If you are looking to buy a property in a foreign country, you will need to be assured that you follow the rules, comply with the mandatory requirements and also save your valuable time in selecting and purchasing the property to meet all your needs. Thailand real estate is booming. Buying a Condominium Unit in Thailand is definitely an attractive option for many foreigners for investment as well as residential and retirement purposes without the need to worry about existing real estate laws that restrict land ownership in Thailand because under the Thai condominium laws, there is less nationality restriction of rights regarding ownership than having land ownership and it is possible for a foreigner like you to own a condo outright. This is the most straight forward way of owning a property by virtue of Thai freehold title held in a Thai condominium unit.
Thailand has specific definitions that describe the difference between an apartment and a condo because whilst many parts of the world use either apartment or condominium to describe what is the same type of property, Thailand does not.
In Thailand, an “apartment” is referred to a residential building held in single ownership on an individual title, but a “condo” is referred to a multi unit building where there is freehold ownership of individual units and a common interest along with all other owners in the land and common areas. For a condominium unit registration, it needs to be registered with the Land Officer at the competent Land Department and each individual unit has its own title deed. For a better understanding, please read the following summarizes the conditions of foreign ownership of a condominium unit in Thailand:
According to the regulations of Thai condominium laws, the ownership ratio of a condominium project is that at least 51% of the units must be owned by Thai nationals (therefore only up to 49% can be sold to foreigners. The percentage of foreign ownership of each condominium building is registered at the competent Land Department which means at first you need to check with the developer of the condominium building or complex owner if the unit you wish to purchase is already part of the foreign quota or if not if there is foreign ownership quota still available for you in order to assure that you are allowed to obtain a foreign freehold title under the Thai condominium laws.
All the money used to purchase a condo unit must be remitted to Thailand in a foreign currency. Make sure to request a “Foreign Exchange Transaction Form (FET)” from the beneficiary bank for each amount transferred into Thailand and keep a copy of it. Also you should include in the transfer instructions that the purpose of transfer is to buy that condo unit. On the ownership registration day, the copy of FET forms will need to be presented to the Land Officer at the relevant Land Department as one of the supporting documents in order to register your ownership of the condo unit. Note that if you have a Permanent Resident status in Thailand, you do not need to transfer all the purchase money from overseas.
Once the registration process is complete, you will receive a Condominium Unit Title Deed with your name appeared on it as the owner of the condominium unit.
Contact ThaiLawyers if you need help in buying real estate in Thailand.