Property Buying Guide

This Guide is intended to explain the typical steps involved in buying a property. The Guide is free to everyone. After reading it, you should have enough knowledge of how to successfully go through the buying process and to handle your Dubai purchase with confidence.

Questions:

• What service can I expect from an estate agent?
• What costs do I need to consider?
• I' m a first time buyer, what’s the process involved?
• How should I choose a solicitor?
• What's involved in the Solicitor's role?
• What do I need to arrange at exchange of contracts?

What service can I expect from an estate agent?

What services can I expect from a Dubai estate agent?

The most important thing to note is that the estate agent is not acting on behalf of the purchaser, and as a result is not obligated to highlight any problems or potentially negative aspects of the property to you. The role is simply on of showing you a suitable Dubai property and then putting any resulting offers to their clients.

What costs do I need to consider?

Whilst costs and fees can vary according to the property and other varying factors, you can typically expect to incur the following:

Municipality Charges
Solicitor's fees
Dubai Estate Agent fees
Removal firm
Service charges
Around a 10% deposit
Surveyor's fees
Property insurance
Dubai Mortgage

So I am a 1st time buyer, what is involved?

Again it can vary and doesn’t always follow a set pattern, but in general you can expect something similar to the following.

• You find your ideal property
• You then apply for and get a mortgage.
• Appoint a solicitor. Although not a legal obligation in Dubai, it will make life a lot easier.
• The mortgage company do a evaluation on the property
• A contract should be drafted up, proof of ownership and title deeds supplied.
• Your solicitor should now raise any queries or concerns with the Vendor's solicitor if there are any.
• After this, if you and your solicitor are happy, you move along with signing contracts and setting a completion date.
• You provide a deposit
• The now signed contract should be send to you.
• Completion takes place on agreed date
• The remaining money is paid.
• Once everything is confirmed, the keys are handed over and you are free to move in!

Some handy tips for home buyers keep checking with estate agents.

The Dubai property market moves very quickly, so it pays to keep coming back and checking websites and contacting agents. Sometimes agents can get very busy, and it is up to you to remind them of your wants and needs. This way once a property matching your description comes on to the market, you should hopefully be the first person that comes into the agents mind.

Appoint a solicitor before you find a property.

Although not a legal obligation in Dubai, it is highly recommended you appoint a solicitor, doing so as early as possible can help speed things along. It will avoid any delay once find a property and want to proceed quickly.

Find out the history of property you're interested in.

Although many properties on the Dubai market will be new, it is becoming more common to purchase properties with previous residents. It is therefore a good idea to ask a few questions about such properties. For example, the length of time it has been on the market and any previous unsuccessful offers etc. This can help reveal any possible problems.

Do I need a solicitor, and what is the Solicitor's role?

Whilst not a necessity, a solicitor is highly recommended when going through a property purchase. In Dubai the role of the solicitor is perhaps a little more straight forward than many other countries, but is no less important should any problems occur during your purchase.

Having a good solicitor on hand can provide all areas of the purchase are covered, and will provide peace of mind during what can often be quite a stressful time.

What do I need to arrange at exchange of contracts?

Again in Dubai, things are generally quite straight forward in this regard. The sale and purchase process is fairly standardized with the large developers, and is done down at the developers office. Here the contract and property names will be altered for the purchases, and it all generally goes ahead without any problems.

Thank you for taking the time to read our Dubai Property guide, if you are looking to buy or sell apartments and villas here contact us today.