Step one: sort the claims
Take the brochure and mentally place each claim into one of these three boxes:
Verifiable by document: the developer's identity, the permit, the land title, the payment schedule, the plans, the surface areas. This is the substance of the file.
Verifiable by visit: the actual location, the progress of the works, the immediate surroundings.
Unverifiable: "the most promising neighbourhood", "strong rental demand", any yield stated without a calculation method or source. This box carries no weight in the decision.
A normal brochure contains all three. A worrying brochure contains only the third.
Step two: look for what is missing
Absences speak louder than what is present:
The exact name of the company doing the selling — not the commercial brand, but the legal entity.
The building permit reference.
The payment schedule and what each instalment is tied to.
The date attached to each figure: a price with no date, a "last units" stock claim with no date, a delivery "coming soon" — all grey areas.
Asking for these elements is a test in itself: a serious developer provides them without friction.
Step three: turn promises into questions
"Attractive yield" becomes: *what calculation, what assumptions, what charges, what source?* "Rental management included" becomes: *which company, which contract, what remuneration, what statements?* "Residency possible" becomes: *on what official basis, under what conditions, checked when?* Our guide on off-plan purchase documents then sets out the full review process.
Is an attractive brochure a positive signal?
Neither positive nor negative: it is a marketing budget. The useful signals are documentary — identity, permit, land title, payment schedule — and how smoothly they are provided to you.
What should I do if the salesperson pushes for a quick decision?
Commercial urgency ("only two units left") is unverifiable by its very nature. A decision to invest abroad that cannot survive two weeks of checks was never a decision: it was a reflex.