Click Here To Go To The Latest POST On The Website

Click to join the Announcement List and get an email when the website is updated

Click Here To Go To The Latest PAGE On The Website

The Cost Of Buying Land In Thailand

Three weeks ago my wife and my son went to Thailand to look for land upon which to build our retirement house.

How To Find Land For Sale In Thailand

Unlike in the west where you can go to estate agents or simply seach on the Internet for land for sale, a different approach is needed in Thailand.

I searched for land for sale in Thailand on the Internet and fouind nothing of any interest. Sure, there were some large commercial developments but we wanted a piece of local land, not part of a commercial development.

What they (my wife and my son) did was to drive by car to the area of interest and ask. Ask who? Shopkeepers, people in existing houses, people working in hotels – anyone.

That’s how they found some plots of land available in the Province (Jangwat) of Nakhon Ratchasima which is the area we are interested in.

I’ll post some details, including photos, of the plots of land for sale on the website proper, this is just a quick post to let you know our current situation.

Well, as all things in Thailand, the situation is a bit confused (from here anyway) and although my wife speaks very good english, it is difficult to get much detailed information over theb phone.

Anyway, they found two sellers of land. One had 2 Rai available for 1,500,000 Baht, the other had two plots each of 1 Rai asking 1,200,000 Baht each.

(Thai Land Measurements (Rai, Ngan, Talang Wah, Talang Mett) are explained here)

The 1 Rai plots have a connecting road, have been cleared of trees etc and have water and electricity connections available. Also it will be possible to have broadband Internet connected.

The 2 Rai plot is not cleared, has no connecting road nor utility connections.

There is lack of clarity if the they have Chanoht or Nor Sor 3 Gaw. At first I was told they had Nor Sor 3 Gaw, now it appears they have a Chanoht.

If you are wondering what Nor Sor 3 Gaw and Chanoht means I’ll explain briefly here and give a fuller explanation on the website proper.

Basically these are different forms of legal documents relating to the ownership and right of use of land. There are several more types of lesser value and I’ll explain those on the website, but here is a simplified explanation of Nor Sor 3 Gaw and Chanoht.

What Nor Sor 3 Gaw and Chanoht Mean – Thai Land Deeds

Nor Sor 3 Gaw

Nor Sor 3 Gaw is a legal certificate allowing the person named on it the right to use the land, including the rights to build a house or run a business.

The document includes an accurate map defining the boundaries of the land. Note however that it is not a certificate of ownership.

Chanoht

A Chanoht is the top level of land deed and is a certificate of land ownership. It is a true land deed.

Like the Nor Sor 3 Gaw it has an accurate map defining the boundaries of the land.

Land with a Chanoht is more expensive than land with lesser land certificates.

Confirming Ownership

Their seems to be some lack of clarity over whether the land actually belongs to the person offering the plots for sale. It should be straightforward because their name should be on the Chanoht. Anyway, when I phoned today my wife and her daughter were checking in the local Land Office.

The Architect’s Drawings

If you have seen the drawings I made of the house we want to build in Thailand you will know that I have  designed the house we want to build in Thailand, at least in outline form anyway. These drawings are enough to show builders and Architects what we want but not good enough to actually build the house or get a fixed (and reasonable!) price for building it.

For those purposes we need proper house drawings made by a Thai Architect.

How to Find An Architect In Thailand

Yes, you can find some architects in Thailand on the Internet. But they tend to be the bigger (and more expensive) practices in Bangkok. We wanted a local architect.

As with finding land my wife found a local architect by knocking on the door of a house they admired and asking who designed their house!

Put in touch with their designer my wife handed over an information pack on CD ROM I had prepared including the drawings of the house we want to build in Thailand and a brief Specification plus a Pricing Schedule.

The architect happily took the information pack away with him and they agreed to meet again in two weeks. That was two weeks ago so they are meeting later this afternoon. Quite what the architect is going to show my wife later today isn’t clear to me. Whether he has made all the drawings or just prepared a price for making the drawings I don’t know. Seems like my wife doesn’t know also!

Anyway, whatever we get I’ll put it on the website for you.

That’s all for now, be in touch later.

Click to join the Announcement List and get a notification when the website is updated