Building A House Questions

[GWH]

I will be building a house in Petchebun in 2008. My Thai partner and I are not married. We bought the land with a Chanot (Nor Sor 4) and, of course, it is in her name. We are now looking at designs for the house.

The questions I have are:

Can I own the house outright?

Can I get the permits issued in my name only?

Can a lease agreement be drawn up before we start building?

Who inherits the land upon her death? (I am 50 and she 40, she has two grown children, she has been divorced for 8 years, yes I checked)

If I can own the house outright, with a lease, can I then choose to sell the house without her consent, or the consent of her heirs, should she predecease me?

If I can sell the house, is the lease transferable?

Should we get married, how will this change the lease agreement? or any of the above?

Anyone ever met a Thai with a will? If so, are they valid?

How solid are Pre-nups in Thailand?

I know these are legal questions and I will be utilzing a lawyer, however I wanted the opinions and advise of this knowledgeabe forum to comment.

Also, can I buy a truck in my name in Thailand? I do have an address and bank account in Petchebun, but I do currently live in the US.

[chownah]

My guess is that you should look into getting a usufruct....it is a valid agreement that is recorded right on the chanote which gives the right to use the land (almost like ownership) as long as you live.

You can own a house, i.e. the building.

Don't know about the permit...probably best to ask at the agency that issues the permits.

A lease agreement on the land can be obtained at any time....it should probably include the right to build........I suggest a usufruct instead of the lease.

Who inherits the land at her death?....with a usufruct this doesn't matter in regards to you personally in that the usufruct remains intact regardless of who owns the property....but do remember that it does end at your death and your heirs have no claim to any of it.

As to a house with a lease; can you sell the house etc..........whatever you put in the lease will be what you can do.

As to transfer of lease....whatever you put in the lease is what you can do.

I don't see that marriage would change the lease but I really don't know.

I don't know about Thai wills or prenups.

Chownah

[apetley]

Wifey(Thai) and I will start our house next month.

We went to the Amphur only yesterday to ask a few questions.

I already knew that I can own the house outright but I wanted to ask about a usufruct agreement. In Thai I think that it's called sitthi keb kin talord cheewit and can be set up easily and costs 75Bht! You may wish a lawyer to look it over before you sign but they assured me it gave me a lifetime use of the land and house.

I didn't quite understand fully but it appears there will be 2 house books. One blue with the details of the house and saying that my wife lives there. And the famous yellow book all for myself detailing that I am the owner and live there too.

If you want to be sure of what happens in the event of your wifes and your death it's vital to get proper wills drawn up.

I believe it's possible for a farang to inherit land in Thailand but that it's entirely at the discretion of the Minister in charge of the Land Dept.

[Gary A]

Unfortunately the usufruct violates one of my life in Thailand rules. NEVER be worth more dead than alive.

[edwinchester]

Best cancel that life insurance too then Gary.

[Gary A]

Best cancel that life insurance too then Gary.

I never believed in life insurance and still don't.

[KhunDennis]

The very first step in building a house in Thailand, would be , GET YOUR HEAD EXAMINED !!!!!!

[Gary A]

The very first step in building a house in Thailand, would be , GET YOUR HEAD EXAMINED !!!!!!

I wouldn't go that far Dennis. Look at it as the acid test. There is NO sure fire way to protect your investment so you build her a house in her name, on her land and if she doesn't throw you out after the house is finished, you may have found a good one.

[chownah]

I believe it's possible for a farang to inherit land in Thailand but that it's entirely at the discretion of the Minister in charge of the Land Dept.

I believe I have read somewhere here that a farang can inherit land but they must sell it within one year (I think it is one year) of inheriting it.

[Crossy]

I believe it's possible for a farang to inherit land in Thailand but that it's entirely at the discretion of the Minister in charge of the Land Dept.

I believe I have read somewhere here that a farang can inherit land but they must sell it within one year (I think it is one year) of inheriting it.

Yep, believe you're correct, I think it also has to be less than 1 Rai. You can apparently be allowed to keep it to my the Ministry of something but I've never heard of anyone actually achieving this, otherwise sell or dispose of within 1 year.

Edited December 12, 2007 by Crossy

[apetley]

I believe it's possible for a farang to inherit land in Thailand but that it's entirely at the discretion of the Minister in charge of the Land Dept.

I believe I have read somewhere here that a farang can inherit land but they must sell it within one year (I think it is one year) of inheriting it.

Yep, believe you're correct, I think it also has to be less than 1 Rai. You can apparently be allowed to keep it to my the Ministry of something but I've never heard of anyone actually achieving this, otherwise sell or dispose of with 1 year.

Yes thats how I understand it too Crossy. If they say no to the inheritance then you have a year to sell it. Not sure about it applying to only being one rai though.

I guess that if you have to sell the land then you could find a friendly Thai and set up another usufruct agreement with them too.

[chownah]

I believe it's possible for a farang to inherit land in Thailand but that it's entirely at the discretion of the Minister in charge of the Land Dept.

I believe I have read somewhere here that a farang can inherit land but they must sell it within one year (I think it is one year) of inheriting it.

Yep, believe you're correct, I think it also has to be less than 1 Rai. You can apparently be allowed to keep it to my the Ministry of something but I've never heard of anyone actually achieving this, otherwise sell or dispose of with 1 year.

Yes thats how I understand it too Crossy. If they say no to the inheritance then you have a year to sell it. Not sure about it applying to only being one rai though.

I guess that if you have to sell the land then you could find a friendly Thai and set up another usufruct agreement with them too.

I think if you had a usufruct on the land and then you inherited it the usufruct would still be valid so you wouldn't need to re-establish it upon selling....although any prospective buyer would know about the usufruct since it is recorded right on the chanote and it being there would probably lower the value to most buyers since they would be buying a property that they could do nothing with....until you are dead that is (see Gary A's comments a few posts ago!!!).

Chownah

[bino]

Unfortunately the usufruct violates one of my life in Thailand rules. NEVER be worth more dead than alive.

Good rule Gary!

[mrbojangles]

Unfortunately the usufruct violates one of my life in Thailand rules. NEVER be worth more dead than alive.

Good rule Gary!

I concur

As to the inheritance upon the Thai partners death. My understanding is also that you have to sell it within a year but never heard of it applying to just 1 Rai.