Buying in Dubai without flying: how a power of attorney actually works

Buying property in Dubai without travelling is routine rather than exotic. With a developer, a new-build purchase runs almost entirely at a distance: reservation, contract, payment by transfer. On resale, the transfer of ownership requires attendance at a registration trustee office — either yours or an attorney's.

So the question is never whether it can be done remotely. It is who signs for you, and on what authority.

Getting a power of attorney accepted

• It is notarised where you are, then legalised — by consular legalisation or apostille, depending on the country — and translated into Arabic by a certified translator in the UAE.
• Confirm the exact sequence of stamps with the notary in advance. Redoing a chain of legalisation takes weeks, and it is always discovered at the counter rather than beforehand.
• Cheaper and faster is a POA executed before a notary inside the UAE during a short visit. If you are coming anyway, do it then.

What the document has to say

• Specific powers, not general language. The registrar looks for an expressly named right to sign the sale contract, to receive the title, to open and close the transaction and to pay fees.
• Too general may be rejected. Too narrow may not cover the act required. Both failures happen on the day, and both cost the same as a missed transfer.
• Check the validity period separately. Many POAs are time-limited, and some offices also look at how recently the document was executed.
• Name the property where the purpose is a single transaction. A POA scoped to one deal is easier to give and easier to end.

Who should never hold it

Anybody representing the other side of the same transaction. A situation where the seller's broker also acts under your power of attorney is a conflict of interest in which nobody is left to check the deal in your interest. The attorney should be your own lawyer, or someone who receives no payment from the seller. This is the one point in a remote purchase where economising is not an option.

Money: where it goes and from what account

• A UAE bank account is not required to buy. Settlement runs by bank transfer and manager's cheque, both possible without a local account.
• It becomes necessary later — for utilities, for letting, for a mortgage, and for receiving rent locally. To sell, in practice, you will need one: the proceeds have to land somewhere.
• Opening one as a non-resident is its own process, requires attending in person, and normally involves an opening deposit. Plan it well before transfer day rather than on it.
• With a developer, payment goes to the project escrow account, not to the company's operating account — and the account name should match the project name. This single check is the most valuable line in a remote purchase.

What to verify when you cannot walk in

• On resale: that the title is clear and the developer's no-objection certificate for the transfer is in hand.
• A live video viewing. Ask to be walked round the property on camera, in one unbroken take, rather than sent a set of photographs. A render and a selection of stills are not an inspection.
• The building, not just the flat: corridors, lifts, parking, the state of the common areas. These tell you what the service charge is actually buying.
• Who your broker is paid by. On a developer sale the developer pays and the service is free to you. On resale the buyer pays 2% plus VAT. Knowing which applies tells you whose interest is aligned with yours.

Based on Land Department registration practice and standard UAE document legalisation requirements.