The Truth about the Farang Real Estate Panic!

Just about every expatriate living in Thailand has heard the news of the changes in property laws in Thailand – stemming from an announcement made in June from Thailand’s interior minister.

Some interpretations of the minister’s vague statements were that it would be near impossible for foreigners to own property through a Thai registered company, which has been the norm for years with regard to foreigners buying land or house.

Apparently, the whole scenario began when Thai authorities were seeking out suitable land for a new airport in Hua Hin when they discovered much of the prime land was actually owned by Thai companies with foreigners acting as managing directors.

It was presumed that these Farangs were subdividing the land at a profit and thus making a buck off Thailand’s natural resources…

While it is true that the minister’s announcement makes it a little more complicated to set up a Thai company for the purposes of purchasing land or a house, it is not a new law, simply an enforcement of an existing one.

Any local lawyer will be able to inform you of how you can still set up a Thai registered company for the acquisition of property.

One can still buy land or a house if it is already owned by a Thai registered company and it's the only piece of property the company holds.

You simply purchase the company holding the desired property rather than the property itself – thereby acquiring the holding company and its assets, not simply just the property. A lawyer can simply change the company's managing director from the seller to the purchaser for around 5000-7000 baht.

One can also still purchase property via establishing a Thai company. A lawyer sets up the company made up of the usual Thai shareholders plus a Thai managing director. This Thai managing director must be very trustworthy as he will transfer the directorship to you at a later date.

After the company has been established, the company purchases the property, pays the transfer fees and duty stamp and the property is now an asset of said company. At this time, your name is not associated with the purchase other than having provided the capital. Wait a minimum of 28 days, and then transfer the title of managing director to yourself - any Thai lawyer can do this.

Another way to procure property is to have a Thai friend, wife or lawyer purchase the property with your money into their name and then have them lease the property back to you for 30 + 30 years. This can be officially registered at the main land registry office in Chonburi. Your personal name will actually be put onto the back of the title deed as having a long term lease for the next 60 years. This is a very simple way of obtaining property, though technically it’s just a leasehold rather than freehold.

Reader's comments:

if anyone has genuine interest in the topic suggest they get their information from the thai authorities rather than relying on some possibly ok research on a fairly easily abused web forum. Added by: bob davage    Report abuse

could anyone write about the minimum amount of money required to buy a reasonable sized shop, road side bar or a 7-11, Added by: Goldy    Report abuse

Wrong information!!!There is no such thing as a"60 year lease".The maximum lease that can be registered is for 30 years.The second"+30 years"is a private aggreement and is not officially registered with the land registry office. Added by: fred    Report abuse

the new ocean 1 tower in pattaya Added by: norway    Report abuse

Finally, here is some calm, clear, common sense on this topic -- to counter much uninformed hysteria on many other forums. Thank you for writing about this topic. Added by: Peter    Report abuse

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