Sea View Tropical Pool Villa, Maenam Soi 3

A foreign national cannot hold land freehold in their own personal name in Thailand, so this is bought through one of two routes: a registered 30-year lease, renewable by contract, or a Thai limited company with genuine Thai shareholders holding the freehold. Be cautious of anyone offering nominee Thai shareholders. That arrangement is not legal in Thailand and it puts the asset at risk. We will set out the exact structure for this property, and refer you to an independent lawyer who does not work for us.

We confirm the exact title grade in writing before you commit, and send the document straight to your lawyer. It is worth understanding why we insist on this: Chanote is Thailand's strongest title, with GPS-surveyed boundaries and clean transfer, while weaker grades carry vaguer boundaries and limits on what you can build and how you can sell. If the title on a property is anything other than clean, you will hear it from us before you hear it from your lawyer.

This one is 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 285 sqm of built area. It has a private pool. It is offered fully furnished, so it is usable from day one rather than after a six month fit-out. All figures here are in square metres, not square feet.

Budget for pool servicing, garden maintenance, electricity and water, and building insurance. Pool and garden upkeep is the line most overseas buyers underestimate, and air conditioning through the hot season is the other. Ask us for the actual monthly running cost on this property. We would rather give you a real number now than have you discover it in your first quarter.

Budget roughly 3 to 6% of the price on top, covering transfer fee, stamp duty or specific business tax, withholding tax and legal fees. Who pays what is negotiable, and a 50/50 split of the transfer fee is common on Koh Samui. One thing worth knowing early: Thai banks do not generally lend to foreign buyers, so most purchases here are funded in cash or financed from your home country. On this property that puts the likely add-on somewhere between THB 507,000 and THB 1,014,000, and we will give you the precise figure before you make an offer.

Use the Schedule a Tour form on this page and Bebe will arrange the viewing directly. If you cannot travel, we will do a live video walkthrough and send you the unedited footage rather than a marketing cut, and refer you to an independent lawyer who does not work for us to run due diligence. People do commit here remotely. We would still rather you came, because a video will not tell you what the access road is like in the rain.