DXBtoDOH

Scamp, is this true: School enrollments at high end UK/US curriculum schools have plunged.

A property market dependent on investors from one country selling to investors from the latest country and only inhabited by a shifting and ephemeral expat population was always going to be prone to those wild swings.

Millhouse

HiHo

HaHa Love it. Now I know why there are so many super cars on the Roads of Saudi being driven really badly, these boys need to lay of the sid.

scrubbedexpat141

Probably, but when anything is tight I expect people don't splash out on the biggest or best. I imagine there are families already in the 'poshest' schools who are struggling to maintain that image.

There's probably not much movement in the mid level schools because it's an important expense for most people (I'd like to think).

Prices have risen a lot though and whilst the average Karen might think that taking their kid to an independent / non-profit is the best thing because they're surrounded by other white kids, their teacher could be a total mong, out twice a week being ploughed by a different PT...or worse, the 55yr old Doris who's been there since time began and teaches in that exact manner. Stick them in a mid price school which doesn't attract ***** and they might end up with a superstar teacher who takes it seriously and is very good (obviously this works every which way but I'm speaking from experience of what I have seen and hear).

Taz786

After reading the article, I'm grateful I never took the plunge to buy a property here.

As much as I hate paying rent, I would be emotional with the amount house prices have dropped in the last 2 years.

scrubbedexpat141

I can't remember who it was, but someone on here (might have been Co Durham Boy?) said YEARS ago that if you want to buy property here you need a full frontal lobotomy....always stuck with me.

Everyone knows someone who gives it bill big bollocks about making X off a property deal and thinks they're Warren ****ing Buffett. Never heard any stories about people losing shit loads though, wonder why....

HiHo

I knew the arse had dropped out of the KSA resi market due to oversupply. “Saudi Arabia´s house prices were the worst performers in the world last year up to Q3, according to Knight Frank´s Q3 2018 Global House Price Index. Saudi Arabia´s real estate index for the residential sector declined by 6.1% (-8.3% inflation-adjusted)”

But Dubia appears to have out done big brother yet again. ‘There was a 9.5% fall in Dubai's all-residential property price index (RPPI) during the year to February 2019”

But leading the sky diving contest without a shoot in sight are the soon to be islanders. “The crisis in Qatar has caused a dramatic decline in housing prices and costs. The country's diplomatic rift with fellow Gulf nations caused the real estate price index to fall by 16.65% during the year to end-Q2 2018”

Speaking of Ireland, Chin up, by comparison the Irish housing market is almost viable.

captainflack

The problem with Dubai property is essentially that it's an absolute dictatorship. There is no rights or law to protect you that cannot be nullified or changed with immediate effect, without warning, by little more than a wave of the ruler's hand.

The whole point of freehold property is that "an englishman's home is his castle". Essentially, that you own property and have full rights to it which cannot simply be taken away. Buying freehold property only makes sense in a country in which the rule of law prevails, and in which you have legal and constitutional protections overseen by an independent judiciary. If the government wants to seize land in the UK, there is a process, but it is long-winded, expensive and they need to justify the purpose and adequately compensate the owners. If the current or a new ruler in Dubai decided he didn't like foreigners owning stuff, you'd not have a leg to stand on. And if you tried, you'd possibly quite literally not have a leg to stand on.

Dubai is a place to gamble and speculate, high risk, with potentially high rewards. But if doing this, one needs to have a full appreciation of the risks, and the legal standing of your 'ownership'.

TGFKASE

9 ½ years ago I posted this on BE, seems time for a re-release..

To the tune of Don McLean - American Pie...

A long, long time ago...
I can still remember
How the banter used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance
I’d reply to all those peoples rant's
And, maybe, they'd be happy for a while.

But the Global crisis made us shiver
With every statement Mo delivered.
Bad news on the doorstep;
I couldn't take one more step.

I can't remember if I cried
When they had to rename Burj Dubai,
But something touched me deep inside
The day the highlife died.

So bye-bye, the highlife Dubai.
Had some fun, made some friends,
But the party has died.
Looks like Saudi, Ab Dab are the places to try
I’ve got a little tear in my eye..
I’ve a little tear in my eye..

Did you buy property on a Palm,
And do you believe that reporter 'WAM",
If Sheikh Mo tells you so?
Is your bank account a deep, dark hole,
Can Allah save your mortal soul,
And can you teach me how to stay off the dole?

Well, I know you say you love your life,
but in quiet moments with your wife.
You rue that retirement plan.
Sold by that nice D.e.V.e.r.e. man....

I arrived in Dubai on my tod
With an open mind and a crackin' job,
But I let out a teary sob
The day the highlife died.

I started singin,
Bye-bye, BE Sandpit Dubai.
Had some fun, made some friends,
But the party has died.
Looks like Saudi, Ab Dab are the places to try
I’ve got a little tear in my eye..
I’ve a little tear in my eye..

More than 10 years I've been on this site
Asked and received good insight,
But that's no longer how it seems to be.
No more meetups / posts for BE's quiz team,
Far less females are now seen,
No new posts that would go on for eternity....

