PSD-Kiwi wrote: ↑Tue Mar 20, 2018 1:39 pm

Luigi wrote: ↑Tue Mar 20, 2018 7:49 am It is understood that foreigners cannot own land outright.
But what happens in the event that the Khmer partner/wife/GF dies?
Does the property become a forced sale?
Must the foreigner find new Khmer partner/wife/GF?
How would foreigner protect himself in this situation?
I think the question would apply for hard or soft titled property.

If a foreigner inherits a property through a will or through marriage to a Cambodian who passes away, and that property doesn’t have a strata title – or is not being held through a company with a Cambodian majority shareholder – he or she cannot assume ownership of the estate. In this situation, the law dictates that the estate becomes a legal entity, which the foreigner must sell within three months. The profits are then distributed among the heirs (including foreigners) and the entity is dissolved.

If the estate cannot be sold within three months, it must be handed over to the next inheritor in line holding Cambodian citizenship. The legal minimum age for property ownership is 18, so if there are children under 18 then even they cannot inherit the property.

cptrelentless wrote: ↑Wed Mar 21, 2018 12:46 am I'm married and I've got my picture on the deeds. The other thing I've heard about is making her (asking her to, I suppose) give you a lease, for a long term for a one-off payment or peppercorn or something. Apparently you have more chance hanging on to your leased land if you've already paid.

Buying in a local’s name is very easy and is the most in-expensive means of controlling Cambodian land. But, by doing so, you will be ignoring the Constitutional prohibition on direct ownership of property by foreigners. Therefore it is illegal and strongly discouraged by legal support in Cambodia. In short, to buy through a nominee structure, the investor signs a trust agreement with the land holder guaranteeing to hold the land on their behalf. The owner then mortgages that land and leases it to the foreigner. If things don’t go to plan, a foreigner can easily face expropriation by the state, or be forced to sell the land.