Insights

The three numbers on an off-plan brochure — 20/40/40 — are not marketing; they are the contract. What triggers each instalment, where the money sits while the tower rises, and which plan structures protect buyers when construction slows: a working guide with a real AED 1.9M example.

Freehold, leasehold, investment-zone title, fee simple: the same word 'ownership' covers very different bundles of rights depending on the city. What foreign buyers actually acquire in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, London, Lisbon and Miami — and the questions to ask before relying on the brochure's one-line answer.

The unit schedule is the most honest document in a sales suite — if you know how to read it. Stack numbers, floor premiums, internal versus total area, and the arithmetic that tells you whether Type B is genuinely cheaper than Type A once the balcony is stripped out.

With eurozone fixes near 3.3%, UK five-year money above 4% and US rates still over 6%, leverage no longer flatters every purchase. How to compute net yield honestly, when negative leverage is an acceptable choice, and why the Dubai spread still clears while prime Madrid barely does.