy a Condo, none of it is taxable in the UK (Pension Commencement Lump Sum (PCLS) + Capital Gains on Share Sales as an Expat are not Taxable) so I have a choice between spending < 180 days in Thailand or paying > 3.6 Million THB in Tax this year.

Done 2 weeks in the Maldives, 4 weeks in Penang & currently on a 7 week trip to the UK so no prizes for guessing which route I've decided to take.