Taking Handover of a Ready Unit: Where Buyers Give Away Their Position

Handover is the last moment of leverage and is usually treated as a formality. The errors that cost the most.

Handover is presented as collecting keys. It is actually the moment when you accept the property in its current condition and release the final payment, which is the point at which your position changes completely.

Why these keep happening

These mistakes come from treating handover as an administrative step rather than as the final quality gate. Once keys are taken and payment released, every remaining item depends on goodwill.

1. Inspecting after paying

The sequence is presented as pay, then collect keys, then move in.

• Avoid it by: Inspect before the final payment and make payment conditional on the defect list being agreed.
• Proof it is closed: An inspection conducted and a defect list signed before final payment.

What it costs you: Any defect found afterwards is a request rather than a condition of payment.

2. Inspecting without a professional

The unit looks finished and the defects seem obvious enough to spot yourself.

• Avoid it by: Bring an independent inspector who will test systems and examine what you would not.
• Proof it is closed: A professional inspection report.

What it costs you: Systems go untested, concealed issues are missed, and the list covers only what is visible at eye level.

3. Accepting a verbal commitment to fix items

The seller is present, agreeable and promises to address the list.

• Avoid it by: Record every item in writing with an agreed completion date, signed by both parties.
• Proof it is closed: A signed defect list with dates.

What it costs you: Without a written list with dates, the items are addressed slowly or not at all.

4. Not collecting documentation

Keys feel like the important handover and documents seem like paperwork.

• Avoid it by: Require the handover file: warranties, manuals, as-built drawings where available, and approved drawings.
• Proof it is closed: A handover file received and checked.

What it costs you: Warranties, manuals and as-built information are lost, making future maintenance harder and the eventual sale slower.

5. Not recording meter readings and account transfers

Utilities are assumed to transfer automatically.

• Avoid it by: Record all meter readings on the handover date with photographs, and initiate account transfers immediately.
• Proof it is closed: Photographed meter readings dated to handover.

What it costs you: Disputes over consumption before your ownership, and accounts remaining in the previous name.

6. Moving in before documenting condition

Moving is urgent and documentation feels like a delay.

• Avoid it by: Photograph every room before furniture arrives.
• Proof it is closed: A dated photographic record of the empty property.

What it costs you: Damage caused during the move becomes indistinguishable from pre-existing defects.

A short check before you sign

• Will you inspect before the final payment?
• Is an independent inspector attending?
• Will every defect be recorded in writing with dates?
• Have you requested the handover documentation?
• Will you photograph the property before moving in?

If it has already happened

If you have already taken handover and paid, document the outstanding items now with photographs and raise them in writing, referencing any warranty or defects period that applies. Prompt written notification preserves whatever position remains, while verbal follow-up over months preserves nothing.

If you are buying a finished property, Domira can inspect it, verify the documentation and price the findings with you before you commit.