Buying off-the-plan – off-the-charts

Buying off-the-plan is, to state the obvious, buying property not yet built or completed. Most people are very comfortable with this method of purchase but for some, who are new to the market or downsizing after spending a lifetime in their family home, it can be a little daunting.

Harry Triguboff, founder and managing director of Meriton, has sold more property off-the-plan than anyone in the country so he has not only shown Australians that apartments are the preferred way to live, he has shown them that buying off-the-plan is the best way to invest in their future.

“You know, I have made many property millionaires who have bought from me,” founder and managing director of Meriton, Harry Triguboff says.

“And they all buy off-the-plan.

“We often put buyers into two categories, owner-occupier or investor.

“But when you buy off-the-plan, everyone is an investor. The time between purchasing an apartment and completion may be 12 – 36 months and during that time, your apartment is increasing in value while it is being built. There is no better investment. You pay your deposit and then watch your investment grow – and build – literally.

“If you borrow through us, you pay your deposit and your loan is approved. Unlike the banks, there are no additional approvals needed.  We honour the original loan approval right through to settlement. We make it very easy for your new investment to work for you.

“Meriton is the only property development company in Australia to do vendor finance.

There have been buyers that started with one Meriton apartment and then they have gone on to add multiple apartments to their portfolio, often in different locations. One buyer who invested in multiple apartments, all bought off the plan, has now been able to buy himself one of the most exclusive townhouses at Meriton’s, Pagewood Green, to live in himself.

“They started off 20 years ago with a one-bedroom unit with no parking for $350,000,” Mr Triguboff said.

“Now they will live in an exclusive four-bedroom townhouse directly on a park with internal lift and double garage for $3.75 million.  That is how well their investment in Meriton works for them,” he says.

Mr Triguboff said they did not have to wait for interest rates to come down to see positive movement in the market at the start of this year.  He says that as soon as a rate cut was imminent, the market stood up and took notice.

“We are seeing more from the local market than we ever have,” Mr Triguboff says.

“Some areas we are building, we see a lot of downsizers who have been living in their big houses for many, many years. They may have moved once or twice in their whole lives.

“They come to us and realise they do not need a retirement village, they can live the rest of the lives in one of our buildings because of the close proximity to everything they need.

“They still want to be in the same area they have always lived and now they can do that with our buildings going up in their area.

“We make sure they don’t need to worry about anything. We understand they have not bought off-the-plan before and we can make the process very easy for them.

“Just remember, we have built 80,000 apartments and many of those have sold off-the-plan and the investment in our developments has made many millionaires.

“I cannot speak about other developers, but for Meriton, it is a very positive experience and our buyers are happy and feel secure in their investment.

“If I could sit in front of every buyer, speaking only for myself and my product, I would tell them all the same thing. “That plan, on that piece of paper, will be the best decision you ever made.”

“And I can say that with 100% confidence,” he says.