Ownership Structures Actually Used by Foreign Buyers in Phuket
In Phuket’s foreign buyer market, well over 90% of individual investors who want a standardized, resellable path choose foreign-quota condominium freehold, because it matches how developers build, how banks document funds, and how the next foreign buyer will underwrite a resale. Leasehold villas and land remain common for lifestyle buyers, while Thai company structures appear more often in hospitality and operational contexts than in simple second-home purchases.
Structure is one layer of the legal picture. Costs, taxes and the transfer itself are covered in the Phuket Property Legal & Taxes Master Guide 2026.
If you remember one sentence: structure drives friction, not only legal friction, but resale friction, rental friction, and family-planning friction when you eventually exit.
Why condo freehold dominates (it is not “marketing”, it is liquidity)
The reason has almost nothing to do with which structure is legally superior in the abstract, and everything to do with who buys the property from you.
A foreign-quota condominium held on Chanote title is the one structure that every Thai lawyer, every Thai bank and every foreign buyer already understands. The paperwork is standardised, the bank knows exactly which document to issue, and the next purchaser’s lawyer has seen the file a hundred times. That familiarity is what liquidity is made of. Anything unusual, however sound, adds weeks to the next buyer’s diligence and gives them a reason to negotiate.
It also matches how the market is built. Developers construct condominiums because that is what they can sell to foreigners, banks document inward transfers against condominium registrations because that is the volume business, and the resale market is deepest in exactly that product. Structure follows supply.
| Factor | Why it shows up in transactions |
|---|---|
| Chanote-style condo title | Familiar to buyers |
| FET documentation | Standard bank path |
| Foreign quota | Known constraint |
Leasehold: where it shows up and why buyers accept it
Leasehold exists because the thing many buyers want most, a house with land around it, is the one thing foreign individuals cannot own here at any price.
A registered lease is a real property right, entered against the title deed at the Land Office, enforceable against the landowner and their successors for its registered term. Thai law caps that term at 30 years per registration for residential land. The 60 or 90-year figures in marketing are one registered term plus contractual promises of renewal, and those promises are only as good as the entity making them and its willingness to perform in three decades’ time.
Buyers accept it because the alternative is not owning a villa. The sensible version of the decision treats the lease as a depreciating asset with a known end date: you are buying the use of a house for a period, and the resale value declines as the remaining term shortens. That reality should be in the model from day one rather than discovered by whoever tries to sell it in year twenty.
| Segment | Typical buyer motivation |
|---|---|
| Oceanfront villa | Lifestyle + rental |
| Branded residence | Operational rental program |
| Land + build | Custom home |
Thai company ownership: rare for “simple” homes, common for operations
A Thai limited company can own land, and that fact attracts buyers who want villa freehold and are told a company delivers it. For an ordinary second home, it usually should not.
The legitimate use is operational. If there is a genuine business, staff on payroll, a licensed hospitality operation, real trading activity, then a company is the natural vehicle and the compliance burden is simply the cost of running a business. Annual accounts, audit, tax filings and corporate maintenance all follow, and someone has to do them properly every year for as long as you hold the asset.
The illegitimate use is the nominee arrangement: Thai shareholders holding the majority on paper while the foreign buyer controls the company in substance, purely to hold a house. That carries real risk under the Land Code, and it is the structure most likely to cause a problem at exactly the wrong moment, which is when you try to sell.
There is also a resale cost that rarely gets mentioned. Company-held property is bought by a much smaller pool, because most retail buyers do not want to inherit a corporate entity with its history and liabilities. Many exits therefore involve restructuring before listing, which takes time and money that comes out of your proceeds.
| Signal | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| You need payroll | Company may be relevant |
| You only need a bedroom | Company often unnecessary |
“Real transaction data” framing (what numbers actually mean)
| Yield concept | What to verify |
|---|---|
| Gross yield | Rent / price before costs |
| Net yield | After fees, vacancy, maintenance |
| Program yield | Marketing vs guarantee vs accounting |
Illustrative yield math (not a promise)
If a condo’s gross rent is $18,000/year on a $300,000 purchase, gross yield is 6.0% before costs, if net operating income after common area fees, management, cleaning, and vacancy is $12,000, net yield is 4.0%. Small fee changes move net yields fast; that is why structure (program fees vs self-managed) matters as much as the view.
| Scenario | Gross | Net (illustrative) |
|---|---|---|
| Tight fees | 6.0% | 4.0-4.5% |
| Heavy program | 6.0% | 2.5-3.5% |
Numbers are hypothetical; your project’s fee schedule dominates outcomes.
