What to check before you buy in Dubai

Diligence a buyer should demand before signing

Before you sign a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) or agency agreement, five items should be on your checklist — in this order:

• Title and ownership: who is the registered seller, and is the property freehold or leasehold in a designated area?
• Project registration: for off-plan, is the project registered with DLD/RERA and payments routed through the regulated escrow account (Law No. 8 of 2007)?
• Payment plan shape: is the schedule front-loaded, and what happens on delay or cancellation?
• Developer delivery: track record in the same corridor — handover dates met, quality complaints, pipeline concentration.
• Corridor comparables: asking price against recent transacted units in the same building or community, adjusted for view, floor, and fit-out.

How to verify each item yourself

Most checks use free public lookups — the value is knowing the sequence and what each status field means.

• DLD project status enquiry: confirm the project name, registration status, and escrow account details match what is in your SPA.
• Dubai REST / Trakheesi: verify the broker's RERA BRN, the brokerage ORN, and the Trakheesi permit number on the property advert.
• Title deed or Oqood: for ready property, request a copy of the title deed; for off-plan, confirm Oqood interim registration stage.
• Escrow account: payments for off-plan must go to the project escrow — not the developer's general account. Law No. 8 of 2007 governs escrow protection.
• Comparables: DLD open data and licensed broker transaction records — ask for three recent comps in the same building, not area averages.

Form A, Form B, Form F — the paperwork that defines representation

RERA standard forms define who represents whom. Form A is the seller's listing agreement. Form F is the contract of sale between buyer and seller. Form B is the buyer's agency agreement — the document that should define what your agent owes you.

Form B is the buyer's agency agreement. Why you've probably never seen one

In many off-plan and primary sales, the buyer never signs Form B because the intermediary is engaged by the developer, not the buyer. That does not make the transaction illegal — but it means the person showing you the unit may not owe you a buyer-side mandate.

If you want someone working to your brief, ask for Form B in writing before you rely on their advice. If they cannot produce it, treat their recommendations as marketing, not underwriting.

What it costs when nobody does the checks

Overpaying by 8–12% against transacted comparables on a AED 2M unit is AED 160,000–240,000 of immediate capital loss — before service charges erode yield.

Front-loaded payment plans that concentrate 60%+ of value pre-handover expose you to developer delivery risk without compensating entry pricing.

Skipping escrow verification has led to buyers paying into unregulated accounts — the recovery path is legal, slow, and expensive.

These are not edge cases. They are the default outcome when diligence is skipped because the launch was 'sold out in 24 hours.'

What a RERA BRN actually certifies (and what it doesn't)

A Broker Registration Number (BRN) confirms the individual is registered with RERA to conduct brokerage activity. It does not certify investment merit, developer quality, or that the broker owes you a buyer-side mandate.

Verify any BRN on Dubai REST. Check that the name matches the person you are dealing with and that the ORN on the advert matches a licensed brokerage.

When a broker is genuinely the right choice

If you have already chosen the unit, agreed the price, and only need the transfer done, any licensed brokerage can run the paperwork.

If you still need help choosing the area, checking the developer, reading the payment plan, or deciding whether the price is fair — that is the work we do before anyone signs.

Plenty of buyers use more than one person. The mistake is assuming the person with the brochure has already done the checks.