Selling A House In Pattaya

[Lazy Sod]

you cant even give a house away in pattaya at the moment.the real estate laws for foreigners is a mess and a nightmare.never ever invest any money in thailand.only rent.

Gonzo, I think a few of us would be interested to hear your first hand experience of trying to sell. Is it really that bad?

[think_too_mut]

you cant even give a house away in pattaya at the moment.the real estate laws for foreigners is a mess and a nightmare.never ever invest any money in thailand.only rent.

Gonzo, I think a few of us would be interested to hear your first hand experience of trying to sell. Is it really that bad?

A few of us would know he had paid 550K baht for that pidgeon box.

He can't sell at that price (through and agency) as it will disrupt all other sales - that are not selling at all, for years.

In fact, he can't sell at any price.

Possibly, he can't even give it away.

[mikethevigoman]

Im reliably informed properties worth the money are selling, however, there lies the problem, what is "worth the money " seems unless you are ready for a severe kick in the vertical danglers you may have a long wait ahead, thank god i sold mine when i did, i am now in the ranks of the renters club, on route back home,. good luck to all you owners trying to sell, i would not buy here again ,next to nothing in investment return and i never felt i owned it..

[donx]

you cant even give a house away in pattaya at the moment.the real estate laws for foreigners is a mess and a nightmare.never ever invest any money in thailand.only rent.

Gonzo, I think a few of us would be interested to hear your first hand experience of trying to sell. Is it really that bad?

A few of us would know he had paid 550K baht for that pidgeon box.

He can't sell at that price (through and agency) as it will disrupt all other sales - that are not selling at all, for years.

In fact, he can't sell at any price.

Possibly, he can't even give it away.

He can give it away, because if he wants he can always give it to me. Hel_l, I'll even pay him ha baht for it .

[Pakboong]

Im reliably informed properties worth the money are selling, however, there lies the problem, what is "worth the money " seems unless you are ready for a severe kick in the vertical danglers you may have a long wait ahead, thank god i sold mine when i did, i am now in the ranks of the renters club, on route back home,. good luck to all you owners trying to sell, i would not buy here again ,next to nothing in investment return and i never felt i owned it..

Sound advice.

[JimmyTheMook]

We have sold over 40 apartments in the Sanctuary over the last 6 months. We think it's a great development as do our clients. The foreign ownership quota is getting close to being sold out so if you need to purchase in the 49% you may need to decide soon. Other than that, re-sales have started to happen. We have 3 different units for re-sale at quite a bit under developer price. The benefit of being a day one purchaser means they can now sell at lower prices than the developer..... If of interest please feel free to pm me. I think they are all 60 sq.m units but will check when I get back into the office in a couple of days. Wouldn't worry about re-selling at a loss in this complex. Although we do not advertise this project and it's meant to be sole listed to Harrissons we have found it incredibly easy to sell. I don't see that changing any time soon. Remember location, location, location.... never goes wrong.

David

Care to comment on the 51% allocated to Thai ownership ?

The whole location thing and all.

[Eastcoast]

We have sold over 40 apartments in the Sanctuary over the last 6 months. We think it's a great development as do our clients. The foreign ownership quota is getting close to being sold out so if you need to purchase in the 49% you may need to decide soon. Other than that, re-sales have started to happen. We have 3 different units for re-sale at quite a bit under developer price. The benefit of being a day one purchaser means they can now sell at lower prices than the developer..... If of interest please feel free to pm me. I think they are all 60 sq.m units but will check when I get back into the office in a couple of days. Wouldn't worry about re-selling at a loss in this complex. Although we do not advertise this project and it's meant to be sole listed to Harrissons we have found it incredibly easy to sell. I don't see that changing any time soon. Remember location, location, location.... never goes wrong.

David

Care to comment on the 51% allocated to Thai ownership ?

The whole location thing and all.

We have not sold any units under the Thai ownership quota. The developer has though. From what I'm told almost 20% of the Thai ownership has been sold? This is quite good at this stage of construction. Most Thais, unlike foreigners, are very reluctant to buy at the very early stages of new build properties. We have found over the years that most Thais will buy once the main structure is up and the finishes are being completed.

