Know what you are buying before the money moves
On a resale there is no developer to go back to. The day the transfer completes, every defect in the property becomes yours to pay for. We survey it first, and put a number on what it will cost.
Why inspect before you buy
A pre-purchase inspection costs a fraction of one item on this list. If the property is a new build straight from the developer, you want a snagging inspection instead. These are the repairs we most often find on a Dubai resale, and what owners have paid to put them right.
Indicative ranges from work we have seen quoted in Dubai. Our report carries an estimate against every major item, so you know the number before you negotiate.
What a pre-purchase inspection covers
412 checkpoints on an apartment.488 checkpoints on a villa.The same survey we run on a new build, with the age of the property, its service history and any past repairs added to the record.
01
Structure, walls & ceilings
Cracking and movement, plumb and level, ceiling falls, past patch repairs.Cracking and movement, roof space, external walls, boundary and plot structures.
02
Floors, tiling & thresholds
Lippage, hollow and drummy tiles, grout condition, wet-area thresholds.All floors and stairs, terrace and driveway falls, external paving condition.
03
Joinery, doors & ironmongery
Alignment, closing gaps, seals, wear to handles, hinges and wardrobe runs.Every door and frame, all wardrobe runs, staircase joinery, gates and locks.
04
Windows, glazing & balconies
Seal failure, blown units, drainage channels, balcony falls, balustrade fixings.All glazing and sliding runs, terrace falls, balustrades, rooflights.
05
Kitchen & fitted units
Carcass condition, water damage under sinks, appliance age, isolation and extract.Main and second kitchen, utility, pantry, appliance age and isolation.
06
Electrical, lighting & distribution
Every socket and switch tested, board labelling, RCD trip tests, uncertified additions.Every socket and switch, all boards, RCD trip tests, external and pool circuits.
07
Plumbing, sanitaryware & drainage
Flow and pressure, trap seals, silicone lines, shower falls, evidence of past leaks.Every outlet, tanks and pumps, drainage falls, irrigation and pool plant.
08
HVAC & air quality
Age and service history, airflow at each grille, temperature differential, condensate runs.Every FCU and grille, zoning, differentials, condensate runs, duct condition.
09
Waterproofing, thermal & moisture
Thermal imaging of wet walls, ceilings below bathrooms, and external elevations.Thermal imaging of roof, wet areas, elevations and the pool surround.
10
Fire safety & life systems
Detectors, sprinkler heads, emergency lighting, escape route clearance, extinguisher provision and service dates. A visual check against Civil Defence requirements, not a test or commissioning inspection.Detectors on every floor, sprinkler heads, emergency lighting, escape routes, gate release. A visual check against Civil Defence requirements, not a test or commissioning inspection.
11
Common areas & building plant
Lobby, corridor, lift and parking bay condition, recorded with the building's maintenance history. Plant rooms where the building manager grants access.Community frontage, boundary walls and shared parking, recorded with the maintenance history. Shared plant where access is granted.
Resale versus new build
Off-plan units traded before completion and homes lived in for six years fail in entirely different ways. We inspect for the one in front of us.
Off-plan resale
Never occupied, never snagged
Lived-in resale
Wear, repairs and alterations
Tolerances & standards
A seller will tell you the floor is fine. We record how far out it is, against the tolerance it fails and the clause that sets it. That is what turns a price reduction into a conversation about numbers rather than taste.
Each entry is graded critical, major or minor, and major items carry an indicative cost to remedy.
How it works
Community, size, age, and where you are in the transaction. A fixed fee the same working day.
Through your agent or the seller. Four to six hours for an apartment, a day for most villas.
Delivered on site, graded, with a cost estimate against every major item.
Reduce the price, ask for the work, or walk away. We talk the report through with you first.
What you get
Every defect located, photographed, measured and graded, with the standard it fails cited. Major items carry an indicative cost to remedy, so the negotiation starts from a figure rather than a feeling.
Elevated moisture behind recently painted plaster
Required actionTrace ingress at the window seal, strip and dry the wall, re-plaster. Estimate 12,000 – 18,000.
Condenser at end of service life; no maintenance record held
Required actionAllow for replacement within twelve months. Estimate 8,000 – 12,000.
FAQ
The survey is the same; the purpose is not. Snagging produces a list for the developer to fix under warranty. A pre-purchase inspection produces a list for you to make a decision on: whether to buy, at what price, and what to budget for once the property is yours. Major items therefore carry a cost estimate rather than a repair instruction.
No. A valuation tells the bank what the property is worth. It does not lift a tile, test a socket or open an air-conditioning unit. Valuers are not looking for defects, and their report will not help you negotiate.
Before you sign the MOU if you can. That is when you have the most room to move on price or to ask for work to be done. If the MOU is already signed there is still time between contract and transfer, and the report still tells you what you are taking on.
Book anyway. Most Dubai MOUs leave a window between signature and transfer, and what we find can often be settled with the seller in that period. Even where the price is fixed, you go into ownership with a costed list rather than a series of surprises.
The deposit does not change what the property is. It changes your negotiating position, which is why we say book before the MOU. We will still inspect, and we will be straight with you about what is realistic to recover.
That depends on the terms you signed, and the contract is a question for your lawyer rather than for us. What we can do is give you a report clear enough for a conveyancer to act on. Some buyers renegotiate, some ask for the work, and some walk.
Yes, with the tenant's agreement and reasonable notice, arranged through the agent. An occupied, furnished property limits what we can reach (behind fitted furniture, inside cupboards, under stored belongings) and we state plainly in the report what we could not access.
We put an indicative range against every major item, based on work we have seen quoted in Dubai. It is enough to negotiate with and enough to budget from. It is not a contractor's quotation, and the report says so.
Before we leave the property, which matters when you are working to an MOU deadline. If your timetable is tighter than that, tell us and we will say honestly whether we can meet it.
Yes, and it is one of the most useful times to instruct us. Nobody has ever lived in the property, the original handover snags were probably never raised, and whatever remains of the developer's warranty is about to become your problem rather than the seller's.
★★★★★ 4.9 average · 318 Google reviews
★★★★★
“My agent told me a survey was not a thing here. It was the best 3,000 of the whole purchase.”
D. Okonkwo · Townhouse, Damac Hills · Google review
★★★★★
“I paid three times the cheapest quote and it was still the least stressful part of the handover.”
R. Patel · Two-bed, Dubai Hills · Google review
★★★★★
“They found damp behind a wall that had been painted the week before the viewing. We walked away.”
H. Al Marzooqi · Apartment, Business Bay · Google review
Tell us the property and the date. A fixed fee comes back the same working day.