Homes From Hell In Dubai - Thursday 01 July 9:00pm - 10:00pm ITV1 London

[Brendan R]

Homes from Hell
New series

Thursday 01 July
9:00pm - 10:00pm
ITV1 London
1/4

First in a new documentary series. Today's episode looks at the British victims of Dubai's property crash. While the property boom was in full swing, they paid out thousands for brand new, state-of-the-art homes, but now the recession has left them with nothing. The programme meets the couple who invested in a yet-to-be-built ski resort, a family who were forced to flee in the middle of the night to avoid jail, and a man who travelled to Dubai to meet the developer who took his money but failed to build any apartments.

mmmh... British victims....yes, they have a tendency to fall for property.

Some more negative advertisement for Dubai. It looks like the love stroy between the cabbies and the bedouins is over.

 

[Bulldozer]

Hi all
This is a program that has been a while in the making , and some of the indivduals featured on the show are regular forum contributors.
For my part, anyone with any interest in Al Attar should be watching this aswell.
Once youve seen it and Al Attar is a developer who you have paid money to and not seen any return from, then do drop me a note.
thanks

 

[Wannaberich]

I assume its a new series which will feature other cities and not just Dubai.
Shame these programmes dont show the good as well as the bad.
On the other hand I can def see some potential investors taking a look at completed units in Dubai and investing in them on the back of this programme.
Someone once said there's no such thing as bad publicity after all.

 

[alondon]

Homes from Hell - Dubai episode

Hi all, I watched last nights episode with great interest as I worked in the property sector in Dubai for 3 years.

What the programme totally failed to highlight was the Govt of Dubai's major role in the current situation.

They allowed off plan sales of property in 2002 without having any kind of legislation or framework for dealing with this sector i.e. conveyancing practice, safeguarding clients money etc etc, as a client you would pay your monies to a developer in the hope that they would build as opposed to paying it into a solicitors account until completion and these developers then used these funds to pay inflated salaries, massive marketing campaigns etc etc.

A major part of the blame for the current situation is the Govt owned master developers i.e. Nakheel, Emaar, Sama Dubai and so on, as they sold on plots of land to the sub developers and then actually delivered the plots in some cases (like my previous employer) 3 years later, during which time the cost of construction had multiplied, the availability of bank financing had dried up so the original sales price to the client was no longer feasible and as most of the monies collected from clients had already been used it left the current situation.

 

[Wannaberich]

Hi all, I watched last nights episode with great interest as I worked in the property sector in Dubai for 3 years.

What the programme totally failed to highlight was the Govt of Dubai's major role in the current situation.

They allowed off plan sales of property in 2002 without having any kind of legislation or framework for dealing with this sector i.e. conveyancing practice, safeguarding clients money etc etc, as a client you would pay your monies to a developer in the hope that they would build as opposed to paying it into a solicitors account until completion and these developers then used these funds to pay inflated salaries, massive marketing campaigns etc etc.

A major part of the blame for the current situation is the Govt owned master developers i.e. Nakheel, Emaar, Sama Dubai and so on, as they sold on plots of land to the sub developers and then actually delivered the plots in some cases (like my previous employer) 3 years later, during which time the cost of construction had multiplied, the availability of bank financing had dried up so the original sales price to the client was no longer feasible and as most of the monies collected from clients had already been used it left the current situation.

The fact there was no regulation etc was in fact mentioned by one of the couples plus Richard Dean the british reporter.
Overall I thought the programme did more good to Dubai than harm with many great shots of the various developments.The programme makers should have been more general about the problems over there perhaps interviewing goverment officials,developers etc instead of highlighting a handful of investors including a couple stupid enough to invest in the Ski Dome.
What I really didnt understand is why the crooked developer who ripped of the investors in Cyprus and then fled to Dubai a few years later was featured.
Surely that should have been included in another episode highlighting Homes from Hell-Cyprus.

