Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we're discussing War, Visas and the Thai Condo Market. Let's jump in here. I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Bangkok Post, bangkokpost.com. 

Before I get to the title, really quickly my better half and I set up a restaurant here in downtown Bangkok. If you enjoy the information you get off of here, but you don't necessarily need legal work or anything like that, if you want to support us, please feel free to come down to Pancake Palace. We've got breakfast anytime; as the name implies, pancakes as well. We've even got American style breakfast, English style breakfast; we've got American Diner style food: hamburgers, cheeseburgers, bacon cheeseburgers. We've also got hot dogs, chilli dogs; we've got chilli bowls, we've got grilled cheese, we've got glass bottle Cokes, we've got the works. If you're interested, come on down, Pancake Palace; link is in the description below.

Now let's jump in, Bangkokpost.com, the article is titled: War set to boost condo demand in major markets. Quoting directly: "Condominiums and rental homes in key destinations, including Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, Samui and Chiang Mai, are likely to benefit from migration from countries affected by the Middle East conflict, according to property consultancy Colliers Thailand. Phattarachai Taweewong, Research and Communication Director, said Thailand has numerous advantages, including a competitive cost of living, internationally recognized healthcare, well-developed infrastructures in major cities, and established expatriate communities in many areas. Quote: "If a certain level of relocation occurs, it could possibly impact Thailand's property market in several ways, particularly through rising demand for long-term rentals, as these groups typically begin by renting to access the environment," he said." Quoting further: "This would help boost key activity in the condominium and rental housing markets in key destinations. If the situation in their home countries is prolonged, it could lead to genuine end-user demand, with high-net-worth buyers potentially deciding to purchase property in Thailand for long-term residence or asset diversification." So we have got that, then at the same time, and as I discussed in another video, they are now rolling out apparently - although it's all kind of vague at the moment - they're rolling out this sandbox trial on doing one-year renewable visas based on the purchase of a condo. Now the minimum requirement for the condo purchase is about 3 million Baht or you can rent over 85,000 Baht per month. 

As I talked about in that video, the devil is in the details with whether or not how that's all going to play out, and we urge people, really, it's probably a good idea to contact a legal professional before buying a condo purely for Visa purposes. And I say that - as I've discussed in a US Immigration context for years, as well as Thai - never ever make serious life-changing decisions purely based on immigration benefits. This is especially the case where immigration benefits have disappeared in the past, and this is the case with Condo Visas. There used to be O Visas that were explicitly issued to those who had a Thai condo, if they could show that they owned it. It faded away; it went by the wayside. I made the videos when it was going away. So we know that schemes like this have existed in the past and that they have ceased to exist in the past. So take everything with regard to this with a certain level of a grain of salt because it's warranted under the circumstances. Now that said, I'm not trying to be overly pessimistic about this new program. I think if it's possible for a foreigner to come in and buy a condo and thereby get Visa benefits that allow them to stay here, I think overall that could end up being a mutually beneficial thing for both Thailand and the expatriate community. But just be aware that in the past, this has changed.

Now that said, with regard to this, the overall situation in Thailand is such that I think yeah, probably between the war and this Visa situation, we're probably likely to see a major surge in condo purchases moving forward.