August 9th, 2010
Buying a house in Thailand is not as straight forward as buying a condominium unit. Normally, foreigners cannot own houses in their own name because Thai law prohibits them from purchasing land. However there are ways to get around this limitation and still comply with Thai laws.
Two common methods of acquiring a house in Thailand
Domestic company. The first option consist in being the largest shareholder of a Thai registered company whereby you will buy and own the property. You will own less than 50% of the company
Leasing. The second is by a long term lease with a Thai individual or company. Typically 30-year lease with an automatic option of two renewals of 30 year each -you can register land lease at the Land Department for a maximum period of 30 years-. This is a common practice.
The best option according to experts
Everyone has their own opinion and you can get different answers from experts. My advice would be that whenever you ask for financial or legal advice to a lawyer/consultant try to make sure that they are making an effort to adjust themselves to your needs and circumstances and NO otherwise. Normally, it is wise to search for a second opinion. As lawyers might have specialized in a specific solution they may try to talk you into it, regardless of your circumstances.
Pros and cons
Shareholding a Thai company may seem a more “secure” way of acquiring a house so to speak, however many people follow the leasing procedure and experience no problems. On the other hand many consultants consider that leasing is the best option as reduces the cost of transactions as well as ongoing maintenance of keeping a Thai company.
Owning the house but not the land
As stated above a foreigner cannot own the land in their own name. The land must be owned by a Thai individual or entity. However the structure or building on the land can be owned as such by a foreigner .
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“As stated above a foreigner cannot own the land in their own name. The land must be owned by a Thai individual or entity. However the structure or building on the land can be owned as such by a foreigner .” This is very useful as folks here in the States could benefit from such a plan. I guess it could be hard to foreclose? Maybe not..hmmm. I’ll have to keep thinking about it.