How Much Will a Cambodia Condo Seller Actually Receive?

The contract price is not the amount a seller necessarily keeps. Agent commission, a mortgage payoff, condominium arrears, transaction costs, tenant money, agreed repairs and bank charges can all reduce the proceeds. A further portion may be held back until title registration, release of a lender’s security or another closing condition has been completed.

Before accepting an offer, a seller needs three figures:

• the agreed gross sale price;
• the cash available by completion;
• the final net proceeds after deductions and any holdback has been released.

The calculation itself is straightforward: net sale proceeds = agreed price − the seller’s actual costs and liabilities. A holdback is not automatically a cost, but it is not spendable money until it has been released.

Net proceeds are also not the same as investment profit. Profit would require a separate calculation covering the original purchase, ownership costs, improvements and rental income. This page deals with the narrower and more immediate question: how much cash the seller receives from this sale.

Use three numbers, not the listing price

The first number is the gross sale price written into the agreement. The listing price is irrelevant once the parties have negotiated a different amount or agreed an adjustment for furniture, condition or another commercial point.

The second is cash available by completion. This includes any part of the price already received and the money paid to the seller at closing after direct payments to a lender, agent or other agreed recipient. A $5,000 reservation deposit that forms part of the purchase price is counted once as an earlier receipt, not again as extra money on top of the price.

The third is final net proceeds. This combines the earlier deposit, completion-day cash and any holdback later returned to the seller. If some of the holdback is used to settle a repair or an outstanding bill, only the balance becomes part of the final proceeds.

This distinction matters when comparing offers. A higher headline price can produce a worse result if it comes with expensive repairs, a long retention or uncertain payment terms. Compare what you keep and when you can use it, not just the number at the top of the offer.

The deductions that genuinely reduce the seller’s proceeds

Agent commission. Do not rely on a supposed universal commission rate for Cambodia. Read the signed agency agreement: percentage or fixed fee, calculation base, applicable tax, payment trigger and any separately approved marketing expense. Estimate it before listing, then update it when the sale price is agreed.

Mortgage or registered security. Where the condo secures a loan, part of the buyer’s money may need to go directly to the creditor. Obtain a current payoff statement for the expected closing date. It should cover principal, accrued interest, any early-settlement charge, administration and the cost of releasing the security. Last month’s loan balance is not a closing figure.

Condominium and utility arrears. Request a dated statement from building management. Check regular service charges, approved special assessments that may not yet appear on an ordinary invoice, and any electricity or water balance up to handover. The agreement should set a clear cut-off between the seller’s period and the buyer’s period.

Tax and transfer costs. Do not subtract a percentage copied from an old article. Identify the taxes, registration costs and professional charges that apply to this transaction, then record who bears each one. As at July 2026, Cambodia’s General Department of Taxation had postponed capital gains tax on immovable property until 1 January 2027. That is a dated position, not a permanent exemption, and it should be checked again before completion. Outstanding property tax, rental-related liabilities or company-level tax may still matter, depending on the seller and the asset.

Legal work, a power of attorney, registration assistance, bank transfer charges and currency conversion may also reduce the result. Include them when the seller has actually agreed to pay them or has already incurred them; do not turn every possible transaction cost into an automatic deduction.

Tenants, security deposits and agreed property work

A tenant’s security deposit is not free cash belonging to the owner. It remains money that may have to be returned under the lease, so it must be dealt with when the property changes hands.

If the condo is sold with the tenancy continuing, the parties normally need to transfer the deposit to the buyer or credit the buyer for it in the settlement. The buyer then holds the corresponding liability to the tenant. If vacant possession is required, the seller should settle the deposit under the lease before handover. Either way, the amount, recipient and evidence of transfer should be written down.

Property defects can be handled in several ways: the seller completes the work before closing, the parties reduce the price, or an agreed amount is held back until the work is finished. Use one treatment for each defect. A leaking air conditioner should not reduce the price and then appear again as a separate repair deduction.

Furniture and appliances need the same discipline. List what stays, what goes and any credit for a missing or damaged item. A commercial concession already reflected in the agreed price must not be deducted a second time in the closing statement.

Completion cash and money released later

The date the agreement is signed, the day keys change hands, the registration filing and the day cleared funds reach the seller may all be different. Cambodia does not have one practical closing sequence that fits every resale: the structure depends on the ownership route, the parties, the bank and whether a lender is releasing security.

For a useful calculation, divide the money into three stages:

1. Before completion: a deposit or instalment already received as part of the price.
2. At completion: the amount paid directly to the seller after the agreed third-party payments and deductions.
3. After completion: a holdback released when a specified condition is satisfied.

A holdback might remain in place pending title registration, discharge of a mortgage, a building clearance or completion of an agreed repair. It is not necessarily lost. It does, however, remain unavailable until the release condition has been met.

The agreement or closing statement should identify the amount, the person or institution holding it, the evidence required for release, the deadline and the dispute process. A retention with no clear release event or date is a material warning sign. For personal cash planning, treat the money as unavailable until it has actually cleared into the seller’s account. A transfer instruction, particularly for an international remittance, is not the same as received funds.

One worked example

Assume the agreed price is $120,000. The buyer has already paid the seller a $5,000 deposit that forms part of that price.

The transaction includes:

• $3,600 agent commission;
• $40,000 mortgage payoff and security release;
• $800 condominium and utility arrears;
• $1,500 of tax and transaction costs allocated to the seller;
• $1,000 tenant deposit passed to the buyer;
• $600 agreed repair cost;
• a temporary $3,000 holdback.

The buyer has $115,000 left to pay at completion. After the listed payments and the holdback, $64,500 goes to the seller at closing. Including the $5,000 deposit received earlier, the seller has received $69,500 by that point.

If the full $3,000 holdback is released later, final net proceeds are:

$120,000 − $3,600 − $40,000 − $800 − $1,500 − $1,000 − $600 = $72,500.

If $700 of the holdback is used for unfinished work, only $2,300 is returned and final net proceeds fall to $71,800. That is why completion cash and expected final proceeds should appear as separate figures.

Approve the closing statement before accepting the deal

Before a reservation or sale agreement becomes binding, ask for a one-page settlement statement. It should reconcile the agreed price, deposit already paid, balance due from the buyer, direct payments to third parties, seller costs, holdback and expected payment dates. Every use of the buyer’s money should add back to the agreed price.

The seller should be able to answer six practical questions:

• What is the lender’s exact payoff amount, and when does the quote expire?
• Is there a current building clearance, including approved but not yet invoiced assessments?
• Who pays each tax, registration charge and banking cost under the agreement?
• What happens to the lease and the tenant’s deposit?
• Have repairs, furniture credits and other concessions been counted only once?
• How much reaches the seller by completion, how much remains held back, and what releases it?

A material deduction supported only by an estimate means the calculation is not ready. Update it when the offer is agreed, before the main contract is signed and again immediately before completion. The seller should know the amount, timing and destination of every payment before committing to the sale.