This is an illustrative account, not a specific client matter. It is built from the steps a foreign purchase of a completed Bangkok condominium usually runs through, so that a buyer reading it knows roughly what to expect and where the friction tends to be. No name, unit number, project transaction, price paid or date is real, and every figure is a round planning figure rather than a quotation.
The buyer here is buying to hold rather than to occupy full-time, is resident abroad, and chose to engage Suwanvara Law Firm separately for document review and transfer support. Legal work is never part of the property brokerage service; a buyer is free to use their own adviser or none. It is included in this account because the checks it covers are the part of a purchase a first-time foreign buyer most often asks about.
The buyer and the purchase
- Buyer
- A first-time foreign buyer, resident abroad
- Purpose
- To hold, with occasional personal use
- Property
- Completed one-bedroom condominium
- Area
- An outer-Bangkok corridor near an extended rail line
- Size
- About 35 m², high floor, city view
- Ownership
- Freehold, under the foreign quota
- Legal engagement
- Engaged separately for document review and transfer support
- Elapsed time
- About nine weeks, enquiry to transfer
Week by week
Week 0
01Enquiry and first consultation
The buyer sends an enquiry naming a budget, a preferred area near an extended rail line, and that they intend to buy under the foreign quota. A property advisor confirms what is realistically available in that budget and explains the difference between freehold under the foreign quota and leasehold, and that quota availability is confirmed per building rather than assumed.
- Budget, area and ownership intention captured
- Foreign-quota versus leasehold explained
- Expectations set: availability and pricing are subject to confirmation
Week 1
02Shortlist and remote viewing
A shortlist of a few completed units is prepared. Because the buyer is abroad, the advisor arranges a video walkthrough of two units and shares the public reference, floor range, area, common-fee level and the foreign-ownership position for each — the same facts published on the site, confirmed against the source sheet.
- Shortlist prepared from live availability
- Video walkthrough of two units
- Common fee, sinking fund and foreign-quota position confirmed per unit
Week 2
03In-person viewing
The buyer travels to Bangkok for two days of viewings. Seeing the building, the actual floor, the view and the transit walk in person changes the shortlist — one unit that looked ideal on paper faces a construction site, and the buyer prefers a slightly smaller unit on a higher floor.
- In-person viewing of the shortlist
- Transit walk and surroundings assessed
- Preferred unit chosen
Week 3
04Price discussion and reservation
The advisor coordinates a commercial discussion with the seller. Terms are agreed subject to the foreign-ownership position being confirmed in writing. The buyer pays a reservation amount to hold the unit; the reservation terms state plainly what is refundable and under what conditions.
- Commercial terms agreed, subject to quota confirmation
- Reservation paid to hold the unit
- Refund conditions stated in the reservation terms
Weeks 4–5
05Foreign-quota confirmation and document review
With a legal engagement now in place separately, the documents are reviewed: the title deed, the juristic person's debt-free position, the building's foreign-ownership ratio against the 49% ceiling, any encumbrances, and the developer's or seller's undertaking on transfer-day costs. This is the step where the problem below surfaced.
- Title deed and juristic-person status reviewed
- Foreign-ownership ratio checked against the 49% ceiling
- Encumbrances and common-fee arrears checked
- Transfer-cost undertaking confirmed in writing
Weeks 6–7
06Remitting the purchase funds
Funds are sent into Thailand in foreign currency and converted to baht by a Thai bank, which issues the Foreign Exchange Transaction document the Land Department requires for a foreign freehold purchase. The remittance is made in the buyer's own name and references the unit, because the FET record has to match the buyer of record.
- Funds remitted in foreign currency, in the buyer's own name
- Converted to baht by a Thai bank
- Foreign Exchange Transaction document obtained
Week 8
07Transfer at the Land Department
The parties attend the Land Department. The transfer fee, any specific business tax or stamp duty and the withholding amount are settled per the agreed split, the FET document and the debt-free letter are presented, and the unit title deed is registered in the buyer's name. A power of attorney can stand in for a buyer who cannot attend; here the buyer attended.
- Transfer registered at the Land Department
- Fees and taxes settled per the agreed split
- Unit title deed issued in the buyer's name
Week 9+
08After transfer
The buyer receives the registered title deed and the keys, registers with the juristic person for common-fee billing, and arranges letting through a partner after transfer — a service arranged separately, not a rental listing. The advisor remains the point of contact for post-purchase questions.
