Beans-on-Toast Britain

Yep, I know I’m guilty of repeat-question syndrome on a first post, but I’m looking for something a bit more contemporary than the archives (which have proved very useful btw)

Anyhow, I’m moving over in Feb/March and will need somewhere for Me+wife+baby… so probably a 3-bed villa with maid accommodation. Wish list would include a small private garden with a bit of greenery and some sort of plunge pool, but depends on price.

I’ll be on ‘just salary’ and as we want to save a decent amount while we’re there, will be looking for somewhere in the 120k range, but would go to 150k for the right place.

I’ve visited Dubai on a few occasions and read a fair bit about the areas, but it seems there’s not so many ‘frontline’ reports from those recently/currently looking for/or found accommodation.

I’m sure there’s a massive Vested Interest market who want to pretend that the worst is over, and rentals are about to skyrocket, so get in now etc etc. But there must be a huge inventory of empty places in Dubai and I guess the rest of the spivs and wideboys will soon be offski.

Dubai still looks pretty expensive in global terms, despite the price falls last year. So come on folks, who has just arrived and looking at places, or just renegotiated -- please share your stories. Or anything you’ve heard from people who have just moved. I’d also be interested to hear how prices compare from say a year ago or 6-months ago.

Also, how are advertised prices compared to actual prices paid? I read somewhere that you can lop up to 25% off the Dubizzle advertised prices. Can anyone corroborate that?

I was in Singapore the end of 2008 and the Vested Interest spin (via agents on boards similar to this) was ‘landlords won’t go any lower’ - whereas in the real world they were dropping their pants.

And while I’m on a roll with the questions…

I’m assuming that villas have not fallen as much as apartments, any thoughts?

Also, how do I find an agent that I won’t want to punch after 5 minutes of them telling me how strong the market is (I assume they’re the same types as Singapore agents)

So many questions. I have some more but I’ll save those for another thread. I know people can get very upset on these kind of forums if you ask to many

Cheers in advance

ps, am I allowed to declare this as a karma a smilie free thread, or is that against the rules or summat?

Jeeper

YepKarma sent.

Beans-on-Toast Britain

Is there an icon thingy that denotes head-in-hands

Oh fukk it, Big Karma to all.

MataHari

prices have definately come down a lot...we just moved house so I spent time looking at places in Mirdif and you can now easily get a villa for 110.000 dhs where as the same type places were going around 140.000 - 150.000 earlier in the year...this is for 4 bedroom villas by the way.
it's always recommended to haggle over the price, as you have nothing to lose, there are plenty of properties on the market, if they don't come down with the price you just walk away and view the next one. In my experience it's harder to negotiate with the big ones like Better Homes, but the smaller agencies will often reduce the prices.
I saw a villa that was offered at 300.000, made a phone call to the owner who one minute into the conversation dropped to 260.000, which was still too much, anyway, a few days later the caretaker of the villa saw my car and stopped me, and offered the villa for 180.000 dhs...
There are definately bargains out there but you need to take your time.

Beans-on-Toast Britain

Thanks MataHari

I saw your read your thread the other day about moving. Just the kind of thing I was looking for. I’d like to find somewhere within a month of arriving, but prepared to wait it out a bit longer if needed.

To save time on looking a places I’ve little interest in, I’m gonna narrow down the search as much as possible. Here’s what I come up with so far


Palm – still overpriced, and nothing very special once your there. Lots of construction.

Beach Area – Jumeraj/Umm sequim (spelling!) – looking favorite for me at the moment. Would like to be near the beach. Any thoughts where I should go for/avoid.

Mirdiff – reasonably priced, but aircraft noise and ‘smelly’ – well according to one post I read. So the Hounslow of Arabia!

Springs/Meadows: Lego-style apartments and traffic problems in and out,

Arabian Ranches – Decent pads, but too far out. Well, in the middle of the desert

Jeeper

Pretty much spot on....although not sure Mirdiff is smelly.

MataHari

it's very hard to advise on areas I find, cause what the one hates, the other one loves...it also depends on where you'll be working as being stuck in traffic every day is a pain.
I have lived in Mirdif for 5 years and I love it, it's not smelly, so not sure where that's come from, but yes, there are the planes, they have never bothered me one bit and I would certainly not move because of those, but, there are people that never get used to them...it does depend on which part of Mirdif you are in.
Try and get your employer to put you in temporary accomodation for at least a month and then just drive around the areas you are interested in. Lots of houses that have a for rent sign on it are actually not locked so you can just go in and have a look around, or go to the compound watchman and ask if you can have a look (well, this is the case in Mirdif anyway, not sure if it's like that in other areas, Mirdif still has a bit of a small town feeling to it).

