Selling Property Process

Appointing the right property consultant is a very important first step. Everything else becomes very easy because a good property consultant will do everything else for you. From pricing to photography and video shoots of your property, listing, advertising and finding prospective buyers – they will handle the entire process for you.

The process for formally appointing a property consultant is to sign a Form A. This is Dubai Land Department’s (DLD) official contract between a seller and a real estate agent. It contains the details of both parties and the financial arrangement (i.e. the agreed commission amount) between them.Click here to meet our team of property consultants.

To sign the Form A, you will need to provide the property consultant with a copy of your passport, visa page, Emirates ID and title deed (or Oqood, if your property is off-plan).

Apart from that, make sure you have the following set of documents ready, because you will need them at the Dubai Land Department Trustee office when you transfer the property:

• Original title deed (or Oqood, if your property is off-plan)
• Floor plan of your property
• Original mortgage clearance letter from the bank (if applicable)
• Original No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the developer (if applicable)

In addition to that, if you have done any modifications or renovations to the original property as you had bought it, then you should have documents pertaining to obtaining permits and approvals for the same.

Needless to say, you should make sure the property is in good condition for viewing by prospective buyers, and for any photography or videography that the property consultant will want to do in order to list your property.

Make sure any repairs and maintenance issues are taken care of prior to viewing. The last thing you want is for the buyer to negotiate a lower price due to any unnecessary issues that can easily be avoided.

Once you receive an offer you are ready to accept, you will need to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). This is an official Dubai Land Department (DLD) document known as Form F.

At this stage, both parties (you and the buyer) need to provide a security cheque in favour of the other party for an amount which is 10% of the property value. The security cheques from both parties is held by the property consultant; and is not handed over to either party.

You will now need to apply for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the property developer. This usually costs between AED 500 to AED 5000. Usually, both parties will go to the developer's office to apply for this document. However, in some cases, this can also be done online.

An important point to note is that if your property is mortgaged, you will need to get a liability letter from the lending bank. This document is usually valid for a period of 15 days. You can only get an NOC after you have obtained the liability letter.

The buyer must first settle this mortgage. It will be done at the DLD Trustee office, where the Trustee office will hold the buyer’s payments and issue a “Restrain Property” certificate. You will receive a clearance letter from your lending bank.

Last but not least, both parties will meet at the Dubai Land Department (DLD) Trustee office accompanied by the property consultant (and also the mortgage broker of the lending bank if the buyer is using a mortgage to buy the property). You will need to take all your original documents with you, which you should already have ready since you have addressed this earlier on in the process.

If you had a mortgage on your property, then you should also take your clearance letter with you.

If both you and the buyer have mortgages, then the buyer’s lending bank will settle your mortgage with your lending bank. A cash buyer will settle your mortgage directly with your lending bank.