Leasing Houses

[Billy1234]

This website is fantastic. Lot of great info but wondered if anyone can give me specific advice on my situation;

I'm a UK expat working and living in the US and married to a Thai national with a UK residence permit both a long ways under 50.

We (In my trusted wife's name) bought about 5 rai outside Chiang Mai and plan to build around 6-8 houses to begin with to move into and for residential lease or short term tourist rent depending on market research.

1. I would eventually like to lease the land on the 30year x 3 deal from my wife to protect against unforeseen circumstances (You know the kind) would this be a problem because it was being used for leasing other houses ? Sort of a sub-let or something ?

2. Assuming we were able to raise the 'bulletproof' 2 or 4 million for business startup and employ 4 thais - Would it be worth it with such a small business or would submitting tax returns be enough ?

3. Can I apply for a work permit once I get there and while the building work is commencing with no other income ? Will it be 'easy' to get a work permit in this circumstance ? Could all the work be done in my wife's name and me just have the 400K in the bank and be in los on my non-immigrant 'O'

4. At what age does a Thai minor become an adult in order that he/she can own or have land transferred to their name ?

Sorry if i have repeated any questions that have already been answered by you guys but I did scour the forum beforehand. Your replies are greatly appreciated.

[lukamar]

I'm definatly not an expert on this, but thought i would reply because none of the experts have..

1:- it's esy to do a 30 plus 30 lease from your wife and regester it with a small fee. It is a good idea that way if something happened to your wife you would in effect inherit the land. If something happens to you the lease is canceled and your wife gets it back. (Or that's the way I see it) Or you can possibly transfer the land to the company and use it to capitalize your wif's share and you can build the buildings as your share of the capetalization, then the business is a separate entity with a life of it's own.. if your wife does all the leasing then you might not need a work permit at all. I would seek competent legal advice on thet though.

2:- I don't think you need to employ any Thai people at all to form a company or get a work permit for that type of company, but you do have a lot of extra cost for accounting etc that are required with a company.

3:- You have to apply for a work permit from within the country. I think the capitalization in your coumpany would be enough,

4:- I think it is 18, but it might be 15 when they get their ID card.

Later

[Guest IT Manager]

Quick response, and only general because all situations are different.

Currently in CM you don't need to capitalise. You need to register capital to the tune of 2,000,000 baht, to start a company. You naturally, can only own 49% (since you are British).

Also, in general, the work permit can often not require any Thai employees, depending on the nature of the Permit. Premised on what you are saying, are you going to have a gardener, a maid, someone to do maintenance on the houses, and someone to do the books? There is 4 straight off.

You can register the company while off-shore if you wish, so the correct paperwork can be done to enable you to apply for a B visa (not your situation since you are married to a Thai National), that then allows you to go to your local consul with your own company already registered.

Hope it helps.