First Remraam Investor Meeting - Zabeel Park Friday 13th March

[Direct2Dxb]

Last week, I have received an email from Mizin with construction updates on the Remraam project.I have just come across this forum and after reading realize that the general consensus out here is that this project is being canceled. Is there any official news regarding this? I have a property in phase 2, so like all of you, am quite concerned as well.

Edited to Add- The next payment is due on 1st April'09. How are you all handling that? Should we be making it or just hold back for a while until some more clarity is given to us by the Developer on the future of this project.

Best advice to you is to join the Remraam Investors Group and add your name to the petition that is being forwarded to Mizin.

 

[dxbgeorge0511]

Legal Status

I happened to read the law # 8 of 2007 - no developer is granted an exemption w.r.t Escrow a/c. Best thing is to stop payment till we get details of the Escrow a/c - all our money might have gone to La-La Land for all .

Any updates on the meeting at Zaabel Park on 13th - Pls keep all posted.


George

 

[InvestDXB]

I happened to read the law # 8 of 2007 - no developer is granted an exemption w.r.t Escrow a/c. Best thing is to stop payment till we get details of the Escrow a/c - all our money might have gone to La-La Land for all .

Any updates on the meeting at Zaabel Park on 13th - Pls keep all posted.


George

The below article suggests that some Dubai Government Affiliated companies such as Emaar, Nakheel are exempt from the Escrow account regulation. Mizin says that it is also Government owned, is that true? If it is then probably even they are exempt.

I came across the following article:

Reference: meed Dot Com----Middle East Business Intelligence - news, analysis, data and events from MEED

State developers in Dubai exempt from ring-fencing legislation
• Published: 05 December 2008 18:25 GMT
• Author: Matthew Martin
• More by this Author
• Last Updated: 08 December 2008 17:49

Lawyers identify loophole in accounting rules intended to protect investors.
Dubai's biggest state-owned developers are exempt from the emirate's escrow law, which is designed to protect off-plan purchasers from losing their investments on projects that are left incomplete or where developers go bust.

Legal experts tell MEED this gives state-controlled firms an unfair advantage, allowing them greater flexibility in how they use sales revenue to manage their cash flows. It also comes at a time when concerns about the outlook for Dubai property firms are increasing because of falling property prices and the growing number of developments that are being put on hold.
The revelation will be of particular interest to those who have bought properties in the Trump Tower project, which was put on hold in early December because of the difficulty in raising funds due to the problems in global financial markets (MEED 2:12:08).

The text of Law Number Eight, the guaranteed accounts law, gives no indication that any developers are exempt, but lawyers and sources inside the companies confirm that Emaar and Nakheel, which is behind the Trump Tower development, are considered to be effectively exempt from the law as they are owned by the government.

The law requires that proceeds from the sale of off-plan properties are ring-fenced for the development of that particular project.
It was enacted in December 2007 to stop developers using off-plan sales as a means of income for paying off other projects.

Those who have purchased off-plan properties will be particularly concerned as Nakheel has been at the centre of concerns over the creditworthiness of Dubai government-affiliated companies (MEED 24:10:08).

"As a government-owned company, Nakheel could argue it can give buyers a strong guarantee of completion without having to ring-fence sales revenue," says one banker working for Nakheel.

Exemption from the law also gives the government-owned companies a significant cash flow advantage over other developers in Dubai, which have been working within the new regulations for the past year. "If escrow does not apply to these developers, then it means that they could use proceeds from sales for any other part of their business [to fund a project elsewhere]," says one real estate lawyer in Dubai.

Sources close to Nakheel say the company has always been excluded from the terms of the law. As an example, they cite a securitisation launched in November when Nakheel sold off revenue from future sales in exchange for getting the cash immediately (MEED 21:11:08).

Another source close to Emaar confirms that it too is exempt from the law.

But local regulators argue that state developers offer alternative guarantees. "No one is exempt from the escrow law, but Nakheel and Emaar have other arrangements with the Land Department," says Marwan bin Ghalita, chief executive officer of Dubai's Real Estate Regulatory Agency.
These arrangements are understood to involve memorandums of understanding with the Land Depart-ment to provide access to Nakheel and Emaar's accounts. The Land Department could not be contacted for clarification of the issue.

Nakheel says in a statement that it is not exempt from the law, but as a state-owned company, its pledge to complete a project is enough. "Compliance is made by the way of the provision of completion guarantees," says the statement.

Emaar did not respond to invitations to comment. It is unclear if other developers are also exempt from the escrow law.



Escrow law
• Law Number 8 was enacted on 28 December 2007.
• It is intended to protect buyers from developers using their money for projects other than the one they are purchasing.
• The text of the law states that it applies to any developer that sells off-plan units in real estate development projects in the emirate.
• The law also applies to all present and future developments where off-plan sales occur.


• Author: Matthew Martin. Senior Gulf Correspondent
• Dubai

 

[dxbgeorge0511]

The below article suggests that some Dubai Government Affiliated companies such as Emaar, Nakheel are exempt from the Escrow account regulation. Mizin says that it is also Government owned, is that true? If it is then probably even they are exempt.

