Real Estate
General facts about Property law and real estate legal matters for foreigners in Thailand
Thai real estate reservation agreement
Real estate reservation agreement
A reservation agreement allows the prospective buyer to designated a particular condo or real estate unit and establish a price by giving a deposit (this is in Thailand usually somewhere around 50.000 Thai baht). A reservation agreement should be non-binding for a period of time and within this time the buyer should be free to cancel the agreement for any reason and upon such action the buyer should be entitled to a full refund of the reservation deposit. In Thailand is more common that reservation deposits are non-refundable or refundable under certain specific conditions. It is also standard practice that the reservation deposit is held by the seller and not in an escrow account held by a third party.
Ownership of a condo by a Thai married to a foreigner
Buying a condominium with a Thai spouse
Foreign or Thai owned
When a condominium unit in Thailand is acquired by a Thai national married to a foreigner the unit will automatically be considered foreign owned under the Thailand Condominium Act, unless the acquisition of the condominium unit is in accordance with the procedure for the acquisition of land by a Thai national married to a foreigner (read procedure). Only in this case the condominium unit will be considered Thai owned and will fall within the Thai ownership side of the condominium. This will also mean that in such case under Thai matrimonial property laws the unit will be considered a personal (non-marital) asset of the Thai spouse and not a jointly owned marital asset of husband and wife.
Read more: Ownership of a condo by a Thai married to a foreigner
Foreigners illegally owning land in Thailand Part II
Ombudsmen urge draconian new law
Source Bangkokpost 28 June 2012
Thai ombudsmen is drafting a carrot-and-stick law to protect Thai lands from illegal foreign nominee ownership, while developers and consultants suggest more legal transparency, a longer leasehold period and higher foreigner property taxes to prevent nominees.
Read more: Foreigners illegally owning land in Thailand Part II
Thailand Phuket Land Scam Part 2
Anti-Corruption Commission called in on Phuket land grab
FORMER OFFICIALS ACCUSED IN SCAM
The National Anti-Corruption Commission has been asked to investigate the alleged involvement of a former Phuket deputy governor and a former interior permanent secretary over unlawful land acquisition on the island.
Property Land Housing Tax Reform
Long-stalled land tax bill back in discussion
Undeveloped plots to attract a penalty rate
Source BangkokPost, published: 1/06/2012
The Finance Ministry is vowing to push forward the land tax bill, stalled for a decade, and may increase the tax ceiling, says the Fiscal Policy Office (FPO).
Director-general Somchai Sujjapongse said the FPO is now amending details of the draft. Once the amendment version is completed, it will arrange a public hearing. The major amendment is the tax ceiling rate.