 

[PETE90]

The fact there was no regulation etc was in fact mentioned by one of the couples plus Richard Dean the british reporter.
Overall I thought the programme did more good to Dubai than harm with many great shots of the various developments.The programme makers should have been more general about the problems over there perhaps interviewing goverment officials,developers etc instead of highlighting a handful of investors including a couple stupid enough to invest in the Ski Dome.
What I really didnt understand is why the crooked developer who ripped of the investors in Cyprus and then fled to Dubai a few years later was featured.
Surely that should have been included in another episode highlighting Homes from Hell-Cyprus.

I was one of the contributors to this documentary concerning my plight with Al Attar Properties. The producers did try to contact Al Attar to get their side on things. Al Attar remained silent and not once responded to the Producers requests.

Getting any sensible answers out of RERA concerning our plights is like getting blood out of a stone and I think the Producers realised this.

I think it would take at least 2 episodes to cover the property crash in Dubai in more detail. Unfortunately there are a lot of Governmental red faces in Dubai these days who would sooner remain silent than admit things messed up big time which would leave the Producers unable to get any decent interview/explanation out of them. Not too mention government officials can turn "funny" when you have British TV journalists investigating the negative side of Dubai.

 

[Wannaberich]

I was one of the contributors to this documentary concerning my plight with Al Attar Properties. The producers did try to contact Al Attar to get their side on things. Al Attar remained silent and not once responded to the Producers requests.

Getting any sensible answers out of RERA concerning our plights is like getting blood out of a stone and I think the Producers realised this.

I think it would take at least 2 episodes to cover the property crash in Dubai in more detail. Unfortunately there are a lot of Governmental red faces in Dubai these days who would sooner remain silent than admit things messed up big time which would leave the Producers unable to get any decent interview/explanation out of them. Not too mention government officials can turn "funny" when you have British TV journalists investigating the negative side of Dubai.

Hi.
Are you the guy who invested in International City?

It is def possible to speak to people behind the scenes and get a broader idea of what is going on rather than wasting time highlighting a few situations.
That could haven been done with anonymous contributors quite easily.
As was mentioned in the programme,there was a worldwide crash so obviously Dubai is going to get caught up in it.That was part of the problem.The other part is the amount of crooked investors out there which I dont think was highlighted properly.For example Jum Village which should be named Rip Off Village is/was teaming with many crooks but this area was totally ignored.
At the end of the day no-one forced any of us to invest.Many including myself took chances investing in units that wer'nt even built by developers who we knew zilch about.Seems a little crazy looking back.However those who invested in ridiculous projects like Ski Dome have only themselves to blame and that goes for a number of other projects.
Although the goverment have to accept alot of responsibility so do the investors.
Like I said,overall the programme was very poor indeed and was instead a great advert for Dubai.

 

[PETE90]

Hi.
Are you the guy who invested in International City?

It is def possible to speak to people behind the scenes and get a broader idea of what is going on rather than wasting time highlighting a few situations.
That could haven been done with anonymous contributors quite easily.
As was mentioned in the programme,there was a worldwide crash so obviously Dubai is going to get caught up in it.That was part of the problem.The other part is the amount of crooked investors out there which I dont think was highlighted properly.For example Jum Village which should be named Rip Off Village is/was teaming with many crooks but this area was totally ignored.
At the end of the day no-one forced any of us to invest.Many including myself took chances investing in units that wer'nt even built by developers who we knew zilch about.Seems a little crazy looking back.However those who invested in ridiculous projects like Ski Dome have only themselves to blame and that goes for a number of other projects.
Although the goverment have to accept alot of responsibility so do the investors.
Like I said,overall the programme was very poor indeed and was instead a great advert for Dubai.

Hi just to respond to your previous response.

