OK, are you keeping up so far? Transferring rights of ownership is a process whereby, if you’re buying a resale property, the developers ensure that they get a piece of the action. This typically means that a fee of around 2% of the original property price is payable to them but, bear in mind, with Dubai being hotter than Angelina Jolie in a flaming bath of chillies right now, the property price is likely to have risen significantly, so the percentage shouldn’t cause too much distress. If you’re buying straight from the developer, then it doesn’t apply at all.

It’s also worth remembering that there no taxes in Dubai. While these small fees going to agents and developers may be a shade frustrating, you don’t have to pay direct taxes, stamp duty or capital gains tax on profit made when you come to sell.

So far, so simple. For the actual transfer itself, you’ll need a bankers draft or manager’s cheque together with a cheque for the transfer fee and your passport, which, in case Marc from Stoke is still reading, is the little book with your picture in it that they like to read at the airport. In most instances, lawyers or agents can raise these cheques for you.

You’re so nearly there. “Everyone in the UAE is a crook and they take your money and you never see them, the money or your house again,” asserts Barb in London in a claim so stunningly outlandish, imbecilic and bigoted it’s almost impossible not to fall down and weep on the spot for the future of mankind. Hilariously, Barb later admits to having never visited the region, somewhat undermining her self-imposed status as a Dubai property oracle. Probably getting her own back for receiving bad service last time she went for a Ruby Murray, eh Marc?

Buying a property in Dubai is actually a remarkably transparent process and getting more so everyday. Once the transfer is completed and the money handed over to the seller, the developer’s legal department or lawyers will usually keep hold of all documents in order to check through them. It should take no more than a couple of weeks and, once done, you’ll receive the Purchase Agreement fully updated with your name on it. Now, that wasn’t too hard, was it?

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