I think this is a good location as it is direct beach front. The road leading into the site is not one of the best but is improving with nice restaurants and hotels opening up in the last few years. One of the main factors in selling the units here was the peacefulness of the location. It is basically a dead end road and traffic noise etc is very low although it is still located very close to the City. All properties in close proximity are also quiet/residential..... Big factors now with many locations getting very commercialised.

[Lazy Sod]

Guys, those gated communities have big problems...burglary (how comes?) and people keeping rotweiler dogs that can (and do) kill your own and only child.

An amalgamation of bar girls and undesirable farangs, open for anyone to have a go...

Not a family athosphere.

You paint a bleak picture, but have a point. I was going to buy something in Pattaya a couple of years ago but didn't because every time I went down there I found that I wanted to return to Bangkok after a couple of days, for once I made a good investment decision. I like Pattaya for a couple of days, but then the cracks start to appear, mainly the amount of nutters roaming about. Anyway I don't mean to turn this discussion into the merits or otherwise of Pattaya as that has been discussed to death in other threads.

I feel sorry for guys who are desperate to sell now, it's really bad. Consider for a minute the worst case scenario that there is almost no demand for houses there now because foreigners have learned their lesson (about the Company route to ownership) from the scare a couple of years ago, and Thai's are not interested in buying a house on most of these estates in Pattaya. So who is the buyer these days. I guess only bargain hunters. I imagine estate agents like eastcoast want to scream at sellers who have high expectations of a quick sale at a high price.

Edited August 21, 2008 by Lazy Sod

[Eastcoast]

Guys, those gated communities have big problems...burglary (how comes?) and people keeping rotweiler dogs that can (and do) kill your own and only child.

An amalgamation of bar girls and undesirable farangs, open for anyone to have a go...

Not a family athosphere.

You paint a bleak picture, but have a point. I was going to buy something in Pattaya a couple of years ago but didn't because every time I went down there I found that I wanted to return to Bangkok after a couple of days, for once I made a good investment decision. I like Pattaya for a couple of days, but then the cracks start to appear, mainly the amount of nutters roaming about. Anyway I don't mean to turn this discussion into the merits or otherwise of Pattaya as that has been discussed to death in other threads.

I feel sorry for guys who are desperate to sell now, it's really bad. Consider for a minute the worst case scenario that there is almost no demand for houses there now because foreigners have learned their lesson (about the Company route to ownership) from the scare a couple of years ago, and Thai's are not interested in buying a house on most of these estates in Pattaya. So who is the buyer these days. I guess only bargain hunters. I imagine estate agents like eastcoast want to scream at sellers who have high expectations of a quick sale at a high price.

Rather scream at the people in power that won't clarify one way or the other whether company ownership is 100% secure. I have been in the business over 10 years and have NEVER seen anyone lose a property through this ownership method. It does give more flexibility than other methods. We need to get rid of the grey areas in this business. Even if they say stop all companies with foreign directors owning land at least then we will know that leasehold or usufruct etc are the options. Too much doubt in anything is never good. Straight answers are all the industry needs.... property prices sort themselves out in the end.

[Naam]

Guys, those gated communities have big problems...burglary (how comes?) and people keeping rotweiler dogs that can (and do) kill your own and only child. An amalgamation of bar girls and undesirable farangs, open for anyone to have a go... Not a family athosphere.

you think too mutt based on hearsay and assumptions!

i live since two years in a gated community that exists since six years. no burglaries, no rottweilers, no bargirls and (except for myself ) no undesirable farangs. our community is NOT for everyone to go. you leave your driver's license or ID, have the license number of your vehicle registered or you turn back. and if you drive a pickup or any other truck the gate phones the homeowner whether the visitor is desirable or undesirable.

[Lazy Sod]

Guys, those gated communities have big problems...burglary (how comes?) and people keeping rotweiler dogs that can (and do) kill your own and only child.

An amalgamation of bar girls and undesirable farangs, open for anyone to have a go...

Not a family athosphere.

You paint a bleak picture, but have a point. I was going to buy something in Pattaya a couple of years ago but didn't because every time I went down there I found that I wanted to return to Bangkok after a couple of days, for once I made a good investment decision. I like Pattaya for a couple of days, but then the cracks start to appear, mainly the amount of nutters roaming about. Anyway I don't mean to turn this discussion into the merits or otherwise of Pattaya as that has been discussed to death in other threads.

