Dubai Off-Plan Market Under Pressure: It’s Getting Risky for Buyers Now

Comments · 55

• JU

  @JudgeDredd888 · 7 days ago

  Finally an honest broker.

  19

• OB

  @oblicsorders25 · 8 days ago (edited)

  Even if a property is completed, the rental yields are significantly lower than they were. You can bargain away and achieve incredible discounts. Your videos are very well constructed

  14

• CA

  @CanibalReptiles · 7 days ago

  Fantastic vidoe must be watched by every buyer before buying properties

  10

• SI

  @simonlewis8282 · 1 day ago

  I started my journey in the Dubai real estate market in 2002 with an off plan purchase in Arabian Ranches (no Escrow, no DLD or RERA), which after 4 years returned a healthy profit, bearing in mind there were no completed projects available to purchase at that time. Everything was off plan. After selling my Arabian Ranches home, I dabbled in the booming real estate market buying and flipping to gain profit. Then I heard about Sports City and all the facilities it was going to have for a sporting enthusíast like myself. I found Brighton Holdings Ltd., a developer selling units in an off plan building called Oasis Tower 1, in a great location beside the canal and lagoon and with a great forecast for returns based on serviced apartments, which was a new idea in Dubai in early 2007. I had the resources from my Arabian Ranches sale and ended up securing contracts on 3 units in the 15th (top) &nbsp;floor as a long term source of income through the serviced apartments scheme. Completion was due by December 2008. Escrow was in it&apos;s infancy at this time so my regular payments went straight into the BHL account irrespective of the stage of build. I ended up having to sell 2 of the units as the construction was not progressing according to the forecast and I would not be seeing any returns on my investment for some time. Fortunately, I was able to recover my payments through on ward selling but the end of 2008 saw the start of the global financial crisis start affecting the Dubai real estate market. The project, which at this point was just a big hole in the ground with some pilings visible, went dead and BHL disappeared into the sunset. By this stage I had paid my 85% (750,000 AED) contractual payments against what would eventually be a worthless SPA (Sales Purchase Agreement) where all the clauses were heavily weighted in favour of the developer. In 2013, a small group of owner investors in OT1 convinced another developer (Fakhrudin Properties) to take over the project and complete the building, which they finally agreed to do, but not without caveats to the original SPA (no white goods, no furniture, no tiles or cabinet choices etc) and without this agreement they would not come on board. Finally, with all investors agreeing, they resumed work on the project, predicting a completion by Dec 2015. As investors we were happy to get this new developer who would finally give us the apartments we had paid so much for and already lost more than 5 years in rental income. From 2013, the project took another 7 years to complete and was finally declared ready for handover by June 2020, right in the middle of COVID 19. In my case, I learned that my unit on 15th (penthouse) floor had been re-assigned to the 12th floor with no price adjustment or compensation for a lower floor unit which typically sold for aed 100,000 less in 2007. By 2020, we had lost 13 years of rental income, had not been offered any late delivery compensation payments (as per the SPA) or any other form of recompense from Fakhrudin. I decided to take legal action against them for compensation and loss of revenue for those 13 years. Over the past 5 years I have engaged a number of legal firms to fight my case against BHL and Fakhrudin, all of which have failed miserably and after 5 years of fighting my lawyers came to the result that not only should I be responsible for the final 15% outstanding payment, but I should also cover the legal costs of Fakhrudin as well as my own extensive legal costs already paid to the legal companies. At 75 years old, this is a devastating blow having to find EUR 50k from a limited income. <br>My reason for telling my story in this rather protracted comment is to warn others thinking of entering into the off plan Dubai property market is DONT. There are plenty of completed buildings in all areas of Dubai now, unlike in 2007 and whilst I accept that there are a lot more safeguards in place now than before, put your money into a completed building that you can see , inspect the quality of finishes and what the location is like in reality rather than an architects impression. Even if you think you are protected by a contract, that will NOT work in your favour in the event of a dispute and the government of Dubai strongly favours the developers due to the amount of money they receive from them in fees, dues etc. For the rest of us we are just bugs to be stepped on and crushed without consequence. I am not alone in this issue, there are thousands who, like me, have lost their life savings to unscrupulous developers and are just collateral damage in the overall picture of things. You will get no assistance from the government departments (DLD / RERA etc) and the legal system will not work in your favour. I hope I have not bored you with my story I want it to be a warning to others not to make the same mistakes I did. As a post script to this story, my unit in OT1 is for sale at a very good price of AED 800,000 for anyone interested. Thank you.

• SK

  @SKCAN48 · 4 days ago

  Investors not getting double the price which they’re expecting, end user not getting their apartment… this is the situation of off plan . Ready property prices has further gone up now .

  1

• CA

  @carahulsrivastava9279 · 6 days ago

  Honest View is very rare in real estate

  5

• IM

  @imtiazakhund2313 · 2 days ago

  I have been through all this shit in Dubai , never again , I had 10 years full auf pain ,, lost so Nerves and moneyy

• RA

  @rajsahoy4154 · 2 days ago

  I would only buy a ready property in Dubai

• CL

  @ClubOrange-t8c · 9 hours ago

  The prospect of a significant bull run in the crypto market is thrilling, but success hinges on strategic buying and selling, not just holding the right coins. Day trading, the heartbeat of the crypto market, involves making strategic decisions based on market trends and fluctuations, capitalizing on short-term price movements. It offers the opportunity to ride market waves, buying low and selling high, thereby maximizing profits.…managed to grow a nest egg of around 85k to a decent 932k in the space of a few months..Thanks again Marie, &nbsp;for the regular updates....

  6

• HO

  @horseandhouses · 6 days ago

  Well articulated! Key points raised and high level overview of the core challenges facing both developers and buyers entering the market.

  1

• MC

  @MC-MALTA · 4 days ago

  Excellent Programme Excellent Explanation CONGRATULATIONS BRAVO THANKS ❤

  3

• TI

  @TimmySmoth · 3 days ago

  I’m on Burj park in downtown and apartments in my block dropped 20% for rental during the war but they’re now back up past where they were when I signed in Jan. <br><br>But new stuff in business bay or further out has dropped off a cliff