Should I Rent or Buy the House in the United Arab Emirates [UAE]?

Should you rent or buy the house in UAE?

Should I buy or rent the house? This is the most crucial question for all the expatriates, living in UAE. If you are also confused,which is the best option of two,  we have come up with a solution. Here, are the 3 questions, you need to answer, before taking any decision:

How long are you planning to stay?

Before thinking anything else, first, you need to be clear about how long you want to stay in the UAE. Check your short and long term plans.If you are planning to live for more than 5 years, then buying a property will be a cheaper option than renting. For long term goals, buying a house in UAE is one of the safest investments along with a good return.

However, if you are planning to live only for a few years or if you are not sure about your long term plans, then it is better to rent a house.It will provide you more flexibility in terms of shifting from one place to another for better job opportunities. 

What is your financial status?

If you have a relatively stable job with reliable source of income, then buying a property will be an easy decision. However, you need to make a down payment of at least 25% and other upfront charges , which can be huge amount. Also, you should be able to pay the mortgage off in monthly payments. The charges other than down payment  includes:

  • 2% broker fee
  • 4% land transfer fee
  • Property Registration fee
  • Property valuation fee

Annually, you also need to pay an annual maintenance charge as landlords.

Before renting a house, you should be clear about the liability of the tenancy contract, with respect to your financial position. Renting a house in UAE includes many charges other than tenant charge, which includes:

  • 5-10% security deposit
  • 2-5% Broker fees
  • Ejari
  • Utility deposit

After moving in, along with monthly tenant charges you also need to periodically pay  housing fee, community fee and maintenance fee.

Do you need Market Trend?

Buying a house is a huge investment, before making such an important decision, it is very important to learn market trend. Due to the Corona epidemic, the real estate market is seeing a downfall in the UAE. However, this may not be the case for too long. As a buyer, it is a good time to enter the market. If there is an increase in control of future supply levels, it will provide a good return to investors.

Due to high supply of developments, the tenant charges have significantly decreased over the years. Cities like Dubai have become the tenant market.Now, Dubai can afford a huge apartment with a small budget for big family.

At the end, it can be concluded that the current market condition is more in favour of buyers.