Property
Buying property in Dubai
What an apartment earns once service charges, vacancy and entry costs are deducted, what it costs on the day you resell, and who looks after it once it is yours.
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20 years
In the United Arab Emirates since 2006, without interruption
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5,000+
Investors and entrepreneurs advised
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4.8
Average rating from 138 reviews published on Google
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Dubai
Offices in Business Bay, with the team on the ground
Where to start
Four decisions, four ways in
Start with the question you are facing today. Each pillar brings together the core guide, the pages that depend on it and the calculator that runs the numbers.
Company
Setting up a company in the UAE
Free zone, mainland or offshore: which one lets you invoice a local client, which one gives access to visas, and what each costs every year.
Residency
Obtaining a residence visa
Which visa your situation actually opens up, what it requires of you once granted, and how it is renewed year after year.
Banking and tax
Opening an account and staying compliant
Which bank will review your application, what it will ask about the source of funds, and what your home country still expects of you after you leave.
None of these four decisions is taken in isolation. How you hold a property — in your own name, through a UAE company or through an offshore structure — changes the tax on resale, the number of visas you can sponsor and the bank that will agree to open the account. Start with the most pressing question, and have the whole picture reviewed before you sign.
Client reviews
What the people we have advised say
Our public Google profile has 138 reviews. Here is a selection.
4.8 ★★★★★
★★★★★
From investment, real estate to residency assistance
Great experience! From investment, real estate to residency assistance, the team is providing great advices and and very quick to react on opportunities. We really enjoy working with Damini and Khaled, they are always ready to assist you, very responsive and always find the answers to your questions. True professionnals, we highly recommend
★★★★★
His advice was always honest.
Working with Farhane was a great experience. He’s highly knowledgeable about the Dubai real estate market and took the time to understand exactly our need. His advice was always honest. Thanks to his professionalism and support. I highly recommend him to anyone looking for a reliable and trustworthy consultant in Dubai.
★★★★★
Il a su trouver des solutions aux différents obstacles
Très satisfait des services de Real Estate Company. Hendrick m’a accompagné tout au long du processus de la vente de mes biens immobiliers. Il a su trouver des solutions aux différents obstacles auxquels j’ai pu être confronté, notamment avec le promoteur immobilier. Je ne peux que vous le conseiller.
★★★★★
it’s trustful team with a great service
Over years can say that it’s trustful team with a great service. Appreciate it.
★★★★★
a very good knowledge of the Dubai real estate market
Very happy with my purchase thanks to Magomed! Great guy and with a very good knowledge of the Dubai real estate market!!
★★★★★
Professional and reliable team.
Professional and reliable team. Thank you Farhan and Mounira for the professional service and support throughout the property purchase process
★★★★★
a very comprehensive and effective person
I am really satisfied by the professionalism of this agency, Hajar particularly is a very comprehensive and effective person ! I recommend it !!!
Developers and projects
The developers we work with
We only present developers who have already delivered, on projects that comply with Dubai’s regulatory framework. The payment plan and the price list are checked before a project is published.
Computer-generated image supplied by Zimaya Properties. Not contractual.
Current launch · Jumeirah Golf Estates · Zimaya Properties
Lawncrest by Zimaya
Golf-front living in Dubai: 183 studios and apartments on the edge of the Jumeirah Golf Estates fairways, from AED 595,000.
- Prices from
- AED 595,000
- Payment plan
- 40/60
- 15% on booking
- Launched
- Sept 2026
- 26 September 2026
On an off-plan project, going through us does not make the property more expensive: our fee is paid by the developer, and you pay the developer’s price list. What we check before presenting a project — and what we do not guarantee — is set out on our projects page.
Tools
Six calculators, open to all
Run your numbers free of charge, online, with no sign-up. If you wish, receive the report by email with an adviser’s view, reworking your assumptions with the figures of the property you have in mind.
Rental yield
Gross and net side by side, with service charges and vacancy deducted.
True purchase cost
DLD fee, commission, trustee, NOC: what you pay on top of the price.
Structure comparator
Free zone, mainland, offshore: costs, visas, the right to invoice.
Golden Visa eligibility
A long-term visa, a shorter one, or none until a threshold is reached.
Corporate tax and VAT
The tax due on a given profit, and the point at which VAT stops being optional.
Off-plan payment plan
The instalments up to handover, and the effect of a construction delay.
Every calculator shows its assumptions
You can change the inputs, and ask us to rerun the calculation with the actual service charges of the building you are interested in. Every rate applied is shown in full.
