Dubai Non-Resident Mortgage: Deposit and Fees

Calculate the purchase contribution first

Start with the agreed purchase price and the proposed loan, using the lender’s confirmed valuation basis. The difference is the purchase contribution. Keep a second version of the worksheet using a lower valuation or smaller approval. Do not interpret advertised financing as cash committed to your transaction.

Separate registration from lender charges

DLD’s sale registration schedule lists 2% for the seller and 2% for the buyer; confirm the allocation in your agreement. Mortgage registration is 0.25% of the mortgage value, with applicable additional charges checked separately. [1][2] Lender arrangement, valuation and insurance costs belong in separate lines. Ask whether each quotation includes applicable VAT and whether it is refundable if the transaction does not complete.

Use a cash calendar

Keep the valuation gap visible

A hypothetical AED 5 million purchase funded at an assumed 60% would require AED 2 million before fees. If the lender uses a value of AED 4.7 million, the same assumed percentage gives AED 2.82 million in finance: a further AED 180,000 purchase contribution. This arithmetic illustrates a risk; it is not an approval forecast.

Protect the reserve after completion

Keep cash for mortgage servicing, property charges and unexpected repairs separate from the transfer budget. Ask what a vacancy or delayed tenancy payment does to your obligations. For overseas income, also allow for transfer timing and currency changes. Review the full worksheet with the relevant provider and obtain a dated, written schedule of charges.

Ask the five budget questions before paying

What is the approved funding amount? Which property value supports it? Which charges are payable if the deal stops? Who bears each registration or transaction cost under the agreement? How much cash remains after the final payment? Obtain answers from the responsible parties rather than combining informal estimates into a supposedly definitive budget. Keep the exchange rate and quotation dates alongside each foreign-currency amount.

Track actual payments against the estimate

Maintain a simple ledger with estimated cost, confirmed cost, paid amount and outstanding balance. A fee should not disappear from the worksheet because it was paid earlier. Similarly, a deposit should not be counted twice as both an acquisition cost and an additional contribution. Reconcile the final schedule with receipts and the agreed purchase contribution. If ownership is shared, identify who supplies each amount and have that arrangement reviewed appropriately.