Developer payment plans: buying without the full amount
The question I get is usually phrased as: can I take a mortgage on Phuket? The honest answer is no, and I will explain why. But that is not a dead end - the market has two working instruments that almost all of my clients use. Here is how they are built and what I read first in the contract.
Why there is no mortgage
Thai banks lend against residential property to residents with local income and a work permit. A non-resident foreigner with no income in Thailand will, in practice, not get a mortgage here. This is not discrimination and it is not a temporary condition - it is simply how the market is structured.
Offers advertising mortgages for foreigners at low rates usually turn out to be one of two things: a loan from an offshore bank secured against your other assets, or a developer instalment plan dressed in a nicer word. Read what is actually being offered before you react to the headline.
Instrument one: interest-free instalments during construction
This is the most common route and, in my view, the healthiest one. A down payment of around 30%, then equal payments roughly every six months across the two years of construction. No interest is charged - the developer's interest is in funding the build, not in earning on lending.
You will also see more granular schedules, for example 35 / 25 / 25 / 10 / 5 percent tied to construction stages. The principle is identical: you pay in parts that follow the progress of the building.
For an investor this is often better than credit would be. You are paying the pre-handover price, capital growth to handover on a well-chosen off-plan unit is typically 20-30%, and you are paying no interest for the privilege. I compare the two entry points in off-plan versus completed property.
Instrument two: developer credit after handover
Some projects - mostly the premium end, from around 5-6M THB - offer payment terms that continue after the building is completed. Typically 2-5 years at 3.5-5% per year, sometimes higher. It is convenient, and there is one structural point that is not always volunteered.
Until the developer credit is fully repaid, the title stays with the developer. You receive the ownership certificate after the final payment - and with it the ability to apply for an investment visa, if that was part of your plan. This is not a trap, it is ordinary security mechanics. But you need to know it going in, particularly if the visa timing matters to you. Visa routes are covered in visa options for property buyers.
The checklist I run on a payment schedule
- The size of the down payment, and what happens to it if you change your mind
- Whether payments are tied to dates or to construction milestones
- Whether there is interest, servicing fees, or penalties for early repayment
- What happens if you are late with a payment - and after how many attempts
- Whether there is an escrow account or the money goes straight to the developer
- Whether assignment of the contract before handover is permitted - this is your main exit route
- Exactly when title transfers and when the documents reach your hands
The assignment clause deserves its own line. If you are buying off-plan as an investment, your most attractive exit is selling the contract before the building is handed over - and that is only possible if the contract explicitly allows it. I check this on every property bought for investment, and the mechanics are in how to sell property in Thailand.
The money documents, on every payment
When you pay in instalments, you need the bank confirmation of inbound foreign currency for every payment you intend to count towards registration - not only the last one. Collect and file them as they happen. Reconstructing them two years later, when the building is finally handed over, is much harder than saving a PDF on the day.
This also means the payment route needs to be agreed once, at the start, and then simply repeated. Same sender, same currency, same wording, same receiving account. The details are in transferring money to Thailand to buy property.
Timing against your own country's rules
For buyers in India and Pakistan there is a second schedule running alongside the developer's one: your own country's outbound remittance rules. They vary, they have their own documentation and they take their own time. I do not advise on them - that is for your own bank or adviser - but I flag the timing at the start so the two schedules do not collide. A payment that is late because of paperwork at your end is still a late payment in the developer's contract.
What instalments do to your entry level
In practice this is what makes the market accessible. An entry-level studio of 35-40 m² starts around 4.5M THB (about $150k); a one-bedroom of 50-55 m² from 6.5M; a two-bedroom of 85-95 m² from 10.8M. With a 30% down payment, the sum you need on day one is a third of those numbers, and the rest is spread over two years of construction.
That changes the conversation from do I have this amount to can I fund this schedule, which for most of my clients is a completely different and much easier question.
Villas start from around 18M THB (about $550k) and the same logic applies, though the schedules are usually more bespoke and the assignment clause matters even more, because the pool of future buyers at that level is smaller.
What I actually do with a schedule
When a client sends me a draft, I read three things before anything else: the milestone wording, the late-payment clause and the assignment clause. Those three decide how much freedom you keep after signing. The interest rate, where there is one, is usually the least interesting number on the page.
Where a schedule is calendar-linked rather than milestone-linked, that is often negotiable, particularly early in a project's sales cycle. It is worth asking. The worst outcome is that the answer is no and you have learned something about the developer.
Not having the full amount in hand is entirely normal, and the Phuket market is better adapted to it than most. Instalments here are not a favour and not a risky arrangement - they are the standard working format, and for an investor the interest-free version is often better than a loan would have been. Send me the draft contract and I will show you where in the schedule your protection sits and where the wording should be adjusted before you sign. That reading takes an afternoon and it is the cheapest part of the whole deal.
- Projects I work with — developments where I hold direct terms from the developer
- Investment property selection — net yield calculated on specific units
- Yield calculator — run your own numbers in a minute
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
Can foreigners get a mortgage in Thailand?
What is the down payment on an instalment purchase in Phuket?
When does ownership transfer under a developer payment plan?
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 look at the payment schedule on the project I am considering and tell me what to change before I sign?
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.
