Decision Lab · Buying Costs
How Much Cash Do I Need to Buy This Property?
Move beyond the advertised price and estimate the actual cash required to complete. A buyer also needs funds for registration, title, map, trustee charges, brokerage, mortgage registration, valuation and lender processing. The buyer-paid sale-registration share is kept visible and editable.
Cash to close
- Property price
- Down payment
- Registration
- Finance
- Professional
Price is only the starting number.
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Buying Cost Calculator
The property price is not the cash you need to buy. See your true cash-to-close — government, mortgage-related and editable commercial costs.
How to use this calculator
- 01Enter the propertyPrice, down payment and whether financed.
- 02Adjust cost assumptionsGovernment fees are fixed; broker/bank/valuation are editable.
- 03Read your cash-to-closeThe total initial cash updates instantly.
- 04Plan your budgetUse it to confirm the cash you actually need.
Results
Personalised report
Generate your personalised report
Get a Dubai investment report with your inputs, cost breakdown, analysis, your outcome, methodology and suggested next steps. The on-screen results above are always free.
What makes up the number
Price is only the starting number
The advertised price is where a purchase begins, not where it ends. Five layers of cost stack on top of it to give your true cash to close.
Property price
The advertised figure — and the base every other cost is measured against.
Down payment
Your upfront equity — the largest single line of the cash you need on day one.
Government registration
DLD sale registration, title deed, map and knowledge fees — fixed and non-negotiable.
Finance costs
Mortgage registration, valuation and bank processing — they fall away on a cash purchase.
Professional & optional
Brokerage, trustee and service charges — editable starting points that complete the total = cash to close.
Before you commit
Know the true cost before you commit.
The calculator gives you the illustrative number. A consultant review confirms the full cash-to-close for your specific purchase and how it fits your budget.
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Methodology, assumptions & sources
Show methodology, assumptions & official sources
Method & assumptions
Pick your scenario — Ready or Off-plan, No Mortgage or Mortgage — and only the costs that apply are shown. Total buying costs = Registration / DLD (fixed 4% of price, paid by the buyer) + Title deed / related DLD charges (editable AED planning allowance, default 2,000) + (Ready: purchase brokerage 2% + trustee / service-partner fee) or (Off-plan: developer / admin fee) + snagging + other purchase cost, plus for a mortgage: mortgage registration (0.25% of the loan) + bank arrangement / processing fee + VAT on that processing fee (5%) + bank valuation + other mortgage cost. Total property purchase cost = price + total buying costs. On a cash purchase, your cash required is the total purchase cost; with a mortgage, it is your investor-funded share of the price plus the buying costs, and the mortgage funds the rest. EOI is credited toward the price, and the mortgage principal is financing — neither is added again as a cost.
- Registration / DLD fee is a fixed 4% of the price, paid by the buyer (not editable). Title deed / related DLD charges are shown as a separate, editable AED 2,000 planning allowance — an approximate figure, not an official fixed government fee.
- Ready: purchase brokerage 2% + trustee / service-partner fee AED 4,200 (incl. VAT). Off-plan: developer / admin fee AED 2,500; snagging defaults to AED 0 (editable).
- Mortgage registration is 0.25% of the loan, distinct from the bank arrangement / processing fee; VAT (5%) applies only to the processing fee, when charged. Investment / ready mortgage defaults to 60% LTV and off-plan to 50%; a first owner-occupied home can reach 80% / 70% where that specific case is modeled.
Official regulatory basis
Official government & regulatory sources
- Central Bank of the UAEMortgage lending framework — applicable LTV, debt-burden ratio and maximum-tenor regulatory limits where relevant to the model.View CBUAE source
- Dubai Land DepartmentOfficial Dubai property registration, mortgage registration, trustee / service-partner charges, title deed and unified map government fees.View DLD source
- Federal Tax Authority (UAE)Value Added Tax basis: the 5% standard rate applied to commercial property and to taxable fees (e.g. bank processing), and input-tax recovery — recoverable in full where it relates to a taxable supply. Residential leases and second-hand residential sales are treated per FTA rules.View FTA VAT source
Formulas & methodology
- Decision Lab methodologyStandard reducing-balance mortgage amortisation, renter opportunity-cost logic, equity modelling and the year-by-year comparison — implemented transparently in this tool.
- Commercial costs are your editable assumptionsBrokerage, bank arrangement, valuation, conveyancing and insurance are not government-set. Enter your actual quote or use the clearly-labelled editable planning input — these are not official government charges.
Estimate only. Fees can change; verify all amounts before transfer. This tool does not model ROI, yield or appreciation — see the Property ROI Calculator for returns.
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