I am an unmarried 57 year old American man buying land here in Thailand.

What are my options that I have for getting this land in my name?

If I can not put in my name, I have a Thai friend that I can trust.

My priority is to get it in my name somehow but if not, what are my options?

I really want to avoid expensive Lawyers.

Please answer only if you have had personal dealings with this topic or if you have full knowledge of this.

It is not possible for you to buy land in your name....only for Thai citizens.

It is not possible to trust a Thai friend to buy your land in his name and for problems

not to arrive in the future.......would you buy land in your home country in someone else's name ?

it is absolutely not possible.

You can put a sign up. write your name onto it and it is yours. Just let your friend watch it closely

You simply can't.

If you're that keen to spend money you can legally own a condo.

in the Thai legislation addressing land ownership/sale/purchase there is a special section dealing with foreigner's purchase/ownership of real estate

most people here on TV will tell you that foreigners cannot own land in Thailand, that is incorrect

foreigners can own real estate in Thailand in their own name

in that respect Thailand is an exception in South East Asia

however,

in order to bring yourself in position to buy real estate in you own name you must follow a rather lengthy/timeconsuming and costly procedure

(I had all the relevant legislation and regulations on my laptop, but when I tidied up 2 days ago those files went down the drain)

I'd suggest you start by having a look at the Land Ownership Act.

You should be prepared for a process of 3-4-5 years duration and for importing to Thailand foreign currency that matches 40 million baht.

A positive outcome of your efforts may result in a permission to buy not more than 1 rai for your private housing.

What I have heard if you have A business then maybe possible to put it in the business name but you have to jump thru hoops to do it.There are books on the subject.

http://www.siam-legal.com/realestate/thailand-buying-land.php

http://www.siam-legal.com/realestate/thailand-property-foreigner.php

Regarding 40 million in investments:

http://www.thailand-lawyer.com/land_purchase.html

http://www.thailawonline.com/en/property/property-law/40-million-baht-investment.html

It is not possible for you to buy land in your name....only for Thai citizens.

It is not possible to trust a Thai friend to buy your land in his name and for problems

not to arrive in the future.......would you buy land in your home country in someone else's name ?

why is it not possible to trust a Thai friend? I have plenty of Thai friends that I trust. Maybe you don't know the right type of Thais and live in Pattaya or some other place like it.

it is absolutely not possible.

nonsense! get a Thai to buy the land and get him give you a 30 year lease. Register the lease with the land department. Get a lawyer to to make an agreement that he lease is renewable. Easy , no problem

it is absolutely not possible.

Actually, it is possible.

If he invests 40m Thai Baht, he is granted the right to buy one rai of land in his own name.

It is an option that was created for foreign embassies here, and is also open to foreign individuals.

it is absolutely not possible.

nonsense! get a Thai to buy the land and get him give you a 30 year lease. Register the lease with the land department. Get a lawyer to to make an agreement that he lease is renewable. Easy , no problem

the lease is renewable by law as long as the leaser is alive. in case he passed away during the first 30 years, those who inheriting property have no legal obligation to renew a second 30 years term.

it is absolutely not possible.

nonsense! get a Thai to buy the land and get him give you a 30 year lease. Register the lease with the land department. Get a lawyer to to make an agreement that he lease is renewable. Easy , no problem

That's not owning it!

If the OP wishes to buy land in the name of his "friend" then so be it.

Questions might be asked about where the friend got the money because it is illegal to buy land in the name of a proxy.

These land/house buying scams rarely end well.

set up a company....a friend built 13 houses in HH. Setting up a company just to buy land is a no-no. Using hilltribes people on your board is questionable, also. I wouldn't do it, but some how that Indian guy paid 1.2 billion for that lot on Sukhumvit soi 8, and never had a problem

To put it simply.

Don't bother,

Enjoy your time here and best of luck.

It is not possible for you to buy land in your name....only for Thai citizens.

It is not possible to trust a Thai friend to buy your land in his name and for problems

not to arrive in the future.......would you buy land in your home country in someone else's name ?

Your correct. Deals using a Thai "friend" usually end up badly. Time travel has not be invented yet so you cannot go back and undo things. Your playing for keeps its not a game of marbles. Make sure your retaining all of yours.

