Should you be buying Property in Thailand ?

[colin howard]

hi robert , just a thought , before buying or building a house here in thailand there has to be no room for doubt , you had yours and had the presence of mind to do the right thing , if only many of the casualty's thought like you , regards , colin .

[Geoff Warren]

Sorry to have stirred up a bit of a debate but I gues that's always healthy. I can fully appreciate your point of view Ian and Robert and it must have been an awfull experience. Having said that, Idon't think I'm setting myself up for anything I wouldn't be prepared to walk away from if push came to shove. I hope, after 2 years of living together in a tiny unit in Banchang and 2 extended trips to the UK that my feelings for the boss are sincerely reciprocated and so far I've seen nothing that would suggest potential disaster. Both her parents are dead and the siblings are way up north. She knows the house is hers and that's fine. If she stuffs up it's her loss. Secondly should any of the vendors relatives decide to create a fuss down the track they're not her family and she'll fight that battle.
There's always a bit of a gamble in inter-personal relationships and my gut feeling - I've got a big gut - is it might well be ok.
Thanks for all the input and everything sais will be carefully read, believe you me.
Cheers and Thanks

[Geoff Warren]

On a lighter point.... where's your local tavern Colin?

Be nice to pop in some time

[Neighbor]

I am just one of the many thousands so called “Business Owners” in Thailand. Although I had planned to life relaxed as a retired person in Thailand I became involuntary a “businessmen” because ownership is in Thailand very restricted and almost not allowed. When I settled here on Phuket, I soon felt discomfortable with renting my, reasonable luxury, house for its high monthly rent. That is how I finally stepped in the ‘booby trap”. I “bought” a nice property, but within Thailand the restrictions for this ownership are too big, to enjoy my investment completely. I was not aware of it until recently, when I started to try selling my property. Years ago, when I discovered my current house my relation was still in a developing phase. The safest way at that time seemed for me to buy ‘my’ freehold stones on my personal name and to establish a fresh company for the land. The same gorgeous, clever, and good girl I was involved with at that time, shares now my last name and together we share and raise a lovely daughter. Now a few years, and a coup later and with Mr. Thaksin back in the country to pull the strings around here I have changed my opinion. Nowadays I have to admit there is, currently, no safe way to buy a property and I strongly disagree with all those optimistic, or should I call them greedy, people (developers and real estate agents) who keep silencing this. Instead of handing out blinkers to potential buyers to keep selling new developments to new arriving foreigners I prefer to give a clear warning signal to those new arrivals. We should not get more innocent victims we should start screaming loud that Thailand with its current regulations is the wrong country to invest. Better to shout loud and to spread this message around then luring more into trouble. Maybe yes very maybe the wealthy and greedy Thai businesspersons will pay more attention to this then they are doing now. The wealthy and influential Thais pull finally the strings within Thailand (PPP Thai Rat Thai and or Thaksin’s) politics. Only when this small group of wealthy Thai is willing to share the change that politics will follow occur. At this moment, Thailand needs foreign capital to realize some huge infrastructure projects. We foreign ‘business owners” should not be a silent minority we should be a screaming and blinking like a huge light pole. We should be giving a clear RED warning signal to new investors and only when the situation for us is improved and real unconditional ownership is allowed we should change this Red light into a GREEN one. The average real-estate salesperson does not even own his own house here. However, without any hesitation they bring more and more honest investors into problems. Many of us disgust from Timesharing, but actually, the real estate business should also be ashamed for doing almost the same but with larger amounts involved. A continuously group of foreign people is lured into the old-fashioned yes completely out dated Thai regulations around ownership. The wealthy Thais prefer to keep it this way because personally they benefit from these restrictions. I do believe that only with stronger warnings organizations like the international chambers of commerce combined with us, the current property “owners,” we might get the desired changes.

[MekhongKurt]

I'm way late even running across this thread, but I'll throw in an observation or two anyway.

