Buying Property In Burma

[jayjayjayjay]

Any recommendations of broker or ppl with knowledge? Hillary just visited, what does that mean?

[Fletcher]

Please PM me if you have a serious interest in either property or other investments in Myanmar. I have 13 years experience in the country, both good and bad, so I know the pitfalls as well as the opportunities.

There are a couple of ways for foreigners to buy or long term lease land in Myanmar. The land reform law is also due to be enacted this year, and is likely to make land acquisition easier than it is in Thailand.

Whilst opportunities in certain parts of Yangon and the periphery are likely a bit overvalued at this time, there are still plenty of great opportunities on the outskirts (especially if you can obtain knowledge of the road master plan) and at several coastal areas. I have already completed due diligence on some land at one emerging coastal destination, that would make an excellent long term investment.

[Fletcher]

Any recommendations of broker or ppl with knowledge? Hillary just visited, what does that mean?

It means that sanctions will be lifted soon. Possibly this year, but US embassy officials are downplaying that idea, but almost certainly by next year. Several very large US companies have already visited in the last few weeks.

[Fletcher]

Has anyone found a good lawyer to help with buying land in Burma? I have several people interested in developing there.

I have a very good legal team, not just in terms of setting up an appropriate structure, but also able to get out to the land department officers, to ensure ownership claims are genuine, and that the land is not mortgaged etc

[gamon71]

Has anyone found a good lawyer to help with buying land in Burma? I have several people interested in developing there.

I have a very good legal team, not just in terms of setting up an appropriate structure, but also able to get out to the land department officers, to ensure ownership claims are genuine, and that the land is not mortgaged etc

HY FLETCHER,

HOW CAN I CONTACT YOU?

I WANT BUY LAND IN MYANMAR

[fred110]

I know this is off-topic, but to show the ridiculousness of Burmese authority's paranoia: a Burmese woman cannot legally marry a foreigner.

as for land, why not arrange to rent or lease?

Didn't Ms Sui Kyi (sp) marry an American?

I read that ,like Thailand, you can lease land but not own it.

[sabaijai]

I know this is off-topic, but to show the ridiculousness of Burmese authority's paranoia: a Burmese woman cannot legally marry a foreigner.

as for land, why not arrange to rent or lease?

Didn't Ms Sui Kyi (sp) marry an American?

I read that ,like Thailand, you can lease land but not own it.

She married a UK citizen.

[Darvil]

This thread is pretty interesting. Is this a recent trend? or is the current time right now one of the safest time to buy some land? relatively and historically speaking of course.

Perhaps its time to inquire my relatives in burma about this. Its unfortunate, I wasn't able to retain Burmese citizenship when I became a US citizen. I know my dad did some real estate many years ago and it was a big failure but I never really asked that many questions about it.

Maybe its a good time to get some land since I'm coming back to Thailand this year to work with my friends. May have to send Fletcher a PM in the future!

[tombkk]

Please PM me if you have a serious interest in either property or other investments in Myanmar. I have 13 years experience in the country, both good and bad, so I know the pitfalls as well as the opportunities.

There are a couple of ways for foreigners to buy or long term lease land in Myanmar. The land reform law is also due to be enacted this year, and is likely to make land acquisition easier than it is in Thailand.

Whilst opportunities in certain parts of Yangon and the periphery are likely a bit overvalued at this time, there are still plenty of great opportunities on the outskirts (especially if you can obtain knowledge of the road master plan) and at several coastal areas. I have already completed due diligence on some land at one emerging coastal destination, that would make an excellent long term investment.

I was ensured by the Myanmar government that foreigners cannot buy land. They (we) can only get a lease.

[Sunny1803]

I have some knowledge of this subject.

Foreigners are absolutely prohibited to own any property, be it land or condo, in Burma.

The loophole of setting up a Company, and buying the poperty in that Company's name, is very problematic and could lead to more problems than it sets out to solve.

Foreigners that HAVE purchased property in Burma (and there are a few) use a Burmese law called 'General Power' which at least gives them control over the property in their lifetime, but possibly not after that. Most simply buy in their wife's name and hope for the best!

As a poster above has stated, there has been a real estate boom in Burma, particularly in Rangoon and Mandalay, the former fuelled by a more prosperous middle class (generally with some Government connections), the latter with Chinese money.

