What It Costs to Own a Condo in Thailand, After the Keys

The price on the contract is the number everyone talks about. The costs that follow are quieter, and they last for as long as you own the unit, including the months when nobody is in it. Buyers from abroad face two extra twists: the bills are in baht while your income probably is not, and someone has to pay them, and look after the unit, while you are somewhere else.

This article goes through the running costs one by one, with the questions worth asking about each. It quotes no figures, because rates, tariffs and taxes vary from building to building and town to town, and they change. The full line-by-line explanation is in our guide to the ongoing costs of ownership. One-off purchase costs, such as transfer fees and the lawyer, are a separate subject, covered in taxes and fees when buying. None of this is legal or tax advice.

The common fee: what the building charges you

Every condominium in Thailand has a juristic person, the body that runs the common property on behalf of all owners. It charges each owner a common fee in proportion to their share of that property, and the share follows the unit’s floor area. The rate is usually set per square metre per month, so a larger unit pays more, whether or not anyone lives in it.

When the field is filled in, the project page in our catalogue shows the building’s common fee per square metre per month. Multiply it by your unit’s contract area to get a starting point, then check what the rate alone does not tell you:

• Which area is used, and whether balconies and terraces count.
• How often the building bills. Some buildings invoice several months in advance, and the first invoice often arrives at handover.
• How current the rate is. The owners’ general meeting can change it, especially in a new building’s early years, once the real running costs are known.
• What it covers. Usually cleaning, security, the pool and gym, lifts, gardens and insurance of the common property, but nothing inside your unit.

Do not let it fall behind. The juristic person can add penalties for late payment, and when you sell, the Land Office will want a certificate from the building that nothing is owed. Decide early which account pays the fee and who makes sure it is paid on time while you are away.

The sinking fund: money for the big repairs

The sinking fund is the building’s reserve for major work: new lifts, a roof, a facade. Buyers pay into it once, at handover. What many do not expect is the second half of the story: if the fund later falls short, the general meeting can decide to collect extra contributions from all owners according to their share.

With a new building it is hard to know how the fund will behave. With a completed building or a resale you can find out. Ask the juristic person for the latest financial statement and the minutes of recent general meetings. They show the fund balance, whether owners are in arrears and whether expensive work is being discussed.

Utilities, upkeep and the empty months

Air conditioning is the largest variable line in almost every Thai home, and the bill depends on whether you live in the unit, let it or keep it closed. Ask how the electricity meter is connected: directly to the state provider in the owner’s name, or through the building, which then sets its own tariff. For internet, check the minimum contract term and whether the service can be paused while the unit is empty.

Then there is the climate. Heat, humidity and sea air shorten the life of appliances and finishes: air conditioners need regular cleaning, window and balcony seals wear out, and metal near the sea corrodes faster. A unit left closed through the rainy season is most at risk, because without moving air mould appears in wardrobes, on mattresses and in tile grout. Someone needs to come in, air the place and check for leaks; some management companies offer this as a separate service, and it belongs in the budget too.

For a period after completion, the developer repairs certain defects under warranty, on the terms set in your contract. Report problems in writing, with photos, as soon as you find them. What to check on the day you receive the keys is covered in our guide to handover from the developer. After that, repairs are yours.

Insurance and annual tax, in general terms

The building insures the common property out of the common fee: the structure, the lifts, the shared areas. That policy normally does not cover the inside of your unit, your furniture or your liability to neighbours. A leak from your bathroom into the flat below while nobody is home is exactly the case your own policy is for. Ask an insurer about cover for an empty unit, cover while it is let, and what is excluded, such as flood or storm damage.

Thailand also has an annual land and building tax, charged by the local administration to the owner, foreign owners included. The amount depends on the official appraisal and on how the property is used: lived in, let or left empty. We give no rates. A Thai tax adviser can tell you which category applies, where the notice will be sent and who should pay it while you are abroad, and our guide to taxes and fees shows where it sits among the other payments. Your home country may also expect you to report a property or income abroad, which is a conversation for your own accountant.

If you let the unit: more lines in the table

Letting brings income, but it also adds costs: the management company’s commission, cleaning and linen between guests, small repairs, faster wear of furniture and appliances, and tax on the rental income in Thailand and possibly in your country of tax residence. Commission differs between companies and between long and short lets. Short-term letting is regulated separately in Thailand and many buildings restrict it, so check with a lawyer what the specific unit allows before you buy with letting in mind.

When someone shows you an expected income, ask what comes off it before anything reaches you. Our guide to rental yield explains how to work out income after costs, and any yield we give is an agency estimate with a source and a date, not a promise. Whether to hire a company or handle tenants yourself is the subject of management company or self-managed. Unit size changes the picture as well, since the common fee follows the area; see studio, 1-bed or 2-bed.

What to ask before you sign

Most surprises can be avoided with a few questions, asked in writing before you commit:

• What is the common fee rate today, and has it changed before?
• From what date is it charged, and what period does each invoice cover?
• What does the fee include, and what is billed separately?
• What is the sinking fund contribution at handover, and has the building discussed extra contributions?
• Are electricity and water in the owner’s name or supplied through the building?
• Does the building allow short-term letting, and does it run its own rental service?
• Who will check the unit while it is empty, and how often?

Then put every cost in one table in your own currency, and next to each line note where the figure came from: the project page, a manager, an insurer’s quote or a tax adviser. Review it from time to time, because a move in the exchange rate changes your costs even when nothing in Thailand has gone up. How to send money to Thailand and which records to keep is explained in our guide to money transfers.

Tell a ROMA ThaiProperty manager which unit you are considering, for example among one-bedroom condos in Pattaya or one-bedroom condos in Phuket. They will ask the developer or the building management for the current common fee rate, what it covers and the building’s letting rules, and explain them in plain English. We do not calculate taxes or give legal opinions; a tax adviser and an independent lawyer do that.