Hello All, Soon to move to Chiang Mai ..

Since neither of you are Thai you cannot buy a house and land.  You can own a house but not the land.  People will tell you it can be done by setting up a Thai company but companies set up to buy land and house are not really legal.  As a foreigner you cannot own more than 49% of a Thai company.

rsbg1

If you have never been to Thailand how can you possibly equate it to the Philippines? I think you will find it to be quite different not least the language!

Can I suggest that during your vacation you try and travel around the country a little. Whilst CM is indeed a great place so are many other places.

I would also respectfully remind you that holidaying in a country is very different from living there

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hi,

You are planning to buy a house i can suggest ypu here in Lampang an hour away from Chiangmai..it is a thai-american style fully furnished everything is here and its a package deahouse and lot...regards to your wife im from the philippines too..


Cheers,

Rose

I really don't understand people who plan on moving somewhere they have never been. Thailand is nothing like the PI with the exception of being populated by Asians. Go visit, see if you like it, THEN make plans to relocate if everything works out. Too many pitfalls to warn you about here.

Noi, Thanks for the good deal for rent, but we want to buy not rent this is better for us because we will be bringing our dogs and cat with us.. Thanks Ted

Thanks for the few of you with positive thoughts for us, and for the rest of you people with only negativity  read my post better before you open mouth, or you might say the wrong thing... I will NEVER post anything on this sight again, I am so tired of you people that have posted a lot with nothing else better to do than to criticize new peoples posts....

The safest way to buy a house (or build one) is to have a 30 year lease on the land. What others have said is correct; you can own a house but not the land. A 30 year lease is the longest currently recognized by the land department. You still have to pay the cost of the land up front or "pre pay" the entire 30 years.

If you've never been to Thailand you might be surprised at the way houses are built and the way floor plans are laid out. If you're expecting something you can find in Vegas, you will  be disappointed.

You might be better off building a house and get what you want. But hey, it can be a bit complicated and confusing. If you want to discuss it, my email is neil.cnx(at)gmail.com

I bought my house  and also land in a company name.

Althought they say it is illegal  if you set up the company correctly it is OK.

You can contact me on **

Best Regards   ,
David

Ted, I don't think anyone means anything in a bad way toward you, everyone just wants you to fully understand about Thailand, and the laws that it is much different here in doing certain things, everyone is always willing to help another expat, and give them the best advise possible, some just might not be able to convey it to your liking. But one thing for sure, we hope you have thick skin, because if not, be prepared to be rubbed the wrong way more than once in Thailand. Although I am sure everyone wishes you the best.

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I just read SheHateMe recommend on another topic. She recommends Huaykaew Place at 99 Huaykaew Rd. Rents start at 3500 THB. Phone number is 053895236. I don't know it's ok or not. But I remember it for my future plan.

Ok, I will try this again even I said I would not be posting here again. Thank you for your support and giving some good advice from most of you. Its been awhile since I posted here, and since then my wife and I went to Chiang Mai in October for the first time and loved it ! So much we ended up buying a new build house about a mile or less behind Macro (Hong Dong area). I was just there at the end of March to see how the build was going, it should be finished in about 2mo's(Thai time) lol . which is Ok, sine there is no big hurry to get it done, we probably wont move there till next year give or take. When I was there last, I was able to meet one of our soon to be neighbor's  and what a surprise to find out there from Las Vegas too.. We were so happy to meet the developer and builder of our house, and the only model home we went into was the one we got, it was almost perfect. We did do some tweaking to it ,like a western kitchen, changing the full bathroom down stairs to a half bath and the other half into a laundry room, adding a walk in closet to the master bed room, and making the stairs wider for my size 13's to go up the stairs easily, and also added a 10x20 covered back deck/patio. Not bad for only less then $80,000us....

thanks for checking in again with the blog with update. I am Gary, planning to move to Chiang Mai in few months. I have not chosen where in Chiang Mai to live-so i am checking in here with people having experience of choosing where to live. So i would like to hear from you why you have chosen where to live? And if you can refer me to who to rent apartment from--and what your experiences of cost--rent/utilities has been while your house is being built. I am wanting to live where noise is not big issue, where a good gym is where i can join, where biking trails are safe, where markets to buy food, movie theaters, and other things to do--not night life--i am in bed by 9 pm.
Presently i live in Cathedral City, CA, near Palm Springs---fairly close to Las Vegas NV, where my wifes nephew and wife just went to--they visiting from Sweden and got married there.
Look forward to get any details from you or anyone else reading this---
ciao gary

