Buying an off-plan apartment in Phuket: the process step by step

Buying a new-build condominium in Thailand is a paper-light process compared to most European markets, but it has its own sequence. Here is how a purchase at Saint Tropez Naithon runs.

1. Choose the unit and lock the price

You pick a unit from the developer’s list (floor, view, layout). A booking fee of ฿200,000 reserves it and fixes the price. Booking can be done remotely by bank transfer to the developer’s company account.

2. Due diligence

Before the contract we hand you the company documents of Phuvista Condominium Co., Ltd., the land title, the EIA approval and the legal review prepared for the project. A lawyer of your choice can review them; this usually takes a week.

3. Sale and purchase agreement

Within 30 days of booking you sign the agreement and pay 30% of the price. The agreement fixes the unit, area, price, payment schedule, handover date and penalties for delay. It can be signed remotely with a power of attorney or in the Phuket showroom.

4. Construction-linked payments

The remaining 70% is paid as milestones are certified: 20% at foundation (Q1 2027), 20% at structure (Q4 2027), 20% at interior stage (Q2 2028) and 10% at transfer. Payments come from abroad in foreign currency; for freehold, keep the bank’s foreign exchange transaction forms, the Land Office asks for them.

5. Handover and transfer

Before transfer you inspect the unit and sign a defect list. At the Land Office the developer transfers the title (freehold) or registers the lease (leasehold). You pay the registration fee, the sinking fund (฿600 per m²), two years of maintenance fees (฿60 per m² per month) and the meter deposit (฿10,000).

What to budget beyond the price

For a ฿5,234,250 two-bedroom unit bought leasehold: about ฿57,600 registration, ฿29,910 sinking fund, ฿71,784 two years of maintenance and ฿10,000 deposit, roughly ฿170,000 in total. Furniture package, if chosen, adds ฿398,800.