Most developer presentations are designed to answer the questions buyers typically ask. Price per sqm, delivery date, finish specification. These are the easy questions, and developers have practised answers for all of them.

The questions worth asking are the ones most buyers do not think to raise.

1. Can I see the energy performance certificate — the actual document, not the projected class?
A certificate is a legal instrument with a specific primary energy figure. A projected class is a marketing claim. They are not the same thing. If the developer cannot produce the certificate, ask why.

2. What facade system does the building use — ventilated or traditional ETICS?
Most developers will not volunteer this unless asked directly. The answer determines maintenance costs, moisture behaviour, and thermal performance over a 20-year holding period. “High-quality insulation” is not an answer to this question.

3. Is the heating system underfloor, and is energy metering individual per unit?
Shared metering means tenants pay pro-rata regardless of consumption. Individual metering transfers cost responsibility to the occupant. For a rental investment, the difference is structural.

4. Which buildings have you delivered in the last five years, and what was the gap between the stated and actual delivery date?
Visit at least one completed project before signing. A developer who deflects this question has given you the most informative answer possible.

5. Who manages the building after handover, and what do the HOA documents look like?
The developer’s involvement ends at handover. What comes after — maintenance standards, cost allocation, decision-making structure — is determined by the asociatie de proprietari. Ask to see the draft statutes before you commit.

The quality of the answers tells you more than any brochure