For many buyers from the United States and Canada, the money for a Phuket apartment is in the house they live in now. The question comes up often in our calls with these buyers: can I start in Phuket before my home sells, or do I have to wait until the money is in the bank?
The answer depends on what you buy. A completed apartment is usually paid in full at the transfer at the Land Department, so it fits a buyer whose sale has already closed. A building that is still under construction is paid in stages over two years or more, and that structure is what lets a buyer reserve now and pay most of the price after the house is sold. This guide shows how those stages work on two current launches, how to read a payment schedule against a home sale, what to ask if your sale takes longer than planned, and how to move the money so the purchase registers cleanly.
Why a staged payment plan fits a home sale
Thai banks rarely lend to foreign buyers, so a developer’s payment plan is the main way to spread the cost of a new apartment. On a new launch the money follows the building: a deposit to hold the unit, an instalment with the sale and purchase agreement, payments during construction and the balance when the keys are handed over. The Title’s plans, for example, charge no interest on the outstanding balance until completion; our guide to The Title’s zero-interest payment plan explains the structure across its projects.
For a seller at home, that sequence has two useful properties:
- The first sums are small. A reservation deposit is typically 50,000 to 200,000 THB and holds a specific unit at an agreed price for 7 to 14 days, according to our reservation agreement guide.
- The large sums come later. The sale and purchase agreement usually follows 30 to 60 days after the reservation, and the remaining instalments are spread to handover, which on a building launched in October 2026 is planned for early 2029.
The risk sits in the middle: an instalment that falls due before your house money arrives. Most of this guide is about avoiding that gap.
Two current examples: KUARTZ and FIZZ
The Title, a brand of the SET-listed developer Rhom Bho Property, opened booking on two buildings on 19 October 2026: KUARTZ in Karon and FIZZ in Kata. The figures below come from the developer’s launch price list, dated 15 October and announced on 17 October 2026, with the launch discounts that apply to bookings made by 31 December 2026. The developer has not yet published the official payment schedule. Agency materials describe four equal instalments of 25%, the version used in the table; one agency adds a 100,000 THB booking before them for FIZZ, and for KUARTZ describes a booking, 25% within a month and later instalments not yet sized, all marked preliminary.
| The Title FIZZ, Kata | The Title KUARTZ, Karon | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry one-bedroom | 31.7 sqm | 31.7 sqm |
| Price after both launch discounts | 4,706,972 THB | 5,289,568 THB |
| In dollars at 32.7 THB per USD | about $143,900 | about $161,800 |
| Each 25% instalment | 1,176,743 THB | 1,322,392 THB |
| First instalment | With the contract | At reservation and contract |
| Construction | Starts Q2 2027 on the developer plan | Starts Q2 2027 on the developer plan |
| Final 25% | At handover, Q1 2029 on plan | At handover, Q1 2029 on plan |
Sources: the developer launch price list and agency materials on the payment plan, all read 20 October 2026 and listed with links on our FIZZ and KUARTZ project pages. Amounts calculated by MORE Group.
Read as a timeline for a seller, according to the price list and plan above, the FIZZ one-bedroom means roughly 1.18M THB, about $36,000, with the contract, two more payments of the same size during construction, and the last one at handover more than two years after booking. Most of the price therefore falls due long after a typical home sale has closed. The first instalment is the one to plan most carefully, because it comes within weeks of the reservation.
The baht prices are the real ones. The dollar figures move with the exchange rate until each payment is made.
Three situations and how each one works
Your sale is agreed and has a closing date
This is the simplest case. You know the date the money arrives, so you can choose a unit whose instalments fall after it, reserve it, and sign the sale and purchase agreement with a first payment you can cover from savings or from the sale itself. Before you sign, check that the date for the first instalment in the contract comes after your closing date, with a margin of a few weeks for the international transfer.
Your house is listed but not sold
Here the closing date is unknown, so the reservation and the first instalment should be covered by money you already hold. Everything after that can wait for the sale. When you compare projects, prefer a schedule where the construction instalments are tied to stages that are clearly months away, and ask whether the contract allows a short extension of a due date. A unit with a later handover gives more time but also a longer wait before you can use or let it.
You have not listed your house yet
At this point a viewing trip and a shortlist are more useful than a deposit. Use the time to see the buildings, fix your budget in baht and decide on the area. Our Phuket property viewing trip guide shows how to see three to five projects in one or two days. A launch promotion has its own deadline; FIZZ and KUARTZ discounts run to 31 December 2026. Treat that date as one input among several, not as a reason to commit before your own plan is ready.
Match a payment schedule to your sale
Tell us when your house is likely to sell and your budget. We send current price lists with the payment schedules side by side and the questions to put to each developer.
