The metrics and how we compute them
All case studies, the Germany-versus-Dubai comparison, the calculators and the PDF analysis use the same definitions. That is the only way cases can be compared with each other.
| Metric | Formula | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| Gross yield | annual rent ÷ price | Return of the asset before costs, for comparing properties |
| Net yield | (annual rent − service charge − 5 % management) ÷ price | Return of the asset after running costs, without a loan |
| Monthly instalment | annuity: loan × i ÷ (1 − (1 + i)−n), i = rate ÷ 12, n = months | Level payment over the term; interest share falls, principal share rises |
| Running surplus | annual rent − 12 instalments − service charge − management | What remains in the account after all running payments |
| First-year total return on equity | (surplus + year-1 principal) ÷ equity | The metric we compare cases with; one-off costs shown separately |
| Total return including one-off costs | (surplus + year-1 principal) ÷ (equity + one-off costs) | The conservative investor's view, shown beside the headline figure in every case |
| Debt-service ratio | instalment ÷ net income | Central Bank ceiling: 50 per cent of income across all loan payments |
| Rent cover | annual rent ÷ (12 instalments + service charge + management) | Above 100 per cent the property carries itself |
Worked example Capital growth is assumed in no calculation. Where we show scenarios with price changes, they are labelled as scenarios. One-off purchase costs are acquisition costs and are not added to the return base; the figure including them stands beside it as a comparison.
The cost model
| Item | Assumption | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Dubai Land Department transfer fee | 4 % of price | fee schedule |
| Agency commission | 2 % of price plus 5 % VAT | market standard |
| Mortgage registration | 0.25 % of the loan plus AED 270 | fee schedule |
| Trustee and DLD administrative fees | AED 4,000 plus VAT, plus about AED 520 to 580 | fee schedule, rounded |
| Bank valuation | AED 2,600 | assumption |
| Bank arrangement fee | 1 % of the loan | assumption, upper end of practice |
| Management | 5 % of annual rent | assumption |
| Service charge | the property's actual rate per square foot | property-specific |
Where a case's actual costs differ, we use the actual figures and say so. In the calculators the model applies, so every user works from the same base. Every fee with its official source, priced at three real purchase prices, is on the page Dubai property purchase costs.
Sources and labelling
Every statement on this site carries one of four labels:
- Official rule a binding requirement of an authority or a law, with source.
- Bank practice the practice of individual banks, changeable at short notice, without naming the institution.
- Nexus Bridge experience what we observe in live mandates.
- Worked example an illustrative calculation, not a commitment.
Rules come from primary sources: the UAE Central Bank Rulebook, the Dubai Land Department, the Federal Tax Authority, and for German tax questions the German Income Tax Act. Market figures come from official publications or named studies with a date. Every page ends with a numbered source list and carries a review date. What we cannot source does not go on the page.
Rules for case studies
- Only real mandates we handled ourselves, or internal cases. No model cases dressed up as mandates.
- Client cases only with written consent and anonymised; internal cases anonymised as well, with the role disclosed.
- No salaries, wealth or income of any person, including our own. No towers, no unit numbers.
- Every case study has a check script that recomputes the published figures from the inputs. If they do not match, the page is not built.
- Uncomfortable results stay. Case 01 and case 04 show negative leverage, case 03 a small one.
- Open outcomes are called open and added later, such as the occupancy figures in case 04.
Our interest and our fee
We accompany the client to the bank; we do not work for the bank. We receive no commission from any bank; our fee is paid by the client, never by a bank. That is why we name no institutions as recommendations and instead describe how the leading UAE banks assess an application. Partners we work with are listed on the German about page; no payment flows for any mention there either.
Calculators and PDF analysis
The calculators on the English calculator page, the German equity page and the German home page use the formulas and the cost model on this page. The PDF analysis is generated entirely in the user's browser; no inputs are transmitted to us and no e-mail address is required. The analysis is a model calculation; loan-to-value, rate and approval are set by the bank alone.
Software and AI
We use software and AI tools for research, calculation, drafting and checking. Responsibility stays with people: Denise Tanrikul is editorially responsible, Martin Krygier reviews for practical accuracy, and no figure goes live that has not been recomputed in a check script. The experience behind every judgement comes from live mandates and internal cases, not from software.
Corrections log
| Date | Page | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 4 September 2026 | Case studies 01 to 03, PDF analysis | Metric "first-year total return" changed from "on capital employed including one-off costs" to "on equity"; the previous figure remains in brackets as a comparison. New values 3.47 %, 9.41 %, 6.97 % (previously 3.04 %, 7.67 %, 5.78 %). Reason: consistency with treating one-off costs as acquisition costs. |
| 4 September 2026 | Dubai property and German tax | Section on § 2a EStG (loss offset with third countries) added. |
| 4 September 2026 | several pages | Apostille note corrected: the UAE is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention; legalisation chain instead of apostille. |
| 5 September 2026 | Purchase costs (German and English) | Dubai Land Department fee split documented as 2 % buyer and 2 % seller by law, 4 % buyer in practice; DLD administrative fees itemised (title deed AED 250, map AED 250, knowledge and innovation AED 10 each). |
Found an error? info@nexusbridgecapital.de. We reply and record the correction here.
Frequently asked questions
How does Nexus Bridge Capital calculate the return on a property?
Which purchase costs do you assume?
Where do your figures come from?
Are the case studies real?
Do you name banks?
How do you handle mistakes?
Do you use AI?
Sources
- UAE Central Bank Rulebook, Regulations Regarding Mortgage Loans, https://rulebook.centralbank.ae/en/rulebook/regulations-regarding-mortgage-loans (accessed 5 September 2026).
- UAE Central Bank Rulebook, Article 3, Important Ratios (loan-to-value, debt burden, tenor), https://rulebook.centralbank.ae/en/rulebook/article-3-important-ratios (accessed 5 September 2026).
- Dubai Land Department, Property Sale Registration (transfer fee and process), https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/eservices/property-sale-registration/ (accessed 5 September 2026).
- Dubai Land Department, Request for Mortgage Registration, https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/eservices/request-for-mortgage-registration/ (accessed 5 September 2026).
- UAE Federal Tax Authority, https://tax.gov.ae/en/ (accessed 5 September 2026).
- HCCH, Status table, Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (the UAE is not a contracting party), https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/status-table/?cid=41 (accessed 5 September 2026).