The pros of buying off plan in Mauritius
Buying off plan relates to the sale of a residential project that has not yet been completed. This concerns the big majority of projects under the Property Development Scheme (PDS) sold on the island. When buying of plan, you will most certainly deal directly with the developer. The latter and the partner banking institution issuing the completion guarantee will bear the responsibility to finish the construction works and deliver the project.
Buying off plan in Mauritius offers numerous advantages. Here are the main ones:
– A customized property
As your property has net yet been built, you will be able to customise it to a certain extent. You might, for example, choose your favoured flooring, decide to replace a tub by a shower or even ask for additionnal closets. Check with the developer to see what is possible.
– Peace of mind
When selling off plan in Mauritius, the developer must hold a completion guarantee. The buyer will then have the guarantee that the project will be delivered even in the case of a failure from the part of the developer.
There exists two types of completion guarantee: intrinsic (delivered by the developer) and extrinsic (delivered by a bank of an insurance company).
– Scheduled payments
When buying off plan, you will be able to benefit from scheduled payments. Here is how it works :
- Upon signing the purchase agreement: 25%
- Upon completion of the foundations: 10%
- Upon completion of the roofing: 35%
- Upon completion of the building works: 25%
- 5% on the handing over
Buying off plan will enable you to benefit of a more advantageous price than buying when the construction work has already started or when the completion guarantee has been delivered. The price difference can vary from 10 to 20%.
The main disadvantage related to the delivery delay as the construction work will only start when the developer will reach his sales quota. In fact, the construction work will not start unless the developer can pay for such work.
