Buyer guide
Buying off-plan and new developments in Thailand
Off-plan means buying a home before it is built or finished, directly from the developer, and paying for it in stages. Most new developments in Thailand are sold this way. This guide explains how it works, what the law gives you and what you have to check yourself.
What off-plan means
You choose a specific unit from plans, a model and usually a show unit, sign a contract with the developer and pay in stages while the building goes up. Ownership passes to you at the Land Office once the building is finished and, for a condominium, registered. Until that day you hold a contract, not a title deed.
"New development" covers the whole range: projects that have not started building, projects under construction, and finished buildings where the developer still has units to sell. The closer a project is to completion, the more you can see for yourself and the shorter the payment plan.
What you gain and what you give up
- You gain choice: early buyers pick the floor, the layout and the view.
- You gain time: the price is spread over the building period instead of being due at once.
- You gain a new building, with the developer liable for defects for a period set in the contract.
- You give up certainty: you cannot walk through the finished home, and what is built next door may change the view.
- You give up control over timing: completion can be late, and your own plans have to allow for that.
- You carry the developer's risk: money paid before completion depends on the developer finishing the project.
Prices at launch are often lower than in later sales phases of the same project. That is a pattern, not a promise: nobody can tell you what a unit will be worth on completion.
Check the developer and the project
- Track record: which projects has the developer finished, and were they delivered on time? Visit one that is a few years old and look at how it has aged.
- The land: the developer should own it, shown by a title deed. A mortgage to the bank that finances the project is normal; ask how your unit is released from it at transfer.
- Environmental approval: a residential building with 80 units or more, or 4,000 square metres or more of usable area, needs an approved Environmental Impact Assessment before it can be built. Ask whether it has been approved, not whether it has been applied for.
- Construction permit: issued by the local authority, and only after the environmental approval where one is needed.
- Progress and funding: is construction under way, and is it financed by a bank or by buyers' instalments alone?
Your advisor can ask the developer for these documents. A lawyer can check the land title and its encumbrances at the Land Office.
The contract
For condominium units sold by a developer, Thai law prescribes a standard sale and purchase agreement. Terms that are less favourable to the buyer than the standard form cannot be enforced against you. Among other things it sets out what happens if the developer is late (your right to end the contract and have your payments returned with interest, or to claim a daily penalty instead) and how long the developer answers for defects: five years for the structure and building systems, two years for other parts.
Contracts for villas and houses vary more from project to project, so the review matters even more there.
How you pay
A reservation fee takes the unit off the market, a contract payment follows when you sign, instalments run during construction and the balance is due at transfer. Our guide to deposits and instalments goes through each stage and lets you try the numbers.
Instalments are normally paid straight to the developer. Thailand has an escrow law, but using it is voluntary and few projects do. This is the main reason the developer's standing matters, and why a plan that leaves more of the price until transfer carries less risk for you.
Completion, inspection and transfer
When the building is finished the developer invites you to inspect your unit. List every defect in writing and inspect again after the repairs; accept the unit only when you are satisfied. Then the balance is paid and ownership is transferred at the Land Office, where the title deed is issued in your name.
On the same day you pay your share of the transfer costs, the sinking fund and, usually, a year of common fees in advance.
If the project is late or does not finish
The contract states a completion date. If the developer misses it, the standard condominium contract lets you terminate and reclaim what you have paid with interest, or keep the contract and claim a penalty for the delay. You can also complain to the consumer protection authorities or go to court as a consumer.
Those rights are only as good as the developer's ability to pay. If a developer becomes insolvent, buyers rank as ordinary creditors and may not get everything back. An established developer, a project that is already being built and financed, and a payment plan weighted toward transfer are what reduce this risk.