Condos for sale in Koh Samui

Why the island has so few apartment buildings

Samui’s town-planning rules hold building height low across the whole island and lower still near the shore, and they close hillsides above a set elevation and gradient to building altogether, as the Koh Samui market page describes. Our island comparison adds that zoning has historically kept high-density condominiums out of many areas, so registered supply stays limited.

The cards bear that out. Of the 10 that state a height, none goes above 4 floors, and unit counts run from 6 apartments to one larger scheme of 564. Short supply works both ways for a buyer: little to choose from now, and few comparable sales to price against when you come to sell.

Freehold in your own name, the reason to choose an apartment

In a building registered under the Condominium Act, a foreigner may own a unit freehold as long as foreign owners together hold no more than 49 percent of the total floor area. The purchase money must come from abroad and be recorded on a Foreign Exchange Transaction form, which the Land Office asks for at transfer. Our premium-buyer guide calls freehold condo units, where they exist, the safest ownership structure open to a foreign buyer on the island.

Not every apartment on Samui is a condominium in law. Some buildings were never registered and sell their units on a lease instead: one card in this list gives its ownership as a lease running to 2055. 6 of the 15 cards state a title; for the others, ask for the condominium registration and the remaining foreign quota in writing before a reservation fee.

Letting an apartment when the island has no rental programmes

None of these 15 cards describes a rental programme, and the island comparison explains why: guaranteed programmes are rare on Samui because the institutional developers who offer them are largely absent. Letting is arranged by the owner, through the building’s management or a local agent.

A stay of a month or more is an ordinary tenancy; letting by the night is hotel business under the Hotel Act unless the building itself holds a licence. A non-resident owner pays 15 percent withholding tax on rent. No published letting data exists for the island, so before counting on income, ask for a year of actual statements from a comparable unit in the same building.

Who an apartment on Samui suits

Judging by what these buildings offer, three buyers. A first purchase in Thailand where a title in your own name matters more than a garden. An owner who will spend a few months a year on the island and would rather the juristic person look after the pool, the grounds and the security than employ a gardener and a pool cleaner. And a buyer who wants to be near a beach for a fraction of a villa’s entry price: one card states a one-minute walk to Mae Nam Beach, another about five minutes to Bophut Beach.

The trade is space and privacy. If you need a garden, room for family visits or a private pool, the villa listing for the island is the better starting point, and the lease that comes with it is the price of that space.

For an owner who flies in often, the drive from the airport counts too. The cards give it where the developer does: about eight minutes from The BOON and twenty from Palm by the Sea.

Running costs in a building of a few dozen flats

Most of these buildings are small, and that changes the arithmetic of ownership. The cost of the pool, the gardens, the security and the lift is shared among few owners, so the monthly common-area fee per square metre can sit higher than in a large Phuket complex, and a single large repair weighs on everyone. Ask for the current fee, the sinking-fund balance and the last two years of the juristic person’s accounts before you reserve.

Ask as well who runs the building day to day. In a small block on Samui that is often the original developer or a local company it appointed; if you plan to let the flat, the same people may be the ones handling your guests. Transfer costs follow national rules: the Land Department charges 2 percent of the appraised value, a fee buyer and seller commonly split by agreement, as our condo transfer fees guide works through.