Buying in Thailand:

When thinking of buying a Villa its adviseable to book a trip to Thailand to see Villas for sale. We can arrange for one of our local suppliers to take you around to see villas for sale on an agreed day.

Buying a second home or a retirement home is a major investment and you should stay in the place you are thinking of buying multiple times to make sure its what you want to do. I am sure the more you come to Thailand the more you will fall in love with it. It will just keep confirming what you think.

Foriegners are not allowed to own property like Villas in Thailand. However, you are allowed to own shares in a Thai company or other offshore company. Simply you own shares in a company that owns the villa and so effectively own it. This means that if you ever wanted to pass it on to a relative or sell it at a later date you would actually sell or transfer the company. Some developers actually setup a company for each villa they build to make the process very easy when they sell it to you. i.e. they transfer ownership of the company. For a small amount of money each year you have a local accountant do accounts for the company and pay a small amount of tax.

This is a relatively simple process and is also done in other countries to avoid stamp duties and capital gains tax when selling a property.

You can also take a leasehold interest. The advantage of this is that it can be in an individuals name or company name. Its usually for a maximum 30 years with an option to renew for a further two periods of 30 years each. The leasehold stays in force whether the freehold owner sells or transfers ownership. However, its is uncertain at present whether this right can be enforced against a purchaser of the freehold interest.

Our recommendation is to preferably buy the freehold via a company as this is how most people make a purchase of property in Thailand.

Land in Thailand has different classes of title:

"Chanote Nor Sor 4" is the only document that can be described as a Land Title Deed as it confirms alone confirms ownership of land. The land has been accurately surveyed and plotted in relation to the national survey grid. Unique numbered marker posts set in the ground mark its boundaries. This is the best land title available.

Another Land Title is "Nor Sor 3 Gor" and signifies the occupiers right to posses the land but without conferring actual possession. This the second best land title and can be upgraded to Chanote title.

The above titles are the only land titles where registered right of ownership or lease can exist so anything less than these are not recommended for foreign investment.

The information provided is not a substitute for proper legal advice and your specific situation. We recommend proper legal advice is sort for the purchase of any property just like you would at home. Your solicitor will ensure all the legal formalities and checks are dealt with and done properly like setting up a Thai company and transferring title. The whole process can take about 2-3 weeks. We can recommend some excellent local solicitors that can provide legal services for this purpose.

You should negotiate a fee with your solicitor upon engagement. Most have standard rates for such work. The only other fees you should have to pay are to the Land office on transfer of the land.

Land purchase fees are:

a. Stamp Duty 0.5% or Business Tax 3.3% depending on how long the seller has owned the land.
b. Transfer Fee 2% of the declared price
c. Withholding Tax 1% which is calculated based on a sliding scale according to land office guidelines. There is no capital gains tax in Thailand and Withholding tax is the equivalent in reality. One might expect the seller to pay this but this is not always the case unless its been agreed at the time of sale.

Thai Land Measurement:

Thailand Visas and Work Permits

You should check your visa requirements on the Thai Government website at least a couple of months before going in case any changes have been made.

If you are from the UK or most EU countries then you can get a visa on entry to the country for 30 days. You should also have at least 6 months left on your passport before entry.

Most visitors to Thailand enter on a tourist visa. A tourist visa allows you to stay for a period of up to 60 days.