Buying Land & Property in Thailand

General Information

Title Deeds

Land Measurements

Taxes on land / property purchases

Foreign ownership of land

How to buy land/property (Koh Chang specific)

How to lease land/property ( Koh Chang specific)

Useful links

Thaivisa Discussion Forum  - Information and news from Thailand's largest online expat community.

Sunbeltasia.com - Visit the site or email Sunbelt's legal team direct with questions regarding setting up a company in Thailand.

How to buy real estate on Koh Chang

Click here for information on purchasing Agricultural land.

Click here for information on purchasing Chanote and Nor Sor 3 land.

Buying fisherman's houses.

There are very few properties for sale on Koh Chang that simply consist of a small house and small plot of land.   In almost all cases where houses are for sale they are run down and purchase price is entirely based on the cost of the land.  Land prices for plots anywhere within sight or easy reach o a beach / waterfront are well above 5 million baht/rai in most parts of the island, making the dream of living near the water just that for most would be buyers. 

The solution is to buy a fisherman's house and renovate it.  These are houses built on wooden or concrete stilts in river estuaries or in the sea. Examples of these types of houses are seen in the entire village of Bangbao, Salakaok, Salakphet and the Klong Prao river estuary.   One obvious benefit is that these types of houses are great for anyone with a love of boats.  Finding cheap, convenient moorings aren't easy - so having your own place in which to tie up a speedboat is a big plus.

As these houses aren't built on dry land they have no land titles. Ownership is determined solely by the name in the official address book.  The local authorities have satellite photographs showing locations of all fisherman's houses.  This measure prevents unauthorized building - as no new properties are allowed to be built.  However, old & dilapidated properties can be rebuilt or renovated. 

These types of properties can be had for as little as 300,000 baht for a run-down house in need of a total rebuild.  (However, a small, wooden 2 bedroom house, with bathroom, kitchen and deck can easily be built for well under 500,000 baht.)

Buying a property of this type is very straightforward as the transfer of ownership simply involves a change of name on the official address book.  If the new owner is Thai or wishes to put the property in the name of a Thai national, the Thai need only bring their ID card and house registration document to the 'Amphur' (local authority) office on Koh Chang.  The transfer process takes 15 minutes and a token fee of 20 baht is levied. 

If you wish the name on the address book to be that of a Thai registered company, it can be done.  You should make sure you have a copy of the Articles of Association - showing you have power to make decisions on behalf of the company, List of Shareholders, List of Company Directors and Company Registration Certificate on hand.  You will also need to give a Thai citizen Power of Attorney to sign the contract on behalf of your company. The Power of Attorney will state the reason why you are giving it and it can solely be used for this purpose.  The Thai will need to have copies of their national ID card and house registration with them as proof of their identity.  The power of attorney is necessary as someone, a Thai national, has to sign the document which confirms the transfer to the new owner.  A foreigner can't sign, so someone with the power to act on behalf of your company must sign. 

With the updated house registration document now showing your company or your Thai partner as the owner, you can hand over the banker's draft (or cash) and you can get to work rebuilding your fisherman's house.