In this YouTube video, the host (Speaker A) tours several villas on Koh Samui while discussing the full process of purchasing property as a non‑Thai resident. The walkthrough highlights interior finishes, customizable features such as tile choices, kitchen layouts, pool dimensions, and balcony extensions. The conversation then shifts to the two legal pathways for foreign ownership: a 30‑year personal lease registered with the government, and ownership through a Thai‑registered company where foreigners can hold up to 49% of the shares while Thai partners hold the remaining 51% and the foreigner acts as director. The host explains the “security lease” model—three consecutive 30‑year leases paid in advance, effectively a 90‑year non‑ending lease—along with the challenges of lease extensions when the land is privately owned. Tax implications are outlined: companies earning less than 1.8 million baht annually owe no corporate tax; otherwise a 3% withholding tax applies, with VAT at 7% and corporate tax rates ranging from 12% to 15% for larger entities. The video concludes with a market outlook, noting rising demand for Koh Samui and Koh Phangan properties, the island’s high quality of life, and the presence of European, Israeli, and other expatriate amenities that make long‑term residence attractive. Throughout, the tone remains conversational and enthusiastic, aiming to equip prospective foreign buyers with practical knowledge on customization, legal structures, financial obligations, and investment potential.
Chapters
Going to cover in this video everything you need to know as a non-Thai resident owning a villa, owning a property in Thailand, how it works, how taxation works, and basically everything you need to know in order to buy a property. So the main reason I came to Koh Samui and Thailand in general is to actually invest in a property, and more specifically, a villa. Now, I wanted to diversify my portfolio of rentals as I have already 3 properties in the States, and I don't want to be more attached to one country and put all my eggs in the same basket. So right now we're going to see several villas in Thailand. Let's go see the first villa.
Still have the one-eyed dog?
No, one-eyed dog.
Yeah, it was there since we started to build the—
Oh really?
Yeah, yeah.
So bedroom 1 connected to bathroom and like restroom.
All right, wardrobes. So in the event of a purchase, uh, you can basically select your, uh, tiles, color, and even if you want to change, well, you can even if you change— they want to change the sink, or this is all possible. So after we make a balance in the price, you know, yeah, take out from the BQ what we have and Even if you want to buy them yourself, you can do, but we can change the material.
Oh, it actually looks really good. I like this style.
So we tried to do it nice.
You meant—
So basically in the floor plan, there was no balcony. So we basically extended a meter so you have a small balcony in front of this room.
Okay.
Okay. So that's already included there. The floor is an epoxy floor. This we have what we call MaxiWood. It's actually a kind of a plastic wood, let's say. Kitchen is included in the price also. Basically same layout.
And the same layout. This is the living room.
That's the second bathroom, which is the same as over there.
It's the same size as well?
Yes, so cabinets also they are included. The same bathroom. We have glass blocks, direct access to the terrace, so you can go all around. Same for the pool. There we did some stairs. If you don't want to have the stairs, if you want to have a platform or, you know, something that you want to change, tiles can be changed also.
The size of the pool is going to be the same though.
It is possible to make it a little bit bigger. But then you will lose it a bit on the terrace. You lose it a bit on the terrace, but we can make it 1 meter, 1.5 meter bigger. Yeah, that's all depends. We have this plot of land. Okay, 1, 2, and 3 plots. So that's the 3 plots left.
So like 1, yes, 2, 2, and 3. So basically this is where the villa is going to be built if I choose. One villa here, one villa here that's already built. And 2 are going to be over there, like one and another one. The finish is really nice.
So on this one you have a nice outdoor area with a place for lay down, a small sofa, and covered area for people to sit in some shadow and after that enjoy the pool.
Is this like, uh, supposed to be like a jacuzzi or something?
No, no, no, this after it's for, I think, for technical parts, and they just put a big pillow on top.
The bath is really nice.
The finish here, honestly, like, I like the finish here like better, like how it's designed. And so basically, regarding owning a house, you have the list— like the lease option, and you have the ownership with the company, right?
Yeah.
How is it called?
You have two possibilities. You have the lease which is directly under your personal name. You can register lease 30 years to the government and to own the property for 30 years. And after you have the possibility to have also the company, a Thai company who owns the land, and after you build the house under your name on the land owned by your company.
And then like, if you do the setup with the company, you have to have 51% of like Thai control, right?
