Buy a condo

[Mavideol]

1 minute ago, scubascuba3 said:

❌ Incorrect, when i bought my condo 4 years ago, i had a bank cheque, this was passed to the seller once my name was on the chanote, this is done at the land office

it has to be a cashier cheque and can be handed when at the land office before or after but usually seeler will not sign over until the cheque is on his/her hand, many ways to peel a rabbit

[scubascuba3]

10 minutes ago, Mavideol said:

it has to be a cashier cheque and can be handed when at the land office before or after but usually seeler will not sign over until the cheque is on his/her hand, many ways to peel a rabbit

Good, we've agreed your previous post was incorrect

 

"The seller only transfer chanote/tittle once the money is on their account"

[donx]

21 hours ago, Naus71 said:

Save the frogs,

Visa is not a problem, besides being over 50, I am also married to a Thai. We will not retire to Thailand for another four years, and with the increasing prices of the real estate market I was thinking of buying a condo before moving.

If you are married to a Thai, then she can have a bank account if she doesn't already have one. Send the money to her bank account. Very easy unless you don't trust your wife. 

[newnative]

2 hours ago, Mavideol said:

YOU CAN'T DO THIS

 

The seller only transfer chanote/tittle once the money is on their account

    Not true--at least not for my Thai spouse and myself.   We have bought numerous condos in Thailand.   We have never transferred money to a private seller's bank account in advance of receiving the chanote at the Land Office.  And, we never would.  If a seller demanded that, we would walk away.  True, also for Virginia in the USA, by the way--the process of which is much more complex--but again, no money ever went into a seller's bank account in advance of the 8 or 9 properties I bought in Virginia.  

   Typically, we show up at the Land Office with a cashier's check in the seller's name, for the amount we still owe, and cash to pay our share of the closing costs, if any.  When we see the chanote with our name on it, we hand over the cashier's check, which we have shown the seller at the start of the Land Office transfer.  All of this should be spelled out in the sales contract which both parties have agreed to and signed.  

    It's the same when we are the sellers.  We've both signed the contract to buy and sell, buyer has put down a non-refundable down payment, and we both show up at the Land Office on the date arranged to do the transfer.   We receive the final payment by cashier's check, (one or two may have been in cash), chanote is changed, transfer fees are paid, agent, if any, is paid, keys are handed over, etc.

    I mentioned 'private seller' above.  In a number of cases, we bought new condos off-plan from established developers--Lumpini, Sansiri, Raimon Land, and SC Asset.  Probably 9 or 10 condos in total.  With those large, well-established developers, we gave them our final payments and they did all the paperwork for us.   If I am remembering correctly, we didn't even have to go to the Land Office for several of the buys--perhaps because these developers are so huge and do so many transactions.  

[safarimike11]

On 3/23/2025 at 6:09 PM, Mavideol said:

you can transfer money to the sellers account and when the seller receives it he/she will receive a transfer certificate from the bank that you will need when to transfer title. It you transfer money to the sellers account is has to be in a foreign currency, they will convert into Thai Baht when it arrives here, you can not transfer baht, if you do, the bank will not give you the transfer certificate, as for opening a bank account, there are ways or many ways. Where are you buying, which area?

The initial sentence is very bad advice; do not follow this by any means; lived in Thailand for 19 1/2 years.

[safarimike11]

On 3/23/2025 at 6:02 PM, Naus71 said:

Hi everyone,

I did a try use search option but I didn't find an answer to my question. in view of a future transfer to Thailand, I am evaluating the purchase of a condo. Searching for information in this regard, I understood that I have to transfer the money from my country to a Thai bank. The problem is that I do not have a Thai bank and it seems that it is not possible to open an account with only a tourist visa. Do you have any advice on how to proceed?

 

Best regards

Further to my initial answer (on what not to do - which others have also advised), here is what you could/should do: 

1. Wait till you move to Thailand.

2. If you have already "found" the condo you wish to buy, try to rent a condo in the same block or nearby and take some time to see what the condo block and surrounding area is like (at night as well).

3. Talk to your neighbours / other people living in that condo block and see what they think of it (networking in other words).

4. Also spend some time searching and viewing other condos in this area.

5. When you are ready to buy a unit, it wouldn't hurt to hire a lawyer to handle/oversee the purchase; I have done this and in my opinion it is totally worthwhile.

[newnative]

38 minutes ago, safarimike11 said:

Further to my initial answer (on what not to do - which others have also advised), here is what you could/should do: 

1. Wait till you move to Thailand.

2. If you have already "found" the condo you wish to buy, try to rent a condo in the same block or nearby and take some time to see what the condo block and surrounding area is like (at night as well).

