Buying property in Thailand

If use of the word property means real estate then the answer is yes and no.

First a foreigner cannot own land. To get around this issue many foreigners set up Thai companies.  This looks great on the surface but it does involve risk.  First off a foreigner cannot own more than 49% of that company and the remaining 51% must be Thai owned. To maintain control of said company he must insure that when company is created his 49% of shares have 100% of the voting rights while the Thai 51% have no voting rights. One question you must ask is how much do you trust your Thai partners. This method also requires annual reports and filings with the government. Recently these companies are being looked at because it is felt foreigners are getting to much control over prime land at the expense of Thai's.

You can own a house in your name but not the land it sits own.  The land must be Thai owned.  Depending on the individual circumstances you have a few options.  The Thai company would be one route. You could also lease the land from a Thai person.  There are also usufructs and superficies you can use.

You can own a condo in your your name provided it does not exceed the 49% rule.  The rule states that no more than 49% of the square meters in condo building can be foreign owned. If unit exceeds the 49% rule then you would need to go the Thai company route.

Hi Straydog!

Thanks for your help

Armand

J'ai fait construire une maison pour ma femme, le constructeur me propose de faire un contrat comme quoi je peux rester sur le terrain jusqu'a ma mort.
Je pensai qu'un contrat de location est preferable, qu'en pensez-vous ?

Try and use English because this site is English language.

A 30 year(max allowed by law) lease on the land with house in your name should be okay provided registered on back of chanote.

Another method is a usufruct stating till end of life and also registered on chanote.

Others may disagree but I prefer the usufruct because no taxes are due upon creation.  The lease I believe you must prepay taxes for the period of lease.

Thanks Straidog, I'll try.
Do you know if I can obtain a tabian ban with the route of usufruct ?