# Real estate agents



## Raytrace (Feb 16, 2011)

Hi,

Can someone advise me on which Real Estate agents are more reputable? I've had a look at Better Homes and Smith & Ken; they look alright, but knowing these agents with nicely-built websites, I'm sure they have a premium to use, and we won't have much room to maneuver when it comes down to the price. So, if you have anyone that you can suggest, that would be awesome!

I'll be coming over to Dubai in March, setting up shop before my family joins me, and will be having a rental car, so I should be pretty mobile.

Thanks!


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

The agency fee is a standard 5% of the annual rental value, so the cost will be the same regardless of which agent you use. 

My best advice would be to look at property on Dubizzle and then call up the agent that is marketing the property (ies) that catch your eye. There is no point in going by recommendation as:
1. They may not have the property that you want
2. As I found out, where one person has a good experience with a particular agent, I found them to be incompetent.

I would not necessarily go for the big names either, as you will find that they offer a service that is far worse that your smaller rental agencies. I tried to use Better Homes and I could not even get them to return a phone call, so just looked at properties on Dubizzle and called up the agent, who then showed me another property that I liked and ended up renting.


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## Raytrace (Feb 16, 2011)

Maz25 said:


> The agency fee is a standard 5% of the annual rental value, so the cost will be the same regardless of which agent that you use.
> 
> My best advice would be to look at property on Dubizzle and then call up the agent that is marketing the property (ies) that catch your eye. There is no point in going by recommendation as:
> 1. They may not have the property that you want
> 2. As I found out, where one person has a good experience with a particular agent, I found them to be incompetent.


I was told that even though on the face of it, they all charge the standard 5%, their prices would be higher as compared to Bob down the road, but it's all conjecture as I have no proof to back it up.

But I take your point on looking for the property that I am interested in.

Thanks!


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

Raytrace said:


> I was told that even though on the face of it, they all charge the standard 5%, their prices would be higher as compared to Bob down the road, but it's all conjecture as I have no proof to back it up.
> 
> But I take your point on looking for the property that I am interested in.
> 
> Thanks!


The best advice that I can give you is to negotiate. Do not pay the asking price - haggle like mad. This is a renter's market and with the oversupply of properties on the market, you can save quite a bit off the asking price. You should be able to get a minimum of AED 5k off the advertised price.


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## Raytrace (Feb 16, 2011)

Maz25 said:


> The best advice that I can give you is to negotiate. Do not pay the asking price - haggle like mad. This is a renter's market and with the oversupply of properties on the market, you can save quite a bit off the asking price. You should be able to get a minimum of AED 5k off the advertised price.


See...that's the other thing; being australian, we pretty much hate to haggle. I'm useless when it comes down to the crunch. I know it's a bit of a lame question, but I'll put it forward anyway:

"How do you haggle?"

I'm looking at some ads on properties around AED120k; would it be at all realistic in getting it down to say AED100k?

Thanks a million!


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

If you research the area that you wish to rent in, you would have a feel of the average prices and that is what you should base your offer on. Oftentimes, landlords and agents will overprice the property because:
1. They know that tenants will haggle, so that gives them a bit of leeway to negotiate and possibly offer a discount so that the property is rented out.
2. Higher rental value = higher agency fee = higher deposit

You should just make a counter offer on the property. The agent will often say no or that he needs to call up the landlord, etc. My agent refused to accept my offer and as the landlord was there, I just went over to him and asked him myself and he agreed to the price I wanted to pay. Just make it clear that you are looking at other properties and that you are not going to wait around for him to make up his mind nor pay a penny over your offer price. Set a deadline as to when he needs to come back to you and forget him if he doesn't keep to it and be prepared to walk away. There are that many properties available that you cannot lose out - there will always be a similar property on the same street, in the same block, etc and you can simply look at those if you really love that property style, the view, etc and want it that much but never ever agree to pay more than what a property is worth to you.

If you are prepared to haggle like mad, yes, you can get AED 20k off the asking price. It helps as well if the property has been on the market for a while and the landlord is desperate to rent out the place. Property prices are continuously falling, so there are always bargains to be had.

