Mortgage refinance and buyout in the UAE

Most UAE mortgages taken out three or more years ago have slipped onto a reversion margin nobody negotiated. Refinancing, or buying the loan out with a new bank, resets that margin, and on a large balance a modest rate improvement returns thousands of dirhams a year.

The arithmetic is straightforward but must be done honestly. Weigh the early settlement fee on your existing loan, the new lender's processing fee, valuation and registration costs against the monthly saving, then look at the break-even point in months. Under twelve months, refinancing is usually clear-cut; beyond twenty-four, it rarely is.

A buyout is also the moment to restructure. Extending or shortening the term, releasing a co-borrower or consolidating a higher-cost facility can be built into the same transaction rather than handled separately later.