Yes, although it is not as simple as owning a condo, it is possible to safely invest in a house in Thailand. There are at least 4 ways to own a house:
1. Nominee: The easiest, although maybe not the most suitable for everyone, is the nominee method. For this method, all you need is for a Thai National that you can trust, to buy the house in his/her name for you. This is the cheapest method year over year and works well for foreigners married to Thai Nationals.
2. 30+30+30 year lease with possible option to buy: With this method, you are secure by having a 30 year lease from the owner, registered on the land. The lease is a legally binding document registered with the Land Office.
All terms of the lease, including the initial term, are declared to be paid in advance in the lease agreement. If it is written into the agreement, the buyer will also have the option to buy the property outright if Thai law is changed to allow it in the future.
Please note though, that only the first 30 year term of the lease agreement is legally binding. Subsequent 30 year terms are renewable solely at the discretion of the land owner. However, this is almost certainly the safest and most popular method of property ownership.
3. Nominee with mortgage: With this method, a Thai nominee is required but you are secure by using a mortgage. The Thai nominee buys the property. The property is then registered at the Land Office as mortgaged. The mortgage is structured such that the buyer (foreigner) must sign the title documents in order for the property to be sold thereby securing his investment. If a problem arises with the Thai nominee, they can be replaced.
4. Company: With this method, you form a company that owns the house. To create a company, you must have 6 Thai partners. The Thai partners will own 51% of the company and you will own the remaining 49%. But there is only one director (you) who has sole signing rights for the company. Technically, the company should be a ‘working’ company and taxes must be paid on the company each year. This is another popular way to own property.
