Paid vs built: the gap that signals trouble
The paid-versus-built gap is the difference between the share of the purchase price you have paid and the share of the building that actually exists. On a healthy off-plan purchase it stays within a few points. Beyond ten, you are financing the developer rather than buying a property.
Why a gap exists even on a healthy unit
Off-plan payment schedules are almost always front-loaded relative to construction cost. A deposit is taken before anything is built, and the early stages (excavation, foundation) consume a small fraction of the total build cost while triggering a large fraction of the payments. So being somewhat ahead is normal and not, by itself, a warning sign.
What matters is the shape of the curve over time. A gap that opens early and then closes as construction accelerates is the expected pattern. A gap that widens month after month is the one worth acting on: it means payments are being triggered by dates or by assertions rather than by work.
How to calculate it yourself
The weak step is the third one, and it is weak for a specific reason: you are estimating from photographs taken by the party being paid. That is where an independent record of what is on site changes the answer rather than confirming it.
- 01Add up everything you have paid, including the reservation deposit, and divide by the total contract price. That is your paid percentage.
- 02Find the stage schedule in your contract: the annex that lists construction stages and what each one covers.
- 03For each stage, estimate what fraction of the total build it represents, and how much of that stage is genuinely complete. Structure is typically the largest single block; finishes are usually longer than buyers expect.
- 04Add the completed fractions. That is your built percentage.
- 05Subtract. The result is the gap, expressed in percentage points.
What the size of the gap tells you
| Gap | What it usually means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 0–5 points | Normal front-loading. Payments and work are broadly in step. | Nothing. Keep the record. |
| 5–10 points | Common in the first third of a build, concerning later on. | Check which specific stage the next invoice relies on. |
| 10–20 points | Payments are running ahead of work by a full stage or more. | Ask for written evidence that the invoiced stage is complete before paying. |
| Over 20 points | You are funding the developer's cash flow, not your building. | Take advice before the next payment. The gap rarely closes on its own. |
The gap is only useful before you pay
This is the part that decides whether the number is worth anything. Before a payment is made, the contract works for you: a stage that has demonstrably not been reached does not trigger the instalment, and the developer has an incentive to resolve the question quickly because they want the money.
After the payment is made, the same facts produce a complaint rather than a condition. Nothing about the building has changed; what has changed is that you no longer hold anything the developer wants.
Which is why the gap matters most between about 30% and 60% paid. Earlier, there is not enough built to measure. Later, most of your leverage is already spent.
Questions on this
My contract pays by date, not by stage. Does the gap still matter?
It matters more, not less. With date-based payments you have no contractual basis to withhold. The date arrives and the instalment is due regardless of what was built. The gap is then the only early warning you have, and it is worth tracking precisely because you cannot act through the payment mechanism.
Can I get this number from the developer?
You can ask, and you will usually get a percentage. What you will not get is the basis for it: which stages, weighted how, verified by whom. A figure without a method behind it is an assertion, and the assertion comes from the party being paid.
Read one before you buy one
The specimen shows the whole structure: status, what each payment was meant to buy, the forecast with its range, the photographic record and the limits of what was checked.