# Procedures of renting an apartment



## hhl103 (May 3, 2011)

Hi all,

I am coming to work in Dubai starting from beginning september. I have been looking in Dubizzle for a 1-bedroom apartment and have some questions to ask.

(1) Do I have to pay the agent fee and something like a 3-month deposit before moving to an apartment? The agent fee seems to vary greatly, so what's the appropriate amount of agent fee for a reliable agent? 

(2) Anything special that I have to look out for before renting an apartment? 

(3) Do I need the residence visa to rent an apartment? (Actually the company is processing the visa for me but I am not sure how long it may take)

(4) The Marina Diamond seems to be a great place to stay in. And I notice that there are a couple of them, like Diamond 1,2,3,4, and so on. Can anybody tell me which one is the nearest to the metro station?

Thanks for all your help.!


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## Bigjimbo (Oct 28, 2010)

Hi. The standard agent fee is 5%, and the deposit is around the same, although can be more if furnished.

There are a lot of people who will pour doom and gloom on Marina Diamond buildings, but in general they are ok, and have pretty good facilities.

You may need a bit of luck trying to find a good agent as this end of the market is populated by some dodgy agents. With that make sure that you only make rent cheques to the registered owner of the unit. Demand to see the sales purchase agreement, or better yet title deed before signing any chqs over.

Yes you need a residents visa, for 2 reasons. 1 its a legal requirement. 2 You need to pay all the chqs for a years rent upfront, and you need visa to open a bank account.

The Diamond buildings are scattered throughout the marina at random, as if someone played monopoly with real plots.

Hope this helps


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## wandabug (Apr 22, 2010)

Diamond 3 is nearest the Metro.


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## wandabug (Apr 22, 2010)

Diamond 2 is furthest from the Metro.


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## hhl103 (May 3, 2011)

Bigjimbo said:


> Hi. The standard agent fee is 5%, and the deposit is around the same, although can be more if furnished.
> 
> There are a lot of people who will pour doom and gloom on Marina Diamond buildings, but in general they are ok, and have pretty good facilities.
> 
> ...


Thanks so much for your info! Do you have any tips for me to find a reliable agent? Can I trust those ads on Dubizzle?


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## hhl103 (May 3, 2011)

wandabug said:


> Diamond 2 is furthest from the Metro.



Thanks. Would you mind telling me the walking distance from Diamond 2 to metro? 

Furthermore, do you think it is a well-maintained building? 

If you have other suggestions around this area, please let me know, thanks!


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## Bigjimbo (Oct 28, 2010)

hhl103 said:


> Thanks so much for your info! Do you have any tips for me to find a reliable agent? Can I trust those ads on Dubizzle?


Afraid not matey. The ads on Dubizzle you can trust, just see a few different options, and when you have made up your mind make sure you check the documents


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## Amame (Jan 11, 2011)

Call up the agent and they will show you first the apartments. If you dont like the one you see, then they show you a few more options. Some of the nice rooms are not in the ads. And many agents share one apartment. Some apartment are directed from owner, so you dont have to pay agent fee, but the owners always are too busy to have time to meet you. It is quite a hassle to gone thru but you have to.


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## leap2unknown (Jul 28, 2011)

Hey, This posting has been pretty useful. I am moving to Dubai in September also and looking for a 2bed. Been given a accommodation allowance, although on small side, and also been looking at Diamond buildings. Thanks for info posted so far.


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## mol (Sep 9, 2011)

*About renting with VISA in process*

Hello,

I was googleing and I've found this post. Really useful. 

I will arrive on 3rd october to start working in Dubai, but I dont have the visa working & residence yet, they're purchasing it. 

So, will I have problems to rent an apartament or a room? What should I do to rent a bedroom?

Thank you so much for the info!


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## samroo (Apr 28, 2011)

hi their 
until you get your residency stamped on the passport ur company should put you in a temporary stay or hotel apartment .

when you get here the first thing you do is open a bank account it will be a non checking account when you get your residency update your account to a current account in the bank and request a cheque book to write the cheques to pay for your home .


thanks


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## mol (Sep 9, 2011)

samroo said:


> hi their
> until you get your residency stamped on the passport ur company should put you in a temporary stay or hotel apartment .
> 
> when you get here the first thing you do is open a bank account it will be a non checking account when you get your residency update your account to a current account in the bank and request a cheque book to write the cheques to pay for your home .
> ...


Hi again.

Thank you so much for the info but i think that you havent understood me. 

The problem is that I have to search an appartment and start living while my visa is on process. Is it posible?


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## samroo (Apr 28, 2011)

mol said:


> Hi again.
> 
> Thank you so much for the info but i think that you havent understood me.
> 
> The problem is that I have to search an appartment and start living while my visa is on process. Is it posible?



no don't think it is possible .

except if the rent contract will be on the companies name or a company reps name


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## mol (Sep 9, 2011)

Thank you so much for answering. It would be pleasant for me to have more opinions about if it's possible to rent a room while VISA is on process..


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## samroo (Apr 28, 2011)

hi
check the below link from the forum it contains good guifelines about moving and living in dubai .

it may answer some of your questions if you have not already checked it out 

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/du...fo-about-dubai-uae-updated-august-2011-a.html


thanks


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## wandabug (Apr 22, 2010)

mol said:


> Hi again.
> 
> Thank you so much for the info but i think that you havent understood me.
> 
> The problem is that I have to search an appartment and start living while my visa is on process. Is it posible?


Yes, to sign a Tenancy Agreement and register with DEWA you only need a letter from your employer stating that your visa is in process. You cannot however get a cheque book until you have your visa so you will have to pay the rent in cash or with a bankers cheque.
You can rent a room in a shared apartment/villa with no visa.


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## lily03 (May 27, 2012)

Hi everyone

I have one small question 

I have been living in Dubai with my sister for almost a year now. She has a visa from her University, i have a visa from my employer. The apartment is on her name, since she was the one who moved first.

So now we are planning to renew our contract, but her visa is expiring in 2 months (she will graduate). I know that we can renew the contract under her name (since at the moment she still has a residence visa), but after her visa expires she will apply for the visit visa, and she is afraid that she will not be able to get a visit visa if the apartment is under her name. Normally Croatia passport holders don't have a problem getting the visa. Are her concerns justified?

I know that I can just transfer the apartment to my name, but that involves extra charges, again deposits, changing DEWA/du on my name, so I just wanted to see if there is an easier way

Thank you for your replies


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## Hannajames (Sep 17, 2012)

wandabug said:


> Yes, to sign a Tenancy Agreement and register with DEWA you only need a letter from your employer stating that your visa is in process. You cannot however get a cheque book until you have your visa so you will have to pay the rent in cash or with a bankers cheque.
> You can rent a room in a shared apartment/villa with no visa.


Is it a common occurrence where tenancy agreements are signed with the employer letter stating that visa application is in process? 

Also, what if the visa is not granted? Where do we stand with regards to having already signed and occupied the property and also DEWA?

Any advice would be much appreciated


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