Off-Plan Payment Plans: Time-Based vs Milestone-Based Payments

1. What is a time-based payment plan?

A time-based payment plan sets payments by the calendar. After the initial deposit, further instalments may be due monthly, quarterly or on other agreed dates.

The advantage is predictability. You know when the next payment is coming.

The concern is that the calendar can move faster than the building. Another instalment may become due even if construction has not progressed as expected.

Before signing, ask what progress should have been made by each payment date, how that progress will be reported and what happens if construction falls behind.

2. What is a milestone-based payment plan?

A milestone-based payment plan connects each payment to a defined stage of construction. That could include the foundation, floor slabs, roofing, plastering or final works.

Instead of another payment becoming due simply because a date has arrived, the next payment follows the completion of an agreed construction milestone.

The principle is simple: see the work, then make the next payment.

Each milestone should still be clearly defined. You should know what must be completed, how completion will be documented and who confirms that the work is complete.

3. Time-based vs milestone-based payment plans

The main difference is what triggers the next payment.

A time-based payment plan is triggered by an agreed date; a milestone-based plan is triggered by a completed construction milestone.

Neither structure should be judged on the payment schedule alone. The contract, construction plan, building specifications, documentation and projected completion date still matter.

4. Five questions to ask before choosing an off-plan payment plan

The answers should not depend only on a conversation with a sales representative. They should appear in the contract or an attached schedule.

If you are buying from outside Nigeria, also ask how construction updates will be shared. Dated photographs, videos and inspection records can help you verify progress without being physically present.

• What are the construction milestones?
• What must be completed at each stage?
• How will completed work be documented?
• What is the projected timeline?
• What happens if construction is delayed?

5. How Criterion Homes' Build As You Pay works

Criterion Homes uses Build As You Pay to give buyers a clearer way to follow the construction of their property.

At The Midtown Terraces in Gwarinpa, Abuja, the payment structure is simple: five construction milestones, five payments and 20% per payment.

Each 20% payment follows the completion of a construction milestone.

This means the payment plan moves with the building. When a milestone is completed, the buyer can see what has been built before the next 20% payment becomes due.

• Foundation
• First-floor slab
• Second-floor slab
• Roofing and plastering
• Painting and final works