It is prime area in the heart of Bangkok, they are all on Sukhumvit Road. When you choose to stay in this area, you can easily access to many places of Bangkok via mass transit as bus, sky train, and subway. Thus, it is the reason why it is a popular choice for foreigners as Americans, Europeans. The starting price for housing in this area is 5 million baht. The average price for condominiums is 200,000-350,000 baht/square meter and the average rate for rent is 20,000-75,000 baht/month.
One of Bangkok’s core central business districts is Silom and Sathorn area. There are many mega-projects in this area such as the One Bangkok, Dusit Central Park. Moreover, there are FinTech firm office at the Sathorn-Wireless Road as the Park Venture Ecoplex building. The starting price for housing in this area is 5 million baht, the average price for condominiums is 200,000 to 270,000 baht/square meter and the average rate for rent is 20,000-60,000 baht/month.
A popular residential area for expats in Bangkok is Ratchada-Huai Khwang area. This area is currently the center of Chinese investors and consumers. The Stock Exchange of Thailand and many global companies’ offices are also in this area. The starting price for housing is 2.2 million baht, the average price for condominiums is 90,000-140,000 baht/square meter and the average rate for rent is 10,000-25,000 baht/month.
Asoke is also located in the heart of the city. It is popular for people from Middle East, Americans, and Europeans. The starting price for housing is 4 million baht. the average price for condominiums is 170,000-250,000 baht/square meter and the average rate for rent is 15,000 to 50,000 baht/month
An area with prominent and remarkable growth is Phrom Phong, Thonglor, and Ekamai. According to the development of BTS Green Line and high-end shopping and hangout places as community malls and eateries, this area has also been developed. Most of Japanese expats chose to live in this area. The starting price level for housing is 5 million baht, the average price for condominiums is 200,000-300,000 baht/square meter and the average rent is 20,000-55,000 baht/month. After COVID-19, client behavior has changed. For example, New Japanese expats prefer to rent properties around On Nut, Sukhumvit Road, rather than Phromphong -Thong Lor and Ekamai, in order to reduce expenses and cost. Japanese people usually prefer to rent rather than buying accommodation unless they have been living in Thailand for a long time.
It is a location with various international schools with both British and American curricula such as Bangkok Patana, Berkeley, St. Andrews, Verso. Hence, there are a lot of residents from the UK and U.S.A. in this area, partly families of the school teachers. The starting price level for housing is 1.5 million baht. The average price for condominiums is 65,000-90,000 baht/square meter and the average rent is 6,000-18,000 baht/month.
Foreigners cannot own land registered in the name of a Thai juristic person if the foreigner holds more than 49% of the total number of shares.
Under the Condominium Act B.E. 2522 (A.C. 1979), foreigners can own 49% of the total number of condominium units in a building registered as a condominium. The buyer must also request a letter from the condominium juristic person, certifying that the foreign share is not over 49%, which then must be submitted and filed to the Land Department for use in transferring ownership.
Foreign buyers must bring 100% of their funds from overseas in foreign currency and are required to present a foreign currency transaction form from their bank as proof of transfer to the Land Department. Due to regulations against money laundering, it is therefore necessary to have a form for foreign currency transactions. In order to avoid hassle and taxes when transferring money abroad in case foreigners want to sell that condominium later.
         Remark: A foreign currency transaction form can only be obtained for deposits of more than 20,000 USD. The purpose of the transfer must be specified in the form in the recipient information field and the condominium name and room number must be specified.
Foreigners usually choose the following two methods to purchase land.
                  Registering a long-term lease is safer and easier than other methods. Long-term rental contracts are equivalent to owning land. The land lease is usually for 30 years, which can be extended twice for 30 years each time, for a total period of 90 years. Land ownership through this method is considered to be the legal ownership of the building constructed on it. however, the lessor cannot take possession of the property until the end of the lease agreement. This is because immovable property does not refer to land and is not considered an accessory to property as defined in the Code.
