How to buy
How to buy a condominium in Thailand: a step-by-step guide for foreign buyers
Buying an apartment in Thailand from abroad is a fixed sequence: choose a unit, reserve it, sign the sale agreement, pay in stages from overseas, then register the transfer at the Land Office. Below, each step as it works at The Astra Samui in Bophut, Koh Samui, on the project’s own terms.
Draft under legal review. This is not legal advice.
At a glance
A foreigner can own an apartment in a Thai condominium in their own name, as long as foreign ownership stays within the foreign quota: up to 49% of the total unit area in a condominium, set by the Condominium Act. At The Astra Samui you choose between foreign freehold and leasehold. You reserve with a fee, pay in instalments linked to construction milestones and, for foreign freehold, send the money from abroad in a foreign currency. Ownership passes at handover, when the transfer is registered at the Land Office. Timing: handover planned for December 2028.
- Ownership options
- foreign freehold or leasehold
- Foreign quota (law)
- up to 49% of the total unit area in a condominium
- Title
- Foreign freehold: the unit title deed is issued in the buyer’s own name.
- Leasehold
- Leasehold: a registered 30-year lease. Renewal is not guaranteed.
- Reservation fee
- Reservation fee: THB 100,000 (studio, 1 bedroom or 1 bedroom plus) or THB 150,000 (2 bedrooms), fully refundable until 20 November 2026, 17:00.
- Payment plan
- Payments: 30% by 20 December 2026, 30% when the roof structure is complete (planned for February 2028), 40% at handover (planned for December 2028). The developer does not offer financing.
- Sale and purchase agreement
- Environmental approval (EIA) is expected in February 2027. The sale and purchase agreement is signed once it is granted.
- Transfer fee
- Transfer fee: 2%, split equally (1% paid by the buyer)
- Handover
- handover planned for December 2028
Project terms as of 22 October 2026.
Can a foreigner buy a condo in Thailand?
Yes, as long as it is an apartment in a registered condominium. Thai law does not let foreigners own land, but a condominium unit is different: you own the apartment plus a share of the common areas. The Condominium Act allows foreign ownership of up to the foreign quota, up to 49% of the total unit area in a condominium. The quota is counted by floor area, not by the number of apartments.
Once the quota in a building is used up, the remaining units can only be sold to Thai buyers, or to foreigners on a leasehold basis. Before you reserve, ask us to confirm that foreign freehold is still available for the unit you have chosen.
Foreign freehold or leasehold
Foreign freehold
Foreign freehold means freehold ownership within the foreign quota of the condominium. Foreign freehold: the unit title deed is issued in the buyer’s own name. You can sell the apartment, leave it to your heirs or let it, within the building rules.
Leasehold
Leasehold is a long lease registered at the Land Office. Leasehold: a registered 30-year lease. Renewal is not guaranteed. If you sell, the buyer takes over the years that remain.
These are the two routes available to foreign buyers at The Astra Samui. Which one suits you depends on how long you plan to keep the apartment and on your situation at home, so talk it through with an independent lawyer before you reserve.
Buying at The Astra Samui in 8 steps
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Step 1: Choose your apartment
Pick the building, floor and layout in the apartment shop or on the site plan. Floors follow the European convention; the developer’s plans count the ground floor as 1st floor. We send you the floor plan and the current price for the units you shortlist.
Site plan of The Astra Samui. Illustrative plan -
Step 2: Reserve it
You pay the reservation fee and the unit is taken off the market for you. Reservation fee: THB 100,000 (studio, 1 bedroom or 1 bedroom plus) or THB 150,000 (2 bedrooms), fully refundable until 20 November 2026, 17:00.
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Step 3: First instalment and reservation agreement
The first instalment of the payment plan is paid together with signing the reservation agreement. From here on, every payment follows the schedule in step 5.
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Step 4: Sale and purchase agreement (SPA)
The SPA sets out the unit, price, payment plan, specification and handover terms. You sign it with the developer, a Thai company listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), based in Chiang Mai. Environmental approval (EIA) is expected in February 2027. The sale and purchase agreement is signed once it is granted. (EIA: environmental impact assessment.) Have your own lawyer read the SPA before you sign.
