A first for Thailand: Buying property with a 20-year visa

[Jonathan Fairfield]

A first for Thailand: Buying property with a 20-year visa

pic: facebook.com/southpointpattaya

In what is the first initiative of its kind in Thailand, one property developer has joined forces with Thailand Elite to offer a 20-year visa for purchases at its Pattaya condominium.

Purchasers at Kingdom Property’s Pattaya Southpoint development will be entitled to a 20-year visa, which amounts to five-year multiple-entry visa that is renewable every four years.

The visa will entitle its holders to benefits that include fast-track immigration clearance, assistance with driving licences, discounts and a bilingual helpline.

Nigel Cornick, Chief Executive Officer of Kingdom Property (pictured), said: “The long-stay solution will overcome many of the barriers that we see when selling our properties overseas. Generally unless you have a business visa, retirement visa or marriage visa, you are not permitted to stay for any length of time.

“This exciting partnership is akin to Malaysia’s My Second Home (MM2H) program and has massive potential.”

The visa will come as part of the purchase of a unit at Southpoint ans the owner can sell the unit and the visa together, if he or she so wishes.

“The target demographic for this initiative is very wide,” added Cornick.

Read more: http://www.propertyguru.com.sg/property-management-news/2015/6/97726/a-first-for-thailand-buying-property-with-a-20-yea

[coulson]

Do the 30sqm studio's come with the visa?

Anyone with the smarts & money already know they could get the visa independently and pick a nicer property of their choice?

[naboo]

Funny how they got a deal with immigration. Must have been "well connected".

[Robby nz]

The target demographic is those with enough millions to buy this and who also want to live in a high rise condo in Pattaya which the vendor is having trouble selling.

[Soutpeel]

Do the 30sqm studio's come with the visa?

Anyone with the smarts & money already know they could get the visa independently and pick a nicer property of their choice?

All they are going to do is load THB 2.5 (500k cut for the developer) million on condo which should only cost 2.0 million, charge you 4.5 and when you try and sell it the best you can hope for is 2.5 million, smoke and mirrors me thinks

This is not anything like the Malaysian scheme

[Soutpeel]

Funny how they got a deal with immigration. Must have been "well connected".

I don't even think its a deal with immigration, anyone could advertise this " benefit" and once you have someone hooked, pick them up and take them the TE office

[coulson]

Do the 30sqm studio's come with the visa?

Anyone with the smarts & money already know they could get the visa independently and pick a nicer property of their choice?

All they are going to do is load THB 2.5 (500k cut for the developer) million on condo which should only cost 2.0 million, charge you 4.5 and when you try and sell it the best you can hope for is 2.5 million, smoke and mirrors me thinks

This is not anything like the Malaysian scheme

It's not the 20 year elite visa they're throwing in. It's just the 5 year option.....which is extendable.

[Soutpeel]

Do the 30sqm studio's come with the visa?

Anyone with the smarts & money already know they could get the visa independently and pick a nicer property of their choice?

All they are going to do is load THB 2.5 (500k cut for the developer) million on condo which should only cost 2.0 million, charge you 4.5 and when you try and sell it the best you can hope for is 2.5 million, smoke and mirrors me thinks

This is not anything like the Malaysian scheme

It's not the 20 year elite visa they're throwing in. It's just the 5 year option.....which is extendable.

You could be right, my reading of this it was the full blown 2.0million TE program, but could be wrong

But for the 500k version don't you have to stump up 500k every 5 years ?

[pinkpanther99]

It's an interesting option and could be a real draw for foreigners.

However, 20 years is a long time, what guarantees will you have that the arrangement will be honoured 5 or 10 years down the line, let alone 20. Could this not all be null and void if there was ever a change in govt?

Interesting too that the article mentions the scheme in Malaysia, maybe with ASEAN AEC around the corner, Thailand will be loosening it's property laws a little?

Would a 20 year visa be enough for you to buy a condo?

[Anthony5]

Do the 30sqm studio's come with the visa?

Anyone with the smarts & money already know they could get the visa independently and pick a nicer property of their choice?

All they are going to do is load THB 2.5 (500k cut for the developer) million on condo which should only cost 2.0 million, charge you 4.5 and when you try and sell it the best you can hope for is 2.5 million, smoke and mirrors me thinks

This is not anything like the Malaysian scheme

It's not the 20 year elite visa they're throwing in. It's just the 5 year option.....which is extendable.

Maybe you know more but in the OP it says clearly 20 year visa, not 5 year visa.You have any link for your claim?

[Soutpeel]

It's an interesting option and could be a real draw for foreigners.

However, 20 years is a long time, what guarantees will you have that the arrangement will be honoured 5 or 10 years down the line, let alone 20. Could this not all be null and void if there was ever a change in govt?

Interesting too that the article mentions the scheme in Malaysia, maybe with ASEAN AEC around the corner, Thailand will be loosening it's property laws a little?

Would a 20 year visa be enough for you to buy a condo?

ASEAN thing, loosening property laws ? Don't count on it, and even if they did it would be with likes of Singapore and possibly Malaysia

[JOC]

It is really very simple:

The developer overprice the condominium unit with 2 million baht.

4 times Easy Access x 500 k to Thailand Elite and the 2 million gives the client a 20 year visa.

Winners:

The Elite Card, getting more cards sold.

The developer, getting unsellable units sold, getting commission from Elite card and interest from the "spare" money waiting for the next Easy Access.

Losers:

The suckers buying an overpriced condominium in Patts, thinking it will solve the visa problems...........

[Soutpeel]

It's an interesting option and could be a real draw for foreigners.

However, 20 years is a long time, what guarantees will you have that the arrangement will be honoured 5 or 10 years down the line, let alone 20. Could this not all be null and void if there was ever a change in govt?

