Advice for renting a flat

Anyone live in Global lakeview that could speak about the quality of the building, maintenance issues, etc? It seems somewhat cheaper than other towers right now so trying to figure out why....? Thanks!

We have an employee living in Armada 1 on JLT and he seems to be quite happy with maintenance, etc. Not sure if their pool is open yet so they use the one at Armada 3 next door. However, the whole area is a one way traffic system and at peak times can be extremely slow moving. For that reason I personally wouldn't choose to live on JLT but, if you decide it is the area for you, for easy access to Ibn Batuta or S.Z.Road I think the better area would be around the Bonnington Hotel. <em>edited by amelia on 27/07/2012</em>

I can't recommend to move to JLT because of the traffic issue. The R/A could make your life like ****. Green Lakes S3 has a massive problem with maintenance since weeks we have dropping water near the elevators, mold on the panels since 3 weeks. Nobody is able to solve it as the property manager is for leave. Stepper in the gym never worked since 2,5 years, AC in the Gym doesnt work properly, etc.

The best towers were supposed to be Green Lakes, Madina, and Tamweel/Seef, but have read about maintenance problems in Green lakes here. Arch is generally good with a wonderful location but have had water problems with 3 major outages in the last 3 weeks, and some cases of apartments in a floor flooding. Concorde has a huge variety of apartments, but people often seem to raise their eyebrows when they hear it, something wrong with it, just dont know what Other "good" towers are Palladium, Shera, Indigo, Lake Terrace, Lake View Bad ones include Dubai gate, Lake point/city. Icon seems to get both good and bad reviews <em>edited by Arch on 27/07/2012</em>

Ours is a "chiller free" building but we pay AC charges. just to mention its Bin Ham Properties. sorry off the topic!

I thought it did have good access to szr , no more that 1 or 2 mins to get on for me yesterday. Although yes the entrance at the moment is like a dirt track and does test the suspension on the car well ! That was the one minus for sure...

Does Sulafa tower have good access to SZR? I thought its entrance was through a crowded half-dirt road and found the whole area of Sulara/Pinnacle very congested and potentially dangerous in terms of access for fire vehicles I think the access is still quite poor but they are promising to finish the road soon! You can get out either side though and once on the made-up road SZR towards AD is easy.

Does Sulafa tower have good access to SZR? I thought its entrance was through a crowded half-dirt road and found the whole area of Sulara/Pinnacle very congested and potentially dangerous in terms of access for fire vehicles

Hi Meagle, I have been looking the past 2 weeks so will give you an idea on the buildings that have been available etc. JLT the good - By good I mean value for money , size , finish and facilities. Gold Crest Views/Executive , Al Seef , Al Saba (most are fully furnished) , Lakeshore Tower , Lake Terrace by damac, X1 Tower ( good sizes , most no appliances , basic/plain decor in the building lobbys) I did ask a guy in the lift how he liked living there and he said he was moving asap as he has had alot of trouble with the apt and building maintenance. JLT the bad - Global Lake view (the worst building in JLT imo , pool is tiny and broken , awful smells, bad finishing,dirty, tiger developer ... says it all) Dubai Gate 1 ( newly released building - small apartments max 1300sqft bad finishing etc) Lake city point - bad finising/building etc. Marina - The good ( Towers opposite le meridien nr to marina walk) Sulafa tower , nice bright clean apartments with good access on and off sheik zyed road. A short walk to marina walk- 2bed 90K 3 bed 130K with free chiller. My friend has a 1 bed and pays 120-160aed per month in dewa . Mag 218 - Good finish same location as above - on the more expensive side. Ocean heights - Nice building and facilities , can be rather expensive for a spacious 2 bed same area as above also The Torch - Great building and facilites , most seem to have appliances inc. same location as the above. BAD - Marina Pinnacle ( new building although mould in most of the apartments, bad fittings , looked like 10 families had lived there previously) - Tiger building Marina - Other end of town near to Marina Mall Good - La Riviera (If living in this building make sure you have maintenance covered, I lived there for a few years and had problems with AC - There is no chiller. Cascades, Marina Mansions (very large apartments with tennis courts) Marina Sail, Zumerud (although I thought apartments were on the smaller side) . These are all in my opinion of course ! Hopefully others can give their input also. Another tip - Called an agent yesterday and on a few apartments she said the Landlord is asking 130K but will accept 100 and he may take 4 cheques not 1 so make sure you do make an offer :)