How to read a payment schedule against a home sale
Every developer writes its schedule differently, and the differences matter more to a seller than to a cash buyer. Six points decide whether a schedule fits your sale.
| Question | Why it matters to a seller | Where to find the answer |
|---|---|---|
| Is each instalment due on a date or on a construction stage? | A stage can arrive earlier or later than expected; a date is fixed | The schedule attached to the sale and purchase agreement |
| Does the reservation deposit count towards the first instalment? | It changes the first payment by the size of the deposit | The reservation agreement |
| How much notice does the developer give before a stage payment? | Notice is your time to move money from home | The sale and purchase agreement |
| What does the contract say about a late payment? | Interest, a grace period or a right to cancel can all apply | The default clause of the sale and purchase agreement |
| Can a due date be moved by agreement? | The answer is the developer’s, and it should be written | A written reply or an addendum to the contract |
| Does a discount depend on the plan you choose? | Some promotions apply only to a particular schedule | The promotion terms and the price list |
On FIZZ and KUARTZ the published materials leave several of these open: whether the 100,000 THB booking is part of the first 25% or on top of it, the exact trigger of the two construction instalments, and whether the extra 5% launch discount applies to every plan. We ask the developer for these answers in writing together with the price list, and we suggest you do not reserve until you have them.
If your house takes longer to sell
Sales at home do not always close on time, and the time to plan for that is before the reservation. Three things help.
Know what the contract says. The default clause of the sale and purchase agreement sets what happens when an instalment is late. Read it with your lawyer before you sign, so a delay at home never becomes a surprise in Phuket.
Ask the developer before you need to. Whether a payment date can move, by how long and on what terms is the developer’s decision, and practice differs from one developer to the next. We do not assume any particular answer; ask the question in writing before you reserve and keep the reply with your contract.
Keep a fallback for one instalment. The safest plans hold enough in savings, or in a credit line your home lender has confirmed can be used abroad, to cover the next instalment even if the sale slips. Some lenders restrict the use of funds or require disclosures, so check with yours before you count on it.
A sale before completion, assigning your contract to a new buyer, is sometimes possible but is not a dependable fallback: it needs a contract clause that allows it, the developer’s written consent and a buyer, and it competes with the developer’s own unsold units.
Moving the money from the United States or Canada
How the money arrives matters as much as when. For a freehold apartment, the Land Department needs evidence that the price came into Thailand from abroad in foreign currency. Three habits keep that evidence clean.
- Send dollars, let the Thai bank convert. Send US or Canadian dollars by international transfer from an account in your name and let the receiving Thai bank convert them. Funds that arrive already in baht leave nothing for the bank to record.
- Ask for the record every time. According to our guide to sending dollars, the receiving bank issues the foreign exchange transaction record for inbound transfers of roughly $50,000 and above; below that you receive a credit advice and have to ask for the record. Keep one for every instalment. Our proof of funds guide explains the document.
- Keep a ledger. Note the date, amount and exchange rate of each transfer. On a purchase paid in several instalments at different rates, those records later fix your cost in dollars.
Each instalment of a staged plan is a separate transfer, which also spreads the exchange rate across several dates rather than one. For US buyers, according to the same guide, foreign accounts that together hold more than $10,000 at any point in the year bring an FBAR filing, which is a reporting duty and not a tax; see our guide to sending dollars for a Phuket purchase. Canadian buyers have their own reporting questions, covered in our guide for Canadian buyers.
None of this changes how your home sale is taxed at home. Ask your accountant about the sale and about the Phuket purchase together, before the money moves.
The cost of buying beyond the instalments
The instalments cover the price. A seller planning cash flow should add three more items, all due around handover:
- Transfer costs at the Land Department, on the day the title is registered. Our guide to Phuket property taxes and fees explains each item.
- The sinking fund and the first common area fee, set per square metre. For FIZZ and KUARTZ the developer has not announced the rates yet.
- Furniture, unless a package is included. The launch promotion for both buildings adds a furniture package for bookings made by 31 December 2026; ask for its contents in writing.
Our guide to the cost of owning a Phuket condo covers what follows once you hold the keys.
Pros and cons of starting before the sale closes
Reserving in Phuket while your house is still on the market has real advantages, and some costs that are easy to underestimate.
Pros:
- You choose from the full list of a new launch, with every floor and side still available.
- A launch promotion, where there is one, applies to bookings made inside its window.
- Most of the price is due over the years of construction, after a typical home sale has closed.
- Each instalment is a separate transfer, so the exchange rate is spread over several dates.
Cons:
- Two transactions run at once, with two sets of deadlines and two lawyers.
- If the sale slips, the next instalment has to come from somewhere else.
