Step by step · Ajman

Buying a home that is ready

14 of 16 steps confirmed with the regulator

A home that already exists and already has a title deed. This is the route most buyers take.

1
Finding it5 steps
2
Checks4 steps
3
Agreeing4 steps
4
Transferring2 steps
5
After1 step
Every step, and what proves it happened

Nobody can call a step done without the paper

16 steps
1. Owner authorises the brokerage in writingThe owner's written authority for the brokerage to act and to advertise, signed before the listing goes up. Department of Land and Real Estate Regulation issues no lettered form for it, so a written authority between owner and brokerage is what you hold — ask them what they want to see with it.Goes through Land & Real Estate Regulation.
The seller
Not confirmed
2. Real Estate Advertisement Permission issuedAdvertising without it is the fine an agent actually gets. Filed through the Ajman government services portal.Goes through Land & Real Estate Regulation.
Your agent
Confirmed
3. Listing livePhotographs, the permit number displayed, and a price the seller has agreed to.
Your agent
Confirmed
4. ViewingsRecorded against the listing so the interest is evidence, not memory.
You
Confirmed
5. Mortgage pre-approvalOnly where there is finance. The bank confirms what it will lend before any offer goes in, within the CBUAE ceilings — 80% of value for an expatriate, 85% for a national, and a debt burden no greater than half of income. An offer without it is a wish.Goes through CBUAE.
You
Confirmed
6. Offer madeA price, a payment method, and a validity period after which it lapses on its own.
You
Confirmed
7. Offer acceptedAcceptance starts every clock behind it — the NOC, the KYC and the transfer date.
The seller
Confirmed
8. Sale agreementThe sale contract between buyer and seller, with the deposit held against it. Filed with Held by the parties.Goes through Land & Real Estate Regulation.
Your agent
Confirmed
9. Deposit paidTen per cent on signature, held against the contract rather than paid to the seller. Until it moves, either side can still walk; after it, walking costs money.
You
Confirmed
10. Buyer identity and AML checkEmirates ID or passport, source of funds, and screening. Federal, so it is the same in every emirate — and it is what stops a transfer on the day if it is left late.
You
Confirmed
11. Developer NOCThe developer confirms no outstanding service charges and consents to the transfer. Typically ten to fourteen days — start it before a transfer date is agreed, not after.Goes through Developer.
The developer
Confirmed
12. Bank valuationOnly where there is finance. The bank values the property itself, and a figure under the agreed price means the buyer funds the difference or the price is renegotiated — either way the transfer date moves.Goes through CBUAE.
You
Confirmed
13. Mortgage or liability settledIf either side has finance, the bank's letter and any existing mortgage discharge have to be in hand before a transfer date holds.Goes through CBUAE.
You
Confirmed
14. Sale Registration of a Real Estate / Real Estate UnitFiled with Department of Land and Real Estate Regulation under that service name. The fee is not published on the catalogue and the secondary sources disagree with each other, so ask them for it rather than trusting a figure off a blog.Goes through Land & Real Estate Regulation.
You
Confirmed
15. Title deed issuedLand & Real Estate Regulation issues the ownership document once the transfer is registered. Ask them how it is collected and what reference it carries — that varies locally.Goes through Land & Real Estate Regulation.
The government office
Not confirmed
16. Handover and utilitiesKeys, meters transferred, and the community handover completed.
You
Confirmed
Somewhere else in the UAE?

The steps are not the same in every emirate

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This is 88% confirmed for Ajman — the rest is our best understanding, and we say which is which above.