farangs can own land in los

[davetrout]

my wife tell me because l have a baby with her l can buy land in my name and my son, without involving wife. which would protect MY investment incase things go pearshaped with wife. is this true or B.S

[Mario2008]

You cannot own land as a foreigner.

Your child, being a Thai national, can and while the child is a minor selling of the land will need prior approval of the court. (And the court will decide based on what is the best interest of the child).

[sirchai]

Your wife seems to be a decent woman.You can't buy land in your name. That would only be possible if you've got a company with certain Thai employees.

You can own a house, but that';s difficult to reach when you've got problems with the land owner, for example your wife in the future......

.Also a motorbike, a car and some buffaloes can be in your name.

But if you're planning to buy anything, keep record where the money came from and if all goes wrong you might have a chance to get half back. Or not.-

Edited October 29, 2013 by sirchai

[p_brownstone]

You can't buy land in your name. That would only be possible if you've got a company with certain Thai employees.

As a foreigner you cannot own land in Thailand.

Fact.

Yes, if you established a Company it could buy Land ...... but the Land is in the name of the Company - which by Law must have 51% Thai ownership ergo it is not "in your name", it is owned by the Company which is, obviously, Thai controlled - controlled by whatever Thai Shareholders you decide to allow to take a stake.

Plus, bear in mind any Thai Company established with the sole purpose of owning Land in Thailand is basically illegal.

(OK, I know that probably many hundreds of Farang "Own" Properties here under the guise of such arrangements but there is no way of telling when the authorities will clamp down on such abuse.)

Patrick

[selftaopath]

Westerners are not afforded the same buying luxury we extend to Thais in USA. I wish my govt. would declare "turn around is fair play." However a Westerner can lease land for 30 yrs. from said owner e.g. wife etc. I believe a house built on said land can be in a Westerners name.

[personchester]

Your wife seems to be a decent woman.You can't buy land in your name. That would only be possible if you've got a company with certain Thai employees.

You can own a house, but that';s difficult to reach when you've got problems with the land owner, for example your wife in the future......

.Also a motorbike, a car and some buffaloes can be in your name.

But if you're planning to buy anything, keep record where the money came from and if all goes wrong you might have a chance to get half back. Or not.-

Legally one appears to get back more than half of the house sales value, I know two cases of farangs one of them got 60 % and the wife got 40 %, the other chap got 70 % and the wife got 30%.

Because they could not agree to finalize the matter without a court case they both had then to pay large sums of money for the official court case and for their individual lawyers.

Farangs should therefore prepare a loan contract for the wife to sign, and then have the loan contact confirmed by a lawyer and thus become the official finance provider.

Because she is his wife the contract condition does not include "interest payment" but the loan can be required back any time and the owner of the house (his wife) must pay the loan back within one year, if the money does not come back within one year then due to the loan contract the farang gets the house legally in order to sell it, the law gives him one year to complete the sale, if this does not take place then the law takes the house over, to avoid that, the farang will have to sell the house cheaply to initiate the sale in order to get his money back..

Therefore, prior to marriage one should check the "characteristics" of the potential wife in order to avoid a possible financial housing problem.

Edited October 29, 2013 by personchester

[stoli]

Westerners are not afforded the same buying luxury we extend to Thais in USA. I wish my govt. would declare "turn around is fair play." However a Westerner can lease land for 30 yrs. from said owner e.g. wife etc. I believe a house built on said land can be in a Westerners name.

Since the majority of Thailand is agriculture, I completely understand why they do not allow foreigners to own land. You can not let the lifeblood of your country be owned by foreign interests. Not sound advice to do so. It is not about one house, it is about 5,000 rai here, 10,000 rai there. It would add up fast.

[puchooay]

If you are married to a Thai you can buy land "together".

I recently bought a piece of land with a "sinsomrot" agreement. That means that as we both had to sign during the purchase agreement we will both have to sign if we decide to sell.

I was unaware of this. It was not until the lady in the Land Registry office asked for my presence during re registration of the land that I found out.

Edited October 30, 2013 by puchooay

[denby45]

If you are married to a Thai you can buy land "together".

I recently bought a piece of land with a "sinsomrot" agreement. That means that as we both had to sign during the purchase agreement we will both have to sign if we decide to sell.

