When buying off the plan the most important documents in the transaction are the plans and specifications. In this situation the purchaser is essentially buying two elements, the land and the plans/specification document.
Unfortunately many buyers are not aware of the importance of getting these documents absolutely right. In the construction of a dwelling there are many components, the cost and quality differential for each building component can be substantial.
For example kitchen cabinets can cost as little as $5000 or in excess of $50,000 depending on materials used. Even smaller components such as door furniture can have huge price variances based on the level of quality.
It is important that buyers of off the plan property outline all the individual specifications of each inclusion, i.e. size, colour, make and model. If this does not occur there is a risk that the developer/building will include a low quality product or omit something that the buyer expects will be included.
We experienced an example of this recently where a builder attempted to omit the front fence of a newly constructed dwelling. These types of omissions are particularly common towards the end of the project as the builder/developer has most probably over spent and is attempting to cut costs so as not to affect his profit.
Luckily for our client we insisted on a thorough specification document before signing the contract. We reminded the builder of the serious implications of not following the specification as set out in the contract. The fence was duly constructed as per the specification document.
The plans, specifications and engineering drawings should always be attached to the contract with all pages initialled by each party.