3. Talk to your neighbours / other people living in that condo block and see what they think of it (networking in other words).

4. Also spend some time searching and viewing other condos in this area.

5. When you are ready to buy a unit, it wouldn't hurt to hire a lawyer to handle/oversee the purchase; I have done this and in my opinion it is totally worthwhile.

     Very good advice here, starting with #1.   Take your time and do your homework--2 thru 4 above.  Be thorough.  Also, be aware of the illegal daily rental problem that plagues some condo projects here--especially some of the newer mega projects in areas popular with tourists.  I would check that issue with any project you are interested in.    Even after numerous real estate transactions here and in the US, I always also follow #5 above.  

[Naus71]

6 hours ago, donx said:

If you are married to a Thai, then she can have a bank account if she doesn't already have one. Send the money to her bank account. Very easy unless you don't trust your wife.

It is not a question of trust, but of procedures. Searching for these procedures I found this article that indicates:

 

A Foreign Exchange Transaction Certificate (Thor Thor Sam) is a legal document issued by banks upon receipt of foreign currency into your bank account in Thailand. You can ask for this certificate from your bank when you are remitting funds to Thailand for purchasing a condominium unit. It is Thailand government’s condition that the money used to pay for the purchase price must originate from an offshore source in the form of foreign currency. The foreigner has to present this certificate to the Land Office where the ownership registration shall take place. Otherwise, foreigners cannot register the property under their name.

 

so i thought the account must be in my name

[Peterphuket]

14 hours ago, Mavideol said:

what about crooked agents and/or developers, if the buyer signs a contract/agreement with the seller and they use a lawyer where is the problem, my friend just did it and the seller handed him the bank transfer certificate when they went to the land department, it's unbelievable the quantity of misleading information write on here, I am not pointing at you absolutely not, but some of the advice/comments on this post are just unbelievable

Yes, another possibility, LOS is full of bad developers, brokers, contractors....

[donx]

15 hours ago, Naus71 said:

It is not a question of trust, but of procedures. Searching for these procedures I found this article that indicates:

 

A Foreign Exchange Transaction Certificate (Thor Thor Sam) is a legal document issued by banks upon receipt of foreign currency into your bank account in Thailand. You can ask for this certificate from your bank when you are remitting funds to Thailand for purchasing a condominium unit. It is Thailand government’s condition that the money used to pay for the purchase price must originate from an offshore source in the form of foreign currency. The foreigner has to present this certificate to the Land Office where the ownership registration shall take place. Otherwise, foreigners cannot register the property under their name.

 

so i thought the account must be in my name

My understanding, although I could be wrong, is that it doesn't matter whose bank account the money was transferred to so long as the funds for the purchase of a condo come from overseas. Additionally, you should be able to show that the money originated from an overseas bank account in your name.

 

As you see from other responses, some people have transferred the funds to the builder or to an agent or lawyer. Transferring to your wife's account makes the most sense to me in your situation, in my opinion.

[Celsius]

On 3/24/2025 at 5:11 PM, save the frogs said:

according to this guy, condo values in thailand doubled over the past decade.

 

 

 

A good way to check if someone is lying is to go to a website like thinkofliving.com as they have the record of all the presale prices from 10 years ago or more.

 

You will find out that condo prices have dropped 25% on average in 10 years. There are very few buildings that are the exception, but the trend is down.

 

 

[newnative]

2 hours ago, Celsius said:

 

A good way to check if someone is lying is to go to a website like thinkofliving.com as they have the record of all the presale prices from 10 years ago or more.

 

You will find out that condo prices have dropped 25% on average in 10 years. There are very few buildings that are the exception, but the trend is down.

 

 

    Saw your post and thought I'd do some checking with condo projects I have owned at, have thought about owning at, and, in one case, still own at.  These projects were all reviewed on Thinkofliving--an excellent website, in my opinion. (Will be referred to as TOL.)

    First up, the condo I still own in Bangkok.  Built in 2012, TOL, in its review at that time, had the average price per sqm at 105,000 to 125,000 baht.  Hipflat today has the average at 146,696.  So, no 25% drop in prices.  Phew!

    Checked a condo nearby, Q Asoke, to see how it is doing.  Built in 2014.  TOL had 180,000 baht as the average price per sqm in its review.  Hipflat gives 206,049 baht per sqm today so also no 25% drop. 

