Early in almost every Phuket deal, a buyer is asked to pay a “reservation fee” or “deposit” — before any contract is signed. That’s standard practice on both the primary and resale markets. The risk isn’t the reservation itself; it’s what happens before the money moves: who gets paid, what it actually locks in, and whether it comes back if the deal falls through. Here’s the mechanics of reservations and deposits, what the document you sign must contain, how new builds differ from resales, the timeline from reservation to registration, the real ways buyers lose money at this stage, and a checklist that removes most of the risk before you pay.
Contents
- Reservation, deposit, first installment — what’s the difference
- How much a reservation costs in Phuket: examples
- What the reservation document must contain
- Getting a deposit back: law and practice
- How buyers lose money on reservations: common scenarios
- Checklist: what to verify before paying
- Reserving a new build vs a resale: the differences
- Timeline and amounts: from reservation to registration
- Pitfalls
- Mini case study
- Conclusion and next step
1. Reservation, deposit, first installment — what’s the difference
The three terms get mixed up, but they carry different risk profiles:
| Term | What it locks in | Typical size | Legal status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reservation / booking fee | Unit pulled from sale, price locked for a short period | A fixed sum (example: 200,000 THB) | A receipt or short reservation agreement |
| Deposit | Usually just another name for the reservation fee | Same as the reservation amount | The same document as the reservation |
| First installment | Part of the price under a signed sale-purchase agreement | 30–50%, depending on the payment plan | A full sale-purchase contract |
The key line is the moment the contract is signed. A reservation exists before the contract and protects both sides while paperwork and due diligence are underway. The first installment is already a contractual obligation, and its refund is governed by that specific contract — not by verbal promises.
There is a fourth concept that English-language documents sometimes call by the same word, deposit — the security deposit in a tenancy agreement. It has nothing to do with a purchase, but the confusion comes up regularly: a buyer reads about a “two-month rental deposit” and carries that logic over to the deal. In a sale, the deposit is always earnest money for the unit, and its fate is decided by the receipt, not by rental practice.
2. How much a reservation costs in Phuket: examples
A reservation fee is a fixed sum, not a percentage of price, and it’s usually the same across most units in a project:
- Layan Verde — a 200,000 THB (~$6,010) reservation fee locks the unit for 3 business days to sign the contract. The amount is credited toward the first installment.
- Layan Green Park, phase 2 — a similar reservation step before signing, followed by payments on the developer’s schedule (terms confirmed at booking).
- Phase-1 resales at Layan Green Park — the entire current phase-1 price list consists of owner resales, so there’s no standard reservation scheme; deposit terms and amounts are negotiated directly with the seller and must be put in writing.
The logic is consistent: a reservation is a small slice of the entry cost. On a Layan Verde studio priced from 7,833,125 THB ($235,995), a 200,000 THB reservation is roughly 2.6% of the price — the rest follows a construction-linked installment schedule. By comparison, expensive units carry the same fixed sum — on ocean-view luxury apartments it amounts to a fraction of a percent, and developers sometimes ask for a larger reservation on such lots. So “how much is the reservation” is a question for a specific price list on a specific date, not for the market as a whole.
3. What the reservation document must contain
The reservation receipt (reservation form, booking agreement) is a short one- or two-page document, yet it alone decides what happens to the money before the contract is signed. What it must state, and what each missing item risks:
| Item | What to look for in the text | Risk if missing |
|---|---|---|
| Unit identification | Unit number, building, floor, area, type (studio / 1BR) | The developer may offer a “similar” unit with a worse view or floor |
| Price and currency | Full price in THB; if settling in foreign currency — the rate or conversion rule | A price “to be confirmed at signing” means the reservation locks nothing |
| Ownership form | Freehold (with remaining quota noted) or leasehold | Verbal freehold turns into leasehold at the same price |
| Reservation sum and purpose | The amount, and that it is credited toward the first installment | The reservation is kept on top of the price as an “admin fee” |
| Reservation period | A date or number of business days to sign the contract | The unit goes back on sale without notice |
| Refund terms | When the sum is returned to the buyer in full, and within what period | By default the earnest money stays with the seller |
| Buyer obligations | List of documents and the deadline to supply them (KYC) | Forfeiture for “buyer delay” |
| Payee details | A company name matching the future contracting party | Money goes to an agent or an affiliated firm |
| Signature and authority | Director or authorised signatory by power of attorney, company seal | Signed by someone with no authority to bind the company |
Two practical tips. First, ask for the draft sale-purchase agreement (SPA) already at the reservation stage — a serious developer has the template ready, and three business days are enough to read it with a lawyer. Second, if the receipt is only in Thai, request an English version or a translation — you should never sign a document you cannot read, even if “everyone does it”. The full list of deal documents and how to check them is covered in the Phuket property buying process.