As of this writing (April 23, 2009), to the best of my knowledge the situation remains negative for (1.) freehold land and (2.) owning a business here. If anything, certain aspects appear to have gone downhill, from a foreigner's perspective, in the last 18 or so months.

Way back in 1994, just two or three months after I moved here, a friend was passing through Bangkok on a business trip looking into the possibility of investing around US$1,000,000. While I'm not a businessman whereas he was, when we met for lunch and were chatting, he pulled out his personal checkbook, wrote a check [unsigned], and shoved it over to me as he said "What would you invest this in if I decide to sign the check? I trust you." I looked at the check and nearly fell out of my chair when I saw that it wasn't for a measly million bucks, but for [i]ten[i] million. While he was within his personal means to make such an investment, I quietly tore the check into tiny pieces as he watched, bemused. Then he asked me, "Why?" And I told him even were I an investment expert, the little I had heard even back then suggested there is great risk.

That may not be true for someone with truly serious money -- I'm thinking a foreign corporation looking to invest tens or hundreds of millions of dollars.

I love Thailand, and I personally do know a number of foreigners who've made a real go with a small business, often a restuarant and/or bar. A fair percentage have Thai spouses, which helps (most of the time, anyway). But advising someone to invest is a different cup of tea altogether.

All that said, my best friend is a Thai, a friend of nearly a decade's standing, and I'm looking at buying a bit of land with her -- not with the idea of ever realizing any profit on it myself, necessarily, but as a means to leaving something of value to her. She's many years younger (and no, not my girlfriend), and this may be the best way to leave her something without her worrying about me incorporating her into my will in the U.S., something that might prove problematic for her should any of my other heirs dispute her inclusion.

But mine is a special case, which I realize. Even if my assessment of her complete honesty and integrity were to turn out to be wrong . . . well, what would I really be losing were she to make of with the land's profits? I mean it for her anyway.

[Chaem]

Guys: I read your all your posts. I am contemplating buying a 50-room motel in Pattaya. In your opinion, should i drop it all together? Or is there a way i could proceed knowing that i wont be able to own the land but my investment could still be secured in some way? I live in India so know how corruption can hurt.

Regards,
Sush

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sush, Don't do it. Don't invest one Rupee /Dollar/ Baht in Thailand. About 5 years before
someone sold me 2 condos. I lost all ! In Thailand (YOU, a farang) when it comes down to it,
can own only an empty suitcase and a return-ticket. Anything more can be taken off you
Thailand is geared for this. Police, Courts, the Ampours, Hospitals, Insurances, repairshops, You name it !
But ---- The sun always shines, everybody smiles at you. Just live and enjoy - DON'T however buy anything that You can do without.

[triptrip]

About 5 years before
someone sold me 2 condos. I lost all !

How can you lose 2 condos? Vanished into thin air? The developer went bust? I own a condo for the past 4 years and no problem. The only funny episode I had was in the amphur when registering my name into the Tabien Baan.

Due to the nature of Chinese names having their surname before their given name, this obviously poses some ackward and sometimes amusing situations. So for example, Jackie Chan Kong Sang (that's the superstar's real name) with "Chan" being the surname would be spelt as Jackie Kong Sang Chan under the Thai system. Another example would be the North Korean leader, Kim Il Jong will be known as Il Jong Kim.

The official at the amphur refused to entartain me by arguing that I need to prove that say Kim Il Jong and Il Jong Kim are the one and same person!!!!

I can either get this certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs down in Chaeng Wattana or a THB 2,000 on the spot "rectification" is suffice.

I did neither. Last I know, my condo still intact and my tenant still keeps paying his rent, hopefully.

[Enlightened]

Hi.
NO.
BYE

[stilljustbrowsing]

Look at the date of the original OP, that should say enough! That the question is still open, and no real answer has been put forward so far should also be a "key indicator".

[Ian]

Look at the date of the original OP, that should say enough! That the question is still open, and no real answer has been put forward so far should also be a "key indicator".

In fact the situation is now worse. I remember just before the coup there were strong rumours that Farangs were going to soon be allowed to buy 2 rai of land, what a joke