Presale Buying Questions, Answered by a Presale Expert
Thinking about a presale but not sure who to trust? Here are the questions buyers ask us most — answered straight, no sales pitch.
PresaleProperties.com is the buyer-focused representation practice of Uzair Muhammad (REALTOR, Real Broker BC), serving presale and new construction buyers across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley from 3211 152 St, Building C, Suite 402, Surrey BC V3Z 1H8 — (672) 258-1100.
Do I need a realtor to buy a presale condo?
No, you can buy directly from a sales centre. The question is whether that serves you. A presale purchase is a contract for a home that does not exist yet, with a disclosure statement, a deposit schedule, an assignment clause, a completion window that can move, and rights that expire on a clock. Nobody at the sales centre is retained to read that on your behalf. A buyer's agent is. Our job is to compare the project against the others we are tracking, flag the clauses that shift risk onto you, and tell you when a unit is priced ahead of the market. We also handle the parts buyers forget: the 7-day rescission period, financing timing, and what the 2-5-10 warranty actually covers. You can do this alone. Most buyers who have done it once choose not to do it again.
Do I have to pay the realtor, or does the developer pay?
The developer pays. On presale projects, the buyer's agent commission comes out of the developer's marketing budget — the same budget that funds the sales centre, the display suite and the advertising. It is not added on top of your purchase price, and the posted price does not go down if you show up without representation. That is the part buyers get wrong. Walking in unrepresented does not save you money; it simply means the money already allocated stays with the project's sales team. We will confirm the arrangement in writing on any specific project before you register, because terms are set project by project and there are exceptions. If a project does not compensate buyer agents, we tell you before you sign anything, not after. You can browse current projects and ask us about any of them.
What happens if I visit the sales centre without an agent?
You get registered to the project, and in most cases that registration sticks. Sales centres record who walked in and who introduced them, and many developers will not recognise a buyer's agent afterwards on that project. So a casual Saturday visit can quietly remove your representation before you have decided anything. The fix is simple: register with your agent first, or bring them on the first visit. If you have already gone in alone, tell us — sometimes it can be resolved with the sales manager before you write, and sometimes it cannot, and you should know which one you are dealing with. Nothing bad happens to your pricing either way; the posted price is the posted price. What changes is whether anyone in the room is reading the contract from your side of the table.
How do I know the sales centre rep isn't working for the developer?
They are working for the developer — that is the arrangement, and a good rep will say so plainly if you ask. They are hired and paid by the project to sell that project's inventory at the developer's price. They can be knowledgeable, helpful and completely honest, and still have no duty to tell you that the building two blocks away offers a better floor plan for less money. Ask the question directly: who do you represent, and are you able to advise me on other projects? The answer tells you what kind of advice you are getting. Agency in BC is disclosed in writing, so read the form you are handed rather than relying on tone. If you want someone whose duty runs to you, that has to be a separate person, engaged separately, before you write an offer.
What questions should I ask a presale realtor before hiring them?
Ask what share of their business is presale, not resale. Ask which developers they have closed with and what happened at completion on those files. Ask them to walk you through a deposit schedule and an assignment clause out loud — vagueness here is disqualifying. Ask how they get paid on your purchase and whether anything changes that. Ask what they do when a project is a bad fit: an agent who has never talked a client out of a purchase is selling, not advising. Ask who reviews the disclosure statement with you and whether they work with a real estate lawyer. Ask how they handle the completion year, which is when most of the real work happens. Finally, ask for two client references from completed presales, not from people who only signed. Our buying guide covers what those answers should sound like.
How many presale contracts has this agent closed?
Ask this of every agent you interview, and then verify the answer rather than accepting the number. A count on its own is easy to say. Ask for the project names. Ask which developers, and in which cities. Ask what happened at completion on those files — did the appraisals land, did anyone need an extension, did any buyer have to assign. Ask whether they have worked through a delayed completion, because that experience is only earned the hard way. Volume without completions means an agent has sold, not delivered. For our part, our team has helped 450 families buy new homes, with more than $250 million in sales, and we will name the projects and put you in touch with buyers who completed. Track record should be checkable in ten minutes. If an agent cannot produce specifics on request, treat the number as marketing.
Can a presale agent negotiate a better price than the posted price?
Sometimes, and less often than buyers hope. Developers hold posted prices because their construction financing depends on hitting a value per square foot across the whole building. Cutting a headline price undermines every other contract in the project, so the discount usually arrives in other forms: parking, storage, an upgrade package, decorating allowances, a longer deposit schedule, or a reduced-rate hold on a better unit. Leverage matters more than persuasion. Late-stage inventory, a slow release, an odd exposure or a unit that has fallen out of contract all create room. A first-day launch on a strong site creates none. What we do is know where each project sits in its sales cycle, so you are asking at the moment the answer can be yes. Compare live inventory on our project list before you decide where to push.
What is negotiable in a presale contract?