Real estate prices are very cheap even by Thai standards. A reasonable 'walk-up' apartment can be bought downtown for as little as $12,000, whilst even a new development comparable with those in Thailand will be around $80,000 for a 1600sqft condo with quite some luxury and in a prime area.

Apart from those with Burmese wives/girlfriends who need to buy for practical purposes, the real estate market is in many ways a gamble on a future democracry. If and it is a big IF there were to be some future political change whether in 5 or 20 years, the market will explode.

If you are serious about such a purchase I would suggest you get yourself a REPUTABLE local lawyer, failing which possibly I can find one for you.

Hi! any idea on how to set up a trading company in Yangon and what is the cost? (for Thai Nationals)

[Fletcher]

There are loopholes that can be used for foreigners to buy land with full title. I have concluded this type of transaction for some beachfront land in recent weeks for a thai based client.

For larger investments it is better to do officially, i.e. lease, as investment incentives are very favorable.

I can also set up a trading company for a thai national, or any other foreigner!

BTW, I have been doing business in Myanmar for over 13 years.

PM me for more info.

[hellodolly]

There are loopholes that can be used for foreigners to buy land with full title. I have concluded this type of transaction for some beachfront land in recent weeks for a thai based client.

For larger investments it is better to do officially, i.e. lease, as investment incentives are very favorable.

I can also set up a trading company for a thai national, or any other foreigner!

BTW, I have been doing business in Myanmar for over 13 years.

PM me for more info.

I have a problem with you basing your expertize on 13 years under a repressive military Regime. It is my understanding that things are changing rapidly and yesterday facts might not be today's facts.

I do how ever believe that knowing the people inside the system would give you a edge.

For my self it would be a duel problem as I a US citizen would be looking for a place to live in.

I know two different animals but they would both have to be solved before I could consider the move.

I wish the Mods would remove the first 60 posts as they have nothing to do with the situation in Burma today. Just some ammunition for Burmese bashers. Thai Visa should have a history thread for old posts that no longer have any meaning.

DO YOU HEAR ME MODS. I know very rude of me.

[Fletcher]

There are loopholes that can be used for foreigners to buy land with full title. I have concluded this type of transaction for some beachfront land in recent weeks for a thai based client.

For larger investments it is better to do officially, i.e. lease, as investment incentives are very favorable.

I can also set up a trading company for a thai national, or any other foreigner!

BTW, I have been doing business in Myanmar for over 13 years.

PM me for more info.

I have a problem with you basing your expertize on 13 years under a repressive military Regime. It is my understanding that things are changing rapidly and yesterday facts might not be today's facts.

I do how ever believe that knowing the people inside the system would give you a edge.

For my self it would be a duel problem as I a US citizen would be looking for a place to live in.

I know two different animals but they would both have to be solved before I could consider the move.

I wish the Mods would remove the first 60 posts as they have nothing to do with the situation in Burma today. Just some ammunition for Burmese bashers. Thai Visa should have a history thread for old posts that no longer have any meaning.

DO YOU HEAR ME MODS. I know very rude of me.

Thank you for your criticism given that you don't know me or what business I did in Myanmar. I will not elaborate here, but for anyone that also has an interest in helping Myanmar develop, I welcome a conversation, as I know my past experiences are still relevant today. I look forward to hearing from people that have interesting and innovative ideas, and am sure that I can help bring those ideas to fruition.

[hellodolly]

There are loopholes that can be used for foreigners to buy land with full title. I have concluded this type of transaction for some beachfront land in recent weeks for a thai based client.

For larger investments it is better to do officially, i.e. lease, as investment incentives are very favorable.

I can also set up a trading company for a thai national, or any other foreigner!

BTW, I have been doing business in Myanmar for over 13 years.

PM me for more info.

I have a problem with you basing your expertize on 13 years under a repressive military Regime. It is my understanding that things are changing rapidly and yesterday facts might not be today's facts.

I do how ever believe that knowing the people inside the system would give you a edge.

For my self it would be a duel problem as I a US citizen would be looking for a place to live in.

I know two different animals but they would both have to be solved before I could consider the move.

