Thai govt considers allowing foreigners to more easily buy/own property

[meechai]

18 hours ago, webfact said:

At present 49% of condos in a block can be owned by foreigners according to law.

 

This is set to change to somewhere between 70% and 80% though those above 49% who are foreign would not have voting rights at Juristic Person meetings.

 

This is to protect Thai interests, said the sources.

 

Puleeze....Should I bend over touch my toes & spell RUN before signing ?

 

These guys are more & more as communistic as they can be....

 

Thanks we will pass ????

[hotchilli]

19 hours ago, webfact said:

However, any changes in the law are likely to be temporary for the next 3-5 years as a post Covid stimulus package.

Always the caveat.

[Peterw42]

5 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

Thats the bit that worries me

They did the same thing after the asian financial crisis, could buy and own above quota etc, but after the temporary scheme ended, you cant sell it above quota.

[pentagara]

18 hours ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

Of course anyone buying in during the 3-5 year period would be grandfathered in...why do some always assume the absurd? A more interesting question is what happens when it's time to sell...can a new foreign buyer retain ownership? And yes, leases are a maximum of 30 years at present (for thais and foreigners).

 

Learning from history. Read up what happened when they passed a similar law for some housing developments during/after the financial crisis in Asia in the 90s. Of course, it could be different this time, but no one knows, since it's usually arbitrary.

 

What happens when it's time to sell is quite clear though: The law at the time of sale applies.

 

 

Edited April 14, 2021 by pentagara

[hotchilli]

19 hours ago, webfact said:

It would mean foreigners with at least 10 million baht could buy and own a house - and even the plot of land it sits on

What if I want to buy a football club?   ????

[FinChin67]

Chinese will own Thailand in no time... 

 

Sorry, who am I kidding, they own it already.

[nickmondo]

anyone who wants to buy a property here needs a check up from the neck up!

the rules will constantly change.

buy at your own risk

No thanks!!!

[wealthychef]

19 hours ago, webfact said:

Thai business media has said that their sources in the Thai government are suggesting

 

Sounds rock solid to me.  

 

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, Whale said:

Well from just reading that (OP) its still all a little too Thai (complex) and not enough for me. Why can they not just do something that is "fair" instead of always stacking the cards in favour of "Thai", who are these mythical "Thai" people that will actually benefit from tying non-Thais in knots always?

"Why can they not just do something that is "fair" instead of always stacking the cards in favour of "Thai", who are these mythical "Thai" people that will actually benefit from tying non-Thais in knots always?"

 

Citizens / leaders of any country will and should ensure their citizens are taken care of above others. That a simple and a to be expected fact of life. 

 

Sure things can get complicated but check a few other countries and you'll find 'it's complicated'.

 

Australia is just one example, difficult for many to get a visa and very very expensive, then many difficult and expensive steps to try to gain permanent residence and then more to gain citizenship. Many complex steps and costs o fortune.

 

And one wrong step and it becomes even more complex. 

[Gazman1]

if my spending rate could match the 200,000 to 300,000 per month there is no way i would be in Thailand.  there are a lot more friendly countries that are environmentally better looked after than here.  also the immigration hoops that you need to jump through

[SamuiFan]

19 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

So after owning for 3 to 5 years if allowed it all goes pear shaped and you loose it? Brilliant plan.

 

So for those who say there is no such thing as a land lease for 30/30/30 this would make it a 50/40 lease and will it stand the test of time or will one loose the whole enchilada as some have indicated in another thread.

Just what I thought - do they take it away after 3-5 years? This could deg be a game changer if it’s true, authentic and fair to us property (but not land) owners in TH. 

[scorecard]

Just now, wealthychef said:

 

Sounds rock solid to me.  

 

Sure suggesting and little doubt they would be talking to politicians / beaurocrats who are not even interested in the subject at hand, just looking for envelopes. And these guys are not even the ultimate decision makers.

 

Right now the senate is stacked with senior/very senior military officers, many of them from generations of military families and attitudes which reflect military dominance and control. These guys will never allow 'openness' to be passed into laws. 

