The Thailand expat forum for Travel, Lifestyle and Fun.

dirtydog

There are a few different ways you can go about dividing land that you would like own in Thailand. You may find a plot of land and the current land owner id willing to sell you off a smaller plot to build a house. Many people purchase a large plot and later decide to sub-divide the land and sell it off in smaller parcels. This article is to provide information on how to go about splitting land from a large plot to two or more small plots.


The first step in the land dividing process is to make sure there are no outstanding loans or liens on the land. Usually but not always, any lien or loan on the land title will be listed on the back on the land title. This should be checked at the local land office to make sure you have the latest copy of the land title. It is always wise to double check the land at the sub district office also. They usually know the story more often on a piece of land then the big land office might. The reason to check this is because land that has money owed on it cannot be split or divided legally.


Once you have determined that the land is free and clear and there are no liens of any kind on the land, you can start the land splitting process. This can takes from a few weeks in some smaller rural areas to several months like here in Phuket. A little tea money will get your paperwork to the top of the paper pile quicker. If you’re not in a hurry, well just submit the application and wait your turn. Chanote land will be taken care of at the district land office but, nor sor 3 or nor sor som gor land will be taken care of at the sub-district office.


If the Thai owner is selling you the smaller plot will usually be looking for a deposit while this process is taking place. It’s a wise practice to put this money in some kind of escrow account with your lawyer. If this isn’t possible then don’t give any more money than you can stand to lose. Ten to fifty thousand baht should be more than enough to show your interest in purchasing the plot when the split is complete.


It’s always best when you are purchasing a piece of land to go ahead the split the land into small pieces from the start. Here in Phuket they are usually five meter wide by twenty to thirty meter long plots. This makes it real easy to sell them latter on down the road. You can also divide them into half Rai or larger plots too if you in a rural area when the land is inexpensive. Doing this takes very little extra time and will save you the cost of doing this again.


A survey will be required to divide the land into smaller plots. This is good actually because you know exactly how big of a plot you are buying. You can get the local land surveyor who works government to come out at night or on a weekend to do the survey and it will save many months in time waiting for the Government office to do the survey.


When doing a land split, the original land title will be held by the local land office, often for several months. You will not get this back until the land split is 100% complete. Keep this in mind if you have a buyer in hand for one of your plots because you will not be able to show a land title until the land split is complete.

__________________