I feel sorry for guys who are desperate to sell now, it's really bad. Consider for a minute the worst case scenario that there is almost no demand for houses there now because foreigners have learned their lesson (about the Company route to ownership) from the scare a couple of years ago, and Thai's are not interested in buying a house on most of these estates in Pattaya. So who is the buyer these days. I guess only bargain hunters. I imagine estate agents like eastcoast want to scream at sellers who have high expectations of a quick sale at a high price.

Rather scream at the people in power that won't clarify one way or the other whether company ownership is 100% secure. I have been in the business over 10 years and have NEVER seen anyone lose a property through this ownership method. It does give more flexibility than other methods. We need to get rid of the grey areas in this business. Even if they say stop all companies with foreign directors owning land at least then we will know that leasehold or usufruct etc are the options. Too much doubt in anything is never good. Straight answers are all the industry needs.... property prices sort themselves out in the end.

Good point Eastcoast. If I was in the market to buy I'd definately be contacting you. You tell it like it is.

[think_too_mut]

Guys, those gated communities have big problems...burglary (how comes?) and people keeping rotweiler dogs that can (and do) kill your own and only child. An amalgamation of bar girls and undesirable farangs, open for anyone to have a go... Not a family athosphere.

you think too mutt based on hearsay and assumptions!

i live since two years in a gated community that exists since six years. no burglaries, no rottweilers, no bargirls and (except for myself ) no undesirable farangs. our community is NOT for everyone to go. you leave your driver's license or ID, have the license number of your vehicle registered or you turn back. and if you drive a pickup or any other truck the gate phones the homeowner whether the visitor is desirable or undesirable.

I have never lived in Pattaya, what I said was from my observations when driving into compounds with my American friend who was activelly searching (then) for a house (with his bargirl).

So, who lives in those places? What is the % of foreigners who put their houses in someone else's name?

I still have to hear of a trend among Thais moving to Pattaya after retirement.

(BTW, that rothweiler that killed a girl last week - that was in a compound)

[ray08]

Rather scream at the people in power that won't clarify one way or the other whether company ownership is 100% secure. I have been in the business over 10 years and have NEVER seen anyone lose a property through this ownership method. It does give more flexibility than other methods. We need to get rid of the grey areas in this business. Even if they say stop all companies with foreign directors owning land at least then we will know that leasehold or usufruct etc are the options. Too much doubt in anything is never good. Straight answers are all the industry needs.... property prices sort themselves out in the end.

Good points, but even though 10 years you have seen nothing happening ,if one day they wanted to enforce the law ,not only could you lose your house ,but sent to jail for Nominee company,it is a powerfull tool the government has that can be used and not contested in court, As for leaving it grey ,i think that is the intention, it is not a vote winner ,they can say stop all foreign directors owning land , but no need to say , because in political talk it is already the law ,

Nothing might not happen for another 10 years ,but imagine if another coup or if a very Nationalistic government takes power, would it not look very good for the government to reclaim Thai land for the Thai people ans stop the illegal activites of the bad foreigner.

Now that would be a Vote winner

[Eastcoast]

Think I have a bit more faith in the Thai people than you give them credit for. If they did as you suggest could happen, do you not think this would not cause a few problems? Both Internationally and within Thailand….. I’m pretty sure that even in the less well off/educated areas they still value the assistance foreigners have been to their communities. Within the business community they for sure value foreign investment etc… Remember using your scenario, 1,000’s of foreigners would be in jail; they would have lost their assets and businesses. Who would come to Thailand for holiday, retirement, business etc knowing what had taken place to all foreigners just for being a director within a Thai registered nominee company, holding property as an asset. Do you not think this would affect the Thai economy in an extreme way?

With the best will in the world I don’t think even you can say the Thais would want to be another Zimbabwe. For sure I don’t think this would be a “vote” winner for any Thai. Please explain why you think it would?

[loopaimod]

Ray08 bet your one of those guys that doesn't leave your bedroom and pisses in a bucket in case the seat falls on your willy. What you wrote is nothing but what ifs and could happens. Nobody knows of anyone that has lost properties through this method. Please read Eastcoasts post as I think it makes simple sense of the situation. Why do people like to be scaremongers? I only buy and own condos because I like the convenience of condo living but I would feel quit comfortable buying a company owned house if my circumstances changed. Eastcoast stated facts you stated BS.

