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Luxury Villas and Property for Sale in Koh Samui & Thailand

How to Choose the Best Real Estate Agency in Koh Samui

March 4, 2022
How to Choose the Best Real Estate Agency in Koh Samui

Koh Samui is paradise lost that's been found again and is growing in popularity among realtors, buyers, and sellers all over the world. It's personally beckoning your name with a villa or condo attached to it.

If you're one of the many foreigners who want to immigrate to Koh Samui—as many others have done so through the years—it's reassuring to know that you can find many reputable real estate agencies out there to serve them.

A lounge chair and a drink are waiting for you in Koh Samui. Just find the right agency or agents to help you out and everything should fall into place.

Work with Experienced Experts

A realty expert in a worthwhile real estate agency helps reduce the hurdles you'll have to deal with as well as communication issues since they speak the same language as you do. An experienced property agent should have a good track record as well.

It pays to interview their past clients or get referrals from their most satisfied customers to know what to expect from them. You should definitely get an agent who's near Koh Samui or lives in Thailand.

Get a company that's based in Thailand and has experience in dealing with Koh Samui property sales with a good track record when you dig into their history.

Commission Percentages for Koh Samui Agents

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How much do you need to pay your agent in commission on Koh Samui? Agents tend to pocket 3 percent of the sales value. In comparison, the commissions for Cambodia range from 2-3 percent, in the Philippines 2-3 percent, and Hong Kong 1 percent.

Meanwhile, Koh Samui agencies have a 5 percent commission percentage. In regards to which areas in Koh Samui offer the most interesting features for buyers, you should be on the lookout for Koh Samui's Northeastern part.

Areas of Interest in Koh Samui

Yes, properties in the Northeast tend to be more expensive on average but that's because it's a prime location. The north coast is also what buyers and developers prefer because it's full of new areas or untouched lands ripe for development.

While the Koh Samui west coast isn't as popular with its quieter surroundings, it's also preferred by buyers who wish a secluded and peaceful kind of life in paradise.

English-Speaking Thailand Property Law Experts

You should know what to look for when choosing the best real estate agency in Koh Samui. If you wish to purchase realty in Thailand in general and Koh Samui in particular, it's imperative that you contact an experienced agent to assist you.

A good English-speaking real estate agency for Koh Samui will teach you about the regulations you need to deal with as a foreigner, such as avoiding direct purchases of property. They'll serve as your GPS maps or chauffeurs towards your destination.

With that in mind, you should go for the help of the true experts when searching for a Koh Samui property—a local agent who's fluent in English or English speakers who are fluent with Thailand real estate law.

The Best Agents Offer Amazing Legal Expertise

The best agents enable you to navigate through Thailand's property laws, particularly when it comes to foreigners investing in property there. This isn't the time to navigate the property laws of another country on your own lonesome.

The agents should inform you that you can't buy property directly in Thailand as a foreigner and give you options for purchase like using a company, or using the Board of Investment (BOI).

You can also marry a Thai national and have him or her buy the property for you,, use structured ownership, or use lease of property (with marriage being the most commonplace method).

Matchmaking Agents Who Connect Buyers and Sellers Together

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On top of searching for agencies familiar with how a foreigner might go about buying a piece of land in Koh Samui, you should also get agents who know which properties are available.

Like how you should be armed to the teeth with a platoon of soldiers when going to war, you should be armed with knowledge of Thailand law and a decent agent with legal expertise when availing of villas in Koh Samui.

They should save you time searching for Koh Samui properties and buildings within your price range in accordance to your personal goals and needs—new home, vacation home, timeshare, landlord, or business owner.

Have a Reputable Agent that Looks Out for You

Most Koh Samui properties are available by the current owner at a fixed price. The agent can work as a middle person and know whether you're being offered a fair price or not. He should help out when it comes to digging on the background of the seller.

For example, does the person selling the property have the title deed or has the right to do realty sales in the first place? The agent will make sure the legal title is held by the person doing the sale.

Agents Helping with Zoning, Environmental, and Property Laws

Without your agent, you'll be navigating through all sorts of property, environmental, and zoning laws that can be quite bewildering. They're bad enough when buying property in your locality like the U.S.A. or U.K.

How much more in unfamiliar territory, so to speak? You want an ally that knows the process of purchasing for foreigners inside out. You can get a lawyer to go in tandem with an agent, but preferably a lawyer familiar with Thailand's laws specifically.

This comes in handy when you're signing documents for the property sale. This way, you won't be left high and dry with a scammer or break any Thailand property laws!

Look into Qualifications and Company History

On top of getting referrals from satisfied customers, you should also look into the qualifications of the agency. For example, some companies have company heads who are expatriates working in Thailand and are qualified Chartered Surveyors.

There are also those with over 40 years of experience in realty while at the same time they've worked in Thailand for decades, so they know the inside-out of the zoning, environmental, and property laws of Thailand as far as foreign investors are concerned.

The resumes of the agents and managers of these agencies should reflect deep knowledge of the local Thailand and Koh Samui realty markets on top of English fluency.