Firstly I purchased in International City Phase 3 a whole new development. As far as I'm aware there are only only a couple of developers actually building on site right now. Of course I've tried asking other developers as to the situation in IC Phase 3, of course they cannot comment on the state of other developers in the area, I guess they have their own problems.
Secondly ask all the investors who purchased with Al Attar Properties and they will tell you they feel they have been deceived and told a pack of lies throughout. Yes I've talked with Al Attar whom I feel have treated me like the rest of their investors as idiots!
Let me also make this clear that I did not participate in this documentary for my 5 minutes of fame. Like the rest of Al Attar investors we feel we have been stung and led a stray all along so I'm not doing this for myself but other Al Attar Investors as well and believe me there are many of them!
The blame at the end of the day mainly lies with the Dubai Government who allowed the property market to get out of control and unregulated, when regulations were finally put in place it was too little too late.
Responsibility also lies with the developers who could not abide by the contracts they had written and who deceived many by making false hopes and promises they could not keep!

 

[britishegyptian]

Homes from hell - Dubai & Egypt

Dear all,
Did anyone watch the programme last night?
I thought it was very interesting that it was an Egyptian property developer that did a runner with all that money.
And then offered post dated cheques to the poor people that lost their money.
Ive experienced this first hand with a property developer in Hurghada and although got most of my money back the post dated cheques were in Arabic and had to be put through a current bank account in Egypt - not what they promised in the outset.
For all those that are signing sales contracts - MAKE SURE YOU GET PHOTOCOPIES of this as well as any other documentation otherwise you are screwed!
If anyone wants help with obtaining advise and contact with a Egyptian lawyer please contact me. If the lawyer is not knowledgeable and in Egypt the developer could play the system for years and I would never of got my money back without also playing games!

 

[Wannaberich]

Hi just to respond to your previous response.

Firstly I purchased in International City Phase 3 a whole new development. As far as I'm aware there are only only a couple of developers actually building on site right now. Of course I've tried asking other developers as to the situation in IC Phase 3, of course they cannot comment on the state of other developers in the area, I guess they have their own problems.
Secondly ask all the investors who purchased with Al Attar Properties and they will tell you they feel they have been deceived and told a pack of lies throughout. Yes I've talked with Al Attar whom I feel have treated me like the rest of their investors as idiots!
Let me also make this clear that I did not participate in this documentary for my 5 minutes of fame. Like the rest of Al Attar investors we feel we have been stung and led a stray all along so I'm not doing this for myself but other Al Attar Investors as well and believe me there are many of them!
The blame at the end of the day mainly lies with the Dubai Government who allowed the property market to get out of control and unregulated, when regulations were finally put in place it was too little too late.
Responsibility also lies with the developers who could not abide by the contracts they had written and who deceived many by making false hopes and promises they could not keep!

Hi.
Yes the goverment and developers take a huge part of the blame but so do the investors.Like I said no-one forced us to put our money into a country thats thousands of miles away and which we knew little about.Accept some of the blame.
If I was in your situation I would park my ass in the developers office and wouldnt ****ing leave until the moron paid me my money back.If you dont want to do that then with all of the investors you know you should put some money into a legal fund and take the developer to court.
I believe however you were offered your money back in 18 months?

 

[PETE90]

Hi.
Yes the goverment and developers take a huge part of the blame but so do the investors.Like I said no-one forced us to put our money into a country thats thousands of miles away and which we knew little about.Accept some of the blame.
If I was in your situation I would park my ass in the developers office and wouldnt ****ing leave until the moron paid me my money back.If you dont want to do that then with all of the investors you know you should put some money into a legal fund and take the developer to court.
I believe however you were offered your money back in 18 months?

I won't take responsibility other than believing that Dubai was the place to be but since the crash Dubai has shown its more darker side and allows corrupt developers to continue trading instead of bringing them to book, hence RERA has proven such a white elephant.

I and so many other investors would love to park our "ass's" in Al Attars Office but that would prove to be difficult bear in mind so many of us live overseas.

I don't quite know where you got the idea I could have got a refund 18 months back. I applied for a refund back in February last year and am in contact with others who applied for refunds further back and have never got anything back with the exception of excuses. I even paid a lawyer in Dubai to negotiate a refund with Al Attar...... A total waste of time and money! That is the classic example of throwing good money after bad!

