Buying from abroad

These guides take a buyer who lives in the Gulf from the first conversation to the keys: how a purchase in England works and how long it takes, what the solicitor and the agent will ask for and why, how the money travels from Dubai or Riyadh to a London solicitor’s account, what a lease is and what to check in it, what a survey finds and what a remote buyer should insist on, and how the whole transaction can run on a power of attorney without a flight. There is a guide for each Gulf country, because the bank, the treaty and the paperwork differ, and a single itemised account of every fee a non-resident pays on top of the price. Every figure is checked against GOV.UK on the date shown in the guide.