You've found the unit. You've agreed on a price. But the number on the reservation agreement isn't the number you'll actually pay at the Land Office. Like most international real estate markets, Thailand layers a series of closing costs on top of the purchase price — some fixed by law, some set by the building's juristic office, some simply a fact of moving money across borders.

None of these costs should come as a surprise on handover day. Here's what to budget for, roughly how much each one runs, and who typically pays it.

The quick-reference table: Cost item/Typical amount/Usually paid by

Transfer fee 2% of the Land Department appraised value - Split 50/50, or negotiated

Specific Business Tax (SBT) 3.3% of sale/appraised price (if sold within 5 years of the seller's ownership) - Seller

Withholding tax ~1% for individuals holding 5+ years; progressive scale for shorter periods - Seller

Stamp duty 0.5% (only applies when SBT doesn't) - Seller

Sinking fund ~THB 400–800 per sq. m (roughly $10–$30/sq. m) - Buyer, one-time

Common Area Maintenance (CAM) THB 40–100 per sq. m/month, often prepaid 6–12 months at handover - Buyer

Utility meter installation (water/electric) THB 2,000–10,000 combined - Buyer

Legal / due diligence fees THB 30,000–80,000 (~$800–$2,200) - Buyer

Mortgage registration fee (if financing) 1% of the loan amount - Buyer

FX / international transfer costs 0.3%–3% depending on provider - Buyer

Figures move with the Land Department's appraised value and each project's own fee schedule, so treat this as a planning guide, not a quote — confirm exact numbers with your lawyer and the building's juristic office before transfer day.

Freehold vs. leasehold: why it changes your cost structure
Thai law caps foreign freehold condominium ownership at 49% of the total saleable area in any one building. If a project's foreign quota is full, foreigners are typically offered a leasehold structure instead — usually a 30-year renewable lease, sometimes paired with a company structure for villas and land.

This distinction matters for closing costs because:

Freehold condo units are registered directly in the buyer's name and go through the standard Land Department transfer fee (2%) and tax structure above.
Leasehold units are registered as a lease agreement rather than a title transfer, which usually carries a lower registration fee (around 1% of the total lease value) but adds legal costs to draft renewal options, inheritance clauses, and sometimes a superstructure/ownership agreement for anything built on the land.
Ask early which structure applies to your unit — it affects both the registration fee and the legal work needed to protect your position long-term.

Sinking fund: the one-time "building's savings account" payment
The sinking fund is a single, one-off contribution to the condominium's capital reserve — the pool of money the juristic person draws on for major repairs (roof replacement, repainting, lift overhauls) rather than day-to-day upkeep. It's collected once, at the time of transfer, and is calculated per square metre of your unit.

Expect somewhere in the THB 400–800 per sq. m range for most mid-market developments, with resort-style or amenity-heavy projects sometimes charging more. On a 40 sq. m unit, that's roughly THB 16,000–32,000.

Common Area Maintenance (CAM) fee — paid in advance
Separate from the sinking fund, the CAM fee is the recurring charge that covers security, cleaning, pool and gym upkeep, and building management. Most developers require the first 6–12 months to be paid upfront at handover, so it lands in your closing budget even though it's technically an ongoing cost. Typical rates run THB 40–100 per sq. m per month — luxury and branded residences can run higher depending on staffing and facilities.

Transfer fee and the taxes around it
The Land Department charges a standard 2% transfer fee on the appraised value of the property (which can differ from your actual purchase price). Thai law doesn't dictate who pays it — it's a negotiation point, and splitting it 50/50 between buyer and seller is common practice, though developers on new-build projects will sometimes absorb it as an incentive.

Alongside the transfer fee, sellers typically carry Specific Business Tax, withholding tax, or stamp duty depending on how long they've owned the property — but as a buyer, it's worth understanding these exist, since they sometimes get negotiated into the sale price.

Utility meter installation (water & electricity)
Before you can move in, water and electricity meters need to be installed or transferred into your name — this is a modest but easy-to-forget line item, generally THB 2,000–10,000 combined. For brand-new developments, this is sometimes bundled into the developer's handover package; for resale units, you'll usually deal with the local utility office directly.

Legal and due diligence fees
Given the title checks, foreign quota verification, and Foreign Exchange Transaction Form (Tor Tor 3) requirements involved in a Thai property purchase, engaging an independent lawyer is standard practice rather than an optional extra. Budget THB 30,000–80,000 for due diligence and transaction support — more if you need a full sale and purchase agreement review or a leasehold/company structure drafted.

Real Estate Agent/Broker fees?
Good news here! Usually there is no fee to be paid. Real Estate Agents/Brokers are paid by the developers on the new builds. In an event of assignment agreement for resale of the property the fee is around 3-5% of the property cost.

Getting money into Thailand
Foreign buyers must transfer the full purchase amount in foreign currency into a Thai bank account and obtain a Foreign Exchange Transaction Form — the Land Office won't register a freehold title without it. The transfer itself carries a cost too: bank retail rates typically apply a 2–3% spread over the interbank rate, while specialist FX providers often bring that down to well under 1%. On a THB 10,000,000 purchase, that difference can be worth several hundred thousand baht — worth arranging before you're racing a transfer deadline.

Mortgage registration fee (if applicable)
If you're financing part of the purchase through a Thai bank, the mortgage itself is registered at the Land Department for an additional 1% of the loan amount — separate from, and in addition to, the transfer fee.

What to budget, all in
As a rule of thumb, foreign buyers should plan for roughly 5–8% of the purchase pricein one-off closing costs, with recurring CAM and property-related costs running an additional 0.5–2% of value per year during ownership. On a THB 5,000,000 unit, that's approximately THB 250,000–400,000 to close, and THB 25,000–100,000 a year to hold.

The bottom line
None of these costs are hidden — they're simply spread across the Land Department, the building's juristic office, your bank, and your lawyer, which makes them easy to underestimate if you're only looking at the headline purchase price. Building them into your budget from day one means no surprises at the signing table.

Costs above are indicative and vary by project, location, and the appraised value set by the Land Department. Talk to your SellEste broker for a project-specific closing cost breakdown before you commit.