Real Estate Brokerage & Property Management Solution
Real Estate Brokerage & Property Management Solution
There are two ways you can buy property in Dubai – with cash or on a mortgage. While a cash investment may be overall more cost-effective, a mortgage allows you greater flexibility in terms of how you manage your finances. If you’re planning to buy a property on a mortgage in Dubai, you’ll be needing to know how home loans in the emirate work and what you need to do to get one.
Whether you want to buy an apartment in Dubai or are more inclined towards a villa or townhouse, you can easily secure a home loan for it, given you meet the eligibility criteria. You can apply for a mortgage in Dubai if you are:
Do note that the minimum salary for a home loan in Dubai can vary based on the bank. Some banks allow UAE nationals with a monthly income of at least AED 8k to apply for home loans in Dubai, but it is largely subjective to bank policies.
Non-residents can also explore mortgage options in Dubai. However, their choices are largely limited as very few banks deal with home loans for non-resident property buyers.
Please note that banks may have additional requirements for mortgage eligibility like minimum period served at the current job or working for a certain set of employers, etc.
Anyone who wants to buy property on mortgage, needs to first apply for one. Obviously, there is paperwork required to process a mortgage application in Dubai. The requirements may vary slightly from one bank to another, but for the most part, you will need the following documents to apply for a mortgage in Dubai:
If you’re a non-resident applying for a home loan in Dubai, you only need the following paperwork:
Want to buy a home in Dubai with financing? Here’s the complete step-by-step process of getting a mortgage to finance your home purchase:
In Dubai, home mortgages are sourced through banks and must be registered with the Dubai Land Department (DLD) to be legally valid. You can directly approach your bank for their available mortgage deals or hire a broker to work on your behalf to get the best mortgage loan in Dubai.
Mortgage brokers have invaluable insight and knowledge of the local market and available home loans that could work for you. This allows you to focus your efforts on finding the right home instead of getting caught up and lost in the whole mortgage process.
There are different types of mortgages in Dubai. They mostly fall into the categories of fixed-rate and variable-rate mortgages. There are several factors you need to consider when deciding what type of home loan is right for your circumstances. These factors include, but aren’t limited to:
Most banks have their online mortgage calculators that allow you to input your variables and get an idea of their monthly instalments under the applicable home loan interest rate in Dubai.
The third and perhaps most important step in the process of applying for a mortgage in Dubai is getting a pre-approval.
A home loan pre-approval letter is an official document issued by the bank as evidence of your eligibility for obtaining housing finance. It outlines the maximum borrowing limit allowed to you and offers greater certainty of obtaining a home loan. Normally, a home loan pre-approval letter from a bank takes three to five working days.
Once you have the budget and the pre-approval letter, it’s time to find the perfect home. Pre-approval letters are generally valid for 60 to 90 days, depending on the lender. This gives you ample time to search for the property you wish to purchase. Sometimes, people find their desired property first and then apply for a mortgage. It can work, but then you may not be able to secure the full amount of home finance you need to purchase the property.
After finding the property, you can reach out to your bank to finalize the loan agreement. The bank may assign a property evaluator to gauge the value of your desired property and help you make a good offer on it.
Once you and the seller agree on a price, you can pay your deposit and decide on a completion date for the purchase transaction. On the final day of property transfer, the bank will release your loan amount to the seller – making you the owner of the property.
Yes, expat residents can buy property in the emirate, but only in designated freehold areas in Dubai. The emirate’s law also allows for non-resident foreign property ownership in Dubai given certain conditions.
Yes you can, depending on whether you quality.
When considering buying property on cash vs mortgage, it is important to keep in mind how a mortgage works in Dubai.
According to Dubai mortgage law, expats can get a home loan of up to 80% of the property purchase value, which means expats have to manage an initial deposit of 20% to buy property worth less than AED 5M in Dubai.
The loan cap for off plan property mortgage in Dubai is slightly different.
Getting a mortgage in Dubai helps you maintain cash flow liquidity as opposed to a full cash purchase.
If you’re buying property on a mortgage in Dubai, the amount of minimum cash down payment is determined based on the purchase value of the said property and your resident status.
It usually takes around two weeks (around 10 working days) to obtain the final offer mortgage letter. This includes the time it takes to secure a pre-approval on the mortgage application.
Find out more about buying a property in Dubai and get guidance from the experts by contacting United Estates LLL Dubai.
Owning a home is a keystone of wealth… both financial affluence and emotional security.