Rakbank and RAK Properties roll out staged financing for off-plan homes

Rakbank and RAK Properties have agreed to fund off-plan home purchases in Ras Al Khaimah in stages, with the lender's money following the building rather than arriving in a single movement at handover.

Eligible buyers can draw on financing at different points in a purchase, from the first payment through to the handover date. The product is aimed mainly at off-plan units, meaning homes bought before they are finished. The initial outlay is kept low. Structured instalments then run for the duration of construction.

In practice a buyer works to one schedule: the amount due at reservation, the sums falling due as building work proceeds, and the balance settled when the unit is handed over. The bank's involvement runs alongside the developer's construction timeline.

Twelve developments are covered: Skai, Quattro Del Mar, Solera, NURA, Anantara Residences, Anantara Villas, ENTA, Lunara on The Strand, Mirasol 1, Mirasol 2, Beach Villas and Edge.

What the two sides say

Sameh Muhtadi, chief executive officer of RAK Properties, said the tie-up with Rakbank on a product offered exclusively through the developer gives buyers one of the more accessible ways to finance a home currently on the market.

Raheel Ahmed, group chief executive officer of Rakbank, put the reasoning around the size of the decision. Buying a property, he said, is among life's biggest milestones and a long-held dream for many people. The bank's job, in his account, is to make that dream feel easier to reach.

Why the structure matters

Off-plan purchases in the emirate have generally been carried on payment plans drawn up by developers, leaving the buyer to fund years of construction before receiving keys. Adding a bank to that schedule changes two things at once: who carries the cost of a long build, and how a household's cash is paced. The lender's exposure grows alongside the asset, which keeps its claim aligned with the value being created on site.

There is also a difference in who stands on the other side of the contract. Under a developer's own plan, the buyer owes the developer. Under a bank-backed one, an institution with its own underwriting standards takes that position, which is why eligibility screening sits at the centre of the offer.

For RAK Properties, a financing partner attached to the payment plan can widen the group of people able to commit to a unit. For Rakbank, it opens a route into homes it can fund from an early stage rather than bidding for mortgages on completed stock. Both effects depend on how many buyers clear the lender's checks, and on how the arrangement performs across a dozen developments sitting at different points of construction.

Availability

The facility is live now across the listed developments. Eligibility rules and standard terms and conditions apply to each application.

The featured image was edited by Fintech News UAE, based on an image by RAK Properties via its website.