A friend of mine sat across from me at a coffee shop in Business Bay last month. He had AED 2,000,000 in savings and a simple question: “Should I pay cash for a property in Dubai, or should I finance it?” I told him the truth. There’s no single right answer. But there IS a…

A friend of mine moved to Dubai from London about a year ago. Earns AED 25,000 a month working in tech. Called me one evening and said, “I’ve been renting in JVC for six months and I’m basically throwing away AED 70,000 a year. Can I even get a mortgage for expats in Dubai?” Two…

A client called me last month in a genuine state of panic. She had budgeted AED 1,500,000 for a two bedroom apartment in JVC and was ready to sign the MOU that afternoon. Then her broker casually mentioned she would need “about AED 100,000 more for fees.” She nearly walked away from the deal entirely…

I’ll cut straight to it: yes, foreigners can buy property in Dubai. Full stop. But that one-word answer barely scratches the surface. Because while Dubai is arguably the most foreigner-friendly real estate market in the Middle East, there are still rules, boundaries, and a few legal nuances that catch people off guard every single week….

Here’s a question I get asked at least three times a week: “Where am I actually allowed to buy in Dubai?” It’s a fair question. Because despite what the flashy Instagram ads suggest, you can’t just walk into any neighborhood in the city and purchase a property as a foreigner. Dubai has specific freehold zones,…

I remember the first time I seriously looked into buying property in Dubai. I spent three hours on Google and ended up more confused than when I started. Every article I found was either trying to sell me something or buried under legal jargon that made my head spin. DLD. NOC. SPA. RERA. Form F….