Before any commitment: the phase with no shortcut
Everything begins outside the seller's calendar: scoping your project, selection, document review, on-site verification. This is the phase that looks compressible — and the one that protects all the rest. Our 37-point audit takes place here, before any payment is made. A developer who rushes this phase is rushing precisely what protects you.
The reservation: read the exit before the entrance
The reservation locks in a unit and a price during the final review. Before signing it, read its refund clause first: what happens if YOU decide not to proceed, and if THE DEVELOPER does not proceed? A reservation you cannot exit cleanly is not a reservation: it is a disguised commitment.
The payment schedule: events, not dates
The heart of the contract is the payment schedule. The sound principle: each payment call is tied to a verifiable event on the construction site, independently confirmed — not to a calendar date. Paying on fixed dates regardless of the pace of construction means giving up your only leverage. Our guide to off-plan purchase documents details the clauses that make the difference.
The construction site: monitor without enduring
During construction: dated and photographed progress reports, independent inspections at payment stages, vigilance over schedule slippage. A delay is not abnormal in itself; a delay with no information and no contractual consequence is.
Delivery and beyond: where everything is decided
Handover: a compliance check between what is delivered, the plans and the technical specification; written reservations.
Registration of title: a home that is delivered but not registered in your name in the public registry is not legally yours. This is the step forgotten in the euphoria of getting the keys.
Putting into operation: a property manager chosen BEFORE delivery, not after three months of vacancy.
How long between the reservation and the keys?
It depends on the development and on how advanced it is at the time of purchase — from several months to several years. The contract must set out the date, the definition of completion, and the consequences of delay: penalties, cap, and exit option.
Can you resell before delivery?
Some contracts allow it, subject to conditions; others restrict it strictly. If this option matters to you, negotiate it at the outset — not at the moment you need it.