                  If one does not wish to do a long-term lease agreement, the alternative option is to set up a Thai company that can control the operations and can legally purchase the land. It is important to note that a foreigner will not be able to hold more than 49% of the total shares in the company. The remaining shares will be held by individuals or legal entities with Thai nationality (it is recommended to consult with a lawyer in this matter), and the company will be the owner of the land. However, as a company director, you will be able to control the votes of other partners and can also control ownership of land as well.
                  Remark: The Thai government has announced that it will investigate the origin of the money the Thai partner used to hold 51% of shares in the company whether they are only shareholders on foreigner’s behalf or not, according to the Foreign Business Act of 1999, it states that Thai shareholders are prohibited from acting as shareholders on foreigner behalf.
                  Thai women married to foreigners before 1998 and any Thai woman who married a foreigner will lose her rights in purchasing land in Thailand, however, the Thai woman could retain ownership of the land she owned before marriage. Since 1999 onwards, current ministerial regulations have allowed Thai women married to foreigners the right to purchase land, but they must prove that the money used to buy land is their personal property alone. Normally, the foreigner’s spouse must have a written statement proving that the money used in purchasing the real estate belonged to the Thai spouse before the marriage took place and the foreign spouse cannot claim rights in this part.
Purchasing real estate in Thailand for foreigners is not difficult, but it is important to understand the legal restrictions on foreign ownership of land in Thailand first. That is to say, Thai law still does not allow foreigners to own land in Thailand unless they have invested money in Thailand for at least 40 million baht. They can buy land for residence not exceeding 1 rai. Permission must be obtained from the Minister of Interior, but this condition does not include the purchase of a condominium unit or condominium, which foreigners who have the right to own the unit must be those who have permission to reside in the Kingdom according to the immigration law or:
       – Be a foreigner or juristic person who has been permitted to enter the Kingdom according to the investment promotion law.
       – Be a foreigner or juristic person considered by law to be an alien who brings foreign currency into the Kingdom.
The combined ownership of an apartment or condominium by foreigners must not exceed 49% of the total area of the condominium. Therefore, if you meet one of the conditions, there will be no problem in becoming an owner. But keep in mind that the money you use to buy real estate must be transferred from a foreign bank to a bank in Thailand, which must have a receipt and certificate from the bank for money laundering protection. Other than those mentioned above, the law also allows foreigners to purchase or own property in real estate by
       – Purchasing in the name of a Thai spouse, but ownership will belong to a Thai person.
       – Long-term lease with a maximum lease term of 30 years and the contract can be extended for another 30 years up to two times, with consent from the lessor.
       – Setting up a company or legal entity with Thai partners, where foreigners can hold shares not exceeding 49% and then transfer ownership. The property is in the name of the company where you can reside as a director, but you cannot be the owner of the company or the property.
Owning real estate for foreigners is indeed not a difficult matter. Many times we have heard news of foreigners with wives or girlfriends being tricked into buying houses or land using their girlfriend or wife’s name as the owner. If it is a cash purchase and the marriage has not been registered, the foreigners will have no right to claim ownership. The immediate solution for foreigners who need to use their spouse’s name for ownership is to make a long-term lease, such as a 30-year lease. They will then have the right to use it in the long term even if they don’t own the property. If they want to resell it, it will be difficult to sell because it is attached to a long-term lease
Acquisition of land by foreigners According to the Land Code:
The buying and selling of certain real estate such as Condominiums are not limited to only Thai nationals. Basic knowledge on selling condominiums to foreign nationals is important. It is a basic knowledge that foreign nationals both private and juristic person can own or hold ownership of condominium units not exceeding 49% of the total number of units in each condominium that has been registered. This is in accordance with the Condominium Act B.E. 2522, amended in the Condominium Act, Issue 2 1991 and Issue 3 1999, which states that the selling of condominium units in condominiums, whether they are units that are in the process of being built or have already been completed, will be taken for condominium registration or the construction has been completed and the condominium has already been registered. These are all businesses with controled contracts, so the contract that the business operator makes with the buyer must have text in Thai that can be seen. and readable. It is recommended that business operators should provide an English translation of the contract for convenience. Let the foreign buyer read it before deciding to buy. However, the contents of the contract must at least have the main points, summarized as follows:
     – A contract that certifies that the business operator has ownership of the land or ownership of an apartment in a condominium building and the signatory. In the contract, he is the person authorized to sign and bind the contract by attaching documents showing evidence of ownership in land or condominium ownership, as the case may be and being the person with authority to sign and bind the contract at the end of the contract
    – The contract shows that Land, buildings and condominium units have obligations with financial institutions or any persons.