More than price. The deposit schedule is often negotiable — the timing of instalments, and occasionally the split. Parking and storage allocation is negotiable, and on some projects it is the single most valuable item on the table. Colour scheme and upgrade credits are commonly used instead of a price reduction. The assignment clause matters: whether assignment is permitted at all, what the developer's consent process is, and what fee applies. Look at the interim occupancy and completion language, the developer's right to make material changes to the unit, and the outside completion date. Rental and pet restrictions come from the disclosure statement and future bylaws, so read them before you assume. Not every term moves, and on hot releases most do not. Knowing which items are worth asking for keeps you from spending goodwill on the one that never moves.
What deposit structure is normal, and who holds the deposit?
Deposits on BC presales are commonly staged rather than paid at once, often starting around 5% on signing, with further instalments on a schedule set by your contract. The number of instalments and their timing vary by developer and by project, so the only structure that matters is the one written into your agreement. Your deposit is held in trust — typically by the developer's lawyer or a licensed brokerage — under BC's Real Estate Development Marketing Act, not spent freely by the developer. Read who the trustee is and under what conditions funds are released. Plan the schedule against your own cash flow, because a missed instalment is a default, and defaults on presale contracts are unpleasant. Our presale guide walks through deposit timing, trust rules and the 7-day rescission period that follows signing.
What happens if the developer delays completion?
Delays are normal in construction, and your contract already anticipates them. There is an estimated completion date and, separately, an outside date — the deadline past which the developer must complete or the contract can be terminated and your deposit returned. Those are not the same date, and buyers routinely read only the first one. Between them, the developer can usually extend without owing you compensation. That matters for your mortgage: rate holds expire, income and lending rules change, and a long delay can mean requalifying. It also matters if you are selling or ending a lease. Before you sign, we read the completion clauses with you and identify the outside date, the notice you are entitled to, and what triggers a return of deposit. During construction we track progress so a delay is something you hear about early rather than discover at the finish.
What happens if the appraisal comes in low at completion?
You cover the difference in cash. Your lender funds against the appraised value at completion, not the price you agreed to years earlier, so if the appraisal lands below your contract price, the shortfall becomes part of your down payment. The contract price does not change and the developer is not obliged to renegotiate. That is the mechanic, and it is why we plan for it before it can happen. Keep a cash buffer beyond your deposits. Do not treat a pre-approval from signing day as financing. Speak to a broker roughly a year out, again six months out, and confirm the lender's appraisal policy on new construction. Avoid stretching to the top of your budget on a unit that is priced ahead of its comparables. Model the payment against different values in our mortgage and deposit calculator before completion arrives.
Can I assign my presale contract later, and what are the fees?
Only if your contract allows it. Assignment is the sale of your contract to another buyer before the building completes, and it exists at the developer's discretion, not yours. Read the assignment clause before you sign: some contracts prohibit assignment entirely, some allow it after a set point in construction, and most require written consent. Where it is permitted, expect a developer administration fee — the amount and how it is calculated is set in the contract, so ask for the number in writing rather than assuming. There are also tax consequences. GST can apply to an assignment, the profit may be treated as business income, and BC maintains reporting requirements on assignments. Get advice from an accountant before you list, not after. Our presale guide covers assignment mechanics, and we can review your specific clause with you.
Is buying a presale still worth it in 2026, or should I buy resale?
It depends on your timeline, your risk tolerance and your financing — and we will not forecast prices for you. Presale suits buyers who do not need a home now, who can stage deposits rather than produce a full down payment, who want new construction with 2-5-10 warranty coverage, and who can absorb a completion date that moves. Resale suits buyers who need to move, who want to see the actual unit, the actual strata minutes and actual comparable sales, and who prefer financing they can lock in near closing. Presale carries completion and appraisal risk that resale does not; resale carries building age and repair risk that presale does not. Run both against your own numbers in the ROI calculator, then compare live inventory across presale projects and move-in ready homes before deciding.
How do I compare two presale projects side by side?
Compare on the same fields, in writing, and ignore the renderings. Start with price per square foot for the actual unit, not the project's starting price. Then the deposit schedule and its timing, the estimated and outside completion dates, what is included versus an upgrade, parking and storage, projected strata fees per square foot, and the GST treatment. Add the developer's completed project history and the assignment and rental clauses. Then the things that outlast the finishes: exposure, ceiling height, usable floor plan, transit and school catchments. Put it in one table so the weaker project cannot hide behind a better sales centre. We build that comparison for clients on request. Model the carrying costs of each option in the ROI calculator, and shortlist from current presale projects rather than from what is being advertised hardest this month.
What red flags should I watch for in a developer or a contract?
Watch for a developer with no completed buildings in BC, or a track record you cannot verify by name and address. Watch for pressure to sign before the rescission period is explained, or reluctance to hand over the disclosure statement for review. In the contract, look for an outside completion date far beyond the marketed timeline, broad rights for the developer to alter unit size, layout or finishes without your consent, vague language on deposit trust arrangements, unusually front-loaded deposits, and an assignment clause that blocks any exit. Watch for missing or unclear warranty coverage. Outside the paperwork, be cautious where a project has been relaunched, renamed or repriced repeatedly, or where the site has not moved in a year. None of these automatically kills a purchase — several are negotiable — but each one should be answered before you sign, not after. Read more in our market notes.
Founded by Uzair Muhammad, REALTOR® — Real Broker BC