Buying a home off plan means committing funds while construction and documentation progress. The review should connect the offer with verifiable obligations: which unit will be delivered, what authorizes its development and what will happen at each payment and handover stage.
Make the preliminary agreement and annexes precise
Review the reservation, preliminary sale agreement or contract alongside plans and specifications. Identify the seller, unit, floor area, finishes, parking, total price and additional expenses. For example, clarify whether the advertised parking has an assigned location and how it will be documented.
Keep the advertising and every version received. Where the relationship falls within the Consumer Protection Law, Article 24 binds the supplier to the offered terms. Any discrepancy between advertising, plans and the contract deserves documented clarification before signing.
Check which stage the permits authorize
Identify the competent authority for the location and project. OPAMSS distinguishes land-use qualification, which addresses land-use requirements, from the construction permit authorizing works. Official acceptance of completed works is a subsequent resolution.
Request the applicable resolutions and compare the named holder, property, phase and scope with the offered unit. A file number identifies an application; also check which resolution was issued and what conditions it contains.
Sources: OPAMSS: descriptions of procedures and authorizations
Connect payments, milestones and changes
The schedule should make clear what triggers each payment and how it will be evidenced. If an instalment depends on completing the structure, specify who will verify that milestone and what evidence they will provide. If it depends on a date, assess that exposure within the budget.
Clarify how delays, changes to area or materials, and pending financing will be handled. The consequences of breach, cancellation or modification require examination of the contract and the rules applicable to the transaction.
Document handover and warranties
For official acceptance of works, OPAMSS publishes requirements by procedure, including technical and utility documentation as applicable. Review which requirements apply and agree on a handover inspection with recorded observations, photographs and follow-up.
Within the scope of the Consumer Protection Law, Article 27 requires documentation about the home's construction characteristics, standards and installations. Article 33 requires clarity in offered warranties: conditions, duration, responsible parties and how to claim. Document those terms and the channel for reporting defects with evidence of receipt.
Sources: OPAMSS: application requirements, including official acceptance of works · Consumer Protection Authority: Consumer Protection Law, 2024 amendments, Articles 24, 27, 33 and 33-A
General information. Each transaction must be assessed in light of its documents and circumstances.