The cash you need on top of the price
Buying adds about 7% in extra costs before you own anything. Here’s which fees are fixed by law, which you can negotiate, and why your bank won’t lend you a single dirham of them.
Most mortgage conversations focus on the interest rate and how much the bank will lend against the property’s value. But the rule that really changed how much cash buyers need was different: the central bank stopped lenders from financing the 4% transfer fee and the brokerage commission. On a AED 20,000,000 purchase financed at 80%, that’s roughly AED 1,430,000 in cash for registration, legal paperwork, and bank fees — before you’ve even paid your deposit. Buy the same home in cash, and it drops to about AED 1,225,000, since the bank fees disappear. So which fees are fixed, and which can you negotiate? The 4% Land Department fee and the AED 580 title deed fee are government charges — they never change. The trustee fee depends on the property’s value: AED 2,100 below AED 500,000, and AED 4,200 above it. The brokerage fee and the developer’s NOC charge aren’t set by law — they’re just comm