ITV series wants Dubai property stories to investigate

[vicITV]

Dear all,

ITV are looking for property stories from Dubai to investigate for a new prime-time show. Did you have to wait years for your off-plan apartment to be finished? Were you stung by rising development costs or were you hit by the global recession? Was your finished apartment far from the luxury build you paid for?

If any of this sounds familiar and you have a story you would like investigated then please get in touch at homes @ itv (dot) com.

 

[patience]

Thanks Vicky,

I will call you. I was hoping the British media would start picking up on the fact a lot of us Brit's along with other nationalities have well an truly been conned by Dubai.

 

[Wannaberich]

God how boring.Another british media outlet jumping on the 'lets slag off Dubai' bandwagon.
Try and make your programme well balanced if possible.Report also on those who have had good experiences in Dubai.Those who have been ripped off are gladly outnumbered by those who havent been.

 

[abudubai]

God how boring.Another british media outlet jumping on the 'lets slag off Dubai' bandwagon.
Try and make your programme well balanced if possible.Report also on those who have had good experiences in Dubai.Those who have been ripped off are gladly outnumbered by those who havent been.

Really? Could you produce some evidence for this, if possible?

 

[dalvir bains]

Really? Could you produce some evidence for this, if possible?

Hi, abudubai,
I have 7 units in dubai, and they are all rented out from westside dubai marina, to studios/ and 1 bedroom apartments in i/city, the rentals are not as much as last year but the returns are GREAT, I know unit prices have fallen BUT as long as my tenants are happy and i'm getting my rents on time i'm happy too!
There is TOO much negativity about dubai, the whole planet faces difficult times at the moment, there are a lot of places worse off than dubai

 

[PropGuy]

I hope they do justice and don't make it about Dubai and show the corrupt developers. These developers need some media bashing who have taken life savings of many people and not behaving in investor friendly manner.

 

[Wannaberich]

Really? Could you produce some evidence for this, if possible?

Can u produce some evidence to say opposite?
The fact is considering the huge amount of developments in Dubai,the number of complaints could be alot higher than it is.
I read far more positive opinions on various websites than I do negative thankfully.

 

[jags]

they should make a story on Spain.it is much more horrific than Dubai.thousands of britishers have lost everything there.leave aside off plan projects.people have seen their houses and villa bulldozed in front of them without any compensation.people investing in Spain were matured and elderly.or those who wanted a second home in sun city.none of those were speculators or flippers.they employed solicitors to see everything is legal.they had planning permission from local council.yet these developements are called illigal by the govt.the govt their is a bigger fraudster than one in Dubai.

Spain is a bigger scam.specially costa de sole.thousands of half built projects are desereted by scruplous developers.where some of the finished projects have no water or sewage facilities forget other infrastructure.swimming pools are empty with dead rats.

but this is Europe.so british media will not want to tarnish the Europe image.Dubai is good enough.

 

[Lysos]

There have been numerous programmes about foreigners being stung in Spain, and Bulgaria. Now it's Dubai's turn, next Morocco, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Cape Verde, you name it .......

 

[revolutionary]

I'd like to see a balanced program where the magic & excitement that drew investors to Dubai is applauded and the disreputable developers that jumped on the bandwagon just to rip people off are exposed.

OK some of the dodgy developers have disappeared leaving half-built towers and empty Escrow accounts. However why are some of the most unscrupulous ones still being allowed to operate?

My guess is that the Dubai authorities know they have a huge problem and are trying to manage down the dodgier developers rather than letting them crash. However I see no evidence that they are applying any pressure to make those companies act more honourably to their investors and the leopards don't want to change their spots.

 

[Somabonus]

Hi Victoria! Good to know your article, unfortunately for anyone that bought or in process of buying in Dubai and other not stable places in the world! What is it that go in this people´s heads that they can not foresee the future trouble when they will have to just leave their belongings behind! Invest in the middle east, africa or eastern countries is a bad investment! if we are ocidentals why not invest in the ocident world? just to save a few euros? well, whoever that is reading this should right now think twice before put any money in any of those countries! if we are in Europe invest in europe and specially do it in the country that boundaries with your own! someday you will need to be very close to home and this is the place that brought you here! we must stop playing against ourselves! So Victoria use all the information you have to warn everyone thinking to invest in Dubai for not doing it! They will pay a higher price someday!

 

[Wannaberich]

I'd like to see a balanced program where the magic & excitement that drew investors to Dubai is applauded and the disreputable developers that jumped on the bandwagon just to rip people off are exposed.

