Annette and her husband, Chris, had already been living in Dubai for 5 years when they decided to buy their own home in The Meadows. Back then in the summer of 2002 the laws on expatriates owning property were still being written, so they had no legal protection, but decided to take the plunge anyway as they had confidence in the government of Dubai and planned to be here for a good number of years. “I was very much against the idea to start with” says Annette as she was afraid they could lose all their savings, but Chris convinced her it would be a good investment and it has proved to be so, despite the current turndown.

At that time everything was being sold off plan and no one had any experience of the buying process, so when Annette and Chris showed up to buy a home at their allotted time of 7.15pm at the Montgomerie Golf Club not quite sure what to expect. What they found was a huge crowd of people lining up outside and it was some time before they realized that the reason they were waiting outside was because the inside of the building was already full of people who’d  arrived up to 3 hours early! “It was absolute chaos – like a Christmas sale at Harrods” remembers Annette.  After a one hour wait in the heat, they were finally admitted inside, where again they waited another two hours. Annette was ready to turn tail and leave, but Chris persuaded her to stay a few more minutes and they were finally rewarded when a representative told them that although all the Phase 1 homes had already been sold, they would definitely have an opportunity to purchase in Phase 2, which would be released sooner than planned due to the overwhelming response.

When they received their second appointment to buy in Phase 2, Chris was out of town, so Annette went alone to select their future home. They’d agreed there were two important factors – the size of the plot and that the master bedroom should face north (to avoid morning sunlight). Two homes were available of the size and style they wanted, one with a north facing bedroom, so the final decision was made less than five minutes.

As construction progressed Annette and Chris visited the site regularly. Officially they were not supposed to do this but they would stop by early on Friday mornings to monitor progress. Although they had been told initially that some options would be available to them, in the end all the homes were built the same and they finally took possession, 3 months behind schedule, in September 2003.

Along with most of their neighbours they had a long list of “snag” items to be attended to, including over 100 damaged floor tiles which had to be replaced. “It was an awful experience,” says Annette. Fortunately there were no structural flaws, but getting the many minor problems resolved took much of her time for the first year. Annette soon learned to put all her requests in writing and to request a written receipt for them when she delivered them to the developer’s office. “At one stage I was going about once a week” she says.

By the time the warranty expired at the end of the year, the major items had been dealt with, but Annette and Chris have continued to upgrade and improve their home. One of their best investments was tinting the windows, which has saved them a huge amount of electricity for air conditioning. “It halved our electricity bill overnight,” says Chris. They also replaced the kitchen cabinets after 18 months as they were not happy with the quality or condition of the originals, many of which had deteriorated quickly from being stored outside in the sun during construction. 

Given all the difficulties they experienced, was it worth it? “Yes, definitely,” is their answer. With the way rents have increased over the past five years Annette says “We couldn’t possibly afford to live here and pay rent.” And although they have to abide by community restrictions, owning rather than renting has given them the confidence to spend money decorating and landscaping which otherwise they might have hesitated to invest in. Annette and Chris have created a beautiful oasis for themselves and intend to stay awhile.  “We’ll certainly be here for a few years yet” says Annette.