Mortgage Guides
Mortgage Guides
Everything CredMe has written about UAE mortgages, in plain English, grouped by what you are trying to do.
Short answer
Not sure where to start? If you are buying your first home here, start with mortgage basics. If you already own, go to the section on what to do next.
Every guide says where its figures come from and when we last checked them. None of them asks you to sign up.
These guides are written by CredMe UAE mortgage advisory, for residential mortgages and commercial property finance in the United Arab Emirates.
Mortgage basics
Start here if you are new to UAE mortgages, or if a term has been quoted at you without explanation.
- Mortgages in the UAE
How mortgages work in the UAE: what the Central Bank fixes, what each lender decides, and which question to answer first depending on whether you are buying, refinancing or self-employed.
- What decides whether you can get a mortgage in the UAE
How UAE lenders decide what you can borrow: income, existing commitments, residency, employment type and the property itself. Understand your position before you approach a bank.
- How DBR Works in the UAE
The UAE debt burden ratio explained: what counts as income, what counts as debt, why 50% is a ceiling rather than an entitlement, and how the stress test changes the answer.
- How LTV Works on a UAE Mortgage
What loan to value means on a UAE mortgage: what the ratio is measured against, which cap applies to which buyer and property, and why the regulatory maximum is an outer limit rather than an offer.
- How Mortgage Pre-Approval Works in the UAE
What a UAE mortgage pre-approval tells you and what it does not: what a bank checks first, what it may ask you for, why it is not a final offer, and what can still change after valuation.
- How EIBOR Affects a UAE Mortgage
What EIBOR is, who publishes the official fixing, how variable and fixed then variable UAE mortgages are priced from it, and the latest published EIBOR with its fixing date.
- Buying Your First Home in the UAE with a Mortgage
Buying your first home in the UAE with a mortgage: the three limits on what you can borrow, the cash you need beyond the deposit, valuation and registration, and what Dubai’s First-Time Home Buyer Programme actually offers.
- How Islamic Home Finance Works in the UAE
How Islamic home finance works in the UAE: the Ijarah, Murabaha and diminishing musharaka contracts explained, what a profit rate is, and which Central Bank mortgage rules still apply.
- Why Two People With the Same Salary Can Get Different Mortgage Offers in the UAE
Two people can earn the same and be offered different amounts. Here is what a UAE bank looks at besides salary: your existing debts, the property, how your income is paid, and each bank’s own rules.
- Is There a Minimum Salary for a UAE Mortgage?
There is no single salary figure that applies to every UAE mortgage. The regulations set affordability limits rather than a minimum salary, and each bank sets its own income requirements. Here is what actually decides it.
- Salary Transfer vs Non-Salary Transfer Mortgage in the UAE
What a salary transfer requirement on a UAE mortgage involves, how non-salary-transfer home loans differ, what to ask about pricing, fees and changing jobs, and how to compare on total cost.
Getting a mortgage
What changes when your situation is not the standard one: you work for yourself, you live outside the UAE, or the home is not built yet.
- Self-Employed Mortgage UAE
Business income counts for a UAE mortgage. The regulation says so. What changes when you are self-employed is how that income is verified, and why two lenders can reach different answers.
- Non-Resident Mortgage UAE
The UAE mortgage regulations contain no non-resident category. What changes when you buy from overseas is which lenders will look at you and on what terms, not the rules themselves.
- How an Off-Plan Mortgage Works in the UAE
How a mortgage on an off-plan property works in the UAE: the 50% regulatory cap, what you fund yourself before handover, why the valuation can differ from the price you agreed, and where Oqood registration fits.
If you already own
You have a property, or a mortgage on one, and you are deciding what to do next.
- Mortgage Refinance and Buyout UAE
Whether moving your UAE mortgage to another bank (a refinance, buyout or remortgage) is worth it, what switching actually costs, and when staying is the better answer.
- Mortgage Buyout with Equity Release
Moving your UAE mortgage to a new lender and releasing equity in the same transaction: how the two halves are priced separately, what it costs, and when it is worth doing.
- Equity Release in the UAE
Releasing equity from a UAE property you own outright is a new mortgage secured on your home, not a windfall. What it involves, what a lender assesses, and when it is not the right answer.
Commercial property
Financing property that earns its living rather than housing its owner, assessed on the income the asset produces.
- Commercial Mortgages in the UAE
Commercial property finance in the UAE is assessed on what the property earns and the business behind it, not only on personal salary. What lenders look at, how it differs from a residential mortgage, and how CredMe assesses it.
Mortgage Rates & EIBOR
What rates look like in CredMe’s published mortgage intelligence, the latest published EIBOR, and what either means for your payment.
- UAE Mortgage Rates & EIBOR
What UAE mortgage rates look like in CredMe’s published mortgage intelligence, with the date it was published, the latest EIBOR fixing, and how fixed and variable pricing works.
What it costs
The money you need on the day, and what each charge is actually for.
- Getting a Mortgage in Dubai
Getting a mortgage in Dubai: what the Land Department charges to register a sale and a mortgage, what freehold and Oqood mean in practice, and which parts of the process are federal rather than local.
- What It Costs to Refinance a UAE Mortgage
What it costs to move a UAE mortgage to another lender: the charges capped by the Central Bank, what the land department charges to transfer, and how to work out your break-even.
- What Cash Do You Actually Need to Buy a Property in the UAE?
Your down payment is only part of the cash you need. Here is what CredMe budgets for on top of it, which costs apply to a resale, an off-plan purchase, a refinance and an equity release, and how each one is worked out.
Want your own numbers instead?
The guides explain how the rules work. If you would rather see what they mean for you, the calculator works out what you could borrow, what it would cost each month, and what cash you would need on the day, free, without signing up, and without a credit check.
It gives you an initial assessment, not a lending decision. CredMe is not a bank and cannot approve or decline a mortgage. A CredMe Mortgage Consultant reviews your position with you, and the bank makes the final decision.
How these guides are written
Written by CredMe Team
Based on CredMe's mortgage assessment methodology and verified regulatory sources
Last reviewed 18 August 2026
Every guide names the regulation or the government source behind each figure, and the date it was read. Where a number depends on the individual bank rather than a rule, the guide says so instead of publishing an average. Nothing here is a quote or an offer.
Indicative guidance only. Not a formal offer of finance and not a lending decision. CredMe is not a bank and cannot approve or decline a mortgage. See our disclaimer.