Yes I am in a consortium of people and am working with a British Businessman who also owns property in Dubai as well as purchasing two apartments with Al Attar in the same location. This person has he's contacts out there and regularly visits Dubai and is drawing up plans as to how to go about litigation but as we all know that costs big money and more to the point we have to question the chances of winning our case.

 

[Wannaberich]

I won't take responsibility other than believing that Dubai was the place to be but since the crash Dubai has shown its more darker side and allows corrupt developers to continue trading instead of bringing them to book, hence RERA has proven such a white elephant.

I and so many other investors would love to park our "ass's" in Al Attars Office but that would prove to be difficult bear in mind so many of us live overseas.

I don't quite know where you got the idea I could have got a refund 18 months back. I applied for a refund back in February last year and am in contact with others who applied for refunds further back and have never got anything back with the exception of excuses. I even paid a lawyer in Dubai to negotiate a refund with Al Attar...... A total waste of time and money! That is the classic example of throwing good money after bad!

Yes I am in a consortium of people and am working with a British Businessman who also owns property in Dubai as well as purchasing two apartments with Al Attar in the same location. This person has he's contacts out there and regularly visits Dubai and is drawing up plans as to how to go about litigation but as we all know that costs big money and more to the point we have to question the chances of winning our case.

If you don't think any of the responsibility lies with you then you 're are living in fantasy land.The facts:You brought an UNBUILT unit in a country I assume you HAVE NEVER BEEN TO from a developer you KNEW ZILCH ABOUT !
You get caught out and now you're blaming everyone but yourself.

As for the refund,were you not the guy who rang the developer and was told you would get a refund in 18 months?If that was you then you're the guy who's paid £65.000.So you're telling me for that amount you dont think its worth a 4 day trip to Dubai costing under £1000 for flights and hotel to try and get your money back ?! If not then you obviously can afford to lose that amount.

 

[PETE90]

If you don't think any of the responsibility lies with you then you 're are living in fantasy land.The facts:You brought an UNBUILT unit in a country I assume you HAVE NEVER BEEN TO from a developer you KNEW ZILCH ABOUT !
You get caught out and now you're blaming everyone but yourself.

As for the refund,were you not the guy who rang the developer and was told you would get a refund in 18 months?If that was you then you're the guy who's paid £65.000.So you're telling me for that amount you dont think its worth a 4 day trip to Dubai costing under £1000 for flights and hotel to try and get your money back ?! If not then you obviously can afford to lose that amount.

I had visited Dubai on a few occasions and was impressed with what I saw and felt the way forward was Dubai which seemed to have a lot of potential before I purchased. What I agreed to purchase was nothing too elaborate or over ambitious. Location wise, just off International City which was proving successful (at the time) and yes I'm well aware of all the talk about International City. But bear in mind I purchased in IC Phase 3 which was being promoted as the next stage and more up market end of IC.

As for the developer, the developer seemed to have an impressive track record and impressive portfolio of real estate. (A couple of impressive skyscrapers on Sheik Zayed Road, a few shopping Malls as well apartment blocks, not quite a fly by night developer). Not too mention a developer with close ties with the Ruling royal family. So yes a rich developer with assets.

The person who you are referring to is not me, I never paid over 65K in deposits. I really don't see the point in visiting Dubai and attempting to get my money back, because I know very well the developer will just play ignorant and mess me around, as they have done since February last year, as they have done with everyone! The only way forward is through legal action as I stated in my previous post. If I can't get a negotiated refund through a Dubai lawyer then what chance do I stand of getting a refund by (little me) knocking on the Developers door and saying "can I have a refund please". We all know the chances are the money has gone and we know the only way forward is through litigation. Its a case of working with the right people who know the laws of the land and can advise, this though costs BIG MONEY!
I cannot afford to take too many trips to Dubai if I'm likely to have to allocate money on litigation.

