20 questions to ask before you book a unit at China Center

Why ask your questions in writing before booking?

A good question costs nothing before you pay and a great deal afterwards. The figures on this site come from the developer’s current inventory sheet and are confirmed at booking, which means some details are settled only when you sit down to book. Asking early turns “confirmed at booking” into specific answers you can compare.

Send your questions to the sales desk on WhatsApp so there is a written record, and ask for any answer that affects money or rights to be confirmed by the developer, Creation Developers (Pvt) Ltd. The twenty questions below are grouped by topic; use the ones that fit your unit.

What should you ask about the price?

Price questions come first because every other number follows from them. Your price is area multiplied by rate, and the developer’s drawings print both covered and saleable areas for each floor – the ground floor, for example, shows 11,580 sq ft covered and 4,619 sq ft saleable – so know which area you are paying for.

Keep the reference figures beside you when you ask. The rate on the sheet is Rs 40,000 per sq ft on the lower ground, first and second floors and for the food court, Rs 55,000 per sq ft on the ground floor and Rs 15,000 per sq ft for the 7th-floor apartments. Multiply your unit’s area by its rate: if the quotation does not come to the same total, that is the first thing to raise.

• 1. Is the inventory-sheet price for my unit code still the price today? (For example, FF13: 120 sq ft at Rs 40,000 per sq ft, Rs 48,00,000.)
• 2. Does a corner premium apply to this unit? A corner premium may apply; get the answer, and any amount, in writing.
• 3. Are there charges on top of the price – transfer, documentation, utility connections or maintenance – and how much is each?
• 4. Is the area quoted the saleable area, and how is it measured?

What should you ask about the 30 / 24 / 10 payment plan?

Every unit on the sheet uses the same plan: 30% down, 24 instalments of 2.5% each and 10% on possession. On G33, a 100 sq ft ground-floor shop at Rs 55,00,000, that is Rs 16,50,000 down, 24 instalments of Rs 1,37,500 and Rs 5,50,000 on possession. The percentages are clear; the timing is not printed, and these questions fix that.

• 5. When does each of the 24 instalments fall due? Please give me the schedule in writing.
• 6. Who is the payee, and which instruments do you accept? (The developer’s commercial payment plan names Creation Developers (Pvt) Ltd for cheques and pay orders.)
• 7. What happens if an instalment is late – is there a surcharge or a grace period?
• 8. Can I pay instalments early, and does anything change if I pay the full price at once?
• 9. What exactly triggers the 10% on possession, and what state will the unit be in when I pay it?

What should you ask about the unit itself?

Next, pin down the unit. The inventory sheet is an undated snapshot, and the drawings show more units than the sheet lists, so never assume. A unit drawn on a plan but missing from the sheet is not in the current list; ask about it rather than guessing why.

• 10. Is this unit still available today?
• 11. Where exactly is it on the floor plan? (LG56, FF51 and SF51 sit beyond the drawn numbering; their position is to be confirmed.)
• 12. For a food-court unit: which floor is it on? FC3, FC4, FC9 and FC10 have no printed floor.
• 13. For a 7th-floor apartment: what is the layout of my 450 or 650 sq ft unit, and which finishes are included?
• 14. What does my floor’s planned trade focus mean in practice for my trade? The floor themes are the owner’s planned focus, not leases or tenants.

What should you ask about the building and the site?

Some questions are about everything around your unit. The developer’s plan set covers a lower ground, the ground floor and floors one to eight, and the site film shows the structure up, with its filming date still to be confirmed. Ask what is planned rather than assuming it: this site lists no parking, lifts or other services, so the answers have to come from the developer.

• 15. Which land and building documents does the developer hold for Plot 563, and which authority issued each?
• 16. What parking, lifts, power backup and security are planned, and what will they cost owners to run?
• 17. Who will manage the building after possession, and how will service charges be set?
• 18. Can I visit the site and see the floor my unit is on?

What should you ask about your rights and the paperwork?

These last two protect everything else. If the answers to the first eighteen are good but the booking form does not reflect them, the form is what counts. Ask for the draft, read it against your notes, and have an independent lawyer read it if you can.

Some questions are not for the desk at all: tax, inheritance and your own finances belong with a qualified adviser. And one question is for you alone: could you meet every instalment on the schedule even if your income dipped for a while?

• 19. May I see a draft of the booking or allotment form, with the cancellation, refund and transfer terms, before I pay?
• 20. Will I receive an official receipt, naming the unit code, for every payment?

What is the next step?

Copy the questions that fit your unit into a WhatsApp message to the sales desk, Al Faisal Properties, on +92 334 9107537, with your unit code at the top. When the answers come back, compare them with the document list in /guides/due-diligence-checklist-documents-to-ask-for, and book a site visit before you pay the down payment.