[wealthychef]

7 minutes ago, scorecard said:

Sure suggesting and little doubt they would be talking to politicians / beaurocrats who are not even interested in the subject at hand, just looking for envelopes. And these guys are not even the ultimate decision makers.

 

Right now the senate is stacked with senior/very senior military officers, many of them from generations of military families and attitudes which reflect military dominance and control. These guys will never allow 'openness' to be passed into laws. 

 

They will if it profits their bottom line.  TIT

[crazykopite]

Who wants to live on an estate when they are paying 10/15 million for a property and the landlords developers overcharge horrendous amounts of money for the upkeep or they go out of business and the development is left to deteriorate A wealthy Thai and we know there are plenty in government can go to most countries around the world and purchase land or property with no or very few restrictions but they don’t want foreign nationals being treated the same way in Thailand when it comes to property or land buying . It would be interesting to see how many foreigners invested 40 million in order to purchase a property in Thailand I bet it’s a big fat zero 

[scorecard]

2 minutes ago, wealthychef said:

 

They will if it profits their bottom line.  TIT

Re-send:

 

Right now the senate is stacked with senior/very senior military officers, many of them from generations of military families and attitudes which reflect military dominance and control. These guys will never allow 'openness' to be passed into laws. 

 

These guys when needed follow the traditional line, in fact they wouldn't dare to not follow the long-term traditions of Thailand is for Thais!

 

 

 

[ChipButty]

4 minutes ago, crazykopite said:

 It would be interesting to see how many foreigners invested 40 million in order to purchase a property in Thailand I bet it’s a big fat zero 

Yep, I do know a couple of guys who did just that 

Edited April 14, 2021 by ChipButty

[Pattaya Spotter]

49 minutes ago, milesinnz said:

and would they ever "reverse" any changes in the future ??? how much trust would you have in a Thai government ?

In my 20 plus years here nothing's been reversed...there have certainly been changes like anywhere; some changes, like reducing the "retirement visa" age from 55 to 50 or the proposed changes to allow some land ownership have made it easier to reside in Thailand as a foreigner. 

[Pattaya Spotter]

31 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Always the caveat.

What caveat...it would be a published part of the scheme. As with condos currently, if this plan is implemented, land/houses purchased during the period in foreign names will lend up being the "foreign quoto" of land/houses in Thailand. Like condos in foreign names, they will likely retain their foreign ownership status in any sale. Thus, I can see them carrying something of a premium price as there always seem to be some people about who have a bee in their bonnet about owning the houses they live in.

[koolkarl]

Who would feel secure buying a house and land and after 3 to 5 years, the rules change again?

Only if foreigners are allowed to own land is stated in the Thai constitution would convince me.

As for their health care, I have found that if doctors are not trained in the US or other western country,

find another doctor.  Personally I had hernia surgery at Ram, performed by a doctor only trained in Thailand

and this surgery has to be done again in Canada. Also I was seeing an ophthalmologist who had me on eye

drops and kept saying my eye pressure was still high and required laser surgery.  I didn't go for it and returned

to a western country to see another specialist twice and my eye pressure is normal. The Thai doctor was only trained

at CMU.  My wife had a root canal done at CM Dental hospital and a new dentist in a western country said it has

to be done again.  Thai dentist also trained at CMU.  Their health care, if doctors only have a Thai education,

is downright dangerous.

[Pattaya Spotter]

38 minutes ago, pentagara said:

 

Learning from history. Read up what happened when they passed a similar law for some housing developments during/after the financial crisis in Asia in the 90s. Of course, it could be different this time, but no one knows, since it's usually arbitrary.

 

What happens when it's time to sell is quite clear though: The law at the time of sale applies.

 

 

I was in Thailand right after the crisis and there was implemented a plan for new construction condo sales. If I recall correctly, a condo purchase of 3M or more entitled the buyer to a NON-IMM O visa (renewable). If this plan comes about, people can look at the particulars and see if it's something they're interested in.

[Pattaya Spotter]

7 minutes ago, koolkarl said:

Who would feel secure buying a house and land and after 3 to 5 years, the rules change again?

Only if foreigners are allowed to own land is stated in the Thai constitution would convince me.

