A deal from start to finish in Thailand

A Thai condo sale passes through several hands: the agency, the buyer’s lawyer, the buyer’s bank abroad, the Thai bank that receives the money, often a developer, and the Department of Lands, the land registry. Your value is knowing the order, keeping everyone on time and making sure nobody is surprised by the taxes or the bank form. This lesson follows a resale to a foreign buyer, then works through the numbers in baht.

Who does what

• The agency (Thai agents in the field): listing agreement, marketing, viewings, offer, negotiation, coordination.
• A foreigner in a legal role (lesson 2): finds and briefs overseas buyers, prepares materials and explains the process, while Thai colleagues handle viewings and negotiation.
• The buyer’s lawyer: checks the title and the contract, and the foreign quota position.
• The banks: the buyer’s bank sends the money from abroad, the Thai bank issues the FET form.
• The Department of Lands: registers the transfer and collects the fees and taxes.

A resale condo, step by step

1. Listing agreement. Written, with the commission, who pays and when it is due (lesson 4).
2. Offer and reservation. A small reservation fee often holds the unit before the sale agreement. Whether it is refundable depends on the clause, so read it with the buyer before any money moves.
3. Identification. Identify both parties and the source of the buyer’s funds (lesson 4).
4. Quota check. A foreign freehold buyer needs room in the building’s 49% foreign quota. Confirm it before the sale agreement, not on transfer day.
5. Sale agreement. Price, payment dates, transfer date, who pays which cost, and what happens if either side fails.
6. Money from abroad. The buyer wires the funds from abroad, in foreign currency, in advance. For USD 50,000 or more, the receiving Thai bank issues the FET form (Storm Real Estate Phuket, September 2026).
7. Transfer at the Department of Lands. The fees and taxes are paid, and the unit is registered in the buyer’s name.
8. Commission. The seller pays the agency, by bank transfer against an invoice. FazWaz notes that the buyer usually pays no agent fee.

In late 2026, expect more questions. The nominee crackdown launched on 19 October 2026 adds checks on purchases above 2 million baht or with an assessed value above 5 million baht (Thai Examiner). Have the source-of-funds file ready.

Transfer costs

Storm Real Estate Phuket sets out the costs in its September 2026 guide:

Cost	Rate	Base	Who pays
Transfer fee	2%	Appraised value	Negotiable, often shared
Specific Business Tax (SBT)	3.3%	The higher of appraised value or sale price	Seller
Stamp duty	0.5%	The higher of appraised value or sale price	Only when SBT does not apply
Withholding tax	1% for a company seller, progressive for an individual by years owned	Set by the land office rules	Seller

When SBT applies. The seller pays SBT if they have owned the property for less than five years, or if they are in the real estate business. If SBT applies, there is no stamp duty. If it does not, stamp duty applies instead.

A relief foreigners do not get. Reduced transfer and mortgage fees of 0.01% apply only to Thai nationals buying homes worth 7 million baht or less, and have been extended to 30 June 2027. Foreign buyers pay the full rates.

Worked example 1: a resale condo in Bangkok, seller owned it 3 years

A foreign buyer pays 5,000,000 baht. We assume a Department of Lands appraised value of 4,600,000 baht. The seller is an individual who bought three years ago. The agreement says the transfer fee is split 50/50, and the agency’s commission is 3%, paid by the seller.

Item	Calculation	Amount
Transfer fee	4,600,000 x 2%	92,000 baht
Buyer’s half and seller’s half	92,000 / 2	46,000 baht each
SBT, seller (under five years)	5,000,000 x 3.3%	165,000 baht
Stamp duty	Not due, because SBT applies	0
Withholding tax, seller	Progressive, set at the land office	Ask for an estimate
Commission, seller	5,000,000 x 3%	150,000 baht
FET form	Funds well above USD 50,000	Required

The seller’s costs before withholding tax are 46,000 + 165,000 + 150,000 = 361,000 baht, or about 7.2% of the price. That is why sellers ask about SBT in the first meeting.

Worked example 2: the same condo, seller owned it 7 years

Same price and appraisal, but the seller has owned the unit for seven years and is not in the property business.

Item	Calculation	Amount
Transfer fee, each half	4,600,000 x 2% / 2	46,000 baht
SBT	Not due (owned five years or more)	0
Stamp duty	5,000,000 x 0.5%	25,000 baht
Commission	5,000,000 x 3%	150,000 baht

The seller saves 140,000 baht compared with example 1. Timing a sale after the five-year mark can matter more than a small price change.

Worked example 3: Thai buyer and foreign buyer, same new unit

A developer sells a new condo for 3,000,000 baht, and we assume the appraised value is the same. The developer is in the real estate business, so it pays SBT of 99,000 baht (3.3%) and withholding tax of 1% as a company.

Transfer fee	Thai buyer	Foreign buyer
Rate	0.01% (relief to 30 June 2027)	2%
Amount on 3,000,000 baht	300 baht	60,000 baht

Who pays the transfer fee on a new unit is set by the developer’s contract. Read it with the buyer.

Off-plan: how the money moves

For a new condo bought off plan, Thailand Law Online describes the usual pattern: the buyer pays the developer directly, in stages:

1. A reservation fee to hold the unit.
2. A contract deposit when the sale agreement is signed.
3. Instalments during construction.
4. The balance at transfer, at the Department of Lands.

Escrow is voluntary. The Escrow Act B.E. 2551 (2008) applies only if both sides agree to use a licensed escrow agent. No law obliges a developer to use one.

The standard contract protects the buyer. Under section 6/2 of the Condominium Act, the developer’s contract must follow the Ministry of Interior form, and non-conforming terms are invalid (Siam Legal). It must give a transfer date with 30 days’ notice, limits any construction halt to one year, carries 5 years of defect liability for the structure and 2 years for other parts, lets the buyer assign the contract without a fee, and sets a late delivery penalty of at least 0.01% a day, capped at 10%.

An illustrative off-plan schedule

A unit at 4,300,000 baht, close to the first-half 2026 average for foreign buyers (The Nation). The stages are an example only. The contract decides.

Stage	Payment	Paid to date
Reservation	50,000 baht	50,000 baht
Contract deposit	380,000 baht	430,000 baht
Construction instalments	860,000 baht	1,290,000 baht
Balance at transfer	3,010,000 baht	4,300,000 baht

Each payment from abroad should arrive in foreign currency, so the buyer can get the FET form for the whole amount at transfer.

Leasehold deals

A foreigner who buys a villa or house cannot own the land. The usual structure is a registered lease of up to 30 years, the longest registered residential lease the law allows. Any renewal options are contractual and, as Bektu notes, courts generally enforce only the first registered term. Price the deal on 30 years, not on 90.

Taxes, fees and rules change, so check the official source before you act. Practise with sales training and the money exercises.

This lesson is general information, not legal or tax advice.