It is not possible for you to buy land in your name....only for Thai citizens.

It is not possible to trust a Thai friend to buy your land in his name and for problems

not to arrive in the future.......would you buy land in your home country in someone else's name ?

why is it not possible to trust a Thai friend? I have plenty of Thai friends that I trust. Maybe you don't know the right type of Thais and live in Pattaya or some other place like it.

[/quote

The reason is M-O-N-E-Y. Its Christmas and your the jolly old farang. Just make sure that ho ho ho does not turn into oh oh no. The old saying goes hold your enemies close and your friends closer. He or she definitely know their rights. Your rights are well quite frankly nil. If you go through with the deal just take care for the next 25 years to not pee them off.

it is absolutely not possible.

nonsense! get a Thai to buy the land and get him give you a 30 year lease. Register the lease with the land department. Get a lawyer to to make an agreement that he lease is renewable. Easy , no problem

That's not owning it!

No its not owning it but you will not stay awake nights wondering if he will do you the dirty. A quote from the movie "The Crimson Pirate"

I think you should dig back into the archives of TV and real all the stories where ventures like this have gone wrong. If you have lived here for any length of time you know this is a bad move.

Take at look at this thread.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/920962-duck-farm/

Should answer your questions.

Even if you were married , with children and a loving wife you cannot buy land here.

it is absolutely not possible.

nonsense! get a Thai to buy the land and get him give you a 30 year lease. Register the lease with the land department. Get a lawyer to to make an agreement that he lease is renewable. Easy , no problem

the lease is renewable by law as long as the leaser is alive. in case he passed away during the first 30 years, those who inheriting property have no legal obligation to renew a second 30 years term.

Actually since the longest term of a legal lease is 30 years, you cannot legally have an agreement to automatically renew a 30 years lease. There were few cases like that lat year (I think in Phuket) where the courts have deemed the extension and even the initial 30 years lease as illegal and void.

Saving money on lawyers (good ones) is not a good place to look for savings.

you will loose your shirt mate , and your so called Thai friends , money changes everything here.

A friend once told me that they were considering buying land using a Thai friend who they considered a "saint" - a very lovely, kind hearted generous man who had little but spent much of his time doing volunteer work and helping poor people...

I had no doubt he was a wonderful person and their judgment of him was correct...

However: Things happen - If the saints mother were to get sick and he needed money for an operation or her health care - in that situation the more saintly thing to do would be sell the land and take care of your mother...

It does add an element of risk that you would not have in USA...

Aight, I've watched the usual comments for a page or so.

But the best answer, for an unmarried man wanting land: Marry a woman who already has land.

(Ideally lots of it, some of it easily be salable, to buy the land you'd really like.)

There are of course many good trustworthy Thais that you could do a deal with. The problem is that you cannot see what the future holds; will you still be friends in a few years time? (your friends circumstances may well change) what happens if you friend dies, will his family inherit your land? and of course Thai law is prone to change without notice possibly leaving you high and dry.

Why not just rent long and enjoy your money in other ways.

Interesting information shared Melvin, thank you. 12 years in thailand, wasnt aware of this one.

in the Thai legislation addressing land ownership/sale/purchase there is a special section dealing with foreigner's purchase/ownership of real estate

most people here on TV will tell you that foreigners cannot own land in Thailand, that is incorrect

foreigners can own real estate in Thailand in their own name

in that respect Thailand is an exception in South East Asia

however,

in order to bring yourself in position to buy real estate in you own name you must follow a rather lengthy/timeconsuming and costly procedure

(I had all the relevant legislation and regulations on my laptop, but when I tidied up 2 days ago those files went down the drain)

I'd suggest you start by having a look at the Land Ownership Act.

You should be prepared for a process of 3-4-5 years duration and for importing to Thailand foreign currency that matches 40 million baht.

A positive outcome of your efforts may result in a permission to buy not more than 1 rai for your private housing.

Foreigners may actually own land in Thailand, but under these two conditions only:

1) by inheritance as a statutory heir, i.e. one must be a "bloodline" heir;

2) by investing 40 million baht or more in Thai Government bonds for a minimum period of five years and get an approval from the ministry. If granted, the land size must not exceed one rai and be located in Bangkok Metropolitan area.