Changes Must Be Made To Law On Foreign Investment Says Real Estate Industry

[Pattaya_Fox]

From this weeks Pattaya Mail

Changes Must be made to law on Foreign Investment says Real Estate Industry

Real Estate entrepreneurs are still waiting for a clear answer from the Government concerning foreign investment property

Ariyawat Nuamsawat

Amendments to the laws regarding foreign investment in property must be made in order to return confidence to the market, which has slumped following earlier legislation that has placed restrictions on foreign ownership, delegates at a seminar on real estate heard on February 15.

The seminar was organized by the Property Evaluation Organization and Thai Real Estate Research Center in cooperation with the Pattaya-Rayong Real Estate Management School, and held in Jomtien. Chonburi Governor Pracha Taerat chaired the opening ceremony.

Paisan Bundityanond, an advisor for the Real Estate Planning and Development Project said that real estate investment data for Pattaya shows that laws recently passed on foreign possession of property are currently obstructing the market. Foreigners are now unsure about investing, and this has affected the higher end of the property market, which slowed down during the second half of last year.

Real estate developers and marketers understand the segmented nature of the Eastern region, and they know what their potential customers require, said Paisan. For example, Sriracha is prominent in industry-related business and Pattaya is a city of tourism. Therefore the group of customers is different, and the entrepreneurs can clearly see their customer base and potential. Changing the target group to Thai customers is not foreseeable, because of the Thai baht’s value compared to foreign currencies.

Real estate entrepreneurs must deal with the situation, as the unstable policy is a factor in slowing down Pattaya real estate and the market for the entire Eastern region. The industry believes the situation will improve over the next three to six months, as the political situation stabilizes. However, real estate developers are still waiting for a clear amendment from the government in order for the confidence of foreign investors to return.

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[naka]

"The industry believes the situation will improve over the next three to six months"

The industry always says this !

Naka.

[jonniebkk]

I don't think things will really pick-up again until there is a complete overhaul of the property ownership and residency laws as they relate to foreigners residing in the Kingdom. At a minimum, there should be 99 year leases available for land/houses. Actual ownership of a home/land for personal use would be better but if that is just not politically possible, then the long lease option is the next best thing.

Along with this, there must be some provision for long-term residency visas for those making such investments. Something like 5-10 years and renewable after that, so that those who invest in a Thai property can be assured of enjoying it. Also, save some darn trees and printer ink (precious oil is the base for that I presume) and do away with the silly 90-day reporting requirement. Register your residence when you first set-up house and then register again if you change addresses. Simple.

Now that the Square-Faced one is back and in control again, does anyone expect any movement on any of these fronts

[Humphrey Bear]

Now that the Square-Faced one is back and in control again, does anyone expect any movement on any of these fronts

Not until he wants to sell Koh Chang to the Singaporeans.

[LaoPo]

Now that the Square-Faced one is back and in control again, does anyone expect any movement on any of these fronts

Yes, I do.

Provided the military doesn't step in -again-, I foresee quite a lot of law-changes in Thailand in a relatively short period of time.

The economy will gain upon the trust of investors and maybe even the laws on property will change. It would draw enormous amounts of money from abroad and give a boost to Thailand's economy, big time !

'He' will whisper a lot in a lot of ears the coming days, weeks and months.....like he's been doing for the past 17/18 months.

We'll wait and see...

LaoPo

[Chang_paarp]

As he has been asked to advise the minister for finance on things beyond his scope you can see some changes coming if they suit him.

Look how quickly Tarrisa changed the with holding requirements, it took a couple of transfers of competent folk to inactive posts to send the message and presto! The day after he lands the policy is changed and there was no political pressure brought to bear.

[jonniebkk]

An all those policemen's heads are rolling too...especially the ones in charge of the investigations into his abuse of power and corruption..but he had nothing to do with them as he in an apolitical person now

I predict one of his first moves will be to buy back Shin Corp./AIS from Temasek at it currently much reduced market value (30-40% less than they paid) and then he will put back in place the pricing preferences/rules/regulations that had made it more profitable than it would have been in a truely competitive and open market. (These preferences were removed by the interim government...thereby causing the value of the company to drop...silly Temesek...they should have known that the reason Shin was overly profitable was because of these special preferences due to the fact that the owner was the PM of Thailand. I guess they didn't count on leaving the scene so quickly after their purchase.)