Match structure to buyer demand
We help you compare what Phuket renters actually pay for versus what developers promise on paper.
Transaction costs as a % of price, in real numbers
The sticker price is between 3% and 6% short of what leaves your account, and the gap differs by structure.
| Line | Condo freehold | Leasehold villa | Company-held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer or lease registration fee | 2% of assessed value, often split | 1.1% of the lease value | 2% plus corporate transfer work |
| Legal review | THB 25,000-50,000 | THB 80,000-150,000 | THB 150,000+ |
| Diligence timeline | 1-2 weeks | 3-6 weeks | 6 weeks or more |
| Annual compliance | None beyond CAM | None beyond estate charges | Accounts, audit and filings every year |
| Exit friction | Lowest, familiar to every buyer | Moderate, term-dependent | Highest, often requires restructuring |
The annual compliance line is the one buyers discount most heavily and should not. A company held for fifteen years accrues fifteen years of accounting and audit costs, and the obligation does not pause because the house is empty.
What due diligence looks like by structure
| Structure | Non-negotiable checks |
|---|---|
| Condo freehold | Quota + FET + juristic health |
| Leasehold | Registration + renewal |
| Company | Corporate + tax reality |
What a foreign quota letter actually confirms
Every clean condominium file turns on one document, and buyers routinely accept a weaker version of it than they should.
The Condominium Act B.E. 2522 (1979) caps foreign ownership at 49% of a building’s total sellable floor area. Two properties of that cap matter in practice. It is measured in square metres, not in number of apartments, so a building with a mix of studios and penthouses does not simply divide 49/51 by unit count. And it is consumed at registration, not at reservation, so quota that exists on the day you pay a deposit can be gone by the day you complete if larger units register ahead of you.
What you want is a letter from the juristic person, on its letterhead, stating the building’s total sellable area, the area currently held by foreigners, and the area remaining, dated recently and referring to your specific unit. What you are often offered is a verbal assurance from a sales agent, or a letter that confirms quota exists in the building without reserving any of it for you.
On off-plan purchases the gap between deposit and registration can be two or three years, which is ample time for the position to change. Ask what contractual protection you have if quota is unavailable at completion, and read what the sale and purchase agreement actually gives you: a refund, a Thai-name registration you did not want, or nothing.
Phuket submarkets: how structure preference shifts by beach cluster
| Area cluster | What you will see more often |
|---|---|
| High-rise beach corridors | Foreign-quota condos |
| Hillside villa estates | Leasehold + management estates |
| Integrated resorts | Programmed rental products |
Transaction costs as a % of price (why “sticker price” lies)
| Cost theme | Who feels it most |
|---|---|
| Transfer taxes/fees | Both sides depending on negotiation |
| Legal review | Buyer (and sometimes seller) |
| Company compliance | Owner annually |
Choosing between them
Three questions settle it for most buyers, in this order.
Do you need land? If a house with a garden is the point, you are choosing between a registered lease and a company, and the honest comparison is between a time-limited right you can defend and a permanent right that carries permanent obligations and a narrower exit. If you do not need land, a freehold condominium removes the entire question.
How long will you hold it? A 30-year lease with the full term ahead of it behaves quite differently from the same lease with eighteen years left. If your horizon is long or you intend to leave the asset to someone, the diminishing term becomes the central issue rather than a technicality.
Who is your exit buyer? This is the question that gets asked last and should be asked first. If the likely purchaser in seven years is another foreign individual, choose the structure their lawyer has seen fifty times before. If it is an operator or an institution, a company may genuinely suit.
Where those three answers conflict, liquidity usually deserves to win. A slightly less perfect property in a structure that sells easily beats a better property in one that does not.
When to walk away (structure red flags)?
If the seller pressures you to skip independent review because “this deal is competitive,” assume the competition is not the other buyers, it is your caution, and your caution is doing its job.
Good structure feels boring. Expensive structure feels exciting, until you try to sell.
Use this guide as a conversation map with your lawyer, not a substitute for one.
