Most property failures — cost overruns, missed deadlines, lower-than-expected returns, and projects that quietly collapse — trace back to choices made long before settlement. The most valuable work in any off-plan purchase happens before you see a project at all.
Meet them in person, on site, more than once
We review a developer's build history, their completion record, and the quality of what they have actually delivered — not what they have marketed. Renders are easy; finished buildings that match them are not.
We look at how they have handled previous projects when things went sideways, because every developer eventually has one. The response to a problem tells you more than a portfolio of successes ever will.
Ask about the money
We ask about funding structure, construction partners, and professional advisors. A developer with strong financial backing, a clean delivery history, and a transparent capital stack will tell us so without hesitation. The ones who hesitate, we do not work with.
Under New Zealand law, buyer deposits are held in trust accounts until settlement — but the structure of the development finance behind the project is what determines whether it completes at all. That is the question to press.
Then vet the project itself
Location first: is this land near things people genuinely want to be near — airports, water, mountains, mature amenities — or is it land that requires a sales argument to justify?
Then the structure of the offering: is the title freehold and clean? Are the rules around use, letting, and resale clear and reasonable?
Then the numbers: is the price realistic against comparable land and build costs in the area? Is there a credible income story alongside any capital growth assumption? Is the development scaled to a market that actually exists, or is it built on optimism?
We say no to far more projects than we say yes to. And that's the point.
North South Partners is not a legal or tax advisor. This article is general guidance only — we introduce every client to qualified New Zealand and Singapore-based advisors as part of the process.