Once you have found a property you wish to buy, you should notify the developer or the seller and set up a meeting. You will sign an agreement which states that you intend to buy the property. This ensures that the seller will not sell the property to anyone else until you have your financing completed.
After you have secured any necessary mortgage or loan, you should sign a purchase contract with the seller (this is provided by the developer or the agent). The purchase contract specifies details like payment dates and property modifications.
Typically, you make a down payment of 20% of the purchase price on signing the contract. For off-plan properties, developers usually give you two years to complete all payments.
After you have made the last payment for your property, you will need to register it with Qatar's Land Registration Department. The official title is transferred to you about seven days after you register, and the transfer fee is about 0.25% of the property's purchase price.
If you buy a property off-plan, you register your property once it has been completed. If you need to sell your property before it has been completed, you will pay a 2.5% transfer fee to the developer.
There is no property purchase tax in Qatar.
Once you have signed a purchase contract and the title has been handed over to you, you may lease your property. However, if your property is in a development such as the Pearl-Qatar, you should double check your developer's rules and regulations for leasing.
All leases must be registered by the landlord at a Lease Registration Office.