Buying property in Dubai: what actually goes wrong

Anyone searching for experiences of buying property in Dubai is usually not looking for enthusiasm. They are looking for an answer to the real question: is this legitimate, or am I about to lose money?

The scepticism is warranted, and it deserves a straight answer rather than another success story.

Why there are no client quotes on this page

Pages on this topic tend to carry testimonials from satisfied buyers, complete with first names and photographs. A considerable share of those are invented, and all of them are unverifiable by you.

So we publish none. What follows instead is what genuinely causes problems and how to verify claims yourself, including ours.

What works structurally

Some points that leave buyers positively surprised are not opinion but properties of the market:

• Foreign freehold ownership is possible in the designated areas and is registered with the Dubai Land Department.
• No UAE residence permit is required to buy.
• Escrow accounts on off-plan: buyer payments sit in government-regulated accounts, released against construction milestones.
• Completion is comparatively fast: weeks rather than months for a finished property.

That materially reduces certain risks. It does not eliminate them.

What actually goes wrong

Delays on off-plan projects

The most common complaint. Escrow protects your money against misuse; it does not protect against lost time. If completion slips, so does the first rent, while the capital stays committed.

Consequence: never budget off-plan against the announced date. Build in a buffer, and check the developer’s delivery record on earlier projects.

Service charges are underestimated

In our view the single most underestimated item. These annual per-square-foot charges differ substantially between buildings, even in the same location, and they reduce the net yield directly and permanently.

Consequence: ask for them before buying, not after. A gross yield without that figure is a figure without meaning.

Yield assumptions that do not survive contact

Quoted return calculations frequently assume full occupancy, no voids and no maintenance. In practice there are tenant changes, re-letting fees and repairs.

Consequence: rerun every quoted yield with realistic voids and running costs.

Advice tied to a sales target

A structural point: anyone paid a commission by a developer has an interest in that developer’s stock. That makes nobody dishonest, but it shapes which options you are shown at all.

Consequence: ask directly how the person is remunerated, and whether stock from other developers is also offered.

Remote purchase without adequate checks

Buying from abroad is routine and works. It becomes a problem when nobody has actually seen the property and the judgement rests entirely on renderings.

Consequence: insist on a viewing, by you or by an independent person you trust.

Checklist: verifying claims yourself

These you can check independently of any adviser:

1. Check the agent’s registration: agents operating in Dubai require RERA registration. Ask for the number and verify it.
2. Check the developer’s history: which projects completed, and how far from the original date?
3. Ask for registered comparable sales: actual transactions in the same building, not portal averages.
4. Get service charges in writing: per square foot per year, current and historic.
5. Verify the escrow account: on off-plan, which regulated account receives payments?
6. Check the title deed: after completion, registration must be effected at the Dubai Land Department.

If any of these is refused or answered evasively, that is itself information.

Warning signs

• Promised yields or guaranteed appreciation — neither can be given honestly
• Time pressure (“only at this price today”)
• Requests for payment into private rather than escrow accounts
• Stock from a single developer only
• Running costs never volunteered

What overseas buyers typically underestimate

Four points that are almost always new in conversation:

There is no solicitor. Transfer runs through the Dubai Land Department rather than a conveyancing process. Faster, but without the layer of professional checking a UK buyer takes for granted. More of the diligence sits with you.

Service charges instead of council tax. No annual property tax. Instead, per-square-foot charges at a level unfamiliar from the UK. On balance not automatically cheaper, just distributed differently.

Fit-out is negotiable. Whether kitchen, air conditioning and furniture are included is not standardised. What is taken for granted elsewhere has to be agreed here.

Letting runs on annual contracts. Rent is frequently paid twelve months in advance or in a few cheques. That helps your cash flow but changes the dynamics around tenant changes.

Frequently asked questions

Is buying property in Dubai safe?

The legal framework is solid: foreign freehold ownership in designated areas is registered with the Dubai Land Department, and off-plan payments run through regulated escrow. That does not rule out poor advice or an overpriced property, which is what the checklist above is for.

What is the most common mistake?

Not knowing the service charges before buying. They reduce the return permanently and differ substantially between buildings. Second most common: buying a property nobody has seen.

Can I lose my money?

Total loss through fraud is unlikely on registered transactions with escrow. The realistic risks are different: paying too much, letting less easily than assumed, a long construction delay, or selling into a weak market.

How do I recognise a reputable agent?

By RERA registration, by a willingness to disclose service charges and comparable sales unprompted, and by whether stock from more than one developer is shown. Anyone evading the question of how they are paid has answered it.

Do I have to travel to Dubai?

No, purchase by power of attorney is routine. We do urge that somebody has actually seen the property, whether you or an independent person you trust. Renderings do not show what is outside the window.

What if the developer does not deliver?

On off-plan, the escrow account protects your capital against misuse. It does not protect against delay. What rights you hold in that event is in the purchase contract, and that clause belongs checked before signature.

How we work

We represent buyer and owner interests rather than a developer’s sales targets. In practice: running costs disclosed before the price conversation, registered comparable sales instead of averages, and a clear no when a property does not fit the objective.

What we do not do: promise yields, forecast appreciation, or guarantee approvals.

If you have a specific offer in front of you, from any source, we will look at it and tell you what stands out.