Faq

“Freehold property refers to the type of property purchase, where the buyer owns the plot as well as the unit. He/She is the landowner and has the title deed under his name. An heir can inherit a freehold property from the title deed holder. The owner of a freehold property is entitled to lease, occupy or sell his/her property. The owner can use the property for any purpose as long as it is in accordance with the local rules and regulations. Freehold properties were introduced here to encourage foreign investment in Dubai and the most popular freehold areas for expats to purchase property, include Dubai Marina, Emirates Hills, Al Barsha, and Palm Jumeirah. “

Oqood, refers to contracts in Arabic, is an online service by Emirates Real Estate Solutions for the developers. It helps with the property registration process between the developers and buyers.

An off-plan property refers to a property whose construction is yet to begin or is in its preliminary stages of construction.

DLD is the abbreviation for Dubai Land Department. It is the regulatory body by the government that deals with all property and real estate related legislation, organisation, and services for any real estate transactions in Dubai.

A DLD Waiver is the waiver of the DLD fee that is levied on property purchase. The DLD Fee is 4% of the property value and is payable by the buyer. Ergo a DLD Waiver means the buyer does not pay this fee and it is instead paid by the developer.

RERA stands for Real Estate Regulatory Agency and is part of the DLD that takes care of the regulations in the real estate industry in Dubai. It is in charge of handling the relationship between all parties of a contract and organises the exchange process of the properties.

Freehold means complete ownership of the property by the buyer, who will have his name on the title deed. Whereas leasehold refers to having the property on lease for a period of more than 10 years and up to 99 years. It cannot be bought completely.

DEWA is the abbreviation for Dubai Electricity and Water Authority. It is in charge of the electricity and water supply in Dubai.

DEWA can be applied online via their website, or you can visit the DEWA offices to apply for the DEWA services.

A security deposit 5%-10% of the Annual Rent is paid to the landlord by the tenant in advance. This fee is held in reserve to protect the landlord if in case the depositor fails on any contractual obligation. It covers Loss of Rent, Damage to the Property, Lost of Security Keys and Repairs that are not wear and tear.

The primary market is that where the new properties can be purchased directly from the developer.

When buying a freehold property in Dubai, the following documents are required: - A Valid Passport - Emirates ID (if resident of the UAE) - Reservation Form - A credit card form as well if paying with card (usually for international clients) - A filled in CIF, i.e. Customer Information Form (in some cases)

The buyer and the seller sign an MOU if it is a property purchase from a reseller. The Memorandum of Understanding is an agreement between the reseller and the buyer about the terms and conditions of the sale transaction. If buying a property directly from the developer, the SPA is signed. The Sales Purchase Agreement, or SPA, is an important document you sign with the developer that has all the agreed terms and conditions about the sale transaction.

Buyers/owners of properties can get a legal proxy with a proper and duly legalized power of attorney. This person with the POA can have the right to dispose the properties on behalf of the client, as mentioned in the POA. The POA is valid for purposes like sale, mortgage, and gifting and is valid for a period of 2 years. In case of purchasing with a POA, the said POA is valid for 5 years from the date of notarization at the notary public.

Yes, you can sell an off-plan property before its completion date. It usually calls flipping. So you can earn up to 30% on the capitalization of your real estate project, not paying the full amount of money.

Flipping is a term used to describe purchasing a revenue-generating asset and quickly reselling (or "flipping") it for profit.

A buyer is eligible for the UAE investor visa if his total investment is AED 1 million or above in one of maximum three properties.

No, if you are a resident abroad, you do not have to pay any tax.

Yes, you can mortgage a property in Dubai.

Yes, any nationality can own freehold property in designated freehold areas in Dubai and an heir can inherit it.

An escrow account is that which acts as a third-party funding medium wherein the merchant receives access to the transferred money (by the buyer), once an escrow agreement has been fulfilled. If the agreement is not fulfilled by the merchant, the fund is then returned to the buyer. In UAE’s real estate market, an escrow account has a very particular function. The developers of the various projects have to open different escrow accounts for every project, as per the Escrow Account Law in the UAE. It protects the buyers funds and regulates the funding that the developers receive from the buyers in order to construct the projects.