Guide · Selling costs
Cost of selling property in Dubai: fees and net proceeds
The sale price is not necessarily the amount you receive. Prepare an itemised estimate of mortgage settlement, agreed agency and coordination fees, developer charges and any other seller-paid deductions before comparing the proceeds of your sale.
Start with the agreed price. For each deduction, record the recipient, the confirmed amount including applicable VAT, and why you have agreed to pay it. Keep an unconfirmed charge visible rather than treating it as free.
Establish which costs you are paying
Some costs depend on the transaction; others depend on your service appointment or agreement with the other party. Read the actual allocation before assuming that a familiar charge is yours or the buyer’s.
Keep these questions beside each line: Who receives the payment? Who has agreed to pay it? Is the amount confirmed? Is VAT included? Has the same item already been included somewhere else?
A buyer-paid amount should not reduce a seller’s proceeds estimate. A shared charge needs the agreed allocation entered explicitly. The fee-allocation guide helps you organise the questions; the agreement and appointment determine the particular allocation.
Separate agency and conveyancing fees
An agency fee and a transfer-coordination fee pay for different appointed services. Record them separately, using the scope and amount you agreed. Do not treat a broker’s proposed in-house coordination charge as an unexplained deduction from your sale.
If a conveyancing or sales-progression line appears in the proposed agreement, establish the provider, scope, fee and payer before accepting it. Resolve any overlap or disagreement at that point rather than assuming two similarly described charges are the same appointment.
Conveyance’s published prices and scope distinguish its professional coordination fee from official and third-party charges. A supported standard fee should be taken from the current service record, including its VAT treatment.
Obtain the actual mortgage settlement figure
Where the property is mortgaged, use the lender’s confirmed settlement information and check its scope and validity. A balance shown in an app may not answer every question about the amount and steps required for the transaction.
Record any additional lender item separately only if it has not already been included in the settlement total. Ask what must happen before release and who coordinates the next step. Our mortgage discharge guide sets out the preparation issues; the lender confirms its requirements for your file.
Confirm developer and other transaction charges
Establish which clearances, NOC work, valuation, representation or record-related items apply. Some amounts will need confirmation from the developer, lender or relevant service rather than a general website example.
The transfer-cost ledger identifies the source and applicability of its maintained reference components. It does not mean every transaction pays every listed charge. Keep unresolved items outside a purported final total.
Calculate proceeds after confirmed deductions
The preparation calculation is:
Agreed sale price − confirmed seller-paid deductions = proceeds after confirmed deductions.
For an illustrative sale price of AED 2,000,000, suppose the confirmed seller-paid entries are AED 800,000 mortgage settlement, AED 42,000 agency fee, AED 5,248.95 coordination fee including VAT and AED 1,050 developer charge. The deductions total AED 848,298.95, leaving AED 1,151,701.05 after those entries.
Those amounts illustrate arithmetic; they are not standard charges or a quotation. If the developer charge is still unknown, leave it in the outstanding list. In that version, the result after confirmed deductions is AED 1,152,751.05 and the final receipt remains unsettled.
Use the property-transfer calculator to organise the supported inputs and outstanding amounts. The seller view should be used only with the actual allocation of seller-paid costs.
Check the timing as well as the amount
A proceeds estimate does not establish when each payment is made or when funds become available. Record the intended payment sequence, bank requirements and any amount needed before completion. Confirm settlement instructions through the relevant parties.
If money will be sent overseas, review the transfer arrangements and costs separately with the appropriate provider. A property-transfer calculation does not confirm an exchange rate or banking clearance. Conveyance does not hold purchase money.
Questions sellers ask
Is there one universal percentage for the cost of selling?
Build the estimate from the actual transaction and agreed appointments. A single percentage can conceal differences in mortgage settlement, service scope, allocation and charges still to confirm.
Can an unknown charge be entered as zero?
Mark it unknown. A zero should mean the item is confirmed as zero or not applicable, with that status clear. Otherwise the result risks looking more complete than the evidence supports.
Do I need a conversation before appointing Conveyance?
You can review a supported standard service and pay through the secure checkout. Alternatively, discuss the case on WhatsApp; once scope and fee are agreed, the desk can send a secure Ziina payment link. Discuss a non-standard route before selecting a package.
Prepare the sale file
Review the selling process, check your cost entries and use the route finder to identify the coordination service. If the cost allocation or route is unclear, discuss it before relying on a proceeds figure.