This section of our website answers all relevant questions concerning the purchase of a property in Thailand. Naturally, the main focus of this page is directed towards the purchase of a house within a particular complex. However, there will also be information about other forms of accommodation, which hopefully will be of interest to you.
General guidelines
In the beginning there is a dream, the dream of living in the tropics, to escape the cold European winters and to enjoy life to the fullest.
In order not to turn the dream of purchasing a home in Thailand into a nightmare, it is important to keep certain thing in mind:
House or apartment
You obviously have to decide yourself whether you wish to buy a house or an apartment.
An apartment has the often mentioned advantage that you can just turn the key without having to worry about anything while you are spending time abroad.
But do you really escape the cold European winter, only to spend your days here in aircconditioned rooms? Besides, you may not have to worry about things while you are AWAY, but you may have problems while you are HERE, for example about the noise your neighbour makes, whose daily waking hours may not be the same as yours.
Location
After having decided on what to buy you will have to consider where you want to live. Would you prefer the city or a slightly more quiet location or perhaps even a country village?
Well, I think you should forget the country, as only very few Europeans could ever be really happy in such a place, simply because the choice of accommodation being offered there would not suit your lifestyle.
Which leaves the towns or the agglomerations such as Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hua Hin, Phuket, Pattaya and Samui. These are about the locations where a farang-couple's life would be quite pleasant.
Bangkok
The Bangkok metropolis with its many millions of inhabitants can be a fascinating place. This city never sleps and to visit the capital is, again and again, a tantalising adventure. However, to live there could be a little less attractive, unless you have a job there. As far as R&R is concerned, Bangkok leaves a lot to be desired
Chiang Mai.
It's a beautiful place, but unfortunately Chiang Mai is constantly covered by smog and during the cold season it gets rather chilly.There it is quite possible to experience temperatures around freezing point.
Hua Hin
It's very popular among European pensioners, perhaps because it is the King's sommer residence, which makes people feel more secure. On the other hand Hua Hin would soon be boring, as the town has very little to offer in comparison to other population centres.
Phuket
It's a fantastic island - pure jetset, where anything is possible. Certainly the most swanky place in Thailand. Unfortunately the island is also very expensive. Only people with deep pockets could aquire land here, and even the general cost of living is higher in Phuket than anywhere else in Thailand.
Pattaya
Pattaya - Thailand's sin city. In the last 30 years this former sleepy fishing village has been transformed into a city of almost a million people. It's reputation aside, it cannot be denied that Pattaya offers the best value for money in the whole of Thailand. Silverhill-Residence has been developed in the vicinity of Pattaya, because we believe that this city and its surroundings offer the best living conditions in Thailand. Nowhere else in this country can one find such comprehensive offer of goods and services.
Furthermore, Pattaya's surroundings are a true paradise for golfers. More than twenty top-class golf courses can be reached within a radius of just fifty kilometres.
Samui
It's a very nice island for a holiday. To live there permanently you'll have to be a fan of the sea, as there is not much else the island has to offer.
The search for the dream home
After having decided on the kind of accommodation and the preferred location, it's time now to find the property of your dreams.
The best thing would be to rent a car and start your own search. Take your time and look at as many objects as possible, making detailed comparisons. In order to keep the prices down interior fittings and furnishings of Thai houses are often very basic. The officially quoted price may not include the kitchen or the swimming pool, the airconitioners etc. etc. So what at first appeared to be a bargain very often turns out to be quite a costly project.
Whether you want to undertake these exploration trips on your own or with a real estate agent is entirely up to you. Just keep in mind that an agent's foremost concern will always be his commission and not necessarily your longtime happiness.
Once you have decided which property you wish to buy, you'll have to deal with all the legal procedures.
Land ownership
In Thailand you will be confronted with the hard and fast fact that foreigners are not allowed to purchase land. This law. For a long time this law had its good reasons, as a great deal of available land would have been aquired by foreigners, so that the Thais would now be renting their own land - so to speak. Let us point out that similar rules exist, or have existed for a long time, in other countries around the world.
