The most useful buying budget is a dated cash schedule, not the purchase price plus an assumed percentage. A cost can be small relative to the price but still matter if it falls due before the funds intended to cover it become available.
This is an educational worksheet, not financial, investment, legal or tax advice. It does not certify current fee rates, tax treatment or the allocation of charges between parties.
Divide the budget into four groups
First record the price and how it will be funded. Then list transaction costs, amounts adjusted between parties and ongoing ownership expenses. Keep any reserve you choose to retain separate from amounts paid to complete.
The ADREC mortgage calculator distinguishes upfront amounts and recurring payments. It is a modelling reference, not a quotation for your own purchase.
| Group | Items to investigate | Evidence to request |
|---|---|---|
| Price contribution | Amount not covered by confirmed finance | Price schedule and lender decision |
| Transaction costs | Applicable registration, professional and lender charges | Dated official schedule or written quotation |
| Adjustments | Charges or balances allocated at completion | Relevant statements and agreed calculation |
| Ongoing bills | Financing, service, utilities, cover and maintenance | Applicable agreements and current bills |
Not every item applies to every transaction. Equally, an item absent from this worksheet is not automatically free.
Record the calculation base and payer
For each cost, write down whether it is fixed or calculated from another amount. If percentage based, identify the base explicitly: price, loan balance or another defined amount. Record any minimum, maximum, tax, reimbursement or promotion separately.
Ask who is responsible for paying and where that allocation is documented. A statement about what parties usually do is not a substitute for your agreement or the applicable rules.
Confirm the jurisdiction before copying a schedule. ADGM's Registration Authority covers property services in Al Maryah and Al Reem. Do not assume a charge quoted for another transaction or jurisdiction applies unchanged.
Avoid counting the same price contribution twice
In a fictional arithmetic example, assume a price of AED 1,000,000 and a confirmed loan of AED 700,000. The buyer's contribution toward the price is AED 300,000.
If an initial AED 50,000 payment is documented as part of that price contribution, AED 250,000 remains toward the price. The total contribution is not AED 350,000. Other costs are added separately. Whether an actual reservation payment is credited, refundable or subject to conditions must be established from its terms.
If the confirmed loan instead becomes AED 650,000, the contribution becomes AED 350,000. That is a changed funding requirement, not a new transaction fee. Keep the two categories separate so the cause is visible.
Put every amount on a calendar
Add the due date, recipient, evidence reference and payment status to every line. Compare required funds with confirmed available funds at each date, not only at the end of the transaction.
Ask for the accepted payment method and verify recipient details through an established channel. Do not act on a changed bank instruction solely because it arrives in an apparently familiar message.
If funds are held in another currency, include the quoted conversion and transfer costs and the time required. A displayed market rate is not necessarily the rate available for your payment.
Test the budget when facts change
Refresh the worksheet if the price, loan, timing, unit, fee quote or agreed allocation changes. Mark estimates as estimates and do not silently turn them into confirmed costs.
The mortgage basics guide addresses the borrowing offer. This cost worksheet addresses the separate question of what cash is needed, by whom and when. A complete budget is supported by dated evidence, not by a promise that a standard percentage prevents every surprise.