Doing Business in Thailand

If you are married, you have two options when buying a condominium freehold in Thailand. You may either wish to buy the condominium in co-ownership with your foreign or Thai spouse or you may purchase it solely under your name by fulfilling some simple requirements. What you cannot do is to lie about your marital status in order to purchase a condominium in sole ownership while married

Buying together with your Thai or Foreign Spouse

You can do this even if the name of your spouse (or your name) was not included into the original purchase and sales agreements executed with the developer and as long as you decide upon this matter before the registration of the transfer at the Land Department.

In cases where both spouses are foreigners, the foreign currency for the condominium purchase does not necessarily need to be transferred from a joint account under both of their names.

However, if you transfer from your own personal account, you’ll need to request your bank add the remark that the transfer was made on behalf of you and your spouse (it’s not mandatory, but it’s recommended).

In order to register the condominium under both names at the land department, you’ll need to produce a certified copy of your marriage certificate and a certified translation of this certificate if it’s in a language other than English or Thai.

Note: As explained in my previous “Buying a Condominium” post if your spouse is Thai and if you register the condominium under both names you only need to bring into Thailand foreign currency representing your share of ownership of the condominium unit that is to say half the purchase price.

Buying in sole ownership while married

If you’d rather not share the ownership of the condominium with your spouse, then you must require your spouse (thai or foreign) to sign a form authorizing you to purchase the condominium solely in your name.

The form looks as below:

Form to authorize the other spouse to purchase a condominium under its own name

- Unofficial Translation -

Permission Letter

At Rene Philippe and Partners Ltd.

82/9 Langsuan Rd., Lumpini

Patumwan, Bangkok

Date

I, Mrs. [000000] ep. [000000]; Nationality [000000], hold passport no. [000000] issue at [000000]  on [000000] and valid until [000000], I’ am the registered spouse of Mr. [000000]. I consent to let Mr. [000000] to purchase solely a Condominium unit [000000], Floor [000000], name of the condominium is [000000] at Soi [000000], Sukhumvit Rd., [000000], Bangkok with [000000] Properties Co., Ltd.

I hereby certify true content and thereby affixed their respective signature in the presence of the witnesses on the date month and year first above written.

Signature _________________ Certified Spouse

Signature

Signature _________________ Witness

Signature _________________ Witness

Never lie about your status

If you are married, you need to declare your status to the developer, and/or to your lawyer, and/or to the government official at the time of the registration of the purchase of the asset at the Land Department.

Forgetting to provide this information prior to the registration of the transaction at the Land Department in order to avoid the formalities mentioned above is a bad idea, because failure to disclose information is deemed a falsehood to a government official, which is a criminal offence.

Note: This post is an excerpt of Rene Philippe Dubout first book: “How to Purchase Real Estate Offshore Safely: The Case of Thailand” published in february 2009.

About the Author:

The author Rene-Philippe DUBOUT is a lawyer since 1990 when he was admitted to Geneva bar (Switzerland). He practiced as a litigator there for 10 years until he moved to Thailand in 1999. In 2002 he founded with a group of Thai lawyers Rene Philippe & Partners Ltd a local law firm that specialized in Cross Borders Investments and Real Estate. He has been lecturing in several Thai Universities and a speaker to numerous conferences and seminars. He is the author of a must read book:”How to Purchase Real Estate Offshore Safely: The Case of Thailand”.

http//:www.renephilippe.com

© Copyrights 2009 – Rene Philippe Dubout – This article may be reprinted if information about the author, the websites, and the URLs remain intact.

Originally posted 2009-08-20 05:25:22.

Related posts:

1. Buying a Condominium: Foreign Freehold Ownership
2. Buying a Condominium: The 49% foreign ownership quota issue
3. Buying a Condominium: Buying with an offshore company
4. Buying a Condominium: Bangkok what and where to buy?
5. Buying a Condominium: Bangkok Price Scale Update
6. Buying Land: The Thai spouse right to own land freehold
7. Buying Property: Two issues to consider before buying a land
8. Buying a Condominium: Purchase Formalities Step by Step