Oh, and while the mods were looking down,
Some crafty pro-Islamists would make us frown.
The posts would end up canned;
The verdict was 'he's banned'.
Now and then to ExpatWoman we'd raid,
'Which school is best' and "Can I sack my maid?',
Soon we ran out of things to be said,
The day the highlife died.

We were singing,
So bye-bye, BE Sandpit Dubai.
Had some fun, made some friends,
But the party has died.
Looks like Saudi, Ab Dab are the places to try
I’ve got a little tear in my eye..
I’ve a little tear in my eye..

6-8 months in a summer swelter.
Families flew home, KLM or Delta
Eight to ten thousand miles away,
Hubbies left on their own, time to play..
The Snake and Yorks do a roaring trade,
If the wife ain't left her maid...

Then the posts appeared to reduce in numbers
No more labourers or jobbing plumbers...
Had the bubble really burst,
Would Dubai claim another world first!
Planes full of debt-skips flew to home nations,
Apartment flippers suffered palpatations.
Do you remember your realisation
The day the highlife died?

We started singing,
Bye-bye, BE Sandpit Dubai.
Had some fun, made some friends,
But the party has died.
Looks like Saudi, Ab Dab are the places to try
I’ve got a little tear in my eye..
I’ve a little tear in my eye..

Oh, and then we were left with BE's hardcore,
Names that will go down in Middle East folklore,
Guys that don't seem to post so much any more.
So come on: commander, Autonomy!
Roadking, Eva, SYB,
The fires seem to burn less brightly.

Oh, and as the Sandpit quietened down
Reflecting the state of Dubai town.
The post count seemed to dwindle
Our interest needs re-kindled.
And as the Burj Khalifa points to the sun
Embittered testament to family Nahyan,
I heard Sheikh Mo mutter “The bugger’s won’
The day the highlife died

He was singing,
So bye-bye, BE Sandpit Dubai.
Had some fun, made some friends,
But the party has died.
Looks like Saudi, Ab Dab are the places to try
I’ve got a little tear in my eye..
I’ve a little tear in my eye..

They caught a guy and girl upon the beach
Thought they were beyond the Dubai bobbies reach
They just smiled and locked them up...
Stories of adultery and illegal drinking
Got everyone back in the UK thinking
The Daily Mail couldn’t make this up...

Whilst in Dubai we still do brunches
Reporters came and pulled no punches
We quaffed inclusive champers
Ignoring those labour campers
And the one man of whom I am a fan:
HH Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan,
Must wonder where its all gaun wrang
The day the highlife died.

And they were singing,
So bye-bye, BE Sandpit Dubai.
Had some fun, made some friends,
But the party has died.
Looks like Saudi, Ab Dab are the places to try
I’ve got a little tear in my eye..
I’ve a little tear in my eye..

They were singing,
So bye-bye, BE Sandpit Dubai.
Had some fun, made some friends,
But the party has died.
Looks like Saudi, Ab Dab are the places to try
I’ve got a little tear in my eye..
I’ve a little tear in my eye..

Millhouse

Agreed, although your friend Corbyn wants to force me to sell my BTL houses at a discount to my tenants.

captainflack

I think this is the problem with a lot of investments. People assume success is the result of skill and expertise. Yet there is a huge element of luck.

When luck comes off, both observers and the individuals themselves believe that it was skill rather than luck. If you start with 1000 funds making various investments, the few at the top who get the best returns after a few years (they've basically rolled 3 sixes in a row), people make out these guys are gurus, pump in loads of money and look forward to double digit returns forever, the guy himself thinks he's a huge swinging dick, and doubles down using his (now tried and tested) strategy, believing he cannot fail. He rolls a 1, and suddenly everyone is wondering what the hell happened. He was never a guru, it was just inevitable in a field of 1000 that a few would get lucky. Some might have skill, but it could equally be luck. It's not easy to tell. That's why you see these massive wipeouts, where some guy who the markets thought was a genius loses his shirt, and a lot of other people's shirts too.

TGFKASE

Anyone who has lived here for any reasonable length of time would be crazy to buy...

Saw some Brit owners bitching on an FB group a few months ago how EMAAR and Nakheel should stop releasing property, as its having a detrimental effect on their property value...

Do owners really think those guys give a damn, once they have your money?

captainflack

My friend? I think you have me confused with someone else. I hardly know the guy, he barely acknowledged me when I used to run his parliamentary office and sub at his fan club on the weekends.

At least Johnson will let you keep the BTLs, though it looks like he's still going to give them a massive haircut.

I still remember the good old days where the Conservatives were the safe, business-friendly, financially-literate party of common sense and Corbyn was a badly dressed nutcase who used to hang out with the IRA. It's a measure of how much has changed that the pound now jumps and business confidence increases at the prospect of Corbyn as PM. The world has gone mad.

scrubbedexpat141

It's the self belief that fuels it isn't it, they roll so many sixes that they start to believe they can't roll anything else.

Millhouse

The successful investor is one who can make money (or at least minimize losses) when they roll the 1. Everyone thinks they can win on the upside (and sometimes they do) but the real winner is the person who manages the downside properly.