An ฿8M Condo Is Not the Full Budget: Costs Beyond the Price in Phuket

Imagine this: you have chosen a condo in a new development in Phuket, agreed on the price, paid the booking — and already mentally planned the budget. Then, closer to the handover, payments appear that were never mentioned in the price list.

This is not rare on the Thai market: buyers calculate the budget by the price per square metre, not by the full cost of ownership. Foreign buyers running into the local cost system for the first time are especially exposed.

In this article we break down five cost items worth checking before you pay a booking — using the example of an ฿8 million condo.

The price in the brochure is only the beginning

The price you see in the developer's presentation is the cost of the unit itself. The full purchase budget consists of it plus several more components:

• registration costs for the title transfer;
• common area maintenance;
• the sinking fund;
• furnishing and fittings;
• legal and banking costs.

Some of them are paid once at the deal, others recur after you get the keys. Unless you break the budget into these parts in advance, comparing two projects becomes comparing incomplete numbers.

💬 Want to understand the full budget of a specific condo in advance? Message Viktor on WhatsApp — we'll check what is included in the price and what will appear on top.

1. Title transfer registration

When the transaction is registered at the Land Department, a fee is charged — standardly 2% of the government appraised value of the unit (not of the contract price). Note that the appraised value is usually lower than the market price, so the actual fee may be less than 2% of the contract sum. But this is the payment to put in the budget.

Who pays it, and in what proportion — the buyer, the developer, or both — must be stated directly in the contract. In new developments the developer often covers these costs fully or partly, but that is a contract term, not a market rule.

⚠️ An important nuance for foreign buyers: the reduced rate of 0.01% applies only to eligible transactions where the buyer is a Thai citizen. A foreign buyer must not automatically include this reduction in their budget.

2. Common area maintenance

After handover, the owner pays for the upkeep of the condominium. This fee typically covers:

• maintenance of common areas;
• security and staff;
• the pool, garden and lighting;
• lift and engineering systems servicing.

The rate is charged per square metre and varies noticeably from project to project — it depends on the class of the complex, its infrastructure and how the building is managed. In some projects the first payment is collected a full year in advance — another detail to find out before booking, not at the keys handover.

This is not a one-off payment: it stays with you for the whole period of ownership and directly affects the rental economics if the unit is bought for income.

3. The sinking fund

A separate item is the sinking fund. This is a dedicated contribution for the complex's large future expenses: facade repairs, equipment replacement, renovation of common areas.

It is important not to confuse it with the regular maintenance fee. The sinking fund is a separate payment whose size and payment procedure are set by the documents of the specific condominium. In some projects it is small; in others it is a noticeable amount to have in the budget by the handover date.

4. Furniture and fittings

The phrase "fully finished unit" does not always mean you can move in or rent it out immediately. Finishing means walls, floors, plumbing and wiring. Furniture and appliances are a separate question.

Before booking, check what exactly is included in the specification:

✅ furniture; ✅ appliances; ✅ air conditioners; ✅ curtains and lighting; ✅ kitchenware and textiles; ✅ internet and meters.

Rely not on the renderings in the brochure but on the annex to the contract with the specification list. If the unit is bought for rental, an unfurnished unit also means a lost season: while you buy furniture, the asset is not working.

🛋 A rental unit without furniture is a lost season. Send the offer to Viktor on WhatsApp — we'll check the specification list for your unit.

5. Due diligence and banking costs

Finally, the budget should include the "process" costs:

• independent legal due diligence on the unit and the developer's documents;
• currency conversion and international transfer fees;
• bank confirmations — for example, documents on the origin of funds for the transaction;
• insurance;
• initial utility payments and deposits.

Individually these amounts look small, but together they can add up to a noticeable part of the budget — especially when transferring a large sum from abroad, where the conversion rate and bank fees directly affect the final cost of the condo in your home currency.

How we calculate the real budget

The full budget formula looks like this:

Contract price ➕ registration costs ➕ maintenance and sinking fund ➕ furnishing ➕ legal and banking costs = the full sum before you receive a ready-to-use unit

Only then can two projects be compared honestly.

Sometimes a more expensive condo turns out to be the better deal: furniture and part of the costs are already included, and the maintenance rate is reasonable. Meanwhile, an attractive starting price can grow noticeably after furnishing and the first contributions.

That is why we always calculate the budget before the booking — not after.

🧮 Want to calculate the full cost before paying a booking? Message Viktor on WhatsApp — we'll break down the costs for your project line by line.

Facts checked on 16 September 2026. The reduced rate and its restrictions: Thai Land Department. Exact amounts and the allocation of costs depend on the contract and the project's documents.