Buying guide

How buying works
on Koh Phangan

What happens between finding a property and holding the keys, in the order it happens, and who is responsible at each step. LandWise coordinates the transaction; the legal work is done by lawyers.

  1. Step 01 · You and LandWise

    Explore before you travel

    Every property we list has been captured in full — the building in 3D, the interior as a 360° walkthrough and the floor plan. Most buyers rule properties in and out at this stage, which is the point: a trip should confirm a decision rather than start one.

  2. Step 02 · You and your LandWise advisor

    The viewing

    We arrange access, meet you at the property and answer what the capture cannot — the road in, the neighbours, the water, the noise at night. We will usually show more than one property in a day if that is useful.

  3. Step 03 · LandWise, on your behalf and the seller’s

    The offer

    We act for the seller as their agent, and we put your offer to them properly and in writing. Where there is negotiation we run it. When a price is agreed, it is recorded and the transaction begins.

  4. Step 04 · You and the seller

    Reservation

    A reservation takes the property off the market while the legal work starts. The amount and the terms vary by seller; we will tell you exactly what is being asked and what it does before anything is paid.

  5. Step 05 · Your lawyer — coordinated by LandWise

    Due diligence

    Your lawyer checks the title, the permits and the seller’s right to sell. LandWise does not perform this work and does not offer an opinion on it. What we do is chase the documents, keep both sides moving and tell you where it stands.

  6. Step 06 · The lawyers — coordinated by LandWise

    Contract

    The sale and purchase agreement is drafted, reviewed by both sides and signed. Again the drafting and the advice are the lawyers’; the coordination is ours.

  7. Step 07 · You, the seller and the Land Office

    Transfer

    Ownership transfers at the Land Office and the balance is paid. Documents, funds and both parties have to be ready on the same day — in practice this is the step that most often slips, and keeping it on the date is most of what we do in the final fortnight.

  8. Step 08 · You and the seller

    Handover

    Keys, inventory and any handover notes. Our job ends when the property is transferred, the seller has been paid and you are in it.

On ownership structures, foreign ownership and tax. These are the questions we are asked most and they are the ones we will not answer here. They turn on the specific property, the buyer’s circumstances and current Thai law, and getting them wrong is expensive. LandWise is an estate agency, not a law firm: we will introduce you to qualified Thai legal and tax advisers and coordinate their work, and this page will carry proper guidance only once a Thai lawyer has written and reviewed it.

What LandWise does, and what it does not

We are the estate agent. We take a property onto our books, capture it properly, market it, find and qualify the buyer, run the negotiation and then coordinate everyone through to completion. We stay involved until the property has transferred, the seller has been paid and the buyer is in it.

We do not perform legal due diligence, we do not draft contracts and we do not give legal, tax or financial advice. Those are done by independent professionals, and we would rather introduce you to a good one than pretend the work is ours.

Ask a question

If something here does not answer what you need, ask directly.

Shaun Ducker

Founder & Property Advisor

LandWise Buy · Koh Phangan

I answer enquiries myself, arrange the viewing, and stay with the transaction through the offer, the coordination of independent lawyers and surveyors, the transfer and the handover.

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