Non-resident buyers in Dubai borrow at 50–60% loan-to-value, against the 80% a resident might see. That single number changes the shape of the whole purchase, and it is worth being precise about what it means before you build a plan around it.
What 50% LTV actually costs you
On a AED 2,000,000 unit at 50% LTV you borrow AED 1,000,000 and put down AED 1,000,000. But the deposit is not the cash requirement. Buying costs run about AED 132,000 on that price — DLD, trustee, first-year service charge, snagging — so the real number you need liquid is closer to AED 1,132,000.
At 60% LTV the loan rises to AED 1,200,000 and the cash requirement drops to roughly AED 932,000. That 10 percentage points of LTV is worth AED 200,000 in cash, which is why it is worth asking more than one bank.
Why I stress-test every deal at +2%
If a purchase only works at the rate you are offered today, it does not work. I run every mortgage two percentage points above the offered rate and check the deal still stands.
On AED 1,200,000 over 25 years, the difference between 5.25% and 7.25% is roughly AED 7,200 a month against AED 8,700 — about AED 18,000 a year. If that gap is the difference between comfortable and stretched, the purchase is too big.
The mortgage calculator on this site shows both figures side by side by default, because the stressed number is the one that matters.
Off-plan makes this more complicated
Most lenders will not release mortgage funds on an off-plan property until handover. Through the construction period you are paying the developer’s instalments from cash, and the mortgage only arrives at the end to cover the final tranche.
That means your payment plan and your mortgage are two separate cashflow problems, and people routinely plan for the second while underestimating the first. A 70/30 plan on AED 2M means AED 1.4M of your own money before any bank lends you anything.
What gets applications rejected
Unexplained deposits in recent statements, income that is hard to evidence because it is self-employed or multi-jurisdiction, and any mismatch between the name on the passport and the name on the income documents. None of these are fatal. All of them add weeks if you discover them late.