Q: Hi, I am planning to buy a ready apartment in a 2-year-old building. How can I check for any dues on that apartment, would NOC suffice that the mortgage or any dues are cleared? How can I check that the seller does not have court cases against him in relation to property? How do the Service Charges get decided every year, as I understand that it is decided by Dubai Land Department who has defined the Service Index? Should I hire a lawyer to look out all legal aspects and help me till I get the property transferred to me? If yes, then what is the average cost for this service? Regards, Gufran

Q: Good morning, I am looking to possibly hire a lawyer for a number of tasks. I live in Saudi Arabia but my husband wants to give me POA for his apartment in Dubai as we need to complete registration papers for same. Also, we need to draw up wills to pass on our properties in Dubai to our kids. Oh, I am Irish and my husband is Saudi, also I am seeking advice re rental contract for my tenant, if possible obtaining 6 months only. We plan to move to Dubai summer 2018. How do I obtain Residence visa as a home owner? I believe our kids can stay there without visa as per GCC. Sorry for all this, that is why I think we need to hire services as opposed to advice. Hoping that you can assist us or direct us. Many thanks in advance, Ann

Q: Hi Madam, I have applied to my family visa application yesterday. Today I received a mail from MOL stating that you have to modify the application with the Abu Dhabi tenancy contract. Currently, I'm staying and working in Dubai but my visa is issued from Abu Dhabi. I have submitted my Dubai tenancy contract for family visa application. Please advise me how I can move forward with the visa process. Regards Hashim

Q: We own a house in Dubai [full ownership and in possession of the notarized title needs]. I have just resigned from my job and want to now stay in Dubai but not work. Can you help complete visa transfer from the company to my own visa for myself and wife? Regards D. R.

Q: I have been in Dubai for 17 years and have a Dubai Media City Freezone company, of which I am 100% owner. I am leaving to Australia in the coming months but I will keep the company open here. I have 1 full-time employee working here in Dubai Media City. I just renewed my UAE Visa for 3 years and I will be working from Australia doing the same job. I also plan to fly back to Dubai every 6 months or so for work trips to see clients. However, at the moment with COVID-19, it is likely once I am in Australia, I will not be able to travel back to Dubai until after COVID-19, which could, of course, be up to 1 year. What are my options? Will my UAE Visa automatically be cancelled after 6 months? Are there any other options for me? And what happens to my company which is registered in Dubai Media City if my visa is cancelled? Will this also be automatically cancelled too?

Q: To get residency in the UAE, can I buy a property that is financed worth AED 1 million or it must be fully paid in cash?

Q: Hello, For one year I have had a 5-year visa (I have to be in the UAE every 180 days) under the old visa rules as I bought a property for AED 11,000,000 last year. Can I change my current visa to the 10-year golden visa (which lets you be absent from the UAE for longer than 180 consecutive days)? Because the new rules state that the property has to be AED 2,000,000 for the golden visa.

Q: Hello, I want to get a Dubai property visa by investing AED 750,000. I want to know if I need to prove AED 10,000 as a monthly income. I can show the savings but not the monthly income. Can anybody help me?

The UAE has taken a bold step toward legislating the mortgage of movable assets after it was completely regulated by the Civil Code. The Federal Law No. 20 of 2016 Concerning the Mortgage of Moveable Assets, which came into effect 90 days after it was published in the Official Gazette on December 15, 2016, was a welcomed change by lenders after it gave them the ability to secure their debts with movable assets.