MrLasVegas wrote:
You have many more property rights in Thailand. So if you are planning to buy a place or invest Thailand is your better bet. Medical services are probably about equal. Far less gringas in particular and Americans specifically in Thailand, always a selling point for me. Pattaya specifically seems a bit overpriced. Jomtien Beach nearby might be an option. One of the best features Thailand has over anywhere in Latin America in things like Air Asia, where someone with a retirees schedule could travel and explore all of Asia quite cheaply. Would take quite a few years to see it all.
I know this is an older thread but I wanted to let anyone thinking of going to Thailand to know..
You have NO property rights in thailand as a foreigner. NONE. Even if you marry a thai national you still can't have your name on the deed. Your wife even has to sign a paper stating that none of the funds for the house came from you. Crazy eh?
The only loophole to own property here is to create a sham company and 51 percent of that company has to be owned by thais. If your an American you can get a company via the Amnity agreement between America and thailand and own 100 percent of that company, but that kind of company can't own land!
The only thing you can buy is a condo and that has to have 49 percent or less foreigners living in it. the Thai government is Xenophobic in the extreme. the hurdles for visa keep getting higher and higher. It's one of the reasons i'm moving to CR. I've been here almost 8 years. i've had enough of the anti-foreigner crap in the thai government.
Greg