Most losses by Iranian buyers in Dubai are not made in court. They are made at the sales desk, the moment a reservation form is signed and the first sum leaves the account. This piece is for people who have not signed yet — or who just signed and do not know what they promised.
1. Treating the reservation as ‘only a hold’
In many projects the reservation form is itself a binding preliminary contract. If the text does not say ‘refundable’, a sales agent’s verbal promise is weak evidence. Read the withdrawal clause and the timeline to SPA before you pay.
2. Reading the instalment plan without the FX corridor
The payment schedule looks tidy on paper. If your funds move from Iran, a banking delay or a change of exchange route can put you in default interest. The contract should say what happens when delay is outside the buyer’s control; otherwise the risk sits only on you.
3. Buying off-plan without escrow and RERA status
A lower off-plan price is attractive. The legal questions are: is the project registered with the regulator, do funds go to escrow, and does the handover date have a remedy? Without those three answers the discount is not cheap.
4. Ignoring assignment
If you cannot keep paying, the usual exit is to assign the contract. Some developers ban assignment or charge a heavy fee. That clause must be read before signature, not on the day of crisis.
5. Paying a personal intermediary account
No sum should go to the personal account of a broker, a friend or an ‘introducing lawyer’. The safe path is the developer, an escrow or a registered office account. A receipt in a third party’s name rarely helps in a claim.
6. Buying for residency on yesterday’s rules
The link between property and residency depends on value, title type and current policy. A unit that builds a residency path today may fall under a new threshold tomorrow. Do not rest the purchase on residency unless that assumption is written and current.
7. Calling a lawyer after the dispute, not before the signature
The cost of a contract review is usually a fraction of one termination penalty. If a form or SPA is on your desk now, send it for an initial review before the next payment.