You've paid the down payment and there's no building. Whose account is the money waiting in, when is it released, and which document do you hold?
The concern we hear most often about off-plan is this: "Who am I giving my money to when there is no building yet?" In Dubai the answer is given not by a contract but by a government-supervised account.
On off-plan purchases, your payments go not to the developer's company account but to an escrow account supervised by the Dubai Land Department. This account is specific to the project, and the money is released in stages as construction progresses. In other words, the developer cannot draw money for work it hasn't done yet.
Verification is in your hands: the sales agreement (SPA) states the project's DLD registration number and the escrow account details. You wire the money to this account; you keep the receipt. A request for cash or a transfer to a personal account is a warning sign.
No title deed is issued before the building is finished; instead an Oqood registration is made. The Oqood is the registration of your purchase with the Dubai Land Department and shows that the unit is registered in your name. Together with admin fees it costs around ~0.5% of the list price. At handover the Oqood becomes a title deed.
What is the instalment tied to? There are two structures: instalments tied to construction percentage ("when 40% is complete") and instalments tied to a calendar ("every 6 months"). The first naturally protects you against delay — if the work doesn't progress, neither does the payment. In the second, the calendar runs even if construction stops.
The delay and termination clause. The late-payment interest, notice period and termination conditions that apply if you pay an instalment late are written in the contract. We ask you to read this clause line by line before signing; signatures given without reading are very expensive to correct.
When comparing two payment plans, we look not at the instalment amount but at these three ratios. Of two projects at the same price, one can ease your cash flow noticeably.
"Interest-free payment plan" doesn't mean the payment gets cheaper; it means the payment is spread over time. The total price doesn't change. Its value comes from the financing cost you would bear if you paid the same money with a mortgage — and that value is a calculable figure. We show this difference as a separate line in the offer so that payment convenience and price advantage don't get mixed up.
A good payment plan is not the one with the lowest instalment; it is the one where payment is tied to construction progress.
Sources: escrow accounts and Oqood registration — Dubai Land Department off-plan regulations. Payment plan ratios are compiled from developer agreements; they describe the typical structure, and each project's own plan is written in its contract.
It is confirmed through Dubai Land Department records using the project registration number in the sales agreement. The account you wire to should be not the developer's personal or general company account but the project-specific escrow account.
The delay clause in the contract applies: first a notice, then late-payment interest, and if the conditions are not met, termination. In case of termination, how much of the payments made will be refunded is also defined in the contract. We summarise these three clauses and give them to you in writing before you sign.
No, it varies by developer and project. Where it exists it is an advantage, because part of the payment coincides with the period when rental income starts — but in return the entry price may be slightly higher. We calculate the two side by side.
By bank transfer, directly to the escrow account. The sender details on the transfer should match the buyer's name; otherwise problems arise at registration.
We will send — to your email address as a PDF. The full guide can also be read on the website.
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