Interesting too that the article mentions the scheme in Malaysia, maybe with ASEAN AEC around the corner, Thailand will be loosening it's property laws a little?

Would a 20 year visa be enough for you to buy a condo?

There have been multiple government changes since the original TE program was put in place and to date they haven't reneged on the visa side of things

The thing is you don't need any property developer to facilitate the TE program, you can do it yourself any way and don't need to buy a condo

They might be onto something if for example, by buying the condo, you get the full blown TE program for say half the price you would normally pay, but one suspects that's not going to happen as everyone wants their bit of the pie

[coulson]

Maybe you know more but in the OP it says clearly 20 year visa, not 5 year visa.You have any link for your claim?

I read the article in the link and interpreted it different to the headline, but I think you're right. Yes it clearly says 20, my mistake.

''which amounts to five-year multiple-entry visa that is renewable every four years''

[Soutpeel]

Maybe you know more but in the OP it says clearly 20 year visa, not 5 year visa.You have any link for your claim?

I read the article in the link and interpreted it different to the headline, but I think you're right. Yes it clearly says 20, my mistake.

''which amounts to five-year multiple-entry visa that is renewable every four years''

As with any of these schemes, the devil is in the detail, you might have to purchase 10 million condo which in reality is only worth 5 million

[Anthony5]

Anyone has a link to the prices of the condo's before and after the free elite visa was added?

[Bellacissa]

This is the price list that I found from 2013.

However, it isn't from the condo developer itself, so I'm not entirely sure if there is extra mark-up on it or not.

[Soutpeel]

Anyone has a link to the prices of the condo's before and after the free elite visa was added?

Somehow I don't think they will advertise this fact, only way to find out how much of a premium they have put on the TE angle, is to show interest in a property and then tell them you don't want the TE as your already on a WP or similar and ask how much now and see the reaction, I would have thought the prices will be loaded way beyond the actual cost of the stand alone TE program

[Anthony5]

This is the price list that I found from 2013.

However, it isn't from the condo developer itself, so I'm not entirely sure if there is extra mark-up on it or not.

I'm curious to find out what the current prices are, but I have such a feeling that when you inquire, you will be informed that this visa only applies to units above a certain size and price like the executive penthouse or so.

I don't see them give a free 2 Million Baht visa on a 40m² condo from around 2 Million Baht

[Soutpeel]

This is the price list that I found from 2013.

However, it isn't from the condo developer itself, so I'm not entirely sure if there is extra mark-up on it or not.

I'm curious to find out what the current prices are, but I have such a feeling that when you inquire, you will be informed that this visa only applies to units above a certain size and price like the executive penthouse or so.

I don't see them give a free 2 Million Baht visa on a 40m² condo from around 2 Million Baht

They are not, even on a penthouse me thinks, some has to pay for the TE and its sure as hell not going to be the developer, they are going to pass the cost on to the customer

[Farma]

http://www.thai-elite.com/

Anyone can get the visa without buying a condo. It's also transferable.

[thesetat2013]

Funny how they got a deal with immigration. Must have been "well connected".

Given that immigration changes their laws many times every year I would not be one to take a chance purchasing that.

[Bellacissa]

http://www.thai-elite.com/

Anyone can get the visa without buying a condo. It's also transferable.

But if you were going to get the condo anyway, getting an elite visa would be a nice perk. If you weren't already in the market for a condo, then yeah, just get the elite on your own.

Let me say that I think the chance of the elite actually being "included" in the market price is highly unlikely. I'm sure you're paying for it one way or another.

[Chang_paarp]

20 years! That is at least 2 coups and a number of changes of government for the rules to be changed. (Don't forget all the thought bubbles the ministers can come up with. )

Good luck with that stability.

[ekkamai]

I wouldn't trust this for one minute. With a new regime and new rules you could easily find yourself screwed. (Excuse the language).

[JOC]

>>Nigel Cornick, Chief Executive Officer of Kingdom Property (pictured), said: “The long-stay solution will overcome many of the barriers that we see when selling our properties overseas. Generally unless you have a business visa, retirement visa or marriage visa, you are not permitted to stay for any length of time.<< Quote

Mr Nigel conveniently "forgot" to mention, that a Easy Access Visa gives you a 5 year visa for 500k, and the freedom to choose your own location, if Patts is not your cup of tea...................

[Happy Grumpy]

A couple of naive newbees will think they've scored themselves a deal.

[Suradit69]

After reading this thread, it's easier to understand why so many farang end up whining about being left penniless in Thailand.

In your own countries if someone offers a big discount on a major purchase or throws in something extra with the purchase, do you rush in to buy on the assumption that the seller is doing it out of the goodness of his heart and with a sincere concern for buyers?

Or maybe you feel really clever, speculating that the deal might not be as good as it seems.

Dodgy adverts, dubious promises and ill-defined special offers are hardly unique to Thailand. I wonder how many expats in Thailand responded to emails from Nigeria.

Here's another exciting offer ... I wonder if there's a catch.

[specialist]

well, i have read all of the current posts, what has me a bit concerned is that all of you are very negative on this scheme. Have anyone of you actually checked out what the real story is?

[Bellacissa]

well, i have read all of the current posts, what has me a bit concerned is that all of you are very negative on this scheme. Have anyone of you actually checked out what the real story is?

My husband is going to email them for more information tomorrow. We're actually interested IF the mark-up isn't 2 million baht to cover the cost of the elite and IF you can get it on the lower end condos. We've been considering the Thai Elite and we've been considering a condo. So, if we can get a two for one deal, we might consider that.

That being said, it still sounds a little too good to be true and we certainly won't be jumping on it without a whole lot of digging to find the real story. This isn't our first rodeo.