# The Process of Getting A House



## Guest (Jun 3, 2011)

I might recolated, and will need to look for a flat. I read the earlier post here, which says that the Greens are quite okay, the JT Towers are quite okay. However, my question is more about he process of getting the house. Let's say I want to check out the Greens, how do I do that? Do I take a taxi, and tell to the taxi driver to bring me to 'Greens' and once there I will look for some 'manager' and ask him for free flats? Or do I need to go through agencies, private adds? How does it work?


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## beaniebops (May 16, 2011)

Hey, 

you can go into the buildings ask the security guard are there any apartments available, you can look on a website called dubizzle,property finder ae or you can go through an agent.


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## Guest (Jun 4, 2011)

beaniebops said:


> you can go into the buildings ask the security guard are there any apartments available, you can look on a website called dubizzle,property finder ae or you can go through an agent.


Thanks for the reply. Is it normal to go to the buildings? Is that how usually people get a flat? Or is it more customary to go via agents?


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## mavzor (Feb 17, 2011)

Visit international city. Most services you need are downstairs, not 15m away at the mall, and you'll save your weight in gold!


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## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

mavzor said:


> Visit international city. Most services you need are downstairs, not 15m away at the mall, and you'll save your weight in gold!


Is this one a joke  ?? I dont see any  or  or :eyebrows: or ....


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

white_jasmin said:


> Thanks for the reply. Is it normal to go to the buildings? Is that how usually people get a flat? Or is it more customary to go via agents?


Most people will use an agent. Normally, during the second year, if you are intending to renew your lease, you can then go directly to the landlord and save yourself agency fees (some agents charge you again for the renewal!).

If using an agent, please make sure that:
1. They are registered with RERA 
2. They have the authority to rent out the property - ask for copies of the landlord's passport and the ownership papers.


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## mavzor (Feb 17, 2011)

Jynxgirl said:


> Is this one a joke  ?? I dont see any  or  or :eyebrows: or ....


Nope.
25k dhs / annum for a 1bdrm
Depends what money is worth to you, and how tolerant of other people you are.


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## Guest (Jun 4, 2011)

mavzor said:


> Visit international city.


What/where is international city? 



mavzor said:


> Nope.
> 25k dhs / annum for a 1bdrm
> Depends what money is worth to you, and how tolerant of other people you are.


Why you need to be tolerant? :-o


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## Guest (Jun 4, 2011)

Maz25 said:


> Most people will use an agent. Normally, during the second year, if you are intending to renew your lease, you can then go directly to the landlord and save yourself agency fees (some agents charge you again for the renewal!).


Is getting a flat for shorter than 1 year impossible? e.g. 6 months? Ok, so I take it that the way to get a flat is via agent. What are their fees?

I was thinking if you can get a decent hotel for 200AED per night, that is 80,000AED per year, almost not worth it getting a condo - I suppose a 1 bedroom cost around that price.


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

white_jasmin said:


> Is getting a flat for shorter than 1 year impossible? e.g. 6 months? Ok, so I take it that the way to get a flat is via agent. What are their fees?
> 
> I was thinking if you can get a decent hotel for 200AED per night, that is 80,000AED per year, almost not worth it getting a condo - I suppose a 1 bedroom cost around that price.


The standard lease period is 1 year. Saying that, there are landlords who are willing to offer a shorter lease. I have a few colleagues who have managed to secure 6 month leases, so it can be done if the landlord is agreeable to it.

You can also go for a short term rental (hotel apartments) and pay on a month-by-month basis. The rent covers all bills and also the apartment is serviced, hence cleaned 2-3 times a week. I believe they also throw in towels.

Some landlords do market their apartments themselves but they are few and far in between in comparison to agents. It is the tenant that pays the agency fees so there is really no benefit for the landlord to do all hard work and marketing himself (though some still choose to do so).

The agency fee is 5% of the annual rent + 5% security deposit. You also need AED 1000 for your DEWA deposit. On top, there is housing fees, which is charged as part of your DEWA bill on a monthly basis (it equates 5% of the annual rent).


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

white_jasmin said:


> What/where is international city?
> 
> 
> 
> Why you need to be tolerant? :-o


International City is more or less Dubai's ghetto. It's populated with brothels, gangs and people you wouldn't want as neighbours shoehorned 10 people to one bedroom.

The developer has more or less abandoned it so maintenance is non-existant, it has terrible transport links if you don't drive, will cost you a fortune in taxis if you want to go anywhere. Oh, and it regularly smells of the rotting sewage that floods the place.

It's a dump in the middle of nowhere. Avoid.


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## mavzor (Feb 17, 2011)

Hey Gavtek.
Brothels, gangs, people you wouldn't want as neighbours?
Mate, not sure where you got that. 
I'm always curious when these rumors come up... who/where did you hear all of this from?