[dsfbrit]

Fair Properties is listing 700 houses for sale and 900 condos. That sounds like a lot to me and its only one agent.

Therefore, the same properties are listed at many different agencies. 2 agencies could each list 700 houses for sale but it would not mean they had a total of 1400 different houses for sale...they may even only have a total of 700.

When I was looking for a property a few years ago, the agents also left properties on their web-sites that had been sold ages before just to get people in - mind you in those days (2003) there were not that many properties around - so maybe there was more reason to do that.

As for people wanting to buy property (land and house) here in Pattaya - I would say its mainly people like me, Brit Farang Expat, over 50, used to having a garden, don't want to rent. We also know now there is no long term investment / profit in it, but we don't really care about that as we just want it to enjoy for ourselves, family and friends who come to visit.

Hey its sunny today (as usual) so I am off into the garden for a bit of R&R - why would I ever want to sell this place anyway - its lovely here - anybody reading this thread should listen to the good advice - then do whatever it takes to get over here

Edited August 23, 2008 by dsfbrit

[ray08]

Think I have a bit more faith in the Thai people than you give them credit for. If they did as you suggest could happen, do you not think this would not cause a few problems? Both Internationally and within Thailand….. I'm pretty sure that even in the less well off/educated areas they still value the assistance foreigners have been to their communities. Within the business community they for sure value foreign investment etc… Remember using your scenario, 1,000's of foreigners would be in jail; they would have lost their assets and businesses. Who would come to Thailand for holiday, retirement, business etc knowing what had taken place to all foreigners just for being a director within a Thai registered nominee company, holding property as an asset. Do you not think this would affect the Thai economy in an extreme way?

With the best will in the world I don't think even you can say the Thais would want to be another Zimbabwe. For sure I don't think this would be a "vote" winner for any Thai. Please explain why you think it would?

Eastcoast , As of last year the Government of the day had drafted a new FBA act ,which has been discussed on Thaivisa ,and this government was very specific on Nominees and part of the act was also to increase punishment for abuse , as well as wanting the Thais to have managing control in companies

These events are not even a year old , yes it did not go through, but they were pretty Gung-Ho about it, so i am not scare mongering ,but under Thai Law they can do what i said ,would they do it? i think not , can they do it ?,i think if they wanted, going forward they can enforce the FBA and ask foreigners to have Thai partners and if not enforce penalites ,this is what the last government wanted to do

So maybe not a Zimbabwe situation , but the chances of a Governement giving you 12 months to have a Real thai partner for Thai company that owns your home, for sure can happen,

And i stand by my comments ,under a Nationlistic Governenment, enforcement of the FBA is a real possibility , it was about to happen, you say nothing happened in 10 years , agreed ,but as a real Estate agent would you recomend company route for land purchase ?

[ray08]

Ray08 bet your one of those guys that doesn't leave your bedroom and pisses in a bucket in case the seat falls on your willy. What you wrote is nothing but what ifs and could happens. Nobody knows of anyone that has lost properties through this method. Please read Eastcoasts post as I think it makes simple sense of the situation. Why do people like to be scaremongers? I only buy and own condos because I like the convenience of condo living but I would feel quit comfortable buying a company owned house if my circumstances changed. Eastcoast stated facts you stated BS.

I think in my last reply facts are all there ,tell me where the BS is , I myself am in Thailand for over 4 years strictly as a business

investor in manufacturing , so i am not trying to scare people ,only trying to say look at all sides ,after the last Junta and there attitude on foreign companies , it would not seem to me a good idea to start one up now to buy property, very simple if i invest in something i want to own it outright , no monkey business where some general can come in and tell i broke the law.

On my last dealing with thai courts ( labour court June 08 ) staff member sold propriety information so i sacked him on the spot ,in court i was told because i did not notify the social security i was liable to go to jail , sounds laughtable but Judge told me that ,so do i trust Thais when push come to shove , no way

[Eastcoast]

Think I have a bit more faith in the Thai people than you give them credit for. If they did as you suggest could happen, do you not think this would not cause a few problems? Both Internationally and within Thailand….. I'm pretty sure that even in the less well off/educated areas they still value the assistance foreigners have been to their communities. Within the business community they for sure value foreign investment etc… Remember using your scenario, 1,000's of foreigners would be in jail; they would have lost their assets and businesses. Who would come to Thailand for holiday, retirement, business etc knowing what had taken place to all foreigners just for being a director within a Thai registered nominee company, holding property as an asset. Do you not think this would affect the Thai economy in an extreme way?

