Questions & answers about buying real estate in Dubai

Yes! You are allowed to become a Dubai property owner as a foreigner. A purchase is possible in all Freehold areas. Freehold areas include Dubai’s most famous and popular neighbourhoods. Freehold means that the purchaser acquires all rights to the flat and the part of the land. The rights to the land and the flat are therefore comparable to those in Germany.

Our clients benefit here from our many years of expertise as a real estate company in Germany. We set the same standards for a real estate transaction here as we do in Germany. In this respect, the relevant criteria for a real estate purchase in Dubai do not differ from those in Europe in Germany.

Important are:

1. Real estate consultant you can trust
2. Location, location, location
3. Construction quality/ reference of the developer
4. Floor plans
5. Purchase price

We would be happy to advise you in detail and show you the respective construction projects in Dubai. In order to be able to advise you on your dream property, we would like to get to know you and your objectives better so that we can offer you the property that suits you best. In order to determine the right location for you, it always depends on the objective of the property purchase.

If you wish to purchase a property for your own use, personal preferences for the respective locations in Dubai are decisive. We know all existing and future projects in your favourite locations and will be happy to advise you.

If you want to acquire a property as an investment, there are two options – an investment in a development location or an investment in a prime location.

BR stands for Bedroom. This describes how many bedrooms a property has. There is always a bathroom per bedroom. There is also a living room, kitchen and guest toilet. If there are additional rooms, this is always stated in the property advertisement. In Dubai, there is often the addition “maids room”. This means that the property has another, usually very small, bedroom with a small bathroom for a housekeeper/nanny, etc. The maid’s room is also available. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Once our clients have decided on their dream property, we naturally accompany them throughout the entire purchase process.

The real estate transaction is handled by the DLD – Dubai Land Department. Here, the contracts are drawn up and the name of the new owner is entered and registered upon transfer of ownership. You will then receive a title deed. You then derive all ownership rights from this title deed. The transfer of ownership itself takes place at a so-called registration trustee – which corresponds to the notary’s office in Germany. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Once you have decided on your dream property from a well-known developer in the city, we will first reserve it for you. The steps then proceed as follows:

1. Purchase decision
2. Reservation of the property
3. Reservation confirmation
4. First purchase price instalment (usually 10%-30% percent) and notarial confirmation by the DLD (Dubai Land Department).
5. Conclusion of the purchase contract
6. Payment according to payment plan
7. Handover of the object

We would be happy to advise you personally on the respective payment options of the developers and properties. Often there are smart financing options (payment plan) with the developer itself. Accordingly, the payment of the purchase price is staggered until the handover of the property.

The simple property purchase takes between 3 days and 3 weeks.

We would be happy to advise you on the options available here. In principle, a property can be purchased with financing from your home country or locally via a mortgage. For off-plan properties in particular, it is very attractive to purchase the property directly from the developer via a so-called payment plan. You only have to make a down payment and then pay for the property in instalments. A large part of the purchase price only becomes due on completion.

We also work with German banks on this and can advise you on the options available.

1. There is a fee of 4% of the purchase price, which is payable to the Dubai Land Department.
2. For the transfer of ownership at the notary’s office, a standard fee of 4,200 AED (approx. 1200 €) is due.
3. Broker commissions vary depending on the type of property. For many new build properties, there is no brokerage fee.

A bank account is not absolutely necessary. However, it is highly recommended to open a local bank account, as the property has to be maintained locally and rental income is generated.

There are basically no restrictions on transferring money to the UAE. We will be happy to advise you on the options to minimise your transaction fees when transferring money to the UAE.

There are some developers (such as Emaar) who accept payment with cryptocurrencies.

We will be happy to advise you individually on this topic. It depends on how you want to use the property, what financing options are available and what your personal timeline is. If you would like to use the property for your own purposes and do so as soon as possible, an existing property or a newly built second-hand property is certainly an interesting alternative. There are also newly built properties that can be purchased from second-hand sources and are nearing completion. If you have more time, only want to invest or use the property yourself at a later date, an off-plan property may be the right choice for you. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

In principle, you can acquire a property with a company. However, this company must have been founded or be founded in the UAE.

Visas and company formation

Without a special visa, you will receive a tourist visa which entitles you to stay in the country for 90 days a year. There is no difficulty whatsoever in entering and leaving the country.

Yes, and since this year it is even easier. You can apply for the Golden Visa if you buy a property worth at least AED 2 million (approx. USD 544,528) or buy several properties with this total value. The Golden Visa entitles you to stay for 5 years.

There is no income or other wealth tax in Dubai. Currently, there is only a value-added tax, which was introduced in Dubai in 2018.

Yes, of course. Here in Dubai, we distinguish between long-term rentals (longer than 6 months) and short-term rentals (e.g. AirBnB).

We will be happy to support you in the long-term letting of your property and find the right tenant for you. If you are interested in a short-term rental, we can also offer you an interesting service package.

Of course, we will find out together with you which type of letting is most lucrative for your property.

Currently between 8%-10%. That is very attractive.