Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) gave me one of the most competitive home finance rates I was offered in the UAE. It also gave me the most frustrating banking experience I have had in years. This review is my first-hand account of what happened, what it cost me in time and travel, and which banks I would consider instead.
Key takeaways
3.99%
Competitive pricing in my case. Check the current offer.
AED 7,000
Frozen while I paid admin fees separately.
1+ month
I had started repayments before receiving the top-up.
My setup: a buyout plus a top-up
My financing had two parts, and they could not have gone more differently.
- Mortgage buyout. ADIB took over my existing mortgage from the Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD).
- Top-up. An additional amount to pay toward an off-plan property, released as a cheque.
The first part was mostly fine. The second part is where things went badly wrong.
What ADIB offered
On paper, ADIB’s offer was hard to beat:
- A 3.99% rate. ADIB is an Islamic bank, so this is technically a profit rate rather than interest, but it compares the same way. Rates change, so check the current offer before you apply.
- Early settlement fee refunded, with a catch. ADIB offered to cover the fee my previous bank charged for settling the mortgage early. In practice, they add it to your mortgage to pay off your old bank, then refund it to you once the process is complete. There is a reason it works this way: that amount now sits inside a mortgage you will take 25 years to repay, so ADIB earns profit on it the whole time. It is not a free gift; you are borrowing it.
- Valuation fee refunded. You pay the property valuation upfront, and ADIB repays it.
The catch: don’t expect the early settlement fee or the valuation money back right away. You’ll need to chase ADIB for it first.
How the ADIB buyout and top-up process works
Here is the process step by step, as it happened for me. Steps can vary, so confirm each one with your relationship manager.
- Application and approval. Submit your documents (typically passport, Emirates ID, salary certificate and recent bank statements) and get approval for the buyout plus any top-up.
- Open an ADIB account. ADIB asked me to open an account and deposit AED 8,500, then froze AED 7,000 of it to guarantee payment of the admin fees.
- Property valuation. You pay for it upfront. ADIB repaid mine as part of the offer.
- Liability letter from your current bank. It confirms the amount ADIB needs to settle.. and this is where the problem started.
- ADIB settles your old mortgage. ADIB pays off your current bank. The early settlement fee is added to your new mortgage and paid at the same time, and ADIB refunds it to you later.
- Title deed transfer. The old mortgage is released and ADIB’s is registered on the title deed.
- Top-up released. The top-up comes as a cheque you collect in person at a branch.
- Installments start and the frozen amount is released.
Part one: the buyout (mostly smooth)
The buyout itself went through without major drama. The one exception: I was sent to Deira for an appointment that was actually in Al Quoz. In Dubai traffic, that cost me close to 2 hours (I shared more about this in my Aknaz Mortgages review). It was an avoidable error, but at the time I put it down to a one-off mix-up.
Looking back, it was an early sign of how the rest would go.
The liability letter: one week lost to an assumption
ADIB tends to overcomplicate things, and the liability letter is the clearest example of it. They asked me for a liability letter from CBD, which I got in digital form, the only format CBD issues, yet ADIB insisted on a physical copy. This wasn’t even ADIB’s policy; it was their own assumption that CBD, once ADIB submitted the documents, wouldn’t accept a digital letter it had issued itself.
Based on that assumption alone, they blocked the process until I could produce an email from CBD confirming it would accept its own letter. In the end I turned the tables: I asked them to go ahead and to send me proof if CBD actually rejected it. I never heard back, which tells you the letter was fine all along, and that assumption cost me a full week.
The frozen AED 7,000: budget for it twice
ADIB asked me to open an account and deposit AED 8,500, then froze AED 7,000 of it. I assumed the frozen amount would cover the admin fees. It didn’t. I paid the admin fees from my own pocket, so be ready with this amount twice.
Getting ADIB to unfreeze the money is a challenge on its own. Five weeks later, my title deed is done and I have started paying installments, yet the AED 7,000 is still frozen. If you pick ADIB Home Finance, I hope you’re not short on cash.
Part two: the top-up cheque nightmare
It took ADIB more than a month to release the top-up cheque. By then I had already paid my first installment on the new financing, without having received the cheque for part of the amount.
What the delay cost me: AED 25,000
We started the process in June. My off-plan installments to the developer are AED 12,600 a month. I planned to pay July and August myself, expecting the top-up to cover September onward.
