Guidance for Foreign Buyers of Condominium Units

Currency

Any foreign currency can be used to purchase a condominium unit. The foreign currency must be transferred in to Thailand as foreign currency and exchanged into Thai Baht by a local bank in Thailand.

Documents needed when buying a condominium

For foreigners to be eligible to purchase a condominium unit in Thailand they must present proof to the Department of Lands that the funds have been remitted from overseas in foreign currency. Without such proof, the Department of Lands will not register the transfer of ownership to the foreign buyer.

1. Remittances must be sent in exactly (“to the letter”) the same name as appearing on the purchase contract, i.e. if Tom Smith is the buyer then the name Tom Smith must appear on the remittance advice. T.Smith fo Smith Enterprised are unacceptable. If the buyers are two individuals, then two names should appear on the contract and two separate remittances should be made by such two person, in equal amounts.

2. Transfers of funds must be made in Foreign Currency only and Not in Thai baht, i.e. if you are working in US Dollars then remit in US Dollars. Do not remit in Thai
Baht.

3. The purpose of the remittance must be stated on the remittance advice. This should be “FOR THE PURCHASE OF BUYING A CONDOMINIUM, UNIT ……. IN THE ALCOVE THONGLOR 10 PROJECT”. The Bank of Thailand’s transaction purpose code for this is 381069.

4. Amounts Due Under Contract.

a. Reservation – Baht 100,000 which is deducted from the final transfer payment.

b. Signing Sale and Purchase Agreement – 10 per cent payment of the total purchase price is to be paid upon signing the sale and purchase contract.

c. Installments – An additional 20 per cent payment of the total sale price is to be paid in installments in accordance with the sale and purchase agreement.

d. The Transfer – The transfer amount will be the balance of the total purchase price.

5. Money Transfer

There are 2 options to transfer money to the Developer, (i.e. ABC Properties Company Limited) as follows.

a. Transfer the funds into a local bank account of the buyer in Thailand in the prescribed  format as outlined above, and execute a domestic transfer of this amount onwards to the Developer.  In this case, the buyer must request the local bank of the buyer to issue the Foreign Exchange Transaction Form.

b. Amounts transferred should be at or greater than $20,000, in order to automatically qualify for a Foreign Exchange Transaction Form. (The buyer has to request (by telephone or by written notice, according to the procedure of the relevant local bank) for obtaining the Foreign Exchange Transaction Form from the local bank as soon as the funds has been transferred.

If the amount remitted is less than USD $20,000, the buyers is required to send a letter to the bank who will in turn send you a letter confirming the purpose of the remittance is for  purchasing a condominium unit. Presently, either the Foreign Exchange Transaction Form of the Letter from the bank can be used as evidence when providing proof of fund remittance at the Department of Lands. Without providing either the Foreign Exchange Transaction Form or the letter from the bank, the Department of Lands will not register the transfer of the condominium unit into your name.

For the avoidance of any doubt, we recommend wherever  possible all buyers arrange for their local bank to issue the Foreign Exchange Transaction Form for all remittances.

c. Transfer the funds directly to the Developer’s bank account in the prescribed format, and the Developer will arrange for the Foreign Exchange Transaction Form to be issued by the Developer’s Bank.

For your convenience, we strongly recommend that you should transfer the funds directly to the Developer’s bank account.

6. Account Details of the Developer

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