4. Getting a deposit back: law and practice
Under Thai law, this kind of sum is most often treated as earnest money (มัดจำ, “mudjam”) within the Civil and Commercial Code. The general principle:
- if the buyer withdraws without fault on the seller’s side, the earnest money is typically forfeited to the seller or developer;
- if the seller breaches terms (wrong unit, changed price, refusal to sign the agreed contract), the buyer is generally entitled to a refund — sometimes with an extra contractual penalty on top;
- a court can reduce a sum a party tries to withhold as “earnest money” if it looks disproportionately large relative to the deal price — but counting on that as a strategy is unwise.
There is no blanket statute that forces an automatic refund “just because the buyer changed their mind.” Everything hinges on the wording of the specific document signed before the money moves. The absence of such a document is already a reason to stop.
A separate case is withdrawal for an objective reason outside the buyer’s control: the bank failed to execute the currency transfer, the remaining freehold quota wasn’t confirmed, due diligence revealed an encumbrance on the land. A good reservation document names such grounds as refundable. If they’re not in the text, the buyer ends up in the “changed their mind” position even when the cause lies with the property.
This material is informational only and is not legal advice. Earnest-money refund terms depend on the specific contract and circumstances — engage a qualified lawyer for the transaction.
5. How buyers lose money on reservations: common scenarios
- Paying into a personal account. A transfer to an agent’s card or personal account instead of the developer’s or seller’s corporate account is the single most common cause of an unrecoverable deposit.
- No written receipt. A verbal “we’ll hold it for you” with no document stating the sum, terms and refund conditions.
- Reserving through an unlicensed intermediary. Money flows through an agent with no authority to sign on behalf of the developer or seller — the detailed patterns are covered in property scams in Thailand.
- A project without permits. A developer collects “reservations” for a project that doesn’t yet have the required construction permits — a marker broken down in developer red flags.
- Endless reservation extensions. The reservation period formally expires, but the buyer is kept “on hold” with no written extension of terms and no clear deadline to sign the contract.
- Double reservation. The same unit is “reserved” for two buyers through different agents; whoever signs the contract first wins, and the other is offered a substitute or a slow refund.
6. Checklist: what to verify before paying
The check takes 1–2 days and happens before the transfer, not after:
- A written receipt or reservation agreement — unit, price, sum, deadline and refund terms on paper.
- Company bank details, not a private individual — the name should match whoever signs the future contract; the company itself can be verified in the open registry of the Department of Business Development (DBD).
- The agent’s license and authority, if the reservation goes through an intermediary rather than directly with the developer.
- The project’s permit status — especially at an early off-plan stage, before visible work starts on site.
- The price-lock deadline — what happens if the contract isn’t signed within the allotted days: extension, refund, or forfeiture.
- Ownership form and remaining quota — if you’re paying for freehold, the word freehold must appear in the receipt, and the developer must hold a quota confirmation for the building (how to check it is in the condo quota guide).
The broader developer and document check is a separate, more involved step that follows the reservation — covered in detail in Phuket due diligence.
7. Reserving a new build vs a resale: the differences
The reservation step carries the same name, but on a new build and on the resale market it involves different counterparties, documents and risks:
| Parameter | New build (from the developer) | Resale (from an owner) |
|---|---|---|
| Who gets paid | The developer company, corporate account | A private owner, or their lawyer / agent under written instruction |
| Document | The developer’s standard reservation form | A bespoke deposit agreement drafted for the deal |
| Amount | Fixed per project (example: 200,000 THB at Layan Verde) | Negotiated; usually a percentage of the price |
| What is checked before paying | Project permits, land chanote, company registry | The unit’s chanote, CAM and utility arrears, remaining quota, encumbrances |
| Where it is credited | Toward the first installment of the plan | Toward full payment at transfer — resales usually carry no installment plan |
| Time to contract | 3–7 business days | 1–4 weeks (juristic person letters, land office preparation) |
| Main risk | A project without permits, paying the wrong entity | A seller with an outstanding balance to the developer or unpaid fees |
On resales — including units in the operating phase 1 of Layan Green Park — the deposit is better held not by the seller directly but by their lawyer or the agency under written instruction until the registration date: that way the sum doesn’t evaporate if the seller changes their mind. Checking the unit’s chanote and the debt-free letters is mandatory; the procedure is described in how to verify a chanote and resale vs new build in Phuket. If you plan to sell the unit yourself later, the same mechanics work in reverse — see how to resell property in Phuket.
