TechnikaIII Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Does this mean that farangs that own a house in Thailand or I should i say borrow one have start worrying about losing everything and getting deported? It is still too early to tell and there is point in worrying about what's not even a law yet. More will surface (or not) in the coming months. But if the house is in your Thai Wifes / gf's name there is no reason to worry. Quote: But if the house is in your Thai Wifes / gf's name there is no reason to worry. .... no reason to worry. ?? This is a very good reason to worry. Because with no legal rights to anything, you are 100% at the mercy of a woman and her extended family, who have money as their mantra. There is no such this as to have and to hold, ... for richer or poorer etc. The cash flow falters and you are compost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weary Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 ...and yet again, most of the commenting Westerners automatically assume that this is only directed at Westerners, even though the article clearly says foreigners without specifying any nationality or ethnicity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevbap Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 my Thai gf just said that she want Thailand be Thai not Farang ! well maybe they should have thought bout that when they issued visa's to come here! and spend our coin ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weary Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 ^she sounds like a fantastic person, you must be really happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevbap Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 ...and yet again, most of the commenting Westerners automatically assume that this is only directed at Westerners, even though the article clearly says foreigners without specifying any nationality or ethnicity. foreigners/westerners? difference being....?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevbap Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 ^she sounds like a fantastic person, you must be really happy. argument ongoing ! 'weary' ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardy1943 Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 (edited) No worries in Australia, We have already sold off the land to foreigners such as the Hong Kong Chinese. And all quite legally! Most progressive western countries encourage foreign investments.They do not carry a chip on their shoulder like the insecure Elite Chinese Thai that is scared and blame their short comings on the Farang. Edited July 2, 2011 by hardy1943 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jalansanitwong Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 I have no sympathy for foreigner investors who get screwed here in Thailand. Everybody knows the deal here. Even if this news break is 'tongue in cheek' foreigners have always been banned from owning land/ property . Try and and make it all legal through fancy names,accountants,lawyers and companies and this is what could happen. This is not the generous west ,This is Thailand.<BR>Thaksin is about to be re-elected by proxy and you can bet he will demand 46 billion baht be returned pronto! This country belongs to the rich Chinese- Thais. not us farangs. The only thing a western man can do legally in Thailand is marry a poor Isan girl and the government will gladly give you a worthless marriage certificate and her a Thai passport for passage to Europe. Take a useless isan wife to Europe and get her to send money back to Thailand every month. Farangs are considered a joke here . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InterestedObserver Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 I wonder how this will affect married couples. The authorities know that when a foreigner marries a poor Thai woman, and they buy a house together, which is put in her name, that the money came from the foreigner. I suppose we all have to find ways to make it look like the money came from her. The silly consequence is that if the land is confiscated, the Thai wife will lose both her home and husband. Then the rich can buy the land at a bargain basement price. Have the officials been on a study trip to Zimbabwe, by any chance? If the Chanote is in her name and possession, and the foreigner signed that little piece of paper at the land office, then no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exbelg Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 woehaha.... 90% of thailand in lands of foreigners... YES but CHINESE ONE who came here 100 years ago, bought most of the land for a dime on the dollar and are now the Bangkok Chinese Elite farang as in west-european, american or australian, i would really want to see who owns any land... IT IS TIME FOR THAILAND TO ADVANCE IN THE 21ST CENTURY and let all farang buy land and houses, same as they can do in our countries... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softgeorge Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 It seems that the Democat party is going to lose the elections in Phuket too. First Bangkok, now Phuket. Time therefore to whip up populist sentiment. Did the land department gave out a list with the land, shoppiongcenters and hotels Thai elite holds abroad? Probably not. It is not just the thai elite who own property abroad. My wife owns 3 residential properties (house and land) in Australia which are leased out. The income from these properties around 95 - 100,000 baht per month comes straight to Thailand. All perfectly legally and above board. Her sister and her father also now own properties in Australia. ( one each) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardy1943 Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Does this mean that farangs that own a house in Thailand or I should i say borrow one have start worrying about losing everything and getting deported? It is still too early to tell and there is point in worrying about what's not even a law yet. More will surface (or not) in the coming months. But if the house is in your Thai Wifes / gf's name there is no reason to worry. Quote: But if the house is in your Thai Wifes / gf's name there is no reason to worry. .... no reason to worry. ?? This is a very good reason to worry. Because with no legal rights to anything, you are 100% at the mercy of a woman and her extended family, who have money as their mantra. There is no such this as to have and to hold, ... for richer or poorer etc. The cash flow falters and you are compost. And that's a risk I'm already taking, but that's just me and I'm happy with it I took that risk also 7 years ago and it is not only you and I am happy with it too :jap: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fritter1970 Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Is this legislation being introduced by the same politician who wants to stop old Farang from marrying "innocent" young Thai ladies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyptrav Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 (edited) Well, having read a great deal on this site for about 5 years I have always considered any investment in Thailand to be fraught with risk. Certainly if you have used a Thai company to own the land on which your house is built or the supposedly renewable leases then you were badly advised and did not do enough of your own research. Every cloud has a silver lining though: hopefully the first on the list for confiscation will be Sir Terry Leahy's West Sands resort. Maybe he will then understand what it is like to be on the receiving end of dealing with immoral, two-faced, dishonest, money grabbing thieves who have the upper hand who can and do change the rules at a later date to suit themselves. i.e. the very same nasty culture he inculcated into all his management whilst he was chief executive at Tesco. Hahahahaha. Som nom na Sir Terry. Edited July 2, 2011 by andyptrav Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHamon Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 No worries in Australia, We have already sold off the land to foreigners.... And all quite legally! It's just stupid, who care who owns it... I don't see a downside to farang owning land in Thailand. Anyone can own a bit of Australia, personally. I own a few little bits... After the inital frenzy to pruchase Thai-land it would slow, just as it did when the opened up Australia. Many Thai's would become very wealthy, who are now just barely middle class, as the transfer for wealth took place. Oh that's the problem, the upper class don't want a growing middle class, they want presants to wash their cars and clean their houses. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puccini Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 I thought over 99 % of Thai business was already in foreign hands...when you count also the Thai Chinese in... It is only the nationality that counts. Racial background has nothing to do with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluedan Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 This is nothing new and nothing more than chest beating. As an ex-property lawyer in Phuket, I can say that the laws and regulations prohibiting foreign ownership of land ALREADY EXIST. A blind eye is easily bought at any of the Phuket land offices and therefore the very see through "loopholes" (eg. nominee shareholders and long leases) are allowed to flourish. Technically speaking the land is illegally held and the same applies to foreign companies doing business here through Thai companies where majoirty shareholders are simply nominees to satisfy the 51% rule. These laws will never be enforced because too many profit from the failure to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orac Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Could be that Thailand is looking to get ahead of the curve. There are many reports and studies, non of which I can be bothered to look up, which are saying that with an, increasing global population, the demand for essentials such as food, water, energy and other natural resources will increase hugely and become a potential source of conflict between nations. It seems that some nations are taking a short term view and are selling off these resources and the land associated with them at a increasing rate - China has bought up huge swathes of land all around the world. ....or it could be that someone in Thailand has seen an opportunity to make a quick buck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jalansanitwong Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 A politician coming up with such an anti-foreigner agenda in Germany and most other parts of Europe would immediately be branded a NAZI and be out of his job after a big public outcry would rumble through the media. This is one of the days where I think that the Thais would like it best if all foreigners would just land at the airport, toss their cash, credit cards and valuables onto the runway, take a photo and then bugger off back home. Wouldn't such travel be a nice niche? You would not even need a VIsa since the airplane would simply make a u-turn on the runway and bring you back to where you came from. This all is again a grim reminder to the fact that us foreigners here in Thailand are second class people to them, not worth a toss... Why not worldwide do an eye-for-an-eye retribution and strip all Thai people off the land they have been granted to legally own by a 100% and ban >only Thai people< worldwide in all countries from owning land, threatening them to be deported and punished? Wouldn't that be just fair after all that "Farangs get out of here" bullshit Thai authorities come up with on a frequent basis? I'm here since 20 years now and even though it would ruin my own business, I strongly believe that Thailand would really deserve that people of all nations would suddenly realize how much most of the nicely smiling Thais dislike (or should I say hate?) foreigners and as a result never return here again, and bring their money elsewhere. A total collaps of the Thai economy as a result of their stupid ongoing anti-farang-agenda - wouldn't you just love to see that? What I believe is that 90% of prime Phuket land is in the hands of filthy rich Thai/Chinese families... and I'm quite certain that I am as close to the truth as one can be. What they want is the remaining 10%... Give us white people a break, would you, please? Your second sentence is what i have been saying word for word since 1999. What the Thai government really wants to do is stick a few dumpsters at the airport where all tourists can toss their cash and jewelry turn around and fly home. The total worth of all farangs and all the money and help they have given Thailand over the years is the opinion that we smell. Thats it! Farangs smell. Thats the universal opinion of ALL Thais. School teachers tell it to the kids here. Look out for smelly farangs withtheir isan wives. Theyre no good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaiwanderer Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 It never ceases to amaze me that when this subject arises from time to time, they always hurl the accusations at the purchasers of land and never the sellers. Please note if you purchased your land using a Thai company, this company will have gone through an approval process. If approved it will have been stamped as approved by an agent of the Thai government and they