Property for sale in Laos

Is the capital city of Laos, situated in the Mekong Valley. It is also Laos's largest city. The estimated population of the city is 200,000 (2005) while the number of people living in the Vientiane metropolitan area (the entire Vientiane Prefecture and parts of Vientiane Province) is believed to be over 730,000. Get more information on property for sale in Vientiane.

Is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma (Myanmar) and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west. Laos traces its history to the Kingdom of Lan Xang or Land of a Million Elephants, which existed from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century.

Laos (pop. 6,201,000; GDP/cap US$482), officially Lao People’s Democratic Republic, is the poorest and least developed country in East Asia.

Thought of as the most enigmatic of the three French Indochina states, Laos is definitely the sleepiest. After years of isolation, Laos is now slowly opening its doors to the world

As in Thailand, foreigners cannot own property for sale in Laos, although leasehold is possible.

The thing that strikes you most is the distinct lack of Lao property advertised on the internet. Not reassuring.

A sophisticated legal system hardly exists. There is a lack of courts, especially a Court of Appeals and qualified judges to preside over it. No laws for mortgages exist.

Warning by a disgruntled farang investor:

 * be prepared to lose everything you invest;

 * be prepared to leave the country on short notice, leaving everything behind;

 * don’t think you have any rights, this is NOT a Western society;

 * be prepared to deal with scams, double pricing and kickbacks.

Foreign investment is definitely happening in the capital, both small time and with large mining companies.