I find my neighbours, laborers included, to be some of the nicest people I've met.
They can't read or write, but they're some of the most genuine and kind people you meet in the world.


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

News reports about gang violence, brothels being raided, human trafficking for starters.

Secondly, talking to people who used to live there and got fed up with the smell of sewage, "massage" flyers being shoved under their doors every day, labourers loitering in the corridors, spitting and leaving garbage, noise from neighbouring apartments housing 10+ people all round the clock.

I'm sure the labourers you live next to are genuine and kind, but as the OP appears to be a young European moving to Dubai to mingle and socialise with people of a similar age, International City is about the worst place in Dubai he can choose to live.

And to show I'm not making these things up, I just went on Gulf News, typed 'International City' into the search box and these articles from this year were on the first page of results:

gulfnews : International City: Squalor township (the headline is International City - Squalor Township - and read the comments under the article from people who live there if you feel the reporting is biased)

gulfnews : International City: Nakheel plans action (Nakheel acknowledging the problems and making an empty promise to fix them)

gulfnews : Sewage tankers raise a stink in International City (sewage tankers)

gulfnews : Manhole water floods street in International City (leaking sewage)

gulfnews : Mobile masseuses: Sex and the International City (door to door prostitution advertising)

gulfnews : Waste water floods residential area (more flooding sewage)


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## mavzor (Feb 17, 2011)

Cheers for the link in, appreciate it gav 

Completely right, and I do see where you're coming from around what a young expat may be looking for. But it depends what he's looking for. He may be coming here to save, not piss it up the wall, hence my previous comments

When it comes to media reports of a region, well I just need to refer to the telegraphs coverage of dubai. I spent 5 minutes one time scrolling through all the old stories all the way back to 2006. I think I found 5-10 positive ones? Other than that it's about how it's a ****hole, to reassure brit's back home how fantastic Great Britain is 

Dubai news, all the latest and breaking Dubai news - Telegraph


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## Guest (Jun 4, 2011)

Okay. The way I see it now, is that in the Dubai Ghetto (although this might actually be a nice place) the flat will cost like 40,000 AED. Whereas, in a nice place somewhere nicer would cost about 80,000 AED. The way I calculated it, you can get a hotel or hotel like appartment for that price. So its not like necessary to have a flat, but of course nicer. 

Btw. Are there any flats neer the Dubai Creek? Or everything is either near the JTL Towers or in Shahija?


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## mavzor (Feb 17, 2011)

1bdrm for around 25k/annum in italy cluster. Quite a nice cluster to be in, always something happening. 28 with a balcony.
Studio can be found for as low as 18 in a not as nice a place.

Moving on, keep an eye on Discovery Gardens. Similar development to international city, similar layout with shops on ground floors and easy accessibility.

Jasmin, are you in the UAE now?


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## clemsy (Jun 1, 2011)

You can get 3month leases in shajar for around 2200Aed per month,excluding water n light bills....


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## Canuck_Sens (Nov 16, 2010)

I read the comments of some members and I honestly think that once you move here stay in a hotel and then you decide where you want to live.

Before moving to UAE, I did the same thing that you did; that is, looked for information about neighbourhoods and best places to live with a budget.

In my case, people shared that Marina, JLT, Palm... are all very good places to live... with a lot of action but some literally sucks when it comes to traffic. In my case, my work is in Bur Dubai and therefore those places turned out to be a BIG No No. Although I have colleagues at work losing 1.5 hours a day with roundtrips

There are good places here...it is just that a lot of people don't know the places and they talk like they lived and know them.

My suggestion:Stay in a hotel for two/three weeks, get a map, rent a car (you will need if you are planning to take an apartment or villa) and see the places.

TIP for renting a place:You want to rent from a landlord who follows the rules and has all the paperwork of the apartment or villa within something below your budget.

Good luck


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## Guest (Jun 7, 2011)

Canuk_Sens: Thank you great post!!!

I actually plan not getting a car, and use taxi for all my transport. I considered, that if I count in the cost of the car, insurance, gas, repair cost, I might not spend that much more using taxis. And it is point-to-point transportation, which means no problems parking and walking 10 minutes in hot air if you don’t find a nearby parking slot. But I do not know if my strategy is feasible or not, as I am not yet there. This also necessitates, having an apartment that is very close to work and/or very close to the subway. While my company appears to be in Deira/Dubai creek area, no idea if there are any flats nearby.


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## Sunset (Jan 24, 2011)

mavzor said:


> Visit international city. Most services you need are downstairs, not 15m away at the mall, and you'll save your weight in gold!


That's just plain mean.


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