Buying a House in Pattaya or Jomtien
House with private Swimming Pool
The market for houses in Pattaya and Jomtien area has, like the market for condos, grown rapidly during the last ten years, even though it is not possible for foreigners to own land in their own name.
However in Thailand it is possible to own a house without owning the land. For several reasons we do not really recommend that.
There are 2 better options available :
A Lease which is registered on the title deed. The property will be bought by a Thai person and the foreigner will obtain a 30 years lease registered on the title deed at the land office. In an additional contract it can be agreed, that the foreigner is entitled to obtain another 30 years after the first 30 years have expired. Further on it is also possible to register a mortgage, in favour of the foreigner, on the property as well.
Ownership options : Thai Company Ltd.
A second option is to buy in a name of a Thai Ltd. Company. The buyer will set up a Thai Company Ltd. At least 3 shareholders including the foreigner ( in the past 7 share holders were required ) are needed and the foreigner(s) are not allowed to own more than 49 % in the company. However the foreigner will become the managing director in that company. This company will then become the owner of the property.
The company will need to make a yearly balance sheet and to pay tax. More about expenses in our special section about companies. On both options an experienced lawyer or agent will be able to help you and answer your questions. Experienced good agents will offer you a complete service to make it easy for you. But do not set up a company before you have decided which property you want to buy, because many houses in the Pattaya area may already be owned in a company’s name.
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Before looking for a house or villa you should make a decision on the location, where you would like to have it? Many buyers prefer to have a house close to the city and/or the beach. For that reason properties located on the sea side of Sukhumvit Road (see our Location-Map) are much more expensive compared with the other side of Sukhumvit Road from where you would need 20 to 30 minutes to the center of Pattaya. The differences in price are substantial : Often the prices of houses are more than the double on the seaside of Sukhumvit Road. Land and / or houses direct on the beach have incredible prices now, even if they are 40 kilometres south of Pattaya.
Another question for a buyer is to buy or not to buy in a gated community. Gated community here means a residential development or housing estate with external boundary walls at least around the development with 24 hours security and a central entrance gate.
House in East Pattaya, Thailand
Size of the Development is anything from 6 houses to hundred houses and more. In a development there are costs for Maintenance-Fees, 500 Baht up to 5.000 Baht per month, depending on the quality of the facilities and the development.. Houses with in a village are always more expensive than houses outside a development.
Swimming Pool : Building a private swimming pool costs anything from 400.000 to 1 Million Baht, depending on the size and the quality. Accordingly houses with swimming pools cost normally up to 1 Million Baht more.
Costs and maintenance for a Swimming Pool
