Buying Phuket Property Privately

Many purchasers of Phuket property don’t always buy off the plan directly from the developer but may purchase from a private seller, who either owns the property in their own name, or, by owning all the shares in a private company (often an offshore company registered in the British Virgin Islands BVI) which owns the property in question.

In the second option, ie involving shares in a company, the buyer enters into a share sale and purchase agreement with the seller. The buyer agrees to buy the whole issued share capital of the company owning the property in question upon payment of the share purchase price. The transfer of ownership occurs in the BVI and not in the ownership of the property which continues to be owned by the BVI company both before and after the transfer of the shares to the buyer.

The buyer must consider the risk of not carrying out due diligence on the BVI company. This risk can be handled by ensuring that the share sale and purchase agreement contain comprehensive warranties relating to the total issued capital of the BVI company. If found not to be the case, you should be entitled to terminate the agreement and claim a refund of fund paid plus damages.

Obviously the services of a competent Thai legal firm should always be considered when purchasing any Phuket property.