Buying property

UKGuyInSaigon wrote:

Hi All,

I am British and thinking of buying a property somewhere in S.E. Asia. Thailand (Bangkok or Pattaya) are possible locations, I wonder if anyone has any advice about the better areas in those location sot find a 3 bed house or apartment and what it is like for renting out rooms. My intention would be to rent a room or two to tourists in order to pay some of the bills.

Some other questions in my mind: Are there any restrictions in Thailand for foreigners owning property? Is it tricky to gain residence? Any pitfalls with buying property? How to find a property - any recommended real estate agents? Probably a bunch of other stuff that I am not thinking about too at the moment, so if anyone out there has any experience of this sort of thing, your comments would be most welcome.

Thanks in advance

P

I am not being rude but the short answer in my opinion is forget the idea!

As a foreigner in Thailand you can own a property but NOT the land it stands on. So a Condo is OK BUT a sustantial house would require you to lease the land for 30 yrs with no guareentee of a renewal to the lease.

I guess that covers your comment regarding pitfalls too.

On the other hand you could RENT a big house and think about your plan to sub-let rooms. Rents are low here outside the obvious tourist traps. HOWEVER you then start to head into the realms of operating a business here with all the red tape that attracts if you are going to be upfront about your operation.

Residency is possible here but its a very long and painful route to follow.

A far more important place to start planning might be working out exactly what visa you are going to arrive on and remain in the country on. Sort that and then come visit and do some research on the ground would be my best advice.

I fully concur with what the the Teflon Don ("thetefldon") said above. I have visited Thailand many times and, for a long while, was planning to acquire property there. I still have  friends/previous colleagues who are Thai and they were helping me to think through my options. I finally gave up on the idea due to the laws against foreigners owning land. I had planned to buy/build a house in Chaing Mai or Pattaya. I could not see any way through with the land laws. The only option I had was getting an apartment. As I will not be living in Thailand continuously, and given that apartment prices could be high, an investment apartment was another option since I could own. However, I see investment apartments only working in Bangkok due to the demand. Since you will be there with your family, consider buying an apartment. However, remember that if you are not there, it may not make sense as an investment property as rents may be too low. If you were at the center of Bangkok, buying an apartment will be a "no brainer".

If you plan to live in Thailand for a while, find someone you can trust to see if you may get in line for residency and if that will qualify you in buying and owning land. Do not be tempted to acquire land through a local, who will acquire it though their name and lease it to you in perpetuity. I hear some legal firms can help you with that. I am worried about that, since laws can change and, come to the final crunch, you will be a foreigner always. That whole scheme, in my opinion, is fraught with danger.

Actually, I am writing to provide you with a couple of pointers. I have followed online (well, YouTube.com) a guy who talks about his experiences of retiring cheap in Thailand. I paste his YouTube video below. Also, I understand that he has a website you can contact him through. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_YZpQ_sH9s

His channel name is "retirecheapjc" and you will see that from the link provided. He has many videos talking about such things in Thailand.

Think it through carefully. If you plan to build a house, which would be actually very enjoyable if not for the land laws, start planning and do so with lots of advise and clear thinking.

Goodluck.

In Asian countries when renting or leasing is trouble-free and affordable why do you think of buying a property? I think Malaysia is the only Asian country where a property can be owned by a foreigner.

Hi

I found this article on winvasia.com very complete on this issue:

http://www.winvasia.com/owning-property-in-thailand/