Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing leases, mortgages and usufructs pertaining to real estate in Thailand. So for those who are unaware, foreign nationals are precluded from owning real estate in Thailand; foreigners cannot own land in Thailand. In theory it might be possible, but as a practical matter effectively not.

That said, there are different ways of gaining enjoyment of the usage of land in Thailand that don't necessarily have anything to do with ownership. For example leases, which most people are well aware of. Then there are mortgages which I'll get to in a moment, and then you have got 'usafrict', or usufruct depending on if you want to say that in a sort of French way or the kind of Anglicized way, Usufruct is sort of akin to what we call a life estate in the Common Law vernacular; it's basically lifetime usage of a given piece of property. Yes, that can be a very useful way for a foreign national to enjoy usage of land here in Thailand, for the whole of their life. Meanwhile, leases which max out at 30 years, and as we have discussed in other videos, the era of the 30 + 30 + 30 lease has actually effectively come to an end with a Supreme Court case; I think that was about two years ago. Meanwhile, mortgages are oftentimes overlooked when looking at real estate matters in Thailand and they can be an effective tool if a foreign national is putting forward money associated with the purchase of property, commercial or otherwise, and they can basically loan that money to the person who is buying it, a Thai national, and have their mortgage registered on the actual title deed. 

All of these instruments by the way can be registered on the title deed with the exception being leases under 3 years in Thailand don't necessarily have to be registered on a title deed. But three years or more need to be registered on a title deed; usufruct must be registered on a title deed, as must a mortgage. 

That said, all three can be very useful for foreign nationals who wish to enjoy usage of property. For example, a mortgage can be useful for somebody who says, "look, I'm willing to put up the money, but in the event that maybe a relationship doesn't work out - business, or personal or otherwise - I want to be able to have the ability to go ahead and foreclose on that land and get my money back if I need to. Meanwhile, some people would say, "I would just like to have a term lease. I got my 30 years. I know what it is.  I want to live here on this property or use it for commercial purposes. Usufruct, again I want to use it for my lifetime.

There are serious benefits gained by these things, but formalities have to be maintained, and it needs to be understood as well that they do have different legal postures compared to each other. So when determining which one may be right for you, you may want to sit down, contact a legal professional, gain some insight and guidance into how best to proceed.