Buying a condo/house

[Geewizz 0]

Hi all,

 

I know us forangs can't buy land so that stops us buying a freehold house (I'm not married to a TG btw), so if we buy a condo what sort of lease do you get?

Is it similar to the uk where you get 99 years or so?

 

One more thing.......maintanence? Do you pay it and how much??

 

Any advice/experiences would be helpful.......Thanks.

[The_Fat_Controller 25]

If you buy a condo it will be freehold and yours for life.

 

If buying new , you and all new owners will pay into a "sinking fund" as set by the seller, this will be the base money for the maintenance fund.

 

I pay 35 Bt per sq.m per month maintenance for my Bangkok condo.

[MrMango 667]

If you buy a condo it will be freehold and yours for life.

It is my understanding that not all Condos can be legally purchased by foreigners. Only if 51% of the owners are Thai, then the remaining 49% can be then owned by foreigners, as it was explained to me.

[The_Fat_Controller 25]

If you use a lawyer he/she will be obliged to contact the juristic person of the condo block to determine if the sale will come under the 49% rule.

 

Therefore if you follow the law, you will own it freehold !!!!!!

 

Doh !!!!!!!

[horizons 1]

Geewizz, I've not yet bought property in Thailand but I have looked at it for a long while. I'm no pessimist but here are some tips (IMHO) if you're in the condo market:

 

 

1. Read plenty - there are various legal websites, retirement sites, law firm websites & probably postings on Thai Visa & other farang sites. Get really well informed.

 

2. Read local papers like Pattaya Mail & Pattaya Today, especially their real estate legal advice columns.

 

3. Be aware that there is no professional registration required for realtors (real estate agents) in Thailand. There are scores of such agents in Pattaya - new ones each week - and among them you can be sure there is a fair quota of snake-oil salesmen & farang carpetbaggers.

 

4. Be aware that a lot of Thai owners (farangs, too, presumably) aren't much interested in paying maintenance levies/sinking funds beyond the absolute minimum. Be careful of 'bargain' buildings that are going downhill & have uncommitted owners.

 

5. It's probably worth renting for a few months while you really suss out the market, the properties, the heroes & villains, and then buy.

 

6. Finally, many people seem to be of the opinion that you shouldn't invest any more money in Thailand property than you are prepared to walk away from - should it all go arse-up, as it can.

 

7. Finally, finally ... do the searches & purchase through a really good, recommended local lawyer - and NOT one offered by the vendor/agent.

 

 

good luck.

[marleyboy 140]

Excellent advice offerd by Horizons! I have a house in Pattaya (my wife is Thai), if anything happens to us, ive no qualms about losing it (not that I think anything will! but Im prepared!),. If buying anything in Thailand, treat the real estate agents like you would in your home country.................then trust them about 20 times less! (I know there are good agents there.......Its just my view from my experiences!)

As already stated, try rentin somewhere first, to get the feel of condo living, and as in every place, the price depends on the location! Obviously the nearer the beach...the more expensive!

 

Good luck in your condo buying, there are thousands of ex-pats owning condos and houses in Thailand! so dont get too worried!

[Munchin glad rags 0]

If you use a lawyer he/she will be obliged to contact the juristic person of the condo block to determine if the sale will come under the 49% rule.

 

Therefore if you follow the law, you will own it freehold !!!!!!

 

Doh !!!!!!!

 

 

YOu dont even undersstand what a free hold is ! A farang cant own land, that means they cant own the freehold doh.... Yourself

[Geewizz 0]

Thanks for the helpful info guys.

 

I'm in Patts for a month Sept/Oct and thinking of buying next year. Prob rent first to get the feel of things.

 

See some of you for a beer soon, Thanks!

[sinbinjack 251]

What helpful advice ,I wanted to know how long leases were in Thailand ,and after all these replies I am still no wiser.The standard lease in the UK is 99 years,can someone tell us what the standard (?)is in Thailand .

[The_Fat_Controller 25]

You do not BUY condos LEASEHOLD in Thailand.

 

Simple as that.

[Geewizz 0]

Thanks fat controller,

 

so if it's yours forever and something happens to you, will someone inherit it in your will?

[Gary 4,118]

What helpful advice ,I wanted to know how long leases were in Thailand ,and after all these replies I am still no wiser.The standard lease in the UK is 99 years,can someone tell us what the standard (?)is in Thailand .

 

Some agents will tell you 30 + 30 + 30 but DON'T believe it. The longest lease recognized by the Thai land office is 30 years, period.

