Upgrade Land Titles And House Ownership

[sawadeeh]

Last year I bought 35 rai of land in the vicinity of Buriram. On my Thai girlfriends name of course.

On a small seperate plot of land of 1/2 rai I am preparing to build a mansion. This is the first step to move to LOS.

In order to secure my investment I wanted to lease the small plot of land for 30 years, let my girlfriend set up a last will and testament the right of the sole survivor (me) to use the rest of the land until death. I want to prevent my Thai familie-in-law to kick me out if my girlfriend would die prematurely, if the need arises.

To my horror I found out that there are different grades of land ownership in Thailand. The land is registred at the land office under the Sor Por Gor title.

In order to lease the land I found out that the land should have the Nor Sor 3 Gor or Chanote title.

How do I upgrade the land title without waiting for 30 years. Is it a matter of hiring a surveyor from the land office and pay some tax?

Even more confusing is that it seems that as a falang you can own a house without owning the land:

Buildings on land Foreigners have the right to ownership of buildings only, where land is not included. A suggestion for foreigners is to lease the land for 30 years with an option to an extension of the lease, then purchase and register your name against the house built on the land. Certainty of possession of land and house is assured, by being the owner of the house. The land shall be leased out.

How do I get this to work on a Sor Por Gor title if you can not lease the land? To only own the house without the land would be sufficient.

Thanks in advance.