Buying a house

[watgate]

A friend is looking to buy a house with his thai g/f and he said that he could own the house but his thai g/f would own the land. Is this a correct form of ownership when a farang buys a house in Thailand?

[juehoe]

Yes, this is one of the legal options.

But he should consult a lawyer for a good contract.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[MJCM]

There are several options

1- usufruct
2- land / house in company name (still legal but for how long ???)

Do a search for both here as there are many topics about them

[Pib]

Yeap, you can do that....house in farang's name....land in Thai's name.

 

Having a usufruct is another way to have lifetime control of the house and land....I have one on our (the Thai wife and I) piece of dirt with house on it here in Bangkok.   Some will say a usfruct is easily removed by the Thai land owner but it's not based on what my Thai lawyers (Sunbelt) told me when the usufruct contract was drawn up....and of course the usufruct is reflected on the chanote (deed).   

 

 

[mjnaus]

Out of curiosity, how does one legally "own" a house in Thailand. We have official documents for the land which state the owner(s), however I am not familiar with any such documents for the actual dwellings on the land. There's the "house book", blue one for Thais and yellow one for foreigner, however these only indicate who officially resides in the dwelling, but not who legally owns it? 

[MJCM]

IMO, the one who has his/her own name on the back of the chanote owns it.

[mjnaus]

2 minutes ago, MJCM said:

The one who has his/her own name on the back of the chanote owns it.

Right. However the chanote applies to the land, not the dwellings not the land, leaving my question unanswered. 

[MJCM]

Right. However the chanote applies to the land, not the dwellings not the land, leaving my question unanswered. 

True, but 1 question.

How can you enter dwellings (you own) on land (that you don't) and you are barred from entering the land ?

Or what happens when the land owner sells the land.

Legal mine field this IMO and as suggested getting good advice from a lawyer is mandatory.

[xylophone]

17 hours ago, MJCM said:

2- land / house in company name (still legal but for how long ???)

This is only legal if the company you have formed is a bone fide business, employing the correct number of staff and operating as a business.

 

If it is a nominee company set up with the sole purpose of owning property, then it never has been legal, although it is a route which some lawyers will advise you to take, merely because they are after the fees it can generate.

[MJCM]

8 minutes ago, xylophone said:

This is only legal if the company you have formed is a bone fide business, employing the correct number of staff and operating as a business.

 

If it is a nominee company set up with the sole purpose of owning property, then it never has been legal, although it is a route which some lawyers will advise you to take, merely because they are after the fees it can generate.

You are right, but that is why I referred him to do a search on the Forum as else this topic will again become an endless discussion once again with people who don't agree.

 

It's seem the same deal with the Usufruct option

 

17 hours ago, Pib said:

 Some will say a usfruct is easily removed by the Thai land owner but it's not based on what my Thai lawyers (Sunbelt) told me <snip>

Edited January 29, 2017 by MJCM

[juehoe]

Out of curiosity, how does one legally "own" a house in Thailand. We have official documents for the land which state the owner(s), however I am not familiar with any such documents for the actual dwellings on the land. There's the "house book", blue one for Thais and yellow one for foreigner, however these only indicate who officially resides in the dwelling, but not who legally owns it? 

A foreigner can legally own a house.

The ownership of the house will be done at the Land Office when the house is transferred from the contractor/developer the house owner. You get the same/similar document, when the house building permission is made in the foreigner's name.

The Blue Book is issued, when the house is finished. The Yellow Book can be issued when the house ownership transfer is done.

Important is the document from the Land Office.

[bangkoklawyer24]

Under the Civil & Commercial Code, the owner of the land automatically owns the house and other improvements built on the land. When the Land Code of Thailand prohibits that foreigners own land, this includes, as a result, ownership of the house. Villa buyers on leased land have typically no real legal ownership, but just a weird Thai-style pseudo-ownership.

