Owning property in thailand as a farang

[oz457]

Dear all,

I'm aware of the difficulties of owning a property in Thailand. However, I hear very contradictory stories. Some people told me, you actually CAN buy property, which is totally owned by a faran, others point me out the only way to have a property is by sharing the property with a Thai (51% share). Others tell me it is possible to totally own your property if you have a business reaching a specific level of sales. Depending on the value of money you enter into the country, the higher the value of your property you can own.

In any case, I'm very interested in knowing what are the options available. Thanks for any input. I think this is a highly interesting topic to all of the expats in Thailand.

[wolf5370]

:blues: Hi,

I believe its like this (having relaxed a little a few years ago):

You can now own a Condo - if you realy want to buy one that is! - as a farrang.

You can buy up to 1 Rai of land for the purposes of living there - i.e. not to build a factory etc - need BOI approval etc for that.

You can not legally buy more than this, and officially so I am told, can a spouse if married to a farrang - though this is mostly overlooked.

Now, there are many ways to get around all this. The most easiest is to set up a company (must be 51% Thai - thats your 51% bit I presume - though can be nomonie directors). The company can now buy the land/property. There are companies that will do all this for you in Thailand, but check them out first for obvious reasons. Ask for happy clients and contact them to make sure.

The other way is to buy the land in your Mother-in-Law's name etc and you keep the deed. Note:- not all land in Thailand is deeded, especially in the sticks. These work by the vendor and purchaser registering the sale at a local government office. Unless you really, really trust your in-laws, I would only buy deeded land.

I have know people that have acres of land in this fasion.

I personally have two plots, one aprox. 15 acres - legally.

Good luck - and becareful!

[fester]

I'm aware of the difficulties of owning a property in Thailand. However, I hear very contradictory stories. Some people told me, you actually CAN buy property, which is totally owned by a farang, others point me out the only way to have a property is by sharing the property with a Thai (51% share). Others tell me it is possible to totally own your property if you have a business reaching a specific level of sales. Depending on the value of money you enter into the country, the higher the value of your property you can own.

wolf, welcome to Thailand Expat Forum.

Please have a look at our FAQ (Frequent Asked Questions), and especially look at the left yellow menu there.

There you find everything you'll need to know about owning, house, owning land, owning condominium in Thailand.

Here it is:

http://www.thaivisa.com/349.0.html

Have a look there and come back here for your follow ups!

[dr_Pat_Pong]

WOLF5370      seems to have discovered a brand new way of owning one rai of land. Read land ownership info on the forum

hearsay is a bad disease   :ghostface:

[jonniebkk]

the faq is a little dated re the info on land ownership.  i am no expert but from my reading and conversations with a thai lawyer, the 1 rai of land for residential purposes is granted if the foreigner brings in 40 million baht ($1 million or thereabouts) worth of new investment to thailand.  I believe this can be in the form of a business or financial capital.

consult a thai lawyer for the latest information.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Not many expats wanting to come here even have that sort of money

[pippasipanoun]

Dear All,

I would really appreciate some advice on this same topic please. I am a British woman married to a Thai man. We have built a house on 9 rai of land that was my husband's father's. He has now signed it over to my husband. I think there are no deeds but it was all signed at the local governemnt office. I was told I cannot have my name on the land so, in reading the above info on this topic, this is probably right. My husband and our daughter are on one book for the house and I, finally, have my own book for the the house. Does this legally mean I am 49% owner? Do I have to do anything else? If anything was to happen to my husband, what would happen to the land legally if I am not able to be the owner? I was advised to make something like a will at the bank so say, if anything was to happen to either of us then the other spouse would get everything but the bank don't know what we are talking about. Obviously I worry as if anything was to happen to my husband then I could, theoretically, be left with nothing. Please advise and many thanks in advance.