How MORE Group sees structure mix in 2026 (by the numbers)
| Structure type | Share of foreign buyer enquiries | Typical ticket (USD) | Median hold intent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freehold condo | 85-92% | $120K-$350K | 5-10 years |
| Leasehold villa | 6-12% | $450K-$1.5M | 10-20 years |
| Company-held | under 3% | $800K+ | Operational |
Bang Tao and Laguna corridors show the highest repeat freehold transactions, often 40-60 resales per year in liquid buildings. Patong yield studios turn faster (3-6 month resale DOM) because the rental story is easy to verify.
Freehold condo: what repeats in every file
Every clean condo transaction includes:
- Quota letter from juristic person (49% cap)
- FET or inward remittance proof per tranche
- Chanote unit title at Land Office
- Juristic debt clearance before transfer
Lawyer spend typically runs 25,000-50,000 THB ($700-$1,500) for SPA + transfer attendance. Transfer fee is 2% of assessed value, often split 50/50 between buyer and seller on resale.
Leasehold villa: why buyers still choose it
Villas trade privacy and space for legal complexity. A registered 30-year lease on oceanfront land can cost 18M-45M THB ($550K-$1.38M) while equivalent freehold land is unavailable to foreigners. Buyers accept leasehold when:
- Net rent on a 4-bed pool villa exceeds 120K THB/month in peak weeks
- The estate has proven resale to other foreigners (Cherng Talay, Layan)
- Renewal clauses are registered, not oral
Due diligence adds 2-4 weeks vs condos. Budget 80,000-150,000 THB for lease + land title review.
How structures affect resale in practice?
Company-held assets rarely appear in retail resale marketing, most exits restructure before listing, which adds cost. That is why MORE Group defaults foreign lifestyle buyers to condo freehold unless there is a clear operational reason not to.
Working with developers vs resale sellers
The structure on offer is often decided by who you are buying from, and the two counterparties behave differently enough to change what you should check.
Buying from a developer. The structure is usually pre-set and presented as fixed: this project sells freehold units within the quota, or this villa scheme sells on a registered lease of a particular length. What is genuinely negotiable is narrower than a buyer expects on structure and wider than they expect on terms: the schedule, the penalties, the specification annex. The quota position is the thing to pin down in writing, by unit number and with a date, because it moves while you decide.
Buying from a resale seller. The structure already exists and you inherit it rather than choosing it. That makes the diligence historical rather than prospective: how the current owner holds it, whether the lease has been registered and how many years remain, whether a company holding the land was properly constituted and properly filed. A lease with eleven years left is a different asset from a lease with twenty-eight, and it prices differently for the same reason it sells more slowly.
Where resale is harder. An inherited company structure carries whatever was done before you: unfiled accounts, shareholders who cannot be located, a history that becomes yours. An inherited lease carries whoever gave the renewal promises, and whether they are still there to honour them.
Where resale is easier. The building exists, the juristic person has a track record, and the service charge has a history rather than a projection.
The step sequence is in the due diligence process, and the structural comparison in freehold vs leasehold.
Structure mistakes we see in 2026 files
If your seller says “everyone does it this way,” ask for three recent foreign resale completions in the same structure. No examples means you are the experiment.
Our shortlists always start with registrable title and exit liquidity. Structure follows those two filters, not the other way around. When in doubt, choose the structure your exit buyer’s lawyer has seen fifty times before, usually foreign-quota freehold in a liquid condo building. That single choice removes more friction than any discount on the sticker price. Structure is the filter; the unit is the detail. Ask your lawyer to confirm structure before you fall in love with the floor plan.
Related guides:
- Freehold vs leasehold in Thailand, compare rights
- Best Phuket condos for rental income, demand-side view
- Common legal structures for foreign buyers, four frameworks
- Phuket property ownership structures explained, deep dive
- Due diligence step by step, pre-purchase checks
Frequently Asked Questions
Most foreign buyers use foreign-quota condominium freehold because it aligns with the largest segment of resalable inventory and standardized registration practice.
Leasehold is a lawful structure for many villas and land use rights. It is different from freehold, and must be evaluated on lease terms, registration, and resale demand.
Not for a typical condo purchase. Companies may appear for operational hospitality or certain commercial contexts, not as a default personal home strategy.
Treat yield claims as marketing until verified. Ask for fee schedules, occupancy assumptions, and historical performance where available.
Optimize for registrable title, sustainable net cash flow, and an exit strategy that another buyer can finance.
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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