Buying off-the-plan: the questions that protect you

The deal you are actually making

Off-the-plan means contracting today for a property finished later, at today’s price, sometimes with savings on duty for eligible buyers under current rules. In exchange you accept delivery risk: the finished product, the timeline and the market at settlement are all forecasts. Good buying here is due diligence, not optimism.

Diligence on the developer and builder

Track record is the single best predictor: completed projects, their quality a few years on, and whether past buyers would buy again. Research the builder as well as the developer, and look at strata budgets in their completed buildings; chronically underfunded strata is the slow-motion version of a building defect.

Contract clauses that matter

Sunset dates and who can trigger them, variation tolerances for size and finishes, what happens to your deposit and where it is held, and the specification schedule’s precision. Have a solicitor experienced in off-the-plan review before signing; this is not the place for a generalist skim.

Valuation and settlement risk

Your lender values the property at completion, not at contract. If the market has softened, you fund the gap, so stress-test your finances against that scenario honestly. Our projects team works both sides of off-the-plan transactions; ask us what we would check on a specific development before you commit.