With the best will in the world I don't think even you can say the Thais would want to be another Zimbabwe. For sure I don't think this would be a "vote" winner for any Thai. Please explain why you think it would?

Eastcoast , As of last year the Government of the day had drafted a new FBA act ,which has been discussed on Thaivisa ,and this government was very specific on Nominees and part of the act was also to increase punishment for abuse , as well as wanting the Thais to have managing control in companies

These events are not even a year old , yes it did not go through, but they were pretty Gung-Ho about it, so i am not scare mongering ,but under Thai Law they can do what i said ,would they do it? i think not , can they do it ?,i think if they wanted, going forward they can enforce the FBA and ask foreigners to have Thai partners and if not enforce penalites ,this is what the last government wanted to do

So maybe not a Zimbabwe situation , but the chances of a Governement giving you 12 months to have a Real thai partner for Thai company that owns your home, for sure can happen,

And i stand by my comments ,under a Nationlistic Governenment, enforcement of the FBA is a real possibility , it was about to happen, you say nothing happened in 10 years , agreed ,but as a real Estate agent would you recomend company route for land purchase ?

Thank you for your response Mr. Ray08. Much more realistic as I feel as Loupaimod, the fist one was a bit over the top. Sure things can change but I cannot ever see anyone going to jail or actually losing any property. I think worst case as you said would be people would have time to rectify the ownership method to something that is in line with government policy. Regarding recommending company ownership or not. I show properties. We advise people on the different ownership options and they decide what ever way is suitable to them. I am not a lawyer and we always advise potential purchasers of homes/land to get an independent lawyer to check over all paperwork etc before they purchase. Unlike many real estate companies in town we are not a one-stop shop. We list, show and hopefully sell or rent properties, nothing more nothing less. We have no affiliation with any lawyers office at all.

My own house is owned under my Thai wife's name. Were I not married, I would feel more comfortable owning in a Thai company name than any other options as still gives me freedom to sell on a freehold title deed at my convenience.

David

[LennyW]

Think I have a bit more faith in the Thai people than you give them credit for. If they did as you suggest could happen, do you not think this would not cause a few problems? Both Internationally and within Thailand….. I'm pretty sure that even in the less well off/educated areas they still value the assistance foreigners have been to their communities. Within the business community they for sure value foreign investment etc… Remember using your scenario, 1,000's of foreigners would be in jail; they would have lost their assets and businesses. Who would come to Thailand for holiday, retirement, business etc knowing what had taken place to all foreigners just for being a director within a Thai registered nominee company, holding property as an asset. Do you not think this would affect the Thai economy in an extreme way?

With the best will in the world I don't think even you can say the Thais would want to be another Zimbabwe. For sure I don't think this would be a "vote" winner for any Thai. Please explain why you think it would?

Yer right David, countries have gone to war for a lot less!!!

[Mobi]

Think I have a bit more faith in the Thai people than you give them credit for. If they did as you suggest could happen, do you not think this would not cause a few problems? Both Internationally and within Thailand….. I'm pretty sure that even in the less well off/educated areas they still value the assistance foreigners have been to their communities. Within the business community they for sure value foreign investment etc… Remember using your scenario, 1,000's of foreigners would be in jail; they would have lost their assets and businesses. Who would come to Thailand for holiday, retirement, business etc knowing what had taken place to all foreigners just for being a director within a Thai registered nominee company, holding property as an asset. Do you not think this would affect the Thai economy in an extreme way?

With the best will in the world I don't think even you can say the Thais would want to be another Zimbabwe. For sure I don't think this would be a "vote" winner for any Thai. Please explain why you think it would?

All my instincts tell me that you are almost certainly correct.

