Question about condominiums

[Ruffian Dick]

So far, what I have seen of what's called "condos" in Thailand are basically apartment units in multistory buildings.

 

Where I come from, many condos look more like what are called townhouses. I mean they are in a row of two or three story buildings with shared walls, and they are sold as condominiums.

 

Is there anything like this in Thailand, or are all "condos" in multistory apartment buildings?

[Jingthing]

You're right. Generally condos are big buildings. In the U.S condos are an ownership legal construct. So yes townhouse condos are common.
A good question you ask. I don't recall seeing townhouse style condos here.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

I think I heard about something that could be similar in the Hang Dong / Sanpatong area, but I don't recall the name.

 

Chances are though that whatever low-rise condominium you might find that can be legally owned by a foreigner will be exceptionally expensive.  

 

To the point that it makes a lot more sense to just buy &renovate a townhouse for someone you like, with a lease on it.  

[Ruffian Dick]

Thanks, guys!


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[midas]

Isn't what the OP referring to simply referred to as shophouses in Thailand which come in a wide range of designs and concepts?

And I have definitely seen some like this in many places around Chiang Mai. For example not far from Central shopping centre

 

 

[Jingthing]

7 minutes ago, midas said:

Isn't what the OP referring to simply referred to as shophouses in Thailand which come in a wide range of designs and concepts?

And I have definitely seen some like this in many places around Chiang Mai. For example not far from Central shopping centre

 

 

But I've never seen those sold legally as condos. Foreigners can fully own condos in their own name and nothing else. 

[midas]

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

But I've never seen those sold legally as condos. Foreigners can fully own condos in their own name and nothing else. 

Well they are sold and the party walls form the boundaries between your property and your 2 neighbouring properties so I don't see the difference in that regard.

There must be some element of condo like ownership because of shared components such as the roof structure?

As to ownership a foreigner would surely be able to put it in the name of a company and having a quasi commercial area of the ground floor I would have thought company ownership would have a lot more legitimacy with this kind of property than some of the sprawling residential structures on places like Phuket and Kho Samui that are also on the company ownership?

[anto]

I think he means a duplex .Its like a town house but has an outside stairs to an upper level unit .No have not seen any here .

[Jingthing]

Just now, midas said:

Well they are sold and the party walls form the boundaries between your property and your 2 neighbouring properties so I don't see the difference in that regard.

As to ownership a foreigner would surely be able to put it in the name of a company and having a quasi commercial area of the ground floor I would have thought company ownership would have a lot more legitimacy with this kind of property than some of the sprawling residential structures on places like Phuket and Kho Samui that are also on the company ownership?

Again, condos are the only way to own housing in Thailand for foreigners directly in their own name.

Company ownership schemes are not that.

 

[midas]

7 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Again, condos are the only way to own housing in Thailand for foreigners directly in their own name.

Company ownership schemes are not that.

 

But in the original post it didn't ask about foreign ownership? The question was is there such a thing as communal ownership of buildings in Thailand in a vertically designed structure?

[Jingthing]

1 minute ago, midas said:

But in the original post it didn't ask about foreign ownership? The question was is there such a thing as communal ownership of buildings in Thailand in a vertically designed structure?

Yes, but sorry, I think it was implied when he said CONDOS.

Those structures are not CONDOS under Thai law in my experience.

So the structures exist here but they are NOT condos.

 

In other nations, such structures can be CONDOS under their laws. 

 

[seancbk]

Garden Square is an example of what I think the OP is looking for.

https://www.google.co.th/maps/place/Garden+Square+Sukhumvit+77/@13.7145156,100.6019584,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1s-K1zJYXTxVSo%2FVzRsjYOCsHI%2FAAAAAAAAAB8%2FEH1OpyzwgSwIZP2yhWI89pG5djQdiFMsQCJkC!2e4!3e12!6s%2F%2Flh3.googleusercontent.com%2F-K1zJYXTxVSo%2FVzRsjYOCsHI%2FAAAAAAAAAB8%2FEH1OpyzwgSwIZP2yhWI89pG5djQdiFMsQCJkC%2Fw86-h86-k-no%2F!7i490!8i490!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0xebcca6ee71f0cd4!8m2!3d13.7140319!4d100.600917?hl=en

Although here they are just called Town Houses.


 

 

[Juan B Tong]

Yes condoms are smaller in Thailand.  You have to check on the size.

 

Oh!  Condominiums!

 

They are smaller too.

[Familyaffairs]

There are, its not against the law, but its not entirely usual either. Even some villa developments, somehow attached by walls, were managed to be registered and sold as condos. Its up to the developer how he registers his townhouse development, but since townhouse are mostly for the Thai market they are registered as houses. 

[Belzybob]

As its mainly a US term, I refer to the Miriam-Webster dictionary:

 

a :  individual ownership of a unit in a multiunit structure (such as an apartment building) or on land owned in common (such as a town house complex); also :  a unit so owned

b :  a building containing condominiums

[Jingthing]

Thailand has extensive condominium laws. Hardly only a U.S term.

