Q: 1. Can a non-resident person give a personal guarantee for bank debt in the UAE? 2. Is a son liable for a debt of his father?  

Q: My wife and I are purchasing a property in Dubai which we will own jointly as per our wish. Our bank -- which provides the 75% financing -- requests that the loan should be in the name of myself and my wife jointly. Is it a regulatory requirement or could I go with a loan in my name only? (as monthly revenues comes from me and I would like to protect my wife) Also, the bank wants us to have a joint bank account. Is it a regulatory requirement or can we continue to use our existing separate bank accounts, one for me, one for her (both with the same bank)? Thanks.

س: هل يحق للأجنبي التملك في إمارة دبي في الإمارات العربية المتحدة؟ هل هناك ضرائب سنوية؟ ما هي الإجراءات اللازمة لذلك وما هي المدة المطلوبة؟

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: I am a US citizen and would like to buy a property in Dubai, where do I start?

Q: Hi I am looking for a personal loan. My outstanding is AED 67000. I tried the banks but they rejected my application telling me my credit score is very low for the last 6 months. I am paying regularly but the score is the same now. I want to make one EMI. Please tell me what to do. Credit card 1: AED 46,000 (a monthly payment of AED 1400). Credit card 2: AED 19,000 (a monthly payment of AED 2,300). Credit card 3: AED 12,000 (a monthly payment of AED 900). Total owed: AED 67,000.

Q: Hi, I am planning to buy a property in Dubai. I would like to add my wife and brother as co-owners for the property. My wife and brother are employed and I am self-employed for the past four years. I would like to know what are my options for applying for a Home Mortgage in this scenario. Can we apply together for a mortgage from the bank or would it be ideal for two salaried people which is my wife and brother to apply for a mortgage?

Q: My husband and I are in the process of purchasing a property in Dubai. The mortgage will be fully paid by my husband. However, we would like the house to be equally owned by both of us. For that, as a co-owner, I will need to either provide my personal guarantee (tripartite agreement) to the bank or be a co-applicant in the mortgage. In such situations, if my husband is incapable to pay the instalments in the future, will I be held liable to pay the mortgage?

Q: Hi. I am going to buy a property in Dubai and entered an MOU. The owner is from Sudan living in Saudi. He is saying he will give a POA and I need to give the sale proceed cheque to the POA. However, the mortgage bank is not accepting to issue a cheque to POA and mentioning they will give cheque only to the owner's name. Please advise

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: Hi, I have recently signed an MoU to buy a property and a bank has offered me a good loan package so I want to sign with them. Therefore, I have asked my employer to produce a Salary Transfer Letter (STL) to be able to sign my loan with this bank. Just to clarify, I have no loan with any bank, I just have a credit card with my current bank (never had any issue on it). To produce the STL my employer needs a non-objection letter (NOL) from my bank or a No Liability Letter (NLL). My current bank said the first option is impossible as "they do not have a template for that" and they can only produce a non-liability letter (NLL), however, this is not possible as it takes 45 days after card's cancellation to get the NLL. My question is: Does my employer really need a NOL or NLL to be able to transfer my salary to another bank? (He never signed anything with my bank). Employer says there is a tacit agreement between employer and bank when the salary gets transfered to the bank, is that true?

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.

The provisions of this Law apply to the mortgage of real roperty as security for debt. It makes no difference whether the debt is secured by a charge over the whole of the property or over an undivided interest therein or by right in rem or personal right over a property marked as sold off-plan.

This Law applies to merchants, as well as to all acts of commerce carried out in the UAE by any person even though he be not a trader. Commercial matters regarding which specific Federal laws are issued shall be subject to the provisions of such laws, and to the provisions hereof which do not contradict with said laws.