A booking takes an afternoon; undoing one can take years. This is Part 11 of my guide to The WOW Tower: the checks I would make before paying anything, in the order they come up, with what the developer's documents say on each point and where the earlier parts go deeper. Where the answer is good, I say so. Where you should push, I say that too.
The short version
- Pay only into the project's escrow account named in your contract, and check that the sale is registered in Oqood, DLD's interim register, within 90 days.
- Read the payment schedule in the contract itself, not the brochure. The contract is what binds you.
- Know the completion date, the developer's right to extend it and the cap on delay compensation before you sign.
- Choose the unit for its floor, its view and its next buyer. No document protects the view.
- Get every return, discount and extra in a signed document. The contract excludes marketing material.
Before you pay the booking deposit
- The seller. The contract names the company that sells to you, a project company of the developer. Its name should match the escrow account and the project's DLD registration.
- The project's registration. Under Dubai's escrow law a developer may sell off-plan only once the project's escrow account is open. Ask for the DLD project number and look it up on DLD's project status page, which shows the trustee bank and the completion percentage. When I checked on 7 October 2026, the tower did not yet show in the DLD project data I use, which can lag behind a new registration.
- The escrow account. Mr. Eight's published answer is that purchase-price instalments go into a dedicated escrow account in the project's name with an approved trustee bank. At The WOW Tower that covers what you pay before completion; the instalments after handover are paid to the developer, as Part 6 explains. Ask for the bank, the account name and the number, and check they are the ones in your contract.
- What you pay on top of the price. The 4% DLD fee and an administration fee are paid separately from the price, and offices carry 5% VAT. What each unit costs per square foot against the district is in Part 4.
- The plan you are being offered. Which instalments wait for construction stages and which fall on dates; Part 5 has the October plan month by month, and Part 6 explains why the difference matters.
- The developer. What DLD's records confirm about Mr. Eight, and what they cannot yet show, is in Part 1.
Before you sign the SPA
The sale and purchase agreement is the document that counts. Mr. Eight's own published answers say so too: a changed payment plan is valid only once documented in writing, and a return is a commitment only if it is in the signed documents. The points I read in every SPA, and what to look for in this one:
| Clause | What to check |
|---|---|
| Payment schedule | That it matches the plan you were quoted, instalment by instalment, and says which are tied to construction |
| Completion date | The anticipated date, Q3 2029 in the fact sheets, how much longer the developer may extend it, and when handover follows completion |
| Delay compensation | When it starts, how it is calculated and its cap |
| Early completion | What happens to the post-handover instalments if the building finishes early |
| Late payment | The fee on late instalments; termination needs a 30-day notice through DLD, and the law caps what a developer may keep |
| Area | The tolerance before the price is adjusted, and who measures the final area |
| Changes | Renders and brochures are indicative; the contract's schedules set the specification |
| Service charge | The published rates are an estimate until the first budget is approved |
| Resale | When you may resell, and the developer's fee for its no-objection certificate |
| Promises | Marketing material and projections are excluded, so any return or extra must be in a signed document |
None of these clauses is unusual in Dubai, and most SPAs favour the developer on dates and penalties. The point of reading them is to know your position before something goes wrong, not after. What the law caps on termination, and what happens to escrow money in a delay, is in Part 6. Have the contract read by a UAE lawyer of your own if the amount matters to you, which it should.
Choosing the unit
- Floor and view. Homes start on floor 17, above the surrounding roofline, but no document protects a view. What keeps it open is the low-rise zoning around the plot; Part 2 explains what to ask for.
- Light, noise and air. My free map checks show the sun on any facade at any hour, whether a building sits under a flight path, and the air quality by community.
- Interior against balcony. Balconies are a large share of the area here, and the service charge is levied on them too. Compare units on interior area; Part 3 has the sizes.
- What is included. The developer says most of its homes are sold semi-furnished, with built-in furniture included. Check the unit specification attached to your contract for the kitchen, appliances and wardrobes.
- The next buyer. Studios and one-bedrooms are most of DLRC's trading. Choose a unit someone else will want in 2029 and after; Part 10 covers the exit.
Income: what is contracted and what is not
For an apartment, nothing is contracted. Model it at DLRC's median rents, not at the best building's, and decide whether the yield works for you; Part 8 has the rents by type and building.
For an office, the income is a lease, and the lease is what you check: who the tenant is, the rent per square foot, whether the 7% is after the service charge, when the rent starts and what leaving early costs. Part 7 goes through each one. The guarantee is optional, so decide first whether you want income or premises.
Financing and paying
- A mortgage during construction. UAE banks may lend at most 50% on a property bought off-plan, so plan to pay the construction instalments from your own funds.
- The balance after handover. The developer says buyers may apply for a mortgage to settle a handover balance, subject to the bank's policy and the completed property's valuation, and advises starting early. If you are counting on a loan, get a pre-approval before you book, not before handover.
