what costs are incurred by seller when selling a condo?

[ChiTownHustla]

For ease of math, lets assume I'd like to sell my condo at 5M baht... Other than approximately 3% commission going to an agent, what other costs/taxes am I responsible for? Also, lets say the building is 5 years old and I've lived in it the whole time.

Your help is much appreciated and I'm sorry if I posted in wrong section.

[gerry123]

I think it's all here http://www.siam-lega...ransfer-tax.php

[rocketboybkk]

3% commission - that's cheap.

Why hasn't your agent explained all the possible costs to you?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ChiTownHustla]

I think it's all here http://www.siam-lega...ransfer-tax.php

Thank you... Are any of these taxes/costs shared by the buyer?

I dont have an agent, looking to sell on my own and then just hire a lawyer for the transactions.

[dotpoom]

The agent's commission is usually 5% ( 3% when I first came here 13 years ago) and the transfer tax is either 5 or 6% of the selling price, depending how long you have owned it. The transfer tax is usually split 50/50 between the buyer and the seller.

A good agent can have the amount the condo is sold for recorded at a lower price (on paper ) than it's actual selling price.....this is in order to bring down the taxes due.

[Postmaster]

Selling Agents Commission is only 1.5 % in the UK. If there is fierce competition they will deal with it for 1%. Why is Commission so high in Thailand at 5 %

when often there are no premises to maintain ie shop business and staff, very little advertising in newspapers, often no accompanying viewings or produced glossy sales material and very little personal input or expense of many freelance agents. Their fees should be lower than UK not 5 times as much!

[prk888]

dotpoom please check your facts.

For example currently the transfer tax is 2%. there are other add-ons - special business tax, withholding tax etc. ownership for under/over 5 years affects the maths, The law states who is responsible for what. Buyer/seller can agree as to who pays what.

Lots of sites to give accurate information other than TV courtroom/barristers

[ezzra]

Selling/buying condo has several variants, agent commission are usually at 3% and CAN be negotiated

down to about 2%, not sure where other members got the 5% from, sure you have the silly one

that will think that sun shine of their asses and ask for a king ransom, but as a rule, commission

and transfer fees are shared between buyers and sellers, this seems to be the agreed terms

in most transactions..

[technologybytes]

I think it's all here http://www.siam-lega...ransfer-tax.php

Thank you... Are any of these taxes/costs shared by the buyer?

I dont have an agent, looking to sell on my own and then just hire a lawyer for the transactions.

Actually you do not need a lawyer for selling the condo, it's as simple as the buyer and seller turning up at the land office and doing the transfer. Of course, having a reliable lawyer may be useful if there are any complications, but beware that many so called lawyers in Thailand are more likely to cheat you than help you.

There are fees that the land office that are technically the responsibility of the seller, and fees that are the responsibility of the buyer. It's common practice in Thailand for buyer and seller to just split all the fees down the middle. Only the land office can tell you exactly what the fees will come to, but in my experience condo transfer always seems to be unexpectedly cheap, at least compared to houses.

The condo management will need to give you a document before you can make the transfer.

Good luck, I have sold a few myself in my time in Thailand and it's always been easy enough. The best advice is that whatever else you do, ensure that you have cleared funds before you allow the transfer of the title. A cashiers check is good. If you accompany the buyer to his/her bank and witness the cashiers check being handed over to the seller then you know it's real. The seller should hand you the check in the land office when the chanote is ready for transfer. The land office know the drill and actually very helpful in my experience.

I never get involved with deposits (when buying or selling) other then perhaps a 10k good faith deposit, preferring instead to do the whole thing at the land office in one go, this in my opinion does away with the need for a lawyer.

Edited May 20, 2015 by technologybytes

[PeCeDe]

Selling Agents Commission is only 1.5 % in the UK. If there is fierce competition they will deal with it for 1%. Why is Commission so high in Thailand at 5 %

when often there are no premises to maintain ie shop business and staff, very little advertising in newspapers, often no accompanying viewings or produced glossy sales material and very little personal input or expense of many freelance agents. Their fees should be lower than UK not 5 times as much!

In truth the 1.5% Brit's pay for selling agent commission is cheap... most of North America runs at around 5 - 6%, although the agent does carry out quite a few more tasks. While I was in the UK last time I didn't hear one good word about selling agents, instead all I heard was "Ripoff" "lousy service" "crooks" etc. Not surprising, given the small commission paid in comparison to much of the rest of the developed world.