[Geewizz 0]

If you buy a condo it will be freehold and yours for life.

 

If buying new , you and all new owners will pay into a "sinking fund" as set by the seller, this will be the base money for the maintenance fund.

 

I pay 35 Bt per sq.m per month maintenance for my Bangkok condo.

 

 

so it is on a lease of 30 years!? Now I'm confused!

[Munchin glad rags 0]

You do not BUY condos LEASEHOLD in Thailand.

 

Simple as that.

 

 

Please explain how you can own the freehold on a multiplie layer property say ten floors !!

 

YOu can only own a freehold if its bought by all of the leasholders off the landlors, then its a shared freehold If you have a lease period on a place its not freehold fact.

 

Fat Controller you no nothing aboyt freehold or leashold , do not give people advise on a subject you know nothing about.

 

25 or 30 I have seen, in uk you can get 1000 year leases and 125 , 99 as said infact its between the owner of the Land (the freeholder) and the owner of the building (the leaseholder)

 

 

Falang cant own freehold in Los-

[The_Fat_Controller 25]

I have a condo in Bangkok.

 

Munchin, I own it.

 

There is no lease.

 

It is mine as long as the building is standing.

 

Collectively all the individual owners own the building so therefore we all own a share of the freehold, including me.

 

This is allowed as long as no greater than 49% of the floor area of the building is under foreign ownership.

 

It was bought from Land and Houses, one of the largest property companies in Thailand.

 

The property is managed now by Plus Property Services who are responsible for collecting the annual maintenance fees which pays for the upkeep of the building and communal areas and facilities.

 

For the purposes of inheritance, you can leave it to anyone you like.

 

It gets a little complicated if it is owned by a Thai who marries a farang and leaves it to him/her, which they can do. Then the 49% rule has to be considered. If the 49% is exceeded then from what I recall of my extensive research the condo has to be sold within a certain time period, however the farang spouse IS allowed to inherit the proceeds.

 

Try a search for "juristic person" or look at some of the Thai property websites and you will find how condo developments are sold and subsequently managed.

 

PS. Munchin, use the spell check ! LOL

[The_Fat_Controller 25]

http://www.holt-realty.com/real-estate-thailand-canubuy.php

 

 

Foreigners may own a condominium 100% freehold in their own name, as long as the total foreign ownership in the building does not exceed 49%.

[The_Fat_Controller 25]

http://www.acuterealty.com/faq.asp#1

 

http://www.sgalegal.com/guide/condominium.html

 

http://www.raimonland.com/english/SalesProcess.aspx

 

I think that covers it all, if you take your time to read through the links.

 

I will say no more.

Edited August 6, 2007 by The_Fat_Controller

[Munchin glad rags 0]

[

 

I will say no more.

 

 

Well its good you will say no more-

 

You dont own the freehold, as you state you own the buildi ng if its standing if its not you own nothing.

 

You are a leasholder whether you like it or not, to own the freehold you own the land the place is built on.

 

You own the building not the land.

 

A stated you dont own the freehold, if you did you could knock the building down and redevelop

you will have a lease for something under 30 years.

 

Live with it

 

http://www.sgalegal.com/guide/condominium.html

 

The link you supplied was from a company which sells beuildings, even you must know they cant be trusted.

 

The above link is from lawyers, please show me where yo can own the freehold ?

 

You cant you own the leasehold-

 

Falangs cany own freeholds, they are land

[sinbinjack 251]

I have a condo in Bangkok.

 

Munchin, I own it.

 

There is no lease.

 

It is mine as long as the building is standing.

 

Collectively all the individual owners own the building so therefore we all own a share of the freehold, including me.

 

This is allowed as long as no greater than 49% of the floor area of the building is under foreign ownership.

 

It was bought from Land and Houses, one of the largest property companies in Thailand.

 

The property is managed now by Plus Property Services who are responsible for collecting the annual maintenance fees which pays for the upkeep of the building and communal areas and facilities.

 

For the purposes of inheritance, you can leave it to anyone you like.

 

It gets a little complicated if it is owned by a Thai who marries a farang and leaves it to him/her, which they can do. Then the 49% rule has to be considered. If the 49% is exceeded then from what I recall of my extensive research the condo has to be sold within a certain time period, however the farang spouse IS allowed to inherit the proceeds.

 

Try a search for "juristic person" or look at some of the Thai property websites and you will find how condo developments are sold and subsequently managed.

