How to buy a flat in a project under construction.

It is easier to buy a flat in a project under construction than an apartment from the secondary housing market. You can buy a condo in a new project on the hire-purchase system for several years, mainly, for the construction period. And this is the main difference from the secondary market. Moreover, you have an opportunity to buy an apartment under construction without coming to Thailand!

1. Project selection.

This is the main point for the buyer. There are more than 100 developing projects in Pattaya nowadays and it is a bit hard to choose a good one. You should consider the price, the quality, the destination and surrounding, infrastructure, the reliability of the builder while searching for the flat. Finally, you should analyze what options are affordable personally for your budget. It was possible to visit all the new projects personally within one day several years ago because there were only few new buildings in the city. Today you have to spend a couple of weeks to have a brief look at each from 100 buildings. So, it is better to ask a real estate agency for help and assistance in order to save your time.

Some people think that it is better to deal directly with the developer because you can have a discount while the agents have to be paid some commission. But it is a completely wrong approach. At first, the commission is paid buy the seller, it means that the project-developer pays the commission to the agent. The construction company will never offer you a discount which is the same as the commission for the agent. In this case agents won`t cooperate with this builder. Secondly, any manager in the office of the construction company will declare that their project is the best. As you understand, it is their job. Experienced and professional real estate agent can show you a real situation on the market, compare different options and depict all the advantages and disadvantages of different projects and builders. Besides this, every solid agency serves their clients until the building is ready and provides additional help. For example, you can order a special service and your property will be administrated by our company.

YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS! As a rule, it is better to buy an apartment at the very beginning at the stage of pre-sale as the prices are the lowest at this moment. When the project is finished the prices can rise up to 25-35% ! Sometimes it is profitable to buy a flat on special short-time promo. The top real estate agency always has the information concerning all the best offers and cost-efficient promotion which are organized by the project-developers.

2. Property reservation and paperwork.

It is possible to buy a flat staying in Pattaya and remotely from the convenient place for you.  The general procedure is the same but some developers have their own variations. At first you have to reserve a flat and pay an irrecoverable deposit to the builder, than your flat won`t be for sale for other people. The deposit varies from 20 000 to 50 000 THB and is set by the developer. If you are in Pattaya you can pay this sum in cash or by credit card in the sale office. If you pay for the deposit remotely, you will be provided with an invoice and you will transfer the requested sum directly to the account of the builder.  Occasionally you can transfer your money the account of your agent, if you trust him or her completely. In this case the agent will pay for the flat you liked and it will be your reservation.

After the builder receives your deposit, he must prepare and sign a contract with the buyer. You should provide the following information for the contract:

• the copy of international passport or ID of the buyers ( there can be more than one buyer) must be signed personally;
• detailed address for post and correspondences. This address will be used for sending you original documents ( use the address which is more convenient for you);
• your e-mail address;
• telephone numbers for communication in case of emergency.

The contract is prepared within 2-4 days. It contains the following information: the object you buy, the price, the schedule of payments, the date when the object is finished, the condition of fee payments for registration of the ownership.

Please note, that every developer has a standard contract which is composed and confirmed by the legal department. So the agreement can` be changed too much especially for you. If you are in Pattaya, you can sign the contract in the office of the developer. If you are not in the city they will send you two copies of the agreement by express delivery. You must sign both copies and send one of them back to Thailand. Besides this you will receive the invoice together with the hard copies of the agreement. The invoice contains account details of the developer for the first payment. Usually, there are 20-30% of the whole apartment price. The contract is effective after you pay to the developer according to the invoice. The first sum can be paid within 2 or 3 weeks. Please, pay attention to the title of the company written in the contract and the invoice. Both contract and invoice must have the same information about the seller, you must be sure that you transfer your many to the legal body entitled in the contract which you signed. All the future payments must be transferred only to the account of the project-developer company.

YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS! The majority of the developers in Pattaya are very experienced and have built many projects. So there are famous brands like Rimon Land, Heights Holdings, Nova, Tulip, Nordic, Sansiri, Dusit, Beach Mountain Group and etc. There are holdings which are owners of brands. The developers open a new legal body for each new project to optimize the taxes and provide better service. These new legal bodies are the sub-companies of the main holding. You will sign the contract with those sub-companies when you buy a flat in a definite project. It happens the title of the sub-company doesn`t have anything in common with the title of the main company. And this is ok.

3. The system of contract payment / Interest-free installment.

They will send you an invoice for each payment including the first one. The invoice can be paid via bank transfer service which can be done in every bank which transfers money to international accounts. Russian banks usually ask to show the original contract when you pay the invoice. Sberbank and VTB are the most convenient banks for international money transfer. Also you can take to Thailand travelers checks American Express. There are more information in the article «How to pay for the apartment».

All the project – developers in Pattaya provide the interest-free installment for their purchasers. On this condition when you sign the contract, the price for the flat is fixed in THB and can`t be changed. The first part of the sum (the first payment) is paid by the buyer during 2-4 weeks after the contract is signed. The first payment is usually 20 -30%. As a rule, the sum you pay for the reservation of the apartment (20 000 – 50 000 THB) is included into the first payment. The second part of the price is paid by equal installments. Usually the clients pay quarterly during the whole construction period. This period can last several month or even 30 or 36 month in some of the projects. The last part is paid when you move in. This system is not a loan, it is an interest-free installment.

We would like to repeat that all the payments for the purchased property must be transferred to the account of the legal body that signs the purchase contract with you. After the money transfer is received according to each invoice, the developer`s accountant will provide you with the document. This document shows the amount of money which was transferred to the developer from you.

YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS! All the contracts in Thailand are signed only in THB but the international money transfer from Russian banks can be made in different currencies. So, the invoice from the developer must have the price both in THB and dollars or euro. This option will help you to avoid the following problem: the bank won`t accept the payment or it will accept it but won`t transfer money. Such a situation really happened, so ask your agent to prove that the invoice has dollar or euro sum. All the currency receipts to Thailand are automatically converted into Thai Baht according to the actual course. Also it can happen that you didn`t pay enough or overpaid because the course of euro and dollar isn`t fixed to Thai Baht. In this case all the payments are counted by the developer in Thai Baht. The next invoice will be counted on the basis of the underpayment or overpayment of the previous invoice.

4. Frequently asked questions:

 My flat is sold fully furnished. But I don`t like this furniture – can I buy the flat without this and have a discount?
- Usually, you won`t meet such an opportunity in Pattaya. You receive the furniture according to the contract and then you can use it as you wish. Also it is impossible to negotiate the furniture, gadgets and facilities.

My flat is sold only with air-conditioning, in-built kitchen and equipped bathroom. Can I order the option with full furniture from the developer?
- It is possible if the developer offers this option, but it concerns only 1/10 of all the projects.

There are only studio and one-bedroom apartments in the project. But I need two bedrooms. What should I do?
- There is an opportunity to integrate units in the majority of the projects. It is enough to combine 2 one-bedroom flats or 3 studios for one apartment with 2 bedrooms. Usually such a combination is offered by the developer for free and you will receive an appropriate furniture set. In this case you will have one spacious kitchen.

I reserved the flat in the project A and paid 20 000 THB deposit. But now I realize that I want the project B. Can I return my money?
- The deposit is irrecoverable. It is understood, so many companies don`t outline this fact for the clients. If you deny the flat, it means that you lose your deposit. Except the situation if both projects A and B belong to one developer. In this case you will manage to save your money and transfer your deposit from the first project to the second.

I want to buy a flat in Thailand. Can I take a mortgage loan in Thailand bank or take a credit on the security of my flat?
- No, Thailand banks don`t give any credits to foreign citizens who don`t have any assets on the territory of the Kingdom. Sometimes the developer company can offer the credit for 2-5 years for their flats. You will be the owner of the flat after you pay the whole some and credit interests. But it isn`t a popular scheme because there has been an increasing demand for the property in Thailand.

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