Buying off-plan in Colombia: what to check before reserving

Ask for the dimensioned plan of the unit you are considering. Review room sizes, door swings, your furniture positions and what the advertised area includes. The scale model, render and show apartment help explain the development, but may show a different layout, orientation or finish selection.

What each item in the sales office shows you

Compare all four items with the exact unit you intend to buy. Keep the dimensioned plan, its revision, orientation, finish list and the conditions offered in writing. A render can convey a design intention without specifying the products you will receive, and the show apartment may use a different unit type. Do not infer a dimension from the apparent size of a drawn bed. The SIC housing guide recommends requesting information about the characteristics and delivery of private and shared property. To read dimensions and symbols, see how to read a sales plan.

Before reserving, gather the questions the plan does not answer: which dimensions apply to your unit, which finishes are included, which shared spaces will be delivered, who is responsible for changes and where each condition is recorded. Ask for verifiable answers and keep a copy of what was offered. The SIC guide for housing consumers provides an institutional reference to prepare that conversation. A 3D model helps explore the layout; it does not confirm contractual performance, final price, delivery dates or financing. Review obligations and reservation conditions using your transaction documents and appropriate advice, without turning a visualization into a legal promise.

What to check in the plan before signing a reservation

1. Ask for the dimensioned plan of your unit type, rather than the development’s general plan. Confirm that it has a scale, legible dimensions, orientation and revision; a sales document does not always include them.
2. Add up the spaces using the plan’s dimensions and compare the total with the advertised area. A difference can come from walls, ducts and any share of common areas counted in the advertised figure; establish the definitions before treating it as an error.
3. Ask in writing which area appears in the contract: private area, built area or shared area. These describe different boundaries of the same apartment; identify which describes the interior space you can use.
4. Locate columns, structural walls and service risers. They constrain physical alterations and can take the wall where you intended to put a bed or wardrobe.
5. Measure your furniture with a tape before trusting the drawing. Compare your actual bed and sofa with the printed silhouettes, rather than your memory of the sales office.
6. Review orientation and window positions. Two apartments with the same area can feel different depending on the direction and time of daylight.

The third point avoids comparing numbers with different definitions. Ask them to identify what the advertised area includes, which area belongs to your unit and how shared property is described. The area a model sums within its geometry may exclude components included in another commercial or contractual definition. Do not use a fixed percentage to convert built area into private area: the relationship depends on the project and its documents. Keep the contractual definition and compare its dimensions with the dimensioned plan of the same revision. The model may also have uncertain scale or geometry, so verify one known dimension and another independent one before comparing areas. We explain that distinction in why a plan and a model can show different areas.

What INK TO BRICK does with that plan, and its limits

Upload the sales plan to receive a conceptual 3D model of that apartment, with named spaces that you can explore in a browser without drawing them yourself. Upload one file at a time in PDF, PNG, JPEG, SVG or DXFUpload your sales plan and prepare the pages and crops for each physical level before reconstruction. PDF, PNG, JPEG, SVG and DXF files up to 25 MiB are supported. If a floor is spread across several sheets, assign its fragments to the same level and check crop, rotation, scale and position. If one sheet contains several floors, separate each one. Add dimensions and scale context you can verify. The screen reports whether scale was resolved; then compare a second independent dimension. The conceptual model lets you inspect spaces, explore them and prepare an export of the saved revision in GLB.

None of that becomes public unless you publish it: publishing the project and publishing the profile are separate, reversible steps. You can inspect already published work in ExplorePublishing the project and publishing the profile are separate, reversible decisions. The public website is available in Spanish; the application keeps its controls in English. If your first single-floor reconstruction is eligible, you can explore and edit it before paying; purchase the floor to save changes. Additional or ineligible builds need prepaid floors. A failed paid build returns the floor to your balance. Editable examples let you try the editor. Packages cost USD 4.99 for one floor, USD 8.99 for two and USD 19.99 for five; Pro costs USD 29.99 a month for ten floors and one editor, and Studio costs USD 69.99 for twenty-five floors and three editors. Pro and Studio include MCP; API access is arranged separately. See pricing.

You can edit walls, doors and windows with Expert, as well as furniture and finishes. Keep a baseline option and compare changes with the original drawing, retained as a separate reference. If the developer changes the design, request the updated plan: editing a model does not update the contract or certify a building alteration. To see how to use it before reserving, read buying an apartment that is not built yet.