# Off-plan

Source: https://www.thailandpropertyinvestor.com/glossary/off-plan

**Definition:** Off-plan means buying a property before it is built or finished, on the strength of plans, a show unit and a contract. The buyer pays in stages during construction and takes title when the building is complete and registered.

Buyers choose off-plan for the wider choice of units, launch pricing and the ability to spread payments over the build. The price of those advantages is risk: delay, changes to the design and, in the worst case, a developer that cannot finish.

One feature of the Thai market sharpens that risk. Stage payments are not required to be held in escrow. The Escrow Act B.E. 2551 (2008) allows it but does not compel it, and few developers offer it, so instalments normally go straight to the developer. Until the condominium is registered and the unit transferred, the buyer holds a contract, not a title.

Checks worth making before paying a deposit: the developer's completed projects and finances; that it owns the land, and whether the land is mortgaged; EIA approval and the construction permit; and, for a condominium, that the contract follows the statutory standard form with penalties for late completion. Prefer payment schedules tied to construction milestones.

See [the off-plan buying process](https://www.thailandpropertyinvestor.com/guides/off-plan-buying-process) and the entry on [payment plans](https://www.thailandpropertyinvestor.com/glossary/payment-plan).