According to the Thailand Condominium Act foreigners are allowed to purchase a freehold condo in their name, however they should be aware to follow the prescribed rules regarding the money and transactions used to buy Thai real estate.
First of all as a foreign investor you should know that the funds used to purchase a condo unit in Thailand are required to come from an overseas account. In order to proof the funds indeed came from an overseas account ― and in a currency other than Thai Baht ― you can request an FETF (Foreign Exchange Transaction Form) from the bank for transactions higher than 50,000 USD. For amounts smaller than 50,000 USD you can appeal for a Bank Certificate.
These documents (FETF) or Bank Certificate are both very important official papers requested by the Department of Land in Thailand in order to be able to transfer the Title Deed from the Selling Entity’s name to the foreigner his national name.
One of the main reasons the Thai Government requires either one of these documents, is to make sure the money used to invest comes from abroad and so for that reason would benefit the economy of Thailand.
The FETF or the Bank Certificate should contain following information: the amount transferred in foreign currency (USD, EUR, etc.), the amount transferred in Thai currency (THB), name holder of the sending account, name holder of the recipients account as well as the transaction objective.
To sum it up:
- Do not transfer the money in THB. Estimate the approximate amount in foreign currency (any other foreign currency ― USD, EUR, etc.)
- In the section “Purpose of Transfer” you should write Project or Condo Name + Unit number + Full legal name of the Buyer
- While transferring the amount it is required to transfer a higher amount than the purchase price of the property you’re acquiring. This is to make sure you can cover the bank fees, etc.
These might seem trivial matters, nonetheless very critical points for foreigners who wish to buy property in Thailand.
For more information you can contact Revenue Real Estate at
info@revenue-real-estate.com
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