Yes, you have the possibility to have 49% as foreigner for the ownership of the company. And the 51% are split between 2 and 3 or 3 shareholders. And but you are the director of your company and then you have the power on your company. For sure, you need to have Thai people inside of your company for the papers and the name. But after, you have the signature and you are totally owner of the property.
So they can't like outvote you or something like that because you are director?
Yes, and you have the signature for all the papers for the company.
And if you do like the 30-year lease, you get like, are you entitled to like extend it?
No, most of time you have big residents who have the possibility to provide security zone because the residents own the land and they manage the apartment in lease because we don't have the possibility to have too much condominium in Samui and on the island because we have not enough density of population. So it's a few, few condominium available, so we don't offer enough care. For make something instead of foreigner freehold, they make this kind of security lease. And it's 3 times 30 years directly at the signature, but it's a non-ending lease because the residents will renew always a 30-year lease contract because it's the residents and it's a big residence who manage and who own the land. When it's private owner, Thai family who have a land and they make the land in this 30 years, It's because they want to take over the villa and take over the lease after 30 years. So with the Thai family, it's difficult to organize to have an extension. And most of time it's 30 years and that's it, it's terminate after the 30 years. And if it's not in advance sign and pay in advance, it have no value for the Thai law. So if it's right, you will have the possibility to extending 30 years, it's not possible.
Yeah.
When you have security result, you directly pay for the 3 times 30 years rental.
Okay.
You pay in advance. And for example, for the apartment in Chan Lok Lam, it's a security result because the residents own the land and own the property and will renew non-ending the lease. Uh, you directly have 90 years contract. It's 3 times 30 years paid in advance. It's including the price of your property.
Gotcha. And then like after 90 years, 90 years, like it's probably—
The free, the 30 years and 30 years arrive, the second and the third one are already paid.
Gotcha. And regarding taxes, like how much tax do you pay for like as a foreigner, like if you own a company, like if you have a company that owns the real estate or something like that?
The company tax will depend on the income and on the net benefit of the company. If you make less than 1.8 million baht a year, you don't have any tax to pay. After, when you receive money from professional, most of time you have the 3% tax to declare and to pay to the government. But when it's income from Airbnb and everything, it's not working like this. After, if you have a big company and you have to pay tax, you have the possibility, you will have to pay VAT with the 7% in Thailand, and the big, big company can up until 12 to 15% tax.
So that's the maximum.
Yeah, it's really, really interesting.
Really interesting. That's like the description you can say. That's really nice. And Well, that's like most of the questions I have. And like regarding the real estate in Koh Samui and Koh Phangan, like, do you think— I assume you think it's good investment, but like what do you think moving forward, like with the real estate here?
Oh, with the demand, it's growing up and it will not going down during the next year. We have with the situation actually around the world, we have more and more people who want to come to live here because we have an amazing quality of life. And same for the foreigners who want to come to live on the island. It's really not like the center of Thailand. Here we have European restaurants, we have shops for selling all kinds of products for French or for— same for Israeli. You have both shops and boutiques where you can find all the food you can find in your country. And when we live here and we want to stay here long term, it's not possible just for the food to eat Thai food. All day long, 365 days per year.
Yeah, a stomachache.
Yeah, once a day, sometimes during the week. It's nice, and Thai food is just amazing, but we are not Thai, and we need to find a little bit of our country also if we want to be comfortable in long term. And for sure, the island like Koh Samui and Koh Phangan offer this kind of thing. We have amazing restaurant with beautiful quality of food. We can find Everything we want, it's here.
Yeah, yeah. So you have the European culture as well, like you have it here. Like you don't feel like it's missing out.
No, no. And I'm French and if I want, I can make 20 places on the island on one day and speak only French.
Oh really?
Yeah. That's great. Same for the Israeli. You can check a little bit, but you can't.
I know them.
You see, and it's It's for sure, it's an obligation to speak English in another country. And for sure, Thai, it's difficult to learn. So English is an obligation. But same with a few words in English and a few levels, you have the possibility to communicate and to speak with other people because you will always find people for French in our language.
That sounds honestly like pretty much all I needed to know regarding like, uh, the properties, taxes, how to buy, how to own. Um, thank you very much, and I'm going to leave the details of Julian, his and his wife actually, in the description, and you can contact them and maybe buy a house in Koh Samui or Koh Phangan.
