If you seek property legal services in Thailand, you need to work with a law firm that can answer all your questions about acquisition, litigation, and consulting. Not only will you need to follow the steps for buying real estate, but you also need to make sure you are working with an attorney who can investigate the title and transfer the document.
To know how property investment works, you need to review the basic legal services for searching a title, performing due diligence, reviewing a real estate contract, and transferring the title. To see how these activities affect your purchase or lease, you need to review each subject carefully.
Title Searching – Why It Should Be Done
If you want to buy property in Thailand, you need to conduct a title search for the real estate. You don’t want to find out later that the property transaction was illegal. A title search allows you to confirm the ownership of the person selling the property. It also verifies the legal status of the real estate, and that it can be sold legally. If you don’t perform a title search, you can end up in court dealing with a dispute.
By using the services of a lawyer, you can find out if any encumbrances have been registered in the real state. These encumbrances may include a mortgage, servitudes, loans, usufructs, superficies, or ownership restrictions. You may find that access may be a problem too.
Therefore, you might consider a title search the most helpful step toward purchasing a property. Title searching should be done, regardless of the type or state of a piece of real estate. Obtain the title search report in both the English and Thai languages to verify that the property acquisition will be binding and legal. If you want to avoid an unpleasant surprise, you need to take advantage of title search legal services.
Due Diligence
When you buy a property in Thailand, you have to authenticate the property’s legitimacy. You should do due diligence on a property before you deliver your payment by check or sign a Sale and Purchase contract. Before deciding on the property, you need to consider factors, such as local regulations, rules, real estate history, and back taxes.
Due diligence is performed so a property’s history can be fully reviewed. The report, in turn, will detail the land information and confirm the classification of the land deed and the names of prior owners.
Reviewing Contracts
When you must interpret a real estate agreement, you cannot leave anything to chance. That is why you need to have all contracts for the purchase or sale of real estate reviewed by a competent Thai property lawyer. By taking this approach, you can confirm terms and conditions while purchasing buildings and/or land.
Also, by relying on legal advice, you can get a better idea of the import of certain legal terms. Receiving advice from a lawyer can help you make the required changes so you can ensure your contracts contain all the details needed for a fair transaction. These details include exhaustive rights, penalties, obligations, payments, and contingencies.
Transferring the Property’s Title
You cannot simply transfer title in Thailand. The process is more complex. You must go through the Land Department, and both parties to the agreement must register the title. Registration takes a good deal of time because many steps must be followed. These processes require communication in the Thai language.
If you are a foreigner who is involved in a transfer of title, you will need a Thai-speaking lawyer to help you during the process. Most foreign real estate investors authorize an attorney to act on their behalf through a power of attorney.
Property transaction paperwork that must be registered at the Land Department includes the sale and purchase agreement, lease of property, right of habitation, mortgage, servitude, or other similar property burdens.
Opening Your Business Bank Account
The above steps must be performed to realize successful real estate transactions when buying Thai properties. You will also need banking assistance when transacting real estate business. Lawyers can help you with banking by helping you open a Thai bank account. In fact, they can take care of the entire process.
If you run into any land disputes, lawyers can also assist you with formulating a plan that will help you win your legal case. When you need legal services to buy and sell Thai real estate, you want to make sure you choose a fully knowledgeable legal firm. Doing so will help you invest in property successfully and securely.
Count on lawyers for taking care of all your property service needs, including title searches, due diligence, title transfers, and reviews of contracts. You can make any Thai real estate investment easier when you use the services of a property lawyer on a regular basis. Contact us.