Mortgage Affordability Calculator
What a property actually costs to buy: deposit, transfer and registration fees, monthly repayment and whether it clears the debt-burden limit.
Mortgage Affordability Calculator
Repayment, cash needed on day one, and whether it clears the lender’s limits.
Method. The repayment is the standard amortising payment on the loan balance. The debt-burden ratio is the new repayment plus existing commitments as a share of gross monthly income — the test most Gulf lenders apply at underwriting.
Loan-to-value caps, transfer fees and debt-burden limits are set by regulators and land departments and differ by state, by emirate, by buyer nationality and by property value. Check the current figures for your market and overwrite the defaults above.
| Cost | Charged on | Typically | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deposit | Purchase price | The balance above the loan-to-value cap | Cannot be borrowed. |
| Transfer / registry fee | Purchase price | A low single-digit percentage | Set by the land department or registry; differs by emirate and state. |
| Agency fee | Purchase price | Around 2% | Negotiable, and sometimes shared. |
| Mortgage registration | Loan amount | A fraction of a percent | Charged on the borrowing, not the price. |
| Valuation and processing | Flat fees | Varies by lender | Not modelled above — add them to your own budget. |
The cash you need on day one
Buyers plan for the deposit and are caught out by everything around it. On top of the deposit sit a land department or registry transfer fee charged on the purchase price, an agency fee, a mortgage registration fee charged on the loan rather than the price, and valuation and processing charges from the lender. Together these routinely add several per cent of the purchase price to the cash required at completion, and none of it can be borrowed. The calculator totals them so the number you plan against is the real one.
The debt-burden test
Lenders across the Gulf assess affordability on a debt-burden ratio: total monthly repayments, including the new mortgage and every existing commitment, as a share of gross monthly income. Card minimums, car finance and personal loans all count. Applications that clear the loan-to-value cap comfortably still fail here, and it is the more common of the two obstacles.
Limits move, so they are inputs
Loan-to-value caps, transfer fees and debt-burden limits are set by central banks, land departments and individual emirates. They differ by state, by property value, by whether it is a first purchase, and by whether the buyer is a national or an expatriate — and they are revised. Every one of them is an editable field above rather than a hardcoded constant, precisely so the tool does not quietly go stale. Check the current figures for your market and overwrite the defaults.
Common questions
How much deposit do I need for a mortgage in the Gulf?
Enough to bring the loan within the loan-to-value cap the regulator applies, which varies by state, by buyer nationality, by property value and by whether it is a first purchase. Set the cap that applies to you above and the calculator flags any deposit that falls short of it.
What is the debt-burden ratio?
Total monthly debt repayments — the new mortgage plus every existing commitment — as a percentage of gross monthly income. Lenders apply a ceiling to it and decline applications above that ceiling regardless of deposit size. It is the test most affordability calculations quietly ignore.
What costs sit on top of the deposit?
A transfer or registry fee on the purchase price, an agency fee, a mortgage registration fee charged on the loan amount, and lender valuation and processing charges. The first four are modelled above; add the lender's fixed fees to your own budget.
Lending caps and transfer fees are set by regulators and emirates and differ by buyer nationality and property value. NexaGulf publishes general information, not licensed financial, tax or legal advice.