[wolfmanjack]

Dear All,

I would really appreciate some advice on this same topic please. I am a British woman married to a Thai man. We have built a house on 9 rai of land that was my husband's father's. He has now signed it over to my husband. I think there are no deeds but it was all signed at the local governemnt office. I was told I cannot have my name on the land so, in reading the above info on this topic, this is probably right. My husband and our daughter are on one book for the house and I, finally, have my own book for the the house. Does this legally mean I am 49% owner? Do I have to do anything else? If anything was to happen to my husband, what would happen to the land legally if I am not able to be the owner? I was advised to make something like a will at the bank so say, if anything was to happen to either of us then the other spouse would get everything but the bank don't know what we are talking about. Obviously I worry as if anything was to happen to my husband then I could, theoretically, be left with nothing. Please advise and many thanks in advance.

My understanding is that if your husband dies without a will then you, his children and his parents will all share equally. So if the survivors include 1 child, 1 spouse and 2 parents then each would inherit 25%. You would have up to 1 year (if i remember right) to divest yourself of the 25% you inherit. Better to have a will.

[kiakaha]

<font color='#000000'>Not many expats wanting to come here even have that sort of money</font>

You've been away too long. Brown is the new black, ergo 1 million is the new 10 thousand.

Anyway, the BOI incentive, I don't know anyone who has ever bought land this route, pre or post coup.

Unless you acquire thai citizenship, AFAIC, the best way to own land(and the only way I'd consider) is if you are in a genuine and stable relationship with a thai spouse and put the Chanot their name. If your spouse is financially independent, all the better, get them to buy the property in thailand, and you buy the property abroad.

[rgs2001uk]

Not many expats wanting to come here even have that sort of money

not many expats even with that sort of money want to come here.

[Naam]

I believe its like this

to believe means not knowing anything for certain. this applies to you Wolf. your posting demonstrates that clearly.

[meom]

I believe its like this

to believe means not knowing anything for certain. this applies to you Wolf. your posting demonstrates that clearly.

He might have changed his mind by now. It's been 4 years since he posted this after all

[Naam]

I believe its like this

to believe means not knowing anything for certain. this applies to you Wolf. your posting demonstrates that clearly.

He might have changed his mind by now. It's been 4 years since he posted this after all

sh*t happens when one doesn't wear reading glasses

[Dakhar]

It is called THAI LAND for a reason. If you are not Thai, it aint your land, it will not be your land, and it will never be your land.

Now that we got that clear,

Welcome to Thailand, cash only please, & can I verify your departure date?

[samran]

Dear All,

I would really appreciate some advice on this same topic please. I am a British woman married to a Thai man. We have built a house on 9 rai of land that was my husband's father's. He has now signed it over to my husband. I think there are no deeds but it was all signed at the local governemnt office. I was told I cannot have my name on the land so, in reading the above info on this topic, this is probably right. My husband and our daughter are on one book for the house and I, finally, have my own book for the the house. Does this legally mean I am 49% owner? Do I have to do anything else? If anything was to happen to my husband, what would happen to the land legally if I am not able to be the owner? I was advised to make something like a will at the bank so say, if anything was to happen to either of us then the other spouse would get everything but the bank don't know what we are talking about. Obviously I worry as if anything was to happen to my husband then I could, theoretically, be left with nothing. Please advise and many thanks in advance.

you aren't the owner as others state. The house book you have merely confirms your residence.

But, you should be aware of the fact that it is extermely easy for foreign women married to thai men to apply for citizenship. The process takes a while, but there are no residence requirements for you. Check out the sticky section at the top of the visa section.

[pippasipanoun]

Dear All,

I would really appreciate some advice on this same topic please. I am a British woman married to a Thai man. We have built a house on 9 rai of land that was my husband's father's. He has now signed it over to my husband. I think there are no deeds but it was all signed at the local governemnt office. I was told I cannot have my name on the land so, in reading the above info on this topic, this is probably right. My husband and our daughter are on one book for the house and I, finally, have my own book for the the house. Does this legally mean I am 49% owner? Do I have to do anything else? If anything was to happen to my husband, what would happen to the land legally if I am not able to be the owner? I was advised to make something like a will at the bank so say, if anything was to happen to either of us then the other spouse would get everything but the bank don't know what we are talking about. Obviously I worry as if anything was to happen to my husband then I could, theoretically, be left with nothing. Please advise and many thanks in advance.

you aren't the owner as others state. The house book you have merely confirms your residence.