- Payment instructions. Pay only to the account in your contract. If you are ever sent new bank details by email, confirm them by phone with someone you know before paying; the developer's own answers also tell buyers to verify payment instructions independently.
- Buying from abroad. The power of attorney route, the visa and the money transfer are in Part 12.
Strengths and points to push on
| Point | In its favour | What to check or push on |
|---|---|---|
| Payment structure | 30% of the price waits for construction stages; half is paid after handover | 20% is due at booking, and you must carry the 50% after handover |
| Developer | Group construction company; about Dh1.65bn of Dubai sales confirmed in DLD records | No completed building in Dubai yet; the first handover is due in 2027 |
| Price | Larger units, every home on floor 17 or above, a standalone plot | About 24% to 26% above the DLRC off-plan median per sq ft |
| Income | Offices: 7% net for 10 years under a lease | Apartments: no guarantee, about 4% to 5% gross at DLRC rents |
| Location | 10 minutes from Silicon Oasis; the Blue Line is due in 2029 | A car-based district until the metro opens; large DLRC supply |
| Contract | Escrow and Oqood protection under Dubai law | Extension rights and capped delay compensation, as in most Dubai SPAs |
| Information | Live site cameras on its Dubai projects; 68 published answers to buyer questions | The brochures still show an earlier payment plan, so the October terms must be in your own documents |
Before handover
- Track the build. DLD's project status page gives the official completion percentage, and Mr. Eight streams its sites on YouTube; how to read the DLD figures is in my guide to tracking off-plan construction progress.
- Inspect before you accept. Snagging is your own inspection of the unit before you take the keys, separate from the government completion certificate; ask how defects found then, and in the defects period after handover, are handled.
- The first service charge budget. The real figure replaces the estimate once the budget is approved; Dubai service charges explains how they are set.
- For offices, the lease. The formal lease is signed and registered in Ejari at handover.
My view
Nothing on this list is unusual for Dubai, and most of it is good practice for any off-plan purchase. At The WOW Tower, the three points I would spend the most time on are the written October terms, because the brochures still carry an earlier plan; the completion and delay clauses, because the developer has no Dubai handover yet; and the unit itself, because the price premium only works on the right floor and view. A buyer who has those three in writing, and is comfortable with them, has done most of the work. The full series is in the WOW Tower investor guide.
Sources and dates
- Contract points: the developer's SPA, general points only; the document is confidential. Office lease points: the developer's Agreement to Lease, general points only.
- Escrow, payments outside the price, remote purchase, payment plan changes, returns, furnishing, mortgage at handover, snagging, live cameras: Mr. Eight, Questions and answers (68 published answers), mr8.ae, read 7 Oct 2026.
- Escrow account before off-plan sales: Law No. 8 of 2007 and DLD's escrow FAQ. Registration of an off-plan sale within 90 days: DLD, Request to register the initial sale. Termination notice and caps: Law No. 13 of 2008 as amended by Law No. 19 of 2017. All read 7 Oct 2026.
- Mortgage cap on off-plan property: CBUAE Rulebook, Regulations regarding Mortgage Loans, Article 3, read 7 Oct 2026.
- Anticipated completion Q3 2029 and the earlier payment plan in the brochures: Mr. Eight fact sheets (May and June 2026).
- DLD project data and DLRC trading: DXB Interact, 7 Oct 2026. Mr. Eight's sales confirmed in DLD records: Part 1 of this guide.
Request exclusive pricing
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Frequently asked questions
The escrow account and the project's DLD registration, the payment schedule in the SPA, the completion date with its extension and delay clauses, the fees on top of the price, the unit's floor, view and area, and how you would sell. Get every promise in a signed document.
Pay only to the escrow account named in your SPA, in the project's name with an approved trustee bank. Check the bank on DLD's project status page, and confirm any change of bank details by phone before paying.
Oqood is DLD's interim register for off-plan sales. The developer must register your sale there within 90 days of signing, and the record is your proof of ownership until the title deed is issued.
The payment schedule, the completion date and the developer's right to extend it, the delay compensation and its cap, what happens if the building finishes early, late payment fees, the area tolerance, the resale rules and fee, and the clause that excludes marketing material.
No document protects the view. What keeps it open is the low-rise zoning of the plots around the tower, which the developer describes as about three to six floors, with the nearest building about 200 metres away.
The developer says most of its homes are sold semi-furnished, with all built-in furniture included. Check the unit specification attached to your contract for the exact kitchen, appliances and wardrobes.
The developer considers requests for a different structure individually, and says a variation counts only once it is documented in writing by the authorised parties. Never rely on a verbal change.
Inspect the unit, or have it inspected, before you take the keys, and list every defect in writing. Ask how defects found then and during the defects period are fixed, and check the first approved service charge budget.