Many foreigners prefer to buy property in Thailand online. This is permitted by local law and is safe when choosing a trusted representative. Buying a home remotely has become especially popular during the COVID-19 pandemic, when going to Thailand to buy property was challenging. Due to decrease in demand caused by the travel limitations, developers offered a wide range of property deals providing the best value for money. Today property hunters can go to Thailand after the transaction is made remotely to receive the keys from their representative and move into their new apartment. Another option is to rent out your new property in Thailand online.
In this article, we will go into detail about all the stages of online purchase of property in Thailand.
Choosing your ideal home
The first step when buying property online is choosing the right property. You can choose housing yourself as the Thailand-Real.Estate aggregator has an extensive property database with the latest property deals in Thailand. Our easy-to-use search filters allow you to customize your search according to the parameters you need. Our housing collection includes apartments, villas, houses across the country for all tastes and budget and our real estate specialists will help you choose the best option matching your requirements.
Property viewing
With the development of technology, buying real estate online has become as simple as possible. Our team arranges a video tour to the real estate units selected by the potential buyer. We tell all the detail about the neighbourhood, the residential complex and answer all your questions. The tour is designed to show the apartment and its layout so that our customers can make the right choice.
Paperwork
This can be a daunting process for foreign buyers. However, there is nothing to worry about. Our lawyers will check and prepare all the necessary papers. Although our real estate experts will take care of everything themselves, it is still necessary for a potential buyer to keep the following points in mind when buying a property in Thailand:
· When buying a resale property, it is important to check the property rights with the seller.
· In Thailand, foreigners can only own 49% of apartments in a condominium. When buying an apartment from a developer, they control compliance with the quota. However, when purchasing a second-hand home, the buyer must be careful, since the Thai owner may not have this information.
· In Thailand, foreigners can own a private house, but cannot own the land on which the property is located. The solution to this problem is the registration of land in a long-term lease.
· The condominium must be registered under the Condominiums Act.
Thailand-Real.Estate lawyers will help you draw up a Purchase and Sales Agreement (PSA). Your real estate agent will sign the contract for you, but you will need to take care of drawing up a power of attorney in their name in advance. The contract will contain a clause on penalties in case of delay in payment or failure by the seller to fulfill their obligations. If you are buying a property during the construction phase, then the contract must contain terms related to the delay in construction. In most cases, developers are obliged to pay compensation if the delay exceeds a certain number of days. Make sure that there is a clause in the contract with terms regarding the cancellation of the project, and you will receive your money back in case of force majeure.
Payment
The buyer must personally discuss with their bank the possibility of transferring money to a bank in Thailand and make sure that the transfer will be made on time. When purchasing an apartment during the construction phase, the buyer often makes an initial deposit and then they make monthly payments mentioned the contract. When buying a finished or resale property, a small deposit is made to conclude the contract, then full payment is made before the property is registered. There are no legal requirements regarding payment terms.
There are some very important documents that you will need when buying and registering a new apartment. In addition to the sales contract, a Foreign Exchange Transfer (FET) form is required, which shows that the money for the purchase has been received and transferred in Thai baht. This point is very important, because money comes from abroad in a different currency, and then converted by a Thai bank.
After-sale paperwork
After buying real estate, it is necessary to settle a few more bureaucratic formalities. Among them, registration of property and obtaining a certificate of ownership, which is issued by the Land Department. Tabien baan, or Thai house book, is an official document containing the address of a house or apartment and a resident registration booklet. It is issued by the local municipal authorities. The house book registers persons who have the legal right to live in a house or apartment. Tabien baan is not proof of property rights. There are two types of tabien baan: a blue book for Thai citizens (form Thor Ror 14) and a yellow book for foreigners (form Thor Ror 13).
After purchasing a condominium apartment, you must also make a one-time payment to the initial money fund that new condominium tenants contribute. Usually, the contribution fee is equal to the annual payment for the maintenance. In Bangkok, it is around THB 12,000 (USD 359, CNY 2,285).
After buying a property in Thailand, you can live in it yourself, resell it or rent it out and get a monthly income. Thailand-Real.Estate specialists will help you sell and rent out your property in Thailand.