I came across the following article:

Reference: meed Dot Com----Middle East Business Intelligence - news, analysis, data and events from MEED

State developers in Dubai exempt from ring-fencing legislation
• Published: 05 December 2008 18:25 GMT
• Author: Matthew Martin
• More by this Author
• Last Updated: 08 December 2008 17:49

Lawyers identify loophole in accounting rules intended to protect investors.
Dubai's biggest state-owned developers are exempt from the emirate's escrow law, which is designed to protect off-plan purchasers from losing their investments on projects that are left incomplete or where developers go bust.

Legal experts tell MEED this gives state-controlled firms an unfair advantage, allowing them greater flexibility in how they use sales revenue to manage their cash flows. It also comes at a time when concerns about the outlook for Dubai property firms are increasing because of falling property prices and the growing number of developments that are being put on hold.
The revelation will be of particular interest to those who have bought properties in the Trump Tower project, which was put on hold in early December because of the difficulty in raising funds due to the problems in global financial markets (MEED 2:12:08).

The text of Law Number Eight, the guaranteed accounts law, gives no indication that any developers are exempt, but lawyers and sources inside the companies confirm that Emaar and Nakheel, which is behind the Trump Tower development, are considered to be effectively exempt from the law as they are owned by the government.

The law requires that proceeds from the sale of off-plan properties are ring-fenced for the development of that particular project.
It was enacted in December 2007 to stop developers using off-plan sales as a means of income for paying off other projects.

Those who have purchased off-plan properties will be particularly concerned as Nakheel has been at the centre of concerns over the creditworthiness of Dubai government-affiliated companies (MEED 24:10:08).

"As a government-owned company, Nakheel could argue it can give buyers a strong guarantee of completion without having to ring-fence sales revenue," says one banker working for Nakheel.

Exemption from the law also gives the government-owned companies a significant cash flow advantage over other developers in Dubai, which have been working within the new regulations for the past year. "If escrow does not apply to these developers, then it means that they could use proceeds from sales for any other part of their business [to fund a project elsewhere]," says one real estate lawyer in Dubai.

Sources close to Nakheel say the company has always been excluded from the terms of the law. As an example, they cite a securitisation launched in November when Nakheel sold off revenue from future sales in exchange for getting the cash immediately (MEED 21:11:08).

Another source close to Emaar confirms that it too is exempt from the law.

But local regulators argue that state developers offer alternative guarantees. "No one is exempt from the escrow law, but Nakheel and Emaar have other arrangements with the Land Department," says Marwan bin Ghalita, chief executive officer of Dubai's Real Estate Regulatory Agency.
These arrangements are understood to involve memorandums of understanding with the Land Depart-ment to provide access to Nakheel and Emaar's accounts. The Land Department could not be contacted for clarification of the issue.

Nakheel says in a statement that it is not exempt from the law, but as a state-owned company, its pledge to complete a project is enough. "Compliance is made by the way of the provision of completion guarantees," says the statement.

Emaar did not respond to invitations to comment. It is unclear if other developers are also exempt from the escrow law.



Escrow law
• Law Number 8 was enacted on 28 December 2007.
• It is intended to protect buyers from developers using their money for projects other than the one they are purchasing.
• The text of the law states that it applies to any developer that sells off-plan units in real estate development projects in the emirate.
• The law also applies to all present and future developments where off-plan sales occur.


• Author: Matthew Martin. Senior Gulf Correspondent
• Dubai

I thin all of us have beentaken for a royal ride - the whole thing has been a big con game all along- Mizin is part of Tatweer , which is under Dubai Holding , which is "owned" by Dubai Government - now my doubts is - Will they disown Mizin since it is proably not making any money for them ?? I am sure that none of the guys who bought full buildings are paying even a penny. In its attempt to project a clean and non-partisan image RERA has now advised me not to pay Mizin as they do not have a Escrow a/c. The whole issue is that a lot of stuff is being thrown around verbally. AS expats , our locus standi is very weak in this country. There are different parts of the government that is giving us confliciting info. I have come to know that Mizin also has nothing in writing to show that they are exempt from maintaining an Escrow a/c. So as far as my understanding goes Law on Escrow a/c is the only wriotten document in this case - and it is very clear. Now the million $ question - Will Mizin open an Escrow a/c at least now?? I have been discussing this issue with a banker friend - he says that , all money , for which , evidence of utilization cannot be shown , should be present in the a/c - I cannot guess the amount ; but if you look at what is seen on site and also factor in other expenses on design etc ,it should definitely be around 300 million +. I dont know how many are aware aware of the fact that Mizin , along with Dubai Properties and Sama Dubai were the cash cows for the whole of Dubai Holding . With the kind of beating DH has taken on their international ventures and investments , I have serious doubts ...

 

[dubai_or_not]

This could be good news for Remraan investors...

Court asks developer (MIZIN) to return Dh7.5 millon to investor...

Xpress: News | Court asks developer to return Dh7.5 millon to investor

 

[Direct2Dxb]

Bumping this message for any Remraam Investors who may have missed the first petition.
If you would like to join the Remraam Investors Group who now have close to 100 members, send an email to [email protected]

The group had a meeting with a senior member of Mizin last week.