 

PS. Munchin, use the spell check ! LOL

to own a property free and clear you need to be the FREEHOLDER that means the person who owns the land that your building stands on if you don't own the land then you are a LEASEHOLDER as you own the building but only rent (lease) the land for as long as the lease lasts.As far as I am aware farangs can not own land in Thailand so can not be FREEHOLDERS.If you building is pulled down because the government wants to put a road through who owns the land ,because I can bet its not you.

So the question remains, how long is the usual lease in Thailand.

 

sorry that this post is almost a copy of the previous post ,I wrote quickly without reading all the posts .

PS one quick addition in the http://www.sgalegal.com/guide/condominium.html it seems to say you can buy a condo with freehold (fee simple) this is not the kind of freehold that give you land ownership and is slightly misleading.

Edited August 7, 2007 by sinbinjack

[lostinpattaya 0]

to own a property free and clear you need to be the FREEHOLDER that means the person who owns the land that your building stands on if you don't own the land then you are a LEASEHOLDER as you own the building but only rent (lease) the land for as long as the lease lasts.

TFC wrote a very easy to understand post sinbinjack.A falang owning a condo in Thailand is the same as owning one in the West.This is Freehold.There is no lease on the property.If you are still confused go and speak to a lawyer concerning Condo ownership in your country.Thailand's laws are very similar.

[Gary 4,118]

It's easier to forget all the terms like freehold. The only property you can legally own in Thailand is a condo and the unit you own must be within the 49 percent portion. It's safe and simple to buy a condo. If it is not within the 49 percent the land office will NOT transfer it to your name. If everything is not perfectly proper there will be no transfer. Be wary of the promises to have a unit in your name because many developers will try to set up a bogus company for your unit. Don't fall for their bullshit stories. If it cannot be in your name right from the start, pass on the deal. The one I bought had a mortgage on it and I had to have two bank checks made, one for the bank and one for the owner. Had the bank not been there to sign off on the chanote (deed) to release the mortgage it would not have been transferred. Don't hand over the checks before the chanote is in YOUR name.

 

Many foreigners own (?) homes and land through bogus companies. The is simply NOT legal and whether or not they will be prosecuted or lose the property is anyone's guess. Better them than me. I like to be able to sleep at night.

 

A lease is an option also. A maximum of 30 years is recognized by the Thai government land office. After the 30 years it is very doubtful that the legal owner will agree to extend the lease. I don't like the idea of a lease for three main reasons. There will be some tax problems and fairly hefty up front payments. If you do find a good wife, she will have nothing after the thirty years is up and last but not least is the fact that guys go with expensive leases, contracts, mortgages, and all sorts of other bullshit to protect themselves. Many of the properties are up country and there is no way you would want to live there alone anyways.

 

I have bought my wife three properties up here in the boonies. They are in her name. If everything turns to shit, I will walk away and head back to the farang ghetto. The most important rule is to NOT spend more than you can afford to walk away from. I bought my condo BEFORE we got married. Anything you buy before you get married remains yours.

[Engineer 0]

hi,

 

my wife and i was thinking about buying a place in thailand as a vacation home. but after reading this, i am more confused that ever. is there a good english speaking real estate attorney available in major cities like bangkok and pattaya?

[Geewizz 0]

TFC,

 

Can I ask where in BKK you live? .............and how much do they sell for??

 

G.

[Munchin glad rags 0]

. I bought my condo BEFORE we got married. Anything you buy before you get married remains yours.

 

 

I agree the term freeholder means nothing on Los, as an example If a person were to own 10 properties in the UK went to Los married a girl and bought a place there, if they divorvef can the women touch his UK assets.

[sinbinjack 251]

TFC wrote a very easy to understand post sinbinjack.A falang owning a condo in Thailand is the same as owning one in the West.This is Freehold.There is no lease on the property.If you are still confused go and speak to a lawyer concerning Condo ownership in your country.Thailand's laws are very similar.

Hi Lostinpattaya,TFC may have written a very easy to understand post ,but you have it quite wrong I personaly have owned flats OR as yanks call them Condos and there is two ways to own a condo that is with a lease ,making you a LEASEHOLDER,or with a joint freehold,making you a freeholder .In Thailand farangs can not own LAND in their own name so can not be joint freeholders making them Leaseholders,even TFC himself said he did not own the land his condo stands on ,and ownership of the land makes you a Freeholder nothing else.As for Thailand and UK laws being similar ,Phooey.