{"id":34552,"date":"2016-11-16T10:21:28","date_gmt":"2016-11-16T03:21:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/how-to-buy-land-in-cambodia-like-angelina-jolie\/"},"modified":"2016-11-16T10:35:54","modified_gmt":"2016-11-16T03:35:54","slug":"how-to-buy-land-in-cambodia-like-angelina-jolie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/how-to-buy-land-in-cambodia-like-angelina-jolie\/","title":{"rendered":"How to buy land in Cambodia (like Angelina Jolie)"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nWith prudence, it\u2019s easier than you think
\nSpecial envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Angelina Jolie during a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in March 2016. Ververidis Vasilis \/ Shutterstock.com
\nIt has truly been the year of the insular and inward-looking. From Brexit to Trumpxit, 2016 will go down in history as the year of nationalist populism: the fear of the other.
\n2016 will also be remembered for an exodus of the non-political kind: Brangelexit.
\nA coupling thought to be set in stone, actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie stunned celebrity watchers this year with news of their divorce. The surprise announcement went on to shed light on the couple\u2019s raft of properties around the world \u2014 including Angelina\u2019s real estate purchases in Cambodia.
\nAngelina aside, Cambodia has become fertile ground for real estate investments in recent years. While the Phnom Penh market is feeling the pinch of an oversupply, other areas in the country are slowly turning into investment hotspots, notably the beaches of Sihanoukville and other parts of the southern coast. The US dollar is also widely circulated, surely a convenience to American investors.
\nHere are a few ways you can get a piece of the action in the kingdom like Ms. Jolie:
\nDo the country a favour
\nWhether you\u2019re Team Jennifer Aniston or not, Angelina was practically a godsend in the eyes of many Cambodians. For her humanitarian efforts, the UNHCR special envoy (and adoptive mother of a Cambodian boy) was awarded an honorary citizenship by King Norodom Sihamoni in 2005. Angelina is consequently able to buy land and exercise all other rights afforded to native Cambodians.
\nCitizenship by investment or donation
\nThe government is likely to make similar concessions to you \u2014 at the right price. The quickest route toward citizenship is by donating KHR1 billion (USD247,000) to the national budget of the Royal Government of Cambodia. You may also earn your citizenship by investing at least KHR1.25 billion (USD308,000) in a project or business venture authorised by the Cambodian Development Council.
\nNaturalisation
\nOr you can obtain citizenship through naturalisation, a process that requires you to reside and work in the country for at least seven years. During this time, you will be expected to learn the Khmer language, your fluency of which will be scrutinised in an exam. If you marry a local and live with him or her in the country for three years afterwards, you\u2019re also eligible for\u00a0Cambodian citizenship.
\nMore: More optimism urged on Cambodia\u2019s property market
\nCreate a landholding company
\nCambodia is well-known in Southeast Asia for its liberal investment regime, which allows 100 percent foreign ownership. Except, that is, for land. Under Article 44 of the Cambodian constitution, non-citizens are forbidden from owning the freehold on real property. The oft-touted way for non-citizens to gain control over land is to set up a landholding company. The majority or 51 percent of equity must be apportioned to a Cambodian citizen though, and the shares of the alien cannot exceed 49 percent.
\nIn 2003, two years before she became a citizen, Angelina founded the Maddox Jolie Pitt Foundation, which bought 60,000 hectares of land that was later made into a wildlife reserve. She also reportedly bought a traditional home on a 39-hectare lot in the province of Battambang.
\nFrench-style building in Battambang, Cambodia. GuoZhongHua \/ Shutterstock.com
\nRegister a mortgage on the land
\nLocal and foreign shareholders don\u2019t have the same rights of control over a landholding company, so it\u2019s important to be prudent in your choice of a partner. \u201cA foreigner can do various things to have more power in the company, so that the end effect is pretty strong,\u201d said James Whitehead, director of content at RealEstate.com.kh. One way the foreigner can bolster his or her control over the land is to have the company register a mortgage on the lot. As a result, the land cannot be transferred without the consent of the foreign stakeholder.
\nBuying through a nominee
\nThe other way to control land in Cambodia is by way of a nominee. In this method, you buy land in the name of a Cambodian partner, your protection being a set of documents that stops the nominee from transferring or selling the property without your consent. \u201cThe investor signs a trust agreement that basically says: \u2018I hold this land for you.\u2019 The land is then mortgaged or leased to the foreigner,\u201d Whitehead said. It is important to note that this kind of ownership is fraught with risks.
\n\u201cIf your nominee has the right money and power, you\u2019ll lose ownership,\u201d Whitehead warned. The land could end up being expropriated or forced to sell by the state.
\nSet your boundaries
\nAdditionally, it\u2019s not unknown for foreign buyers of Cambodian land to run into parcels owned by government officials. In Angelina\u2019s case, she allegedly purchased\u00a0land from an official of the Khmer Rouge, the murderous party that swept the nation into genocide in the late 1970s. Many senior politicians in the country still have claims to land all over the kingdom, so it would be best if you conduct a thorough title search before\u00a0zeroing in on a purchase.
\nSeeking a lawyer well-versed in Cambodia\u2019s property laws would truly be advisable, given the country\u2019s convoluted, oft-opaque land ownership schemes. The obliteration of land records under the Khmer Rouge has had a lasting effect on the way land titles are transacted in the country.
\nWith good advice, you\u2019ll avoid a \u201cMaleficent\u201d time looking for the right parcel.
\nRead next: 12 tips for investing in Cambodia property
\n
\nSource : property-report.com
\nRead more…How to buy land in Cambodia (like Angelina Jolie)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With prudence, it\u2019s easier than you think Special envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-property-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p75ss1-8Zi","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":91842,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/in-pictures-angelina-jolie-visits-the-ruins-of-iraqs-mosul\/","url_meta":{"origin":34552,"position":0},"title":"In pictures: Angelina Jolie visits the ruins of Iraq's Mosul","date":"June 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\r UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie visits Mosul, less than a year after the city's liberation. 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