Getting a Dubai mortgage is easier than most buyers expect and harder than brokers advertise. The filter sits at debt-burden ratio, not income.
A mortgage is a loan secured against the property, repayable over a fixed term (typically up to 25 years in the UAE) with regular principal-plus-interest instalments. UAE Central Bank rules cap debt-burden ratio at 50% of monthly income across all commitments — mortgages, car loans, personal loans, credit card minimums. That ratio is the silent rejection factor most buyers don’t realise applies until their pre-approval comes back smaller than expected.
Expat LTV caps sit at 80% on primary homes under AED 5M, 70% above. Off-plan is 50% until handover. Tenors run up to 25 years or to age 70 for salaried, 65 for self-employed. Banks want at least six months of stable UAE employment, or two-to-three years of audited accounts for self-employed. No-salary-transfer mortgages exist but price 50-80 bps higher.
A client last month had AED 45k monthly income, AED 12k in existing loan commitments, and wanted a AED 2.2M mortgage. DBR maths capped her eligibility at AED 1.6M. We restructured — she settled the car loan first — and her capacity jumped to AED 2.3M.
Pre-approve before you view. Not after.
Related: LTV, Interest Rate, Down Payment, Monthly Installment.
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