Every off-plan project comes with a payment plan. The plan decides how much of your capital is tied up during construction and how much is due at handover.
The four plan shapes
- 20/80 or 30/70 (heavy upfront). You pay most of the price before handover. Lower total cost, higher early lock-up. Best when the developer discounts hard for cash flow.
- 50/50 (balanced). Half during construction, half at handover. The baseline plan. Good for domestic buyers with steady cash flow.
- 60/40 post-handover (stretched). 60% during construction, 40% paid over 2-3 years after handover. You take possession with partial debt to the developer. Common with Damac and Emaar.
- 40/60 post-handover (aggressive). Only 40% during construction. Lets you control multiple units with less capital. Higher risk if rental market softens.
How to evaluate a plan
Look at three things: - Effective cash-on-cash return. How much you actually tie up before rent starts flowing. - Break-even timeline. If your rent covers the post-handover installments, you can hold indefinitely. - Exit flexibility. Some plans lock you in until a percentage threshold; others let you resell at any stage.
What changes between developers
Emaar leans toward 50/50 and 60/40 with conservative terms. Damac pushes aggressive post-handover plans (40/60, 30/70 over 4 years). Sobha and Nakheel sit between them.
Traps to avoid
- Penalty structures on missed installments (5-10% of remaining balance is typical — enough to wipe out early appreciation).
- "Zero percent interest" post-handover framing. There is always an implicit cost — it's baked into the base price.
- Transfer fees mid-plan. If you want to resell before handover, most developers charge 2-5% NOC fees plus the DLD transfer.
See how off-plan works for the full process context.
