Can I buy an apartment in Lebanon with a bank cheque, and what discount do sellers apply?

Key facts#

Cheques in 2020-21

Many sales closed with bankers' cheques on trapped deposits, according to JSK Real Estate (January 2023)^[1]

By 2022

Most sales paid in real dollars, according to the same broker^[1]

Seller discount on a cheque

No figure we could verify (October 2026)

Lollar withdrawal haircut

about 80% at the peak^[2], on withdrawals since 2021 (AGBI, October 2023)

Banque de l'Habitat loan

fresh US dollars in cash only^[3,4,5]

When you own the flat

Only once the sale is registered at the Land Registry^[6]

How to pay with a cheque, if the seller agrees#

1. 1
   Get a recent Land Registry extract. It shows the owner, mortgages and restrictions on the property^[6,17]. Ask the seller for the plot number, the real estate district and, for a flat, the section number. Ask the notary or a lawyer which Land Registry office holds that plot, and check that the numbers match the extract before any money moves. Here is how to find a property's number, zone and section and how to check a title deed.
2. 2
   Ask your bank in writing. Ask whether it will issue a bankers' cheque from your account payable to the seller, what it charges and how long it takes. In January 2023, JSK Real Estate said that withdrawing a full sale price in cash from a Lebanese fresh-dollar account carried very high commissions^[1]. That was about fresh accounts, not cheques on old deposits, so get your bank's current fee schedule for your own account.
3. 3
   Agree the terms with the seller in writing. Write down the price, the currency, whether the cheque is taken at face value or at a discount, and when it is handed over.
4. 4
   Sign the sale at the notary. Ownership is transferred by the deed signed before the notary, not by a private agreement^[6]. Ask the notary how the payment and the price will be written in the deed. If you are abroad, someone can sign for you with a power of attorney signed at a Lebanese embassy or consulate, or before a local notary and then legalised^{[18,19,20,21]}.
5. 5
   File at the Land Registry straight away. According to Kallas Law Firm, priority between competing rights goes by the date the request enters the registry's daily journal, not by the date the deed was signed^[17].
6. 6
   Keep copies. Keep the cheque, the bank's confirmation, the deed and the new extract in your name.

It depends on#

• Where the seller wants the money. JSK Real Estate (2023) says some sellers want payment abroad while buyers hold money in Lebanon, or the reverse, and that a seller who accepts either is far more likely to close^[1]. Ask the seller early.
• Your bank. The bank decides whether it issues cheques on an old account and at what cost. Ask your branch, and ask whether Circular 679 still applies to your account.
• A Banque de l'Habitat loan. BDH pays the seller only after the title is in your name^[3,4], and it pays its loan in fresh US dollars in cash only^[3,4,5]. Ask BDH directly how any part paid by cheque would fit.
• Your nationality. The registration fee is 3% of the value for Lebanese buyers, 5% for non-Lebanese^[12]. The law treats as foreign anyone who does not hold Lebanese nationality^[22], so have the notary confirm which rate applies to you.
• Built flat or land. The estimated-value rule is written for built property^[13,14]. For unbuilt land, ask the notary which base is used.

Common questions#