 

[amplesou]

If you don't think any of the responsibility lies with you then you 're are living in fantasy land.The facts:You brought an UNBUILT unit in a country I assume you HAVE NEVER BEEN TO from a developer you KNEW ZILCH ABOUT !
You get caught out and now you're blaming everyone but yourself.QUOTE]

i think ordinary people got involved and most agents where telling there clients not nessersary to bother with solicitors here or in dubai !
that seems to be the theme here in the uk!

that fact that investors got mugged because they did not do due dilladence is not valid in my opinon !

in the uk you want to buy property you can and you won,y get mugged either and one assumes the same in dubai !

shiek mo? 5 star hotels?luxury this luxury that lulls everyone into a false situation!

dubai is ultimately responsible for the financial safe guard of these innocent people !

shiek mo gave a personal guarantee way back when.

purchasers are not all well informed individuals ! (some are quite frankly idiots quite a few who rant on here !)

Dubai is bit by bit getting backed up into a cul de sac ( media helping here i think) and there will be no where to hide for the govermnet in dubai if all else fails

the goverment will be made to look very untrustworthy and who know,s where that will take dubai in the future !

Pete90 in the tv program i think you are just like us ,went to dubai, stayed in 5 star hotel 2005/2006 ,fell in love with the place and wanted in and then like alot of people became a victim !

and for that dubai should hold its head very low indeed for all the suffering it is causing to innocent people who wanted in but where also wanting to contribute to dubai society ?

i do go on a bit, sorry
i wish you well

 

[PETE90]

If you don't think any of the responsibility lies with you then you 're are living in fantasy land.The facts:You brought an UNBUILT unit in a country I assume you HAVE NEVER BEEN TO from a developer you KNEW ZILCH ABOUT !
You get caught out and now you're blaming everyone but yourself.QUOTE]

i think ordinary people got involved and most agents where telling there clients not nessersary to bother with solicitors here or in dubai !
that seems to be the theme here in the uk!

that fact that investors got mugged because they did not do due dilladence is not valid in my opinon !

in the uk you want to buy property you can and you won,y get mugged either and one assumes the same in dubai !

shiek mo? 5 star hotels?luxury this luxury that lulls everyone into a false situation!

dubai is ultimately responsible for the financial safe guard of these innocent people !

shiek mo gave a personal guarantee way back when.

purchasers are not all well informed individuals ! (some are quite frankly idiots quite a few who rant on here !)

Dubai is bit by bit getting backed up into a cul de sac ( media helping here i think) and there will be no where to hide for the govermnet in dubai if all else fails

the goverment will be made to look very untrustworthy and who know,s where that will take dubai in the future !

Pete90 in the tv program i think you are just like us ,went to dubai, stayed in 5 star hotel 2005/2006 ,fell in love with the place and wanted in and then like alot of people became a victim !

and for that dubai should hold its head very low indeed for all the suffering it is causing to innocent people who wanted in but where also wanting to contribute to dubai society ?

i do go on a bit, sorry
i wish you well

Hi Amplesou

Many thanks for your input I've often read your input in other threads on this site and Skyscraper city often with good humour despite the dire situation people are in with their projects. People like yourself are an asset to these forums.

I think the word we are all missing out on here is DISHONESTY by the developers. And the Dubai Government and RERA has allowed this practice of dishonesty by the developers stringing the poor investor along. RERA was set up to implement transparent guidelines, to secure investor confidence and make the Dubai Real Estate Market an attractive one where people can benefit and enjoy what Dubai has to offer. Its seems like they failed because at the end of the day officials favored the corrupt developer over the poor investor because there was not enough regulation and it was out of control.

As to where the Dubai Real Estate Market goes from here is anyone's guess. The only way for it to start healing its self would be for the Corrupt Developers be brought to book and held in part responsible for the crash. But then again we all know that there are those at the top who should also be held responsible and brought to book though we know that is not likely to happen.