I was unaware of this. It was not until the lady in the Land Registry office asked for my presence during re registration of the land that I found out.

Yeah I heard of that agreement. I think they shortened the name from "sign some rotten".

Den

[yingyo]

You cannot own land as a foreigner.

Actually you can legally own one rai, if you invest 40m baht. A semi-loophole set up for foreign embassies here.

OP, in your situation you cannot. You can buy it for the child under the name of a Thai adult until the child is 18 (or 20?). The Thai adult cannot sell it without court approval.

In some cases there are forged documents, purposefully incorrect ownership documents originally submitted, dodgy court approvals etc etc.

If you want to buy your child some property simply for security maybe put the money in to a new condo fully in your name, then rent it out. When they are 18 transfer it to their name. The rental income would likely cover the rental of a house for you and your family.

There is also the adage of rent don't buy in Thailand. You could buy a house and 3 months later have an illegal pig farm, all-night karaoke, illegal motorcycle gang workshop, or perhaps all three open up right next to you and you will be utterly powerless to do anything about it.

Thread carefully, act slowly and wisely.

Good luck.

Edited October 30, 2013 by yingyo

[rct99q]

Westerners are not afforded the same buying luxury we extend to Thais in USA. I wish my govt. would declare "turn around is fair play." However a Westerner can lease land for 30 yrs. from said owner e.g. wife etc. I believe a house built on said land can be in a Westerners name.

America has so many problems that denying a few Thai people the right to buy land (if they can even get a visa) would be a non issue for the Thai Government or it's people. Most Thai people couldn't give a rats ass about buying land there.

However start denying or imposing a 6 month visa application process to Americans (as is done to Thai people) would in my opinion be fair play.

The rules for land ownership are what they are. You either live with it or not.....which means you can rent, construct a usufruct, or live with the thought your trusting wife will one day slice your humhums off and steal your money and land.

on the other hand I trust my wife and have no problem in having items in her name (but then again I have no ego, but large humhums).

[swissie]

You can't buy land in your name. That would only be possible if you've got a company with certain Thai employees.

As a foreigner you cannot own land in Thailand.

Fact.

Yes, if you established a Company it could buy Land ...... but the Land is in the name of the Company - which by Law must have 51% Thai ownership ergo it is not "in your name", it is owned by the Company which is, obviously, Thai controlled - controlled by whatever Thai Shareholders you decide to allow to take a stake.

Plus, bear in mind any Thai Company established with the sole purpose of owning Land in Thailand is basically illegal.

(OK, I know that probably many hundreds of Farang "Own" Properties here under the guise of such arrangements but there is no way of telling when the authorities will clamp down on such abuse.)

Patrick

The "Company-Land" owned scheme is a thing of the past. Clamp-Down has started, especially in areas like Phuket, or other areas where land-prices have increased dramatically.

Hands off, regardless what your lawyer tells you.

Cheers.

[swissie]

Your wife seems to be a decent woman.You can't buy land in your name. That would only be possible if you've got a company with certain Thai employees.

You can own a house, but that';s difficult to reach when you've got problems with the land owner, for example your wife in the future......

.Also a motorbike, a car and some buffaloes can be in your name.

But if you're planning to buy anything, keep record where the money came from and if all goes wrong you might have a chance to get half back. Or not.-

Legally one appears to get back more than half of the house sales value, I know two cases of farangs one of them got 60 % and the wife got 40 %, the other chap got 70 % and the wife got 30%.

Because they could not agree to finalize the matter without a court case they both had then to pay large sums of money for the official court case and for their individual lawyers.

Farangs should therefore prepare a loan contract for the wife to sign, and then have the loan contact confirmed by a lawyer and thus become the official finance provider.

Because she is his wife the contract condition does not include "interest payment" but the loan can be required back any time and the owner of the house (his wife) must pay the loan back within one year, if the money does not come back within one year then due to the loan contract the farang gets the house legally in order to sell it, the law gives him one year to complete the sale, if this does not take place then the law takes the house over, to avoid that, the farang will have to sell the house cheaply to initiate the sale in order to get his money back..

Therefore, prior to marriage one should check the "characteristics" of the potential wife in order to avoid a possible financial housing problem.

