Free material

Guides and checklists

Two kinds of material. The PDFs and the spreadsheet I prepare for clients — sent over Telegram after a short form. And topic pages: the questions buyers actually ask on a subject, answered in full, with nothing to fill in.

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Off-plan 2026: the buyer’s checklist

Fourteen points: what to check in the SPA, how to read a payment plan, the escrow account, your right to walk away, handover dates and the developer’s penalties. A 22-page PDF.

due_diligence

Due diligence: red flags in Dubai

How to check the developer, the permits, the land title and a history of delays. An 18-page PDF with real cases from 2024–2025.

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Return-on-investment calculator (Excel)

A spreadsheet with the formulas already in it: cash-on-cash, IRR, breakeven against rent, taxes, EIBOR scenarios.

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Natural stone in Dubai interiors

Geodes, backlit onyx, agate and rose quartz panels, travertine instead of marble. What drives the cost of that finish, what part of it holds resale value, and what is a single season of taste.

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Tax between your home country and Dubai

Two tax residencies, the day count, reporting foreign accounts, tax on sale and the penalties for staying quiet. For owners who live between two countries.

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Land and joint ventures in Dubai

A development plot instead of an apartment: how the return is calculated, how a developer partner is chosen, how profit is split and where investors lose millions.

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Residency, a second passport and offshore accounts

Residency by investment, the Caribbean programmes, where an account actually opens, and what not to do once a second passport is in hand.

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AI in real estate: what changes for broker and client

Which parts of a broker’s job the models have already taken, which they will not, and what actually works day to day — from building a CRM out of message history to repeat sales.

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How to enter the Dubai market

Entry point and deal format: pre-launch and bulk deals, sales launches, fractional ownership, paying in crypto. And a straight answer on whether to buy now.

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Letting a Dubai apartment and what it returns

What to do with the property after purchase: long let against short let, furnishing and its effect on the rate, why units sit empty and how to stop that happening.

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Ultra-prime and branded residences

The top of the market: what the brand premium actually buys, how nine-figure transactions work, and why this is a separate market with its own rules.

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Trump and Gulf real estate

The Trump Organization in the Emirates and Saudi Arabia, branded towers as an instrument, normalisation with Israel, and what of it changes the map for an investor in the region.

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Service charges in Dubai

What it is made of, who approves the rate and where to find the approved figure for a specific building. The reserve fund, metered cooling, and how the charge eats a yield whether the flat is let or empty.

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Inheritance and wills for UAE property

What happens to property without a will, why the DIFC registry matters, how a share passes to a surviving co-owner, and why the family’s real problem is not tax but frozen accounts against live obligations.

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Letting: Ejari, the RERA index and rent increases

How much the law allows a rent to rise and on what scale, how 90 days’ notice differs from 12 months, what you acquire along with a tenanted flat, and where disputes are heard.

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Transaction costs: what is payable on top

The 7–8% above the price broken down by line: the Land Department fee, the trustee office, agency commission, the developer’s NOC. What a mortgage adds and how the picture differs off-plan.

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Off-plan assignment before handover

From what point the developer permits an exit, what permission costs, why the seller’s main competitor is the developer, and what to do when the exit does not happen and the final payment falls due.

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Buying remotely and powers of attorney

How to execute a power of attorney abroad and what it must say, whether a UAE account is needed, who must never hold it, and what to verify in the payment details when you cannot see the property yourself.

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Freehold vs leasehold in Dubai: what the difference means

Outright ownership against a 99-year right of use: where the line runs on the map of Dubai, which document you end up holding, why only freehold supports a residency visa, and what it costs to judge tenure by the name of the district.

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Chiller free in Dubai: who actually pays for the cooling

District cooling instead of a split unit, consumption billed in ton-hours and a fixed capacity charge that runs whether or not anyone is home. What "chiller free" means in a listing, why it is a saving for a tenant and a line in the service charge for an owner, and what to check before you sign.

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AED exchange rate and the dollar peg

Today’s rate plus the conversion table: what a dirham buys in dollars, pounds and euros, why the peg has held at 3.6725 AED to the dollar since 1997, and what that means for a sterling or euro buyer. The figure is rendered on the server, not fetched by a script.

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Schools in Dubai: how the system works

Public and private schools, seventeen curricula, who inspects them and why nearly every expat family ends up in the private sector. The map of a sixteen-part series on choosing a school in Dubai.

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KHDA school ratings in Dubai: how to read them

Outstanding, Very Good, Good, Acceptable, Weak — what sits behind each grade, how many schools hold it, why a new school cannot be compared with an old one on a single word, and how to read an inspection report.

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Getting into a Dubai school: the five steps

Tours, application, the AED 525 registration fee, the assessment, the offer and a 10% deposit — how admission to a private school in Dubai runs, how long each step takes and which documents you need.

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School documents in the UAE: attestation and the transfer certificate

What a Dubai school asks for, why an apostille does not work in the UAE, what a transfer certificate is, who is exempt from attesting it, and which papers can follow within 45 days of the first school day.

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Dubai school fees and how to pay less

Annual fees at strong schools ran from AED 38 000 to 115 000 on the 2023/24 tariffs. Termly payment, sibling and early-bird discounts, founders’ discounts and corporate agreements: how families take 15–20% off.

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The school day in Dubai and the costs on top of fees

Lunch at AED 25–30 a day, the bus, uniform, paid ECAs, trips and your own iPad. Class sizes, why Friday is a short day and what else the annual fee does not cover.

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The Dubai school year, holidays and starting age

When the year starts and ends, why there is a break almost every month, how a British school calendar differs from an American one, and the age cut-off — three full years on 31 August.

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British, American or IB: choosing a curriculum in Dubai

The three most popular curricula in Dubai side by side: what each is built for, how pupils are assessed, how long the early years last, which diploma comes out at the end and who each one suits.

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IB Diploma vs A-levels: what each gives a school leaver

Six subjects against four, a finer points scale against letter grades, a working second language and “learning how to learn”. How the two strongest school diplomas compare for university entry.

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British schools in Dubai: twelve strong options

DESS and DESC, King’s Al Barsha, Nord Anglia, JESS, Repton, Wellington International, Dubai College, DBS, Safa Community, Hartland and RGS Guildford: rating, diploma, 2023/24 fees and discounts for each.

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American schools in Dubai

How the American curriculum differs from the British one, why the American School of Dubai admits in five priority tiers, which American school holds KHDA’s top grade and what they cost on the 2023/24 tariffs.

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IB schools in Dubai: seven international-curriculum schools

NLCS, Jumeira Baccalaureate, the bilingual Swiss school SISD with boarding, GEMS World Academy with its mother-tongue programme, Dwight, Bloom and the Australian AIS — ratings, 2023/24 fees and what sets each apart.

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Dubai school entrance assessments and the CAT4 test

What schools look for at three and at ten, selective against non-selective schools, the four sections of CAT4, and why landing a place that is too far above a child’s level is worse than not getting in.

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The Dubai school tour: what to ask and what to watch for

The questions worth putting on a school tour — screen time, own iPad, hours of sport and languages, clubs, sibling club — and a summary of what parents complain about most after the first year.

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A child with no English at a Dubai school

Which schools take children without English, how EAL support works, whether to start at a non-selective school, and how families keep a home language going — mother-tongue programmes built into the timetable.

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School first, home second: where to live near a Dubai school

Why the order matters in Dubai. Where the strong schools cluster, what the morning rush costs you, how to weigh parking and the bus, and when buying near a school beats renting.

This material is provided for information purposes and does not constitute individual investment advice. Property returns depend on many factors and are not guaranteed. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

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