NovBangkok Developer Payment Plan Comparison
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Quick — 10-second read
The conclusion and the next practical check.
- Takeaway
- The headline booking amount is a weak measure of affordability. The useful comparison is how much of the purchase price leaves your account before handover and how large the final balance remains.
- What to do
- Get a dated schedule for the exact unit, tied to its current price and offer validity, then map every payment to reservation, contract signing, the pre-handover period and final settlement.
What exactly is being compared
A low booking figure can make a plan look light even when a large payment follows almost immediately. The useful questions are how much cash is needed in the first weeks, how much of the price is paid before handover, and what remains for the final settlement. Two offers with the same headline percentage can therefore produce very different funding pressure.
The table uses six Bangkok offers that were publicly checkable on 27 September 2026. Each row keeps the published price and its payment split together, and only plans whose stated percentages close to 100% are used for the calculation. This is a limited comparison of live offers, not a claim about the typical Bangkok market plan.
Timing also changes the meaning of the percentages. A completed unit with 90% due at transfer may require that money soon, while an off-plan unit can leave the final balance with the buyer for much longer. The percentage is only half the information; the contractual event that triggers it is the other half.
Public sales pages are useful for comparison, but they are not the document you pay against. Before reserving a unit, the current price, validity period, reservation treatment and every payment date or milestone should be confirmed in the unit-specific paperwork.
How much cash is due before handover
Amounts are calculated from the starting price, or the specified unit price, shown alongside the plan. Three pages display an 11 September update; Scope Promsri and Noble Emmerse are labelled by the 27 September check date because their plan pages do not show a separate terms-update date. Treat these as comparison snapshots and reconfirm the exact unit before paying.
| Project / plan | Paid before handover | Due at handover |
|---|---|---|
| Adler · from ฿19.25m · upd. 11 Sep | ≈฿2.31m · 12% | ≈฿16.94m · 88% |
| Mulberry Grove · from ฿12.81m · upd. 11 Sep | ≈฿2.562m · 20% | ≈฿10.248m · 80% |
| Park Origin Thonglor · from ฿13.73m · upd. 11 Sep | ≈฿4.119m · 30% | ≈฿9.611m · 70% |
| Scope Promsri · ฿6.80m · checked 27 Sep | ฿0.68m · 10% | ฿6.12m · 90% |
| Noble Emmerse · ฿7.847m unit · checked 27 Sep | ฿2.354m · 30% | ฿5.493m · 70% |
| The Strand · from ฿20.008m · checked 27 Sep | ≈฿4.002m · 20% | ≈฿16.006m · 80% |
A small booking fee can hide a much larger next payment
Park Origin Thonglor's public plan places 30% at booking. On the published starting price of ฿13.73 million, that is about ฿4.119 million at the front of the transaction, while the largest single payment is the 70% handover balance of roughly ฿9.611 million.
Noble Emmerse reaches the same 30% pre-completion total on a different timetable. For the ฿7.847 million unit shown on the listing, the ฿100,000 booking fee is deducted from a 15% payment due within 15 days, and another 15% is due within 45 days of reservation. The public page therefore confirms at least ฿1.177 million inside the first 30 days, but it does not establish the exact 30-day total because the second instalment is given as a 45-day deadline rather than a precise payment date. Total pre-completion cash is ฿2.354 million, and the largest single payment is the ฿5.493 million final balance.
Both plans collect 30% before final settlement, yet Park Origin places the full share at booking. Noble leaves more timing room in the published wording, but only the unit-specific schedule can show whether any part of the second 15% falls inside the first month.
These are public sales terms, not signed unit schedules. The final cash curve should be rebuilt from the dated quotation and contract for the unit being purchased.
Put every plan on the same timeline
Reservation
Record the amount that holds the unit and the document that says where that money is credited later. Thailand's OCPB standard form treats a reservation fee separately from a deposit or down payment, so a marketing label alone is not enough to establish the accounting.
Contract signing
This is where the contract price, any genuine price discount and the signing payment need to line up. If the reservation money reduces the signing amount, the deal documents should say so explicitly.
Pre-handover payments
Keep each instalment attached to the stated date or contractual milestone. A construction trigger should stay a construction trigger; converting it into an assumed number of months creates timing that the seller never promised.
Handover and final payment
Separate the remaining purchase price from transfer-day costs that sit outside that price. The comparison table above follows the unit price schedule only; taxes, common fees and ownership costs are deliberately outside it.
