# property question



## meade (Jan 18, 2012)

hi,

I am currently looking to purchase a villa in dubai and was wondering whether anyone had any advice /recomendations regarding the best location at the moment as i am looking to take advantage of the recent downturn in the construction industry .The rumour mill would suggest that the market at the moment is saturated with an over supply of homes and of course i would like to take advantage of this ( if possible )

I am interested in all area's but especially,

1. Arabian Ranches
2. Al barsha
3. jumeirah islands
4. The villa project

i would appreciate anyones thoughts on the same.Thanks


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## Jumeirah Jim (Jan 24, 2011)

meade said:


> hi,
> 
> I am currently looking to purchase a villa in dubai and was wondering whether anyone had any advice /recomendations regarding the best location at the moment as i am looking to take advantage of the recent downturn in the construction industry .The rumour mill would suggest that the market at the moment is saturated with an over supply of homes and of course i would like to take advantage of this ( if possible )
> 
> ...


Al Barsha is only for locals or gcc nationals. The ranches and jumeriah islands are sought after locations. You are less likely to find a bargain villa there than in the villa as the villa is a less established location. Other areas, open to foreign buyers where you're more likely to get a bargain (as they are still very much work in progress and will be for years to come) include jumeirah village and sports city. Motor city is another option and is closer to being finished than JV or SC.


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## niraj84 (Jan 17, 2012)

The Villa project is also a good option, but kinda far off from town. Jumeirah Islands and ranches are areas that have been here for the last 4-6 years and so are well established with amenities and supermarkets etc that are close by. 

In Barsha most villas are owned by locals, so do check here to see what you like as they are usually big enough for 5+ people. 

Just read the small print to any agreement you do make and check the maintenance charges as they can be quite high.


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## meade (Jan 18, 2012)

*thanks for input*



Jumeirah Jim said:


> Al Barsha is only for locals or gcc nationals. The ranches and jumeriah islands are sought after locations. You are less likely to find a bargain villa there than in the villa as the villa is a less established location. Other areas, open to foreign buyers where you're more likely to get a bargain (as they are still very much work in progress and will be for years to come) include jumeirah village and sports city. Motor city is another option and is closer to being finished than JV or SC.


Dear jim,

it is very clear the way you write that you are obviously educated on the subject and for that i thank you.Of course if in the future if you find or realise anything that may be of importance please feel free to contact me.

many thanks from Ireland

m


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## meade (Jan 18, 2012)

*thanks from Ireland*



niraj84 said:


> The Villa project is also a good option, but kinda far off from town. Jumeirah Islands and ranches are areas that have been here for the last 4-6 years and so are well established with amenities and supermarkets etc that are close by.
> 
> In Barsha most villas are owned by locals, so do check here to see what you like as they are usually big enough for 5+ people.
> 
> Just read the small print to any agreement you do make and check the maintenance charges as they can be quite high.


Dear NIRAJ84,

I thank you for your counsel on the matter,very very much appreciated.Of course if you think of anything further on the subject in the future please feel free to contact me again.

kind regards

m


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## meade (Jan 18, 2012)

niraj84 said:


> The Villa project is also a good option, but kinda far off from town. Jumeirah Islands and ranches are areas that have been here for the last 4-6 years and so are well established with amenities and supermarkets etc that are close by.
> 
> In Barsha most villas are owned by locals, so do check here to see what you like as they are usually big enough for 5+ people.
> 
> Just read the small print to any agreement you do make and check the maintenance charges as they can be quite high.


Dear NIRAJ8,

Thanks for all your help however my empirical instinct tells me when i see the words _"agreement "*and "maintenace charges"that i must inevestigate further out of particularity and i once again thank you for your insight.

And yes i have heard that maintenace charges can be quite high and admiitedly this is something that i have not enquired about so i would appreciate your counsel .(if you have the time of-course)

Particularly,

1.How they are established
2.Term of payment (annual,semi-annual)
3.Is it means tested,ie per square foot,or just a fixed charge?
4.Is this paid to the developer,government or agency?
5.Is it standard in law or just party to the purchase agreement
6.What remedy, conviction or forfeit resaults from non payment

Of course im sorry if this seems excessive or banal but i would really appreciate your advise.

m*_


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## meade (Jan 18, 2012)

meade said:


> Dear jim,
> 
> it is very clear the way you write that you are obviously educated on the subject and for that i thank you.Of course if in the future if you find or realise anything that may be of importance please feel free to contact me.
> 
> ...


Dear Jim,

I posted a further post to niraj (not sure if you had seen it,or even if you can for that matter) regarding the subject of manitenace costs and how they are computed,of course i would appreciate your good counsel on the same if you can find the time.

mant thanks.

m


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## Hina (Jan 25, 2012)

Who would be responsible ? after handing over property to you,you come to know there is accumulated bill of DEWA on yr apartment that had come before handover...


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## meade (Jan 18, 2012)

Hina said:


> Who would be responsible ? after handing over property to you,you come to know there is accumulated bill of DEWA on yr apartment that had come before handover...



Yes i have heard some of he stories and in particular one posted on here regarding a bill for 12,000 dirhams that had to be paid by the new owner,renter.........Wow is that really alowed to happen??

m


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

Unfortunately it does. It can be a mistake from DEWA's side, but often it's that the landlord has had the supply on or that the last tenant didn't pay the final bill and the supply has continued to run, particularly in cases where a garden has a timed sprinkler system. As soon as you open your account, DEWA just transfers the outstanding balance onto it. It's actually something the realtor can check if you are interested in somewhere. They can take the meter number and call DEWA to see if there is any outstanding on it. Even if the power is off when you view somewhere, it doesn't mean the bill has been paid. If there is an outstanding, the landlord should settle and prove payment before any contract is signed or cheques handed over.


