The Acres off-plan: which phase to choose, early or late

In a community built in phases, choosing the phase is a separate decision, and it has economics you can calculate.

What an early phase gives you

• A lower price. It is compensation for the wait and for the construction that will go on around you.
• A choice of position. Corner plots and houses by the green corridors and the water go first.
• More time on the payment plan — instalments are spread over a longer period.

What a later phase gives you

• Less waiting and less construction around you. Part of the community is already lived in and the infrastructure is opening.
• You can see what was delivered. Early phases are a finished sample of quality, landscaping and charges, not a render.
• A shorter road to renting it out. Income starts sooner, which shortens the period when the asset only costs money.
• Less uncertainty about the master plan: by the later phases it is already partly built out.

How to choose

• Weigh the price difference against the years of waiting. If the early-phase discount is less than what two or three years without income, while paying instalments, cost you, the later phase is the better deal.
• Walk the handed-over phase. It answers most questions about what you will get.
• Find out where construction will be relative to your plot, and for how many years.
• Compare positions. A good position in a later phase can cost less than an ordinary one in an early phase — and be nicer to live in.

What else to check

• How deadlines were met in the handed-over phases — the most predictive figure of all.
• The community charge for the handed-over phase, with its history.
• Escrow, Oqood, the contractor and the late-delivery clause.
• Plot size separately from built-up area.

Based on the Dubai Land Department register and the community’s published phasing plan.