When discounts change the real cost of a plan
A 30/70 split does not tell you whether the instalment version costs the same as paying faster. If the same unit carries one contract price on instalments and a lower documented price for accelerated payment, the direct price difference comes first; the timing benefit is a separate question.
The comparison only holds when the unit, specification and offer period are the same. Cashback after transfer, furniture packages, waived fees and other incentives should stay outside the contract price unless the paperwork actually reduces that price.
No discounted-cash-flow model is imposed here. A present-value calculation needs an assumed discount rate chosen for the buyer's circumstances, so it is more useful as an optional scenario after the real prices and dates are fixed.
Documents to request before comparing plans
Price and validity
- A price sheet for the exact unit or unit type showing the full purchase price.
- The offer date and the period for which the price and terms remain valid.
- Any separate full-payment or accelerated-payment price, if one is offered.
Schedule and contract
- The reservation form showing the amount paid to hold the unit and its terms.
- The sale and purchase agreement, or a draft, before a material payment is due.
- A complete payment schedule with every date or contractual trigger.
- Written confirmation of whether the reservation money is credited toward the price and against which instalment.
Handover and refunds
- The balance due at handover and the event that makes it payable.
- Transfer-day charges that sit outside the unit purchase price.
- The terms for refunding or retaining money already paid.
- Contract clauses covering a delayed project timetable and what that does to payment obligations.
Developer payment plan FAQ
Does the reservation fee count toward the down payment?
Not automatically. The 2024 OCPB standard reservation form distinguishes the reservation fee from a deposit or down payment, so crediting the amount toward the purchase price needs to be supported by the deal documents. OCPB also reported compliance inspections of condominium reservation contracts in February 2026. If an advert shows a booking amount and a contract percentage separately, do not assume one reduces the other.
Does a smaller first payment mean a cheaper plan?
No. Compare the contract price, the total cash committed before handover and the final balance. A documented discount for faster payment can change the economics, but it should appear as a separate price for the same unit. Gifts, post-handover cashback or developer-paid fees do not automatically reduce the contract price.
Can I compare plans from a developer’s promotion page alone?
It can help you shortlist offers, but it is not enough to build the transaction cash calendar. If one dated price is not tied to every payment stage, the pre-handover total and final balance cannot be calculated reliably. Before reservation, get the unit-specific schedule and the contract wording that explains how earlier payments are credited. Until then, the promotional figure is only a lead.
What if the handover date moves?
A delayed handover does not produce one universal payment outcome. The SPA should say what date or event triggers final settlement, how delay is treated and what remedies or termination rights apply. Reservation-form rules do not replace the construction and handover clauses in the signed sale agreement. The applicable law and the reason for the delay also matter for a specific dispute.
Expert view
Booking is rarely the point that puts the most pressure on a buyer's cash. The squeeze usually comes when the contract payment and the next instalment sit close together. Two plans can both collect 30% before handover and still feel completely different. One may take most of that amount in the first two weeks, while another spreads it over several dates. I would look at the largest amount that must be available on any single date, then at the cumulative amount due before handover. That says much more about whether the timetable fits the buyer's funding than the headline booking figure.
Mark ErometskiyNovAsia Thailand expert
Expert profile →Sources and check dates
Show sources and methodology5 checked sources+
- Office of the Consumer Protection Board — Announcement of the Contract Committee, B.E. 2567 (2024), condominium reservation contract form
Supports the separation of the reservation fee from a deposit or down payment and shows price, discount and future-contract fields in the standard form. It does not establish the payment plan of any individual development.
- OCPB — Condominium reservation contract compliance inspection, 3 February 2026
Confirms that OCPB was inspecting condominium reservation contracts for compliance with the 2024 rules in February 2026. It does not establish that any specific developer contract complies.
- Adler by AP Thai in Bangkok | Alnair
The public commercial page shows a ฿19.25m starting price, an 11 September update and a 12% booking / 88% handover split. It is not a signed developer quotation or contract, so unit-specific terms still need confirmation.
- Mulberry Grove in Bangkok | Prices & Payment Plan | Alnair
Shows a ฿12.81m starting price, an 11 September update and a 10% booking + 10% construction-period + 80% handover structure. The commercial page is not a substitute for a dated unit schedule.
- Park Origin Thonglor by Origin Property in Bangkok | Alnair
Shows a ฿13.73m starting price, an 11 September update and a 30% booking / 70% handover split. It is used as a public snapshot of terms, not as contractual proof that a particular unit remains available.
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