Honest notes on buying and renting property in the Middle East
A small personal guide, mostly about the UAE with a little about Oman. No listings, no agents, no sales pitch: just the questions I wish I had asked earlier, and where to check the answers.
Start here
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Buying off-plan in the UAE: what to check
Developer track record, escrow, the sale and purchase agreement, payment plans and handover. A checklist before you pay a booking deposit.
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Service charges explained
What the yearly building fees pay for, why two similar towers can differ a lot, and how to look up the figures before you buy.
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Renting vs buying in Dubai
The one-off costs, the running costs, the visa angle and the questions that decide it for most people more than any spreadsheet.
Areas I have looked at
Short, neutral notes on a handful of places: what they are like to live in, who they tend to suit, and the trade-offs people mention. No prices, because they move faster than I can update a page.
Dubai Marina
Waterfront towers, busy and walkable in parts.
Jumeirah Village Circle
Mid-rise, still growing, mostly by car.
Al Furjan
Townhouses and low-rise blocks, quieter.
Downtown Dubai
Central, dense and very visited.
Abu Dhabi
Investment zones on the islands.
Muscat
A slower market with its own rules.
How to use this site
Treat every page as a list of good questions, not a list of answers. I write down what I learned while researching, and I try to point to the official body that owns each rule, such as the Dubai Land Department, so you can check the current version yourself.
Some things change often: registration fees, mortgage limits, residence visa thresholds and rent rules. Where that is the case I say so rather than quote a figure that may already be out of date.
New to the jargon? The glossary covers terms such as Oqood, Ejari, NOC and snagging.