WHAT'S ON THAILAND

So many people come to Thailand, fall in love with the country, the food, the weather, and the people, and then want to buy land. Don't do it. Foreigners buying land is illegal. Yes, there are lawyers willing to set up shell companies, absentee Thai owner(s) companies, and other loophole entities, but these ventures are high risk. Don't do it. Rent, don't buy.

If you must buy, foreigners can buy a condo under certain building occupancy conditions. However, the value of most of these condos go up in value less than property in more developed countries with a robust market. The market for condos in Thailand for foreigners, over-hyped of course by locals, is limited to only foreigners. In other words, the supply-and-demand is limited to an over priced subset of the real market. Rent, don't buy.

If you must buy a condo, then be prepared to hold on to it for a long time and realize you might not get much return. Remember to make sure you are buying free-hold property and not lease-hold. Google these terms to find out what they mean.

In a nutshell, Thailand is hostile toward foreigners in the real-estate market. It is not the best place to invest. Rent, don't buy. Don't support the artificial market where foreigners are only permitted to participate under a strict set of conditions which creates an artificial real-estate market with inflated market prices.

Most of all, stay away from all the shady loophole land ownership deals. Keep your money safely off-shore (out of Thailand), and spend your cash wisely (rent EVERYTHING!). Don't be like so many foreigners here in Thailand and lose your hard earned money on some too-good-to-be-true real-estate deal.

Finally, never, I mean NEVER, buy property in the name of your Thai wife or girlfriend. Rent, don't buy.

Of course, many girls will tell you that you don't really love them if you don't buy and put a lot of pressure on foreigners to buy property in their names. Do not do it. It you must buy, buy a condo and keep in your name.

You have been warned.

I bought a house on my girlfriends name, and we did a private contract through a lawyer. The contract amongst other things says that she lent the money from me.

According to Thai law, what you describe in your post is illegal.