       – Land location, land title deed number Amount of land area of the project, map showing land boundaries and location of condominiums.
       – Selling price per square meter and amount of condominium space to be traded
       – Purpose of use of every area of the condominium, related details of the condominium units, items and sizes of common property and various facilities
       – Income tax, specific business tax and stamp duty on the transfer of ownership of the condominium.
Source: http://thaiaccandlaw.com/knowlage-estastslocal
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The location of the office is another important factor because it involves the costs. It should be in a business area or suburb. There are pros and cons of each type. Business Districts such as Sukhumvit, Silom, Sathorn, and Ratchada are very convenient but the cost (rental fees) is too high. You can travel to the office by BTS and MRT. For example, on Sukhumvit Road, there are plenty of choices for choosing the office as Interchange 21 Building, Exchange Asok Tower, Glas Haus Building, etc. Moreover, on Silom Road, there are rental offices in Sathorn Square Building, Empire Tower, Bangkok City Tower, and Sathorn Nakorn Tower. Normally, in Bangkok, there are four types of offices:
This type of office is suitable for small and medium size businesses. When they start their businesses, they can exploit some space of their house to be an office. Certainly, they can save the costs. Home office may be in city center or suburb. It depends on their capacity and investment capital. For example, some of home offices are on Sukhumvit Road, Silom, Sathorn. Some of them are at the outskirts of Bangkok as Lardprao, Srinakarin, Bangna, Don Muang, Taweewattana, Thung Khru, etc. The one where is located in suburb is cheaper. They can buy or rent. The rental rate for two-story house or townhome is around 6,000 to 25,000 baht a month. It depends on location. However, if you chose the one in suburb, transportation was major obstacle for running business because they may be too far and employees do not want to pay more cost for traveling to work. However, in case of renting, you have to ask the homeowner first because it is not everyone to accept that you will use their house as an office.
This is the most popular choice for investors. You can find various office buildings in business districts like Siam Center, Sathorn, Sukhumvit, Silom, etc. or city center. The advantage of this kind of office is their convenience because they are mostly in city center. You can reach them with a short walk from the BTS or MRT. This implies that you could attract more employees and clients. Furthermore, the office buildings also have good security systems as security guards, CCTVs, access card, etc. The weak point of this kind of office is their sizes and prices. It is quite expensive. You may have to spend over 35,000 baht per month for a fifty square-meter office. Whilst, for the same price, you can get the three-story home office.
Serviced offices is fully-furnished offices with provided facilities and utilities. You can find it in many buildings throughout Bangkok. The serviced office providers take an office building and separate it into private offices with many workstations. If you rent a serviced office, you can start your work immediately because they provide internet, phone, copy machine, and fax for you and they are ready to use. You do not need to buy them. However, you have to pay high rental fees.
As we know that in this era, we can work from anywhere such as home, co-working spaces, cafeteria, hotel, etc. via online. Virtual office is a new choice. You do not need to have any place to create the office. It is a great choice for startup companies or online trading. However, it is not all companies can use virtual office because staff have to use technologies proficiently and the company has to invest hardware and software. It is very expensive.