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Step 5: Pay in stages
Payments: 30% by 20 December 2026, 30% when the roof structure is complete (planned for February 2028), 40% at handover (planned for December 2028). The developer does not offer financing.
Instalment When 1st together with the reservation agreement (step 3) 2nd roof structure complete: planned for February 2028 3rd at handover: handover planned for December 2028 The percentages come from the payment plan above; the table only puts the instalments in order.
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Step 6: Send the money from abroad
For foreign freehold, the Condominium Act requires the purchase money to come into Thailand from abroad in a foreign currency. For each transfer, the Thai bank that receives it issues a Foreign Exchange Transaction form (FET form). Keep every one: the Land Office asks for them when your title is registered. Tax and reporting rules in your home country are a question for an adviser there.
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Step 7: Inspect the apartment at handover
Before the final payment you walk through the finished apartment, or send someone you trust, and list anything that needs fixing. The developer provides a construction warranty after handover (the period is not stated).
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Step 8: Register the transfer and receive your title
The transfer is registered at the Land Office on Koh Samui, where the final payment and the transfer fee are settled. Foreign freehold: the unit title deed is issued in the buyer’s own name. From that day you pay the building’s running costs (next section).
The gateway at dusk, framed by mature trees. Illustrative visualisation
Costs on top of the price
According to the project’s sales documents, these are the costs you should plan for, besides the price of the apartment:
- Transfer fee: 2%, split equally (1% paid by the buyer)
- Sinking fund: THB 500 per m², one-off
- Common area fee: THB 50 per m² per month (12 months paid in advance)
Add your own bank’s transfer and currency conversion charges and your lawyer’s fee. Whether any other tax is due on transfer is confirmed in the SPA. No rental income is promised. If you plan to let the apartment, read about the options and rules before you count on any income.
The whole buying process in one PDF
Our brochure covers the steps, the payment plan, the ownership options and the floor plans of all layouts, in English.
How Varsovia Estate helps
We are the sales agent for The Astra Samui, with offices in Koh Samui (Maenam), Phuket and Phnom Penh. We work in Polish and English.
- We help you shortlist units and check what is still available.
- We send the price list and a PDF offer for the units you like.
- We run online presentations and show you the site and the area on Koh Samui.
- We explain the reservation, the payment plan and the documents in plain language, and stay in touch until handover.
We do not give legal or tax advice. For the SPA and the transfer, appoint your own independent lawyer in Thailand.
Questions about buying
Is the reservation fee refundable?
Reservation fee: THB 100,000 (studio, 1 bedroom or 1 bedroom plus) or THB 150,000 (2 bedrooms), fully refundable until 20 November 2026, 17:00.
Can I sell my apartment before it is finished?
Resale before handover is possible once the 30% down payment is paid. Changing the buyer’s name: THB 5,000 administrative fee, once the down payment is paid and the SPA signed.
Should I choose freehold or leasehold?
Foreign freehold puts the title in your own name with no time limit, provided the foreign quota has room. Leasehold is a registered lease: Leasehold: a registered 30-year lease. Renewal is not guaranteed. Which one fits depends on your plans and your home country’s rules, so ask an independent lawyer. This is not legal advice.
Talk the process through with us
A 30-minute call is usually enough to go through the steps for your situation and the units that fit your budget. Apartments at The Astra Samui are priced from THB 3,700,000 (about €98,000, NBP average rate of 23 October 2026).
The Thai baht price is the binding one; euro and US dollar figures are estimates at the NBP average exchange rate of 23 October 2026.
Sources
- Condominium Act B.E. 2522 (1979), sections 19 and 19 bis: foreign ownership and foreign quota.
- Department of Lands, Thailand: registration of condominium unit transfers.
- Bank of Thailand: Foreign Exchange Transaction (FET) form.
- Sales documents for The Astra Samui, as of 22 October 2026: reservation fee, payment plan, costs, ownership options.
Links and access dates are added after legal review.
