When you are buying a property which has been standing for many a year it is easy to know (or find out) what, if any, problems lessees within the building may have encountered with their properties. Indeed, as part of the Preliminary Enquiries Before Contract which will be raised by your solicitor, this is one of the questions which the vendor will have to answer. It is not as straightforward however when you choose to buy a property “off plan” which can unfortunately sometimes lead to traps which were not readily evident at the time.

There are various factors which you should consider when contemplating buying an off plan property. Firstly and very importantly, you need to find out who the owner or the developer is. It is all too common nowadays to find that the vendor is a single purpose company set up solely for the development. When purchasing off plan it is important to ensure that the developers, builders, contractors and subcontractors are organisations of substance with good standing in the construction industry, otherwise purchasers may find themselves with a virtual shell company when trying to sue for breach of warranties or undertakings.

OTHER IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS INCLUDE: