Koh Phangan
Sap-Ing-Sith on Koh Phangan: getting the structure right before you build
An earlier-stage market with thinner resale liquidity — which is exactly why the structure you set up on day one matters more here than on Samui.
Land, half-built or finished · we will tell you if it fits
Most people who buy on Koh Phangan arrive from Samui, see what a given budget buys here, and start asking about land. A large share of what changes hands on this island is land or an unfinished build rather than a finished villa.
Resale liquidity is thinner than on Samui: fewer completed projects, fewer buyers, longer time on the market. The structure you set up at the beginning therefore matters more here, because you cannot rely on an easy exit to correct a bad one.
United Grace is a 100% Thai-owned company with offices in Bangkok, Koh Samui and Koh Phangan. We register Sap-Ing-Sith rights on the Chanote in the buyer's own name. Samui is a genuinely different market and has its own page.
What is actually available
Your options here are narrower than on Samui
| Route | Open to a foreigner | Practical limit |
|---|---|---|
| Land freehold | No | Closed by the Land Code |
| Condominium freehold | Within the 49% quota | Not a condo market |
| Building without the land | Yes | Splits the asset; unfinanceable |
| 30-year lease | Yes | Landlord's consent to sell |
| 51/49 Thai company | Yes | Nominee exposure |
| Sap-Ing-Sith | Yes, in your own name | Up to 30 years, no renewal |
A lease is a personal contract under sections 537–571 of the Civil and Commercial Code. Assignment needs consent, inheritance is contested, and no bank lends against it. "30+30+30" renewals are promises, not rights. Compare lease and company in detail.
Where Thai shareholders hold shares on a foreigner's behalf, that is a nominee arrangement, prohibited under the Land Code and the Foreign Business Act, with penalties that reach the land itself. The Nation reports 3,213 such companies on Koh Pha-ngan within 11,649 across Surat Thani, and a May 2026 inspection by five agencies covering a Koh Pha-ngan pool villa and a hotel. See nominee structures.
The right
A real right on the deed, not a contract in a drawer
Sap-Ing-Sith exists under the Property-Based Right Act B.E. 2562 (2019). It is inscribed on the Chanote at the Land Office, next to the freehold owner, and attaches to the land rather than to the person who granted it.
- Open to any natural or legal person, Thai or foreign.
- Statutory term of up to 30 years.
- Freely transferable without the landowner's consent.
- Inheritable by statute for the remainder of the term.
- Mortgageable as a matter of law. Whether a specific bank lends to a specific foreign borrower is a credit decision. See financing.
- Survives a change of landowner.
United Grace Co., Ltd. is the legal and beneficial owner of the land it holds — not in trust, not as a nominee. The customer holds a separate statutory right in their own name, not ownership of the land. The full mechanics are on our legal page.
Two ways in
Existing owner, or new buyer
You already own here
A clean asset purchase. We buy the property from your existing structure, take title, and register your right on the same deed. The old company is left behind.
You are buying land or a new build
The more common case here. We pay the seller, take title and register your right in your own name before construction money goes in. Only properties that fit the portfolio.
If you are buying land to build on, settle the building question at registration. Buildings revert to the landowner at expiry unless separately registered. That is a conversation for day one, not year twenty-eight.
Days 1–3 — commitment
Terms, pricing track, documents.
Days 4–10 — acquisition
Due diligence and transfer of title to United Grace.
Days 11–14 — registration
Your right inscribed on the Chanote.
About 14 days from signing in the normal case. Completed files are listed on registrations.
Koh Phangan specifics: which Land Office we file through here, actual turnaround experienced on this island versus Samui, and the split of our Koh Phangan pipeline between land, new build and completed villas.
Pricing
Three tracks, identical right
- At signing
- The purchase price
- Annual payment
- 3% of the purchase price
- At signing
- The purchase price + 20%
minimum ฿700,000 - Annual payment
- Nothing
- At signing
- Nothing — we fund the purchase
- Annual payment
- 6% of the purchase price
Track A carries no separate one-time service fee. On Track C United Grace funds the acquisition and the annual fee is the only payment; the client does not pay the purchase price. The registered right is the same on all three, and the track can change later.
The buyer of the right pays all government fees and taxes: transfer fee typically 2% of the registered value, stamp duty 0.5%, and a fixed Land Office fee for inscribing the right. Independent counsel is separate. Run your own numbers on the calculator.
After registration
Management, and the exit problem
Savills Thailand cites annual returns of 8–10 per cent. Horizon Homes Samui is more conservative at 5–7 per cent net for landed properties after operating costs, and notes that 60–70% of visitors arrive between November and March. Third-party estimates for the broader island market, not a projection for any particular property.
Management covers listings priced weekly, guest vetting, smart check-in, housekeeping, concierge, preventive maintenance and monthly statements. Silver is 20% for one villa, Gold 18% for two to three, Platinum 15% for four or more, plus a ฿2,000 per month community fee waived at Platinum. The fee is the greater of the tier percentage or ฿20,000 per unit per month. See operations.
Why the network matters more here
On Samui there is enough transaction volume that a villa will eventually find a buyer. Koh Phangan is thinner, so an internal network of owners and buyers is often the difference between selling and waiting.
| Network | Agency | |
|---|---|---|
| Commission | 1.5% indicative | 6–10% |
| To registration | 7–10 days | 6–12 months |
| Due diligence | Same day | 3–6 weeks |
The right transfers without the landowner's signature. The buyer of the right pays the government fees either way. More on the resale network.
Honest limits
Read this before you decide
- No renewal mechanism exists in the Act. Continuation beyond the term requires a fresh grant and a fresh registration. Never accept a claim of 60 or 90 years.
- Buildings revert to the landowner at expiry unless separately registered — the single most important clause for anyone buying land here to build on.
- The right's value declines as the remaining term shortens.
- Land Offices have registered relatively few of these since 2019 and some are still unfamiliar with the entry.
- This is not freehold land. It is a registered real right on a deed you do not own.
- Koh Phangan resale is slower than Samui regardless of structure. A clean, transferable right improves your odds. It does not create a market that is not there.
Send us the plot or the villa
Tell us what you are looking at and what stage it is at. We will tell you whether it fits and what registering it in your name would involve.
Chat on WhatsApp — we reply in minutes Why company structures failUnited Grace Co., Ltd. · Bangkok · Koh Samui · Koh Phangan · +66 95 257 9212 · office@united-grace.com. General information about Thai law, not legal advice. Confirm your own position with independent Thai counsel before committing.