Beney Investments Ltd: buying without ever coming to Dubai

Buying property in Dubai without being present is ordinary and well-established. The mechanics are straightforward. The part that deserves real care is the power of attorney, because it is usually granted far more broadly than the transaction requires.

How a remote purchase works

• Someone must act for you at the registration trustee office — a lawyer, a property manager, or a trusted individual.
• Their authority comes from a power of attorney, which for use in the UAE is normally notarised in your country and then legalised and translated for use here. Build several weeks into your timetable for this; it is the usual cause of delay.
• Funds move through the banking system to the trustee or the seller as the transaction requires, with source-of-funds documentation. Start the banking conversation early too.
• The title deed issues in your name whether you are present or not. Being absent does not change what you own.

The power of attorney is the risk

A general power of attorney over property can allow the holder to sell, mortgage or transfer your asset. That is far more than buying one apartment requires. Narrow it:

• Limit it to the specific transaction — this property, this purpose.
• Exclude the power to sell or mortgage unless there is a concrete reason for it.
• Put an expiry date on it.
• Give it to someone accountable — a regulated firm rather than an individual you met through the sale.
• Never grant it to the selling agent or to a party connected with the seller. Their interests and yours are not the same, and that is not a comment on anyone's honesty.
• Revoke it when the transaction completes, and confirm the revocation is registered.

What you cannot do remotely, and should not skip

• Seeing the unit. A video walkthrough by someone acting for you — not by the seller's agent — is the minimum. Ask them to film the view, the corridor, the parking and the plant areas, not just the rooms.
• Judging the district. Have someone walk it on a weekday evening and report back.
• Reading the building. Association minutes, reserve fund and service-charge history are documents, and they can be obtained remotely — but somebody has to ask for them.

And afterwards

An overseas owner needs someone here for registration of tenancies, handovers, maintenance and renewals. Appoint a managing agent deliberately rather than defaulting to whoever sold you the property, and keep the appointment separate from the sale.

Requirements for notarisation and legalisation vary by country and change. Confirm the current process with a qualified local lawyer.