Foreign buyer checklist
Your own step-by-step list for buying in Thailand, from the first viewing to after transfer day.
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Coordinate the lender and Land Office before releasing funds.
What should the lender provide?
- payoff statement;
- authorized representative details;
- original mortgage documents;
- discharge forms;
- payment instructions.
What does Thai law actually require to extinguish and discharge a mortgage?
Under the Civil and Commercial Code, a mortgage is a security interest registered against the property without the property being handed over to the lender (Section 702). Section 744 lists the grounds on which a mortgage is extinguished, in a straightforward sale payoff, the relevant ground is repayment in full of the debt the mortgage secures. Section 746 then requires that extinction, like the original mortgage, to be registered by the competent official (the Land Office) at the request of an interested party, without that registration, the discharge cannot be relied on against third parties, even though the underlying debt is gone.
In practice this means two separate steps have to both happen: the lender has to confirm the debt is repaid and release its claim, and someone, normally the lender's own representative together with the seller or buyer's representative, has to physically attend the Land Office to register the discharge against the title deed. Confirm with the lender in advance which of their staff will attend, since Thai banks commonly send an authorized officer to the Land Office for exactly this purpose on transfer day.
What does the Land Office charge, and has that changed recently?
The Land Department's standard registration fees are 2% of the officially assessed value for the transfer and 1% of the mortgage amount for a new mortgage registered at the same time as the sale. The Thai government has repeatedly introduced temporary reduced rates for lower-value residential property bought by a Thai individual, most recently 0.01% for each fee, for sale prices, assessed values or mortgage amounts up to THB 7 million, covering detached houses, semi-detached houses, row houses, commercial buildings and condominium units, for registrations dated 22 April 2025 through 30 June 2026. That window has closed as of this review. Because these reductions have been extended or replaced with a new one several times since 2008, do not assume either the old 1%/2% standard rates or the 0.01% reduced rates are definitely what applies on your closing date, ask the Land Office or your conveyancing lawyer to confirm the rate in force before you budget for closing costs.
Separately, discharging (removing) an existing mortgage from the title is its own registration step at the Land Office. This review could not confirm a specific current fee figure for that step from an official or clearly dated secondary source, so none is printed here, treat it as a modest fixed fee, distinct from the percentage-based transfer and new-mortgage fees above, and confirm the number directly with the Land Office handling the file.
What should the closing statement show?
- purchase balance;
- lender payoff;
- official fees;
- retentions;
- proof of each payment.
What should be kept after registration?
- updated title record;
- discharge evidence;
- official receipts;
- bank records;
- signed closing statement.
For financing background before discharge, see mortgages for foreigners; align the discharge sequence with the wider property transfer day checklist and the property banking document checklist.
Where should you continue your research?
Coordinate the payoff before closing.
Do not release funds without confirmed discharge documents.
Find closing supportFrequently asked questions
Can a mortgage be removed on transfer day?
Potentially, yes, if the lender's payoff statement and discharge documents are ready and the closing sequence is coordinated so that the discharge is registered with the sale at the same Land Office appointment. In practice most Thai lenders attend the Land Office transfer appointment with their own officer precisely so this can happen in one visit.
Should the buyer pay the seller directly?
No single answer fits every deal, the agreed closing statement should name the exact recipients (the seller's lender for the payoff amount, the seller for any remaining balance, the Land Office for fees) and the order in which each is paid, confirmed in writing before the appointment.
What if the payoff figure changes before closing?
Obtain an updated payoff statement from the lender close to the closing date, interest continues to accrue daily until the debt is actually repaid, so a figure quoted weeks earlier can be stale by closing day.
Under Thai law, what actually extinguishes a mortgage?
Section 744 of the Civil and Commercial Code lists the grounds, the most common of which is simply full repayment of the debt the mortgage secures. The mortgage is not automatically removed from the title deed the moment the debt is paid, the extinction (and the registration that records it) still has to be completed at the Land Office, per Section 746 below.
Does paying off the loan automatically clear the title deed?
No. Repaying the lender extinguishes the underlying debt, but Section 746 of the Civil and Commercial Code requires the extinction of the mortgage to be registered by the Land Office at the request of an interested party before it is effective against third parties, meaning the discharge still needs to be formally registered, not just paid off.
What does the Land Office charge to register the sale and the new mortgage together?
As of this review, the Land Department's standard rates are a 2% transfer registration fee on the officially assessed value and a 1% mortgage registration fee on the mortgage amount when the mortgage is registered at the same time as the sale. A temporary reduction to 0.01% for each fee applied to lower-value residential property bought by a Thai individual buyer, but that reduced window ran only from 22 April 2025 through 30 June 2026 according to Tilleke & Gibbins' reporting on the Ministry of Interior notifications, it has lapsed as of this writing, and these reduced rates have been extended or reinstated by the Thai government more than once in recent years, so confirm the fee actually in force on your closing date directly with the Land Office before budgeting.
What does it cost to discharge an existing mortgage at the Land Office?
This review could not confirm an exact current figure for the mortgage-discharge registration fee from an official or named source, unlike the percentage-based sale and mortgage-registration fees above, discharge of a mortgage is commonly described as a modest fixed administrative fee rather than a percentage figure, but we are not printing an unconfirmed number here. Ask the Land Office handling your title deed, or your lender's legal department, for the current figure before your appointment.
Sources & References
- Department of Lands
- Bank of Thailand
- Royal Thai Government Gazette
- Civil and Commercial Code of Thailand, Book III, Title XII (Mortgage): English translation via Siam Legal Library, not independently checked against the official Thai text
- Tilleke & Gibbins, "Thailand Again Reduces Property Sale and Mortgage Registration Fees" (24 Apr 2025)
Primary and official sources are cited above. Government rules, fees and procedures in Thailand change over time and vary by office; always confirm current requirements with the relevant authority before relying on them. BAANLYY never takes paid placement in editorial content.