 

[Wannaberich]

the goverment will be made to look very untrustworthy and who know,s where that will take dubai in the future !

Exactly.For those investors who are unable to accept any responsibility then they will be pleased to know the Dubai goverment will not get off lightly.
Investors will be very wary of putting their money into Dubai and any more guarantees by the goverment that no-one will lose money will fall on deaf ears(I hope no-one actually brought on the back of that ridiculous guarantee).
Dubai can still do well with people buying COMPLETED units but off-plan is dead.

Sheik Mo was once seen as a visonary with great ideas for the future of Dubai
and some of that still stands.However he and the goverment have lost most of their credibility by not dealing with the many crooked investors out there.
Personally I believe they should organise a task force who would seek out these developers,freeze their accounts,and pay back the investors with interest.
For me its that simple yet for the goverment its not because they are incompetent.

 

[SAH]

I dont understand these post but the only thing i understand that brits and other people from europe or other part of the world came to dubai invest in property they make lot of money and they left already.

Some people are stucked because they wanted more money and they jumped-in in the end of the game so it is their own mistake they invested i dont no only in papers no real things so please dont blame dubai its your own fault.

Govt. in dubai already trying to support people who lost money they are not against them so please move forward and proceed to take your documents etc.

I am from Asia not from EU and dubai is my place to EAT becoz i love good foods sorry thats my personal reason and i dont want to hide it i bought only one studio in 190K in 2005 and my realestate people in 2008 offered me that time 600K i was not interested i m still holding that apartment and i am happy with it till now i dont have title deed but i hope i will have it soon.

I suggest you to please move forward and i hope it will resolved soon.

 

[bawany]

Alattar

Hi all
This is a program that has been a while in the making , and some of the indivduals featured on the show are regular forum contributors.
For my part, anyone with any interest in Al Attar should be watching this aswell.
Once youve seen it and Al Attar is a developer who you have paid money to and not seen any return from, then do drop me a note.
thanks

I have paid alattar £35000.00 for one bedroom apartment in Global point yet to be built- made this payment in 2005

 

[london1971]

Hi All,

Firstly DoBuy, get a grip.

Were not moaning about the fact we lost money because of recession. If we had our properties built in the timescales expected and for the price we agreed to pay originally that would be fine, atleast we would have received what we purchased. If it went down in value after that point fine, so what, same as here in the UK.

I think the biggest problem in Dubai is the regulation, i was miss sold my properties, no doubt about it!! I was told all kinds of wonderful things from expected returns to completion dates, to the fact that there is an Independant Property Watchdog call RERA, and to be RERA registered you have to be a reputable Developer, well clearly this is no the case.

I can not understand the way some people react here, in the UK the situation would have been Illegal and that is the case on the majority of the civilised world. You cant build something then not deliver it here in the UK with no prosecution from the law, over there they simple tell RERA its on hold so we dont have to give investors money back, RERA agrees and they stay on the list as an approved developer. Approved developer, who has taken money from clients, spent clients money, not actually started building or has stopped almost immediatly, then put development on hold and is still approved!! REALLY, would that happen in US/UK/EU!!! No

If you are an Investor, do not put money in Dubai, until they have a legal system in place which is capable of supporting the number of properties that are on the market.

DO NOT PURCHASE IN DUBAI!!!! NEVER DO IT!!!!

I am ranting as well, i appoligise but when i read comments like: Its your fault you invested!! No, its not becasue what we invested in was not real, its called Misselling and Financial Service companies all over the world are forced by governments to refund money if a product has been miss sold, well in Dubai it was happening everyday and is still happening, all with the support of RERA!!

What a joke Dubai is, more to the point what a disgrace dubai is!

 

[Wannaberich]

in the uk the situation would have been illegal and that is the case on the majority of the civilised world. You cant build something then not deliver it here in the uk with no prosecution from the law

But u didnt buy in the uk u brought in dubai so get over it !!!
Besides,who ever said dubai was part of the civilised world !!!