Buyers' questions
Short answers to what buyers ask before they reserve: payment, handover, contracts and resale.
Areas
- What is Ras El Hekma?Ras El Hekma is a beach district on the western North Coast-Sahel, beyond Al Alamein. Its projects include chalets, villas and twin houses, sold off-plan and ready.
- Where is the Fifth Settlement?The Fifth Settlement is a district in New Cairo, east of Cairo in Cairo Governorate. It sits inside the Ring Road on the city's eastern side and holds the American University in Cairo campus and Cairo Festival City.
- What is Mostakbal City?Mostakbal City is a new city east of New Cairo, in Cairo Governorate, built by the New Urban Communities Authority. It lies on the Cairo-Suez corridor, between New Cairo and the New Administrative Capital.
- New Cairo, Sheikh Zayed or the New Capital — how do they differ?New Cairo lies east of Cairo, Sheikh Zayed lies west of it, and the New Administrative Capital lies further east. The first two are established suburbs; the third is a city still being built.
- What are the R7 and R8 districts in the New Capital?R7 and R8 are numbered residential districts of the New Administrative Capital, not compounds. R7 is the larger and the more developed; both hold apartment, townhouse and villa projects.
- What is a district such as the Fifth Settlement?A district is a named part of a city, such as the Fifth Settlement inside New Cairo. It has its own boundaries and services, and every compound on the site is filed under the district it stands in.
Compounds
- What is a master plan?A master plan is the single drawing that lays out the whole development: the land it stands on, the internal roads, the open space, the phases and where every building sits.
- What is a phase in a compound?A phase is one stage of a compound: a defined portion of the development, with its own buildings, its own delivery year and its own schedule, released and built before or alongside the next stage.
- What is a clubhouse fee?The clubhouse fee is the charge that funds a compound's club building and its facilities, in construction where a membership charge applies and in running afterwards. It is separate from the unit price and the service charge.
- What is a gated compound?A gated compound is a residential development enclosed by a wall or fence with controlled entrances, where the internal roads, gardens and services are private and run by one management for the homes inside it.
Delivery
- What does ready to move mean?A unit that is finished and handed over: you can occupy it the day you receive it. It is the other end of off-plan, where the delivery year has already arrived.
- What protects me if handover is late?The contract: it fixes the delivery date, a grace period and a delay penalty the developer owes you. Read those three clauses before you sign.
- What should I check at handover?Match the unit to the contract: the areas, the finishing level, the meters and the services, then record every defect in the handover report before you sign.
- What does the delivery year on a listing mean?The year the developer expects to hand the unit over. It is the date the payment plan is built around, and the point the handover payment falls due.
- Core and shell, semi-finished or fully finished — what is the difference?The three labels say how much of the inside the developer finishes before handover: from the bare structure to a painted unit with a fitted kitchen and bathrooms.
Investment
- What is the price per m², and how do I use it?Divide a unit's price by its area in square metres. Compare only units of the same type, finishing and delivery date, because the price per m² alone does not show the cash you pay.
- How do I compare two compounds fairly?Compare both on the same unit type and basis: price per square metre, down payment, years to pay, delivery date and maintenance terms. A lower headline price can still cost more.
- Is buying off-plan riskier than buying ready?Yes, in one way: an off-plan buyer depends on a delivery date that has not arrived yet. A ready home shows its finish, but costs more upfront.
Legal
- Can I sell my unit before handover?Yes. Before handover you hold a contract, not a registered unit, so selling means transferring that contract to another buyer with the developer's consent, and on the developer's terms.
- What is a transfer fee?A fee the developer charges to approve and record moving a unit's contract from one buyer to another. The developer sets it and writes it into the contract, and it is separate from the state registration fee.
- What is a registered contract?A registered contract is a sale contract entered in the real-estate register, so the transfer is on the public record and carries a fixed date.
- Which fees do I pay when buying from a developer?Beyond the price, you pay the developer's maintenance deposit and any clubhouse fee, and at registration the registry's fee and the taxes on the sale.
- What is the difference between a reservation form and a contract?A reservation form records one unit and the amount paid to hold it, on the conditions it states; the contract is the sale itself, fixing the price, the payment plan, the finishing level and the delivery year.
- Is a reservation refundable?Whether it is refundable is set by the reservation form you sign. That form records the amount, what it is counted against, and the conditions for returning it.
Payment
- What does the price on a listing include?The listed price is the unit's asking price. It does not include the compound's maintenance fee, which is a separate line. Ask the sales office in writing which other costs apply.
- Is the price fixed once I sign?Yes. The price on the contract you sign is the price you pay, and the plan, the deposit and the delivery year printed beside it are the ones that follow. Any clause that lets the figure move is read in that same contract.
- Can a developer raise the price of my unpaid balance?No. The balance you owe is the one written in the contract you signed, divided by the plan; a developer cannot move it alone. Any change has to come from a clause in that contract or from an agreement you make.
