Buying off the plan involves purchasing a property before the building has been constructed or completed. You will be supplied with all of the plans, specifications and images that provides a representation of what the finished product will look like. Although it may feel different buying a property without walking through it, almost all new developments are sold in this manner, so it is a very common way of buying property.

OFFERS BUYERS MORE TIME

Buying off the plan can simply make your life easier as it provides you a lot more time for the likes of… arranging the move, getting your existing residence prepared and ready for sale and sold, get your finances in order, get your local golf membership organised, buy, or order your new boat, arrange a new job, or get the kids booked into school or university.

SECURE HIGH VALUE ASSET ON LOW DEPOSIT

The main advantage to buying off the plan is the opportunity to secure a high value asset for a low initial capital outlay as you only pay 10% deposit, with the entire balance payment not needed to be paid until the property has been built. In some cases, a bank guarantee is also acceptable meaning there is no need to tie up cash.

MORE VALUABLE ON SETTLEMENT

A potentially life changing advantage being that you will pay the current market price for a property, even though it will be completed in the future. Note, in the current market, with many buyers already taking the advantage of this, it’s evident southeast Queensland prices are significantly less than other centres, allowing for greater capital gain potential!

PERFECT CONDITION

Because they’re brand new, these properties will be more energy-efficient and in far better condition than most older homes meaning you likely won’t need to shell out as much on repairs and utility bills in the months and years ahead. Everything is brand new, not only the property itself, but all off your fixtures, fittings and any included appliances like big ticket kitchen and bathroom items. As well as little to no maintenance, buying off the plan means you won’t need to redecorate any time soon – another huge saving.

WARRANTY

On top of the building warranty offered by the builders and the manufacturers warranties on all your appliances and many other components in your new residence, we believe Queensland offers Australia’s best new construction warranty which means for 6.5 years faults such as leaks and structural cracks must be repaired by the builder. Click here for more information.

TAX BENEFITS

Although the vast majority of our clients are buying townhouses in boutique quality projects to use as their permanent residence or holiday home, if you’re an investor who plans to lease out the townhouse, buying a brand new property off the plan allows you to maximise the tax deductions available to you via depreciation. Townhouses also have significantly lower strata levies than apartments, with our boutique projects also not having expensive management rights.

Once you have made the decision on which property within the project you would like to purchase, we will ask you to sign a document called an Expression of Interest (EOI). This document outlines all the basic information for you to secure your new home and is used to prepare the Contract of Sale. The EOI form also includes payment of a refundable initial deposit that is used to secure this property. This effectively shows your commitment as a purchaser and takes the property off the market. Once the initial deposit is paid, the Contract of Sale will then be created. During this time, you may also request certain changes be made to your property (called variations) which will also be included in the Contract of Sale.

The contracts that are used in off-the-plan sales are much more detailed than the traditional contracts that agents use in the everyday sale of established real estate. These contracts are always prepared by the developer’s solicitor and provided to your solicitor for review before signing. We recommend using a solicitor that is familiar with off-the-plan contracts to make this process even easier for you! We are happy to assist you with this process if required. Once all parties have signed the contract, there will then be a cooling off period of 14 days before the contract is unconditional.

After this point, you can sit back and relax or take time to get everything else in order (i.e., selling your current home or buying your dream boat for the new one!) as you won’t need to do anything further until the project is finished!

The main advantage to buying off the plan is the opportunity to secure a high value asset for a low initial capital outlay as you only pay 10% deposit, with the entire balance payment not needed to be paid until the property has been built.

As highlighted, an initial deposit is included as part of submitting an Expression of Interest to take the property off the market. Upon signing of the contact, you will then be required to pay the 10% deposit of the purchase price (minus the initial deposit).

As a purchaser, there are generally two ways to pay the deposit:

Money / Cash: This will be held securely in the seller’s solicitors trust account. Only being released to the seller/developer on successful completion of the project.

Bank Guarantee: In some cases, a bank guarantee is also acceptable meaning there is no need to tie up cash, meaning your actual monetary funds are left in your account or other investments.

It is standard practice that all off-the-plan contracts include a sunset clause. This clause is inserted for the benefit of the buyer so that it requires the seller / developer to complete the project within a certain amount of time of the buyer signing the contract. This condition is also a requirement of the bank who may be funding the project. Should the project not be completed within this timeframe, the buyer has the right to either terminate the contract or sign an extension with the developer.

Yes, you can! Whether your situation has changed or you want to make the most out of the booming Gold Coast market, you are able to sell your property before it is completed / built. The best way to do this is to contact us and we can provide further support and guidance through this process.

While Victoria has at times offered reductions in stamp duty for buying off the plan, we are sad to say this doesn’t apply in Queensland.