Buy a freehold property in Phuket, Thailand

What you'd get

A home in Phuket that belongs to you — and a hotel team who look after it when you're not there.

• It's yours. Your name goes on the ownership papers. Not a company's, not a landlord's.
• Use it when you want. You pick your dates each year and turn up to your own place.
• It earns the rest of the year. A hotel company rents it out for you and pays you a share of what it makes.
• Nothing for you to do. They deal with the guests, the cleaning and the repairs. Nobody rings you.

A home abroad, not a second job on the other side of the world.

Can a foreigner really own it?

Yes. You buy it outright, and your name goes on the ownership papers in Thailand.

• In your name. Not a lease. Not a company. Not someone holding it for you.
• Apartments, not land. Thai law lets a foreigner own an apartment outright, but not land. So apartments are all we do — it's the one thing you can properly own.
• Checked before you pay. Your own lawyer looks over the paperwork first. Not ours, not the seller's. Yours.

More on how ownership works →

How you'd pay for it

Not all in one go. You pay in steps while it's being built, and you can borrow part of it.

• A small deposit holds it. That's the first step, and it's a long way short of the price.
• Then you pay in stages as the building goes up — never for work that hasn't been done.
• The biggest payment comes last, when it's finished and handed over to you.
• You can borrow part of the price. Lending is available to foreign buyers here. Most people assume Thailand is cash-only. It isn't.

So you're spreading the cost over the build rather than finding it all today. Rory will go through the actual numbers with you on the call.

Will it actually get built?

It's being built now. That's a fair thing to ask, so here's the honest answer.

• The builder has done it before. Hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of homes already built, sold and handed over to their owners.
• Your money follows the building. You pay as it goes up, so you're never paying for work nobody has done yet.
• The last payment is the big one. Most of the money is due at the end, when the place is finished and it's yours.

What if you want to sell it later?

You can. It's yours, so it's yours to sell.

• Sell it to whoever you like — another foreign buyer, or a Thai buyer.
• Or pass it on early. In some cases you can hand the contract to someone else before the building is even finished.
• There are fees and taxes when you sell, the same as when you buy. Your lawyer works them out for you beforehand.

More on selling later →

We don't say yes to everyone

This is private introduction only. We talk to you first, and we say no more often than we say yes.

• We ask about you first. Your budget, your plans, what you actually want the place for.
• If it's not right for you, we say so. We'd rather tell you that than put you somewhere you shouldn't be.
• You never pay us a penny. The developer pays us, and only if someone eventually buys. That's exactly why we can afford to turn people away.
• It's a long-term buy. Prices, rents and exchange rates all move both ways, and your money is tied up for years. Don't put in money you'll need back soon.

Who you'd be dealing with

Two people in the UK. Not a call centre.

Rory Phillips

He has spent his career helping people make big money decisions. He's the one you speak to first — a straight conversation about what you can spend and whether this suits you. He isn't selling you anything.

James Allwinton

He does the research and the numbers, and writes everything on this site — including the reasons not to buy.

We introduce people to homes. We're not estate agents, and we're not financial advisers. Whatever you decide, it won't cost you anything to talk to us.