Getting the Easiest Methods of Owning Property

If you're looking into getting a villa in a development such as Samujana, an agency can make the process much easier and with fewer instances of guesswork. The agent will also answer all your questions and alleviate all your worries.

He'll also be there to prevent you from doing anything based on wrong presumptions, which is how most bad deals come about. It is possible to find a place by yourself in Thailand, but it's safer to do so with the safety net of an agency.

You never know how people might pull the wool from under your nose. Or even without the malicious intent of scamming you, an agent is there to ensure you pay the best possible price for the best possible property.

A Proper Arrangement That Ensures You of the Best Choices

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Your Koh Samui residence, vacation home, or resort should provide you with pleasure and relaxation when all is said and done. Meanwhile, the agency is there to handle all the details and smoothen out all the potential headaches as well as legal concerns.

This way, you'll benefit from getting great facilities, assistance in property maintenance, and acquiring the peace of mind that all the legal issues have been handled correctly.

Koh Samui is like the Garden of Eden or the Elysium Garden in real life. It's a slice of paradise and, thus, one of the most visited islands in Thailand. Some people even decide to move there because of its high-caliber quality of life and healthcare.

Sometimes Seniority and Experience are Good Measuring Sticks

Find either a reputable rising star when it comes to Koh Samui agencies or one that's been around for years or even decades, like two decades ago (just after the Millennium). The oldest real estate agencies ensure you have a diverse portfolio of property choices.

They have also surely survived all these years through successful deals left and right or having the savvy to follow the latest trends, like the rising demand of foreigners investing in places like Koh Samui.

These "tenured" agencies will surely meet your needs, especially if they're composed of a multilingual and diverse team of English-speaking Thai people or expatriates from all over the globe.

What Property Types Should Your Agency Serve?

Search for an agency that lists various property types like family houses, commercial properties, residential properties, resorts, land, apartments, and luxury villas galore.

You can also go for agencies with more limited property types, like one that focuses mostly on villas and resorts in Koh Samui. As long as they're the properties you're searching for then it should be fine, whether they're leasehold or as a Chanote Title.

A good agency can deal with sales, property management, and legal services so you won't necessarily have to pay for a local lawyer who's well-versed in Thailand property law.

How About Getting with a Property Locator?

You can also get the help of a consultancy that serves as a property locator. Such agencies are less hands-on yet they give you more leeway when negotiating with a giving property seller but they're still there to guide you through the entire process.

Such major consultancies and agencies can give you an impressive property portfolio since their expertise is to locate different property types to fit the given needs and goals of their clientele.

They'll cover everything from residential to commercial properties in the form of apartments, houses, and villas on their website for sure.

Look for Independent Real Estate Agencies

The beauty of having an independent real estate agency representing you is that they offer clients timely, reliable, and honest advice on Koh Samui property purchases.

An independent agency has a single office owned and it's managed by a licensee who, alongside their team, offers all real estate services or specializes in either sales or property management.

Their independence allows them to focus on the needs of each client versus a franchise real estate agency that's less focused and offers more generic advice because they're busy with a much bigger clientele pool.

They're also aware that most foreign investors wish to specifically invest in second homes in Koh Samui or use realty to expand their portfolios.

A Team of Expatriates vs. English-Speaking Thailand Citizens

The main advantage of real estate agencies operated by a team of expatriates from the U.S., U.K., Canada, and/or Australia is that they don't only speak the same languages as their clients. They also know their culture, way of thinking, and mannerisms.

It's perfectly fine to get help from English-speaking Thai agencies. Many have both local and foreign Thai employees that have been internationally trained to deal with an international clientele. They know Thailand law better as the citizens of Thailand.

However, you're likely to find agencies catering to foreigners headed by British nationals working as real estate consultants internationally before setting up shop in Koh Samui.

For instance, many fellow British nationals depend on these British-headed agencies of expatriates to smoothen out the details of their Koh Samui deals.

Why Conrad Properties?

As one of the most popular Koh Samui real estate agencies, Conrad Properties Co. Ltd. brings a lot to the table. It also gets the reputation as one of the premier Koh Samui property agents because of its origins.

It was also founded by a British national by the name of Conrad Krawczyk. He worked internationally in all sorts of leading estate agencies before establishing his own.

Conrad Properties offers all types of realty on their website, which includes land, houses, villas, apartments, and condominiums. Furthermore, they offer services like villa sales, property sales, and so forth.

The Conrad Advantage

At present, Koh Samui is experiencing exponential growth in building villas, condos, bungalows, resorts, and hotels. Take advantage of it by going the Conrad route.

When Mr. Krawczyk moved to Thailand, he already worked for Raimon Land PLC and Knight Frank, putting those jobs under his belt. Furthermore, his staff is multilingual. They speak English, Thai, Spanish, Polish and French.

Therefore, they have an international clientele that matches their international languages used from Europe to North America, Canada to the U.S.A. Its office address is 119 Samui Town Center, Moo 1, Bophut Koh Samui, 84320, Suratthani, Thailand.

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