Hello Gary, were almost neighbors we live in Las Vegas, NV now but we are also going to move to Chiang Mai soon. When we were there last October for the first time ever in Thailand , we ended up buying a real nice house in a Moo Bann there in Chiang Mai. and there in the process of building just the way we want it, even though its a speck home we were able to customize it the way we want. There are a about 8-12 give or take homes left to buy, and Damrong ( speaks good English and he is the Developer  ) will help you with anything you will need, like doing the land rental ( its include in the price ) and everything else. The development is called Pradtana Plus, there is a little both at the airport mall with little home models and brochures, the person at the mall , there English is not so good.. LOL. This is a guard gated community ,a pool and a little park. Its only 3-5 min to all the shopping and things you will need, and only 1min to get fresh eggs and vegies. I went for a visit in March and Damrong took me all over town to pick out every thing for the inside of the house, sinks, tile, appliances etc. They are building stock homes so most of the building will be done , but you can still have time to make whatever changes you would like. Give them a look you will be surprised on what a little US money will buy.. Tell him Edward sent you and he will treat you like family, Good luck and maybe we will see you as a neighbor... lol

Yo, thanks for reply and details of yur and wife house purchase and building.
I am going to be renting for first tour in Chiang Mai. So I need to get info on some good rentals and good areas to live in. Sounds like u found great guarded community like many in desert cities in CA AZ and NV that I have seen but for much lower cost for sure.
I love to stay in touch
My email address is [email protected]
I will find good gym to join there as well as bike riding places. Love company.
Pass on any info or contacts for rentals.
Gary

gwirfs wrote:

Yo, thanks for reply and details of yur and wife house purchase and building.
I am going to be renting for first tour in Chiang Mai. So I need to get info on some good rentals and good areas to live in. Sounds like u found great guarded community like many in desert cities in CA AZ and NV that I have seen but for much lower cost for sure.
I love to stay in touch
My email address is [email protected]
I will find good gym to join there as well as bike riding places. Love company.
Pass on any info or contacts for rentals.
Gary

Hi Gary

Just a suggestion, but why not get yourself a long term guest house deal when you first arrive? Thai guest houses(there are some good ones) will usually do a deal on a long term stay, per month.
With the greatest respect, the rental stuff you find on the Internet is over priced and usually fails to deliver.

Boots on the ground is the answer. Most ordinary Thais don't advertise through expensive agencies. You just need to hire some transport and look around areas you fancy.

Look out for the Thai words for rental, ให้-เช่า, pronounced "Hi Khao". You see the signs on most properties for rent along with a phone number. Or if you are feeling bold practice "บ้านให้เช่า" which sounds a bit like "baan hi khao," house for rent.

thanks for your feedback, appreciate it. I have not know of the idea for long term guest houses. You have any contact people or websites or emails of them for me to contact to ask about them--where they are, prices, pictures, etc?
Here is who i am dealing with right now--getting info on their condo rentals--a man from france, who moved to thailand some years ago and has condo rentals in 3 places--and staff to handle all a client might ask..
Richard Katze
66(0)861162233
www.chiangmaiapartmentrental.com
[email protected]

MY TOUR GUIDE
www.chiangmaitourguide.com

I am doing as much research as i can online, before i arrive---maps, areas, prices-rent-utilities-and yes the rest is in person when i get there.
Thanks for thai words to look for too---i keep gathering everything i can..
Gary

You pronounced it wrong เช่า should say "Chao" not, "Khao"

Johanh_s wrote:

You pronounced it wrong เช่า should say "Chao" not, "Khao"

Hi Johanh
Many thanks for the feedback. Yes I incorrectly transliterated it from Thai to English. Hopefully I will pronounce it correctly when I am speaking in Thai.

I am looking to move to Chiang Mai in 2020.  I have found the Internet and Google Maps to be quite helpful.  With this I can zoom in on an area and see the street view.  This gives a lot of information.

Also, YouTube has a lot of good videos to get a feel for the different areas and people there.