Company Vauban aims to make buying a condominium in Bangkok a straightforward process. But It helps to be aware in advance of some of the legal requirements - especially if you are looking to make a freehold purchase (see step 5).

1.The search

The first step is to research the market. Company Vauban can help refine your search by area and type of property. In terms of pure investment, for instance, one- or two-bedroom condos near a skytrain station on Sukhumvit Road are highly attractive. But Bangkok has a complex market with several very desirable areas.

2.Checks

Once a buyer has chosen a property, Company Vauban will carry out a series of checks. It is crucial to check the title deed to ensure seller is indeed the lawful owner and that the condo is part of the building's foreign or Thai quota (see the section on freehold ownership).

In addition, Company Vauban will examine the title deed to find out if the owner has taken out any collateral on the unit.

The juristic person - the organisation that represents the building - must also be contacted to ensure the seller has paid common expenses and that the building is not due for major renovation or to other substantial costs.

2.The negotiation

Once you picked your target properties, Company Vauban can help negotiate the best terms with the owners. The issues to be resolved include:

-         Who pays tax on the deal

-         The price of the furniture

-         The best possible price for the property

-         The terms of payment

3. The purchase agreement

Once agreement has been reached, the seller and buyer will draft a sales and purchase agreement, which will include:

-         Price

-         Terms of payment

-         Date of transfer

4. The deposit

Once the sales and purchase agreement has been agreed, the buyer will pay a deposit, generally in the range of 100,000 to 1 million baht.

As a rule, the size of the deposit will increase the longer the time between paying the deposit and transfer - usually somewhere between 10 days and two months.

5.Freehold ownership

There are several crucial conditions for buyer looking for freehold ownership. First of all, the buyer must ensure the condo he wants is in the building's foreign quota - only 49% of condos in a building will be available to foreign buyers - which is done by examining the title deed.

The transfer of funds to buy the unit must also be done in a very specific way.

The money must come from outside Thailand and be in another currency than Thai baht. The cash can go to the buyer's account or to the account of an agent, lawyer or developer - but the purpose of the remittance must be clearly stated on the remittance documentation.

The buyer must also obtain a Foreign Exchange Transaction from the bank that receives the transferred cash.

It is essential that either the bank account the remittance arrives from or the bank account it is sent from belongs to the buyer - even if banks issuing mortgages tend to prefer to transfer directly to sellers.

Thailand is strict in enforcing compliance with these conditions and Company Vauban can guide buyers carefully through this procedure.

6.Additional Expenses

The buyer must reimburse the seller with a cashier's cheque for the common expenses, which are generally paid in advance for a period of six months or a year. The buyer will also need cash to pay electricity and other utility bills. The utility suppliers will also need to be paid a deposit.

7. Payment

The buyer must prepare payment in the form of cashier's cheques. It is common to pay with at least two cheques to minimise tax, which is levied only on the property itself. Typically, a separate cheque will pay for furniture and decoration.

8. Transfer

The process of transferring ownership takes place at the offices of the Land Department and usually takes from two to six hours. Buyers will generally give power of attorney to their lawyer or agent to complete this procedure, which will change the name on the title deed of the condominium.

The buyer will need to obtain cashier's cheques the day before this procedure, as the seller will expect to see a faxed copy before going ahead with the transfer.

After the transfer is completed, a copy of the new title deed will be sent to the building's justistic person.