Buying Property off-plan

Buying blind is what I refer to as buying something without knowing if it is the right thing, even if it does come with an artists impression and a photo of the plot.

Buying something that costs a lot of money without seeing the goods may or may not be a mistake. Some people have put down a reservation fee and were happy with the project and saw it through to completion, others found that although they did their homework (not all) that the development they had invested in, would never be completed and they would lose their initial reservation fee.

If you are keen to buy a property off-plan, do your homework on the company that is having the construction built or, the developer that you are thinking of dealing with, but just remember, even then things can go wrong.

There are both larger developments and smaller apartment block projects that have not been completed on CV islands for a number of reasons. The developer may get into difficulty because the construction company has run out of resources, perhaps a number of the people that initially made the reservation fee did not make further stage payments, so the funding hasn't gone into the pot to continue to the project. Other developers or consortiums may not be relying on stage payments from buyers to fund each stage of the project.

Whether you are thinking of investing in an apartment within a small block, or in a town house with a developer building a resort, no-one can be 100% sure everything will go to plan or if the work will actually be completed on time and completed in full with no issues or delays.

There will be a number of forums on websites where people have expressed their dis-satisfaction or anger about something or other, I haven't seen one where there are lots of positive comments, but maybe people don't express satisfaction as they would do if they felt the opposite.

If you take the time to visit the islands you will be able to look around and find out more yourself. You may also want to see confirmation that all the approval documentation are available and talk to the people who work for the development, not just the Agent. Pay a visit to the Camara Municipal and look to see the plans for roads and plots (you may need someone to translate at the Camara Municipal). You may discover that the plot on which your were investing is not where you thought it would be, or it's next to some night club or has an application for a nightclub in one of the ground floor units in the same block. 

You should also consider employing an independent lawyer to do some research on your behalf. Independent lawyers should not  be the same lawyers as those representing the developer.