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## meade (Jan 18, 2012)

BedouGirl said:


> Unfortunately it does. It can be a mistake from DEWA's side, but often it's that the landlord has had the supply on or that the last tenant didn't pay the final bill and the supply has continued to run, particularly in cases where a garden has a timed sprinkler system. As soon as you open your account, DEWA just transfers the outstanding balance onto it. It's actually something the realtor can check if you are interested in somewhere. They can take the meter number and call DEWA to see if there is any outstanding on it. Even if the power is off when you view somewhere, it doesn't mean the bill has been paid. If there is an outstanding, the landlord should settle and prove payment before any contract is signed or cheques handed over.


Thanks Bedougirl,

That is a very educated answer and i was sort-of hoping that you did not have a bad expierence of the same due to your impressive clarity.However,it makes alot of sense to have the meter checked before hand so that any out-standing bills can be identified and executed accordingly.Anyway ,that happens alot every where and is not just in dubai ,so ill have to be carefull.

thanks for your time!!!!!!!!!!


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

Thanks Meade . It ALMOST happened to me. A few years back, I was looking at a villa and it just happened that the DEWA man turned up at the same time and the realtor (who actually became a friend) asked why he was reading the meter and got him to call to find out what the bill was and it was enormous. A combination of someone not paying and the landlord not cutting the supply because he loved the grass in his garden so much. It all became quite complicated and I ended up not taking the place because as it turned out the landlord could have the bill wiped by DEWA if he could prove he hadn't been renting the villa for x amount of time so it suited him not to rent it, if that makes sense.


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## meade (Jan 18, 2012)

BedouGirl said:


> Thanks Meade . It ALMOST happened to me. A few years back, I was looking at a villa and it just happened that the DEWA man turned up at the same time and the realtor (who actually became a friend) asked why he was reading the meter and got him to call to find out what the bill was and it was enormous. A combination of someone not paying and the landlord not cutting the supply because he loved the grass in his garden so much. It all became quite complicated and I ended up not taking the place because as it turned out the landlord could have the bill wiped by DEWA if he could prove he hadn't been renting the villa for x amount of time so it suited him not to rent it, if that makes sense.


Thanks Bedougirl,

I thought as much .(i was hoping that i was not in fact profiting from your bad expierence,so im delighted ).And of course i am cognicent of the fact that i may have been lumbered myeslf if you had not educated me.

Sounds like a legal minefield to me....thanks so much for your help


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

I honestly don't think this is the 'norm' Meade but it is definitely something to bear in mind - good luck with the house hunting.


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## meade (Jan 18, 2012)

BedouGirl said:


> I honestly don't think this is the 'norm' Meade but it is definitely something to bear in mind - good luck with the house hunting.


thanks


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## Hina (Jan 25, 2012)

meade said:


> Yes i have heard some of he stories and in particular one posted on here regarding a bill for 12,000 dirhams that had to be paid by the new owner,renter.........Wow is that really alowed to happen??
> 
> m


In my friend case , it was AED60000 for one bed dewa account ,Its still under developer name as per them its due to wrong meter reading which they had complaining since one year before the handover..owner idea about this whole dispute while apartment rented later as well through developer with out sorting this matter...Now things get worst apartment electricity gets disconnected again and again tenant yells on owner ..and owner is in totally mess by visiting all gov bodies but no help still working with dewa to sort this matter by itself as also developer office has been closed down...


Any suggestions if dewa asks should they money to them ?how they are liable for prehandover bill whether right or wrong???


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## meade (Jan 18, 2012)

Hina said:


> In my friend case , it was AED60000 for one bed dewa account ,Its still under developer name as per them its due to wrong meter reading which they had complaining since one year before the handover..owner idea about this whole dispute while apartment rented later as well through developer with out sorting this matter...Now things get worst apartment electricity gets disconnected again and again tenant yells on owner ..and owner is in totally mess by visiting all gov bodies but no help still working with dewa to sort this matter by itself as also developer office has been closed down...
> 
> 
> Any suggestions if dewa asks should they money to them ?how they are liable for prehandover bill whether right or wrong???


Oh my god,that is a mess....aed60,000 wow!!From a legal standpoint it is remarkable that this happening,evidentally it would appear that this is not an isolated incident either...Of course i find it absolutly remarkable that this is allowed to happen ,is their no laywers in Dubai ,is their no courts.....I would definately not pay anything that was not of my doing....


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## Felixtoo2 (Jan 16, 2009)

This is Sharia Law Country its like the Wild West before the Indians had guns except a little more one sided, if you get in trouble here you get the hell outta Dodge and try to sort it out from a democratic country. I`d immagine that a very high percentage of us have a rapid escape plan in case it all goes a bit wrong.


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## meade (Jan 18, 2012)

Felixtoo2 said:


> This is Sharia Law Country its like the Wild West before the Indians had guns except a little more one sided, if you get in trouble here you get the hell outta Dodge and try to sort it out from a democratic country. I`d immagine that a very high percentage of us have a rapid escape plan in case it all goes a bit wrong.


Dear Felixtoo,

That is a bit scary,i mean...i have heard some of the stories here regarding the non-payment of fines etc etc ,and of course we are all aware (in the uk) of the infamous "sex on the beach incident" ,or was that just conjecture???Anyhow the stories are the stuff of legend by now and i mean i can think of a better use of my time than prison.....Jesus........its all very worrying..

regards


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