Budget the instalments after you get the keys

A post-handover payment plan can make the build period lighter, but the payments continue after you collect the keys. At the same time, new costs begin: service charges, utility accounts, furnishing and, for some buyers, rent on their current home until they move. The years after handover often carry more separate payments than the years before it. Map those years month by month. List each remaining instalment beside the running costs you expect to start at handover, then compare the total with your income and savings. If you intend to rent the home out, do not assume the rent will cover the instalments: finding the first tenant may take time. A plan that works without that assumption is easier to live with. Prepared by Masterpiece Property. AI-generated illustration, not a photograph of an actual property or project.