Buying a home that is ready

Every step, and what proves it happened

• 1. Form A — Seller's authority to market

  The owner's written authority for the brokerage to act and to advertise. Filed with Trakheesi. Without it the listing has no basis.

  RERA · DLDThe sellerConfirmed

• 2. Trakheesi permit issued

  Advertising without it is the fine, and it falls on whoever placed the advert. Filed through the RERA Trakheesi system. In Dubai an owner may hold it in their own name; a brokerage files it when one is acting for them.

  RERA · DLDYour agentConfirmed

• 3. Listing live

  Photographs, the permit number displayed, and a price the seller has agreed to.

  Your agentConfirmed

• 4. Form B — Buyer's agreement with their agent

  Signed before you spend time on a buyer, not after they offer. It is what makes the commission owed to you rather than argued about — and it is signed here, with no portal to wait on.

  RERA · DLDYouConfirmed

• 5. Viewings

  Recorded against the listing so the interest is evidence, not memory.

  YouConfirmed

• 6. Mortgage pre-approval

  Only where there is finance. The bank confirms what it will lend before any offer goes in, within the CBUAE ceilings — 80% of value for an expatriate, 85% for a national, and a debt burden no greater than half of income. An offer without it is a wish.

  CBUAEYouConfirmed

• 7. Form I — Broker-to-broker commission split

  Only when a second brokerage brings the buyer. Agree the split in writing before the offer goes in — afterwards it is a dispute, and neither buyer nor seller is party to it.

  RERA · DLDYour agentConfirmed

• 8. Offer made

  A price, a payment method, and a validity period after which it lapses on its own.

  YouConfirmed

• 9. Offer accepted

  Acceptance starts every clock behind it — the NOC, the KYC and the transfer date.

  The sellerConfirmed

• 10. Form F — Contract of sale (MOU)

  The sale contract between buyer and seller, with the deposit held against it. Filed with DLD · presented at the trustee office.

  RERA · DLDYour agentConfirmed

• 11. Deposit paid

  Ten per cent on signature, held against the contract rather than paid to the seller. Until it moves, either side can still walk; after it, walking costs money.

  YouConfirmed

• 12. Buyer identity and AML check

  Emirates ID or passport, source of funds, and screening. Federal, so it is the same in every emirate — and it is what stops a transfer on the day if it is left late.

  YouConfirmed

• 13. Developer NOC

  The developer confirms no outstanding service charges and consents to the transfer. Typically ten to fourteen days — start it before a transfer date is agreed, not after.

  DeveloperThe developerConfirmed

• 14. Bank valuation

  Only where there is finance. The bank values the property itself, and a figure under the agreed price means the buyer funds the difference or the price is renegotiated — either way the transfer date moves.

  CBUAEYouConfirmed

• 15. Mortgage or liability settled

  If either side has finance, the bank's letter and any existing mortgage discharge have to be in hand before a transfer date holds.

  CBUAEYouConfirmed

• 16. Transfer at a DLD trustee office

  Both parties attend and the balance changes hands. The 4% transfer fee is paid here and the title deed is issued the same day.

  DLDYouConfirmed

• 17. Title deed issued

  RERA · DLD issues the deed in the buyer's name. That document, not the contract, is what proves ownership.

  RERA · DLDThe government officeConfirmed

• 18. Handover and utilities

  Keys, meters transferred, and the community handover completed.

  YouConfirmed