What it actually costs to close

Registration

Registration fees run at roughly five to six per cent of the declared value, and Law 296 aligned the rate for foreign and Lebanese buyers alike. It is the single largest cost above the price itself.

The declared value is the figure entered at the registry. Under-declaration is common and carries real exposure — it affects your registered cost base and, if challenged, your position. Treat pressure to under-declare as a signal about who you are dealing with.

The rest of the file

• Notary fees for the deed of sale.
• A licensed surveyor to set boundaries against the cadastral plan.
• Lawyer's fees, higher where a company structure or foreign licence is involved.
• Agency fees, typically around 2.5% from each side, though this is negotiable and should be agreed in writing at the outset.
• Translation and consular authentication where documents are executed abroad.

The promise of sale

Most transactions here begin with a promise of sale, with a deposit, before the notarial deed. Understand precisely what your deposit secures, what happens to it if the seller withdraws, and what happens if you do.

This is the document where buyers lose money in Lebanon — not at the deed. Have counsel read it before you sign, however routine the seller says it is.

There is no mortgage market

Since the banking crisis, transactions are conducted essentially entirely in cash US dollars. There is no meaningful residential lending, which means no financing condition, no valuation contingency, and no bank performing due diligence on your behalf.

Every check that a lender would ordinarily run is now yours to run. Budget for it.