[mjakob007]

Agents commission if any, is negotiable.

Withholding taxes would be 6%, if sellers holding was not upto 5 years.

if 5+ years, it would be some 2%.

stamp duty etc 2% in either case.

[long klong]

I think it's all here http://www.siam-lega...ransfer-tax.php

Thank you... Are any of these taxes/costs shared by the buyer?

I dont have an agent, looking to sell on my own and then just hire a lawyer for the transactions.

Actually you do not need a lawyer for selling the condo, it's as simple as the buyer and seller turning up at the land office and doing the transfer. Of course, having a reliable lawyer may be useful if there are any complications, but beware that many so called lawyers in Thailand are more likely to cheat you than help you.

There are fees that the land office that are technically the responsibility of the seller, and fees that are the responsibility of the buyer. It's common practice in Thailand for buyer and seller to just split all the fees down the middle. Only the land office can tell you exactly what the fees will come to, but in my experience condo transfer always seems to be unexpectedly cheap, at least compared to houses.

The condo management will need to give you a document before you can make the transfer.

Good luck, I have sold a few myself in my time in Thailand and it's always been easy enough. The best advice is that whatever else you do, ensure that you have cleared funds before you allow the transfer of the title. A cashiers check is good. If you accompany the buyer to his/her bank and witness the cashiers check being handed over to the seller then you know it's real. The seller should hand you the check in the land office when the chanote is ready for transfer. The land office know the drill and actually very helpful in my experience.

I never get involved with deposits (when buying or selling) other then perhaps a 10k good faith deposit, preferring instead to do the whole thing at the land office in one go, this in my opinion does away with the need for a lawyer.

What happens when you go to your bank to deposit the cashier's check and the buyer has already emptied the money in his account?

[hhgz]

Acute Realty has a very accurate calculator: http://www.acuterealty.com/Calculator.asp

You didn't ask, but you should know that you'll need two letters from your condo management. You need a letter stating that the sale of your unit will not violate the farang quote. You will also need a letter that states that you do not own any maintenance/management fees.

Edited May 20, 2015 by hhgz

[jamestip2013]

Having paid the transfer fees to the land office 10 years ago when I purchased my condo in in Cha-am I am now for sale. I asked the local Real Estate Agent "who pays the land office" and his answer was "usually 50/50 or whatever you agree on" .. He also added "that if a Thai buys it they always refuse to pay".. The inference in that last remark made me think that maybe its the sellers responsility.. Therefore a Thai buyer will not pay . If that is the case why should he pay... The thing is its a legal requirement and somewhere it will say who pays. Maybe you should enquire in the "ask a lawyer" section on this site. The fees for my 84 sq mtr condo I have been told will be about 90000bt assuming I get 3 to 3.5 million. I was also told that now they don't accept the lower figure you "agree" on. In cha-am THEY TELL YOU how much!!! they obviously know everybody lowers the price to lower their liability...

[chilli42]

All of it is negotiable. Estate Agent fee Is the responsibility of the seller but can be negotiated between seller and Estate Agent . Land transfer tax is the responsibility of the seller but also negotiable between buyer and seller. These are the main costs. Land transfer tax (in Bangkok at least) is calculated base on the municipal governments assessed value for the property not the actual price negotiated between buyer and seller.

Your negotiation position would depend on how badly the buyer wants the property.

[i claudius]

Selling Agents Commission is only 1.5 % in the UK. If there is fierce competition they will deal with it for 1%. Why is Commission so high in Thailand at 5 %

when often there are no premises to maintain ie shop business and staff, very little advertising in newspapers, often no accompanying viewings or produced glossy sales material and very little personal input or expense of many freelance agents. Their fees should be lower than UK not 5 times as much!

an agent here sells far fewer properties than those in the UK do,also they are far cheaper here

[Anthony5]

I think it's all here http://www.siam-lega...ransfer-tax.php

Thank you... Are any of these taxes/costs shared by the buyer?

I dont have an agent, looking to sell on my own and then just hire a lawyer for the transactions.

Normally the transfer cost of 2% is shared between buyer and seller, all other costs like special business tax are the sole responsibility of the seller.

By the way the special business tax is deducted by 1/5th for every you owned the property, to be zero after 5 years.

http://www.samuiforsale.com/knowledge/real-property-transfer-taxes-and-fees.html

Edited May 20, 2015 by Anthony5

[KittenKong]

What happens when you go to your bank to deposit the cashier's check and the buyer has already emptied the money in his account?

