“Guaranteed 8% a year for ten years.”
A guarantee is a promise from a company. If that company, or the group behind it, runs out of money, the guarantee fails with it. In failing schemes the returns were often paid from new sales rather than from rental income.
Ask: Who exactly guarantees the return? What income pays it? Is there a bank guarantee? Can I see the guarantor’s filed accounts?
“We buy it back at 110% after five years.”
A buy-back is an unsecured promise to pay a large sum years from now. Post-dated cheques add little: if the account is empty on the day, they bounce.
Ask: Is the buy-back secured by a bank guarantee or held in escrow? What happens if the company cannot pay on the date?
“Managed by a world-famous hotel brand.”
Brands usually license their name and manage the hotel for its owner. They are rarely a party to your contract and do not guarantee the seller’s promises.
Ask: Ask the brand, in writing: what do you guarantee to me as an investor?
“The foreign quota is full, but we can put it in a company.”
Thai companies with nominee shareholders are illegal. You can lose the property, and since 2026 foreigners involved in nominee arrangements can be referred for deportation.
Ask: Is there foreign quota left in my name? If not, walk away, or buy a registered lease with proper advice.
“A 30 + 30 + 30-year lease.”
Only 30 years can be registered at a time. The renewals are promises, and whether they bind a new owner of the land is doubtful.
Ask: Ask your lawyer: what happens to my lease if the land is sold, or if the owner dies?
“Pay 70% now and save 15%.”
The more you pay before completion, the more you lose if construction stops.
Ask: Can payments follow construction stages, and can the money go into escrow?
“Sign today. Prices go up on Monday.”
Pressure is a sales technique, not a market fact. A sound project will still be there after your lawyer has read the contract.
Ask: Can I have a week to review the contract with my own lawyer?
“Our lawyer will handle everything for you.”
A lawyer chosen by the seller works for the seller.
Ask: Hire your own lawyer, and check the licence with the Lawyers Council of Thailand.
“Own a share of a five-star hotel from THB 2 million.”
Fractional products often give you no registered title at all. Without title, you are an unsecured lender to the seller.
Ask: What exactly will be registered in my name at the Land Office?
“Look, the first payments arrive like clockwork.”
Early payments only prove that money exists today. In failing schemes, early investors were often paid with later investors’ money.
Ask: Is the return paid from the hotel’s actual profit? Show me the accounts.
“Just sign this addendum: new dates, higher penalty.”
Each addendum can change your rights: new deadlines, new parties, sometimes a waiver hidden in the text. A promise rescheduled twice is a pattern.
Ask: Can my lawyer read it first? Who exactly signs it, and what do I give up?
“Don’t go to court and don’t talk about it. It will hurt the value.”
Silence protects the seller. Your deadlines keep running while you wait.
Ask: What are my deadlines? Then talk to a lawyer and to other buyers.
“Give us your proxy for the creditors’ meeting.”
In an insolvency, management may collect proxies to push through its own plan. Your vote is your leverage.
Ask: Who will vote for me, how, and in whose interest? Appoint your own lawyer instead.
“We can recover your money. There is a small fee first.”
Fake recovery agents and fake lawyers target people who have already lost money.
Ask: Check the licence with the Lawyers Council of Thailand. Never pay into a personal account, and never pay a fee to “release” money.
Heard one of these? Read the buyer’s checklist, or tell us about the deal.