Concerns on Investing in Dubai

[rmaher]

confused:Having read a couple of threads can anyone provide definitive answers on following questions I have on investing as a non-Dubai resident in a property in Dubai?

1. Life of builidings - is there a building code which limits the expected lifespan of new builidings? I have seen threads mentioneing 10 yeras builing code and others max 25 years all due to highly corrosive weather in Dubai. Is this true? If yes it means property market is very short term!

2. VISA - this is limited to 3 years for property owners and is issues by the developer who can cancel it if you get into a dispute. Is this true?

3. Right to rent out your property - the law is not clear on this right and results in rental disputes. True?

4. If you sell the property you must pay a transfer fee to the developer?

5. Dubai Marina - can anyone recommend completed 1 bed properties at competitive prices or who to contact

Thanks!

 

[DelboyG]

confused:Having read a couple of threads can anyone provide definitive answers on following questions I have on investing as a non-Dubai resident in a property in Dubai?

1. Life of builidings - is there a building code which limits the expected lifespan of new builidings? I have seen threads mentioneing 10 yeras builing code and others max 25 years all due to highly corrosive weather in Dubai. Is this true? If yes it means property market is very short term!

2. VISA - this is limited to 3 years for property owners and is issues by the developer who can cancel it if you get into a dispute. Is this true?

3. Right to rent out your property - the law is not clear on this right and results in rental disputes. True?

4. If you sell the property you must pay a transfer fee to the developer?

5. Dubai Marina - can anyone recommend completed 1 bed properties at competitive prices or who to contact

Thanks!

I would suggest that you keep your money in your pocket at least until the summer - keep reading much more of this forum and go into the histories, as right now you are too green to be jumping in and the agents will eat you alive just from the questions you asked!

 

[sasherwani2]

Having read a couple of threads can anyone provide definitive answers on following questions I have on investing as a non-Dubai resident in a property in Dubai?

1. Life of builidings - is there a building code which limits the expected lifespan of new builidings? I have seen threads mentioneing 10 yeras builing code and others max 25 years all due to highly corrosive weather in Dubai. Is this true? If yes it means property market is very short term!

Most of the accountants use a 20 year straight line depreciation method for UAE buildings because the project managers and evaluation companies consider a 20 year period as the life of the buildings in UAE. Construction quality in UAE varies from developer to developer however. Be sure you know your developer and have examined some of its projects before you buy from the developer. From my personal experience, Emaar and Dubai Properties has delivered better quality projects in Dubai. Not all Emaar projects are of high quality (Views, Springs etc) but most are. I would guess the good projects by these two developers shall stand the test of time.

2. VISA - this is limited to 3 years for property owners and is issues by the developer who can cancel it if you get into a dispute. Is this true?

No visas are being issued with the purchase of property anymore unless you "really" know people around here

3. Right to rent out your property - the law is not clear on this right and results in rental disputes. True?

Unclear on your question. Yes you can rent your property and a rental index (an extremely vague one) has been released recently which states approximate rentals for different parts of Dubai. The actual rents nowadays, however, are lower than the rental index released. Call up a trustworthy broker to get the "actual" and latest rentals for various properties.

4. If you sell the property you must pay a transfer fee to the developer?

As far as I know, a rule was introduced stating that 1% is due from the seller. However I am not sure if this rule has actually been implemented. In Dubai rules are for fools

5. Dubai Marina - can anyone recommend completed 1 bed properties at competitive prices or who to contact

Call any broker and inquire on "distress sales in Marina". The prices are at a freefall however. I suggest you wait till a stabilised bottom is reached. What goes down will come up (eventually). But dont expect the prices to come back to 2007,2008 levels again.