Buying an off-plan apartment: what to check before you sign

Buying off-plan lets you pay in installments during construction and choose your unit among the first buyers. In return, you sign a contract for something that does not exist yet. Here are the points worth checking.

1. Price and delivery date, in writing

In Paraguay, property sales are covered by the consumer protection law (Ley 1334/98, art. 4). The contract must state the price including taxes, and a delivery date (arts. 10 and 14).

2. Clauses the law prohibits

Under article 28 of Ley 1334/98, clauses are void if, among other things, they allow:

• the price to be adjusted unilaterally;
• the contract to be extended or terminated unilaterally;
• mandatory arbitration to be imposed on the buyer;
• the seller to be released from liability;
• the buyer's silence to be treated as acceptance.

Even if signed, these clauses have no legal effect.

3. What you have already paid is protected

Once the buyer has paid 25% of the price in installments, the seller can no longer terminate the contract, whatever a clause may say (Paraguayan Civil Code, art. 782).

4. The ten-year guarantee

The builder, the site manager and the designer are liable for ten years if the building fails structurally (Civil Code, art. 860). This liability cannot be excluded by contract.

5. From the sales agreement to the title deed

The sales agreement (boleto de compraventa) obliges the parties to sign the title deed (escritura), but it does not transfer ownership (Civil Code, arts. 700 to 702). Ask when and how the deed for your unit will be signed.

6. The condominium rules

The building must have condominium rules (reglamento de copropiedad) set out in a registered notarial deed. They must include the minimum content required by the Civil Code (art. 2147) and a table of values for each unit. That table determines your service charges and your voting weight at owners' meetings. Ask to read it before you sign.

Our development: Kalypso Recoleta

At Kalypso Recoleta, you pay a 10% down payment, then the balance in 32 interest-free installments during construction. Delivery is scheduled for May 2029.

Discover Kalypso Recoleta, the available units and payment options at kalypso.com.py.