What would you do if you were in my place? | ExpatWoman.com
 

What would you do if you were in my place?

19
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 19 August 2015 - 10:03

We have been in Dubai for last 2.5 years and have already moved to two different places due to Landlord’s plans to sale the property. We are currently living in a 2 bed apartment in Palm and thinking about buying the apartment to stop the process of moving to a new place every year or two. We are planning to stay here for next 3-5 years.
The building where we live currently is in the range of 2.5 Million to 3 Million Dhs. While some of our friends have suggested to wait and watch for another year as they believe there is another major crash coming due to low oil prices and lots of supply coming in next year. Some friends think the prices will go up again due to expo2020. Considering the abnormal rental situation we are thinking it’s may be better option to get mortgage and buy and yet we don’t want to be in position like last crash where people had to sale assets at major loss and leave….
What would you do if you were in my place? Would you buy or would you not….

4393
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 23 August 2015 - 10:18
It took us years to sell our property, and despite wanting to leave the UAE we couldn't until we sold our property. If I could do things differently no way would I have bought. This is one of the things that puts us off buying here. What happens if you lose your job for whatever reason and you're stuck with a property and mortgage you can't service? DHs boss has been here 11 years already and he refuses to buy.
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 23 August 2015 - 09:48
It took us years to sell our property, and despite wanting to leave the UAE we couldn't until we sold our property. If I could do things differently no way would I have bought.
11
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 23 August 2015 - 09:26
My recommendation is not to invest in Dubai now. There has been 30-40% increase in prices in last 2 years which has gone down by only 5%.Wait for a year or two, as property will surely come down by 40-50% due to excessive supply coming in a year and there are not much of buyers as investors have better options now. Many real estate agents have already filed for bankruptcy due to low number of transactions. Do you really think it will drop 40 - 50% !!! Yes. I think so. With oil at the lowest since 2009, stock exchanges going down like crazy, we are not far from people taking money out of real estate here . The days of normal rental and sale price is not that far :cool:
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EW GURU
Latest post on 21 August 2015 - 13:10
My recommendation is not to invest in Dubai now. There has been 30-40% increase in prices in last 2 years which has gone down by only 5%.Wait for a year or two, as property will surely come down by 40-50% due to excessive supply coming in a year and there are not much of buyers as investors have better options now. Many real estate agents have already filed for bankruptcy due to low number of transactions. These prices increases are likely on paper. The reality is : Russian money has left, oil is at half what is was a few months ago so investors from oil prodcing countries are not faring too well. The US dollar is also going up making property expensive in Dubai (due to the peg of AED to the USD).I agree that many real estate agents have gone bust and there will be more as there seemed to be an excessive amount of incompetent ones around. Those counting on 2020 as a recovery point are mistaken in my opinion. There will be perhaps a boom in tourism that requires hotel rooms but not long term rental property. As we have seen in the past in Dubai and we continue to see today, supply is always ahead of demand and the lack of transparency in pricing give some false impression of a buoyant property market, whether for rental or investment. Renting is probably the safest option. There seems to be a difference between LLs. My take would be to rent from a local rather than an investor, but I am sure there are good and bad LLs everywhere.
13
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 21 August 2015 - 12:16
My recommendation is not to invest in Dubai now. There has been 30-40% increase in prices in last 2 years which has gone down by only 5%.Wait for a year or two, as property will surely come down by 40-50% due to excessive supply coming in a year and there are not much of buyers as investors have better options now. Many real estate agents have already filed for bankruptcy due to low number of transactions. Do you really think it will drop 40 - 50% !!!
11
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 21 August 2015 - 09:49
My recommendation is not to invest in Dubai now. There has been 30-40% increase in prices in last 2 years which has gone down by only 5%.Wait for a year or two, as property will surely come down by 40-50% due to excessive supply coming in a year and there are not much of buyers as investors have better options now. Many real estate agents have already filed for bankruptcy due to low number of transactions.
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EW GURU
Latest post on 20 August 2015 - 14:45
I would buy. 3 mil on the palm is not too bad. But it's best if you include everything in your budget like, yearly building maintenence fees, cost of registering the property, avg maintenance costs, etc when calculating if it would be worthwhile for you. I know alot of people who purchased on the palm but rent the units out rather than living there.
3
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 20 August 2015 - 11:55
