What actually happens to the return on a Pattaya condominium in year four — after the developer guarantee expires and you have to rent the unit out yourself.
Documents in Thai; the substance is in the annexes
LAYER 3
The exit scenario
Who buys this from you, at what price, in how many years, and what you lose on tax and exchange rate.
Almost never considered before purchase
The error does not occur on the first layer. A good apartment in a building with unfavourable by-laws and no exit plan is the most common structure we take apart.
How we work
Five stages. Twelve factors. One document at the end
01
Defining the brief
Your horizon, required return, tax residency, and the role of the unit: rental, personal use or resale.
1 day
02
Legal review
Chanote, remaining foreign quota, juristic person by-laws, sale contract and management agreement. Handled by a Thai lawyer.
4–5 days
03
Location analysis
Occupancy and rates for comparable buildings, pipeline supply, EEC infrastructure, the local resale market.
4–5 days
04
Financial model
Three scenarios, full cost of ownership, figures in baht and in your currency, tax on sale, cost of exit.
3 days
05
Report and defence
A document with a direct recommendation, plus an hour with the analyst who wrote it.
2 days
№ 2026-0731PAGE 1 / 52
Investment due diligence: condominium, Jomtien, Chonburi
Client’s required return8.0%
Base case3.9%
Downside case1.4%
Foreign quota remaining4.1%
Time to exit7–9 years
RECOMMENDATION
Do not buy at the current price
report spread, data redacted
What you get
What you are left holding
01
A 45–60 page report
All twelve factors, with a cited source behind every figure.
02
Financial model in Excel
Open, with your inputs, in baht and your own currency. You can rerun the scenarios yourself.
03
Thai lawyer’s opinion
Chanote, quota, juristic person by-laws and every annex to the contract.
04
A direct recommendation
Buy, do not buy, or buy subject to specific conditions on price and contract.
05
Risk register
Ranked, with probability and cost of each risk stated in baht.
06
Defence of findings
One hour with the analyst who wrote the report. Any question about the numbers.
Pricing
Three ways to work with us
The fee is fixed before we start and never depends on our conclusion. It works out at roughly 2–3% of the transaction.
Express scoring
฿12,000
2–3 days
A one-page verdict on a single unit. For when a deposit deadline is already running.
Prices exclude 7% VAT. 50% on start, 50% on delivery, invoice with Thai tax details.
Independence
We take no commission from developers or agencies in Pattaya. Our only income is the client’s fee.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
In Thailand the agent’s commission is 3–7% and is paid entirely by the developer. We are not part of that arrangement and we do not sell property.
NEGATIVE FINDINGS
41% of our reports recommend not buying. The fee does not depend on the conclusion and is agreed with you in advance.
VERIFIABILITY
Every figure carries its source: Land Department records, juristic person minutes, dated resale listings.
The team
Every report is signed by a named person
You know who ran the analysis, and you can question them directly — in English, Russian or Thai.
Our office on Thappraya Road. Sessions are held here or by video call.
AK
Andrey Kovalenko
partner, valuation
12 years in the Thai market. Previously managed a rental portfolio in Chonburi and Phuket.
MS
Marina Shevchuk
market analyst
Maintains occupancy and rate data on 180 Pattaya condominiums. Author of the quarterly Chonburi review.
SP
Somchai Preecha
Thai lawyer
Licensed with the Lawyers Council of Thailand. Chanote, quota and by-law review. 300+ transactions.
DL
Daniel Lau
financial modelling
Financial modelling and sensitivity analysis across multi-currency structures.
860
properties analysed
฿4.1B
combined value of transactions reviewed
180
Pattaya condominiums in our occupancy database
2018
working in Thailand since
What clients say
Most of them came to us after signing something
Published with permission. Names withheld at the clients’ request — the numbers are not.
They told us not to buy and showed why, in numbers. That report saved us about four million baht and a long argument with the agent.
Private buyer · Jomtien · 2025
The by-laws were the part I could not get anywhere else. Everyone said I could rent it out nightly. Orientir showed me the resolution saying I could not.
