LaylaD

Do you think these will fall further in the next 6 months? Is it better to hold out and live in temporary accommodation until this happens (if it happens)?

and

How do people afford to put down 350k in one cheque in ADVANCE if you are being paid housing on a monthly basis:

• do they take out a loan from a bank or their employer
• pay using past savings

thanks a lot

Millhouse

Historically, yes to both bullet points.

The alternative is you try and negotiate multiple post dated cheques (2 maybe in AD) to ease the pain.

I'd advise not to take out a loan with a bank if possible (incurs interest and banks here are nasty). Equally, I would STRONGLY advise that you don't use 70k GBP of savings... So really leaves asking the employer.

The alternative (and I know somewhat unthinkable option when living on a big salary in the middle east) is to only take on what you can afford, or move to Dubai (where the rent will be 50% lower and on 4-6 cheques) and commute.

Prices will fall for the next 6 months for sure, especially in that size bracket of housing.

LaylaD

Thanks EmiratesMillhouse,

am not neccessarily going for such expensive housing but even 'budget' acommodation e.g. al reef is a lot to fork out in one cheque i.e. 180K couldnt understand how people did it

Living in Dubai isnt really an option for us, unfortunately

Millhouse

It's a hard one I know. When I came here I was lucky enough to have my employer bank roll it for me. Thankfully, now I'm not in that position I've been able to negotiate 4 cheques (and move to Dubai) so it's not really very painful.

I wouldn't recommend the commute. Had to do it for 3 days only - ended up staying in a hotel by day 2.

Isn't it like that in Doha then? I just assumed it was the same across the whole region.

LaylaD

Nope unheard of in Doha even at the peak of the rental market in 2008
Its always 12 cheques

Millhouse

I've learnt something today... !

busybee2

yeh you get a loan.

and i wouldnt pay 350k for anything here, thats way way too much. u can get a decent villa off island for 200k.

busybee2

its only ad thats insist on all up front. even dubai you could always negotiate a few cheques. and the rent was and is always cheaper there. its just the way its been done in ad, it was ok when say you were only having to find 50k for a 3 bed flat, but since they have gone up to 200k then its become a problem, unless of course your company will give u the advance etc.

LaylaD

Hi Busy Bee2
that's really dissapointing

what about water and electricity ? is it all the one company ? someone said al raha gardens is more expensive

LaylaD

some people even have standing orders not cheques
much more civilised than AD from that perspective

Bahtatboy

Newly-arrived colleague has just got a 2-bed apartment at the port end of the Corniche, 160k with 4 cheques. He moved out of the apartment of another colleague who had left 3 months ago; rent 1 year ago was 320k, landlord found out we weren't renewing (our company leases in their name and pays the rents), and offered to drop the rent to 160k on the spot.

Yeah: rents are falling and will continue to do so. Its not common in AD to have mutliple cheques, but its rapidly turning into a buyer's market, so haggle hard. And in 6 months it will be dramatically better for flat hunters with so much new stuff coming onto the market. I'll move again in 6 months and am actually looking forward to the choice--even 6 months ago it was difficult.

Millhouse

Raha is district cooling. That means you pay two charges:

Capacity - a fixed monthly amount, in effect your share of the rent of the cooling equipment.

Consumption - for the amount of cooling you have used

You pay for capacity even when it's off. I'm told it's something like 12-15,000 Dh/ year for the capacity charge, so like 1000Dh / month.

LaylaD

I am guessing like dubai and doha, villa prices will fall slower though than flats

LaylaD

I C
will take that into account

on freehold developments here the landlord pays the capacity, tenants only pay consumption

Millhouse

Wow. That is a drop! A friend has been told to expect to pay c.120k for 2 beds near spinneys on the corniche. That's bloody good really (well, it is if I don't convert that to sterling).