As for their health care, I have found that if doctors are not trained in the US or other western country,

find another doctor.  Personally I had hernia surgery at Ram, performed by a doctor only trained in Thailand

and this surgery has to be done again in Canada. Also I was seeing an ophthalmologist who had me on eye

drops and kept saying my eye pressure was still high and required laser surgery.  I didn't go for it and returned

to a western country to see another specialist twice and my eye pressure is normal. The Thai doctor was only trained

at CMU.  My wife had a root canal done at CM Dental hospital and a new dentist in a western country said it has

to be done again.  Thai dentist also trained at CMU.  Their health care, if doctors only have a Thai education,

is downright dangerous.

Headlines daily of foreigners dropping like flies.

[Dogmatix]

House ownership has been a bugbear of foreign investors for years with only those prepared to invest 40 million baht up able to buy a house on land - and even then it comes with the need to seek ministerial approval.
 

it may be worth remembering the history of this one. In 1999, in the wake of the Tom Yam Gung financial meltdown that devastated the Thai economy the Democrat led government introduced a bill to amend the Land Code. The bill allowed foreigners married to Thais to buy a rai of land for residential purposes in certain areas but not restricted to estates. Those without Thai spouses had to invest about a million baht to qualify.

 

The bill was hotly debated in parliament and attacked even by Democrat backbenchers as giving the country away to foreigners so that Thais would no longer afford to buy their own houses. In the end the government got the amendment through but heavily watered down. Foreigners with Thai spouses got nixed from the bill and the investment was bumped up to 40 million baht only in certain designated investments.

 

The designated investments were special real estate funds designed to help the sector recover and special low interest rate bonds to be issued by the Bank of Thailand. You had to be the original buyer of these instruments. Guess what? The real estate funds were in short supply and had all been issued by the time the amendment came into effect. The Bank of Thailand never issued any the special bonds, saying it had no need of the money, despite regular issuance of other bonds at higher interest rates. If you had been able to jump these impossible hoops, you would have had to get the ministers approval to buy while the seller cooled his heels.

Edited April 14, 2021 by Dogmatix

[brianthainess]

19 hours ago, webfact said:

they would not have voting rights.

 

19 hours ago, webfact said:

not have voting rights at Juristic Person meetings

 

19 hours ago, webfact said:

The source indicated that changes to all these regulations would only be temporary for the next 3-5 years.

What could go wrong? We got 'yer money now fork off. They'll be queuing up' pushing and shoving LMAO 

[bluesea]

Keep dreaming !! 10-15 Million for a house or condo, still after the rich ones, no voting rights no one is going to buy or invest.where do they come up with these dumb ideas..

[Sydebolle]

Yet another smoke screen by the boys. The average house price is relevant and many - literally  tens of thousands of houses - would get sold in the segment of THB 2 - 5 million. For 10 million you expect a house of a quality level which is difficult if not impossible to achieve by all those skilled builders in the land. 

So far it needs to be proven, that aliens can take along land when leaving Thailand - until then application of common sense would help. In Europe property is bought and sold to anybody - including the superior Thai race sitting on land and houses all over the place ........ 

[Mavideol]

20 hours ago, webfact said:

However, any changes in the law are likely to be temporary for the next 3-5 years as a post Covid stimulus package.

 

20 hours ago, webfact said:

This is to protect Thai interests, said the sources.

they won't give away anything, they are control freak people,  bring money in to invest and say goodbye to it

[tonray]

All this is well and good, I'm just waiting for Shopee to make their site 'English" Friendly....that would truly make this expat stay longer

[Tarteso]

This people Don’t understand, Don’t lives in the real world. ????????????

[pixelaoffy]

40 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

Yep, I do know a couple of guys who did just that 

Not surprised. .. a phrase 'more money than sense '

[Jimbo2014]

19 hours ago, tjo o tjim said:

How many farang would want to live in a Thai housing estate?  I mean it as an honest question— it would not be attractive to me, and I can’t quite figure out who the target market would bel\.

 

I think they mean what we call villages, being gated communities with common areas.  We live in one in Bangkok and they are really good.  Lots of greenery, less traffic, better security, shared facilities etc..