Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'farang ownership'.
-
From the forums CoolThaiHouse website http://www.coolthaihouse.com/ ** My wife owns a plot of land which we plan to develop as our home, my wife has agreed that the best way to deal with title and security for me is for me to take out a lease on the land. Has anyone actually done this and if so what was the procedure. We'll probably use a BKK law firm to advise and do the checking. ** All of my land is leased to me for 30 years and I pay monthly rent to my wife. Its an easy process that your lawyer will handle. The lease is written into the title dead. ** Many lawyers / consultants will try to push you to take the "company" road. Do not listen to them, this is not only the most expensive way to "own" land, but also just temporarily tolerated. After a few years, the problems start. If the accounting is not very well done, then problems with the authorities can come quickly. Consultants recommending foreigners to create an otherwise inactive company which they control and which owns the land do so either out of lack of better knowledge or because they have a hidden agenda, which usually is enjoying the higher fees to implement this company and then to manage it, including the monthly accounting fees, annual auditing fees, etc. (TRUE) Leasing is a better and much less expensive way, but it alone has limits. On one side the maximum time of 30 years, but that's not all. A solution is to combine it with a credit, as Kondee did point out, registered at the land office. I can recommend the lawyer / accounting / consulting company VIMAMI, which has offices in Bangkok, Pukhet, Chiang Mai and Pattaya - address see at their lousy website http://www.vimami.com . They have been one of the early ones to point out the problems with (inactive) company ownership of land, and have a fairly inexpensive, but complete, contract system worked out for such a lease / credit combination. (The Swiss owner of Vimami did study Thai law in Thailand, in Thai language!) ** Don't lease the land or set up a company or any other such dodgy scheme. Get a "superficies". This allows you to have control of the land and and all buildings on it, and lasts for the rest of your natural life (not just 30 years). The land still belongs to your wife, but you have absolute control. I don't want to spell doom, but this also means if you separate you can decide who lives there, her or you. On your death the superficies expires and the land ( which, of course, belongs to her) reverts to her control. On a brighter note, a back to back will giving her the house and its contents, and in her case leaving the land to whoever she chooses is a wise addition. The superfices would still be in force in your case. If she leaves it to you you have a short period in which to sell it (1 or 2 years, I cannot remember, because you are farang, or ownership reverts to the state (as I recall), so thats not a wise move; ensure she leaves it to a Thai National) It's 100% legal, involves a competent lawyers fee and a very small fee at the local land registry. It is recorded on the land registry papers, and in case anybody doubts the legality of this, the land office officials are instructed to inform the lady concerned of the implications of what she is signing...and they do. It was originally intended for things like rubber plantations etc, but is fine for houses too. I recently registered such an agreement at the land office in Udonthani, it takes about 2 hours there after passing through 3 sections of rubber stamping and counter signing... Rolling Eyes I have an example of the agreement I can upload (deleting the personal sections of course) in English. You need a Thai legalise version for the land office of course (my English version is competently translated, but I would not want to risk a translation back to Thai), hence the lawyer. It will need 2 witnesses, not family members. :idea: