“Lief, having purchased property in Colombia myself, I can say that the process, while complex at first (particularly on the tax side), is in fact well-organized and rational for the purposes of protecting both buyers and sellers and includes a penalty for non-compliance.
“Taking the UK as reference point, supported by a public notary, you actually do your own conveyancing.
“For the non-resident who is thinking of resale, it is important to register the transfer of funds to purchase the property (the exact amount of the sale price, not the under-stated price as locals will want to do) with the Central Bank. But for this you do need to make a transfer into a Colombian bank account. In applying for the latter it is best to use a subsidiary or associate of the bank you use outside the country, because otherwise you have to wait three months before being able to make a transfer.”
— Phil W., United Kingdom
***
“Kathleen, I appreciate the latest article on Chiang Mai, Thailand.
“However, I was a little disappointed when I learned that Thailand issues only 100 permanent residence visas per year. Seems like it would be a little hard to get one.
“Also, I have to say, I do not consider temperatures in the low 80s for three months a year to be moderate. To me, the ideal temperature range would be between 65 and 75 degrees. But you can’t have everything!
“Thanks for all you do.”
— Doug H., United States
Our Editor Roxana Lupu has just completed updating our residency guide (which will be available soon in a very expanded Second Edition). In the course of her research, Roxana confirmed that, while, yes, Thailand issues only 100 permanent residency visas per year…it is 100 per nationality, meaning 100 per year for Americans, another 100 per year for Canadians, etc.
This is still a limitation but perhaps not as restrictive as it may seem.
One option, if you didn’t obtain full-time permanent residency, would be to make Thailand your part-time home overseas.
More on retirement to Chiang Mai here.