will have accepted the fee. Then when the purchase was carried through, the process would be stamped and approved by an agent of the Thai Govt. and they will have accepted the fee and any taxes due. People who "mouth off" like this particular individual should start looking inwards at their own culpability in this matter and consider the can of worms they might stir up for themselves if they decide to do anything about it. If they want to change the law now to affect future purchases that's up to them but they should not look retrospectively at past aquisitions where they have clearly been complicite by approval. I used to in the past get upset by the fact that so many foreigners owned so much of England. Then I thought about it and recognized that they couldn't pack it in a suitcase and take it away. It's still England and they are just taking care of part of it for a while and paying for the privelege. Cheers. No change in the law would be necessary as the prohibition on nominees under the FBA and land code catches it already. The extent to which government officials need to investigate those has varied over time but never reached the point of anything more than a cursory inspection. And of course some structures involve a change in holdings after registration of ownership. In any case no liability attaches to the mistake (genuine or intentional) of an official. Of course the Thai sellers and to some extent Thai officials have at times been complicite but that is no defence morally, legally or otherwise for those attempting to control the land beyond what the law allows. Whether anything substantive will actually arise from this offical sounding off is another matter entirely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZEMADE Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Very noticeable the usual mouthpieces not commenting on this Topic, they know who I mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentlemanJim Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Is it just my eyes or does the building in the photo on the very first post look very very dodgy indeed. The leaning tower of Phuket! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somchai69 Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 foreigners, with up to 90 per cent of prime beachfront land being illegally held through Thai nominees I thought the ownership of land, and other assets, through nominees was a standard practice in Thailand? Didn't Taksin put a large quantity of shares in his maid's name?? I do hope any new laws will be applied equally to all people. A vain hope, I know. :sad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockdoc Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Very little difference, from a "can you believe that shit" perspective, between this and the spoof article posted yesterday from notthenation.com regarding farangs potentially rioting this weekend due to an inability to buy alcohol over the election period. The lines of reality do become rather blurred in amazing Thailand. As the saying goes: you couldn't make this up if you tried! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theblether Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Foreigners that invest in land in Thailand fall into two categories. 1. Those that don't know it's illegal to own land 2. Those that know it is illegal to own land, and go ahead and invest anyway. The people in the first category need to do more research before investing money. The people in the second category are gamblers. You can't control the uncontrollable, if the law says you cannot own the land, then just accept it. If you want to gamble, go to the Casino, you'll get more fun out of it than taking on a bet that you know you cannot win in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoratFarang Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 I wonder how this will affect married couples. The authorities know that when a foreigner marries a poor Thai woman, and they buy a house together, which is put in her name, that the money came from the foreigner. I suppose we all have to find ways to make it look like the money came from her. The silly consequence is that if the land is confiscated, the Thai wife will lose both her home and husband. Then the rich can buy the land at a bargain basement price. Have the officials been on a study trip to Zimbabwe, by any chance? If the Chanote is in her name and possession, and the foreigner signed that little piece of paper at the land office, then no problem. As i see it there can be a problem, if the goverment want proff of where she got the money, to buy the land, before she got married. If she was a poor esan lady before, with no job and living in a hole !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSmurf Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 I said it before not a good idea to buy a property in a company name using Thais as 51% shareholders..This was not the reason this system was put in place so forigners could buy houses here....Sell Sell Sell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingray Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 No worries in Australia, We have already sold off the land to foreigners such as the Hong Kong Chinese. And all quite legally! Hawaii is sold out as well. Chineses. Japaneses, Koreans, etc. Grid controls everything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellodolly Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Old news. I think someone didn't get their fair share and decided to "rattle" things up a bit. But i'm pretty sure the officials will go after the little fish first, retirees and so forth,... you know... to show that they are "hard" at work at finding the "bad" guys. Don't you just love greed! I really don't think a house in Pai is being greedy. It is below there sights. They will go after the big boys. That is where the money is. In more ways than one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
true blue Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Foreigners that invest in land in Thailand fall into two categories. 1. Those that don't know it's illegal to own land 2. Those that know it is illegal to own land, and go ahead and invest anyway. The people in the first category need to do more research before investing money. The people in the second category are gamblers. You can't control the uncontrollable, if the law says you cannot own the land, then just accept it. If you want to gamble, go to the Casino, you'll get more fun out of it than taking on a bet that you know you cannot win in the end. and that my folks with above statement,is game over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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