Buying off-plan from a developer
A home that has not been built yet. Your money goes into escrow, and the handover date is the thing to watch. 16 steps in Ajman, and what proves each one happened.- 1Finding it4 steps
- 2Checks3 steps
- 3Agreeing4 steps
- 4Transferring4 steps
- 5After1 step
Hala's decision for you
Hala is reading the figures on this page…
Every step, and what proves it happened
- 1. Developer and project on the register
The project must be on Land & Real Estate Regulation's projects register, with the escrow agreement between the developer and a registered account trustee already in place. Buyer money goes to the DEVELOPER's escrow — PropDirect never holds it.
- 2. Real Estate Advertisement Permission issued
Advertising without it is the fine, and it falls on whoever placed the advert. Filed through the Ajman government services portal. In Ajman an owner may hold it in their own name; a brokerage files it when one is acting for them.
- 3. Mortgage pre-approval
Only where there is finance. Off-plan lending is usually arranged near handover rather than at booking, so confirm early what the bank will lend and on what date — the payment plan does not wait for it.
- 4. Listing live
The unit published with its permit number and the developer's payment plan shown. Off-plan is sold on the plan as much as on the unit, so a listing without it invites the questions the EOI is supposed to settle.
- 5. Reservation agreed with the developer
The buyer registers interest with a booking amount, before any contract exists. Get the developer's receipt for it in writing — Ajman publishes no standard form, so their receipt is the record.
- 6. Sale and purchase agreement
The developer’s contract, carrying the payment plan and the handover date. Use the developer’s own — Ajman publishes no standard form, and another emirate’s should not be imported.
- 7. Payment plan registered
The instalment schedule the SPA hangs on: how many payments, what each is worth, and what construction milestone each falls due against. Ask for it in writing before the down payment, not after.
- 8. Down payment
The first payment, into the developer's project account — never to us. It is what actually secures the unit; ask the developer what proportion they require.
- 9. 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.
- 10. Interim registration before handover
An off-plan unit is registered before any title deed exists, and it is the developer's move rather than the buyer's. Ask Land & Real Estate Regulation for the register they keep and the reference it issues — do not follow another emirate's process here.
- 11. Construction instalments
Payments falling due against build progress rather than against dates. THIS STEP REPEATS — eight to twelve times over two to three years — and the journey shows the run of them as one step rather than pretending a purchase has twenty.
- 12. Completion notified
The developer confirms the unit is complete, which starts the clock on the final payment and on handover. Get it in writing and ask Land & Real Estate Regulation whether they require a copy — it is the document to chase rather than wait on.
- 13. Final payment made
The last payment, into the DEVELOPER's project escrow — never to us. Confirm the escrow account with Land & Real Estate Regulation before it moves.
- 14. Snagging inspection
The buyer’s defects list, raised before accepting keys rather than after. Raised after handover it is a goodwill request; raised before, it is a condition of acceptance — so do it either way, and ask the developer what they will accept.
- 15. Keys handed over
Once the plan is paid and the snagging is settled. Ask the developer what they require in hand first — it varies by project as much as by emirate.
- 16. Ownership document issued
The interim registration becomes the buyer’s ownership document. Ask the regulator for the reference they issue on conversion.
How much of this we have checked
Regulator checked
This journey is 44% confirmed for Ajman — 7 of 16 steps checked against what Department of Land and Real Estate Regulation publishes. The rest is our best understanding, and the rows beside this say which is which.
7 confirmed · 9 not confirmed · 5 phases
Find a home — Every listing with its permit and its paperwork shown
The rules in Ajman — Permit, tenancy registration, regulator — answered from the record
How we check a listing — What is verified before a listing appears, and what is not
The steps are not the same in every emirate
What the specialists did on this page
2 ran · 0 stopped to ask · 0 did not run · each row opens its sources
Transaction & Document Intelligencetransaction.documentsThe journey the deal room runs, for Ajman16 steps, each with who owes it and what proves it—
Moves a sale from accepted offer to transfer: reads each document, says what is missing, and presses the next step - A3 holds at the MOU and the title.
Regulatory Intelligencetrust.regulatoryWhat Department of Land and Real Estate Regulation publishes7 of 16 steps confirmed—
The rules of each emirate, retrieved and cited: tenancy law, short-stay rules, cross-border rules for NRI buyers - marked where we have not confirmed them.
- Department of Land and Real Estate Regulation