But nothing is for sure in what is still a third world country, that regularly has coups, tears up its constitutions,rewrites the laws to suit those in power, has been at the brink of political conflict (and possible violence) for years, and is run by a bunch of power hungry, totally corrupt (moral and financial) politicians, who, at the first sign of trouble will blame all of Thailnd's ills on "evil foreigners", and stir up the nationalistic sentiments amongst the uneducated classes.

Even my own wife - who believe me is a pretty smart cookie and who has travelled abroad extensively and runs her own business, believes that no farang should be allowed to own one inch of Thai soil.

Fours ago I built an extensive property in East Pattaya. No sooner was it built than all this nominee stuff emerged. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that if I had known about all this in advance, I would never have built the house.

We are talking here of an investment for most farangs of at least 50,000 pounds upwards, for some over 200,000. For many this will be the only investment they will be able to make in a retirement home. So given the current situation, most prudent buyers would certainly think twice before making an investment that may turn out to be technically illegal.

For me, however small the chances are of losing my property, I didn't want to spend the rest of my retirement worrying about it, so I got rid of my company and transferred the house to my wife with a usufruct giving me lifetime residency. Even this is not foolproof, but I'd rather my wife have it than the government take it away from me or put me in jail or deport me as an undesirable.

[obsession]

Think I have a bit more faith in the Thai people than you give them credit for. If they did as you suggest could happen, do you not think this would not cause a few problems? Both Internationally and within Thailand….. I'm pretty sure that even in the less well off/educated areas they still value the assistance foreigners have been to their communities. Within the business community they for sure value foreign investment etc… Remember using your scenario, 1,000's of foreigners would be in jail; they would have lost their assets and businesses. Who would come to Thailand for holiday, retirement, business etc knowing what had taken place to all foreigners just for being a director within a Thai registered nominee company, holding property as an asset. Do you not think this would affect the Thai economy in an extreme way?

With the best will in the world I don't think even you can say the Thais would want to be another Zimbabwe. For sure I don't think this would be a "vote" winner for any Thai. Please explain why you think it would?

All my instincts tell me that you are almost certainly correct.

But nothing is for sure in what is still a third world country, that regularly has coups, tears up its constitutions,rewrites the laws to suit those in power, has been at the brink of political conflict (and possible violence) for years, and is run by a bunch of power hungry, totally corrupt (moral and financial) politicians, who, at the first sign of trouble will blame all of Thailnd's ills on "evil foreigners", and stir up the nationalistic sentiments amongst the uneducated classes.

Even my own wife - who believe me is a pretty smart cookie and who has travelled abroad extensively and runs her own business, believes that no farang should be allowed to own one inch of Thai soil.

Fours ago I built an extensive property in East Pattaya. No sooner was it built than all this nominee stuff emerged. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that if I had known about all this in advance, I would never have built the house.

We are talking here of an investment for most farangs of at least 50,000 pounds upwards, for some over 200,000. For many this will be the only investment they will be able to make in a retirement home. So given the current situation, most prudent buyers would certainly think twice before making an investment that may turn out to be technically illegal.

For me, however small the chances are of losing my property, I didn't want to spend the rest of my retirement worrying about it, so I got rid of my company and transferred the house to my wife with a usufruct giving me lifetime residency. Even this is not foolproof, but I'd rather my wife have it than the government take it away from me or put me in jail or deport me as an undesirable.

Excellent post. Its beyond me why anyone would take a chance with their retirement funds.

Even if they allowed full legal ownership, the market will still probably see a downturn, same as Spain, Bulgaria, Romania and other holiday/retirement destinations, not to mention UK, USA. Developers have built too many and there was a "property ownership craze". Some condos in Spain are selling at half the price they were bought for and Bulgaria and Romania down 30%+. And thats with all the benefits Romania is about to receive from the eu. And if a full EU member like Spain can bulldoze peoples properties, they can surely do it in Thailand where you dont have any rights and have bought with a "dodgy" company. imho

[Naam]

Some condos in Spain are selling at half the price they were bought for and Bulgaria and Romania down 30%+. And thats with all the benefits Romania is about to receive from the eu. And if a full EU member like Spain can bulldoze peoples properties, they can surely do it in Thailand where you dont have any rights and have bought with a "dodgy" company. imho

that's a load of bull. "Spain" did not bulldoze any properties. stupid ignorant people and greedy investors bulldozed their properties by not being able to pay the mortgages and developers overestimated demand. the same goes for the U.S., Ireland and several other countries. UK has just started.