We're moving to Dubai next month and based on what I've seen online, it looks like we will likely be renting a flat. We're a pretty frugal family and hate surprises. I want to know what I should be looking for in terms of hidden fees and such. I see some ads say "chiller free." What does this mean? Also, does anyone know where I can get reviews on particular buildings within developments like JLT? I saw one thread where people had commented on particular buildings being "bad" but there wasn't any further explanation and I know that what one person objects to may or may not be a concern for others. Thank you! (If it helps, Hey Meagle, The hidden costs completely depends on the real estate agent and the building management that you would dealing with. There are deposits like for electricity & the security deposit. ' Chiller free ' in Dubai usually means that AC facility is provided free of charges i.e no billing with the rest of the utilities. After you shortlist couple of places, try to find out about the maintenance of the place, like when was the last time the AC and ventilators were cleaned/serviced, who does it, whether the building management has an AMC with a reliable maintenance company, pest control/preventive care in the building and the frequency with which all of the above is carried out. If you are getting any appliances (cooking range,washing machine etc) with the apartment, make sure they are in good working condition (preferably carry out these checks in the presence of the person who is renting out the apt). Visit the place for a few minutes during the day as well in the night. Don't forget to read the small print on the contract before signing ! :) good luck

If you google and also do a search here you will find some great websites which communities have set up. Here in EW there is a massive thread on JLT and Executive Towers, and online there is a JBR community thread and once I used a Skycrapercity (I think thats the name) which had a sub forum for each tower in the Marina. Good luck

Chiller Free (AC included is another way of putting it) means that you don't pay separate AC charges, Emaar buildings were historically always chiller free but in the new Claren Tower (Downtown) the chiller/AC/Cooling is a separate bill. As far as I know all of JLT is Empower, which can get expensive!

chiller is the machine that removes heat from the system and sends chilled water back into the system. Some apartments have this installed within them, like in balconies (which takes space!) and some buildings have common area, like parking floors etc to place these units. Even though overall the building has a "central air-conditioning". Each unit will control one air con, so for example, if there are 3 separate air cons in the apt, there will be 3 chiller units. ETA: might also refer to communal aircon! so one big chiller located on the terrace etc.. <em>edited by presam12 on 25/07/2012</em>

I thought it was to do with the communal aircon...but if yo wait til morning i'm sure you'll get plenty of helpful replies.. lol @ Simples - people asking for "advise" drives me mad too...you're not the only sad one :D I find "advises" are even worse - I know it must be a direct translation from a mother tongue, but it still irks me immensely ;) I may find a life some day, but apparently not immediately.. Nice weather we've got, innit? :) Ah, so the chiller thing is to do with the aircon?

I thought it was to do with the communal aircon...but if yo wait til morning i'm sure you'll get plenty of helpful replies.. lol @ Simples - people asking for "advise" drives me mad too...you're not the only sad one :D

Sorry, Meagle, can't advise you here, just wanted to welcome you to Dubai and thank you for making my year by spelling advice correctly in the context. (I live a very sheltered, sad, life, I'm the first to admit ;) ) I wish I knew what "chiller free" meant. Is it anything to do with a swimming pool? All I know about JLT is that you need to watch the windows and balconies, particularly if you have young children. They can be dangerous. People fall, either accidentally or in despair. Otherwise, they seem to be OK - I know Indigo tower through my daughter, who says it's fine and it is v close to the metro, which is a great advantage. Best to go and have a look, don't commit before you get here. I think Discovery Gardens, near Ibn Battuta Mall, might be OK for you too? Good luck and thank you again for cheering up my sad life.