How a Thai purchase actually runs, start to finish
A Thai purchase has a defined order, and almost everything that goes wrong is an order problem rather than a legal one. Money moves before the checks, or the transfer arrives in the wrong form, or the exit is considered for the first time on the day someone wants to sell. Here is the sequence as I run it.
Most of my clients buy without being in Thailand for part of the process, and some complete the whole thing remotely. That is normal here and the mechanics are well worn. What makes it safe is not distance technology, it is that each step only starts once the previous one has produced a document.
Before any money moves
- we agree what the purchase is for and what net figure it has to produce;
- we shortlist actual units, with the quota status of each one confirmed in writing;
- the developer or the seller is checked, and on a resale the title and any arrears are checked;
- a lawyer reads the contract before signing, not afterwards;
- only then does a deposit move.
Viewings by video, documents by email, a lawyer on the contract and a power of attorney where one is needed: none of that is a compromise, it is simply how a cross-border purchase works. How a fully remote transaction runs, including handover by video and what to insist on at each stage, is in buying property in Thailand remotely.
How it gets paid for
There are no mortgages for foreigners in Thailand, so the payment plan is the financing. On an off-plan purchase the common structure is around 30% on signing followed by equal instalments every six months across roughly two years of construction, interest free. Some developers use 35/25/25/10/5 instead. After handover there is one credit instrument: developer finance for two to five years at 3.5-5%, with the title remaining with the developer until the final payment. The plans, and what to check in each of them, are compared in developer payment plans in Thailand.
Getting the money into the country
This is the step that most often stalls a registration, and it is entirely avoidable. For a freehold registration in your own name the purchase funds must arrive in Thailand from abroad, in foreign currency, and be converted into baht inside the country. The bank then issues the document evidencing the inbound transfer, and without it the Land Department will not register your title. The sender's name, the stated purpose and the currency all matter. What the form is, how the bank issues it and the mistakes that cause a delay are set out in transferring money to Thailand to buy property.
The practical cost at this step is the exchange rate and the transfer fees, which on several million baht are not a rounding error. Plan the route before the first payment date rather than in the week it falls due.
A Thai bank account
An owner needs a local account almost without exception: building fees, utilities, rental income, taxes. Which visa you hold makes this straightforward or awkward, requirements differ between banks and even between branches, and a refusal at one branch is not a refusal by the bank. What to bring, which routes work and what to do if the first answer is no is in opening a Thai bank account as a foreigner.
Handover, and then the exit
At handover you inspect and snag the unit, settle the sinking fund at around 1,000 THB per square metre and the first period of common area fees, connect the meters, and either move in or hand the keys to the management company. From that day the running costs begin, at roughly 80 THB per square metre per month plus utilities.
The exit belongs in the plan at the point of purchase, not years later. There are two routes: assignment of the contract before handover, which is quick when the building is in demand and the developer permits it, and an ordinary resale of a completed unit. On a resale the commission is 5-10%, paid by the seller, and there are transfer taxes that depend on how long you have owned. Realistic exposure in Phuket runs from several months to a year. Both routes, the fees and moving the proceeds home are covered in selling property in Thailand.
I run the commercial side: the shortlist, the developer checks, the negotiation, the payment plan, the net calculation and the coordination of each step. The legal review, the visa route and the tax filings sit with the vetted partners I work with here, and I introduce you to them directly. I am an investment strategist, not a lawyer, and I think the distinction protects you.
None of this is fast, and it should not be. A calm purchase on Phuket typically runs over weeks rather than days, with each stage closing properly before the next begins. In my experience that is the only real difference between a transaction that is pleasant to remember and one that is not.
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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.
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”
Read the payment plans and the money transfer articles before you choose a unit, because both shape what you can sensibly buy. When you are ready to start, I take the sequence from the first conversation to the keys.
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.