But, you should be aware of the fact that it is extermely easy for foreign women married to thai men to apply for citizenship. The process takes a while, but there are no residence requirements for you. Check out the sticky section at the top of the visa section.

Thanks for your replies guys. I will definately look into the residence issue. It's difficult as everything in print seems to be written around a Farang man married to a Thai wife and not much info the other way around so thanks for the advice. Much appreciated. We will aslo get a will sorted asap. Does this then mean that if we have a will, my daughter and I will get 100% of everything between us? It's not that I don't want the family to have anything, of course, I just want my daughter's future to be as secure as it can be. Many thanks. Pippa

[samran]

Dear All,

I would really appreciate some advice on this same topic please. I am a British woman married to a Thai man. We have built a house on 9 rai of land that was my husband's father's. He has now signed it over to my husband. I think there are no deeds but it was all signed at the local governemnt office. I was told I cannot have my name on the land so, in reading the above info on this topic, this is probably right. My husband and our daughter are on one book for the house and I, finally, have my own book for the the house. Does this legally mean I am 49% owner? Do I have to do anything else? If anything was to happen to my husband, what would happen to the land legally if I am not able to be the owner? I was advised to make something like a will at the bank so say, if anything was to happen to either of us then the other spouse would get everything but the bank don't know what we are talking about. Obviously I worry as if anything was to happen to my husband then I could, theoretically, be left with nothing. Please advise and many thanks in advance.

you aren't the owner as others state. The house book you have merely confirms your residence.

But, you should be aware of the fact that it is extermely easy for foreign women married to thai men to apply for citizenship. The process takes a while, but there are no residence requirements for you. Check out the sticky section at the top of the visa section.

Thanks for your replies guys. I will definately look into the residence issue. It's difficult as everything in print seems to be written around a Farang man married to a Thai wife and not much info the other way around so thanks for the advice. Much appreciated. We will aslo get a will sorted asap. Does this then mean that if we have a will, my daughter and I will get 100% of everything between us? It's not that I don't want the family to have anything, of course, I just want my daughter's future to be as secure as it can be. Many thanks. Pippa

Here are the requirements for a foreign female to naturalise as a Thai citizen.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?ac...st&id=32287

[pippasipanoun]

Dear All,

I would really appreciate some advice on this same topic please. I am a British woman married to a Thai man. We have built a house on 9 rai of land that was my husband's father's. He has now signed it over to my husband. I think there are no deeds but it was all signed at the local governemnt office. I was told I cannot have my name on the land so, in reading the above info on this topic, this is probably right. My husband and our daughter are on one book for the house and I, finally, have my own book for the the house. Does this legally mean I am 49% owner? Do I have to do anything else? If anything was to happen to my husband, what would happen to the land legally if I am not able to be the owner? I was advised to make something like a will at the bank so say, if anything was to happen to either of us then the other spouse would get everything but the bank don't know what we are talking about. Obviously I worry as if anything was to happen to my husband then I could, theoretically, be left with nothing. Please advise and many thanks in advance.

you aren't the owner as others state. The house book you have merely confirms your residence.

But, you should be aware of the fact that it is extermely easy for foreign women married to thai men to apply for citizenship. The process takes a while, but there are no residence requirements for you. Check out the sticky section at the top of the visa section.

Thanks for your replies guys. I will definately look into the residence issue. It's difficult as everything in print seems to be written around a Farang man married to a Thai wife and not much info the other way around so thanks for the advice. Much appreciated. We will aslo get a will sorted asap. Does this then mean that if we have a will, my daughter and I will get 100% of everything between us? It's not that I don't want the family to have anything, of course, I just want my daughter's future to be as secure as it can be. Many thanks. Pippa

Here are the requirements for a foreign female to naturalise as a Thai citizen.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?ac...st&id=32287

Many thanks Samran. I really appreciate it. Regards, Pippa