The real estate discussion section was bought back to life this week with the same conundrums on buying and leasing property in Thailand. Apparently there are some not-so-honest property developers in Hua Hin (yes we were amazed too) that have been selling houses with a 90 year lease disguised as three renewable thirty year leases. Some local legal advisors and officials in the land office have also been supporting this spurious practice and allowing buyers to be bamboozled by bureaucracy.
A 90 year lease does not exist as one inopportune home buyer later discovered following consultations with a Bangkok lawyer. Only the first 30 years of a property lease in Thailand is covered by law so the rest is just a loose agreement which is probably not worth the paper it is drafted on. The company route to buy property as a foreigner is pretty much a dead end also since the last wave of government restrictions included the enforcement of checks on operational, tax paying, companies with Thai shareholders – who will all be investigated. Not the most welcoming option for a retired couple seeking a holiday home in the tropics.
The general consensus from those in the know and those who just want to stick an oar in is that any foreigner considering a property purchase in Thailand should use a Bangkok lawyer to draw up the contracts and assist with the process. Many Hua Hin legal firms are often involved in the real estate industry so may not be able to be as unbiased about things as an independent legal adviser from Bangkok.
Another albeit cynical approach to real estate in Thailand is don’t buy what you can’t afford to lose as you can’t really own it anyway!
As political tensions mount again in the capital discussion continues on the board, the general feeling by most is that enough is enough. Whether it’s the reds or yellows there will be no winners to this futile face-off regardless of who is in the government hot seat. If the Democrats remain and Thaksin continues to elude justice the street protests will intensify, if the reds win and the government steps down Thaksin will return and the yellows will take to the streets.
With global economies in tatters and Thailand’s rapidly taking a nose dive the people on the streets shouting about politics should just put aside their differences, take off their red and yellow shirts, and work together at making Thailand the land of smiles once again as the country will be the biggest loser in the long run if the absurd merry-go-round continues.
As a final note we’d like to wish all readers and contributors a happy Songkran, if you’re looking to get wet this year head into town on Monday.