Service
Property Portfolios.
Where property fits in a cross-border plan, honestly assessed.
Who this is for
People who typically come to me about this.
Persona 1
Expats with Thai property
Own or are buying a home or condo in Thailand and want to understand its place in the wider plan.
Persona 2
Owners of UK or overseas property
Hold property elsewhere and need the currency, liquidity and cross-border tax implications assessed honestly.
Persona 3
People being pitched property as an investment
Have been shown an off-plan or overseas property deal and want a conflict-free second opinion before committing.
What's involved
How the work actually plays out.
Property is the asset expats most often hold for reasons that have little to do with returns, and the one most often sold to them with the largest hidden incentives. The work here is assessment, not sales: what role property plays in your plan, and what it costs you in liquidity, currency and cross-border tax.
The role, not the pitch
A home you live in is not a portfolio holding, and treating it as one distorts the rest of the plan. The first task is to be honest about which property is lifestyle and which is genuinely an investment.
Concentration, illiquidity and currency mismatch are the real risks of an expat property position, and they are rarely in the brochure.
Execution stays at arm’s length
I do not sell property. Where execution is wanted it is handled through disclosed third parties on their own published terms. Whatever any recommendation pays me is set out in writing before you decide, with the position made visible rather than buried.
Common mistakes
Where this most often goes sideways.
Buying overseas property as a pension substitute.
Illiquid, currency-exposed and management-heavy, property bought to replace a pension often underperforms the plan it displaced. The comparison should be made before, not after.
Ignoring the cross-border estate consequence.
Thai-situated property interacts with UK domicile and Thai inheritance rules. A purchase made without that in view can complicate the estate for years.
Taking the introducer’s number at face value.
Off-plan and overseas property is frequently sold with large embedded incentives. Always ask who is paid what on the transaction, in writing.
How I work on this
The process, in three steps.
01
Assess the holding
Existing or planned property set against the wider plan: liquidity, currency, and purpose.
02
Cost the consequences
Cross-border tax, estate interaction and opportunity cost, modelled plainly.
03
Decide, then execute at arm’s length
A clear recommendation; any execution through disclosed third parties on their own terms.
Fees and what to expect
Plain-English fee transparency.
I am paid through commission on the products arranged and an ongoing fee on the assets managed. Every cost, and what it pays, is set out in writing before you decide.
You may ask what any recommendation pays me, and the figures that apply are agreed in writing in the engagement letter before you proceed.
A first 30-minute consultation costs nothing and obliges you to nothing.
Client assets are held in your own name on FCA-regulated platforms or SEC-licensed brokers, never by me.
Questions
Questions about this.
Begin a conversation.
Thirty minutes, by Zoom or in person at the Bangkok, Hua Hin or Pattaya office. Free, and without obligation. You leave with a clearer view of what is in front of you, whether or not the work proceeds.
Book a meeting
Choose a time that suits you.
Thirty minutes with Richard Knight, ACSI directly. By video, phone, or in person. No obligation.
