Yes! Thailand’s Condominium Act allows foreign nationals to own condominium units under direct freehold. Acquisition of land or landed properties is possible under leasehold or Thai company structure.

In cases when direct freehold ownership of property isn’t available or practical, developer can offer the buyer to lease the property for long term instead. The duration of a single lease cannot exceed 30 years; however, the buyer can extend the lease, normally twice for the total of 90 years. This allows foreigners, for example to purchase land (which foreigners cannot directly own) or villas, houses and other landed properties. Leasehold also provides a way to purchase condominium units in a project over allowed 49% foreign quota

In this case a Thai company is set up with the foreign buyer as a shareholder (owning up to 49% of the shares) and director. Property/land is then owned by the company, which the foreign director has control over.

Foreigners can legally own:

• Condominiums (with freehold ownership)
• Buildings on leased land (like houses or villas, but the land itself must be leased)

Foreigners are prohibited from owning land outright in Thailand, but they can lease it or form a joint venture with a Thai national to acquire a property on Thai land.

It depends on property type. If you are buying a condo from a developer, you will pay specific business tax, withholding tax and transfer fee (total of 6.3%, out of which the buyer normally pays 1-2%). If you are buying a house or condo under leasehold, only 1.1% lease registration fee is payable.

In 2019 Thai government introduced an annual land and house tax, it currently caps at 0.1%. Properties below certain price range used as a primary residence can be exempt.

Yes! You can do it yourself, if you prefer, or for hands-off management you can use a rental agency. Many developers also have in-house rental service - especially in resort cities where you can find hotel-managed projects with rental pool programs.

Many new projects come with hotel-style management. In this case, the owner can join a rental pool program, where the overall rental income from all units participating in the program is split between the owners (with the managing company taking its fee as well). This allows the management company to rent out units more effectively (since you always have more options for booking, it’s much easier to optimise occupancy on 100 units than on 1 unit) and also allows for more consistent income (even if your unit stood empty, you still get a share from the total rent).

Foreigners may find it challenging to secure a mortgage from a Thai bank unless they have long-term residency or work permits. However, some banks offer loans to foreigners under specific conditions, and foreign banks or lenders in your home country may provide financing options for purchasing property in Thailand.

No. It’s not required and, in most cases, when you are buying new property, you will be paying directly to developer’s account (especially in case of freehold purchase).

Condo owners are typically required to pay:

• Common area maintenance fees: This covers the upkeep of shared spaces like pools, gyms, and gardens. It’s usually charged per square meter of the unit annually.
• Sinking fund: A one-time payment made when you buy the condo, used for major repairs or upgrades to the building.

These fees vary by building, but they are generally affordable compared to other international cities.

Unfortunately, property ownership doesn’t grant any special privileges when it comes to visas and immigration. However, there are multiple long-stay visas available for foreigners, property buyers or not. Options include retirement visa, work visa, education visa, marriage visa, business visa, new SMART visa, Thailand Elite visa.

Yes. Contract signing can be done remotely (via mail), payments don’t require physical presence. Handover can be done via appointing your lawyer or another trusted person via power of attorney.

In Thailand there is no buyer side commission (i.e., agent’s fee is payable by the seller), so there is no downside to using a good agent.