A cashier's cheque is certified by the bank and the funds are removed from the account holder's balance when it is issued.

[Henryford]

Selling Agents Commission is only 1.5 % in the UK. If there is fierce competition they will deal with it for 1%. Why is Commission so high in Thailand at 5 %

when often there are no premises to maintain ie shop business and staff, very little advertising in newspapers, often no accompanying viewings or produced glossy sales material and very little personal input or expense of many freelance agents. Their fees should be lower than UK not 5 times as much!

In truth the 1.5% Brit's pay for selling agent commission is cheap... most of North America runs at around 5 - 6%, although the agent does carry out quite a few more tasks. While I was in the UK last time I didn't hear one good word about selling agents, instead all I heard was "Ripoff" "lousy service" "crooks" etc. Not surprising, given the small commission paid in comparison to much of the rest of the developed world.

It may be a small percentage but a big amount of money. For a fee of 1.5% of 400,000 = 6,000 GBP i would expect a VERY good service. What on earth do they do in North America to justify 6% = 24,000 GBP, that's like a years salary.

[ChiTownHustla]

Thank you kindly for the replies, a lot of useful information here.

Also, how long would the new owner need to keep the condo before reselling? Are there laws regarding this? Or just higher transfer fees for shorter ownership periods?

[mjakob007]

Thank you kindly for the replies, a lot of useful information here.

Also, how long would the new owner need to keep the condo before reselling? Are there laws regarding this? Or just higher transfer fees for shorter ownership periods?

There is no mandatory period that you have to hold, before resale.

Condos can be sold the week after they have been bought.

Based on how long you own, your tax amount reduces.

[technologybytes]

Selling Agents Commission is only 1.5 % in the UK. If there is fierce competition they will deal with it for 1%. Why is Commission so high in Thailand at 5 %

when often there are no premises to maintain ie shop business and staff, very little advertising in newspapers, often no accompanying viewings or produced glossy sales material and very little personal input or expense of many freelance agents. Their fees should be lower than UK not 5 times as much!

There is a very good reason. In the UK you cannot cheat the agent, the agents fee is paid by the lawyer/solicitor that handles the sale. You sign to allow that before they list your property.

In Thailand the seller will often fail/refuse to pay the agent. This is one reason why agents in Thailand are so bloody useless.. they are always afraid of not getting paid.

[technologybytes]

What happens when you go to your bank to deposit the cashier's check and the buyer has already emptied the money in his account?

Thats why you accept a cashiers check and not a personal check. It does not matter what the seller does to his account, the check is drawn on the bank and not the sellers account.

[blackcab]

I think it's all here http://www.siam-lega...ransfer-tax.php

Thank you... Are any of these taxes/costs shared by the buyer?

I dont have an agent, looking to sell on my own and then just hire a lawyer for the transactions.

Actually you do not need a lawyer for selling the condo, it's as simple as the buyer and seller turning up at the land office and doing the transfer. Of course, having a reliable lawyer may be useful if there are any complications, but beware that many so called lawyers in Thailand are more likely to cheat you than help you.

There are fees that the land office that are technically the responsibility of the seller, and fees that are the responsibility of the buyer. It's common practice in Thailand for buyer and seller to just split all the fees down the middle. Only the land office can tell you exactly what the fees will come to, but in my experience condo transfer always seems to be unexpectedly cheap, at least compared to houses.

The condo management will need to give you a document before you can make the transfer.

Good luck, I have sold a few myself in my time in Thailand and it's always been easy enough. The best advice is that whatever else you do, ensure that you have cleared funds before you allow the transfer of the title. A cashiers check is good. If you accompany the buyer to his/her bank and witness the cashiers check being handed over to the seller then you know it's real. The seller should hand you the check in the land office when the chanote is ready for transfer. The land office know the drill and actually very helpful in my experience.

I never get involved with deposits (when buying or selling) other then perhaps a 10k good faith deposit, preferring instead to do the whole thing at the land office in one go, this in my opinion does away with the need for a lawyer.

What happens when you go to your bank to deposit the cashier's check and the buyer has already emptied the money in his account?

A cashier's check/bank draft is drawn on the bank's own account, not on the account of the individual who presents it to you. If the check/draft is real the only way it can bounce is if the bank fails before you cash it.

Checks/drafts can be fraudulent copies or originals that have been stolen. The chances of one of these being used to fraudulently purchase land is, I believe, quite small.