Buy in Dubai from abroad, with every number in front of you.
Plain guides to the law, the fees and the risks, every figure with its source. Then a licensed Dubai brokerage that takes you through the purchase, paid only if you buy.
Licensed in Dubai as OPI Real Estate L.L.C.: trade licence 1624213, RERA ORN 62268. Check us before you trust us
A flat listed at AED 2,000,000 costs you AED 2,084,780.
That is a cash purchase with the Land Department’s fee on you, before any broker. Every guide on this site works like this: each cost with the tariff it comes from, so nothing on the day of the transfer is a surprise.
| DLD fee, 4%, all on youFee resolution 30 of 2013 | 80,000 |
|---|---|
| Title deed, map, small feesDLD, property sale registration | 580 |
| Trustee, AED 4,000 plus VATDLD, property sale registration | 4,200 |
| Total on top of the price4.2% of the price | 84,780 |
| Total with a broker at 2% plus VAT6.3% of the price | 126,780 |
A finished flat bought for cash, on round figures. The 4% counted in full, as when the contract puts it on the buyer. Tariffs read on 5 October 2026.
Where do you pay tax today?
Dubai taxes little. Your home country decides what happens to the rent, the gain and what your heirs receive. One guide for each, from its own law.
- The UKDubai does not tax your rental income. The UK does, and it counts your gain in pounds.
- GermanyDubai does not tax your rent. Germany does, and no treaty stands in between.
- The NetherlandsThe treaty can cancel box 3 on the apartment. Dutch inheritance tax applies in full.
- IrelandDubai does not tax your rent. Ireland does, and taxes what heirs in Ireland inherit.
- US citizensThe US taxes your Dubai rent wherever you live. The dollar peg spares you currency risk.
The questions before you sign
All 21 guidesMoney and paperwork
- Service chargesWhat owners pay, who approves it, and how to check a building.
- Non-resident mortgagesWhich banks lend to buyers abroad, how much, at what cost.
- Costs on top of the priceThe DLD’s 4%, the trustee, a mortgage and selling: every fee.
- Dubai property termsOqood, NOC, Form F, Mollak: what each means, and its source.
- Golden Visa by propertyWhat counts towards AED 2 million, and what it costs.
- Off-plan payment plansWhat you pay when, in dirhams, and when the title deed comes.
- Source of fundsWhat the bank and your broker ask for, and how long to allow.
Risks and returns
- Letting from abroadA tenant or a holiday home: the rules, who pays what, tax, and what each leaves you.
- Selling from abroadPower of attorney, NOC, mortgage, tenant, what it costs you, and getting the money home.
- Property scams in DubaiFake listings, impostor sellers, fake bank details: how each scam works and what stops it.
- Is Dubai property in a bubble?What the price indices, UBS and the Central Bank say, and what is different from 2008.
- What can go wrong when you buy off-plan in DubaiWhat the law protects between signing and handover, and what to check before you sign.
- What a guaranteed return is actually worthWhat is left after the costs, and what happens the year the guarantee ends.
Buying an office or a shop?
Every brochure states a gross yield. Our guide works out the net one, and covers who may own an office or a shop, in your own name or a company’s, VAT at 5% and loans for buyers abroad.
Buying an office or a shop in Dubai
Two people you can check before you trust them.
Yaroslav Dyrda leads every purchase in Dubai, from the first viewing to the registration in your name. Oskar Czupinka runs this site and its guides, so you can read each step before you take it.
How to check usWe are paid only if you buy through us.
- On a resale
- 2% of the price plus 5% VAT on it, 2.1% in all, paid when the deal closes.
- If you buy off-plan
- The developer pays us. You pay us nothing.
- If you borrow through a mortgage company we work with
- It pays us a small referral commission once your loan is issued.
- Checking first
- Checking a property, a seller or a payment request with us costs nothing.
Our account only ever receives our commission. The deposit and the price never go into it.
Tell us where your money sits and what you are looking at.
We reply with what is straightforward, what takes time, and when to start.