Importantly, rents are NO LONGER paid in one cheque. Haggle on the number of cheques as well and do not over-stretch your finances. In the more popular areas, you should be able to pay in 2 - 6 cheques and in slightly less popular areas, in up to 12 cheques.


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## Raytrace (Feb 16, 2011)

Maz25 said:


> If you research the area that you wish to rent in, you would have a feel of the average prices and that is what you should base your offer on. Oftentimes, landlords and agents will overprice the property because:
> 1. They know that tenants will haggle, so that gives them a bit of leeway to negotiate and possibly offer a discount so that the property is rented out.
> 2. Higher rental value = higher agency fee = higher deposit
> 
> ...


Sweet! That's refreshing to hear. I'll have to get my wife on the phone while I haggle  I guess even if I get shot down it doesn't really matter, as like you said, there are plenty of properties available. Is 1 week hunting reasonable? I know it takes a hell of a lot longer than that here in australia, but looking at the vacancy rates, I assume that there are a lot of already empty properties.

By the way, I'm looking at The Springs/Meadows area. I heard Um Suqeim is a bit out of my league, and Arabian Ranches is a bit isolated, so I have narrowed down my choices to these 2.


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## wandabug (Apr 22, 2010)

What are you looking for and what is your budget?


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## Raytrace (Feb 16, 2011)

wandabug said:


> What are you looking for and what is your budget?


Villa 3-room around AED100k + 10% fees. Looking around, it's a bit tight, but should be achievable right?


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## wandabug (Apr 22, 2010)

Forget about Meadows, way out of your budget.
Springs - possible in one of the less popular Springs (i.e. not near the schools/shops).
Jumeirah Village - newer and nicer villas than the Springs. (15 mins to DBS School/International/Regents).
Mirdiff - you will get the most for your budget here - school and shopping centre there - close to airport.
Jumeirah/Umm Sequim - you may get an older single storey villa for your budget.


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## Raytrace (Feb 16, 2011)

wandabug said:


> Forget about Meadows, way out of your budget.
> Springs - possible in one of the less popular Springs (i.e. not near the schools/shops).
> Jumeirah Village - newer and nicer villas than the Springs. (15 mins to DBS School/International/Regents).
> Mirdiff - you will get the most for your budget here - school and shopping centre there - close to airport.
> Jumeirah/Umm Sequim - you may get an older single storey villa for your budget.


So I take it Springs is touch and go.
Mirdiff is a bit far for me to travel to Tecom. How long would a drive be from Mirdiff?
I don't mind single storey houses; in fact I prefer it...dodgy knees! 

Thanks heaps!


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## CHEEKYCOUPLE (Feb 18, 2011)

*Cedre*



Raytrace said:


> So I take it Springs is touch and go.
> Mirdiff is a bit far for me to travel to Tecom. How long would a drive be from Mirdiff?
> I don't mind single storey houses; in fact I prefer it...dodgy knees!
> 
> Thanks heaps!


Did you try Cedres at Silicon Oasis....we are very interested in moving there after 12 years of trying to make up our minds .......


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## Raytrace (Feb 16, 2011)

CHEEKYCOUPLE said:


> Did you try Cedres at Silicon Oasis....we are very interested in moving there after 12 years of trying to make up our minds .......


Thank you for your suggestion. Silicon Oasis is quite a distance away from where I work, and I would prefer to stay nearer to Tecom as I have mentioned.

It looks good though; might just have a peek when I'm hunting around in 2 weeks' time.


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## Bigjimbo (Oct 28, 2010)

springs is ok, as Moe said. Try the greens as well as its very nice and very close, and there are some good deals to be had.

Also thanks to everyone as this thread was a pleasant, non generic agent bashing thread I had expected!


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## Raytrace (Feb 16, 2011)

Bigjimbo said:


> springs is ok, as Moe said. Try the greens as well as its very nice and very close, and there are some good deals to be had.
> 
> Also thanks to everyone as this thread was a pleasant, non generic agent bashing thread I had expected!


I take it you're an agent Bigjimbo? Probably you can lend me a hand with my house-hunting.

But one question remains...who's Moe?


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## Bigjimbo (Oct 28, 2010)

Oooops, I meant Maz! I work on the Palm, but do have colleagues in other areas. PM me if you would like me to try and help.


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