I wish the Mods would remove the first 60 posts as they have nothing to do with the situation in Burma today. Just some ammunition for Burmese bashers. Thai Visa should have a history thread for old posts that no longer have any meaning.

DO YOU HEAR ME MODS. I know very rude of me.

Thank you for your criticism given that you don't know me or what business I did in Myanmar. I will not elaborate here, but for anyone that also has an interest in helping Myanmar develop, I welcome a conversation, as I know my past experiences are still relevant today. I look forward to hearing from people that have interesting and innovative ideas, and am sure that I can help bring those ideas to fruition.

"Thank you for your criticism given that you don't know me or what business I did in Myanmar."

It was not a criticism it was a statement of concern on my part.

I gave you credit for the insiders you know.

If you had tried to alieve my concern you could have mentioned that you are in touch with a what is happening day to day with your insiders.

Instead you fall back on the fact I don't know you or what you have been doing on the last 13 years which even a idiot knows have changed and are still in the process of changing.

You ignore my problem that supposedly you know about in regards to a place to live.

And then you go on to say " I look forward to hearing from people that have interesting and innovative ideas"

In short you know nothing. You have nothing to offer.

Edited April 19, 2012 by hellodolly

[Fletcher]

There are loopholes that can be used for foreigners to buy land with full title. I have concluded this type of transaction for some beachfront land in recent weeks for a thai based client.

For larger investments it is better to do officially, i.e. lease, as investment incentives are very favorable.

I can also set up a trading company for a thai national, or any other foreigner!

BTW, I have been doing business in Myanmar for over 13 years.

PM me for more info.

I have a problem with you basing your expertize on 13 years under a repressive military Regime. It is my understanding that things are changing rapidly and yesterday facts might not be today's facts.

I do how ever believe that knowing the people inside the system would give you a edge.

For my self it would be a duel problem as I a US citizen would be looking for a place to live in.

I know two different animals but they would both have to be solved before I could consider the move.

I wish the Mods would remove the first 60 posts as they have nothing to do with the situation in Burma today. Just some ammunition for Burmese bashers. Thai Visa should have a history thread for old posts that no longer have any meaning.

DO YOU HEAR ME MODS. I know very rude of me.

Thank you for your criticism given that you don't know me or what business I did in Myanmar. I will not elaborate here, but for anyone that also has an interest in helping Myanmar develop, I welcome a conversation, as I know my past experiences are still relevant today. I look forward to hearing from people that have interesting and innovative ideas, and am sure that I can help bring those ideas to fruition.

"Thank you for your criticism given that you don't know me or what business I did in Myanmar."

It was not a criticism it was a statement of concern on my part.

I gave you credit for the insiders you know.

If you had tried to alieve my concern you could have mentioned that you are in touch with a what is happening day to day with your insiders.

Instead you fall back on the fact I don't know you or what you have been doing on the last 13 years which even a idiot knows have changed and are still in the process of changing.

You ignore my problem that supposedly you know about in regards to a place to live.

And then you go on to say " I look forward to hearing from people that have interesting and innovative ideas"

In short you know nothing. You have nothing to offer.

Hellodolly,

Apologies, for misinterpreting your original comment.

Whilst the political situation in the country has changed markedly in the last 18 months, and it is a genuine change, the full impact has not yet filtered down through the bureaucracy. There is also quite a lot of confusion within government departments as to how to handle the change. Several draft laws have appeared in recent months, only to be withdrawn for re-drafting. This includes 2 key laws including the Foreign investment law and the land reform law. For example, we cannot be fully sure that the 8-yr tax incentives on FDI will be implemented, or will it get reduced back down to 5 or 3 years.

In terms of the investment climate, there has been lots of talk regarding FDI, but very little in the way of actual deals involving foreigners. Nevertheless, local entrepreneurs are much more active now as they see the risk of government expropriation (a real risk during 90's and 00's) having declined markedly. (Incidentally i was a co-founder of a company that was expropriated by the govt just before we initiated a 100MUSD IPO.)

A lot of old money is now coming out from under the floorboards, as entrepreneurial activity increases, nevertheless there are many locals that are looking for foreign capital (as equity) because they don't want to partner with the local 'big-guys', and cannot borrow because debt markets are ridiculously expensive.

