Property development2 min readUpdated August 2026
Off-Plan Payment Stages Explained, Milestone by Milestone
Reservation, contract, foundations, frame, envelope, finishes and handover — what each payment should be attached to.
A sensible schedule
A reservation fee, a deposit on signature, then instalments at completion of foundations, structural frame, external envelope and internal finishes, with a meaningful balance held to handover. The final payment is the buyer's only real leverage over snagging, so it should not be trivial.
Verification
Each stage should be evidenced — an engineer's certificate or dated site record — not simply invoiced. Ask for the evidence standard to be written into the contract.
Warning signs
Date-based instalments regardless of progress, or a schedule that collects most of the price before the frame exists.