Buying a Dubai Property That Has a Mortgage on It

You can buy a mortgaged property in Dubai, and most resale purchases are exactly that. The seller's loan is settled and the mortgage released as part of the transfer, so you receive a clean title on the same day you pay.

It adds two steps and around two to four weeks to the timeline. Knowing the order of events is what stops it becoming stressful.

How does it work when the seller has a mortgage?

Timings are typical rather than guaranteed and vary by bank. Current as of August 2026.

What is a liability letter, and why does everything wait for it?

The liability letter is the seller's bank stating exactly what is owed, valid to a stated date. Nothing can be settled before it exists, because no one knows the number. Ask for it to be requested the day the Form F is signed, not after the No Objection Certificate, because that single sequencing choice is usually what decides whether the deal takes three weeks or six.

Is your money at risk when you pay off someone else's loan?

This is the fear, and the process is built around it. The settlement is made directly to the seller's bank, not to the seller, and it happens under a blocking arrangement at the Dubai Land Department trustee office so the property cannot be sold to anyone else while the release is processed. You are not handing cash to a stranger and hoping.

Two rules protect you. Pay by manager's cheque made out to the bank, never in cash and never to an individual. And keep the settlement, the release and the transfer within one documented sequence handled by the trustee office and your agent.

What if you are buying with a mortgage of your own?

Then two banks are involved and both need to be sequenced. Your bank issues its final offer letter and, at the appointment, settles the seller's loan on your behalf, registers its own mortgage and the transfer completes. It works routinely, but the paperwork has to line up on the same day, so get your own approval finished early. See getting a mortgage in Dubai as an expat.

Expect your bank to require a valuation, and be prepared for it to come in below the agreed price. If it does, the gap comes from your cash, not the loan.

What extra costs come with a mortgaged purchase?

• Mortgage release fee charged by the seller's bank, paid by the seller.
• Mortgage registration on your own loan, calculated as a percentage of the loan amount plus a fixed fee.
• Valuation fee charged by your bank.
• Blocking fee at the Land Department where settlement and transfer are separated.

The standard transfer costs still apply on top. Our guide to Dubai Land Department fees sets out the full list.

What should you check before you commit?

Ask three questions before the deposit: is there a mortgage, which bank, and has the seller requested the liability letter. Ask a fourth if the property is in a building with service charges: are there arrears, because the developer will not issue the No Objection Certificate until they are cleared, and that stops the transfer regardless of how ready everyone else is.

For the full sequence once the mortgage is settled, read how to transfer property ownership in Dubai.

Should a mortgaged property put you off?

No. It is normal, and the properties worth buying are often owned by people who financed them. What matters is that the steps run in the right order and someone is chasing the banks. Browse what is currently available for sale, and talk to us about a specific property if you want the timeline mapped out before you offer.