What to check in a condominium before buying
This is the list I request on every property before a deposit is paid. It is short, but every item on it has at least once changed a client's decision. None of it is exotic and none of it takes long. Most of these are standard documents that a normal seller produces within a few days.
1. The form of ownership on this specific unit
Not whether the project has foreign quota, but whether free freehold quota exists on this apartment. Foreigners can hold up to 49% of a building's residential floor area in full ownership, and that quota is allocated unit by unit. A building can be technically within quota and still have nothing left on the floor you want.
If leasehold is offered, ask whether the lease is registered at the Land Department. A registered lease and a contract sitting in a drawer are two different levels of protection. How to price the difference is covered in freehold or leasehold in Phuket.
2. The chanote
Does the unit have an issued title, or is there so far only a contract with the developer? If there is no title yet and you are paying in instalments, you are financing construction, and the nature of the risk is different.
That is perfectly normal for an off-plan purchase and it is how most of the market works. It just has to be a decision you made rather than a surprise you discovered. Off-plan capital growth to handover typically runs 20 to 30%, which is why buyers accept that risk, and the developer's track record is what makes it acceptable.
3. Outstanding charges, and who runs the building
In Thailand, arrears on common area charges follow the property rather than the seller. Until the debt is cleared, the transfer will not be processed. A certificate from the management company confirming there are no arrears is requested before the deposit, not at the Land Office.
The common area charge per square metre, the size of the sinking fund contribution, who the management company is and how long they have been there. Maintenance typically runs around 80 THB per m² per month, with a one-off sinking fund contribution of roughly 1,000 THB per m².
In a completed building, the condition of the common areas is the single best indicator of where that money actually goes. Walk the corridors, look at the pool plant, look at the lifts. I do this on every completed building I show, and it takes ten minutes. The full running cost picture is in the cost of owning property in Thailand.
4. House rules
- Whether short-term rental is permitted by the house rules — and separately whether the building holds a hotel licence, because without one, letting for under thirty days is unlawful and not merely against the rules
- Whether there is a compulsory rental programme and whether you can exit it
- Pet rules: sometimes only one building in a complex allows them, or permission is required
- Restrictions on renovation and layout changes
These sound like small print until the moment they decide whether your business plan works. A unit bought for nightly rental in a building that only permits monthly lets is not a yield problem, it is a different asset.
5. What the numbers in the area actually look like
Before I look at the unit, I look at what comparable units in the same area really earn. Realistic net yield in Phuket is 6 to 8%. In Bang Tao and Laguna it is closer to 4 to 6% net against 7 to 9% gross, on occupancy of 60 to 70%. A management company takes 20 to 30% of rental revenue, and that comes off the top before anything reaches you.
If a seller quotes you 10 to 15%, that is not a strong building, it is a gross figure with the costs left out or a guarantee period being presented as a permanent return. I have never seen those numbers hold over a full year of real operation, and I do not put them in a client's model. The detail sits in net rental yield in Phuket.
6. The developer and the project
Completed projects with dates, how actual delivery compared with what was promised, the construction permit, and the rights to the land under the project. Where a project is on the coast or on a slope, I look separately at the environmental assessment and at whether there are any outstanding claims over building regulations.
This is the part that takes the longest and saves the most. My method is set out in how to check a Phuket developer.
7. How the money moves
How the funds are routed, who the recipient is, and which bank documents you will hold afterwards. Freehold registration will not be processed without confirmation that foreign currency was brought into the country and converted here.
One reassuring detail on costs: agency commission on a purchase is paid by the developer, so my work costs you nothing on the buy side. On a resale, commission is 5 to 10% and is paid by the seller.
What I do and what the lawyer does
The quota, the developer's history, the building's running costs, rental statistics in the area and the yield calculation are mine. Document checks, the contract, land rights and legal risk belong to the Thai lawyer I bring in before the deposit is paid. The split is straightforward: I am responsible for whether the property is worth the money, and the lawyer is responsible for making sure you receive what you paid for.
Visas and tax in your own country are handled by my partners as well. I say that not as a disclaimer but because you should know who is accountable for which answer.
None of this list is hard, and none of it is adversarial. These are documents that exist, that sellers produce routinely, and that a working week comfortably absorbs. The reason I insist on all of it before the deposit rather than after is simply that a deposit changes the conversation, and I would rather have an awkward question answered while you still have every option open. In the great majority of cases everything comes back clean and we move on. When it does not, we find that out over an email, which is the cheapest possible way to find it out.
- Projects I work with — developments where I hold direct terms from the developer
- Resale and contract assignments — completed units and assignments, often below launch pricing
Legal, visa and tax work is not mine — it belongs to partners I use constantly
I am an investment strategist: I select the property, calculate the net return, check the developer and run the transaction. Anything that needs a legal, immigration or tax qualification goes to specialists I have worked with for years.
- Thai lawyers — document and contract review, land title, registration at the Land Office, wills, powers of attorney, corporate questions
- Visa partners — choosing and filing the right route for your situation: investment-based, LTR, Thailand Privilege, retirement, DTV
- Tax specialists — reporting in your country of tax residence, treaty credit for Thai tax, declarations on foreign assets
- Company formation in Thailand — when a structure is genuinely needed and lawful
- Rental management and concierge — letting the property, transfers, yachts, events
I introduce partners personally, matched to your actual question, so that you speak to the specialist who handles it rather than to a general inbox. Message me and I will make the introduction.
Frequently asked
What is the 49% foreign quota in a condominium?
Do unpaid building charges transfer to the new owner?
Can I rent my Thai apartment out on a nightly basis?
Lyubov Fortunova
Investment strategist and founder of Fortunova Capital Group. I have lived on Phuket for more than five years and run every deal myself: I select the property, calculate the net return, check the developer and hold the process together until the keys are handed over. Lawyers, visa and tax specialists come from my own circle.
“I count net, not dreams”
Could you run the unit I am interested in through your pre-purchase checklist and send me what comes back?
I answer personally, within the working day, in any time zone. No calls unless you want them. A question about the article is free and commits you to nothing.
