How Buying an Off-Plan Property Can Help You Lock in Capital

10 March 2026

Toby Patrick

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Finding new ways to get ahead in the property market can be crucial for generating a profit and making your investment worthwhile. One of the most effective strategies for this might be one you’ve never heard of before. Off-plan properties have the potential to help you lock in capital before a build is even complete, as you purchase it during its construction stage and make profits on it once the final touches have been made.

Floor plan pinned to a whiteboard with red magnets, on a blue wall background. Rooms labeled, showing dimensions and layout details.

This strategy acts as protection against rising property prices, as the initial price is fixed at the point of exchange, but the property's value often increases during the 12–36 month construction period. When you do this, you’re allowing yourself to escape the high costs that usually come with real estate investments, increasing your chances of making money.

This guide will outline how buying an off-plan property can help you lock in capital before it’s even completed. Continue reading to learn more.

What is an Off-Plan Property?

An off-plan property is one that can be purchased during the planning or construction phase, and this type of investment is rising rapidly in the UK. There is a growing demand for properties within the real estate market, which has made securing a property prior to completion a great move for improving returns. It’s previously been found that around 40% of new home purchases are made during the planning or construction phase, and this has been increasing year-on-year.

Developers use computer-generated images (CGIs) to show what the finished property will look like, helping attract potential buyers. This makes it easier for them to visualise, so they can plan ahead with their investment and get it signed and sealed before the property has completed its development.

How Buying Off-Plan Helps Lock in Capital

Price Lock-In

When the exchange of contracts happens early in the construction process, you are agreeing to a purchase price based on current market rates. Your agreed price will stay the same, even if the value increases dramatically while the construction phase is still active. You can then gain higher returns upon completion, as the property value should see an increase once it’s been completed.

Built-in Equity

Developers tend to offer lower prices in the early stages of the construction process to secure funding, meaning the property will already be worth more than the purchase price by the time it’s finished. This can give investors instant equity, as they can make much quicker profits than they would by purchasing a property that has already been constructed.

Low Initial Payments

Off-plan purchases typically only require a 10–20% deposit, with the final balance not due until completion. This allows you to secure a high-value asset without needing the full amount upfront. This type of investment, it gives you a longer amount of time to get the full payment completed, making everything more affordable.

Staged Payments

Payments are often broken down into stages with an off-plan investment. This includes the reservation fee, exchange and completion, which all allow investors to manage their cash flow easily compared to traditional property purchases. They will know when they will need the money available for each stage, making it easier to figure out all the ins and outs when it comes to your money.

Deposit Interest

Some developers allow you to earn interest on your deposit while the property is being built, which can be deducted from the final payment so you will be paying less for it overall. This can be great for boosting your returns when you eventually sell the property after its completion, as you’ll have already earned a chunk of your initial investment back.

Stamp Duty Payments

In the UK, you generally pay stamp duty based on the purchase price at the time of exchange. If the property rises in value by £50,000 during construction, you do not pay extra stamp duty on that increase, so you will effectively be saving money and getting more out of your investment.

Low Maintenance Costs

As a brand-new build, there are rarely immediate repair costs if the construction process goes well, protecting your capital from unexpected expenses. The last thing you want is to purchase a property and then be met with maintenance costs from issues that you didn’t know existed. This can happen when purchasing already built properties without knowing what happened to it during the construction process.

When you invest with an off-plan strategy plan, investors can effectively lock in a lower price and leverage the 1-3 year construction period to generate capital growth. This has turned it into a popular choice for long-term portfolio growth that outperforms traditional real estate investments in most cases. It gives you a chance to see the entire process of the construction, giving you multiple benefits like lower prices, higher profits and lower maintenance costs to improve the success of your portfolio.

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"The Reckoning" - A Gripping and Harrowing Drama

Gregory Devine
Oct 23, 2023
3 min read

Jimmy Savile was a monster. I refused to call him a man because he simply wasn’t human. Many people my age (21) know about Jimmy Savile but before I watched this BBC drama, I wasn’t fully aware of the scale of the atrocities this vile creature committed.

Jimmy Savile at the Leeds Marathon in 1982

The BBC has come under a lot of criticism for making the drama, but I actually believe this was really important. We cannot forget about Jimmy Savile so that we don’t let anything like this ever happen again. The issue is many young people don’t really know about him. We’ve heard of him, and we all know he was a pedophile, but I don’t think many young people are even close to being aware of just how bad this was.

The drama feels eerily real. Steve Coogan's acting in the show is perfect. Whenever he’s on screen it makes your hair stand on its ends, it sends a harrowing shiver down your spine. At times, especially in the first 2 episodes, I found myself retching at what I was watching. I genuinely found myself wanting to be sick. That didn’t make me want to turn the series off though. I almost felt a duty to watch the entire series to educate myself on what this monster did. I felt I had to do it so his victims wouldn’t be forgotten.

Each episode starts and ends with recounts from three survivors of Jimmy Savile. They remind you this is very real. These were children who had their lives ruined. The first episode explores Savile as a DJ and how he used his power to abuse children around Leeds and Manchester. I had no idea how much influence he had even before he became a national celebrity. Before you first see him abusing children you see him abusing staff in one of his clubs. The young man goes to the police, but Savile is well-respected by them. It’s important context before seeing his truly vile crimes take place.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the drama for me surrounds his mother. I found myself on somewhat of a rollercoaster regarding my opinions on his mother whom Jimmy calls” The Duchess”. I found myself angry with her for not doing more to stop him when I felt she knew what was happening but then also found myself feeling upset for what is an old frail woman, also being manipulated by him. She’s a devout catholic and we see her often in confession. In the end, at least from my own understanding, it seems she knew God would be the final judge of him and whilst yes, she could’ve and should’ve gone to the police, this was her son.

One criticism I do have of the drama is its failure to point out just how catastrophic the BBC and NHS’s actions, or lack thereof, were. They show a brief investigation by the BBC that returns no conclusive evidence but don’t dive deeper into the people who let him get away with it for so long. To me, it conveyed that these people who should also hold some responsibilities were equally groomed by Savile. Except they weren’t groomed. They had some inkling of what was happening yet did nothing about it. They didn’t explore the greed of the BBC enough here, instead almost trying to make them out as innocent.

The failures of the Police were also brushed under the carpet. They show the police siding with Savile against a nightclub worker apart from that there’s one other scene where one of his victims has the courage to go to the police. They interview Savile but find no evidence. It’s just left at that. On one hand, I suppose it shows a true account of how little institutions did to stop Savile but on the other hand, it feels like the drama went a little soft on these people who knew what was happening yet chose to do nothing about it.

Should you watch The Reckoning? It really does depend. I would encourage my parents and older family members who know the horrors of Savile to steer away from the drama. They already know what happened and seeing it dramatised may come across as quite disrespectful. That being said, I think anybody under the age of 30 must watch this. You must educate yourself. You need to be aware of the true volume of his crimes and the extensive amount of time he was allowed to do this. Some things, despite them being truly horrid, we mustn’t forget. Jimmy Savile is one of those. We must remember so something like this cannot happen again.