Plain-English mortgage thinking for borrowers, not bankers.

Getting a mortgage in Abu Dhabi: what’s different from Dubai

Almost nothing about the lending changes. Loan-to-value ceilings, the 50% debt burden cap, tenure limits and the early settlement fee are federal, set by the Central Bank, and identical in both emirates. What changes is the registry, the bill at the counter — roughly half of Dubai’s on the same purchase — and one question no Dubai buyer has ever had to ask: whether the title you are buying has an expiry date. Where it does, the bank shortens the mortgage to match — and your monthly payment goes up.