What expenses are involved in buying a condo?
Last updated: 3 Aug 2025
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You're already paying rent, so it's better to just buy a condo and live in it yourself. This is a popular opinion among many people who are looking to rent a condo, or who are already renting but feel that it's a waste of money, as the condo ultimately won't be theirs. While investing in a condo will give you true ownership, you must first assess whether you're ready to buy one. There are a number of expenses involved in buying a condo, including:
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1. Reservation and Contract Fees
These are the first expenses you need to prepare after choosing a condo unit. You must make a reservation to guarantee your desired unit. Afterward, if you truly agree and don't change your mind, you must sign a sales contract with the project. These two expenses are determined by the project, but generally, you'll need at least tens of thousands of baht.
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2. Down Payment
The down payment for a condo is the amount the buyer pays in advance to show their intent to purchase the condo. It's usually a percentage of the condo price. For example: We want to buy a condo priced at 3 million baht. If the down payment is set at 15%, this will total 450,000 baht. This down payment can be paid in installments, as per the project's requirements.
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3. Transfer Fees
This is another lump sum payment required before moving into a condo. These transfer fees include a 2% ownership transfer fee of the project's appraised value, a 1% mortgage registration fee of the condo's value, and a 0.5% stamp duty of the sales price. All in all, this is a significant sum. Currently, there are discounts available from government measures, and many projects offer promotions to help alleviate this expense. Therefore, we need to carefully calculate the cost to avoid impacting other expenses in life.
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4. Monthly Installments
After completing the reservation, contract, and transfer process, the main cost of buying a condo is the monthly installments. These payments are similar to rent, and are made according to the agreed-upon contract period. If we compare the rental fees with our own installments, we'll find that the monthly installments are significantly higher than the rent. A simple estimate of the monthly installments to consider is 7,000 baht per million baht. This means that if you buy a 2 million baht condo, you'll need to pay approximately 14,000 baht per installment.
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5. Condo Common Area Fees
Many people say that condo living is an advantage of having a complete common area, such as a swimming pool, fitness center, library, co-working space, etc. However, these amenities come with a cost: common area fees. The better the common area, the higher the cost. When buying a condo, you might receive a promotion for free common area fees for the first 1-2 years, which may not seem like a problem. However, once the promotion ends, not planning for these expenses can lead to a heavier burden. Generally, condo common area fees are calculated based on the unit area. And pay annually. For example, if the common area fee is set at 20 baht per square meter, a 30 square meter room would be 600 baht per month. Collected annually, this would equal 12 x 600, totaling 7,200 baht per year.
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6. Water, Electricity, and Internet
Whether you're renting or buying a condo, these expenses haven't disappeared. We still need to calculate them to see the overall cost. This way, we can make a reasonable estimate of whether we can afford to cover all the expenses if we decide to move from renting to buying a condo.
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7. Decoration and Improvement Costs
It's true that nowadays, we're seeing condos for sale with free furniture and air conditioning, ready to move into. But in practice, when buying a condo for personal use, we often think about decorating and adding on to our condo to make it as comfortable as possible. This is why we need to set aside an additional sum of money to accommodate our personal decoration needs. In terms of ready-to-move-in condos, sometimes the free furniture isn't complete, only some are included. This makes it difficult to decide whether to buy a condo or not. It's hard to avoid spending on this part of the budget.
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Being a condo owner actually has many hidden costs that many people overlook. These include expenses before moving in, expenses during the stay, and the possibility of additional costs from potential repairs. Therefore, renting may be a better option than buying a condo. The definitive answer to whether renting or buying is better depends on your financial situation. You must carefully assess your financial situation to determine whether you're prepared to bear all the costs in exchange for true ownership.
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Thank you for the great information from REIC.
___________________________________________
1. Reservation and Contract Fees
These are the first expenses you need to prepare after choosing a condo unit. You must make a reservation to guarantee your desired unit. Afterward, if you truly agree and don't change your mind, you must sign a sales contract with the project. These two expenses are determined by the project, but generally, you'll need at least tens of thousands of baht.
___________________________________________
2. Down Payment
The down payment for a condo is the amount the buyer pays in advance to show their intent to purchase the condo. It's usually a percentage of the condo price. For example: We want to buy a condo priced at 3 million baht. If the down payment is set at 15%, this will total 450,000 baht. This down payment can be paid in installments, as per the project's requirements.
___________________________________________
3. Transfer Fees
This is another lump sum payment required before moving into a condo. These transfer fees include a 2% ownership transfer fee of the project's appraised value, a 1% mortgage registration fee of the condo's value, and a 0.5% stamp duty of the sales price. All in all, this is a significant sum. Currently, there are discounts available from government measures, and many projects offer promotions to help alleviate this expense. Therefore, we need to carefully calculate the cost to avoid impacting other expenses in life.
___________________________________________
4. Monthly Installments
After completing the reservation, contract, and transfer process, the main cost of buying a condo is the monthly installments. These payments are similar to rent, and are made according to the agreed-upon contract period. If we compare the rental fees with our own installments, we'll find that the monthly installments are significantly higher than the rent. A simple estimate of the monthly installments to consider is 7,000 baht per million baht. This means that if you buy a 2 million baht condo, you'll need to pay approximately 14,000 baht per installment.
___________________________________________
5. Condo Common Area Fees
Many people say that condo living is an advantage of having a complete common area, such as a swimming pool, fitness center, library, co-working space, etc. However, these amenities come with a cost: common area fees. The better the common area, the higher the cost. When buying a condo, you might receive a promotion for free common area fees for the first 1-2 years, which may not seem like a problem. However, once the promotion ends, not planning for these expenses can lead to a heavier burden. Generally, condo common area fees are calculated based on the unit area. And pay annually. For example, if the common area fee is set at 20 baht per square meter, a 30 square meter room would be 600 baht per month. Collected annually, this would equal 12 x 600, totaling 7,200 baht per year.
___________________________________________
6. Water, Electricity, and Internet
Whether you're renting or buying a condo, these expenses haven't disappeared. We still need to calculate them to see the overall cost. This way, we can make a reasonable estimate of whether we can afford to cover all the expenses if we decide to move from renting to buying a condo.
___________________________________________
7. Decoration and Improvement Costs
It's true that nowadays, we're seeing condos for sale with free furniture and air conditioning, ready to move into. But in practice, when buying a condo for personal use, we often think about decorating and adding on to our condo to make it as comfortable as possible. This is why we need to set aside an additional sum of money to accommodate our personal decoration needs. In terms of ready-to-move-in condos, sometimes the free furniture isn't complete, only some are included. This makes it difficult to decide whether to buy a condo or not. It's hard to avoid spending on this part of the budget.
___________________________________________
Being a condo owner actually has many hidden costs that many people overlook. These include expenses before moving in, expenses during the stay, and the possibility of additional costs from potential repairs. Therefore, renting may be a better option than buying a condo. The definitive answer to whether renting or buying is better depends on your financial situation. You must carefully assess your financial situation to determine whether you're prepared to bear all the costs in exchange for true ownership.
___________________________________________
Thank you for the great information from REIC.
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