How overseas buyers purchase Dubai property: brief, escrow, title

Foreign buyers can own freehold property in designated areas of Dubai, and the whole purchase can be run remotely. That is the short version. The longer version is a sequence of six steps, each with a document, a payment or a registration attached, and each the same for a buyer in Canada, India, the GCC or Africa. This guide walks through them in order, with the costs and protections the Dubai Land Department attaches to each. It does not forecast prices or returns; the official record is on our market data page, and the decision is yours.

Step 1: tell the desk your goal

A home, an investment, a base in the region, or residency through property. The goal decides which floors and layouts we show you first, so it comes before any brochure. On the current mandate, that means choosing between an 81 storey supertall in central Dubai and a 50 storey tower, with suites from 330 sq ft upwards, each presented with its tower elevation, a floor plate key plan and a dimensioned suite plan. The mandate file holds every fact that is public before the NDA.

Step 2: sign the NDA and review the brief

Within one working day of signing a short non-disclosure agreement, you receive floor plans, the price list, the payment plan and a full cost sheet for the units that fit your goal. The developer and project names are released under NDA until the official launch, which is why the brief is private rather than published.

The cost sheet matters more than the brochure. The main cost on top of the price is the Dubai Land Department transfer fee of 4% of the price, plus registration and trustee fees. You see those figures before you reserve, not after.

The brief itself contains five things: the floor plans for the units that fit your goal, the price list, the payment plan with its instalment dates, the cost sheet, and the three-view presentation of each suite. The three views are the tower elevation with the suite's floor band marked, a floor plate key plan with a north arrow, and a dimensioned suite plan. The exact list of documents we need from you depends on whether you buy as an individual or through a company, and we confirm it with you before reservation.

Step 3: reserve your suite

A reservation holds the unit while the sale agreement is prepared. This is the point where a broker earns the fee: every clause is negotiated on your side, and the desk stays in the file until registration. Nothing on this site or in the brief is an offer to sell; the sale agreement is the document that binds.

Step 4: pay into regulated escrow

Off plan instalments do not go to the developer's general account. They go into a project escrow account regulated by the Dubai Land Department, and are released to the developer against construction progress. The requirement comes from Law No. (8) of 2007, under which a developer selling units off plan must apply to the Department to open the escrow account and needs written authorisation before advertising off plan units. Your payment plan sets out when each instalment falls due.

Step 5: register with the Dubai Land Department

The purchase is registered with the Dubai Land Department and the title is recorded in your name. Overseas buyers complete remotely; you are welcome to visit at any point, but it is not required to complete. The registration is the document that proves ownership, and it is the end of the purchase as a legal matter.

Step 6: handover and after

Snagging, handover, and leasing or resale through the desk if you want it. The relationship does not end at registration. A buyer who wants the unit let, or who wants to sell it later, can come back to the same desk that sold it.

Residency through property

Property investments that meet the government threshold can qualify for a long term UAE Golden Visa. The threshold and the eligibility rules are set by the government and change from time to time, so we confirm the current position with you before you commit to a unit on that basis. We do not promise a visa outcome.

Where our buyers come from

Four corridors feed the desk. Canada, through the Toronto network Adnan Feroz built over fourteen years and USD 300M in personal sales. India, where families and business owners invest in Dubai and the desk runs investor roadshows. The GCC, where regional investors look for new launches and bulk units. And Africa, where investors are entering Dubai as a base for the region. The buyer page has the process for each.

What the desk will not do

We will not quote you a rental yield, a resale price or a return. We are a brokerage, not a custodian: we never hold client funds, and we never promise results. What we do is give you the official record from the Dubai Land Department, a full cost sheet, every clause negotiated on your side, and a desk that stays in the file until the title is in your name. Our about page sets out the licences behind that promise.

How to start

Request the private brief on the buyer page, tell us your goal and where you are buying from, and the brief follows under NDA within one working day.