The Dean

Rumour has it that quite a few Palmists are desperate to sell...........

Beans-on-Toast Britain

[QUOTE=MataHari;8222486]I have lived in Mirdif for 5 years and I love it, QUOTE]

To be fair, it was just one message I saw that said ‘parts of it’ were smelly. So maybe it was just the guy’s house.

Mirdiff it probably number 2 on my list. Looks like there’s some pretty nice places within our budget, but the pull of the beach is winning over at the moment. Just a question of what we can get price wise.

Our office is Media City area. Cheers

Beans-on-Toast Britain

I was also considering living on the Palm before it gets washed away into the sea. I'll wait until they get really desperate..

Hello.Kitty

we took a different apartment in the Marina back in late Sept (down from pre-crash daylight robbery rent) and the apartments in our building were beginning to creep up - 2 beds at 110 to 120, with the 120/125 majority. We secured ours for the lower figure (and getting a solid get-out clause in the contract) by telling the landlord that we were happy for him to also add a "non-renewable" clause so that he isn't tied to the lower figure and whatever% yearly increase.
This essentially plays on their hope that rents will increase substantially again by this coming autumn. If they haven't, of course, then we can step in and offer to draw up a new contract, if they have, well, so be it... but they'll never hit the Sept/Oct '08 level again.

Ethos83

Rents are dropping.

Right now I share a comfortable villa in Umm Suqeim. We’re in our late twenties/early thirties, all singles, all well-paid expats who enjoy living with each other and saving loads of money, while having the advantages of a villa with a garden, handy to the beach and in a centralised location for Dubai (roughly halfway between the Marina and Bur Dubai).

But I always keep check on property prices, particularly apartments, just in case. The asking rents for one-two bedroom flats on Dubizzle have dropped 10% if not more since late October and I fully expect them to drop another 10% over the next few months.

What’s odd to me is that there’s a strong uniformity of prices for flats across Dubai. In theory there’s a pecking order of desirability of locations, with the Marina and Old Town coming out at top, followed by the JLT buildings/Greens/Tecom, then Al Barsha, then Discovery Gardens, and International city at the pits. While there’s a drop from Marina/Old Town to JLT, the asking rents for one-bedroom flats are pretty much the same for JLT, Greens, Barsha and Disco Gardens. You have to go to International City before rents drop even more.

What it means, I don’t know. But if I were seriously considering moving into my own flat I would be viewing a hundred properties and lowballing the prices by 10-20K below the asking until I found a landlord that accepted.

Villa prices are higher and more stable (you made a mistake in your analysis: Springs/Meadows are villas, not flats). But 125K will net you a decent three-bed in the Springs or AR. Just make sure you factor in the monthly DEWA costs, which have been steadily increasing.

Hello.Kitty

Can anyone put a figure to how much "a patch of green" costs in real terms? I've often wondered about a/ cost of replacing dead turf/plants b/ maintaining the garden (cost of irrigation water, gardener, if used, etc...)... it'd be interesting to know as a reference.

I first came over here wanting a villa with a garden, thinking my kid(s) and I would be frolicking around in it daily in some kind of fluffy eternal British-summer dream, but then I saw the poky patches on offer in the Springs at the time... and then I found that my toddler was pouring with sweat after 45 mins playing outside.

Meow

You'll struggle to find a villa for 150k on most of those areas, particularly Umm Sequim or Jumeirah. If you do it'll be small and probably a bit tatty. You'll never get a villa on the Palm for 150k. Midiff is cheaper/better value for money, but some distance from Media City. Arabian Ranches really isn't very far out as the new roads are all open. The Springs/Meadows/Lakes is in your price range (just) but is rather Truman Show/Stepford.

You need to see areas before making a judgement and whatever you choose will be a compromise.

-

Beans-on-Toast Britain

Maybe they should have astroturf gardens, with plastic flowers. Or I could rob some real grass from that abandoned Tiger Woods golf course!

How much does a small patch of garden with a (very) small pool cost to maintain in terms of water. Sounds like it may not be worth it..