     The first condo we bought in Bangkok was at a new project, Lumpini Makkasan.  TOL, in 2017, gave the average price per sqm as 140,000 baht.  We bought the smallest unit, 24 sqm, on a low floor and paid exactly 2.4MB, or 100,000 baht a sqm.   Hipflat has Lumpini Makkasan with average prices today of 141,176.  Again, no 25% drop, although the project is not yet 10 years old.   

    Moving to Pattaya, let's check Baan Plai Haad, built in 2015.  Nice project, almost bought there.  TOL had 128,750 as the average price per sqm.  Hipflat gives 121,126 for prices today.  Slight drop but not 25%.  

    Unixx is a big project but not oceanfront.  Also 2015.  Apparently it had a very low pre-sale of 40,000 to 85,000 baht per sqm, according to TOL.  I imagine low floor, non-seaview units were at that lower end.  Hipflat has Unixx at 86,538.  Also no 25% drop there.

    Something a little more 'average Joe'?  Also large, Lumpini Park Beach in Jomtien.  3 highrise buildings of 30 stories and around 1800 units.  Starting price way back in 2013 was 46,000 baht a sqm, according to TOL.  Could not find an average on Hipflat for today's prices but the cheapest unit was priced at 51,000 baht a sqm and the highest at 120,000 baht a sqm.   No drastic 25% price drops in those figures.

    Centric Sea?  2016 construction.  TOL's review said the average price was 86,000 baht a sqm at that time.  Hipflat today has the average right at 100,000 baht.  Not finding any of those 25% drops you wrote about.  Let's try one more TOL project and call it a day.

    Riviera Wong Amat.  TOL in its 2013 review gave the average price per sqm as 86,000 baht.  Hipflat today has it at 86,538.  I would call that flat.  Again, no 25% drop.  

     What about older projects, built before Thinkofliving even existed?   One of the oldest in Pattaya is Garden Cliff, built in the early 1980s, which we owned at.  I have no idea what the price per sqm was back in the early '80s but the current price is 122,500 baht per sqm--I doubt it was that much in the 1980s.  3 bedrooms run from 10 to 17MB--I also doubt that is a 25% drop.  The fact that Garden Cliff is still standing also disproves the two posters who claimed that Thailand condos go crashing to the ground on either their 20th or 30th birthdays--take your pick.  

    One last example, the View Talays of Pattaya.  Probably thousands of those 48 sqm studios.  Spouse and I did a half dozen of them in the View Talay 5 projects years ago.  Bought them for around 2.2MB as shells, renovated them, and then sold them for 3.25 to 3.5MB.  Never bought below floor 16.  Hipflat has a 48 sqm unit on floor 15 for 3.5MB.  One on floor 19 for 2.99MB.  But, also units in the 2.6MB range.  Seems to be a mixed bag with price depending a lot on how the unit looks--which was actually the case years ago, as well.  We did nice renovations and sold at the higher price range at the time.   Let's say some VT condos have likely lost value but I don't think I am seeing a 25% drop.  

    To sum up, do some condos drop in price?  Likely.   Do most condos lose 25% of their value in 10 years, as you claim, with 'very few buildings that are the exception'?   Unlikely, and certainly not at any of the projects I have owned at, or thought about owning at, both in Bangkok and Pattaya.   As a buyer, I'm waiting to see a 25% drop in some of the projects I like.  So far, I am waiting in vain.  As an owner, I'm happy to see the one condo I still own has not lost 25% of its value.  

    

     

 

 

[Celsius]

1 hour ago, newnative said:

    Saw your post and thought I'd do some checking with condo projects I have owned at, have thought about owning at, and, in one case, still own at.  These projects were all reviewed on Thinkofliving--an excellent website, in my opinion. (Will be referred to as TOL.)

    First up, the condo I still own in Bangkok.  Built in 2012, TOL, in its review at that time, had the average price per sqm at 105,000 to 125,000 baht.  Hipflat today has the average at 146,696.  So, no 25% drop in prices.  Phew!

    Checked a condo nearby, Q Asoke, to see how it is doing.  Built in 2014.  TOL had 180,000 baht as the average price per sqm in its review.  Hipflat gives 206,049 baht per sqm today so also no 25% drop. 

     The first condo we bought in Bangkok was at a new project, Lumpini Makkasan.  TOL, in 2017, gave the average price per sqm as 140,000 baht.  We bought the smallest unit, 24 sqm, on a low floor and paid exactly 2.4MB, or 100,000 baht a sqm.   Hipflat has Lumpini Makkasan with average prices today of 141,176.  Again, no 25% drop, although the project is not yet 10 years old.   

