Off the plan
Offering tailored advice
A house, town home or unit may be advertised before the lot has been registered at the Queensland Land Registry. Purchasing a property under these circumstances is known as an ‘off the plan’ purchase.
An off the plan purchase can therefore, be an unpleasant experience as you are purchasing a property without viewing it. There are substantial risks with all property transactions however, purchasing off the plan has its own risks.
It is important that our office peruse the proposed contract so that we can provide you with legal advice prior to you signing the contract. Each off the plan contract is different and therefore, advice is tailored to the proposed contract. Most off the plan contracts are prepared in favour of the developer and consequently, the buyer would have limited rights under the contract. We will correspond with the vendor’s solicitor and request amendments in order to protect your interests.
The following are some factors that should be considered prior to entering an off the plan contract:
the penalties of terminating the contract
is the developer permitted to make changes to the plans
will your finance be available if the building is completed early or is significantly delayed
your lender’s valuation on the finished property could be substantially less than your agreed purchase price. It is important to consider this before you sign the contract
how long can the developer delay settlement
physically inspect the developer’s previous projects (if any) and contact some of the owners to see if there were any delays and view the quality of workmanship
discuss your expectations with the listing agent or project manager and provide your expectations to our office. We can insert your expectations into the proposed contract in order to avoid disagreements at the completion of the build
