Investment Property in Dubai - Do and Dont
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Also see - Home loans & Mortgages - Real Estate - Property
Dubai investment property looks like a very exciting world at the moment. Here we present some dos and don'ts.
See - MQSEARCH for the latest advertised property if based in the UK and here if you are based in the USA
Do: be aware of the law regarding foreign nationals and the purchase of freeholds for property in Dubai.
Don't: underestimate your initial outlay. Deposits are traditionally a higher proportion of the property's value than in the West; see our page on Dubai home loans for more information.
Do: be wary of property speculators. Dubai's buoyant property market has led to a crop of speculators who are only concerned with selling a property on at a profit before their next mortgage payment is due. You need to be sure that everything is above board and that there are no "surprise" costs.
Don't: let the abundance of speculators put you off. Dubai investment property is a very strong market, and well worth considering.
Do: visit Dubai before making a decision. Even if you are heavily into buy-to-let and don't plan to ever live in the property you are buying, combining calculations and expert advice with business instinct will make for a better decision, and to use your instinct you need to get a feel for the place.
Don't: send money to brokers without checking them out first. There are nearly 2000 brokers in Dubai, only about five of which are any good. Most of them are just middlemen who want a cut of your money without doing much for it, so only deal with the best-known property management companies, like Better Homes, Cluttons and Asteco.
Do: use a big developer, and preferably one which is connected to the Government. EMAAR and Nakheel are among the most trustworthy. Damac is the largest privately owned property developer in the UAE. Estithmaar is part of the Government. The property boom means that many smaller developers are springing up, buying land from the big developers. Not all these are to be trusted.
Don't: believe the horror stories. There have been tales of people forced to sit through timeshare-style intensive presentations before being pressurised into paying deposits on houses that either don't exist or have already been sold to someone else. There is little reliable evidence that this happens, and you should avoid this kind of thing by only dealing with reputable people. If someone tries to tell you one of these stories, ask if they personally know the victim. If they say it was a friend of a friend, chances are it's just an urban myth.
Dubai - City of Gold