When he buys it back at a bargain basement price, he will they have reintroduced the preferences in favor of Shin/AIS and see its value rise again. TIT

[jokerdr]

We can only hope that they will lookat again allowing forgien ownership upto 1 Rai and/or a 99 year lease. Even if on death the land could not be transfered to a non-thai that would be a step in the righ direction (not for those that will never marry or have kids though

Strange how thos profits and Shin corp went down

[Aikido]

cant see Thais giving much to us farangs thats why its still third world, they dont seem to understand what it takes to get into the developed world. wonder if they'll ever learn!, if you live in blighty and have money it doesnt matter if youve got two heads you can still buy and own property. and i suspect its the same in the rest of the civilised world.

[Humphrey Bear]

cant see Thais giving much to us farangs thats why its still third world, they dont seem to understand what it takes to get into the developed world. wonder if they'll ever learn!, if you live in blighty and have money it doesnt matter if youve got two heads you can still buy and own property. and i suspect its the same in the rest of the civilised world.

When Toxin bought Man. City - did he also buy the Maine Road ground, or is it rented from the local authority?

You see, if I bought Pattaya Wanderers, all I would get for my money is troubles.

But there are many countries in the world that want to keep their land in national hands. Some, like Southern Rhodesia, even take it back from the people who bought it, without adequate compensation.

Edited March 12, 2008 by Humphrey Bear

[Pattaya46]

Hi everybody,

According to a thai friend working as a lawyer for real estate companies (so it's a maybe well inform friend, nothing official) there will be No Change before a very long time about thai property laws.

The main reason is that there is now a "balance" around Pattaya between houses price and condo prices.

If you facilitate now house acquisition for falangs, that would make a "boum" in houses prices and construction, but a big crash in condo prices !

Problem is that there is now a lot of free condo for sale and a lot of new condo projects building or soon to be build. There are to many interests here for too many "important" people to change rules now.

I think it's a sensible idea, but that's Thailand... so wait & see

Pattaya46

[APMann]

cant see Thais giving much to us farangs thats why its still third world, they dont seem to understand what it takes to get into the developed world. wonder if they'll ever learn!, if you live in blighty and have money it doesnt matter if youve got two heads you can still buy and own property. and i suspect its the same in the rest of the civilised world.

When Toxin bought Man. City - did he also buy the Maine Road ground, or is it rented from the local authority?

You see, if I bought Pattaya Wanderers, all I would get for my money is troubles.

But there are many countries in the world that want to keep their land in national hands. Some, like Southern Rhodesia, even take it back from the people who bought it, without adequate compensation.

Hi Humphrey - does Southern Rhodesia lie south of Tanganika? Somewhere in the region of Southern Zimbabwe maybe? But certainly north of Tishwane.

[Humphrey Bear]

Hi Humphrey - does Southern Rhodesia lie south of Tanganika? Somewhere in the region of Southern Zimbabwe maybe? But certainly north of Tishwane.

I remember when Africa was red from Southern tip to the Med. - was demobbed just as Suez started (the war, not de Lesseps construction).

Tanganyika had a Y in it. Don't ask me why.

RIP Ian Smith a few weeks ago, as well. And Peter Hain in trouble in England, after making a good living for many years on his stopping the Springbok rugby tours. What goes around, finally ciomes around.

[Aikido]

so then pattaya 46 what about all the empty houses around patters mate! how the <deleted> are the silly hunts going to sell them?.

my point is with all the stupid laws and uncertanty who would want to invest their hard earned in los.

when i sold my house and left patters almost 3 yrs ago the amount of new builds was staggering.

and if theyve continued to build at the same rate were going to see a lot of ghost towns around patters.

oh and as for toxin he shouldnt be allowed to own owt in blighty or it should be taken off the hunt, see how he would like it !.

Edited March 21, 2008 by Aikido