Rental contracts, and signing with a Power of Attorney, not the landlord
 

Hi,

Apparently the owner of an apartment that I like has hundreds of apartments so he's given power of attorney to two reps. I have been sent a copy of the landlord's passport as well as ID cards of the reps and a signed statement allowing the reps to act on the landlord's behalf.

I've been warned off this but for no specific reason than suspicion! So, is anyone else in this situation? Anything I should be aware of?

Also, apart from ensuring that the landlord will be responsible for any maintenance as well as general wear and tear, that they should give me notice if they want to visit, and that any water/electricity is payable by me only from the date I moved in (it's being used as a camp by the builders!), does anyone else have any advice before I sign the dreaded contract?!

Re: Rental contracts, and signing with a Power of Attorney, not the landlord
 

it's not uncommon for this to happen...as long as you make sure that all the paperwork is in order, proof of ownership matches the passport copy of landlord, names on the POA match those of the other passport copies etc.
POA will be issued by the court and therefore will be in Arabic (or at least the ones that I have seen are). If it's an Emaar property you will also need a copy of the sale contract to be able to connect your utilities.
Dewa etc can be in your name, just take all the paperwork with you when you go there, better take too much than too little.
Make sure it's specified who pays for the chiller costs (if its an apartment).
Maintenance should be paid for by the landlord, you should be given a contact number to call regarding this. Do a walk in inspection beforehand to see if everything is in working order, if not, it should be fixed before you hand over the rent cheque. Everything should be freshly painted and cleaned as well.