[JimmyTheMook]

Even my own wife - who believe me is a pretty smart cookie and who has travelled abroad extensively and runs her own business, believes that no farang should be allowed to own one inch of Thai soil.

She sounds very worldly.

[Mobi]

Even my own wife - who believe me is a pretty smart cookie and who has travelled abroad extensively and runs her own business, believes that no farang should be allowed to own one inch of Thai soil.

She sounds very worldly.

There is no need for the sarcasm directed at my wife.

She is no different to millions of other Thais in this regard, and the point I was making is that they have all been brain washed and truly believe that foreigners should not be allowed to own land.

So in this context I would be a little wary about believing that nothing will ever happen to farangs who have bought houses through companies. If the government start expropriating them or order forced sales you won't find too much sympathy from the local population, except for those directly disadvantaged.

[jitagon]

Even my own wife - who believe me is a pretty smart cookie and who has travelled abroad extensively and runs her own business, believes that no farang should be allowed to own one inch of Thai soil.

She sounds very worldly.

There is no need for the sarcasm directed at my wife.

She is no different to millions of other Thais in this regard, and the point I was making is that they have all been brain washed and truly believe that foreigners should not be allowed to own land.

So in this context I would be a little wary about believing that nothing will ever happen to farangs who have bought houses through companies. If the government start expropriating them or order forced sales you won't find too much sympathy from the local population, except for those directly disadvantaged.

And what on earth would they do with all these expensive villas here on Phuket? That scenario might, for a nano second's suspension of belief, play out on a couple of gated communities in Bangkok or Issan, but here on Phuket you'd watch the tumbleweed blowing through overy moo baan on the island. And the Thais here would be very very unhappy about their golden goose being taken out, I can assure you. They were very unhappy when they started up with the FBA. 'What are we going to do? All the rubber trees are gone!'

[dsfbrit]

...

And i stand by my comments ,under a Nationlistic Governenment, enforcement of the FBA is a real possibility , it was about to happen, you say nothing happened in 10 years , agreed ,but as a real Estate agent would you recomend company route for land purchase ?

I am not a Real Estate agent, but am in the process of moving the land / house from the company into a Usufruct with my Thai wife. As I go through this process with Sunbelt, all the little 'ifs' and 'buts' relating to this effort begin to appear.

Its stated to be a simple task and I can just own the house and the wife own the land - well in the 'Real World' I am currently learning this is not the case!

It may be at the end of the day it is all fairly easy, but the initial email replies I am receiving from Sunbelt at the moment, are not too encouraging when it comes to me owning the house once its been owned by the company and not separated from the land etc... (Sunbelt have been very helpful by the way - very professional and prompt advice).

It makes me feel that any potential problems down the road with the FBA, will be easier to overcome than the the flexibility I am giving up by moving from the 'company/land ownership' method.

In fact, if it weren't for the fact that the transfer taxes had not been reduced to almost zero for a year, I would have kept the company route anyway. I am beginning to feel I am making a classic mistake of doing something to 'save' some taxes, when in fact I should do nothing at all.

By the way, the thing that puts me off the company route is not the FBA,it is other facts for example: the Thai nominee shareholders could be a problem in the future ie: they could die and it seemed messy to keep track of this to replace them etc...

Still, having started on the Usufruct route it suddenly does not seem so daunting to look into the company issues in a bit more detail while I still can.

Edited August 27, 2008 by dsfbrit

[Naam]

It may be at the end of the day it is all fairly easy, but the initial email replies I am receiving from Sunbelt at the moment, are not too encouraging when it comes to me owning the house once its been owned by the company and not separated from the land etc... (Sunbelt have been very helpful by the way - very professional and prompt advice).

does that mean it is not possible?

[dsfbrit]

Fours ago I built an extensive property in East Pattaya. No sooner was it built than all this nominee stuff emerged. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that if I had known about all this in advance, I would never have built the house.

My feelings exactly

Mind you, I am not sure what I would have done instead???

Edited August 27, 2008 by dsfbrit

[xbusman]

Sorry, wrong reply.... Pretend I am not here and carry on as before.....

Edited August 27, 2008 by xbusman