Buying a condo

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Last edited: July 24, 2023 at 08:29:05

Buying a condominium is by far the simplest and most straightforward way to own a property in Thailand. There are plenty of (new) condominiums to source in and around Chiang Mai, there is only one kind of title deed (โฉนด or 'chonod'), there are relatively few risks, and the procedure to transfer the title deed is rather straightforward.
The most important advantage about buying a condominium in Thailand is, that you can put it directly in your own name. Also, condominium law appears to be more stable than the several laws that govern companies that hold assets, such as property, a construction foreigners often use to own land and/or houses.

The most challenging matter when buying a condo is, in fact, finding the best condo that you really like, and of course .. buying it at a good price.

Trams Condo near Canal Road sells at more than THB 50,000 per square meter

An important requirement and factor for foreigners to buy into a condominium building is the percentage of foreign ownership.
Thai law allows for a maximum percentage of foreigner ownership in a condominium building of 49%.
This percentage is calculated based on the surface area of all units together, so one unit could comprise of 0.73%, for example.
As soon as the maximum is reached, it means that a foreigner cannot buy from a Thai owner anymore. As a consequence, foreigners can only buy from other foreigner owners. This means that, as the percentage of foreign ownership goes up, the supply of units that a foreigner can buy is drying up.

At the same time, as the percentage of foreign ownership goes up, so does the level / quality of (engagement with) management and usually the quality of the building improves. In other words, buildings with more foreign owners are often better managed and more expensive.

Tighter supply and higher demand pushes prices up and that's what you usually see when buildings have more foreign owners.
Indeed, there are a few buildings in town that have reached the full quota of 49%, and clearly they are amongst the best run buildings in town, while the units are somewhat more expensive.

So the percentage of foreign ownership is not only a requirement but also an important background threshold factor for buyers into condominium buildings. If you buy into a building that already has reached the quota, often you can expect it's run pretty okay, however if you wish to benefit from capital gains you may want to look more at buildings that have a lower percentage of foreign ownership.

A rough tip: if the percentage is around 10% while still showing increase, you may benefit more from future increase in value. If the percentage is still around 5%, the building may be struggling with poor management or, even worse: 'management maffia' that is blocking the growth and potential of the building. Of course, there are many more factors that are relevant in estimating the potential of a building.

Boat Condominium near Big C Extra

在清迈购买独立产权的公寓

清迈是购买独立产权公寓的绝佳之所。这里相比泰国其他像芭堤雅、曼谷和普吉岛这样的热门城市房价相对便宜，而配套却十分出色，且能够享受到高品质的生活。
您可以直接以自己的名义（永久业权）持有独立产权公寓，而且出售也非常容易。
您还可以通过中介或者像Airbnb这样的网站来出租您的房产，这将使得您在离开清迈期间依然可以获得收益。
你应当购入由知名开发商建造的、广受外国人欢迎的新项目，这样将来也很容易出租和出售。此外，这些建筑还拥有最先进的设施。
清迈的房产市场仍有很大的上涨空间，这主要得益于外国人强烈的购置需求，充足的设施供应以及稳定的环境。

Copyright: Chiang Mai Locator
DISCLAIMER: Any information about property on these pages reflects the personal opinion of our financial reporter and is meant purely informatively. No claim is made as to the exact accuracy of facts and figures nor about any future returns you can make by investing in property in Chiang Mai. Investing or di-vesting Thai property is not without risk, and the risk is to be assumed by you as an investor, and you only. Neither our financial reporter nor this site accept any responsibility to your financial decisions, which you make alone.

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