A second home can currently be financed at 100 percent, and that has an end date
If you remember the old LTV rules requiring ten to twenty percent down on a second property, that is no longer the current position.
The Bank of Thailand has relaxed the LTV measure so the ceiling on loan to collateral value sits at 100 percent in two cases: collateral valued below ten million baht from the second loan contract onward, and collateral valued at ten million baht or more from the first contract.
And on 14 May 2569 the Bank of Thailand announced a further one-year extension, covering loan agreements made between 1 July 2569 and 30 June 2570.
What has to be emphasised is that the Bank of Thailand describes the relaxation as temporary. So if you are already planning to buy a second home, the date the loan agreement is signed genuinely matters.
A 100 percent ceiling does not mean the bank will lend 100 percent
This is the misunderstanding that most often derails people's planning.
LTV is a ceiling set by the regulator on what a bank may lend. It is not an instruction to lend up to it.
What the bank actually decides on is your capacity to repay, judged from income, all existing debt obligations, and payment history.
For someone still paying off a first home, that instalment counts as a debt obligation in full, even where the property is rented out and generating income.
Most banks count rental income at less than face value, and some ask for a registered lease or historical evidence of receipts. That is something to ask about clearly before applying rather than assuming.
The practical result is that someone who satisfies the LTV rule but not the affordability test gets a smaller facility than expected, or none. Preparing before you apply is covered in the mortgage pre-approval checklist.
Land and building tax is where a second home genuinely differs
What people think about least when buying, but pay every year afterwards, is land and building tax.
A first home where the owner is an individual, owns both the land and the building, and has their name in the house registration, is exempt on appraised value up to fifty million baht.
Where the owner owns only the building and not the land, with their name in the house registration, the exemption covers value up to ten million baht.
A second home and beyond receives no such exemption. It is taxed from the first baht at the residential rate, which begins at 0.02 percent, or about two hundred baht per million baht of appraised value, rising in bands with value.
The figure is not large against the price of a house, but it recurs every year whether anyone lives there or not, and it belongs in the return calculation from the start.
The important caution is that the name in the house registration is what determines which property is the first. So buying a second and moving your registration to it swaps the status of both, which is something to think through before moving. House registration is covered in the blue and yellow house registration books, and the tax detail in the land and building tax checklist.
The tax on selling is different too
People buying a second home to resell tend to calculate the profit from the price difference and forget there is tax on the sale, tied to two conditions.
The first is how long the property was held, and the second is the name in the house registration, which a second-home seller frequently fails because they never moved their registration there.
In practice this means the cost of selling a second home can be considerably higher than calculated, and if you intend to sell within a few years, it eats a substantial share of the gain.
Work out the full cost of selling before buying, not after somebody makes an offer. What is payable and what the five-year condition means is in tax on selling a house, before and after five years.
If you are buying to let, work from the net return
A great many people calculate whether the rent covers the instalment and conclude it pays, which is half a calculation.
What must come off the rent before comparing it with the instalment is the common fee, land and building tax, fire insurance, a reserve for maintenance, agent fees when finding a new tenant, and, most of all, the vacant period between tenants.
The vacant period is the figure people underestimate most, because assuming a tenant for twelve months of every year is an assumption that does not hold in almost any location.
Assume conservatively that a year may include one or two vacant months, then check whether the numbers still work, because if they only work with full occupancy, you are buying something with no room to be wrong.
Calculating net return with a mortgage in the picture is in rental yield, gross against net.
What people forget to prepare, and it holds up the application
- The payment history on the first home must be clean, because even a few late payments in the past two years weigh more on a second application than people expect.
- Other debt not yet closed: credit cards, car finance, and facilities left open but unused, since some lenders count an open limit as an obligation.
- Evidence of rental income, if you intend to rely on income from the first property. You need the lease and historical evidence of receipts, not just a statement that it is let.
- Cash for the costs on transfer day, because even with the full collateral value financed, the transfer fee, mortgage registration, valuation and insurance still come out of your own pocket.
- Mortgage life cover, which should be a decision made with understanding rather than signed because the officer said it helps approval. The detail is in is MRTA required.
Reduce the decision to three questions
First, could you keep paying with no tenant for six months? If not, you are buying a property that depends on a tenant to stay standing, which is too fragile a position for an asset that cannot be sold quickly.
Second, what are you actually buying it for? A holiday house you visit twice a year, a house for your parents, and an investment property lead to completely different locations and property types. People who blend all three usually end up with something that serves none of them.
Third, what is the exit plan? An asset bought with no exit plan is one you will sell when you have to sell, which is always the worst moment for the price.
Answer those three clearly and LTV and tax become manageable details. Fail to answer them and being able to borrow the full hundred percent does not make the decision any better.
Frequently asked questions
How much deposit does a second home need now?
Under the current relaxation the LTV ceiling is 100 percent for collateral below ten million baht from the second contract onward, and from the first contract for collateral of ten million and above, covering agreements made up to 30 June 2570.
Does 100 percent financing mean no cash at all?
No, because the transfer fee, mortgage registration, valuation and insurance still come from your own funds, and an LTV ceiling does not mean the bank will approve up to it.
How does land tax differ for a second home?
A first home where an individual owns both land and building and is named in the house registration is exempt up to fifty million baht of appraised value. A second is taxed from the first baht at the residential rate, starting at 0.02 percent.
Should I move my house registration to the new place?
Think it through first, because the registration determines which property gets the exemption, and moving swaps the status of both.
Will the bank count rent from my first property as income?
Yes, but usually not at full value, and many ask for the lease and historical evidence of receipts. Ask clearly before applying rather than assuming.
How much cash should I hold before buying a second home?
Enough to keep paying both loans through six months with no tenant. If you could not, the plan depends on a tenant to stay standing.
In short
- The LTV ceiling is relaxed to 100 percent for agreements made up to 30 June 2570, and the Bank of Thailand calls it temporary.
- A ceiling is not an instruction to lend. Affordability is what actually decides.
- A second home gets no land and building tax exemption, so it is taxed from the first baht every year.
- The name in the house registration decides which property is the first, and moving it swaps them.
- Buying to let, deduct common fees, tax, insurance, maintenance and vacancy before calling it worthwhile.
- Answer first whether you could pay through six months without a tenant, what it is for, and how you exit.