Warehouse and Factory Viewing Checklist for Thailand

A warehouse viewing should tell you whether the building can support your operation, not just whether the floor looks spacious. Take an operating brief, a way to record observations and a list of questions for specialists. Leave with a clear distinction between what you saw, what the owner said and what still needs documentary or technical verification.

Send the operating brief before the appointment

Explain whether you need storage, distribution, production or a combination. Describe goods, handling methods, working hours, staffing, vehicle types, utility needs and any process-specific concerns. For a factory, identify the intended activity precisely enough for the relevant adviser to assess it. Do not assume a building advertised as a factory is approved for every process.

Ask for the site plan, available dimensions, quoted terms and the documents the owner can provide. Separate land area, building area and usable operational space. Agree who will attend: the responsible contact and, where necessary, someone qualified to assess engineering or legal questions. Follow site access and safety requirements rather than walking into an operating area unannounced.

Keep four kinds of evidence separate

Use a viewing record with four labels: observed on site, stated by the contact, document supplied for review, and specialist confirmation still required. A drawing handed over at the appointment belongs in the third group until the appropriate person checks its relevance, date and authority. Do not relabel it as a current approval merely because it has an official-looking stamp.

For example, imagine two candidate buildings. At the first, you can observe a clear loading route, but the owner’s power-capacity statement has no supporting document. At the second, drawings are available, but vehicle access depends on an unresolved shared entrance. Neither observation settles the choice. Record the missing evidence and the person who must resolve it; do not combine the strongest unverified claims from both into a fictional ideal property.

This recording method is practical editorial advice, not an official inspection form or a compliance determination. RICS client-engagement guidance provides a professional reference for agreeing the scope of a service and staying within competence; it is not a warehouse engineering standard or a requirement that every Thai agent hold RICS membership.

Follow the route a delivery would actually take

Start outside the building. Record the approach road, gate, access arrangements and practical turning space. Ask about vehicle restrictions, shared circulation, delivery hours and any dependency on a neighboring parcel. A truck visible in a marketing photograph does not prove that your vehicles can legally and safely use the route.

At the loading area, check the relationship between doors, docks, yard and the proposed workflow. Measure only what you can safely measure and record the method. Mark whether a dimension came from a plan, a listing or your own observation. Do not operate equipment or improvise a vehicle maneuver merely to test a sales claim.

Record the building’s usable space and condition

Look at column positions, door openings and obstructions that affect your layout. Clear height beneath the relevant structure or equipment is different from an advertised roof height. Ask a qualified engineer to assess loading capacity, structure, safety systems and suitability for your planned machinery or racking; a tape measure cannot establish those matters.

Record visible roof or wall defects, signs of water entry, floor damage and the condition of loading areas. Ask about repair history, drainage and the scope of any inspection you need. Photographs document observations; they are not a certificate of structural condition or future flood performance. Keep agreed repairs separate from the condition currently delivered.

Verify utilities, permissions and the cost to start work

Request evidence for the power, water, drainage and other services your operation needs. Distinguish available connection capacity from what is currently installed or included in the price. Confirm who must approve and pay for upgrades, fit-out and reinstatement. Have the right specialist assess process, fire, environmental and technical requirements instead of accepting a general assurance.

Check the exact site’s title or lease authority, permitted use and relevant operating or building documents with your advisers and the responsible authority. For a location within an IEAT industrial estate, its One Stop Services and estate administration are relevant starting points. IEAT’s role does not mean every warehouse is in its remit or that a listed factory already holds your required approvals.

Put the proposed works, professional checks, connection lead times and unresolved permissions into the cost comparison. A smaller or more expensive site may fit the workflow better, but that is a decision to substantiate with evidence, not a reason to ignore the budget or approve the property on the spot.

Turn observations into conditions and a handover plan

After the viewing, issue a short record: fits the brief, fails the brief, and needs confirmation. Assign each open question to a named responsible party and an agreed response date. Compare rent or purchase price on the same basis, including the areas and assets supplied, recurring charges, deposits and works. Have commercial and legal conditions explained before committing money.

Negotiate repairs, installed systems, approvals, access, completion dates and responsibility for unfinished items in writing. At handover, record condition, included equipment, keys, meter readings and outstanding obligations. During occupation, keep a clear maintenance and urgent-issue contact and follow the agreed repair process.

Use ThaiProps industrial search pages to identify candidates and keep the exact listing links in your comparison. A listing provides a starting point, not a technical approval. This checklist helps organize a viewing; it does not replace an engineer, lawyer, specialist inspection or transaction-specific authority confirmation.

Sources and scope

References checked on 19 October 2026. Official guidance is background, not approval of an individual property or transaction. Professional practice references are not presented as Thai law.

• Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand: roles and responsibilities
• RICS: setting up the initial agreement with clients

Cover: generated editorial illustration, not a real customer transaction, verified listing photograph or actual ThaiProps employee.