To have wife sign a loan-agreement (with the purpose of buying land) is already illegal. = Foreign money is de facto buying the land !

Can grant loan to wife with the purpose "that she can play the lottery or purchasing 10 kg of gold." Fine!

But if upon granting the loan, a real-estate transaction takes place and a nice house is been built , no court of law will believe that the Farangs loan served the purpose of enabling the wife to play the lottery, etc etc. Especially not, if the family has been living in a tin-shack before.

To the OP: Just say NO !

Cheers.

[Patriot]

If you are married to a Thai you can buy land "together".

I recently bought a piece of land with a "sinsomrot" agreement. That means that as we both had to sign during the purchase agreement we will both have to sign if we decide to sell.

I was unaware of this. It was not until the lady in the Land Registry office asked for my presence during re registration of the land that I found out.

And if she dies before you, you have to sell within a year

[yingyo]

Buy a wooden house that be dismanteled and moved.

[DILLIGAD]

If you are married to a Thai you can buy land "together".

I recently bought a piece of land with a "sinsomrot" agreement. That means that as we both had to sign during the purchase agreement we will both have to sign if we decide to sell.

I was unaware of this. It was not until the lady in the Land Registry office asked for my presence during re registration of the land that I found out.

And if she dies before you, you have to sell within a year

Only if she has made will and left it to you!

[personchester]

Your wife seems to be a decent woman.You can't buy land in your name. That would only be possible if you've got a company with certain Thai employees.

You can own a house, but that';s difficult to reach when you've got problems with the land owner, for example your wife in the future......

.Also a motorbike, a car and some buffaloes can be in your name.

But if you're planning to buy anything, keep record where the money came from and if all goes wrong you might have a chance to get half back. Or not.-

Legally one appears to get back more than half of the house sales value, I know two cases of farangs one of them got 60 % and the wife got 40 %, the other chap got 70 % and the wife got 30%.

Because they could not agree to finalize the matter without a court case they both had then to pay large sums of money for the official court case and for their individual lawyers.

Farangs should therefore prepare a loan contract for the wife to sign, and then have the loan contact confirmed by a lawyer and thus become the official finance provider.

Because she is his wife the contract condition does not include "interest payment" but the loan can be required back any time and the owner of the house (his wife) must pay the loan back within one year, if the money does not come back within one year then due to the loan contract the farang gets the house legally in order to sell it, the law gives him one year to complete the sale, if this does not take place then the law takes the house over, to avoid that, the farang will have to sell the house cheaply to initiate the sale in order to get his money back..

Therefore, prior to marriage one should check the "characteristics" of the potential wife in order to avoid a possible financial housing problem.

To have wife sign a loan-agreement (with the purpose of buying land) is already illegal. = Foreign money is de facto buying the land !

Can grant loan to wife with the purpose "that she can play the lottery or purchasing 10 kg of gold." Fine!

But if upon granting the loan, a real-estate transaction takes place and a nice house is been built , no court of law will believe that the Farangs loan served the purpose of enabling the wife to play the lottery, etc etc. Especially not, if the family has been living in a tin-shack before.

To the OP: Just say NO !

Cheers.

I purchased and sold many property's here, my Thai wife is always the legal owner, the land office knows the payment is my (farang) money and they smile at me during the purchase progress when my wife's name is entered on the Chanot as the sole owner.

When I sell property my wife as the legal owner signs the sale on the Chanot, and we ask the buyers to get the bankers draft for the purchase on my name, not the name of my wife, the cashiers cheque written in my name is clearly seen at the land office, and is no problem.

The loan agreements to Thai wife's are made by top Barristers here, thus it must be de jure, and not just de facto.

Edited November 6, 2013 by personchester

[KhunG]

You can put a USUFRCT on land, which gives you control of the land for the rest of your life. We did that to ensure that I could keep the land if something should happen to my wife. As our children are dual citizens they can inherit the land, so to me it is as good as owning the land. Cheap, too. A little over 6,000 Baht to the lawyers to draw it up and 75 Baht to the land office to put my name on the Chanote.

[DILLIGAD]

You can put a USUFRCT on land, which gives you control of the land for the rest of your life.  We did that to ensure that I could keep the land if something should happen to my wife.  As our children are dual citizens they can inherit the land, so to me it is as good as owning the land.  Cheap, too.  A little over 6,000 Baht to the lawyers to draw it up and 75 Baht to the land office to put my name on the Chanote.

