So we are looking at buying a condo and the owner wants a deposit to give intent. Usually in America this caps at 1% of the purchase price or a few thousand dollars. Also there are certain stipulations where you can get this money back, if something fails inspection. The owner is requesting 10% which seems insanely high, has anyone else bought from a private seller before? Are there escrow services to help with this.

_{Hmm insanely high indeed when I purchased some 8 years back was about 1 % initial fee from outside Thailand with a further sum paid 1 month after arrival, but I opted to pay in full on arrival as I had all the legal services to manage my purchase included so was covered in the event of runner man, always best to have the services of an agent rather than have doubts especially here.}

I am using a real estate agent from century 21, however I seem to know more about property buying then they do. So any advice they give me is quite suspect.

Well as long as you know I would send just a few k days before arrival as a potential customer, will add though be prepared for slow transaction, in my case they were asked to settle sale in 5 days took 9 so I had to rebook accommodation and even then I had to push them to give me keys to my purchase with them wanting to delay sale by another 4 days.

Hey welcome to Thailand the country renown for show me your id/passport then you can use the toilet lol.

Don't give any deposit.

Tell 'em to sell to the first buyer with the money at the Land Office.

It's not likely they have another buyer.

PS

Agents work for the seller.

And they aren't much use in Thailand.

I would never pay more than a token few thousand Baht as a deposit. Far too many scammers and thieves here to pay more.

Why should you pay a big deposit when a sale can be decided and arranged within a few hours? The only thing that you could possibly need to wait for is the debt-free certificate and for a modest tip that should appear within minutes of being asked for.

The likelihood of there being another buyer interested is close to zero.

There is no such thing as escrow here. Another excellent reason never to pay a deposit and never to trust anyone.

So just a word of warning, the real estate agents ended up being insanely incompetent. It took an hour with my wife speaking Thai for them to understand that I needed the "Condo association board meeting notes". They literally had no idea what those were. So once I got them, I found out that the whole building went bankrupt 7 years ago. Half of the retail locations were empty. That 20 units got bankrupted and were bought by bangkok bank, who they are currently engaged in a lawsuit with cause the bank won't pay the back fees on the units. Wow I couldn't imagine a worse scenario. Dodged a bullet on that one.

So just a word of warning, the real estate agents ended up being insanely incompetent. It took an hour with my wife speaking Thai for them to understand that I needed the "Condo association board meeting notes". They literally had no idea what those were. So once I got them, I found out that the whole building went bankrupt 7 years ago. Half of the retail locations were empty. That 20 units got bankrupted and were bought by bangkok bank, who they are currently engaged in a lawsuit with cause the bank won't pay the back fees on the units. Wow I couldn't imagine a worse scenario. Dodged a bullet on that one.

Estate agents don't work for the buyer.

What part of that don't you understand?

Estate agents don't work for the buyer.

What part of that don't you understand?

In this case they weren't helping the seller either I literally have no idea how they sell real estate. They started to send me nasty Line messages when I told them that the building was under lawsuit. Saying I agreed and it didn't matter that the building has problems.

So just a word of warning, the real estate agents ended up being insanely incompetent. It took an hour with my wife speaking Thai for them to understand that I needed the "Condo association board meeting notes". They literally had no idea what those were. So once I got them, I found out that the whole building went bankrupt 7 years ago. Half of the retail locations were empty. That 20 units got bankrupted and were bought by bangkok bank, who they are currently engaged in a lawsuit with cause the bank won't pay the back fees on the units. Wow I couldn't imagine a worse scenario. Dodged a bullet on that one.

A lucky escape.

Like I said, trust no one.

In this case they weren't helping the seller either. I literally have no idea how they sell real estate.

That's easy: by luck. None of them have any qualifications or training, nor do they need any in order to practice their trade here.

Many European countries deposits on properties are 10%, the UK does not and is one of the reasons there are so many disappointments with people pulling out. However as stated there isn't the same regulations here as you have already experienced.

So just a word of warning, the real estate agents ended up being insanely incompetent. It took an hour with my wife speaking Thai for them to understand that I needed the "Condo association board meeting notes". They literally had no idea what those were. So once I got them, I found out that the whole building went bankrupt 7 years ago. Half of the retail locations were empty. That 20 units got bankrupted and were bought by bangkok bank, who they are currently engaged in a lawsuit with cause the bank won't pay the back fees on the units. Wow I couldn't imagine a worse scenario. Dodged a bullet on that one.

What building is that?

Presendent park on Sukhumvit 24. Price is good 60k per sqm for that area. However have multiple open lawsuits and noting that they are going to have to raise common area fees to cover expenses doesn't sound like a good time to buy. I suspect if you could get a foreclosure it would be killer as all the foreclosures should clear out over next few years. Its quite a nice building

Presendent park on Sukhumvit 24. Price is good 60k per sqm for that area. However have multiple open lawsuits and noting that they are going to have to raise common area fees to cover expenses doesn't sound like a good time to buy. I suspect if you could get a foreclosure it would be killer as all the foreclosures should clear out over next few years. Its quite a nice building

So you know its no good, move on and look for something else. I looked at a car once, found it had a duff battery and only firing on 3 cylinders so looked for something else..no great shakes

I have just paid 50,000 deposit on a 3 million baht unit that I didn't want to chance losing. It is in a complex where I already have a condo and I know of the seller, but as has been suggested I wouldn't normally pay a deposit in this market where there is a glut of condos for sale and you can complete the whole sale at the land office within a week

....so back out...you do not need an agent even....bettor off without one....safer to work with an attorney that will handle the paperwork anyway...

I stayed there. Isn't that a hotel?

like others have said don't pay anything. almost everything is for sale now so no pressure. I am trying to sell 2 condos in pattaya for 40k per square meter. I will probably have to take less than 30K.

The market is flooded with over priced condos waiting for the bubble to burst. It's a buyers market so you are calling the shots. You decide the terms. Not sure why you need to put any deposit. If you are ready to buy just transfer at the land office. If the seller does not like your terms, walk away. There are lots of deals out there.

If I were you, I would hire an attorney to manage this. Now, many people in here will tell you it's insane to spend money for an attorney when you can do it yourself, but my experience with buying a condo bears out the wisdom of using an attorney. Yes, it will cost you money to do this. And a good attorney firm, such as Baker and MacKenzie in Bangkok will run you a good piece of change, but would you rather have everything in order with all of the agencies involved and protect your future in is investment or are you a fly by the seat of your pants type of guy. "Up to you" but the attorney will save your back side if there is anything shady going on and they will fill you in on any laws and regulations that you may not be aware of. Best of luck to y ou no matter how you decide to go.

it is usual to have a maximum of three months to conclude the finances once the agreed deposit has been paid.The buyer can default and lose the deposit.The seller can not change the agreement .ie return the deposit and sell to a higher bidder. I have purchased property direct from thai owners .

As an owner of a large real estate portfolio,

i am now in the process of liquidating,

i won't buy real estate in Thailand or anywhere

for that matter, renting is financially better me

thinks.....

As an owner of a large real estate portfolio,

i am now in the process of liquidating,

i won't buy real estate in Thailand or anywhere

for that matter, renting is financially better me

thinks.....

ouch, not a good time to be liquidating if your property is in Thailand. generally property in Thailand seems to preform very poorly both in capital growth and rental return. think it is partly due to it being hard to get finance and now the over supply with too much building. I have owned property in nz and oz and have been able to leverage small amounts of money to make quite a lot of money however on 3 out of 4 properties in Thailand I am going to make a loss.