Buying property in Phuket: a guide for foreign buyers
A Phuket purchase runs in a predictable order. Knowing the order makes it much easier to spot when something is being skipped.
1. Decide what you are buying it for
A plot for a family home, a villa project for resale, and land held for the long term are three different briefs. They point to different areas, different sizes and different title requirements.
Write down your budget for land and for the build separately. Land price alone rarely tells you whether a project works.
2. Shortlist and visit
Photographs flatten slope, hide access problems and make boundaries look tidier than they are. Visit the plots, walk the access road, and look at what sits on the neighbouring land.
Ask what the plot is next to, not only what it faces. Quarries, temples, schools and planned roads all affect day-to-day life.
3. Verify before you commit money
Once you are serious, your lawyer checks the title document, the registered owner, the boundaries, encumbrances, access rights and zoning. This is due diligence and it comes before any significant payment.
Where a plot has been subdivided or has unclear access, expect this stage to take longer. That delay is protection, not friction.
4. Deposit and contract
A reservation or deposit agreement takes the plot off the market for an agreed period. Read what happens to the deposit if due diligence fails — that clause matters more than the amount.
The sale and purchase agreement should reflect what you were actually shown, including size, boundaries and anything promised about access or utilities.
5. Transfer
Transfer happens at the Land Office, where the registration is made and taxes and fees are paid. Agree in writing beforehand who pays what.
Keep every document you receive. You will need them again when you build, connect utilities or eventually sell.