Property in Thailand

Thailand has long established itself as a second home to many Westerners. Americans and Europeans alike have discovered this Asian paradise and have been attracted to stay for extended periods of time. Thailand has many things to offer to the European. From beaches to city life, culture and arts to night life, Thailand caters to widely different tastes.

For many people who have decided to establish a second home in Thailand, buying property is the foremost concern. This sounds like the perfect idea as it would definitely give you considerable savings if you had your own place to stay each time you visited the Land of Smiles. There is one big problem though – foreigners are not allowed to own property in Thailand. For Europeans then, the option of purchasing real estate in Thailand outright would not work.

There are workarounds to everything, however. The most common situation today is that when a foreigner marries a local, the Thai spouse can own the property in his or her name. In essence then, you can own property even if you are a foreigner.

Another option would be to lease property in Thailand. The longest lease available in Thailand today is for 30 years. You can also add a stipulation on the contract that at the end of the 30 years, you can opt to further renew the contract for another 60 years. In most cases, this length of time is enough. You should be aware, however, that there are instances when leases are not allowed to be extended, for one reason or another.

Whether you are buying or leasing property, you have to expect marked differences between the European way of doing business and the Thai way of dealing. Though the Thai are known around the world for their hospitality and friendliness, especially to foreigners, when it comes to legal matters, you might find things a little bit complicate. For one, you have to be ready to face red tape. For those who are not quite familiar with this, it is basically having to go through layers and layers of bureaucracy before you get even a simple legal matter taken care of. It is much like peeling the layers off of an onion one by one.

You might want to engage the services of a legal consultant or a real estate consultant in Thailand. One foreseeable problem is the language barrier. Despite the fact that Thailand is a tourist haven, the people surprisingly are not very adept in the English language in general. With transactions as important as purchasing or leasing property, you definitely could do without language problems – you just can’t afford anything to be lost in translation!

An option would be to look for a foreign lawyer specializing in property and real estate law in Thailand. Of course, he or she must be able to speak some Thai as well, in order to deal with the local government officials. On the other hand, you can try to find a Thai lawyer who speaks good English. Though there are probably a good number of individuals falling under these categories, do not be surprised if you meet as many people who do not as well.

Despite the drawbacks and complexities that I have described above, Thailand property continues to be a very popular choice for Westerners. The complexities are not insurmountable, for one. Another positive thing is that Thai government knows the importance of tourism and foreign investments to their economy. As such, even as I write this, they are coming up with ways to make the situation easier for foreign investors. This could only mean better things in terms of purchasing or leasing property for foreigners in Thailand.