Construction-linked payment plans that buyers actually pay on time

Most Dhaka flats are paid for in three parts: money at booking, a down payment soon after, and the rest in instalments until handover. How you link those instalments to the work decides how smoothly money comes in, and how often buyers argue.

The usual shape

• Booking money: a fixed sum or about 10% with the booking form.
• Down payment: 20 to 30% within about 30 days, once the allotment letter is issued.
• Instalments: the remaining 60 to 70%, either monthly or on construction stages (piling, foundation, each slab, brick work, plaster, finishing).
• Handover: the last 5 to 10%, with car parking and utility connection charges if they were not in the price.

Monthly or stage-linked?

Monthly plans give steady cash and are easy for salaried and expatriate buyers. Stage-linked plans match money to work done, which buyers trust more, but the dates are unknown at booking. Many developers mix them: a few monthly instalments while the foundation goes in, then a payment on every third slab.

What makes stage payments arrive on time

1. Name the stages in the agreement, exactly as your site team will report them ("6th floor slab", not "structure").
2. Fix the demand period: for example, due 15 days after the stage is complete.
3. Tell every affected buyer the same day, with the amount, the due date and where to pay, and show them the photos.
4. Remind before and after the date: a week before, on the day, then at 3, 15 and 30 days late.
5. Issue a numbered money receipt for every payment once it clears, with the balance on it.
6. Apply the delay charge you agreed, consistently, after the grace days, and record any waiver with a reason.

Changes mid-way

Material costs have risen sharply since 2020, and price revisions are a common source of disputes. Put extra work and change requests on the buyer's schedule as separate, signed lines rather than raising the agreed price. If a schedule has to be re-planned, keep what was paid and spread only the unpaid rest.

Try the payment schedule maker to draft a plan for a buyer.