the first steps...

We will start from the point where you have chosen a country you like. In this example it will be Thailand. In making your choice you will have decided whether you are buying a villa for a holiday home, as an investment, for retirement or maybe all three and you would have also considered many other aspects as well, such as the location, accessibility, climate, political stability, religion, economy, health system etc.

The Internet, of course, is a good place to start your research, but in no time at all you will be overwhelmed by the many websites you visit and the amount of information, in other words, to use a well known proverb, you can’t see the wood from the trees. Very apt if you are looking for a property on Koh Samui!

property exhibitions

Exhibitions are one way of learning about up-and-coming villa developments. At these exhibitions you will meet all the developers who are selling their properties in exotic locations.

They will have fancy advertising brochures and videos showing white sandy beaches, girls in swim suits, lovers walking hand-in-hand along the beach, sunsets and romantic dinners for two and more, in fact pretty much everything that says luxury and exclusivity, except Sex in the Surf!


If you live in Hong Kong then sooner or later you will see advertisements for these exhibitions or if you have a relationship with one of the major estate agents you will be notified by post. Some exhibitions are exclusive to the developer and are held in hotel suites. These exhibitions are often launching a new development and therefore, a great opportunity to be the first in and buy off-plan.

off-plan

Buying off-plan is not as daunting as it first sounds provided you follow some simple rules. Always remember that site plans can and will change over the period of construction. There may be many reasons for this including unforeseen changes in the land surveys, land topography, involving changes to the layout of the development, decreasing the sizes of plots and increasing the number of villas to be built and also, moving the position of facilities like a restaurant, spa and gym to different areas of the site. Interior specifications may also change and in some extreme cases a complete redesign.

Some of these changes may work in your favour others not. If they are small then I wouldn’t worry, but if they are big such as a change of design, for example, changing the design of the villas from, let’s say, Thai style to a modern design with a flat roof, then you should be thinking about asking for your money back.