Developer Due Diligence Checklist Before Buying in Dubai

1. RERA / Trakheesi visibility. Confirm the developer entity matches the SPA signatory and holds an active registration for the project class you are buying.
2. Escrow account discipline. Off-plan funds should move through the regulated project account — not personal transfers. Ask for escrow bank details and verify against RERA project records.
3. Registration velocity vs. inventory. Compare Oqood / sale registrations to launch inventory. Slow prints with loud marketing are a structural disconnect.
4. Prior project delivery tape. Pull completion slippage patterns on older towers: serial 6–12 month delays are more predictive than a new sales pavilion.
5. Portfolio concentration. If one sponsor is carrying multiple mega-launches simultaneously, stress-test their ability to finish — especially where payment plans are back-loaded.
6. Legal / headline risk. Search RERA circulars, court reporting, and mainstream trade press for repeated disputes involving the same SPV — data science will not replace litigation counsel.

Our /dev_search mode is designed to compress items 3–5 into a portfolio view; /project_search grounds the specific tower in registered transaction depth.