All in all, political reform is leading economic reform, and administrative reform, though we still see many encouraging signs on all fronts, that appear to be more significant than the few negative signs. Of particular interest, will be a cabinet reshuffle in coming weeks, as the individual changes will significantly determine the future pace and direction of reform.

Personally speaking and as a result of the aforementioned loss, I have studied all relevant business laws, and have learnt the loopholes, that may be suitable for certain investors. I also keep up-to-date with all the proposed changes, as well as being involved in providing policy documents relating to one particular sector.

Hope this very general answer allays your concerns.

[haiau063]

Hello friends,

I am looking for the land for leaasing in Burma also, but i till have not got any information about this

Do all you know, please advise me where to contact

Thanks all

[Fletcher]

Hello friends,

I am looking for the land for leaasing in Burma also, but i till have not got any information about this

Do all you know, please advise me where to contact

Thanks all

PM me with your requirement.

[stiggy]

Political and human rights arguments aside.

The Ops questions refer to business, historically new areas opening up and changes in policy mean big bucks.

Simply put yes there are risks and a lot of uncertainty,but In business generally the bigger the risk the bigger the reward if successful.

I have many good friends from the country, if I can invest in them and make some money whilst being part of a positive change why not?

Im there in December with two of them to have a look.Changes start up the top Government Juntas whatever,but must also come from the bottom for the best impact on the average person at local level.

Eventually when a place becomes stable, many years away in my opinion the two meet in the middle.

[BlackJack]

I know a friend that has a friend that has a gold mine in Myanmar

theres so much of it that you can more or less just pick it off the ground

anyway we were there and there was a big storm

we hid under a tree - i know - youre not supposed to

then the wind blew the tree down and all the root on the tree were exposed

to our surprise - when we looked closer there were little gold nuggets clinging to the roots

Anyway to cut a long story short - we are looking for investors as we think theres plenty more where that came from

PM me for details

[SeaVisionBurma]

I know a friend that has a friend that has a gold mine in Myanmar

theres so much of it that you can more or less just pick it off the ground

anyway we were there and there was a big storm

we hid under a tree - i know - youre not supposed to

then the wind blew the tree down and all the root on the tree were exposed

to our surprise - when we looked closer there were little gold nuggets clinging to the roots

Anyway to cut a long story short - we are looking for investors as we think theres plenty more where that came from

PM me for details

Hilarious. Absolutely by far the best laugh I've had on years.

Pics or it didn't happen.

Sent from my ALCATEL_one_touch_918D using Thaivisa Connect App

[DagonKhan]

They've just removed the tax holiday. Tax now goes back to 30% + 7%.

Nobody doing anything at the moment, no feedback from the valuers.

[hyperdimension]

How do Myanmar property prices compare with Thai property in terms of value for money? Condominiums seem expensive there.

[DagonKhan]

There's "condos" here for sale for US$290,000 that I've personally looked at, finish quality is rubbish. Structurally I'd question them as well, I don't need to be a structural engineer to know something is wrong when some of the new apartments resemble the leaning tower of Pisa! I'm not joking either, it's obvious to the naked eye that entire buildings are leaning. There's a penthouse not too far away from me and they're asking over US$1 million for it, personally I think they're dreaming, but people pay silly prices here for property, so who knows?

[CP3]

30% tax is going to kick in very soon on properties

[kohsam]

Fletcher - please contact me.

[CHANGOVER]

Anyone have any contacts for smallish land plots (10-20 rai) and info

on ownership of land and property for Thai wife and farang?

[DagonKhan]

What is 10-20 rai in square feet? Sounds a lot.

Most plots here tend to be based around the 60' x 40' or 80' x 60' sizes, they could be divisions of that, or multiples of that. There are of course odd sized plots and some of the developers use different sizes, some of the bigger ones at FMI (not finger lakes though) are 80' x 80'.

It's all kind of irrelevant though as neither you, nor your wife can legally own land here. There are ways around it, but far too many foreigners have been screwed on this. Trust is the issue and don't let anyone tell you that the (untested) legal system will protect you, no one knows for sure if it will or won't.

[SeaVisionBurma]

A reply to a 5 year old post has been removed.

And do not start about on what to call the country. Both are acceptable here.