8. Timeline and amounts: from reservation to registration
Example on a Layan Verde 36.2 m² studio priced at 7,833,125 THB ($235,995), calculated on the price list of 1 September 2026 (7,833,125 THB / $235,995):
| Stage | Amount | What it locks in |
|---|---|---|
| Reservation | 200,000 THB (~$6,010) | The unit and price for 3 business days before the contract |
| First installment (35% plan) | The sale-purchase contract, start of the payment schedule | |
| Full payment | 7,833,125 THB ($235,995) in one sum | Full settlement of the contractual obligation |
From there the construction-linked schedule kicks in. Layan Verde offers two plans: 35% + 5 payments of 13% every 6 months and 50% + 5 payments of 10% every 6 months; with 100% payment, settlement is within 14 days. Here is how that looks over time on the same studio:
| Moment | 35% plan | 50% plan |
|---|---|---|
| Day 0 — reservation | 200,000 THB | 200,000 THB |
| Within 3 business days — contract and first installment | 35% ≈ 2,741,594 THB (reservation included) | 50% ≈ 3,916,563 THB (reservation included) |
| Every 6 months, 5 times | 13% ≈ 1,018,306 THB | 10% ≈ 783,313 THB |
| Last payment due | ~30 months after the contract | ~30 months after the contract |
| Completion per catalog | December 2028 | December 2028 |
| Title registration | after handover, at the land office | after handover, at the land office |
Amounts are rounded and depend on the exchange rate and price list on the contract date; at Layan Green Park (phase 2, completion 2026) the schedule is provided on request and revised as sales progress. The earlier the payment, the smaller the sum — and the more the written terms matter, since there’s no contract yet at the reservation stage; the buyer is protected only by whatever document was signed. How construction timelines work and what happens if completion slips is covered in new-build timelines in Thailand; payment options after completion are in post-handover payment plans; the unit inspection follows the handover checklist. For yield math across different entry schemes, see the ROI calculator.
9. Pitfalls
- “A reservation equals ownership.” A reservation carries no title and doesn’t replace a contract — the unit isn’t legally yours until the SPA is signed.
- Currency risk during the pause. The THB/USD rate can move between reservation and signing — if the price is locked in baht, that’s not the buyer’s problem, but confirm it explicitly rather than assuming it.
- Reserving a resale without checking the assignment. On the secondary market — including phase-1 Layan Green Park resales — it matters who the actual seller is and whether payments remain outstanding behind them; otherwise the reservation is paid on an asset carrying someone else’s debt.
- A penalty for your own delay. Some reservation agreements forfeit the sum if the buyer fails to provide documents (KYC, passport, address) on time — read the obligations, not just the refund clause.
- Comparing areas without checking the specific project. Reservation terms near Layan and Bang Tao are broadly similar, but the exact sums and deadlines are project-specific — don’t carry one project’s terms over to another without checking.
- A reservation in foreign currency to an offshore account. If the reservation went to the developer’s account outside Thailand and you plan on freehold, that sum won’t appear in the FET forms — agree the payment route in advance (more in FET and currency inflow).
- A receipt without a unit number. “A studio in building B” isn’t a reservation of a specific unit but a place in the queue for any of them; at signing you may be shown a different floor and view.
- No response deadline for the developer. The buyer must sign within 3 days, but the period in which the developer must deliver the contract isn’t stated — the pause drags on while the money already sits with the seller.
10. Mini case study
An investor picked a unit remotely and was given payment details for the reservation — a sales manager’s personal account, “to move faster.” Instead of transferring, the buyer asked for a company-issued receipt and corporate bank details. It turned out the manager was working through a sub-agent with no direct agreement with the developer. The deal was redirected straight to the developer, the reservation was paid into the corporate account with a written refund clause, and the contract was signed on schedule. The extra step took two days but removed the risk of sending money to someone with no authority to accept it.
A second episode from the same deal concerns the numbers. The receipt stated a 200,000 THB reservation and the unit price in baht; the buyer held the budget in dollars, and in the week between reservation and first installment the rate moved. Because the price was locked in baht on the reservation date, the only recalculation happened at the buyer’s own bank — no top-ups, no dispute with the developer. Had the document stated a price “in dollars at the rate on the payment date,” the same week would have changed the first installment amount. That is why the currency of the price lock is not a formality but a line to check before signing.
11. Conclusion and next step
A reservation fee or deposit isn’t a formality — it’s the first point of risk in a deal, precisely where there’s no contract yet and everything rests on a receipt and bank details. The rule is simple: written refund terms, a company account rather than a personal one, and verified authority for whoever you’re paying — before the transfer, not after. On a resale, add the unit’s chanote and debt-free letters; on a new build, the project permits and the remaining quota.
I can confirm current reservation terms for a specific unit at Layan Verde or Layan Green Park and verify the payment details before you pay — leave a request or see VillaCarte Group.
