The first thing I did in preparation for getting a house in Thailand was scour the Internet for all the information I could find on owning or leasing a house in Thailand. Most of the information I found was at Thai legal sites and forums. The legal sites had the nitty-gritty information and the forums had the personal stories and some mis-information.
I also purchased a book, actually an eBook, which was one mans tale about building a house in Thailand. This was a great twenty-dollar investment as it was very detailed, came with an English-Thai dictionary, and was loaded with pictures with Thai language for all the parts of a house.
Armed with all that information, I next contacted an English speaking lawyer who works in the area. I asked him many questions via email and received very prompt replies. I will be meeting him when I get to Thailand to make my purchase.
Since foreigners cannot legally own land, and I am not too keen on the create an imaginary business and incorporate yourself loophole, I have chosen the usufruct route. This is basically where the Thai wife/girlfriend will own the land and I will have a lease on the house where it resides. ...