Canal Village

Just bordering the lagoon is a small but high end shopping mall

named Canal Village, there are top notch souvenir shops, a Jim Thompson silk shop with great material and a real estate company who is selling the apartments and houses built around. Note that it is strictly forbidden by law for foreigners to own more than 49% of any land. 

They are selling this stuff with a expensive trick via a company where the seller has some rights, but this is also limited to 49% so they sell you this and the foreign buyer is totally at their disposal, if there is any conflict they can cut you out with a snap because all this is illegal under Thai law. They will put you in jail because you did something against the law, they will not touch the Thai people who screwed you with this scam because some money will shift and you have a real problem. 

There is also a scam with the ladies, assuming you have a girlfriend who officially buy this you will not have ANY rights after the purchase it belongs to her and usually this women has a Thai guy in the back who direct this cheat. So, what they usually do is after all money has been paid the lady will tell you to get lost, sell the stuff and disappear with her Thai husband and you have NO rights to claim anything because you are  foreigner. Every years hundreds to foreign guys are cheated this way.