Guides
We publish our guides, and keep them up to date
Property, companies, visas, banking and tax: procedures, fees, thresholds and the documents you will need. When a rule changes in the Emirates, the page concerned is revised and the update date is shown on it.
Property
Buying in Dubai, from first contact to title deed
Who can buy what, the real cost of an acquisition, gross versus net yield, and each step of the purchase.
Residency
Golden Visa: what the threshold really covers
The threshold is assessed on the value retained by the Dubai Land Department, not always the price in your contract.
Banking
Opening a bank account in Dubai
The steps in the order they happen, what the bank expects on the source of funds, and why applications are refused.
Every figure published here carries its source and its date: the Dubai Land Department fee schedule, a threshold set by the federal authority, a service-charge index approved by RERA.
Why Dubai Investment
What counts as proof here
20 years of continuous presence, teams on the ground, and public reviews you can read for yourself. What follows is dated, verifiable, or both.
The team in our Business Bay offices, Dubai.
- 20 years in the Emirates, without interruption. We advised clients through the 2008–2011 correction, the 2014 correction and the 2020–2025 cycle: a firm that has come through three cycles is a firmer reference point than a promised yield.
- The people who answer you live in Dubai. They visit the site, meet the developer and speak to the banker in the same week.
- Six desks work on the same file: property, structuring, financing, administration, property management and compliance. How you hold a property changes the tax on resale, the visa quota and the bank that will accept the account — which is why these subjects are not handled separately.
- Our support continues after signing: handover, tenancy registration, letting, renewal of the licence and the residence visa, annual filings.
- Our property brokerage is carried out by a RERA-licensed agency, under the authority of the Dubai Land Department. We select developers who have already delivered, and we also tell you what is their responsibility rather than ours.
Frequently asked questions
What people ask us before a first meeting
Five short answers, plus one on exactly what an estate agent does in Dubai. Each one leads to the guide that covers it in detail.
Do I need to be a UAE resident to buy property in Dubai?
No. Freehold areas have been open to foreign non-resident buyers since 2002, and the property is registered in your name, with a title deed issued by the Dubai Land Department (DLD). Residency is a separate question: it can follow from the purchase, but it is never a precondition for it.
What does a purchase really cost, on top of the advertised price?
Allow for the Dubai Land Department transfer fee, around 4% of the value retained, an agency commission of about 2%, the registration office (trustee) fees and, on resale, the NOC (no objection certificate) charged by the developer. Then come the service charges, billed annually per square foot, which weigh on the net yield every year. The purchase cost calculator breaks these lines down for your case.
What does an estate agent do in Dubai, and what are they accountable for?
Property brokerage is regulated: the agency holds a RERA licence, under the authority of the Dubai Land Department, and its agents are registered. The agent presents properties, checks the documents, conducts the transaction and has it registered. It is a duty of means, not of result: the agent guarantees neither a yield, nor a handover date, nor how a developer will behave. We only work with developers who have already delivered; if one of them fails to honour its commitments, any claim lies against the developer.
Do I need to set up a company to invest in Dubai property?
In most cases, no: an individual can own freehold property directly. A company makes sense when you carry on a business, when you need to invoice from the Emirates, when you need visas attached to a licence, or when you are organising how assets are held and passed on. It has an annual cost — licence, office, accounting, sometimes an audit — that has to be weighed against the expected benefit before it is set up. The structure comparator puts figures on all three options.
Does moving to Dubai mean I am no longer taxed in my home country?
Not automatically, and this is the point that needs the most care. Tax residence is not declared, it is proven, and the country you leave has its say: its own departure rules and any tax treaty it has with the United Arab Emirates govern the rest. This is settled on documents, and has to be confirmed for your own situation.
How long does it take to open a bank account?
It is the longest step of the process, and the one that throws timetables off. With a complete file, allow six to ten weeks, longer if the source of funds calls for additional documents. A refusal is hard to recover from: the next bank will see there has been one. The file is prepared before it is submitted, not during.
Read on
Invest
What a let property really earns
After the purchase
Letting, Ejari and maintenance
Company
The free zone company, point by point
Company
Holding an asset through an offshore structure
Property
Buying off-plan: payment plans, escrow, handover
The firm
Who writes these pages, and since when
Independent advice
Tell us about your project, and we will tell you what holds up
A purchase, a company, a residence visa, or all three. You set out your situation; an adviser goes through your assumptions and gives you a reasoned opinion — including when that opinion is to wait.