Chiang Mai city with Doi Suthep behind it — the market of the second unit I bought in Thailand case study
A verified Chiang Mai freehold acquisition yielding 8.15% net. Open-plan living, dining and kitchen with a balcony overlooking the city.
Verified Case · Chiang Mai · 2026

How one Chiang Mai unit cleared all five filters.

One apartment. Every receipt. 2,150,000 THB cash, 8.15% net, 100% freehold. The exact line items behind the only yield number on this site I will defend in person.

Get The Protocol — $20 See the methodology →
True Net Yield
8.15%
After every fee
Capital Deployed
2,203,000
THB, all-in
Title Type
100%
Freehold · Foreign Quota
The foreign-buyer screen that surfaced this unit: 1,000 Chiang Mai listings run through quota, resale-depth and track-record filters
The screen this unit came out of — 4,033 listings in, most rejected. Illustrative rows; building names withheld.

The Receipt

Every line. Every deduction.

Gross is a story. Net is the receipt. Most foreigner-facing yield numbers stop at 228,000 and call it 10.6% gross. They don’t show the 48,500 THB that gets eaten on the way to net.

Asset: The second unit I bought in Thailand, Pa Daet

Unit Purchase Price: 2,150,000 THB
Legal Fees: + 53,000 THB
Transfer Fees:
+ 0 THB (Negotiated onto seller)
Total Capital Deployed: 2,203,000 THB
Gross Rent (19k x 12 mos): 228,000 THB/yr
Operational Deductions
Minus: 1-Month Agent Fee - 19,000 THB
Minus: Annual CAM Fee - 12,000 THB
Minus: Tax & Maint. Buffer - 17,500 THB
True Net Income: 179,500 THB/yr
True Net Yield: 8.15%
Run this math on your own listing — $20

Or see how the framework caught this ↓

Not every unit I own does this — see the one that nets 5.00% →

The Negotiation

Three moves. ~43,000 THB saved.

By default the foreign buyer pays the Land Department transfer fee, the lawyer, and the legal stack on top of asking. Default is for tourists.

  1. 01

    Anchored on cash & speed

    Cash, no bank, no broker chain. Seven days at my number, or I walk.

  2. 02

    Transfer fee onto seller

    Onto the seller, not split. 0 THB instead of ~43,000 THB.

  3. 03

    Paid the lawyer, not the broker

    53,000 THB to a property lawyer: title chain, the 49% Foreign Quota, the Chanote, the transfer.

How the framework caught this →

The Framework

Four traps the protocol caught before any baht moved.

Out of 4,033 Chiang Mai listings, almost every one failed at one of these four. The second unit I bought in Thailand cleared all of them.

Four traps, and how this unit cleared them

Ghost rents, the hidden fee stack, leasehold in disguise, no exit. The second unit I bought in Thailand cleared all four.
Trap · Filter 01

Ghost Listings

Asking rent is a story. Achieved rent is a number. The protocol pulled signed rent agreements from inside the same compound — 19,000 THB/month was the floor on a 12-month tenancy, not the ceiling. Anything above that is luck. I do not underwrite luck.

→ Run this filter on your own listing — $20
Trap · Filter 02

Hidden CAM Fees

The fee stack the listing never shows. CAM at 12,000/yr, agent placement at one month’s rent (19,000), tax buffer at 17,500. 48,500 THB gone before I see a baht. If you don’t write those down, your “yield” is fiction.

→ Run this filter on your own listing — $20
Trap · Filter 03

Leasehold Trap

A 30-year lease in costume is not a freehold. The protocol audits the 49% Foreign Quota for the building and verifies the Chanote in your name. The second unit I bought in Thailand cleared both. 100% freehold, foreign-eligible, registered title.

→ Run this filter on your own listing — $20
Trap · Filter 04

Off-Plan & Exit Risk

I will not buy a unit I cannot sell. The protocol pulled 12 months of recorded transactions inside the same compound — units at this size cleared inside 90 days, within 5% of listing. Working resale market, not a graveyard.

→ Run this filter on your own listing — $20
★★★★★ 5.0 / 5 · Verified buyer review

What buyers are saying

★★★★★

“I used to spend a lot of time driving around Chiang Mai, scrolling real estate websites and visiting agents. This document convinced me to go further with Brinkman Data Analytics. It will save me a lot of time.”

Jan B. · Verified buyer of the $20 Protocol

Every review, and who is behind this →

Want to replicate this?

Stop buying like a tourist.

Every receipt above came out of one 5-step protocol. The PDF gives you the framework, the fee table, the legal checklist, and this Chiang Mai unit line-by-line. $20. 7-day refund. No upsells.

Get The Protocol $20

Want this done on your city? See a real $499 report →

// Where this came from

This wasn’t a lucky find. It was the standout on a full Chiang Mai scan — the top two sold before I could offer, so I took the third. See the anonymised report that surfaced it →

// Want the rest of the story?

Disclaimer

Brinkman Data Analytics is an independent research service. Not financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. All yield figures are estimates based on historical research data and are not guaranteed. International real estate carries risk of partial or total loss of capital.

Get The Protocol $20