Soneva Fushi Private Residences

Renewable leasehold, held on a sublease basis for the duration of Soneva Fushi's island lease, with the villa lease extending as and when the island head lease is extended: 72 years remained on the head lease as of December 2022, an expiry of circa 2094 (older figures counting down to the mid-2040s pre-date the extension). The cost of future lease extensions passes to the buyer at a formula equal to one divided by the total number of villas, multiplied by the island's lease extension price; the total villa count is to be confirmed so the size of that share can be worked out.

Each has its advantages, and we would not steer a buyer to one over the other in the abstract. Freehold is title in perpetuity: the home is yours outright, it passes to your heirs without a clock on it, and it is the simpler asset to finance and to sell to the widest pool of buyers. Leasehold is normally structured to 90 years, as a 30-year registered term with two further 30-year terms written into the contract in Thailand, or as a 99-year term in markets such as Singapore, and it is the route to a villa on its own land where the law keeps freehold land in local hands. On resale a lease is assigned rather than a title transferred, which in Thailand means a fraction of the transfer fees and taxes a freehold sale attracts, and a well-run branded estate keeps its resale value on the strength of the operator and the address rather than the tenure. What matters is the specific home: the years left on the term, how the renewals are secured, and what the purchase pack says about assignment. We put those three questions to the developer or the seller's side before any offer, and we tell you what comes back.

Sales run villa by villa rather than as a release. At present the nine-bedroom Private Reserve is available, a three-bedroom villa is under offer and a six-bedroom villa has sold; the property is not sold out. Both new build-to-order villas and resales appear in the market at once.

Annual ownership expenses of 1.5% of the purchase price, plus a further 0.5% of the purchase price deducted each year and set aside. 2.0% of the purchase price a year, taken from the owner's side. No separate service charge figure is published.

Soneva Fushi operates a villa rental programme. Participation is optional for new builds and compulsory for existing refurbished villas. A 10% deduction from room revenue covers housekeeping, laundry, amenities and marketing, and the remaining 90% is split 50/50 between the owner and Soneva Fushi. Annual owner charges of 2.0% of the purchase price are taken separately.