It wont happen

 

[Wannaberich]

they should make a story on Spain.it is much more horrific than Dubai.thousands of britishers have lost everything there.leave aside off plan projects.people have seen their houses and villa bulldozed in front of them without any compensation.people investing in Spain were matured and elderly.or those who wanted a second home in sun city.none of those were speculators or flippers.they employed solicitors to see everything is legal.they had planning permission from local council.yet these developements are called illigal by the govt.the govt their is a bigger fraudster than one in Dubai.

Spain is a bigger scam.specially costa de sole.thousands of half built projects are desereted by scruplous developers.where some of the finished projects have no water or sewage facilities forget other infrastructure.swimming pools are empty with dead rats.

but this is Europe.so british media will not want to tarnish the Europe image.Dubai is good enough.

There was a recent programme abour Spain on british TV and it was a real horror story.Far far worse than whats happening in Dubai.
On the other hand as expected it was not a balanced programme and only showed the worst of Spain.
The producers of this pile of crap programme to be made about Dubai have no interest whatsoever about showing the good of Dubai.

 

[brumster]

I have received a request for service charges direct from NAM I was always aware there would be some sort of community upkeep charge but I did not expect it to be so high.
My query is as an owner of a 1 bed apartment in IC spain who has a tenant with a yearly tenancy agreement how much of these service charges should be payed by the owner and how much by the tenant? the charges are as below;

General Fund Service Charge = 3,643.22

Reserve Fund Service Charge = 556.07

Community Service Charge = 555.55

Total Charge for Half Year Ended 30 Sep 2009 = 4,754.83

do these compare with the charges anyone else has received for 1bed???
and does anyone know how they break down ie am I paying for my tenants water, and electric etc?

 

[financier888]

Common Charges

I have received a request for service charges direct from NAM I was always aware there would be some sort of community upkeep charge but I did not expect it to be so high.
My query is as an owner of a 1 bed apartment in IC spain who has a tenant with a yearly tenancy agreement how much of these service charges should be payed by the owner and how much by the tenant? the charges are as below;

General Fund Service Charge = 3,643.22

Reserve Fund Service Charge = 556.07

Community Service Charge = 555.55

Total Charge for Half Year Ended 30 Sep 2009 = 4,754.83

do these compare with the charges anyone else has received for 1bed???
and does anyone know how they break down ie am I paying for my tenants water, and electric etc?

Your charges are based on the pro-rata share of square footage attributed to your unit - so - in order to put this into perspective - one would need to know the size of your unit.

You should contact the managing agent and ask them for further clarification - which they should gladly provide. (Owners DO have the right to form their own Owners Association and retain managers of their choice and so should do so!! (this is under the new Strata Laws...)

Whether it's high or low - again, depends on the size (Sq footage)

In Old Town - the yearly cost of maintenance for a 1 bedroom was AED 25,000 per annum and I doubt it included funds for a 'reserve' or 'sinking fund'

Insofar as you wishing to pass this on to your rental tenant - UNLESS this is specifically stated in your lease agreement - that the tenant has to pay this in ADDITION of the contracted sum for rent - YOU HAVE TO PAY IT. (most rental agreements do not call for the tenant to pay this directly)

If there are commercial tenants on the ground floor - arcades, malls, souks etc - it;s important to note how much of those common charges MAYBE included in the overall budget - meaning - those areas are often larger and cost more to operate - air con / electric additional security etc - SO - those stores/units etc should pay more than their pro-rata share based on a sq ftg formula . I bring this to your attention - as this has been a point of contention in some other developments. The sooner you form your owners association - the better as this is also encouraged by RERA

good luck

 

[Stephendxb]

Homes from Hell lessons

God how boring.Another british media outlet jumping on the 'lets slag off Dubai' bandwagon.
Try and make your programme well balanced if possible.Report also on those who have had good experiences in Dubai.Those who have been ripped off are gladly outnumbered by those who havent been.

I managed to watch an episode of Homes from Hell a few days ago and found it interesting... The programme highlights the pitfalls of property ownership...and only that. The episode I watched included two couples from the UK, a single lady, a family in Spain and an eccentric DIY man in London.

Sadly one couples dream home burnt down, whilst another couple found toxic mould in the building. Both families are fighting a long battle for compensation. The couple in Spain on the other hand exceeded their financial limitations and ended up with an incomplete house that did not conform to planning permission…whilst one lady in UK who did not have adequate insurance cover ended up losing her home after storm damage to the building wiped out her savings.

So whilst only a segment of the programme would actually feature Dubai, I would hope it would bring to light some of the tactics used by unscrupulous developers. It would also expose investors who have done little or no due diligence when entering the market but hoped to make a fast buck…a lesson for many perhaps.