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DusitD2 baraquda Pattaya to open soon
DusitD2 gets ready for the high
season.
Vimolrat Singnikorn
Construction is moving apace on the new luxurious DusitD2 baraquda
Pattaya hotel, which is set to open early in December this year in time for the
local high holiday season.
Chanin Thonavanick, CEO of Dusit International, inspected progress of
construction at the site on Pattaya 2 Road on September 5.
The hotel, the second owned by the Dusit Thani chain in Pattaya, will have 72
rooms in total: 42 deluxe rooms, 18 club deluxe rooms, 8 studio suites, and 4
“D’suites.”
There will be a giant swimming pool and all the bars, spa and restaurant
services of the high international standard expected of this accomplished Thai
hotel operator.
Buying a condominium unit?
Proceed with diligence
David Tan
The legal way for a foreigner to own real estate in Thailand is to buy a
condominium unit(s). This was proposed in my last article on foreign land
ownership. In Bangkok, condo unit purchases are now considered trendy among the
younger generation of Thais as condominiums are conveniently located in the
inner city area and it is more economical to commute.
Real Estate Tip
Whether you are going to buy a condo unit to reside or for investment
purposes, I would like to walk you through the following due diligence steps:
1) If you can narrow down your choices of condos to 1 or 2 units, a physical
inspection must be conducted by an expert or civil engineer on the condo unit
and the condominium building. Are they as according to the promises made by the
seller?
Checks should be conducted for water leakage in the condo unit, proper and safe
electricity supply, adequate car parking spaces allocated, fire exits, correct
building materials used.
2) What is payable by an owner of the condo unit for up keeping; e.g., common
facilities fees, water charges, electricity charges. Who should they be paid to
and how much are they? Find these out from the owner of the condo unit.
3) If (1) and (2) above are satisfactory to you, request from the owner a copy
of the condo unit title deed. Take this to the local district or Amphur land
office and counter check with the original title deed kept there on:
(a) Who is the owner of the condo unit? This owner should be the person whom you
are dealing with and signing the contract to sell you the condo unit. If the
owner is a company limited, who can sign on behalf of this company? Does the
company limited have enough capital to complete building the condominium? The
answers to these questions can be obtained from the incorporation records of the
company limited at the Ministry of Commerce.
(b) Is the condominium building registered at the Land Office? and
(c) Does the original title deed reveal any registered encumbrances, lease,
mortgage or charges?
4) Have a lawyer peruse the conditions of the Reservation Contract or To Sell
and To Buy Condo Unit Contract prior to signing it. Legally speaking, this
contract does not create any property rights for you yet because the
condo unit ownership title will transfer to you at a later date. This Contract
is binding only on the promises of both the seller and you that ownership title
transfer and sale of condo unit will take place at the agreed upon later date.
However, the risk exposure to you here is that, at the signing of this contract,
you are usually requested to place a deposit with the seller. If the seller does
not sell and transfer ownership title of the condo unit to you at the agreed
date, you will have to claim the seller in court for breach of contract to get
the deposit back.
As a result, I do not recommend the signing of this type of contract. You should
make a 1 time payment of the whole purchase price at the sale and upon
ownership title transfer of the condo unit to you. Alternatively, you could
arrange for a neutral escrow agent to hold your money and hold the original
title deed (Note: Under the new Escrow Business Law, effective on May 19, 2008,
an authorized financial institution or commercial bank can provide escrow agent
services).
5) Clarify with the owner who is responsible for the ownership title transfer
fee, income tax and specific business tax or stamp duties payable at the Land
Office on the day of ownership title transfer. Unless agreed otherwise between
the owner and you, you are only legally responsible for 50% of the ownership
title transfer fee.
Please note that the amounts payable here can be calculated for you by an
official at the Land Office.
Make sure that the owner has obtained from the Condominium Juristic Office the
following: (a) A letter verifying that foreigners have ownership in condominium
units not exceeding 49% of the total space of all units in the
condominium building; and (b) A letter verifying that the owner has no
outstanding debts owing to the Office.
6) You have obtained the required bank document to verify that the purchase
price for buying the Condo Unit was remitted into Thailand.
Note: David Tan is a Lecturer of Business Law at Asian University and
author of the book “A Primer of Thai Business Law”, available at
www.chulabook.com or call 038 233 490 to order. Any questions or comments to
David should be sent to [email protected]
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