Off-plan risks: buying before it’s built

Buying “off-plan” — before a building is finished, sometimes before it has broken ground — can mean a lower price and more choice of unit. It also means you are relying on a developer to deliver something that does not yet exist, using a contract that developer wrote. The ownership rules in can foreigners own property still apply, but the risks around them are different.

Developer and project checks

• Does the developer hold the required construction licence for the project, and is it consistent with what is being marketed?
• Where an environmental impact assessment (EIA) is required for the project’s scale or location, has it actually been approved — not just submitted?
• What is the developer’s track record: have they completed previous projects on time and to the standard promised, and are those buildings well managed today?
• Is the land the project sits on actually owned (or properly controlled) by the developer, free of undisclosed encumbrances?

Deposit and payment-schedule risk

Off-plan contracts typically call for staged payments tied to construction milestones. Formal deposit protection or escrow arrangements are not universal in the Thai market the way they are in some other countries, so your practical protection comes from the contract terms themselves and the developer’s standing — not from an assumed government guarantee. Before paying a first instalment, understand exactly what happens to your money if the project is delayed, redesigned, or does not complete. See escrow & deposits for how to negotiate stronger protection into a staged-payment schedule.

Delay and non-completion

Ask specifically what the contract says about: a defined completion date (not a vague estimate), what compensation or remedy applies if that date is missed, and what your rights are if the project is abandoned or the developer becomes insolvent. A contract silent on these points is effectively giving the developer the discretion.

Force majeure and termination clauses

Off-plan contracts typically include a force majeure clause excusing delay caused by events outside the developer’s control. These clauses are standard and not inherently unfair, but their scope varies — some are narrowly drafted to genuine unforeseeable events, others are broad enough to cover routine construction setbacks that a well-run project should reasonably absorb. Read what triggers the clause, whether there is any outside limit on how long a force majeure delay can run before you gain a right to terminate and recover payments, and whether that recovery right is realistic in practice given how the developer’s finances and any escrow arrangement are structured.

Quota risk for condos

The foreign ownership quota is calculated across the whole building once it is complete and units are being registered. It is possible for a project marketed heavily to foreign buyers to reach its foreign quota before every foreign reservation can be converted to freehold ownership, leaving late buyers offered a leasehold unit instead of the freehold they expected. Get written confirmation of your position in the quota, not just a verbal assurance at the sales office.

Specification, snagging and the defects-liability period

Marketing materials and show units do not always match what is ultimately delivered. A contract that specifies materials, fittings and finishes precisely — and includes a proper defects-liability and snagging period after handover, during which the developer is contractually obliged to fix identified defects at their cost — gives you something concrete to hold the developer to, rather than a general impression from a brochure. Confirm how long that period runs and exactly what process you use to report defects within it, and inspect the unit carefully and promptly once you have access, rather than assuming issues can be raised informally at any time afterward.

What regulatory oversight exists

Property development and sales in Thailand are subject to a general regulatory framework, but the degree of pre-sale oversight of an individual project’s marketing claims and financial soundness is more limited than some foreign buyers assume coming from more heavily regulated home markets. This is part of why the contract terms and your own due diligence carry more of the practical protective weight here than in jurisdictions with, for example, mandatory buyer deposit insurance schemes.

Before you pay anything

1. Have a lawyer review the sale and purchase agreement, not just the reservation form.
2. Verify the developer’s licensing and land ownership independently, not from the sales office’s own claims.
3. Confirm your position in the foreign quota in writing if buying a condo.
4. Understand exactly what happens to your deposit and instalments if the project is delayed or fails, and negotiate for escrow or milestone-based protection where you can.

See also due diligence & title checks, escrow & deposits and common scams & pitfalls, several of which involve off-plan projects specifically.

Established developers versus newer entrants

A developer with a long track record of completed, well-managed projects is not automatically safer than a newer entrant, but the newer entrant is inherently harder to evaluate because there is less finished work to inspect. If you are considering a project from a developer without a long local track record, weight your due diligence more heavily toward the land ownership, licensing and financing checks above, and consider whether the pricing and payment terms reasonably compensate for the additional uncertainty — a first project from an unproven developer priced the same as an established developer’s tenth completed building is not automatically comparable risk for comparable reward.

Visiting the site during construction

Where practical, visiting the actual construction site periodically — rather than relying solely on developer updates and marketing renders — gives you an independent sense of whether progress matches what you are being told. A project that appears stalled on site despite continued marketing and payment requests is worth raising directly and promptly, rather than assumed to be a temporary lull.