PROCESS · APR 30 · 4 MIN
Interest Rate
The interest rate a UAE bank quotes on day one is rarely the rate you end up paying across the life of the loan.
From Our Desk
PROCESS · APR 30 · 3 MIN
Holding Cost
Every year you sit on a Dubai unit costs you real money.
PROCESS · APR 30 · 3 MIN
Handover
Handover day is the single highest-value day of any off-plan transaction, and the day most buyers arrive least prepared for.
PROCESS · APR 30 · 3 MIN
Handover Date
The handover date is not a date.
PROCESS · APR 30 · 3 MIN
Handover Condition
Handover condition is buried on page 14 of the SPA and it determines whether you spend the next three months living in the unit or spending AED 80k to m…
PROCESS · APR 30 · 3 MIN
Guaranteed Return
The words “guaranteed return” in a Dubai developer brochure should trigger a background check, not a purchase decision.
PROCESS · APR 30 · 3 MIN
Gross Yield
Gross yield is the number in the listing.
PROCESS · APR 30 · 3 MIN
Golden Visa
Half the Golden Visa enquiries I receive are from buyers who already qualify and don’t know it, and the other half are from buyers chasing a AED 2M thre…
PROCESS · APR 30 · 3 MIN
GFA (Gross Floor Area)
GFA is the number developers quote, buyers compare, and practically nobody actually lives in.
PROCESS · APR 30 · 3 MIN
Furnishing Package
A developer furnishing package is rarely the bargain the brochure suggests, but it is almost always the right choice for the short-let investor.
PROCESS · APR 30 · 3 MIN
Furnished
The word “furnished” in a Dubai listing can mean anything from a full hotel-grade fit-out to a bed frame, a dining table, and two white chairs from a wa…
PROCESS · APR 30 · 3 MIN
Freehold
“Freehold” is the single word that changed Dubai property for foreign buyers in 2002, and most buyers still do not understand where the line sits.
PROCESS · APR 30 · 3 MIN
Form F
Form F is the one document in a Dubai resale transaction that everyone references and almost nobody reads in full before signing.
PROCESS · APR 29 · 3 MIN
Follow-up
Eighty percent of Dubai property deals close on the fourth to seventh contact.
PROCESS · APR 29 · 3 MIN
Floor Plan
A floor plan in a Dubai off-plan brochure is both the most important document in the pack and the one most buyers look at for nine seconds before signing.
PROCESS · APR 29 · 3 MIN
Fixed Rate
A “fixed rate” mortgage in the UAE is usually fixed for one to five years and variable for the twenty that follow.
PROCESS · APR 29 · 3 MIN
Financing Cost
Financing cost is the silent tax on a leveraged Dubai investment.
PROCESS · APR 29 · 3 MIN
Exit Strategy
If you don’t have an exit strategy before you sign the booking form, you don’t have a strategy — you have an emotional purchase you’ll defend for three…
PROCESS · APR 29 · 3 MIN
Exclusive Inventory
Exclusive inventory is what separates a brokerage that sells property from one that gets first phone call from a developer running a launch.
PROCESS · APR 29 · 3 MIN
Escrow
Law No.
PROCESS · APR 29 · 3 MIN
Escrow Account
The project escrow account is the single reason Dubai off-plan is still a buyable asset class fifteen years after the 2008 shock.
PROCESS · APR 29 · 3 MIN
Equity
Equity is the one number on your Dubai property that moves on two engines at once — the mortgage paying down and the market moving around.
PROCESS · APR 29 · 3 MIN
EOI
An Expression of Interest with a cheque attached is the only kind the developer takes seriously.
PROCESS · APR 29 · 3 MIN
Entry Price
Your entry price is not the sticker.