Buyer from Almaty · Pratumnak · 2026
We used them on three units. Two came back yes with conditions on price, one a flat no. The no was the most valuable of the three.
Family office · Bangkok · 2024–2026
Insights
What we publish between reviews
Our own data on occupancy, quota and pipeline, written up when there is something worth reporting.
Chonburi7 min
What the new by-laws changed for nightly letting
Nine Pattaya buildings amended their rules in the first half of 2026. We read all nine and set out what it means for owners already in a rental pool.
Read
Quota5 min
Foreign freehold in Jomtien new-builds: what is left in mid-2026
Remaining quota across 34 buildings under construction, including the four projects where freehold has already run out.
Read
Tax9 min
SBT and getting money out: what to calculate before the deal
A worked example of the full cost of exit on a five-year hold, including the FET form, the 3.3% and the currency spread.
Read
Quarterly review, plus notes as the rules changeAll publications
Common questions
What people usually ask
Express scoring of a single unit is 12,000 THB, delivered in 2–3 days as a one-page result. Full due diligence starts at 95,000 THB depending on district and complexity. The fee is fixed before work begins and does not depend on the conclusion.
A negative finding is as much a result as a positive one. The work costs roughly 2–3% of the transaction, while a decision not to buy preserves the capital in full. In our practice it is the most frequent recommendation.
An agent receives 3–7% from the developer and earns only when you buy. We do not sell property and we take no developer commission. We answer one question: whether this particular unit is worth your money at your horizon.
In a Thai condominium, foreigners may hold no more than 49% of the saleable area as freehold. The rest is structured as a 30-year lease or through a Thai company. If the quota is full you will be offered leasehold — a different asset, with different liquidity and a different price. We verify the remaining quota before any deposit.
Under the Hotel Act, letting for less than 30 days without a hotel licence is not permitted. Some buildings operate under a hotel licence, some have banned nightly lets by resolution of the juristic person, and some sit in a grey area. Yield depends directly on this, so we check the by-laws and the minutes rather than the agent’s word.
No, provided there is time before the contract is signed. Express scoring takes 2–3 days and surfaces the critical risks. A booking fee in Thailand is usually 50,000–100,000 THB and often non-refundable — but that is far less than the cost of the wrong purchase.
Two weeks from the brief, of which four to five days are the lawyer's. Express scoring is 2–3 days. If you are up against a booking deadline, say so at the session and we will tell you honestly whether it fits.
Yes. Both are legitimate structures with specific risks, and we price those risks rather than dismiss them. For leasehold we look at the remaining term, the renewal wording and whether it is registered at the Land Department. For a Thai company we look at who the shareholders actually are and what annual compliance costs.
That is itself a finding and it goes in the report. In practice most developers hand over the chanote, the by-laws and the draft contract once a buyer asks in writing. A refusal to show the by-laws before a deposit is a reason to walk away, not a formality.
No. We do not act as agent, escrow or signatory — that would put us on both sides of the table. We can review documents your lawyer prepares and attend the Land Department transfer as an observer, but the transaction stays with you.
Bank transfer in baht to the company account, or in dollars or euros to our correspondent account. Invoice with Thai tax details, 50% on start and 50% on delivery. No cash and no payments from third parties.
We calculate the Thai side in full: transfer fee, specific business tax, withholding and rental income tax. What happens in your country of residence depends on its treaty with Thailand — there we hand you the figures and recommend a local adviser rather than guess.
Book a session
Let us look at your unit before you pay the deposit
Forty minutes with an analyst. You arrive with a project or with a budget; you leave knowing exactly what needs checking and what that costs.
FORMATvideo call or our Jomtien office
LANGUAGEEnglish, Russian, Thai, Chinese
LENGTH40 minutes
FEEno charge
LED BYa partner or senior analyst
YOU LEAVE WITHa risk list for your unit and a quote for the review
Request received
An analyst will contact you within one Bangkok working day to agree a time. If you have the project presentation, send it in advance and the review will be more specific.
Reference—
Received—
We use cookies for site analytics only. By continuing you consent to the processing described in our privacy notice.
PDPA B.E. 2562
Investment session40 minutes with an analyst, no charge