What a property buyer needs to know about Thailand: the rules for a foreigner, how a purchase runs, taxes and letting. One question per write-up.
Residency and citizenship have their own section: Thailand residency. Dubai and UAE news is in the main feed.
Unlimited mobile internet in Thailand costs about AED 100 a month, a massage AED 30–40, a round of golf AED 150–300 against AED 350–500 in Dubai. The temperature is 27–33 degrees all year round.
Read on →In Thailand people buy a way of life, not square metres: a studio from AED 200,000, inspection before the final payment, an open contract. Against it: a 4–6% yield, no escrow and a slow resale.
Read on →Unit owners in a Thai condominium meet once a year, decide how the building’s fund is spent and can replace the management company. For the first 3–5 years the developer handles repairs to the common areas.
Read on →Estate agency in Thailand is unlicensed: someone who arrived a year ago can sell flats. How to spot a broker who knows the market, and the four signs by which to vet a developer.
Read on →A good international school in Thailand costs AED 50,000–100,000 a year, the best up to AED 160,000. Universities are cheaper, from AED 15,000. A parent can live in the country on the back of a child’s education visa.
Read on →Annual health insurance for an adult in Thailand costs AED 3,500–4,500; a full check-up costs AED 2,500–3,000 and takes about two hours. International hospitals have interpreters on staff.
Read on →Thailand has seen 23 successful military coups in 82 years. Ownership law did not change through any of them and is not retroactive. What does change is the visa-free stay and how strictly companies are inspected.
Read on →In Thailand an "apartment" is a building with a single owner where a unit can only be rented. A foreigner can own only in a condominium. Four types of condo, villas and townhouses, and how they differ.
Read on →A studio in Pattaya started from AED 216,000 at launch, a flat near Bang Tao beach in Phuket from AED 620,000, branded residences in Laguna from AED 17 million. Four projects and how their prices have moved.
Read on →Net rental yield in Thailand is 4–6% a year. Flats sold with a developer-guaranteed income cost about twice as much as their neighbours, and the guarantee lasts around three years. How to run the numbers and what to check.
Read on →Heirs have 6 months to claim their rights to a unit in Thailand. If they do not, it passes to the state after about a year. A will in Thai reduces the process to a single court hearing.
Read on →A 90-year lease does not exist in Thailand: the law gives 30 years, and the court sides with the landowner. Inheritance, resale and what happens to the villa when the term ends depend on five clauses of the agreement.
Read on →A resale unit in Thailand takes from 5 months to 2 years to sell. There is no single listings portal, agents are busy with new builds, and buyers are found through social media and mailing lists. What that means for your exit.
Read on →On Thailand’s resale market the deposit is almost always non-refundable, settlement takes place at the land department, and one of the fees becomes known only there. The main risk is a sale under a forged power of attorney.
Read on →Reservation, contract, stage payments, inspection and registration. The main difference from Dubai: the unit is inspected before the final payment, which reaches 40–50% of the price. The 2% registration fee is shared.
Read on →Until the building is handed over, a buyer in Thailand holds the unit only under a contract with the developer. The title deed is issued after handover — in 3–8 months, or up to 5 years if the documents are pledged to a bank.
Read on →There are no escrow accounts for off-plan purchases in Thailand. If a developer goes bankrupt, contractors and suppliers are paid first. Checking the land in the registry and avoiding pre-sales reduce the risk.
Read on →Two mistakes shut a foreigner out of freehold in Thailand: a “Thai quota” tick in the contract and money that did not arrive from abroad. The developer must show the draft contract in advance — use that right.
Read on →Thailand received 32.97 million foreign tourists in 2025, and Thais themselves made 202 million trips within the country. Yet the backbone of the economy is goods exports: electronics, cars and machinery.
Read on →Buyers from China, Myanmar and Russia account for 54% of the condominium units foreigners buy freehold in Thailand. Each has its own reason: falling prices at home, protecting capital, and income in a stable currency.
Read on →The Thai market for a foreigner usually reduces to Phuket and Bangkok. Two other notable markets sit around them, and they get considered exactly when Phuket prices surprise.
Read on →Thailand often appears in a buyer’s conversation as one market. It is at least two, with opposite logic — and mixing them into one yield figure is the most common error.
Read on →A Thai company with local shareholders as a way to "buy land" is a common offer — and a direct breach of the Foreign Business Act. What happens under scrutiny, and which legal routes actually exist.
Read on →Land and property leases in Thailand are registered for up to 30 years. How the ‘30+30+30’ promise actually works, why renewal isn't guaranteed, and how leasehold differs from the freehold quota in condos.
Read on →What owning a Thai condo actually costs: the transfer fee, the specific business tax on a quick resale, the annual land and buildings tax, maintenance fees and the sinking fund.
Read on →Foreigners can own a Thai condo unit outright, but only within 49% of a building's floor area. Land can't be bought at all. The quota, the 30-year lease, and the schemes that don't hold up.
Read on →Telegram is the fastest way — I answer personally.
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