    Moving to Pattaya, let's check Baan Plai Haad, built in 2015.  Nice project, almost bought there.  TOL had 128,750 as the average price per sqm.  Hipflat gives 121,126 for prices today.  Slight drop but not 25%.  

    Unixx is a big project but not oceanfront.  Also 2015.  Apparently it had a very low pre-sale of 40,000 to 85,000 baht per sqm, according to TOL.  I imagine low floor, non-seaview units were at that lower end.  Hipflat has Unixx at 86,538.  Also no 25% drop there.

    Something a little more 'average Joe'?  Also large, Lumpini Park Beach in Jomtien.  3 highrise buildings of 30 stories and around 1800 units.  Starting price way back in 2013 was 46,000 baht a sqm, according to TOL.  Could not find an average on Hipflat for today's prices but the cheapest unit was priced at 51,000 baht a sqm and the highest at 120,000 baht a sqm.   No drastic 25% price drops in those figures.

    Centric Sea?  2016 construction.  TOL's review said the average price was 86,000 baht a sqm at that time.  Hipflat today has the average right at 100,000 baht.  Not finding any of those 25% drops you wrote about.  Let's try one more TOL project and call it a day.

    Riviera Wong Amat.  TOL in its 2013 review gave the average price per sqm as 86,000 baht.  Hipflat today has it at 86,538.  I would call that flat.  Again, no 25% drop.  

     What about older projects, built before Thinkofliving even existed?   One of the oldest in Pattaya is Garden Cliff, built in the early 1980s, which we owned at.  I have no idea what the price per sqm was back in the early '80s but the current price is 122,500 baht per sqm--I doubt it was that much in the 1980s.  3 bedrooms run from 10 to 17MB--I also doubt that is a 25% drop.  The fact that Garden Cliff is still standing also disproves the two posters who claimed that Thailand condos go crashing to the ground on either their 20th or 30th birthdays--take your pick.  

    One last example, the View Talays of Pattaya.  Probably thousands of those 48 sqm studios.  Spouse and I did a half dozen of them in the View Talay 5 projects years ago.  Bought them for around 2.2MB as shells, renovated them, and then sold them for 3.25 to 3.5MB.  Never bought below floor 16.  Hipflat has a 48 sqm unit on floor 15 for 3.5MB.  One on floor 19 for 2.99MB.  But, also units in the 2.6MB range.  Seems to be a mixed bag with price depending a lot on how the unit looks--which was actually the case years ago, as well.  We did nice renovations and sold at the higher price range at the time.   Let's say some VT condos have likely lost value but I don't think I am seeing a 25% drop.  

    To sum up, do some condos drop in price?  Likely.   Do most condos lose 25% of their value in 10 years, as you claim, with 'very few buildings that are the exception'?   Unlikely, and certainly not at any of the projects I have owned at, or thought about owning at, both in Bangkok and Pattaya.   As a buyer, I'm waiting to see a 25% drop in some of the projects I like.  So far, I am waiting in vain.  As an owner, I'm happy to see the one condo I still own has not lost 25% of its value.  

    

     

 

 

 

You cherry picked all of these units without providing any links.

 

Your post is a total fabrication.

 

The average price on hipflat is irrelevant as it is the sum of all overpriced units that no one is buying.

 

The starting price from 10 years ago was for the very cheapest units. You should then compare them to cheapest units that are currently being sold in the same building. Most of them have a price drop of 25%

 

 

[Celsius]

Ideo mix Sukhumvit 103

 

presale price starting at 80,000b psqm, today's price on living insider 2,040,000 a 15% price drop.

 

Haus 23 Ladprao

 

https://www.livinginsider.com/livingdetail_en/2396707/Condo-House-23-Ratchada-Lat-Phrao-on-the-main-road-no-need-to-enter-or-exit-the-alley-near-MRT-La.html

 

Cheapest offering in 2012 3.4 million baht, currently for sale 2.6 million - 25% drop

 

 

Your own example lumpini park beach jomtien....btw that building and units inside are total ghetto mess

 

price presale 1.68mil

 

https://thinkofliving.com/คอนโด-ตากอากาศ/project/lumpini-park-beach-จอมเทียน-138802/

 

price now 1.4 million over 15% price drop

 

https://www.livinginsider.com/livingdetail_en/1466030/For-sale-condo-1-bedroom-at-Lumpini-Park-Beach-Jomtien.html

 

Circle condo 

precon 3.49 mil

 

https://thinkofliving.com/คอนโด/circle-condominium-คอนโด-high-rise-ตึกคู่ริมถนนเพชรบุรี-จาก-fragrant-รีวิวฉบับที่-687-187245-รีวิวโครงการ/

 

today 2.79 million

 

price drop 20%

 

https://www.livinginsider.com/livingdetail_en/325133/1/Urgent-Sell-Circle-Condo-Big-Studio-33-51-sqm-.html

 

 

1000s of other examples. I am lazy to Google on my phone

 

ALL prices in Thailand negotiable due to crappy sales hence even more discount.

