Short answer. Buying off-plan means buying a flat from drawings before it is built: a floor plan, a list of finishes, computer pictures and often a show flat. The risks are a flat a little smaller or different, a view and light unlike the pictures, and a late finish. Read the plan for what it really shows, ask in writing, and get your own legal advice, because the rules differ by country. Before you sign, walk through the plan in 3D with your own furniture at its true size.
Walk your new-build flat before handoverHow to read a floor planHow much sun will my flat get?
What you get to see
The floor plan with a table of room sizes, the specification (finishes, kitchen, bathroom, floors, heating, windows), computer pictures, a site plan, perhaps a show flat, and the contract with its price list, payments and expected completion date. What you do not get: the real view, the real light, or the chance to measure anything.
The show flat trick
- Show flats are dressed to sell, often with a better kitchen, floors and lights than standard. Ask for a written list of what is standard in your flat.
- The show flat may not be your flat: another floor, the other side, a different layout.
- Computer pictures show the best day: wide lenses, grown trees, neighbours placed far away.
The risks, plainly
- Size. The finished flat can differ a little; ask what margin your contract allows, and how the area was measured (walls, balconies and storage in or out).
- Changes during building, such as a pipe box or a smaller window. Ask how you will be told and what you can refuse.
- View and light. Later phases or planned buildings can block both: check the site plan and the planning records.
- Delays. Ask what the contract says about late completion, and leave room in your own plans.
- Value. A valuation at completion can come in below your price, and the gap is yours.
- The developer. What happens to your money if they fail depends on your country and contract. Look at buildings they have finished.
Deposits, protection and contracts
Deposits, payment stages, how your money is protected, whether you can change your mind and what warranty covers the building are set by local law and your contract, so we give no figures. Before you sign or pay, ask in writing how your deposit is protected, read the full contract, have your own lawyer, solicitor or notary check it, and keep every document.
What to check in the plan
- Flat number, floor and the north arrow. Mirror-image layouts are common: check your door and windows.
- How room sizes are measured. An L-shaped room measured at its longest and widest sounds bigger than the rectangle you can furnish.
- Walls for furniture, door swings and windows. A long wall for the sofa, room for a bed with tables, and glass to the floor leaves no wall below.
- Ceiling height, pipe boxes and columns, storage, and what is behind the bedroom wall.
- The furniture drawn on the plan. Ignore it: it is drawn to fit.
How to picture it before you sign
Get the plan of your exact flat, turn it into 3D and check one wall against the size table. Furnish it with your own pieces at their real size, walk it at eye level, then go back to the show flat with your sizes and a tape measure. In Flatwalk you upload or draw the plan, place furniture from real shops at its true size, add lights and see the sun for the address. It is only as true as the plan, and it shows the rooms, not the view from your floor.
Common mistakes
- Falling for the show flat. Ask what is standard and measure the furniture.
- Trusting the area figure without asking how it was measured.
- Signing before your own adviser has read the contract.
- Planning your life to the completion date. Leave room for a delay.
What Flatwalk does that older planners skip
Lights
Add ceiling lights, lamps and LED strips and see the flat at night before it exists.
Your flat in its city
Give the address and the street and buildings around you appear in 3D where the map has them.
Sun for your address
Real sunlight through the windows on the plan, by date and hour.
One piece, in your own room
Through the live camera or in a photo of a room, stand a sofa on a real floor at its true size, as soon as you have the keys.
Detail
Kitchens, wardrobes, bathrooms, floors, tiles and paint built piece by piece, so you can choose finishes with the furniture in place.
Made for a thumb
Tap a wall, a door or a sofa and the choices for that thing appear.
Swipe for more. Every picture is the app itself.
One flat, free
Most people plan one home. For that, Flatwalk costs nothing: no trial clock and no card. Drawing, exact wall sizes, furniture, lights, sun and walking are all part of it, and each AI tool, such as reading your floor plan from a picture, gives one free try. A membership is for people who want more flats or more AI.
Questions people ask
What does buying off-plan mean? Buying a flat from drawings, before it is built. You usually pay a deposit when you sign and the rest at completion, but the stages and amounts depend on your country and contract.
What are the risks of buying off-plan? A slightly smaller or different flat, a view and light unlike the pictures, delays, and a value at completion below the price.
Can the finished flat be smaller than the plan? It can differ a little, and many contracts allow a margin. Ask what yours allows and how the area was measured.
How is my deposit protected? That depends on your country and contract. Ask the developer in writing, and have your own lawyer, solicitor or notary check the answer before you pay.
How can I see an off-plan flat before it is built? Turn the plan of your exact flat into 3D, check one wall, furnish it at true size and walk through it at eye level, with the sun for its address.
Flatwalk turns the plan of a flat that is not built yet into a 3D flat you can walk through, furnish and light before you sign, free for one flat. It is launching on Google Play; join the waiting list at flatwalk.app.
Join the waiting list