- Walking away after the hold period usually forfeits the reservation deposit, and the contract decides what happens to instalments already paid.
- A building under construction gives no rental income and no winter use until handover.
The trade-off comes down to one question: can you cover the reservation, the first instalment and one more instalment without the house money? If yes, starting early is a reasonable plan. If not, a viewing trip and a shortlist now, and a reservation once the sale is agreed, carry less pressure.
A worked example: a FIZZ one-bedroom against a home sale
To make the timing concrete, here is the FIZZ entry one-bedroom at its developer price list launch price, on the 4 x 25% structure described by agencies. The construction instalments have no published dates yet, so the table shows what is known and what still has to be asked.
| Step | Amount, THB | About, USD | When | What it needs from you |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reservation | 100,000 if the agency version applies | about $3,060 | At booking | Savings |
| First 25% with the contract | 1,176,743 (or 1,076,743 if the booking is credited) | about $36,000 | Usually 30 to 60 days after reservation | Savings, or the sale if it has closed |
| Second 25% | 1,176,743 | about $36,000 | During construction, date not yet published | The house money |
| Third 25% | 1,176,743 | about $36,000 | During construction, date not yet published | The house money |
| Final 25% | 1,176,743 | about $36,000 | Handover, Q1 2029 on the developer plan | The house money, plus transfer costs |
Source: the developer launch price list announced on 17 October 2026 and agency materials on the plan. Dollar amounts at 32.7 THB per USD; each payment converts at the rate on its own day. If your house sells within a few months of the reservation, everything after the first instalment comes from the sale. If it takes longer, the first open construction date is the one to watch, and the one to ask the developer about in writing.
A checklist before you reserve
- Your budget fixed in baht, with the total cost of buying added.
- The full payment schedule, with the trigger and notice period for each instalment.
- The first instalment covered by money you already hold.
- The default clause read with an independent lawyer.
- A written answer from the developer on whether a due date can move.
- For freehold, written confirmation that the 49% foreign quota, counted on floor area according to the Condominium Act, covers your unit.
- A transfer route that delivers foreign currency to a Thai account in your name, with a record for each payment.
- A word with your accountant about the sale at home and the purchase in Phuket.
Buyer scenarios: who this approach suits
A buyer selling a house to fund a winter home. The staged plan matches the way the money arrives, and the years of construction leave time to settle the sale, the move and the visa route.
A buyer comparing budgets. At the launch prices above, from the developer price list, a one-bedroom in Kata sits under $150,000 and one in Karon above it. Our guides to Phuket condos under $150,000 and under $200,000 show what else each budget buys.
A buyer who prefers a finished apartment. If you want to use the apartment this winter, a completed unit is the better fit, but it usually means paying the full price at transfer. In that case it makes sense to wait until the sale closes, or to agree a transfer date with the seller that comes after it.
For the wider picture on buildings under construction, read our off-plan property guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, if you buy in a building under construction and your first payments are covered by money you already hold. A reservation deposit, typically 50,000 to 200,000 THB, holds the unit; the first instalment follows with the sale and purchase agreement, usually 30 to 60 days later; the rest is spread over construction to handover. A completed apartment is usually paid in full at transfer, so it suits buyers whose sale has closed.
The reservation deposit and the first instalment. On The Title FIZZ in Kata, at the launch price of 4,706,972 THB for a one-bedroom on the developer price list announced on 17 October 2026, a 25% instalment is 1,176,743 THB, about $36,000. Whether the 100,000 THB booking one agency describes is part of it or on top of it is a question to settle in the reservation agreement.
The sale and purchase agreement decides: its default clause sets any interest, grace period or cancellation right for a late payment. Whether a due date can be moved is the developer's decision, so ask in writing before you reserve and keep the reply with the contract. A cash reserve or a confirmed credit line for one instalment is the most reliable fallback.
Sometimes. Selling before completion means assigning your contract to a new buyer, which needs a clause that allows it and the developer's written consent, often with an administration fee. It also competes with the developer's own unsold units, so it is a possibility rather than a plan.
Send US or Canadian dollars by international transfer from an account in your name and let the Thai bank convert them. For freehold, the bank's foreign exchange transaction record proves the money came from abroad; it is issued on inbound transfers of roughly $50,000 and above, and below that you have to ask for it. Keep the record and the exchange rate for every instalment.
The price is fixed in baht. What changes is the number of dollars each instalment costs, because each one is converted on the day you send it. A staged plan spreads that exposure across several dates instead of one.
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Maksim Shchegolev
Founder, MORE Group
Founder of MORE Group. Four years in investment banking before moving to Phuket, where he has worked in the local property market since 2018. Oversees developer relationships and every engagement above $300K.
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