Buying a resale condo in Thailand: from due diligence to Land Office transfer

A resale condo gives you something an off-plan purchase cannot: evidence. You can stand inside the actual unit, test the air-conditioning, hear the traffic, see how the lifts are maintained and ask the juristic person how the building is run. The asset is real, but so is its history.

That history is where resale transactions become document-heavy. The seller may have common-fee arrears, the building may have no room left under the foreign ownership ceiling, a mortgage may need to be released, or the purchase money may have arrived through a route that does not produce acceptable evidence for a foreign buyer's registration.

The safest order is therefore not “offer, deposit, paperwork.” It is closer to “title and building checks, money route, conditional contract, then payment and transfer.” A strong deal is one where the legal and banking path is clear before the buyer becomes financially committed.

This page is a practical transaction map, not legal or tax advice for a specific unit. Foreign quota, building debts, transfer taxes, banking evidence and Land Office requirements should all be reconfirmed for the actual condo and closing date.

Off-plan due diligence is largely forward-looking. You are testing the developer, construction obligations, payment schedule, delivery terms and what happens if the project does not arrive as promised. A resale deal starts from a completed asset and asks a different question: can this existing title move cleanly from this owner to this buyer?

That shift is valuable. The buyer can assess actual common areas, building occupancy, management responsiveness, renovation noise, parking pressure and the condition of the unit itself. A glossy render cannot tell you whether the lobby still looks good after eight years or whether the juristic office answers a simple document request in two days or two weeks.

The trade-off is inherited history. The unit has a current owner, a title record, recurring common charges and a building-level foreign ownership position that must work on the transfer date. If there is a mortgage, arrears or a mismatch between the advertised ownership story and the registrable structure, the issue has to be solved before completion.

This hub deliberately stops there. Developer contracts, construction milestones and off-plan payment risk belong on the separate new-build guide; here the transaction is a private resale of an existing condominium unit.

The phrase “foreign-quota unit” is useful shorthand but can be misleading if it sounds permanent. Section 19 bis of the Condominium Act sets a building-level ceiling: foreigners and qualifying foreign juristic persons together may own no more than 49% of the total area of all units in that condominium. The transfer still has to fit that ratio when it is registered.

For a foreign resale buyer, the practical document is the certificate from the condominium juristic person confirming that the foreign ownership ratio remains within the permitted limit. The Department of Lands' transfer guide lists that certificate as part of the closing package. An old sales brochure, agent message or screenshot of last month's quota position is not the same thing.

The second gate is the debt-free certificate. Section 29 requires a unit being transferred in an ordinary transaction to be free from liabilities arising from the common expenses under Section 18, evidenced by a current certificate from the condominium juristic person. A 2026 Department of Lands clarification restated that requirement, which is why unresolved common-fee arrears can stop a closing even when buyer and seller are otherwise ready.

Do not let one clean certificate become a substitute for broader building questions. Ask separately about water and electricity balances, approved special assessments, sinking-fund contributions, outstanding repairs and any amounts the seller has agreed to settle before handover. The debt-free certificate is a legal transfer document; it is not a universal audit of every bill connected to the unit.

For a foreign buyer, the banking trail is part of title transfer, not an administrative chore to solve afterwards. The common failure is to send money first — sometimes to a seller, agent or third party because it is convenient — and only then ask the bank for evidence suitable for the Land Office.

One route under the Condominium Act is for the foreign buyer to bring foreign currency into Thailand, or use another permitted source listed by the Act, and present evidence in an amount not less than the unit price. Banks use a Foreign Exchange Transaction Form, usually shortened to FET, for qualifying transactions and may issue other bank evidence for different transaction sizes. The exact document should be confirmed with the receiving bank before the remittance leaves.

The beneficiary matters because the paper trail must make sense as a purchase transaction. Depending on the agreed structure, funds may pass through the buyer's Thai account or another contractually documented route, but the bank should confirm in advance that it can issue evidence linking the incoming funds, buyer and condominium purchase. “Pay this unrelated account because it is faster” is not a banking strategy.

The deposit deserves separate treatment from the balance. A reservation payment can be commercially useful, but the agreement should state what happens if quota, title, debt or bank-document conditions fail. For escrow and broader payment-protection structures, use the dedicated payment-protection guide rather than turning a resale checklist into a general banking manual.

Resale negotiation is strongest when it is tied to something observable. A tired air-conditioning system, dated kitchen, water damage or missing furniture gives both sides a concrete reason to adjust the price. A generic demand for ten per cent off rarely has the same force unless the seller is already under time pressure.

The deal can move without changing the headline price. The seller may agree to leave a complete furniture package, pay an approved special assessment, replace a failing appliance or complete sooner. For a buyer who wants a ready-to-use unit, those concessions can be worth more than a small nominal discount.

Timing is another negotiable asset. A seller who needs a fast closing may value a buyer with quota checks, bank instructions and documents already organised. A seller who wants to remain in the unit after registration creates the opposite issue: occupation, handover date and any retained amount should be documented rather than handled informally.

Closing costs need the same precision. Parties can agree how the economic burden of the transfer registration fee is shared, but private wording does not change how the Land Office calculates a statutory charge or who is legally liable for a seller tax. Avoid “all expenses 50/50” unless the agreement also says exactly which expenses that sentence covers.

The Land Office appointment is the legal closing, not a post-closing formality. The seller and buyer, or properly authorised representatives, bring the condominium title and the required personal, building and banking documents to the office responsible for the condominium. For a foreign buyer, the Department of Lands' own guidance includes the debt-free certificate, foreign-ownership certificate and evidence supporting the buyer's eligibility to take title.

The standard registration fee for a condominium transfer is 2% of the official appraised value. As of 21 August 2026, Thailand also has a 0.01% transfer-fee measure for qualifying homes and condominium units up to THB 7 million through 30 June 2027, but Department of Lands notices specify that the buyer must be a Thai natural person. A foreign buyer should therefore budget on the standard fee unless the relevant Land Office confirms a different relief applies.

Seller-side taxes are separate from the transfer registration fee. Depending on the seller and transaction, withholding income tax is collected at transfer and a specific business tax may apply; where specific business tax does not apply, stamp duty may be due instead. The statutory specific business tax rate is 3%, with a local tax equal to 10% of that tax, producing an effective 3.3%, while the relevant stamp duty is 0.5%. The actual calculation depends on facts such as seller type, holding period, appraised value and sale price.

The sale agreement should say who bears each economic cost. A 50/50 split of the transfer fee is a commercial arrangement, not a universal legal rule, and it should not be confused with the seller's own tax calculation. Ask for a transaction-specific estimate before the deposit becomes non-refundable and include a mechanism for any difference between the estimate and the Land Office figure.

After registration, completion should become physical as well as legal. Release the balance as agreed, collect the registered title, take possession, record the inventory and meter readings, and update the condominium juristic person's owner records. If the seller is staying temporarily or any money is being retained for later handover, that arrangement should already be in the contract.