Edited January 29, 2017 by bangkoklawyer24

[steve187]

tell the 'friend' not to do it, if is so worried about owning something with a 'girlfriend' buy a condo

[madmax2]

If you have been in a long term relationship and if thinks go wrong and your partner ends up owning the property and improvements and you are happy to walk away and right it of its OK to buy

IF you are legally married and divorce the assets bought after marriage are split 50/50

You can buy a condo in your own name but you may not like paying the fees and charges which can be quite substantial and not always disclosed so you need to read the whole contract thoroughly and maybe get it checked by a reputable law firm

quite a lot of expats prefer to rent which is not a bad idea if you are not 100% secure in your relationship, and this can change when property becomes involved in the relationship

 

[Harveyboy]

On ‎28‎/‎01‎/‎2017 at 8:27 PM, MJCM said:

There are several options

1- usufruct
2- land / house in company name (still legal but for how long ???)

Do a search for both here as there are many topics about them
 

TES IVE BEEN TOLD ALSO ABOUT USUFRUCT AND LEASE WHICH DO YOU THINK IS MORE SECURE JUST IN CASE OF FUTURE PROBS  THANKS

 

[Harveyboy]

On ‎28‎/‎01‎/‎2017 at 8:41 PM, Pib said:

Yeap, you can do that....house in farang's name....land in Thai's name.

 

Having a usufruct is another way to have lifetime control of the house and land....I have one on our (the Thai wife and I) piece of dirt with house on it here in Bangkok.   Some will say a usfruct is easily removed by the Thai land owner but it's not based on what my Thai lawyers (Sunbelt) told me when the usufruct contract was drawn up....and of course the usufruct is reflected on the chanote (deed).   

 

 

can you tell me a little more about how you went about this im looking to build on my wifes land next year ..a little security is a good option i think  thanks

[xylophone]

On 1/29/2017 at 7:19 PM, bangkoklawyer24 said:

Under the Civil & Commercial Code, the owner of the land automatically owns the house and other improvements built on the land. When the Land Code of Thailand prohibits that foreigners own land, this includes, as a result, ownership of the house.

If you are a lawyer then I bow to your superior knowledge on this...........however I believe you can structure an agreement/legal doc which in effect shows ownership of the land to the Thai person involved, AND a separate agreement which states that you are the provider of funds for the house and that the landowner agrees that you are the owner of that house (I did that and it worked for me).

 

Of course if you are married before the house gets built, then your Thai partner is still entitled to 50% of it in the case of a divorce as it is deemed an asset acquired after marriage.

 

If I am incorrect then it would be good to know

 

[bangkoklawyer24]

2 hours ago, xylophone said:

AND a separate agreement which states that you are the provider of funds for the house and that the landowner agrees that you are the owner of that house (I did that and it worked for me).

 

 

You are absolutely correct. The landowner can agree - but this is just contractual pseudo-ownership. It works as long as the land is not transferred or the landowner goes bust. 

[kimmy]

Come bangkoklawyer, you know better, right of superficies give you the right to own a structure on the land owned by someone else. It is not a contract right but a property right under the civil code of thailand. The only issue is that it is temporary, 30 years or for life, for many it is enough. Pretty solid ownership even for a foreigner, when registered with the land department.

[bangkoklawyer24]

15 hours ago, kimmy said:

Come bangkoklawyer, you know better, right of superficies give you the right to own a structure on the land owned by someone else. It is not a contract right but a property right under the civil code of thailand. The only issue is that it is temporary, 30 years or for life, for many it is enough. Pretty solid ownership even for a foreigner, when registered with the land department.

 

Yes, I wrote some articles about that. But in reality, you find a superficies in one of thousand cases.

[Henryford]

What good is a usufruct if the tgf moves her boyfriend in, changes the locks and throws all your stuff out? Fight them through the Courts !!

[xylophone]

8 minutes ago, Henryford said:

Fight them through the Courts !!

And we all know how that can turn out...........witness the fiasco in Patong where the ACE condo construction went bust/owner absconded with the money, but the BIB know who he is and despite many owners pushing for action nothing has been done about it for about 2 years now.

 

 

[blackcab]

2 hours ago, Henryford said:

What good is a usufruct if the tgf moves her boyfriend in, changes the locks and throws all your stuff out? Fight them through the Courts !!

 

What would happen if someone moved into your freehold condo without your permission, changed the locks and refused to move out?

[Rimmer]

An off topi post has been removed

[Harveyboy]

8 hours ago, blackcab said:

 

What would happen if someone moved into your freehold condo without your permission, changed the locks and refused to move out?

yes same same i suppose