Fresh Invest

The new government and anxious to promote infrastructure development and encourage tourism and outside investment and have amended legislation to promote this vital industry.

The Country:

Southern Asia tropical paradise on the “must see” for every back packer and easy to see why, with differing life style from western influences Asian culture and hospitality. Thailand has borders with Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia. The eastern side has a long coast line to the Gulf of Thailand and the western coast to the Andaman Sea and Indian Ocean, The climate is pleasantly tropical.

Property Values:

There has been a roller coaster ride with house prices over the last decade mainly due to political uncertainty far away destination have gained in popularity more recently with the global downturn prices have leveled out. The new government and anxious to promote infrastructure development and encourage tourism and outside investment and have amended legislation to promote this vital industry.

Investment:

These Asian countries offer another style,  a freedom that is intoxicating, a good standard of living at a price well below UK levels attracts investors,  more recently however political disturbance has created violent protest that are city based.

As is the norm these incidents sour the area for tourism. A drop in tourism has a large detrimental effect on the countries balance of payments but only is likely to affect a very small area of the country.

Prices start from around £20,000 for studio apartments there are restrictions on ownership and investors need to be cautious and seek legal advice. Koi Phi Phi, Ko Samui and Ko Phuket are all paradise destinations and entry prices for studio apartments are very low.

A new international airport at Pattaya has provided new investment opportunities in this popular location.

Purchase Procedure:

Property ownership does have restrictions and legal advice is essential to avoid pitfalls and to ensure that you have an asset that you can dispose of when the time comes, the government are however look at ways of easing restrictions.

Tax levels vary Capital gains is based on a sliding scale dependent upon period of ownership. Income tax rates range from10%-37%. There is also a tax on rented property of 12.5%. The variety of property is enormous from gated communities or beach side condominiums or individual villas in some cases the developments have management structure is in place to promote your investment property.

Some developers offer apart-hotels where you purchase a unit of accommodation either a studio or villa that is run as an hotel room where you derive a return from the net room rate.

Summary:

Political uncertainty insurgency and terrorism are not good bed fellows of long term investment until there is a clearer picture of long term prospects investment here is highly speculative.

We advise all investors to check out the Foreign and Commonwealth office web site before travelling to these areas.