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What a property mortgage in Thailand is legally, the 1% Land Office registration fee, buying a mortgaged property, and what a lawyer checks before you sign.
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A property mortgage in Thailand is a registered security right: the lender's claim over the property is recorded against the title deed at the Land Office, and it stays there until the debt is paid and the discharge is registered. That registration is what makes the mortgage enforceable against the property, and it is why a mortgage always shows up in a proper title search.
This page covers the legal side of financing: what registration costs, what it means to buy a property that already carries a mortgage, and the loan and security documents worth having a lawyer read before you sign. Whether a bank will lend, and on what terms, is the bank's decision. The legal work is making sure the documents you sign match the deal you agreed to. The property transfer fees guide covers the wider cost picture at the Land Office.
Official Land Office fees around a financed purchase
Rates from the Department of Lands schedule of fees, taxes and duties. The mortgage registration fee is paid when the security is registered, usually on the same visit as the transfer.
| Item | Rate |
|---|---|
| Mortgage registration | 1% of the loan amount, capped at 200,000 baht |
| Transfer registration fee (the purchase itself) | 2% of the appraised value |
Source: Department of Lands, schedule of registration fees, taxes and duties
Checked August 2026
Note: Buying a property that already carries a mortgage
A seller's unpaid mortgage does not stop a sale, but it must be dealt with, because the encumbrance follows the deed, not the seller. In a normal transaction the seller's lender is repaid from the purchase money and the discharge is registered at the Land Office alongside the transfer, so you take the title clean. The check that catches an undisclosed mortgage in the first place is due diligence on the title, which is why it runs before any deposit becomes hard to recover.
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A financed purchase adds a second contract stack on top of the sale itself. The loan agreement sets the debt; the mortgage instrument creates the security the Land Office registers; and the two have to line up with the sale and purchase agreement on price, timing, and what happens if the deal falls through. A lawyer reads all three together, checks that the registered security matches what you agreed, and flags terms that put more of the property at risk than the deal requires.
Not all financing comes from a bank. Developer instalment plans, seller financing, and private loans are common in practice, and they are where careful papering matters most: the repayment schedule, what security the lender takes, when title actually transfers, and what happens on a missed payment all live in the documents, not in anyone's goodwill. A lawyer drafts or reviews the security so it is registrable and so the borrower's downside is limited to what was agreed.
For foreign buyers the honest framing is this: financing terms are the bank's decision, and foreign purchases carry their own rules, such as the foreign-currency remittance evidence the Land Office wants on a condo property purchase in the foreign quota. The legal work does not change with the lender. It is the same review of what you sign and what gets registered. A property lawyer handles that side regardless of who provides the money.
Review the loan and security documents
The loan agreement, the mortgage instrument, and the sale contract are read together before anything is signed, so the security matches the deal and the default terms are understood.
Register the mortgage at the Land Office
The mortgage is recorded against the title deed, normally at the same appointment as the transfer. The registration fee is 1% of the loan, capped at 200,000 baht.
Verify the discharge when buying a mortgaged property
Where the seller's mortgage is being repaid from the purchase money, the lawyer confirms the discharge is registered with the transfer, so the deed you receive is clean. Registration acts at the Land Office complete the same day for titled property that needs no proclamation.
The pattern in financed deals that go wrong is signing security documents nobody read: a mortgage that secures more than the loan, seller financing with no registered security at all, or a purchase that completes while the seller's own mortgage stays on the deed. Each of those is cheap to catch on paper and expensive to unwind afterwards. Firms price document review and transfer-day work differently, which is worth comparing before you engage one.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Fees and procedures change; for a specific loan or purchase, speak with a qualified professional.
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