- Is a cash discount worth more than a long plan?It is worth more only when the discount beats what the same money earns over the plan's years. The catalogue shows both shapes, and some compounds carry the two side by side.
- What is a maintenance deposit, and when is it paid?A sum of the price held for the compound's shared areas, not for the unit. It is written into the payment plan and falls due at or before handover.
- What happens if I miss an instalment?The contract sets the consequence: a late-payment penalty on the overdue sum, and a written notice the developer must send before the sale can be treated as broken.
- What is a back-loaded payment plan?A plan whose instalments are light at the start and heavier toward the end, so the largest share of the price falls in the final year or at handover.
- What is a handover payment?A handover payment is the part of a unit's price due when the developer delivers it, written as a percentage and paid after the instalments at the end of the plan.
- Can the down payment itself be paid in instalments?Yes. The percentage the developer sets stays the same; the split moves when it is paid, over a few shares in the weeks after signing rather than one payment on the day.
- How do quarterly instalments work?A quarterly plan splits the balance left after the down payment into equal sums due every three months, so an eight-year plan carries 32 payments and a ten-year plan 40.
- What is the down payment on a new compound in Egypt?The down payment is the share of the price paid when the contract is signed, and the catalogue today shows 5% as the most common figure and 10% after it. Plans run from one year to fifteen.
Buying process
- What is a general power of attorney for selling property?A general power of attorney lets someone act for you in many matters, including property. For a sale, a specific one that names the unit and the act is the safer choice, issued before a notary.
- How much does buying property in Egypt cost on top of the price?Beyond the price, a buyer meets registration, transfer and notary costs, possibly a broker's commission and the maintenance deposit. The catalogue shows the price; the rest is set by the contract.
- What is a validity-and-enforcement lawsuit for a property contract?A lawsuit in which the buyer asks a court to confirm that a signed but unrecorded sale contract is valid and binding on the seller, so the judgment can be recorded and ownership can pass.
- What does a freehold (tamleek) apartment mean, and is it registered?A freehold (tamleek) apartment is one you own outright, not a right to use it for a set number of years. It is registered only when its sale contract is recorded at the Real Estate Publicity Department.
- What is the difference between a preliminary and a final sale contract?A preliminary contract is the signed agreement that fixes the price and terms. The final contract is the one registered at the Real Estate Publicity Department, which transfers ownership.
- How do I check that an apartment has no building violations?Ask the developer or seller for the approved building permit and drawings, then confirm them with the local building office in writing. Do not sign before both papers match the unit.
- How do I list my unit for resale?Send the Ahlan Homes team the unit's details, photos and asking price. Every listing is checked before it goes live, and your phone number is never shown on the site.
- Which documents do I need to reserve a unit?You need a valid ID or passport, the signed reservation form and the receipt for the reservation payment. The developer's form sets the exact list for each project.
Resale
- What is a resale unit, and why can it cost less?A resale unit is one its current owner is selling rather than the developer; the price can sit below the developer's own because the two figures are set by two different sellers.
- How is the remaining balance on a resale unit paid?In two parts: the instalments still owed to the developer continue on the original contract's schedule, and what is due to the seller is settled between the two of you.
- Who pays the transfer fee on a resale?The fee is the developer's own charge for recording the new buyer, and the assignment clause states who bears it: the seller, the buyer, or each a share.
Unit types
- What is a twin home, and how is it different from a duplex?A twin home is one of two houses joined by a shared wall, each with its own entrance and garden. A duplex is a single unit spread over two floors, with no neighbour beside it.
- What is the difference between a duplex and a bungalow?A duplex spreads over two floors joined by a staircase inside the unit, while a bungalow keeps every room on one level. Stairs, privacy, garden and upkeep decide which suits you.
- Studio or one-bedroom apartment — which suits whom?A studio is one open room holding the living, sleeping and kitchen space together, with its own bathroom; a one-bedroom flat separates the bedroom from the living space by a wall and a door. The studio gives less space for a lower price, the one-bedroom more space and more privacy.
- What is the difference between built-up area, land area and garden area?Built-up area is the space inside the unit's walls; land area is the plot the building stands on; garden area is the planted part of that plot. A flat has only the first, a house on its own plot has all three.
- Chalet or villa on the coast — what is the difference?A chalet is a compact holiday unit inside a compound, with no plot of its own. A coastal villa is a detached house that stands on its own plot with its garden. That plot is the main difference.
- Townhouse, twin house or villa — what is the difference?All three are houses with their own entrance; the difference is how much they share. A villa stands alone, a twin house shares one wall, and a townhouse shares walls on both sides.
- Duplex or penthouse — what is the difference?A duplex is two levels joined by a staircase inside one unit, wherever it sits in the building. A penthouse is the top unit, with the roof terrace and no neighbour above it.