Advice please, villa purchase - freehold or 30 year lease?

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kun Tam
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Re: Advice please, villa purchase - freehold or 30 year lease?

Post by kun Tam »

freehold land and house better than 30 years lease. but please check first before you buy house you must get this 2 document that you own land and house.
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Re: RE: Re: Advice please, villa purchase - freehold or 30 year lease?

Post by hhinner »

kun Tam wrote:freehold land and house better than 30 years lease. but please check first before you buy house you must get this 2 document that you own land and house.
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StevePIraq
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Re: Advice please, villa purchase - freehold or 30 year lease?

Post by StevePIraq »

Kun Tam, please see a lawyer, I can recommend one if you wish. Foreigners cannot own land in your own name, yes you can have the land in a business name however many times the government has implied it is going to cancel this system as even the government knowns that the majority of business are in name only to facilitate purchasing land and house.
The lawyer can establish a Usufruct in your name however this will only give you 30 years then the house and land 100% belong to the Thai person.
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Re: Advice please, villa purchase - freehold or 30 year lease?

Post by HHCanuck »

I agree with many posters rent first. One of the hazards of buying in developments or condos is the neighbors. I have lived in a couple of developments (especially with a high Thai owner ratio) where your house becomes almost worthless. The developments starts off nice however many people stop caring for their property nor follow rules. Thais in particular like to buy a house, fix it up then invite friends and family for the blessing ceremony. After that they don't spend a penny in up keep. Eventually you are surrounded by homes that look run down and trash everywhere. You will be also required to pay a yearly maintenance fee. Some developments actually get maintained others don't and there is nothing you can do about it (a quick search on Google will enlighten you).

Thailand also doesn't have effective planning laws you make consider building a free standing home outside of a development however no matter what the land owner tells you a pig farm or bar may be built next to you. Fighting Thais is never a win for a Farang. Rent until you are well certain of the area you want to live. Like others have said be prepared to lose your investment Thailand isn't the West.
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Re: Advice please, villa purchase - freehold or 30 year lease?

Post by crazy88 »

Some very good points on this thread that are accurate and many that are vague or completely wrong. Whilst I can do everything regarding property transactions myself I am not a qualified lawyer in my home country let alone here. The people I employ, however, are. Otherwise I would not use them for my own properties and companies.

I will address only one point from the OP.

Will not know the directors?

That could be very awkward to explain if you get a visit. I have had 3 this year. 2 pre notified, expected, and 1 just turned up asking where directors and staff were. Thankfully the staff actually do work for us and the directors can prove financial aspects for all our property and works in their own right. I live in a rural area not on a development so they are branching out in the checking dept. That said I know plenty of people with nominee shareholders and directors and none, to my knowledge, have been touched.

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Re: Advice please, villa purchase - freehold or 30 year lease?

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HHCanuck wrote:I agree with many posters rent first. One of the hazards of buying in developments or condos is the neighbors. I have lived in a couple of developments (especially with a high Thai owner ratio) where your house becomes almost worthless. The developments starts off nice however many people stop caring for their property nor follow rules. Thais in particular like to buy a house, fix it up then invite friends and family for the blessing ceremony. After that they don't spend a penny in up keep. Eventually you are surrounded by homes that look run down and trash everywhere. You will be also required to pay a yearly maintenance fee. Some developments actually get maintained others don't and there is nothing you can do about it (a quick search on Google will enlighten you).

Thailand also doesn't have effective planning laws you make consider building a free standing home outside of a development however no matter what the land owner tells you a pig farm or bar may be built next to you. Fighting Thais is never a win for a Farang. Rent until you are well certain of the area you want to live. Like others have said be prepared to lose your investment Thailand isn't the West.
:lach:
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Re: Advice please, villa purchase - freehold or 30 year lease?

Post by JW »

Go and see a lawyer, I have seen so many people try and save a few pounds and end up spending much more to put right unprofessionally done paperwork.
Rent first unless u really know where u wanna be located.
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Re: Advice please, villa purchase - freehold or 30 year lease?

Post by patou2017 »

Hi
I am new and just saw your post dated last may. Did you manage to complete your acquisition or are you still investigating ?
my opinion is that the leasehold 30 years (renewable 2x) is only risky if the land owner cannot be trusted.
The question is how to be sure if the guy is serious or not ? that is the million baht question ! and I do not have the answer. But there are others things you can check.
I bought 2 houses on a leasehold, one to live in and one for rent. never had any issue so far.
I even purchased the houses from Plan and the owner but also builder delivered on time and even ahead of schedule.
The owner /builder is well known and highly respected person in Huahin.
If you are in Huahin and still interested you can visit some of her projects and check by yourseld the quality of the materials and construction and also talk directy to some of the owners.
I can provide you with the contact by email
Good luck
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Re: Advice please, villa purchase - freehold or 30 year lease?

Post by PeteC »

I thought that the (renewal 2x) is illegal and announced as such by the government? Regardless, will the owner be alive in 30 years and if not, are his heirs under any obligation to honour a contract extending beyond the initial 30 years? I don't think so, not here. You would be in court fighting until sometime halfway through your next life. Pete :cheers:
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Re: Advice please, villa purchase - freehold or 30 year lease?

Post by StevePIraq »

My lawyer informed me that 1 x 30 year lease is legal, upon completion of the 30 year lease you can enter into a new 30 year lease if both parties agree, if you do not agree then it is over and you must vacate or establish another agreement. I was also informed that you cannot have a 30, 30, 30 lease (90 year) upon inception of the first 30 year lease.
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Re: Advice please, villa purchase - freehold or 30 year lease?

Post by PeteC »

^ There we go, that was my basic understanding as well. :thumb:
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Re: Advice please, villa purchase - freehold or 30 year lease?

Post by arcadianagain »

I bought a house on a 30 year lease in 2008 fully aware of the of the future problems which may or may not occur. Our plan was to spend several months a year in HH, but sadly Mrs. A died in October so that idea is no longer possible. I would ideally like to sell and would listen to any offers, reasonable or even unreasonable! The property is on a well run development and cost just under 4 million baht and is available fully furnished. PM me if you need more details.
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Re: Advice please, villa purchase - freehold or 30 year lease?

Post by PeteC »

^ I just read this Arcadian and want to express my condolences concerning your wife. I remember you were both living in Tunisia during the time of the resort hotel attack but assume you're back in the UK now. I hope you're coping ok, as I'm sure all readers do who have been following you over the years under your old and new username. Stay strong. Pete
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Re: Advice please, villa purchase - freehold or 30 year lease?

Post by arcadianagain »

prcscct wrote:^ I just read this Arcadian and want to express my condolences concerning your wife. I remember you were both living in Tunisia during the time of the resort hotel attack but assume you're back in the UK now. I hope you're coping ok, as I'm sure all readers do who have been following you over the years under your old and new username. Stay strong. Pete
Thanks Pete, much appreciated. Still in Tunisia, securitywise the place is much safer now as so many countries, including the USA and UK, have contributed funds and advice, but as Berlin and Paris have shown you just never know. We sometimes thought of returning to the UK then looked at the weather forecasts and thought, nah. My daughter and grandchildren live nearby and we have an active English=speaking group of friends including English, Scottish, Irish, American, Canadian French and Tunisians with regular meetups for coffee, Drinks and restaurant nights out. Plus I get al the UK tv channels including Sky Sports for around £40 A YEAR, so all things considered life is ok. :cheers:
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