[Ruffian Dick]

On 6/27/2017 at 5:50 PM, seancbk said:

Garden Square is an example of what I think the OP is looking for.

https://www.google.co.th/maps/place/Garden+Square+Sukhumvit+77/@13.7145156,100.6019584,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1s-K1zJYXTxVSo%2FVzRsjYOCsHI%2FAAAAAAAAAB8%2FEH1OpyzwgSwIZP2yhWI89pG5djQdiFMsQCJkC!2e4!3e12!6s%2F%2Flh3.googleusercontent.com%2F-K1zJYXTxVSo%2FVzRsjYOCsHI%2FAAAAAAAAAB8%2FEH1OpyzwgSwIZP2yhWI89pG5djQdiFMsQCJkC%2Fw86-h86-k-no%2F!7i490!8i490!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0xebcca6ee71f0cd4!8m2!3d13.7140319!4d100.600917?hl=en

Although here they are just called Town Houses.


 

 

Looks kinda Georgian. Is this in Bath or Bangkok? :)

Thanks for finding this.

[Ruffian Dick]

On 6/27/2017 at 1:19 AM, midas said:

Isn't what the OP referring to simply referred to as shophouses in Thailand which come in a wide range of designs and concepts?

And I have definitely seen some like this in many places around Chiang Mai. For example not far from Central shopping centre

 

 

Yeah, a complex like that would be awesome! 

I suspect that multi-story type condos are more popular near city centers because the land is more expensive. That's true in the states as well, until you get out the suburbs.

[theguyfromanotherforum]

I don't understand this at all.

 

Where do you come from where condos look like townhouses?

 

Townhouse is a townhouse.

 

The difference between a condo and apartment is simply in the ownership terms and has nothing to do with the look of the building.

 

The examples you are given are stacked townhouses, not condos.

 

 

[jonwilly]

The Thai lawyer whose services I have used is adamant that Frangs should always buy a Condo, for as she says The Thai Government says YOU own it.

 

john

[seancbk]

3 hours ago, Ruffian Dick said:

Yeah, a complex like that would be awesome! 

I suspect that multi-story type condos are more popular near city centers because the land is more expensive. That's true in the states as well, until you get out the suburbs.

 

In Bangkok you'll find many housing developments like this.   

http://www.areeya.co.th/en/TownHome/index.php

 

 

Areeya Mandarina Village is pitched as Home Offices - http://www.areeya.co.th/en/HomeOffice/Areeya_Mandarina_Sukhumvit77_Projectconcept.php

 

 

[Ruffian Dick]

17 hours ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

I don't understand this at all.

 

Where do you come from where condos look like townhouses?

 

Townhouse is a townhouse.

 

The difference between a condo and apartment is simply in the ownership terms and has nothing to do with the look of the building.

 

The examples you are given are stacked townhouses, not condos.

 

 

A quick sample, guy:

https://www.zillow.com/san-jose-ca/condos/

The correct term, I've learned, is "detached condominiums".

 

By the way, it looks like this has been addressed previously:

 

[Ruffian Dick]

Actually, I think I can answer my own question:
"Due to the 1979 Thailand Condominium Act, foreigners can own condominiums anywhere in Thailand 100% outright, as long as the building has not already sold its 49% foreign quota. Each condominium in Thailand when registering with the land department designates 49% of its units for sale for potential purchase by a non-Thai buyer."

So a smaller "block" as you see in townhouse-like detached condos, are more of a risk for the developers (in Thailand), since there's a lower chance they can get their minimum of 51% Thai owners. A larger block, built as an apartment block, allows a better chance of filling these quotas. I think.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

21 hours ago, seancbk said:

 

In Bangkok you'll find many housing developments like this.   

http://www.areeya.co.th/en/TownHome/index.php

 

Areeya Mandarina Village is pitched as Home Offices - http://www.areeya.co.th/en/HomeOffice/Areeya_Mandarina_Sukhumvit77_Projectconcept.php

 

Yes, but none of those are classed as condominiums and therefore foreigners can't legally own it.

 

On 6/30/2017 at 7:12 AM, jonwilly said:

The Thai lawyer whose services I have used is adamant that Frangs should always buy a Condo, for as she says The Thai Government says YOU own it.

 

If you're single and you want to own something then yes.  But if married and/or with big (Thai) kids then it's good to let them own some stuff, possibly with a lease for yourself just in case.  Especially as I'm having a really hard time with the value proposition of condominiums in Chiang Mai. (It's different in Bangkok)  But in Chiang Mai they build something way out on the Canal Road where land is cheap anyway, so you get all the downsides of everything: big commute into town, while still living in what is essentially an apartment block. And the price for all that is actually higher than for a lot more floor space in town or close to town with a house.  So.. yeah.  (There are a couple exceptions; you can count them on the fingers of one hand, but there are some.)

 

With a condo you own it legally but you don't control condo management, neighbors, etc.  With a house you don't own it but you have a lot of control over upkeep. 

 

7 hours ago, Ruffian Dick said:

So a smaller "block" as you see in townhouse-like detached condos, are more of a risk for the developers (in Thailand), since there's a lower chance they can get their minimum of 51% Thai owners. A larger block, built as an apartment block, allows a better chance of filling these quotas. I think.

 

Yes, although if it's upmarket enough then it doesn't matter all that much anymore, as Thai people and Thai business will snap it up just fine; it's hard to find foreigners in Chiang Mai who want to drop 10-20 million.   For example I could see a low-rise, nicely designed condominium in the old city area doing very very well.  You can't go higher than 3 storeys there and with the land prices as they are that'll be very exclusive.  It's not being done though.