How we vet a listing before it goes live

Most property problems on Koh Phangan are not visible in the photos. A plot can look perfect and have no legal road access. A villa can be priced attractively because the land under it is mid-dispute. The listing feed will not tell you — which is why we check before we list, not after you fall in love.

Two levels of checking

We run due diligence at two distinct points, and it is worth understanding the difference.

Level 1 — Listing Vetting. Before a property goes live on our site, it passes a fixed checklist:

• Title document — we obtain a copy of the Chanote or Nor Sor 3 and confirm the owner's name matches the person we are dealing with (or that a verifiable power of attorney exists).
• Zoning — we check the official zoning colour and, separately, the Phangan-specific building zone rules introduced in May 2025, which restrict height and footprint by elevation.
• Road access — public road, private road, or registered easement; we drive to the plot and check the actual entrance, not the map.
• Coordinates and area — the GPS location and stated size must reconcile with the document.
• Encumbrances — we interview the owner on mortgages, registered leases, and disputes, in writing.
• Lawyer's verdict — a Thai lawyer reviews the findings and gives one of three outcomes: clear, needs deeper checks, or red flag.

A red flag means we do not list the property. Properties that pass show a Vetted by Right Way badge with the date of the check — you can see it on each listing page.

Level 2 — Transaction due diligence

When you decide to buy, a second, deeper process starts: a title search at the Land Office, a formal encumbrance and lien check, boundary reconciliation against survey records, owner identity verification, and utilities and access confirmation. The outcome is a written report — every check, every finding, including the drawbacks — that you review before signing the Sale and Purchase Agreement. Our methodology is public: what we verify.

Why we publish this

Any agency can say "all our listings are verified". The only way to make that claim mean something is to show the checklist, the dates, and the documents. That is the standard we hold ourselves to — and the standard we suggest you hold anyone to, including us. If an agent cannot show you *how* they checked a property, assume nobody did.