However, for some time now efforts are being made to relax these restrictions a little. It has been mentioned that foreigners should be allowed to by a plot of land in their own name for their own private use with a maximum size of 1 Rai (1.600 sqm.). The pressure on Thailand is increasing in regard to this matter, as other southest asian countries allow foreigners more land rights. There are already several exceptions which allow foreigners to buy land, yet for our target customers these hurdles are still too high, so at this point we won't talk about them any further.
Why then are there so many foreigners in this country who call themselves house owners? And why do we at Silverhill offer houses for sale? The answer is simple. Not only can individuals purchase land and real estate objects in Thailand but also juristic entities. Therefore one establishes a Company Ltd. and this company will then be the owner of the land one whishes to buy. According to Thai law 51% of this company must be in Thai hands, which means the foreigner is not a majority shareholder. But let us explain this in more detail. It is in the nature of things that one cannot really own land anyway. If you decided one day to move somewhere else, you could not pack up your land and take it with you, which means you really have to kiss it goodby if you are no longer willing to use or to occupy it. The important thing is therefore not the ownership but the fact that you have control overe that land. With 49% of the shares of a company, no matter where in the world this company is located, you will have control over that land. Just imagine you held 49% of a huge international company. Who do you think would actually run thaat company? Who would select the CEO?
Silly would it be, however, to place the other 51% into the hands of only one person or a group of people with a common interest. If, on the other hand, you divide those 51% among several people who have no connections to each other, and you name yourself as managing director, then you will have sole control over your plot of land.
Leasehold
This is comparable to the building right in Europe. You get into an agreement with the owner of the land that gives you the irrevocable right to use that land. The maximum time period for such a lease is 30 years. The contract will be registered at the local land office so that the leaseholder's rights are secured and he cannot be evicted even if that land is being sold while the lease is in force. Leasehold is the only form of contract where the foreign occupier of the land is fully protected by Thai law. Quite often an additional 30 year lease period is being agreed to. However, that contract will not be registered at the land office but at the local municipality, and is therefore also quite safe.
Leasehold contracts can be sold and are inheritable.
No matter whether you decided on the purchase or the lease of a house, the following tips relate to both kinds of contract.
Title deeds in Thailand
In Thailand there is a variety of land deeds. For foreigners it is of UTMOST importance to select a plot of land that is registered under the highest category of land deeds, the so called Chanod. Only plots with this kind of deed have absolutely correct border demacations which can be checked at any time by GPS. With any other type of deed one could have future disputes with the neighbours.
In any case you should ask to see this chanod before you sign a contract to buy any real estate in Thailand. The fact that the seller can actually show you the chanod is a sign that the property is free of debts, as the chanod for a mortgaged property is always in the hands of the creditor.
Any encumbrance on a property (not only of the financial kind) is being registered on the chanod and is legally binding. You should therefore scrutinise this document very carefully, before you decide to buy a property in Thailand.
Development license
Should you decide to aquire a property within a project like Silverhill-Residence, please make sure that the project has been built with a legal development license. This is the official approval given by the Thai authorities to develop such a project. Only this license gives you the guarantee that all plots of land will be or hav been already issued the above mentioned chanod. This license will only be handed out when all the infrastructure of the village has been completed or there is a bank guarantee, saying that there is enough money to complete the necessary works. Infrastructure that is mandatory includes all services that are necessary for the independent functioning of each plot. These are:
Connection of the project to a public road
Connection of each plot to a road within the village
Connection of the project to the public drainage system
Connection of each plot to the village's internal drainage system
Connection of the project to the public electricity grid and the water mains
Providing each plot with water and electricity
Building an enclosure wall around the entire project
The presence of a development license is therefore one of the most important documents that you should look at when buying a property in Thailand. Should there not be such a license you'd be wise to look for another project.