 

All good advice but I would add that you should at the same time, get a will drawn up for your wife to leave the land to you otherwise it goes to her family and NOT her husband.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[KhunG]

You can put a USUFRCT on land, which gives you control of the land for the rest of your life. We did that to ensure that I could keep the land if something should happen to my wife. As our children are dual citizens they can inherit the land, so to me it is as good as owning the land. Cheap, too. A little over 6,000 Baht to the lawyers to draw it up and 75 Baht to the land office to put my name on the Chanote.

All good advice but I would add that you should at the same time, get a will drawn up for your wife to leave the land to you otherwise it goes to her family and NOT her husband.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Actually, as I mentioned, she'll leave it to our children, and I would just continue under the USUFRCT. We will have wills. Thanks.

[kirstymelb101]

Buy a wooden house that be dismanteled and moved.

Yes. A jumbo legal box set would also work!

[Jip99]

Buy a wooden house that be dismanteled and moved.

Buy a wooden house that can be dismanteled and moved. burned to the ground when the relationship turns to rat shit.

[swissie]

Buy a wooden house that be dismanteled and moved.

Buy a wooden house that can be dismanteled and moved. burned to the ground when the relationship turns to rat shit.

Amen! But Farangs usually don't tick like that. They feel the urge to erect Mansions, if possible in the middle of nowhere. Why? Because "the family" happens to live there. After a while, they feel the need to secure their "property rights".

Next stop: Expensive Bangkok-Lawyer, specializing in "Farang-matters". Returnig back home with 2 kilos worth of "legal-papers" and 20'000 Bht lighter in the wallet, only to find out, that if things turn to "rat-shit", the 2 kilos worth of "legal-papers" are of no relevance. = The law of the land (in this case Thailand) will prevail.

Reality is an unwelcome bedfellow. But can't be kicked out of bed if the thrill is gone.

Cheers.

[KhunG]

Amen! But Farangs usually don't tick like that. They feel the urge to erect Mansions, if possible in the middle of nowhere. Why? Because "the family" happens to live there. After a while, they feel the need to secure their "property rights".

Next stop: Expensive Bangkok-Lawyer, specializing in "Farang-matters". Returnig back home with 2 kilos worth of "legal-papers" and 20'000 Bht lighter in the wallet, only to find out, that if things turn to "rat-shit", the 2 kilos worth of "legal-papers" are of no relevance. = The law of the land (in this case Thailand) will prevail.

Reality is an unwelcome bedfellow. But can't be kicked out of bed if the thrill is gone.

Cheers.

Yeah, and the reality is the USUFRCT is the law of the land, completely enforceable, and doesn't take an Expensive Bangkok-Lawyer, 2 kilos of paper or 20,000 Baht to complete.

[Satcommlee]

Buy a wooden house that be dismanteled and moved.

That's not a bad idea, actually I have seen some Swedish company offering prefab homes in Pattaya.

My ideal home would be a converted double decker coach.. It has wheels and I can drive it wherever I want!

The bricks and mortar are not the problem, it's the land it sits on!

[fatfather]

Buying chanote land, the land office ask you to sign on the back side of the chanote that the money to purchase the land is definitely not from you. It's possible to claim something back, but a hard and long way to go.

Fatfather

Sent from my phone

[DILLIGAD]

Or live on a boat!

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[davetrout]

Or live on a boat!

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

that would be a tricky one live on boat sissaket. bloody good joke l am still laughing. keep n coming

[puchooay]

Buying chanote land, the land office ask you to sign on the back side of the chanote that the money to purchase the land is definitely not from you. It's possible to claim something back, but a hard and long way to go.

Fatfather

Sent from my phone

They didn't ask me.

My land is most definately bought with my money and is most definately bought under "sinsomrot" agreement.

There may be a difference here whereby I can speak Thai.

Maybe some people are getting info lost in translation, or maybe mistranslated (deliberately).

[fatfather]

Don't know how many years ago you purchased your land, I bought the chanote land the last few years and I had to sign. What should there be lost in translation? My Thai may not be the best, but it's good enough to understand what I sign, especially with support from my wife.

Fatfather

Sent from my phone