It didn’t. I had to pay September from my own pocket, and October’s installment is now due too. That’s an extra AED 25,000 I had to find while waiting for ADIB, without counting the cost of my trip to Dubai to escalate further. Again, you shouldn’t be short in cash.
No workarounds allowed
I was spending the month abroad and wanted the cheque released before my next off-plan installment, so I tried the obvious fixes:
- Power of attorney for someone to collect the cheque on my behalf: not possible.
- Paying the developer directly instead of issuing a cheque: not possible.
With no other option, I flew back to the UAE and stayed a week just to sort it out.
“Come anytime before 5pm”
On Monday, ADIB told me to wait until Wednesday and come in anytime before 5pm. I arrived at 9:30am on Wednesday while cheque collection only happen between 10:30am and 2:30pm. So I was informed about working hours rather than actual collection timing. If the issue was only to wait 1 hour, it would have been a closed topic, but after all this, the cheque was not ready.
Worse, the request had only been initiated that same morning. Staff were not even sure it would be ready the next day.
To POA, Or Not To POA.. That Is The Question!
I originally planned to give a Power of Attorney (PoA) to my mortgage broker at Aknaz so things could move forward while I was abroad. Even though the manager’s cheque is made out directly in the developer’s name, meaning zero financial risk, ADIB rejected the request. Fine, fair enough.
Fast-forward to now: I came back to the UAE for a week to complete the process. ADIB delayed issuing my cheque before my travel date. Their brilliant solution? “Just issue a Power of Attorney to someone before you leave!”
Interesting..
Verdict: good rate, terrible process
If the rate is all that matters to you, ADIB is worth a look. If your time, peach of mind and cash flow matter too, think twice.
I took this mortgage for convenience rather than lack of funds, so I could absorb the delay. If you’re short on cash and tight on time, don’t go with ADIB. On top of being slow, they make you waste your time.
| What worked | What didn’t |
|---|---|
| 3.99% rate | Early settlement and valuation refunds had to be chased |
| Early settlement fee refunded (but added to your mortgage, so you pay profit on it while being refund the initial cost) | AED 7,000 still frozen after 5 weeks |
| Valuation fee refunded | Admin fees paid out of pocket on top of the frozen amount |
| Buyout went through without major issues | Sent to the wrong location |
| One week lost over a physical vs digital letter | |
| Top-up cheque took more than a month | |
| AED 25,000 in developer installments paid out of pocket while waiting | |
| No power of attorney, no direct payment to the developer | |
| A branch appointment where the cheque was not ready | |
| Escalation needed to get a firm date |
Alternatives to ADIB Home Finance
Every bank involves a trade-off. Here is how the three I have dealt with compare, based on my own experience.
| Bank | Process | Customer support |
|---|---|---|
| ADIB | Overcomplicated and slow | Escalation needed to get answers |
| DIB | Smooth | One of the worst I have seen |
| CBD | Smooth | Reliable: not one unresolved issue in 5 years |
DIB Home Finance: the opposite problem
If you want the reverse of ADIB, DIB is it. The process is smooth, but the customer support is among the worst and least useful I have ever dealt with. Fine if everything goes right; painful if anything goes wrong.
CBD: the honest all-rounder
CBD is my honest recommendation. Things just work. In five years with them, I have not had a single unresolved issue. If you value peace of mind over squeezing out the lowest possible rate, start here.
If you still choose ADIB: how to protect yourself
The rate may still win you over. If it does, these steps could save you the weeks I lost.
- Plan to be in the UAE when funds are released. Do not count on a power of attorney or direct payment to the developer.
- Ask in writing which document formats they accept before you request anything from your current bank.
- Push back on assumptions. If they claim another bank will reject a document, ask for proof.
- Confirm the cheque is ready by phone or email before every branch visit, and double-check the branch address.
- Budget the frozen amount twice. Keep AED 7,000 frozen in the account and the same again for admin fees, and ask in writing when the frozen money will be released.
- Chase refunds in writing. Ask for a date for the early settlement fee and valuation refunds.
- Escalate early. In my case, nothing moved until I did.
- Build in a buffer of several weeks between title deed transfer and any payment you owe on an off-plan property.
