Off-Plan or Ready? Questions to Ask Before You Commit

A large share of homes sold in Dubai each year are sold off-plan, meaning before they are built. The attraction is clear: a small deposit, the rest spread over construction and sometimes after handover, and a brand-new home at the end. The risk is that you are buying a promise. These are the questions we work through with clients before they commit.

Who is the developer, and what have they delivered?

Look at the developer's completed projects, not their brochures. Visit one that has been handed over for a few years. How does it look now? How do residents talk about the management company? Were handovers on time, and if not, by how much? A developer with a long record of finished communities is worth paying a little more for.

Is the project registered, and where does my money go?

In Dubai, off-plan projects must be registered with the Real Estate Regulatory Agency, and buyers' payments go into a project escrow account that the developer can only draw from as construction progresses. Ask for the project's RERA registration number and the escrow account details, and make sure every payment goes to that account. Your purchase is recorded on the interim register, known as Oqood, and the 4% Land Department fee applies just as it does on a ready home.

What exactly does the payment plan say?

• How much is due at booking, and is any of it refundable?
• Are construction payments tied to dates or to verified progress?
• How much is due on handover, and will a bank lend against it?
• If there is a post-handover plan, what happens if you sell before it is paid off?

Handover is where many buyers get caught out. If 40% of the price is due on completion, you need either the cash or a mortgage approval at that point, and the bank will value the finished home on the market at that time, not on the price you agreed years earlier.

Plan for the handover payment on the day you sign, not the year it falls due.

What is the realistic handover date?

The sale agreement will give an anticipated completion date and usually a grace period after it. Read what happens if the developer misses both. Delays are common across the market, so if you need to move in or start earning rent by a certain date, a ready home or a project close to completion is the safer choice.

What will it cost to own?

Ask for the projected service charge per square foot. New communities often start with lower charges that rise once the full cost of running the facilities is known. Compare the figure with similar completed buildings nearby.

Why buy ready instead?

A ready home is exactly what it is. You can see the view, measure the rooms, check the finish and talk to the neighbours. You can rent it out or move in straight away. You will pay more of the price up front, but you carry less uncertainty. For many of our clients, especially those relocating with a family, that certainty is worth more than a payment plan.

Neither route is better in every case. If you are weighing up a specific off-plan launch against a ready home, send us both and we will lay out the numbers side by side.

Written by Claire Dubois

Claire advises buyers on new and nearly new homes across both emirates. She reads payment plans and handover clauses for a living, and she will walk you through the escrow protection and snagging process before you commit.