Phuket land - buying and selling
Foreigners are not permitted to own land in Phuket or Thailand, so it’s best to thoroughly check into your options and consider them carefully before deciding to invest money in land in Phuket.
You can buy land which is for sale by putting it in a Thai partner’s name, such as your wife, but you do risk a bad situation if the relationship goes awry or the person dies, especially when the law requires that you, the foreigner, must sign an affidavit that the money is your partner’s and the land will not be part of any divorce settlement. Some people will tell you that you can to form a Thai company in which you are a 49 per cent shareholder. This is a difficult and risky option , leaving you potentially at the mercy of the 51 per cent Thai shareholders. Many agencies will set up a Thai company for you, for a fee, but some of these companies do swindle people out of their money and essentially you are still not the lawful owner, despite the ceding agreements between partners.
In addition, the law has been tightened in recent years specifically to stop foreigners controlling land through Thai companies. Having nominee shareholders is now illegal (Thai shareholders may be examined to see whether they are financially able to buy the shares they have), and all companies must provide audited accounts every year. If a company shows a loss four years in a row it may be deregistered by the authorities. It can be a tedious process trying to ensure a “profit”.
If, however you have made the decision to buy land in Phuket, there are many ways to set about finding the right plot. First of all, you should decide where you want the land and what you will do with it. Almost all the beach front land on the west coast of the island has been bought and developed, and any parcels that have not are so outrageously priced that even very high-end developers are giving them a miss. Currently, the east coast of Phuket is being developed at such a rate that it will rapidly catch up to the west coast but there are some good land parcels that have not been snapped up yet.
The east coast of the island is covered in mangroves and has only a few scattered beaches. However, this coast opens onto the sheltered Phang Nga Bay, which offers year-round sailing that the west coast cannot. For this reason, all the marinas on the island are located on the east coast. While the area is not as busy with nightlife glitz and shopping, it is expected to explode with amenities in the near future as more developers move in.
The centre of the island is quite mountainous, making it a bit more difficult to build on so not much land is for sale there. However, many developers are taking advantage of the spectacular views offered from the tops of these green hills. You should know that in Phuket land more than 80 metres above mean sea level cannot be built upon. Land farther from the sea is, of course, cheaper as well.
At one time, the Laguna area which now houses the famous Laguna resort complex was worthless land ruined by tin-mining. It’s now one of the most expensive areas in which to live on Phuket. This just goes to show you that no matter where you buy on Phuket, the land prices will inevitably rise. As a wise property man noted, “They’re not making any more land.”
Phuket province includes many small islands, such as: Koh Maphrao, Koh Yao Noi and Koh Yao Yai, Koh Racha and Koh Naka. From time to time, land on these islands is for sale and once in a while a whole island goes on the market as well. Unfortunately the infrastructure of these islands leaves a lot to be desired and you’ll have to think about the added cost of bringing in your own electricity and ferrying over building materials. However, there is still good beachfront land at reasonable prices to be had on some of the islands.
At the moment, the cheapest land for sale in Phuket is around the centre of the island, from the bottom up, away from sea views. These areas are starting around 1 million baht a rai (which is 400 wa or 1600m² or 0.42 of an acre), but you’ll be quite lucky to find anything really good for that price. More realistic for a decent rai of land is 3 million baht a rai in the Rawai or Chalong areas. Think 20 million on for a rai of beach view land on the west coast and much more for actual beach front.
Essential information: Thailand is moving gradually towards a system where land will have one type of deed, but until that is completed, there is a variety of papers that confer squatting rights and land use rights, but only one type of paper that confers incontestable freehold ownership – the Chanote, as it’s called. Even these titles must be carefully researched, to ensure there is a paper trail that shows upgrades leading to Chanote status. The other two are Nor Gor Sor (an older title deed based on historical demarcations and not GPS) and Nor Gor Sor Sarm (historic claim to ownership of the land through occupation, not officially concluded). A good local law firm should be employed to do this – ordinary citizens are not given access to the paperwork.
After the east coast explosion continues and land prices rise, many local developers have been looking just north of Phuket island for cheaper land prices in Phang Nga province. There, some of the land has already been developed with high-end property, but it, is still possible to buy for much less than a million baht a rai, and a lot of beach front land is still undeveloped. Phuket is overflowing with real estate agents that will be happy to help you find just the right parcel of land for sale.