ShafzzZZ.. recent articles indicated that out of all areas in Dubai (Marina and Downtown), the price in Palm Jumeriah has dropped less. best would be get professional's advice. ;)
19
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 20 August 2015 - 08:23
Thank you all for your feedback.....It is indeed a difficult decision considering the general risks of investment in real estate here and even questions whether Palm Jumeirah is the right place to invest...
3
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 19 August 2015 - 20:34
Hi. I am new in this website. ))) If you are planning to stay max 5 years then i wouldn't advise to buy, but if you are sure that 5 years only. in most expatriates' lives people end up staying even longer than planned, especially in Dubai))) regarding, oil prices, stock market,etc... I don't believe that you will end up in loss if you are looking longer than 5 years. Of course, if you have a about 32% of the property amount for the mortgage(25 mortgage cap+transfer fees, agency fees, etc.). As an end-user I would suggest to look at buying, and if you are planning to leave after 5 years, you could rent out and let the rent amount pay the mortgage. In my opinion, Real Estate investment is far better investment compare to most industries in Dubai, (my opinion:) We recently purchased our new home, after long calculations.:) I got a very good help from one Real Estate agent. I could recommend. With all my fuss, detailed orientations and questions I can recommend him. Good luck with your decision. :)
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 19 August 2015 - 16:46
We've just started our 4th year here and DHs boss has asked him if he'll stay on for at least another 5-7 years, or more if we want to. Even knowing this we still will defintely not be buying somewhere. Anything can happen out here and if you have no comeback to help you pay a mortage where do you turn then? Sell at a greatly reduced price and then what?? Sorry but to us it's just far too risky.
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EW GURU
Latest post on 19 August 2015 - 16:32
What would I do if I had a crystal ball? So many regretted buying when prices were high and so many regrets for not buying when prices were low and now paying sky high rents.
367
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 19 August 2015 - 15:28
I don't think it makes sense to purchase property at all at this moment. Let alone if you're only here for 5 years max. Don't do it.
116
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 19 August 2015 - 15:26
The fees are enormous for buying here, not only that but you would need a large amount of cash for the deposit - for 3-5 years, I dont think it would make much sense really
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 19 August 2015 - 14:55
We think about buying every year we pay our rent. However considering the inferior quality of construction here, in combination with the volatility of the real estate market, we decide against it every time. And we are here for the long run. For 3-5 years I wouldn't even consider it. But, this my personal opinion.
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EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 19 August 2015 - 10:56
DH and I were looking at purchasing on the Palm about a year ago and whilst we have been lucky that we have been in the same apartment for a while now, we get the eviction notice each year. We decided to pull out of purchasing despite the arguments/benefits of purchasing versus renting. The main reason was due to the potential of another manager taking over the building and bringing the quality of the building and services down, the construction quality of the building which is showing its weaknesses now that its aging, potential of community service charges increasing as the building gets older and requires extra maintenance. In the end I didnt believe that it would be a good investment for us personally and would rather look at other asset classes that meet my and DH's risk profile, which are very different, but any investment is a joint decision that we must both agree on. Its a very personal decision whether you buy or rent, you must consider the market and potential of increase of new properties coming to the market and how that could impact the value. Make an informed decision based on as much information that you can get and digest. Be aware of the potential risks associated with the purchase and acknowledge the emotional side of why you are buying a property. DH has been sprouting off about expo and the impact to property prices, which I dont believe an iota, property works in cycles and there is about to be a glut in the market as new properties are released. If you buy into the hype go in with your eyes open. This is totally my personal view and I know others will disagree with my comments, but the choice is incredibly personal and based on your own personal circumstances. Good luck with your decision and I hope you both find some stability with your home.
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EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 19 August 2015 - 10:37
Hi... keeping in mind the time frame of your stay here (only another 3-5 years) I wouldn't advise on taking out a mortgage and buying... simply because your stay is fairly temporary Most people who have purchased property here are those that are looking at a more long term stay here or are those who have purchased as investment (and not particularly to sell when they leave)... We have property here too that we bought 8 years ago but we were quite sure that we would stay here for at least 10-15 years and now we're already 8 years into that... which justifies the 15 year mortgage we took out on the property...
 
 

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