Guest Posted June 17, 2001 Report Share Posted June 17, 2001 I've always fancied owning a piece of England but $3,000 or so for an acre of farmland or $2,000 for woodland in England meant my patch would be pretty small. Land is much cheaper in Scotland (and doubtless WildAlaska will tell me I could buy a square mile of wasteland there and still have change from a dollar) and I wondered how cheap it was in Northern Thailand or Isarn. If it's cheap enough I might buy some just to be able to say I own a respectable sized speck of the world's surface (and use it as an excuse to retire for part of each year to LoL??). Anyone know how much an acre/hectare of land costs (could be forest, woodland, fields, whatever) and how to go about finding a suitable "estate"? BKK classifieds or use an estate agent or what? And can I buy it without problems if I use an English company with a Thai minority shareholder (an excuse to see a couple of cuties on a more regular basis) or do I need a Thai legal owner and a leaseback - not an arrangement I'd be keen on even if I am only investing a few thousand dollars. Any help welcomed - and if I do buy appreciation could take the form of a few purples in Woodstock next time I'm in BKK! Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted June 17, 2001 Report Share Posted June 17, 2001 Hi, Yes, land can be very cheap here (my wife got offered riceland for 15,000 Baht per rai (1,600m2) last year). However, you might have a problem trying to own it. Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiedoug Posted June 24, 2001 Report Share Posted June 24, 2001 You are not Thai,you cannot buy land and hold it.That's not entirely true,you could inherit some land from your thai wife,but then you have only six months to dispose of it.You can also own some land held by a thai company in which thais hold the majority of shares if only as nominees for you,but then you have to trust somebody,it all bils down to NO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 29, 2001 Report Share Posted June 29, 2001 I have taken the liberty of doing a copy and post from a prior message. Aliens cannot own land, subject to a few exceptions, such as a factory on an industrial estate. The Thai Land Act of 1954 bars alien ownership of land (subject to a few exceptions), unless there is a specific treaty providing otherwise. All such treaties lapsed in the early 1970's. Aliens can acquire and own condos, subject to certain restrictions. You need to be careful when buying a condo here, however, for a variety of reasons. In practice, if a company acquires land, the land department will conduct an "investigation" if an alien owns more than 40% of the capital before registering title. This investigation will not end in any of our lifetimes; in other words, it is a polite Thai way of blocking the transaction without accusing anyone of doing anything untoward. If an alien owns 39%, and Thais hold the other 61%, and they are holding the land as an accomodation for the alien (which may be presumed if they have reduced voting rights), criminal penalties potentially apply. A two tier structure can work, but it is tricky, and the rules are constantly changing. Someone above mentioned having Thai shareowners hold stock as nominees, and observed, correctly, that this risky. It is also illegal. Land can leased for a max of 30 years. Make sure, however, the lease is registered, since an unregistered lease provides little or no protection against a new owner of the land, like, perhaps, the owner's brother. Finally, there is no title insurance in Thailand (anyone looking for a business to start??) so consult a reliable and honest professional before investing serious money. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elef Posted June 29, 2001 Report Share Posted June 29, 2001 This seems to be the normal thing. But according to him this was a new law for stimulating investements in industry to increase employment. Have we somebody working with legal matters here? [ June 29, 2001: Message edited by: elef ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 30, 2001 Report Share Posted June 30, 2001 quote: Originally posted by elef: This seems to be the normal thing. But according to him this was a new law for stimulating investements in industry to increase employment. [ June 29, 2001: Message edited by: elef ] Elef, there is no law that allows an "alien", a farang by any other name, to own land by simply investing 3 million baht at one time. The only 3 million baht threshhold that comes to mind is in relation to work permits. A Thai private limited company with registered and paid up capital of 3 million baht can potentially obtain work permits for two Farangs. For one work permit, the threshhold is 2 million baht. Other requirements apply, such as four Thais employed for every Farang. But this certainly doesn't allow the company to buy land. You cannot even obtain perm. residency with a 3 million baht investment. The BOI minimum is 8 million baht, held for five years in an authorized investment. Even perm residency, however, doesn't allow you to buy land. [ June 30, 2001: Message edited by: RogerRabbit ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elef Posted June 30, 2001 Report Share Posted June 30, 2001 I hear from a swedish friend who do import/export EU/Thailand that if you at one time invest 3,000,000 baht you can own 100 % of a thai company, own land and so on. Is this correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 30, 2001 Report Share Posted June 30, 2001 intresting i have bought land in my wifes name she has agreed to let me lease it back from her for 30 years i think that i am o.k what is the law on me living in thailand we are married under u.k law do i need to marry again under thai law or is this reconise in thailand or will i have to do a visa run every 3 months.please advise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 30, 2001 Report Share Posted June 30, 2001 The is a good article on this issue on the back page of the business section of today's The Nation. (Unfortunately, I cannot find the link to the article on The Nation's website, but it is in the Saturday June 30, 2001 edition of The Nation.) A few comments on the article: 1. Wales says in the article that his firm has generated much income from cases where foreign men have registered property in the name of their "trusted" girlfriends. The article states: "There is not much we can do... [to fix this problem]." In other words, the guys that do this are screwed. It happens every day here. Don't be a fool. The same can be said for these guys who set up bars or restaurants in the name of their girlfriends, except in those cases there are ways to legitimately set up the business so that the farang has real control. They are bigger fools because this is an easier problem to fix. 2. Wales say he understands why Thailand has laws restricting foreign ownership. This is a policy issue about what the law should be rather than a comment about the law is. I think Wales is dead wrong on the policy issue, but my opinion on the issue and seventy five baht will buy you a cup of Starbucks Coffee. 3. Wales mentions the new "invest 40 million baht and get a rai of land" law. I forgot about that one and that perhaps is what elef was talking about. This is a new law. Of course, there is big difference between 40 million baht and 3 million baht (about 37 million baht, I believe), and I do not know anybody who has done this. 4. Abbey mentioned the lease back arrangement. In theory should work, but make sure that lease is registered!! You will have to make VISA runs, but being married to a Thai will make it easier to apply for perm residency. You will need someone who knows what they are doing to get you perm residency. Don't hire one of these fly-by-night internet services or consultants that advertise with stickers posted in Nana bathrooms. 5. The side bar article about the effect of marriage is right in theory. In practice, up country it can be a major problem. 6. If you read carefully, you will see Wales alludes to the use of company structures to control land, but isn't very specific. This is a gray and very sensitive area of the law. It is also very unpredictable since it depends to a large extent on internal land department regulations (which can and do change and vary from office to office) rather than the "law." 7. If you are going to do this or get a Visa, you are better off hiring a reputable firm like the one mentioned in the article (I am not in the legal business, but I know the rules, and I have no relationship with T&G) than some consultant that advertises in Patpong bathrooms or the classifieds of the Bangkok Post or The Nation. I have friends who have done the latter and regret it dearly. [ June 30, 2001: Message edited by: RogerRabbit ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elef Posted June 30, 2001 Report Share Posted June 30, 2001 More and more confused after reading the article in Nation. But information of how much land can be owned by non-Thai can be found here: http://www.pwcglobal.com/th/eng/ins-sol/spec-int/tls/Living_general.html But it seems to be different rules for some people - "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others". elef [ June 30, 2001: Message edited by: elef ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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