Property News

Property News

Property law

The property ownership laws of Thailand are somewhat nationalistic and foreign individuals can only legitimately own property in certain ways. If you do not follow the correct legal procedures, you are putting yourself and your money at risk.

Foreigners can buy some types of property outright; others must be leased or bought in a legitimate manner. The most common methods of properly securing property are by being the largest shareholder, owning usually 49%, of a domestic company and have the company own the property; or sign a 30-year lease with an automatic option to renew twice for another 30 years each time. This is called the 3x30 ("three times 30") way. By far the easiest and most popular way is to buy a condominium, where there is a huge selection of styles, with diverse degrees of luxury and price ranges to suit every budget. Foreigners can purchase a condo outright in their own name as long as the condo is one of the foreign designations of allocated condos. This proportion of condominiums can total no more than 49 percent. Not all blocks of apartments are condominiums; the building has to be registered with the land department as a "condominium".

Funds must be transferred from overseas in a foreign currency to a Thai bank account or an escrow account held by the attorney handling the purchase. All of the major Thai banks have international services to accommodate easy transfers. There is no minimum amount but the transfer document must state that the funds will be used towards the purchase of a condominium.

The purchaser will then qualify for a Foreign Exchange Transaction form that verifies the funds were transferred from outside Thailand. It also confirms the purpose of the transaction and makes future transactions easier should repatriation of funds become necessary. These forms should be carefully saved as they will be required by the Land Department at the time of transfer of ownership.

Tourism in Thailand comes not just from Europe and America, but also from Australasia and other south-east Asian countries, and high-quality property in a popular location, like Pattaya, offers owners a very reasonable return on their investment and of course an extremely enviable lifestyle.

Pattaya Property Market Growth

In the last five to seven years Pattaya has made huge changes for the better, the infrastructure has been transformed, with more improvements on the way. There are new up-scale shopping developments and attractions, with more on the way. Pattaya is becoming a more sophisticated beach-side resort town, with a more diverse expat community, numerous families now choosing to come over for their holidays and international five-star hotel groups opening here or looking for premium sites for their operations.

Pattaya is becoming a more sophisticated beach-side resort town

In the past, Pattaya had a brash, anything goes image, which it will never fully shed - and nor should it, after all it is part of the spirit and history of the town - but with the new influx of visitors it is becoming gentrified. Areas, such as around the dolphin roundabout in north Pattaya and Jomtien in the south, are home to luxury condominiums, first-rate housing developments and five-star restaurants. International fitness centres, top of the range department stores and over twenty world class golf courses are all located here. There are rapidly expanding private schools, like The Regents School and St. Andrews International School, that offer a very high standard of education. In addition, Pattaya has now become a world renowned sailing destination, which has added to the variety of recreational activities and, of course, has added value to the property market.

According to a report in the London Evening Standard on 21/7/2009, an investment think-tank concluded western economies are in the worst recession since the 2^nd world war and will take years to recover. Thus property buyers and developers are looking elsewhere for safe and healthy long-term returns and Thailand, without crippling debts or over extended bank lending, is an obvious choice.  

Location and lifestyle are undoubtedly the two biggest selling points, and the market has matured to the extent that property development is now up to and, in some cases, higher than international standards. Unlike Bangkok, land is readily available in Pattaya, providing house hunters with an opportunity to buy affordable homes or condominiums that offer a trouble free and relaxed lifestyle. Given the advantages in terms of foreign ownership, apartments are undoubtedly the most popular and fastest-growing real estate trend.

Location and lifestyle are undoubtedly the two biggest selling points

Proof of Pattaya's popularity is its ever expanding cosmopolitan flavour, with a large presence of expatriates from all over the globe who have either settled here or invested in holiday homes. Due to the vastly improved motorway system, the growth in the residential market has been further boosted by the demand for property from commuters who work in Bangkok or the eastern seaboard industrial parks.

Property development in Pattaya has been the fastest growing and most profitable sector and the number of projects currently underway is a sure sign that this trend is set to continue. With Suvarnabhumi airport serviced by daily flights to and from more international destinations than any other domestic airport in Thailand, Pattaya makes for a convenient, affordable and accessible residence, holiday home or investment.