There’re many Real Estate Developers/firms around Nigeria who offer people the opportunity to buy ‘Off-Plan’ properties. But first, what is an Off-Plan property? These are typically Real Estate projects/properties that are sold to clients/customers even when they’re still under construction. They’re usually blocks of flats or Semi-Detached duplexes etc, which are still in their construction phase and will be delivered to the owners who must have made some initial deposits and also paid the balance over an agreed period of time.

While this practice is not entirely unique to the Nigerian market as it can also be found in most parts of the world. It has been known to have some advantages and disadvantages.

Below we’ll try to shed more lights on the pros and cons that is associated with the buying of off-plan properties


Advantages

Cheaper Rates: Off-plan properties are believed to be cheaper compared to their fully built counterparts. The developers of these types of projects need money to fully kick-off the construction of the project and as such they’re more willing to give a 5-10% discount in order to lure more interested buyers. Which is usually a good deal for both parties involved


Flexible Payment Plans: Most Off-plan properties allow for intending buyers to spread their payment over a period of time after making as little as 20-30% initial deposit. This allows buyers the much needed time and flexibility to be able to gradually pay the remaining installment of the payment. Many people don’t have the financial muscle to make one time payments for properties and so offers like this are usually better options for them.


Everything Is New: This is also a major reason why many people settle for this type of property purchase. When finally completed and handed over to the buyer, everything in the property is new, which means that you don’t have to spend money renovating or replacing anything. You get to use all the amenities in their best state. Which gives you value for your investment.
We have touched some of the Advantages, now we move ahead to discuss some of the Disadvantages


Disadvantages

Delayed Delivery: This is very common amongst projects like this. The delivery of the properties to owners/buyers can sometimes be delayed due to shortages in building materials or tussles with Omo-nile (Land grabbers), and sometimes issues with government agencies can also slow down the pace of work, which will in turn affect the agreed time for delivering the housing units.


Developer going bankrupt: Although this is not an everyday occurrence, but it still happens from time to time. Where Real Estate developers go bankrupt in the middle of a project for which clients/buyers have made initial deposits and are already paying the balance installmentally. This situation can really become messier, if the Developer is unable to come up with other strategies for financing the projects.


Unmet Expectations: The challenge with this model of property purchase could also be that your expectations might not be met at the time of getting the property you had paid for. The property was sold to you at a time when your judgment of how wonderful it will be, was primarily based on very beautiful images you saw on paper. And depending on the quality of artisans or contractors hired by the Real Estate developer, they may or may not be able to match your expectations based on the quality of the images which was used to market the property to you in the first place.
Now that we have discussed both the good, the bad and the ugly sides of Off-plan property purchases, what should you do?



The answer is simple, always work with

Reputable Brands: A reputable brand knows the importance of customer satisfaction. They have built a name for themselves in the business; so much that they can’t afford to do anything that will tarnish their image. They should also have a traceable track record in developing and delivering projects on time and with the right quality which was marketed to buyers.



We at Topland Realties Limited are Real Estate Consultants with many years of ensuring customer satisfaction. We have also built up an impressive portfolio of strategic partnerships with some of the most reputable brands in Real Estate development. Which helps us to ensure that whenever our clients needs a property that is currently not in our project portfolio, they need not worry as we have our MOU’s with key Project developers which we leverage on to give our clients the best properties with very reasonable price tags.

Are you looking to buy a property right now? Then you should be talking to us, Call or Whatsapp- +234 811 443 1525

SOURCE: https://topland.com.ng/things-to-know-before-buying-a-property-under-construction/

Read more below

How To Buy affordable Land and properties In Ibeju Lekki Lagos state