How to Vet a Property Developer Abroad (2026): Track Record, Escrow & the Off-Plan Red Flags

Published on: June 16, 2026

Buying off-plan is the only kind of property purchase where you hand over real money for something that does not yet exist. You are not buying a building, you are buying a promise that a developer will deliver one, on time, to the standard shown in a glossy render. When the developer is solid, off-plan can be the smartest buy on the market: below-market entry, payment spread over construction, and capital growth by completion. When the developer is not, it is how people lose six-figure deposits on a hole in the ground.

The difference between those two outcomes is due diligence on the developer, and most buyers, dazzled by the render and the discount, never do it properly. This guide is the checklist: how to verify a developer's track record, how payment protection actually works country by country, and the red flags that should stop you signing.

The one principle that prevents most disasters. Your money should be protected by a legal mechanism, an escrow account, a bank guarantee, or staged payments tied to verified construction, not by trust in a brochure. If a developer is reluctant to explain exactly how your money is protected, that reluctance is your answer.

1. Verify the track record, completed, not promised

A developer's website shows you their best renders. What you want is the opposite: proof of what they have actually finished.

• Ask for a list of completed projects, then go and look at them, or have someone local do so. Finished and occupied is the only track record that counts.
• Talk to buyers in their previous developments. Did it complete on time? Was the build quality as promised? Were snags fixed?
• Check how long they have operated. A developer with fifteen years and a dozen delivered projects is a different proposition from a brand-new entity with one render and a sales office.
• Search the company, not just the project. Court records, insolvency filings, news reports, and buyer forums in the local language often surface problems the sales team won't mention.

A developer with a genuine track record will be proud to show it. One that deflects ("our previous projects were under a different company") is telling you something.

2. Confirm how your money is protected, country by country

This is the heart of off-plan due diligence. The protection mechanism is what stands between your deposit and a developer's failure.

• Spain, by law (building legislation strengthened over the years), off-plan payments must be secured by a bank guarantee or insurance policy and held in a special account, so your money is returned if the developer fails to deliver. Confirm this guarantee exists in writing before paying. This is non-negotiable in Spain, a developer who can't produce it is breaking the rules.
• UAE / Dubai, developers must register the project with RERA and hold buyer funds in a mandatory escrow account, released to the developer only against verified construction milestones. Always confirm the project is RERA-registered and pay into the escrow account, never to the developer directly.
• Portugal, off-plan protection is less standardised; payments are typically staged and secured through the contract (CPCV) and the notary process. This makes the contract terms and a good lawyer especially important.
• Turkey, staged payments against construction are common; protection rests heavily on the contract, the developer's standing, and proper title/permit checks, so legal scrutiny matters.
• Greece, Italy, Cyprus, protections vary and often rely on the preliminary contract, staged payments, and title checks rather than a universal escrow law. Cyprus in particular has a history of title-deed issues on developments, making legal due diligence essential.

The takeaway: in Spain and Dubai there are legal protections to insist on; elsewhere, your protection is the quality of your contract and lawyer. Either way, never wire money to a developer's personal or general account.

3. Check the legal foundations of the project

A trustworthy developer can produce, and a good lawyer will demand:

• Clean land title, the developer genuinely owns the land, free of charges or disputes.
• Building licence / planning permission, granted, not "expected." Off-plan sold before permits is a classic trap.
• The project is registered with the relevant authority (e.g. RERA in Dubai).
• A clear, dated completion schedule with penalties for delay written into the contract.
• Specifications in writing, materials, finishes, sizes, so "as per render" has legal teeth.

4. The off-plan red flags

Any one of these warrants caution; several together should stop the deal:

• A price that's too good. Significantly below comparable units usually signals risk, cashflow trouble, or a problem you can't yet see.
• Pressure to pay quickly, "before the price rises tonight," or to skip steps. Urgency is the scammer's favourite tool.
• Payment requested outside escrow, to a personal account, in cash, or to a third party. This is the single biggest danger sign.
• No bank guarantee (Spain) or no RERA registration (Dubai). Missing the legal protection means there is none.
• No verifiable completed projects, or evasiveness when you ask.
• Vague completion dates and no penalty clause for delay.
• Reluctance to let you appoint your own independent lawyer, or steering you to "their" lawyer only.
• Renders and promises far beyond the location's reality, yields or amenities that don't match the market.

5. The non-negotiables before you sign

1. Appoint your own independent lawyer, not the developer's, not the agent's.
2. Confirm the money-protection mechanism in writing, bank guarantee, escrow, registration.
3. Verify title, licence and registration through your lawyer.
4. Inspect the track record, completed projects, real buyers.
5. Read the contract for the completion date and delay penalties.
6. Pay only into the protected account, never to the developer directly.

Off-plan rewards the disciplined and punishes the dazzled. The buyers who win with off-plan are not the ones who found the cheapest unit, they are the ones who confirmed, before paying, exactly how they get their money back if the building never rises.

Frequently asked questions

Is buying off-plan abroad safe?
It can be, if your money is legally protected (escrow or bank guarantee), the developer has a real track record, and an independent lawyer verifies the title and licences. Without those, it is high-risk.

What is the most important check?
How your money is protected. In Spain insist on the bank guarantee; in Dubai insist on RERA registration and paying into escrow. Never pay a developer directly.

How do I check a developer's track record?
Look at their completed, occupied projects, talk to previous buyers, check how long they've operated, and search company records and local-language forums for problems.

What's the clearest scam signal?
A request to pay outside the protected/escrow account, to a personal account, in cash, or to a third party, usually combined with time pressure.

Why we built this into the platform

Off-plan is where the gap between a sophisticated local buyer and a remote international one is widest. The local buyer knows which developers have a reputation and which projects collapsed; the cross-border buyer sees only the render, the discount, and a friendly sales team, with no easy way to check any of it from 3,000 km away.

JanusHermes is built to close that gap: surfacing the developer and project context, the protections that should be in place market by market, and the red flags that experienced buyers know to look for, so off-plan becomes a calculated decision, not an act of faith. When you want representation, use the frameworks here to brief an independent professional whose job is to protect you, not to close the sale. Explore listings and country intelligence on JanusHermes.

This is general guidance for international buyers, not legal or financial advice. Off-plan protections and developer-registration rules vary by country and change over time. Always appoint an independent local lawyer and verify protections before paying anything.