Real Estate & Construction

Property Due Diligence

Title, encumbrances, permitted use and the seller — checked before the deposit is paid, because afterwards is too late.

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Tell us the situation and we will tell you what we think you should do — and what it will cost.

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Buyers about to sign or pay a deposit
Foreign buyers who cannot read the Thai documents they are signing
Buyers of off-plan units checking the developer, not just the unit
Investors and lenders taking property as security

Title verification at the Land Office, including the class of the deed

Encumbrances — mortgages, servitudes, usufructs and registered leases

Legal access to the land and the boundary position

Zoning, permitted use and the building’s permit position

The seller or developer — standing, authority and litigation

A written report with a clear go, no-go or go-with-conditions conclusion

Scope the review against the property and the transaction
Collect the documents and search the Land Office records
Verify title, encumbrances, access and boundaries
Check zoning, permits and the seller’s standing
Discuss the findings and the options they leave open
Deliver the written report with its conclusion and conditions

Documents to prepare

Copy of the title deed, front and back
The seller’s or developer’s name and details
The draft contract or reservation received
Project brochures and payment schedule, for off-plan purchases
Anything the seller has already told you in writing

It matters more than the price. A Chanote is the strongest, surveyed form of title; lesser documents carry weaker rights, survey uncertainty, and limits on transfer or mortgage. The deed class changes what you are actually buying, so it is the first line of the report.

The developer as much as the unit: corporate standing, authority to sell, the project’s own land title and any project mortgage, the permits and approvals, and how your instalments are protected before transfer. A beautiful showroom is not a substitute for any of those.

The report says which of three things each issue is: a reason to renegotiate the price, a condition to build into the contract, or a reason to walk away. Most issues are the first two — the review exists so the third kind is discovered before your money is in.

Yes — the permit position is compared with what is actually built, because an unpermitted extension is the buyer’s problem the day after transfer. Where a physical survey is needed we coordinate the surveyor alongside the legal review.

For a single titled property, typically DUE_DILIGENCE_TIMEFRAME from receiving the documents to the written report. Project reviews and properties with layered encumbrances take longer, and we say so at the start rather than at the deadline.

Lawyers for this matter

Generation 1

Founding Partner

Chanin Taongern

40+ years of courtroom and advisory experience

LitigationBusiness advisoryEmployment lawCivil and criminal matters

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Generation 2

Partner

Pongsanan Taongern

Modern legal practice, business advisory and international client support

Corporate advisoryEmployment lawCross-border family lawInternational client servicesLegal workshops

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How a foreigner can lawfully hold property in Thailand

Foreigners generally cannot own land — but that is the beginning of the analysis, not the end of it. The lawful options, and the arrangement that is not one.

Property & Construction 2026-08-066 min read