What options do I have to rent my property?

Once a property has been completed it is important to understand what options an owner has to generate an income from their property. 

Rental Management Program

In select projects the original developer (or a contracted company) will be appointed to manage the rentals of a particular project. In such cases the company is responsible for marketing efforts to attract rental tenants, negotiating and securing the booking, checking the client in upon arrival and ensuring the property is left in the same condition on check out. Often rental management companies will require a property to be committed to the “rental program” for a fixed period of time - generally 1-2 years and the rentals funds are split between the owner and the management team anywhere from 80:20 to the owner to 60:40. 

Rental Pool

Some rental management programs are separated into a "pool" of properties by "type" (ex. 1 bedroom - 2 bedroom - 3 bedroom configurations).  Unlike the example above where owners are rewarded on the performance of their particular property, a rental pool program groups units by configuration together and combines the revenue generated for each type to be split evenly amongst owners.  There are some pro's and con's associated with this model which depend on overall projected occupancy and if your property is a condo or villa. In brief, if you paid a premium for a great view or upgrades your property will return the same gross revenue as the same unit type with no view or upgrades. 

Private Rentals Management

For those developments that do not have a Rental Management Program owners can contract a private management company to conduct the same services outlined above. Generally speaking, these contracts are more flexible and allow owners to still occupy the property for part of the year should they wish to do so.

*Note: If the owner is inclined to do so, they of course can manage their own rentals calendar and check in and check out but this is of course dependant of them being in Thailand and willing to be involved in the day to day operations.

Gaurenteed Rental Returns

This is a marketing tool that has quickly spread to investment projects particularly across the holiday markets. Essentially what some developers are offering is a fixed % return on the purchase price over a period of time. For example, 10% for 3 years. During this time, the owner will be allowed 1 or 2 weeks of personal use per year and the rest of the time the developer will have the rights to rent the property.