 

Important to note. All the "starting from"  precon prices listed were for 1 or 2 crappiest units that had no view and on low floors. The cheapest units offered today were sold for more.

[newnative]

5 minutes ago, Celsius said:

 

You cherry picked all of these units without providing any links.

 

Your post is a total fabrication.

 

The average price on hipflat is irrelevant as it is the sum of all overpriced units that no one is buying.

 

The starting price from 10 years ago was for the very cheapest units. You should then compare them to cheapest units that are currently being sold in the same building. Most of them have a price drop of 25%

 

 

     Complete and utter nonsense.   Also, laughable!   I used the very website you, yourself, said to use in your post--Thinkofliving!  Check the very first sentence of your post that I referenced!  You, yourself, said to check Thinkofliving's prices for projects when they were new and then compare them to today's prices, where, supposedly, we would see a 25% drop after 10 years, except for a very few projects.  Readers are welcome to check my figures for what Thinkofliving was quoting when it reviewed the projects I mentioned when they were new or just getting started with their sales.  I then used one of the most popular websites, Hipflat, to see current prices.

    You're in a snit because none of the Thinkofliving projects I checked lost your 25% in value.  Indeed, most either stayed flat or increased in value--which was what I suspected, from our personal experience, even before I started my checking.   Having bought and sold something like 20 condos since 2010, my spouse and I would not have been able to buy one condo after another if they lost value.   We would have quickly gone broke.

    Rather than 'cherry picking', I included some of the most popular, numerous projects, such as the View Talays.  I don't know where you live in Thailand but I don't think anybody living in Pattaya would consider choosing the View Talay projects as 'cherry picking'.   Some posters have called them Soviet-era housing.

    The projects I cited ranged from the very small Garden Cliff project to the massive Lumpini Park Beach, with over 1800 units.   Lumpini, one of the largest builders in Thailand, which builds many, many projects, was represented both in Bangkok and Pattaya with my research.  

     Let's do one more check.  Some readers will know that my spouse and I have steered clear of what I've called 'theme park' condo projects.  These are the numerous low-rise projects in Pattaya, many named after places.  Atlantis, Grand Caribbean, Espana, etc.  One of them has a pirate ship in the swimming pool, if I recall. 

    Let's check Laguna Beach Resort 3, The Maldives and see how it is doing.  Below you will see the Thinkofliving report from 2015.  Big project with over 1,700 units.  TOL, the website you said to use, has the starting prices at 39,000 baht a sqm, with the smallest units priced at 890.000 baht.  See the TOL report below as evidence I am not making up figures:

 

Laguna Beach Resort 3 The Maldives Pattaya

Laguna Beach Resort 3 - The Maldives Pattaya

 

Project information

Location / District:

Pattaya , Eastern Region

Location / Area:

Chonburi

Location / Road:

Jomtien Road

Price range:

1 - SUPER ECONOMY

Project status:

In progress

Completion Date:

2015

Basic information

group:

Condo

Building information:

Low Rise 7 buildings

Number of floors:

8

Number of units:

1,750

website:

Official Website

Price information

Starting price:

0.89 million baht

Per square meter:

39,000 baht/sq m.

Common fee:

40

fund:

500 baht

Types of residential units

Studio

23 - 27.5 square meters

1 bedroom

34 - 68 square meters

---

Other project details

Unit details

Utilities

Security system

 

Standard equipment

Fully Fitted

 

   Now, let's see how the project is doing today on Hipflat.   Hipflat has the average sale price at 56,097 baht per sqm.  Cheapest unit for sale is at 1.3MB, up from the TOL starting price of 890,000 baht.   So, again, not seeing your 25% drop.  It's interesting that TOL classified the project as 'super economy', so, also again, I'm not cherry picking only upscale projects, or projects that I personally like.  

    I will repeat what I said in my previous post.  Some condos lose value.  Never said otherwise.  What I am not seeing is your 25% loss in value over 10 years time for most condo projects, except for a very few.