- Registered title deed and keys received
- Registered with the juristic person
- Post-transfer letting arranged separately, through a partner
What was checked
The due-diligence items reviewed before the transfer — under a separate legal engagement, here.
- The title deed (chanote) for the unit, and that it matched the unit being sold
- The juristic person's debt-free letter — that common fees and sinking-fund contributions were settled
- The building's foreign-ownership ratio against the 49% ceiling, confirmed in writing by the juristic person
- Any registered encumbrances, mortgages or servitudes against the unit
- The developer's or seller's written undertaking on which transfer-day costs it would bear
- That the Foreign Exchange Transaction document would be issued in the buyer's own name for the correct amount
What went wrong, and how it was handled
Two things needed resolving before the transfer date. Both are ordinary; neither derailed the purchase.
The foreign-ownership ratio was close to the ceiling
A Thai condominium may register no more than 49% of its total floor area to foreign owners. When the documents were reviewed, this building was near that ceiling, so a foreign freehold transfer could not simply be assumed — it depended on there being room left under the quota for this specific unit.
The step that resolved it was ordinary but essential: the juristic person was asked for a written confirmation that registering this unit to a foreign buyer would keep the building within the 49% limit. Only once that letter was in hand did the reservation convert into a firm commitment. Had the letter not been forthcoming, the reservation terms set out earlier were what protected the buyer's deposit.
The first remittance came from the wrong account
The buyer's first attempt to send funds was made from a family member's account to save a step. The Foreign Exchange Transaction document a Thai bank issues names the sender, and the Land Department expects that name to be the buyer of record. The mismatch would have been a problem at the transfer counter.
It was caught before the transfer date. The funds were returned and re-sent from the buyer's own account, and a clean FET document was issued in the buyer's name. It cost a few days and a second set of bank charges, and it is the single most common avoidable delay a first-time foreign buyer runs into.
The costs
Transfer fee
Charged on the Land Department's appraised value; customarily shared, negotiable
2% of the appraised value
Specific business tax or stamp duty
SBT if the seller has held under five years; otherwise stamp duty. Customarily the seller's
3.3% (SBT) or 0.5% (stamp duty)
Withholding tax
On a resale from an individual seller; customarily the seller's
By the statutory formula
Legal fee — document review and transfer support
Suwanvara Law Firm, under a separate engagement; agreed in advance
A separate engagement fee
Bank and FET charges
Remittance and foreign-exchange charges set by the bank
Bank's schedule
Property brokerage
Brokerage compensation, where earned, is described in the disclosure below
No separate charge to this buyer
These are illustrative planning figures to show the shape of a purchase — not a quotation, and not the amounts of any specific transaction. Every figure charged on value is charged on the Land Department's appraised value, which is set by the department and is not the same as the price agreed. Confirm actual figures for your own purchase before you rely on them.
The outcome
The unit title deed was registered in the buyer's own name, as a freehold under the foreign quota, about nine weeks after the first enquiry.
The two issues that arose — the ownership-ratio confirmation and the mis-sent remittance — were both resolved before the transfer date rather than at the counter, which is the difference the document-review step is there to make.
The buyer retained their own choice of adviser throughout, and the legal engagement was priced and agreed separately from the property service.
What this walkthrough does not tell you
So the account is read for what it is — an illustration of typical steps, not a claim.
- This is an illustrative composite of typical steps, not a record of a specific client matter, and it is not evidence of a track record, a success rate or a transaction count — the site claims none of those.
- Every timeline, figure and split here is illustrative. Real durations, taxes and costs depend on the building, the seller, the sheet and the day, and are subject to confirmation.
- It is general information for foreign buyers, not legal or tax advice. Rules, rates and procedures change and individual situations differ; take Thai legal and tax advice on your own position.
- Publication of this account does not constitute legal verification of any listing, nor a guarantee of ownership, availability, condition, investment return or transferability.
Property information, pricing, promotions, foreign ownership availability and transfer conditions are subject to confirmation. Publication of a property does not constitute legal verification or a guarantee of ownership, condition, investment return or transferability.