Buyer guide · Buying during construction
Buying a villa as it takes shape
Walking through a villa during construction lets you understand its proportions in a way a floor plan cannot. You can stand in the living room, see how it opens to the pool and begin to picture the finished home.
There is also work still to come. This guide explains how to assess the progress you can see and the commitments for delivering the rest, with your own advisers involved in the review.
Last reviewed: {{guides.14.reviewed_date}}
Start with the stage of your villa
An early off-plan proposal and a home with its structure already standing offer different evidence. Request dated photographs, the current programme and a breakdown of completed and remaining work for your chosen villa.
A project-wide percentage can include work across several homes and shared areas. Ask what it means for your unit. Progress, quality and readiness for handover are separate questions; a percentage alone answers none of them fully.
Where access allows, visit with an independent inspector. If you are overseas, ask the team about a live walkthrough and arrange for someone qualified to inspect on your behalf.
Know who is delivering the work
Identify the party responsible for construction, the contractor and the person supervising quality. Ask who signs the purchase agreement, confirms milestones, approves changes and follows up defects.
Experience on earlier projects can help you understand a team's work. The responsibilities for your own villa still need to be recorded in the agreement.
Read the payment schedule against the programme
For each instalment, establish the amount, due date or construction trigger, and the evidence supplied before payment. Ask who verifies completion of the milestone and how disagreements are handled.
If you buy after a listed milestone has already been reached, confirm how much becomes payable on signing and what remains for later stages. Review any reservation payment and refund conditions before committing funds.
Define the home you will receive
The specification should identify the agreed plans, dimensions, finishes, furniture and equipment. Review the kitchen and appliances, bathroom fittings, air conditioning, pool systems, water supply and utility connections alongside the images.
Agree what happens if an item is unavailable: who proposes the replacement, how it is approved and whether the price or programme changes. Put your own requested changes through the same written process, including their effect on warranties.
Make the completion date useful
Ask for a programme showing the remaining work and the target for your villa. The contract should define completion, permitted extensions, notice requirements and the treatment of a material delay.
Establish what must be ready at handover, including furnishings, utilities, testing and documents. Ask what happens if the villa is physically finished while another required step is still outstanding.
Plan for the date you can use the home
PBG concerns building approval. SLF confirms the building's fitness for its approved function before use. Rental operations can also involve separate business requirements. Have your advisers confirm the requirements for your proposed use and who is responsible for completing them.
Place physical completion, key handover, lease transfer and the intended-use date on the same timetable. Each needs a clear basis in the agreements and approval position.
Give the finished home a proper inspection
Arrange an inspection before acceptance. Compare the work, furnishings and installed equipment with the agreed specification, and test the systems within the inspector's scope.
Record each defect or incomplete item with its location, a photograph, the responsible party and a correction date. Check the corrections and carry unresolved items forward in writing. Ask your adviser how acceptance and any final payment are affected; do not assume you can withhold a payment without a contractual basis.
Know who to call after handover
Keep the equipment manuals, warranty terms and defect record together. Ask how issues are reported, how urgent problems are handled and who follows them through to completion.
A testing period should explain how to record issues found during early use. Warranty terms should identify the provider, start date, scope and exclusions. Individual manufacturer warranties may differ from the villa or structural cover.
Follow the progress of your chosen home
Four Palms reported 80% overall construction progress as of 30 September 2026. The figure covers the development as a whole; ask for the current position and remaining work for the villa you are considering.
The project's stated handover package includes a 30-day testing period, a one-year villa warranty and a five-year structural warranty. Items with shorter manufacturer warranties follow those terms. Request the complete coverage and claims procedure with the purchase documents.
| Purchase detail | What to request from the team |
|---|---|
| Current work | Dated photographs and the completed and remaining items for your villa |
| Payment plan | The total price, amount due at signing, later milestones and verification process |
| Final specification | Plans, furnishing and equipment schedules, with the procedure for changes |
| Delivery programme | Current completion and handover targets, plus the contractual delay provisions |
| Inspection and warranty | Inspection arrangements, defect follow-up, provider and warranty start dates |
| Approvals and transfer | PBG and SLF status, responsibility for outstanding steps and lease-transfer timing |
The draft MOU places the SLF application after construction and the notarised lease transfer after completion and full payment. Review how those steps relate to your payment plan and intended use. The team can provide the current programme and documents for your advisers to assess.
Progress
Request a current construction update
Ask for dated photographs and the latest programme for the villa you are considering.