Oddball seems to have Thailand weighed up fairly well. He has obviously been round the traps a few times himself by the sounds of it. Here we go:

Buying a property ‘off the plan’ can be a great way to get a great deal on a condo in Thailand. If I was to give advice to any ‘newby’ it would be to stick with developers who have a good track record. They are at least a dozen large developers here in Thailand that have had a good to excellent track record over the past 10 years. A few that come to mind would be Supali / Areeya.

But there have also been many, many scams over the past 20 years here with people getting burnt either (1) COMPLETELY (IE: paid 70% up front and lost it all when 2 years later there is still no construction started – Then a protracted class action court case with the absconders now overseas – Purchasers have no choice but to write their money off in the end) OR burnt (2) SEVERELY (IE: the property got constructed only half way and I have moved in but it took 4 years instead of the promised 1 year, and now the building is only 40% occupied and current condo value is about 30% of what I paid, the courts said they cannot sue them because they no longer exist, you better just take what you can and be happy. OR Only (3) WOUNDED SLIGHTLY ( IE: The furniture and large electrical appliances promised on signing did not make it to the inside of the condo).

The Thai government just issued a new law this year to help protect purchasers from the last type of complaint which was, not rampant but ‘fairly’ common. As we can see, there has been a definite trend occurring here in Thailand by seeing dozens (could be hundreds) of the above type scenarios playing out. IE: If you let them stiff you – There is a better than even chance that they probably will. Not like in expat countries where the legal system steps in and comes down more heavily on this kind of crime. Yes Thailand Legal system & Police ‘try’ but have a much less successful track record, shall we say.

I have never heard of the company you mention. Nor can I get on their web site. Yes you should be concerned. Are you in a position to physically front the developers management?

One interesting aspect to this type of concern in Thailand, is that there is usually a Thai language chat forum that develops about the scam, which is normally very accurate. If I was a betting man, I would put good odds on the chance that if you grabbed a ‘Thai friend’ with internet skills and asked them to punch in (in Thai ) the developers name, and find the story, much would be revealed. This will most likely not work in English however. My recommendation for your quickest answer to your concerns.

GOOG LUCK.