Buying land is easy, I did it !!

[lockwood74]

There is a lot of negative news on this site about what you cant or shouldnt do with regars to buying property.

If you cant or shouldnt do it, why is it that there are a sizeable handfull of property developers/land agents that are buying and selling property and land, yes and they are foreigners, many of them English, and GOOD LUCK TO THEM.

I bought a plot of land, Im English not married to a Thai, dont want to either. I had no problems what so ever.

I set up a limited company, easy to do.
Found the land privately, not through an agent
negotiated the price
went to the land department and bought it
SIMPLE !!!!!!!

I have the right to sell the land when ever I want

If you want to do it, get on with it , The land I bought is in a superb location, cost only £8000

I am happy to give advice

Regards John

[steve skyrider]

nice one john, maybe i will catch up with you when i am in HH

[sezanu]

Good to see that other people has done it the same way as we did.

Founded a limited company, bought a land with a house on top.
Easy as it can be.
Can sell if we want to, but off course we won't.

It's hard to sit here in cold north and knowing that in HH the weather is nice and warm, but at least we'll have something to look forward to when summer comes.

[dr dave soul monsta]

Good to see a little positive feed back on land and house purchases on the forum and from people who have managed to go through the red tape on their own ,
It is good common sense to do some leg work and find out the laws and information for your self.
There are a few on here who seem to have had bad experiences or maybe it would seem a touch of professional jealousy towards agents and brokers,
in no way let these posts cloud your judgments about using a broker or agent
,there is a considerable amount of paperwork involved in these processes and any agent or broker should assist with these as part of the service they provide .
If you are not 100% happy with any part of the service or unclear with any part of any sale Don’t sign any contracts until you have seen a lawyer of your own choosing and everything is clear and understood and how you want it .
A Broker or agent is normally paid on commission basis by the seller Not you .this does not mean they will not give you a good service or push you into something you aren’t 100% happy with.
Make sure you are 100% happy with the deal on the table and all is clear within the details of what is needed to be done by yourself , the agent and of course the seller . Then have it all checked over by an independent lawyer before you sign on the dotted line.
Obviously the lawyer needs paying from your own pocket and may not be inexpensive, at the end of the day you are putting your hand in your pocket for as far bigger some of money for your purchase / investment a small amount on peace of mind and clarity is a must

[johnnyk]

Yes. A good lawyer is cheap insurance!
I'm glad, too, to see someone report a positive experience.
Happy people don't talk about their contentment, malcontents make lots of noise.
Samesame everywhere.

[coloradokid]

Is now a good time to buy or do prices drop a bit after high season?

[Norseman]

Housing prices is not connected with the tourist high season.
I bet the prises will rise in February/March as usual.

[Wanderlust]

It is correct that many people have bought land in this way but there is a potential downside to it which makes it a very small risk - the laws relating to this are designed to stop any foriegner or foreign business owning land, and the method being used is a loophole in those laws, with the company set up being 51% Thai and 49% yours, so you don't actually own anything really;also the Thai shareholders are supposed to be genuine business partners, not just a list of people who you have never met, which is often the case. If the Thai government so chose, they could close that loophole and repossess all the land (and thus any property standing on it too) as in legal terms it has been purchased illegally. Effectively the authorities have been turning a blind eye to the practice as in general it benefits the country (although in some areas it is pricing the Thais out of the market), but there is always a chance that the political landscape and climate could change. The only legal way at present, to own property (not land) is to buy a condo. I don't wish to be a scaremonger but I think it is important that people know the full facts before splashing their cash.

[johnnyk]

The Land Dept. does look at 49% falang-owned companies so it is recommended that you set up a 39% owned company as the Land Dept. doesn't bother about these.
You need 7 directors, the majority must be Thai.
OK, you and your falang wife and any child age 20+ for example.
Four others - as long as they are people who can reasonably be shown to have the financial ability to own shares (i.e. not the noodle seller lady downstairs from the law office) you are ok. I will have two Thai women I taught in Canada, both from good families one runs her family business the other works for a German bank. The others will be lawyers from the Thai firm setting up the company.
Structure it so they cannot have control or signing authority.
Make sure the company actually does some business. You can rent the house to yourself or to friends on vacation, just file a tax return done by an accountant and pay a few baht tax.

[SHADOW]

Foreginers are allowed to be share holders in a Thai ltd company and may own 49% of the shares, there has to be at least eight share holders. A director is appointed who can be a foreginer. This is not a loop hole but the law. If the company buys land the max shares owned by the foreginer is 38%.

The company has to pay tax's twice a year and be audited once a year.
A foreginer can own a thai company with land if that company has a paid up capital of 50 million Baht.

Condo's have to be sixty percent owned by Thai's and then a forginer can purchase one only on certain floors.

Pay your tax's and make sure your condo is sixty % Thai owned.

A lawyer is a must and so is an accountant. Anybody can open a office and call it a law office nobody in side needs to be a lawyer, this is a loop hole that is being tried to close. An accountant on the over hand has to be an accountant but he can not audit your balance sheet this is done by a few large companies in Bkk.

[Pagey]

Shadow, small point but how can you confirm your condo is 60% owned by Thai's ?

It may be when you buy it but what if within a year some of the Thai's sell to Farangs ?

Is this possible ?

[malcolminthemiddle]

I believe nowadays a condo can be 100% foreign owned subject to registration pre-construction.

Please correct me if wrong.

[cavkc]

what happens if you are married to a Thai when you buy the land and you later split ?

cav

[lomuamart]

I'll give you one guess.
It's your nationality that matters, not whether you're married.