Originally Posted by GarethR (Post 4829000)

It's what I genuinely think. If you have that much money, why the hell do you want *our* opinions? We're all just middle-class scum :rofl:

Originally Posted by rushey (Post 4828862)

Of course I cannot vouch for the the number of units that have been sold off plan, you have to put some trust in the developers

( really really bad idea)

and belief in the project you are placing your hard earned in.

I am sure with all the construction taking place there are going to be horror stories from people who feel hard done by and I am under no false illusion that the whole build will be deliverd on time and to the quality of the pictures in the brochures ! There will be snag lists on completion that the contractor will have to sort or he won get paid,

(you'd think so but do some reaserch on the list of snags on almost every build here and the owners fights to get them sorted, oh and if you dont pay its you NOT the developer who gets screwed by the law)

pretty much the same as any new build. In relation to the build becoming "delayed by 2 years" it would depend on the contract the person signed, if its a time based contract then his down payments would have to be paid regardless. I would only ever buy off plan on a construction based downpayment scheme whereby you pay the chunks as and when the building is 10/50/100 floors completed. Therefore if it was 2 years late getting out of the ground you would only have paid your original holding deposit.

( and what about the finished buildings people are paying for that havent been released, by contact people are paying for them but they cant live in them or rent them out JBR springs to mind......again)

Take the Damac Ocean Heights build for example, we looked at investing in that tower in Feb 2005. I cant remember when they said completion would be then, but the building isnt even out of the ground yet - still looks lke a car park !! However this hasnt stopped the capital appreciation of the appts. We looked at a penthouse in the build which was for sale for around 8m, this same unit was for sale for 17m when we were over last month.

( what capital appreciation, an imaginary profit on an imaginary property, with the numbers coming from the developer, yup makes sound financial sense that one)

I know you will say "but does it sell for that" I can only comment that I saw noone who was prepared to discount anything. So yes the build is in a terrible state in terms of completion deadlines and is prob attracting its fair share of critism, but it does not seem to have effected the appt values.

( according to the people who are building it and cleary in need of more cash to actually build it because they spent all their money on marketing and not building materials)

The Damac tower works out at around 4500 psqft, the Trident appts I am interetsed in have been launched from 1400 psqft. I still stand by my belief that this looks a good investment over the 4 (alright I will concede it will prob be 5 :D) year build.

R.

Originally Posted by rushey (Post 4829413)

Yes thats the one, thanks for your thoughts

1) The Chicago Spire will be the tallest resi building in the world. I am not expecting this one to be, its just going to be very tall !
2) Build costs - will have to take your word for it, thats Tridents problem The one appt per floor is misleading. Its actually two per floor but they have claimed that because the building has been split in half with separate entrances that they are two towers - sales patter at its best IMO :D
3) The view was my main concern as you can never predict what towers will sping up from nowhere. As I undertsand it anything 40 floors and above will be fine. The appt I am looking at will be palm facing and will view out over Al Seef. Yes Ocean heights at 80 odd floors will obstruct but other than that it "should" be OK.
4) I dont think its priced at less than there other developments, more like the same as MarinaScape which seems to have been a huge sucess. It seems to be priced competitively to make them sell. After all there are 130 plus appts some as much as $10m to shift !

R.

Originally Posted by shiva (Post 4829472)

The market here is based on illusion and deception, with a project of this magnitude i would walk away or proceed with extreme caution.

Originally Posted by rushey (Post 4829522)

The skyscraper forum is just full of people who Dubai bash all the time so I cannot be bothered to post in there. Why is your belief that a project of this size cannot be acheived ? Trident are a proven developer in dubai and I think they shoudl be commended for pushing the boundaries.

I'm not saying it cant be done, just that there is currently 1 building in the world that height and that it is a major build. look at the problems the Burj Dubai is experiencing

I didnt know about the earthquake line but does that not apply to all the buildings in the marina ? I know nothing about contructing a building of this type but I am guessing Trident have researched to the extreme. Yes I am sure the build will overun, but the stage payments are based on construction progress not time as per the Damac building.yes it does and not just to the marina area but the whole of dubai.

R.

Originally Posted by rushey (Post 4829213)

Ah I see Gareth, does your pending apocalypse not effect the well off?

Originally Posted by rushey (Post 4829522)

The skyscraper forum is just full of people who Dubai bash all the time so I cannot be bothered to post in there. Why is your belief that a project of this size cannot be acheived ? Trident are a proven developer in dubai and I think they shoudl be commended for pushing the boundaries.

I didnt know about the earthquake line but does that not apply to all the buildings in the marina ? I know nothing about contructing a building of this type but I am guessing Trident have researched to the extreme. Yes I am sure the build will overun, but the stage payments are based on construction progress not time as per the Damac building.

R.

Originally Posted by Blue Cat (Post 4830972)

the earthquake thing doesn't bother me, I would be more worried about a fire, this country doesn't seem to be able to hand them too well! added onto that the fact they it is rare that anyone living any higher than the 6th floor will get out alive. Sorry - had to say it. :(

Originally Posted by W10 (Post 4831539)

Quite - the response of the elite tower fire fighting units to the recent average fires in unfinished buildings do not fill me with confidence.

If there was a big fire in an inhabited tower at night I think the death toll would be pretty scary.

Originally Posted by rushey (Post 4829522)

The skyscraper forum is just full of people who Dubai bash all the time so I cannot be bothered to post in there. Why is your belief that a project of this size cannot be acheived ? Trident are a proven developer in dubai and I think they shoudl be commended for pushing the boundaries.

I didnt know about the earthquake line but does that not apply to all the buildings in the marina ? I know nothing about contructing a building of this type but I am guessing Trident have researched to the extreme. Yes I am sure the build will overun, but the stage payments are based on construction progress not time as per the Damac building.

R.

Originally Posted by Blue Cat (Post 4833208)

sorry, slight thread hijack. Does anyone have a web link for the development that they advertise on 103.8 all the time - the one with 'the arabian horse arose and al Khahil???' Development I am sure is called Al Khahil - with horses etc? anyone got a clue what I am talking about??