Want to own real estate by the beaches and make a profit while you are away?

Here is the current status of foreign real estate property ownership in Thailand,

• A foreigner can own a condominium as long as less than 50% of the condos or apartments in the building are owned by foreigners. (This is an old law, except it was 40% before, though some buildings differ depending on some exceptions.)

• A company can own property such as land and a house (and hence the foreigner can buy land and a house via their company) as long as no one foreigner owns more that 39% of the company (recently amended from 33%) and total foreign ownership of the company does not exceed 49%.

• The Thai wife of a foreigner can own property (a recently changed legal status due to gender equality in the new 1997 constitution revision), in her name only. This is fine as long as you don't have marital problems. (The same, of course, goes for a Thai husband, but the law was changed recently for Thai wives due to the new constitution guaranteeing equal rights.)

• A foreigner can lease land for 30 years, with an option for another 30 years, according to articles in the press and as confirmed by every lawyer I've asked. (If you live longer than 2x30 years, consider yourself lucky in another regard.) This is referred to as the 2x30 ("two times 30") option.